Chapter 140: The Indestructible Golem

"Uchiha Ri."

Faced with Otsutsuki Shuya’s inquiry, Uchiha Ri did not hide his identity and answered directly. The person before him had already recognized his Uchiha lineage; concealing a name held little significance. Furthermore, this group had set their sights on destroying and rebuilding the ninja world, not even sparing their own kin, the Hyuga clan, on the planet below. There was no possibility of cooperation, so he had no need to worry about the risks of exposure.

"Uchiha Ri, is it?" Otsutsuki Shuya muttered, then spoke, "Your eyes are very similar to those of the man named Uchiha Madara—equally filled with coldness."

Hearing this, Uchiha Ri frowned and said coldly, "My clan's eyes are not for you to critique." He paused, then countered, "Especially not from those of you who have even lost your own bloodline limits."

These words ignited an immediate outburst of rage among the Otsutsuki descendants. To them, this was the ultimate insult.

"Insolent!"
"Uchiha Ri, you are courting death!"
"Elder Shuya, stop wasting words with this wretch! Kill him!"

The giant Tenseigan, while granting them immense power as a weapon, had also claimed their eyes. Ever since they eradicated their own kin in the main branch, it was as if they had been cursed. Their numbers dwindled, the new generation grew increasingly scarce, and eventually, only Toneri remained. Most terrifyingly, all those born in the new generation, including Toneri, were born without eyes. Thus, the subject of eyes had become a taboo for them. Uchiha Ri’s open mockery was something they could not endure.

A flicker of anger crossed Otsutsuki Shuya’s face, but he ultimately restrained himself. It was precisely because he understood the power of the Mangekyo Sharingan recorded in their ancestral texts, as well as the might of Uchiha Madara, that he did not strike immediately, choosing instead to seek another way to resolve the issue.

"Uchiha Ri, I will give you one chance. Explain exactly how you entered the Lake of the Moon, and I will take it upon myself to let you leave," Otsutsuki Shuya stated.

The reason they had sought to capture Uchiha Ri and his companion was precisely because they had used unknown means to pass through the Lake of the Moon and arrive on the moon. It was akin to leaving a back door open in their own home—an utterly unacceptable situation. He had to seal this back door to prevent others from entering the moon in the future. As long as the absolute safety of the moon was guaranteed, once Toneri grew to maturity, they would be able to successfully fulfill their ancestors' final wishes.

Hearing this, Uchiha Ri shook his head calmly. "I am sorry, but that is impossible."

He could not possibly leak the secrets of Terra to these Otsutsuki descendants. Not to mention that their future goals were fundamentally at odds with his own.

"Since that is your choice, do not blame me for being impolite," Otsutsuki Shuya said, shaking his head. "Do not think that just because you possess a Mangekyo Sharingan, I have no way to deal with you."

With that, Otsutsuki Shuya pressed his palms together, and his entire body erupted with explosive chakra fluctuations. This surge of energy seemed to resonate with something deep within the moon.

"Before the power of our clan, all your resistance will be in vain!"

Otsutsuki Shuya and his guards wore expressions of fanaticism as they began to weave hand seals. As they did, the ground of the entire moon began to tremble. A colossal golden eye suddenly rose, and a vast, ocean-like ocular power radiated from it, channeling golden chakra into a beam that shot deep into the lunar interior.

*Rumble...*

The shaking of the ground grew more violent. A massive stone statue began to awaken, and a deafening roar echoed throughout the moon. A moment later, a humanoid statue hundreds of meters tall stood up, accepting the control of Otsutsuki Shuya.

This was their clan’s ultimate treasure, carved in the image of their ancestor and powered by the energy of the Tenseigan. Although Shuya himself did not possess a Tenseigan, he could command it by relying on the giant Tenseigan. Faced with a Mangekyo user, Otsutsuki Shuya had no intention of testing his strength; he meant to use the statue to crush Uchiha Ri in one blow. Since Uchiha Ri refused to obey, once these two died, the existence of any 'back door' in the Lake of the Moon would no longer matter.

*Thud, thud...*

Heavy footsteps resounded as the statue, exuding overwhelming pressure, moved onto the battlefield under Shuya's control.

"What... is that?"

Behind Uchiha Ri, Itachi stared at the colossal behemoth in the distance, swallowing hard. He had already become somewhat numb after witnessing so many hidden truths, but when such a gigantic statue appeared before him, he was jolted out of that numbness once again. Such an existence was terrifying just to look at; could it truly be stopped by human hands? Itachi thought to himself, casting a worried look toward Uchiha Ri.

It was not that he doubted his teacher's abilities, but the aura of the statue was simply too horrific. Even if the Mangekyo was powerful, could it truly overcome such a monstrosity? After all, in terms of sheer size alone, this statue was far larger than the Nine-Tails that had rampaged through the village all those years ago.

Uchiha Ri, naturally, noted the approaching statue. Before coming, he had been quite wary of the moon, and the reasons were precisely this statue and the giant Tenseigan. He had actually formed some conjectures about this statue. Otsutsuki Hamura would never have built such a thing solely as a weapon for his descendants to use. After all, outside of their own clan, there were no potential enemies on the moon—unless one counted the sealed Kaguya. But a statue could never threaten an Otsutsuki Kaguya who possessed the Rinne Sharingan.

Therefore, it was highly probable that the statue was not an offensive weapon, but rather a defensive one. It was intended to guard against the outside world, to prevent anyone from coming to the moon to disrupt the seal. Yet, the Otsutsuki descendants had long since twisted Hamura’s 'final wishes,' repurposing the statue as a tool of war—a truly ironic turn of events.

Of course, Uchiha Ri had no time for irony. The problem now was how to deal with the statue. As the final line of defense for the moon, the statue’s power was not merely defined by its combat strength. Standing hundreds of meters tall, it possessed an even more daunting attribute. In the original history, Naruto had summoned the Nine-Tails to fight it, but the results were quite unexpected. The Nine-Tails had not only failed to defeat the statue but had actually been suppressed.

The reason was simple and critical: the nature of the statue was immortality. It was a rule-based immortality. As long as the power of the Tenseigan remained, the statue could resurrect infinitely without any diminution in strength. No matter how much it was destroyed, it would always be restored.