"We."
The Uchiha elder's heart stirred slightly at the word.
"Stand down."
"Elder Hayato..."
The surrounding young Uchiha looked at their elder in puzzlement.
"What? Am I so old now that my words carry no weight?" The elder swept his gaze left and right. Every clansman who met his eyes felt their hair stand on end and quickly looked away.
Satisfied, he deactivated his Sharingan and stepped to the front.
"Lord Hawk, I am Hayato Uchiha, one of the two elders of the Uchiha clan."
"Whether we speak of cooperation or of enmity, you will need to meet with our clan head." His tone carried no weakness. "For you to dare come alone to the Uchiha stronghold speaks to both courage and strength. I will give you this opportunity, but let me be plain: to work with the Uchiha, your faction must be worthy."
"Then I'll trouble Elder Hayato to lead the way." Kiyomaru ignored the probing tone in the elder's words, nodding his agreement.
The first step in approaching the Uchiha was going smoothly.
Meanwhile, in Satsuki's fortress…
Her laboratory had just produced the latest findings on deconstructing the summoning scroll.
The data before her made her frown. She had anticipated issues when breaking down a jutsu array embodying the very essence of time–space in the shinobi world, but she had still underestimated the difficulty.
The most obvious finding came first: after continuous analysis, most of the jutsu on the scroll had been broken down to their most basic units. By cross-referencing them with the Hamura database and years of her own collected data, she found that roughly 80% of the formulas matched known techniques. These could be fully deciphered and utilized after further analysis and testing.
However, the remaining 20% used a form of notation that didn't belong to the known jutsu system at all. Satsuki had two theories: either it was a form of encryption, or the creator had used two completely different jutsu-writing systems and solved the compatibility problem perfectly.
Either case was beyond what she could solve in the short term. She would need either a massive amount of time for hypothesis and trial-and-error, or direct instruction from the creator of the summoning scroll.
She stripped off her gloves and tossed them into a waste bin. A waiting puppet swiftly removed the bin and replaced it with a fresh one.
"The Sages' clans? Or perhaps the Three Great Sage Lands?"
These were the only immediate suspects she could think of. For now, the matter would have to wait—she did not yet have the strength to deal with those behind such places.
The second problem concerned the summoning and identification systems of the scroll.
It was common knowledge that summoning scrolls required the user to provide a medium containing their unique life signature—blood, chakra, etc.—to pass the identification program before the scroll would respond, summoning creatures or tools according to the user's will.
But Ōtsutsuki blood and chakra were extremely domineering and exclusive in nature. In the original series, even cells from the First Hokage were enough to transform an ordinary person into a tree.
As a pureblood descendant of the Ōtsutsuki, Satsuki's blood and chakra were even more extreme. Almost no material could bear them without being destroyed.
Kaguya Ōtsutsuki's body had been strong enough to wield the All-Killing Ash Bones, an instant-death technique. Though Satsuki had not yet reached that level, her body far exceeded this world's top-tier fighters. Until she developed a special material, even normal use of a summoning scroll—or similar tools—would remain problematic.
Still, her recent efforts were not in vain.
While she had long since understood most of the time–space formulas in theory, one crucial piece for calculating coordinates had always been missing.
Because time–space data shifts depending on location and moment, and because terrain itself is never truly constant, using such calculations recklessly would have unpredictable consequences.
But over the past few days, Satsuki had identified the key constant required for these calculations. Combined with her recent success in developing infinite signal transmission using the Byakugan, she had derived a second new ability.
She could now project her chakra across space, almost ignoring distance entirely, as long as the target was within her line of sight.
She gave the prefix for this new ability's derived techniques a unified name: "Judgment of the Ten Kings."
Upon grasping this new power, Satsuki immediately wanted to test it in battle. But such spatial projection techniques consumed enormous amounts of chakra. Although she had inherited the Ōtsutsuki's sage lineage, she had yet to awaken the Tenseigan, nor did she have a giant Tenseigan or a Tailed Beast as backup. For now, she could only afford to demonstrate a single technique.
With that in mind, she left her laboratory and descended a spiral staircase hidden beneath her usual seat of command. This secret passage led her to the lowest level of her stronghold.
The place resembled a secluded paradise. There was no birdsong or floral fragrance, but crystal-clear springs flowed, the scenery was tranquil, and golden and red koi swam happily in the river.
Most importantly, the space was suffused with natural energy—one of the rare places suitable for training in Sage Mode.
For certain reasons, Satsuki herself had not practiced Sage Mode. Instead, she conceived the bold idea of using this secret paradise to cultivate future human puppets capable of Sage Mode.
If she could make this work, she would have human puppets able to open the Eight Gates while retaining the overwhelming physique of Sage Mode.
Such beings could rival Six Paths–level powerhouses in the future—well worth any price she might pay.
And if, by then, she could awaken the Tenseigan Chakra Mode and support these puppets from the rear with Yin–Yang Release… then the system's vision of her becoming the "Strongest Across All Worlds" and challenging the Ōtsutsuki main family would no longer be a distant dream.
From start to finish, Satsuki's gaze had always been fixed on the Ōtsutsuki—the unchallenged rulers who roamed the stars. No being in the shinobi world had ever, or would ever, truly command her respect.
That was one of her sources of confidence.
But a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. For all her grand plans, the challenges before her were many. This paradise was rich in natural energy, but there was no precedent for human puppets cultivating Sage Mode. It would require relentless experimentation.
For now, she needed a massive amount of chakra to deliver her demonstration and warning to the Uchiha clan. She began carving five jutsu seals at the most concentrated points of natural energy in the sanctuary.
After some time, Satsuki used chakra to direct five experimental subjects into position. Thanks to the Senju's efforts to show good faith in their cooperation, Kiyomaru had been given many conveniences, allowing him to acquire five ninja captives equal in quality to her No. 2 human puppet, Kiyomaru himself.
Now, these five captives had their consciousness erased and were placed under her control through her special chakra and wireless signal transmission technique. Though still far from matching the specially modified Kiyomaru, they were more than sufficient as disposable assets.
Controlling five simultaneously was a significant challenge. Satsuki's primary expertise was in precise chakra manipulation; her human puppet control was already formidable, but dividing her focus five ways pushed her limits.
These puppets' sole task was to absorb surrounding natural energy and channel it to her. Satsuki, meanwhile, handled the truly complex stage: calculating spatial coordinates and opening the conduit to transmit this energy to the designated location. She had to maintain the spatial channel's stability while keeping each puppet's chakra–natural energy balance in check to prevent backlash.
Otherwise, whether from spatial distortion or chakra rampage, the resulting counterforce could erase her without a trace in an instant.