For this operation, Satsuki suspended all nonessential activities, setting aside every other plan in her mind.
At least for this moment, she needed to devote her full attention to controlling the five human puppets to absorb natural energy—while still maintaining control over Kiyomaru on the other side.
As a precaution, she first guided one puppet to sit upon one of the jutsu seals. Before any other movement could be made, the surrounding natural energy surged toward it like homing birds returning to their nest, swirling into a vortex that wrapped tightly around the puppet within the not-so-small chamber.
Seeing this, Satsuki immediately sat cross-legged in the center, focusing entirely on guiding the tide of natural energy within the first puppet's body. Fortunately, the host material was of genuine jonin caliber; under her manipulation, the chakra refined from its body barely managed to blend evenly with the incoming natural energy. The mixture produced a brand-new force within the puppet.
Sage chakra.
Satsuki watched that power with satisfaction—yet a new problem soon emerged.
This puppet clearly lacks the necessary conditions to cultivate Sage Mode. With the natural energy being drawn in by the seals growing ever more overwhelming, even with my precise control, the puppet's body is beginning to show signs of biological shutdown.
For living beings, natural energy and sage chakra were unquestionably beneficial—but without sufficient stamina to endure it, and without delicate manipulation, most would die before even completing the initial conversion.
But Satsuki had prepared for this. Using the 'Judgment of the Ten Kings' technique she had mastered from deconstructing the summoning scroll, she opened a space channel visible only to the Byakugan. She then directed the excess sage chakra from the first puppet into that channel.
While the space she had created could not sustain living beings, it posed no issue for formless, intangible energy.
With an outlet for the excess sage chakra, the puppet's inert portions slowly regained vitality. The initial reinforcement from the sage chakra left it distinctly enhanced. Though still leagues away from true Sage Mode, it had reached the most basic threshold.
This smooth start boosted Satsuki's confidence, though she remained cautious. Once she was accustomed to controlling the first puppet's absorption and channeling without hindrance, she seated the second puppet and repeated the process.
Gradually, all five puppets entered the state of absorbing natural energy and producing sage chakra. But this made the next stage exponentially more difficult.
The combined flows of sage chakra merged into a massive current. Each individual flow wasn't particularly strong, but together they reached a strange critical point, drawing in even greater amounts of natural energy—until it became almost visible to the naked eye around Satsuki.
Channeling most of that energy into the spatial conduit taxed her to the limit. The small fraction that escaped control poured into the puppets themselves.
Changes appeared on their bodies: golden scales surfaced on their faces, some sprouting fin-like protrusions on their arms and legs. This development threatened to derail her entire plan.
Without hesitation, Satsuki drew that uncontrolled natural energy into her own body, blending it with her Ōtsutsuki chakra.
Finally, she channeled this fused chakra directly into her Byakugan.
Mist-like natural energy swirled around the bodies of the five human puppets. At the very center, the tide of natural energy wrapping Satsuki was dozens of times denser than that gathered by the puppets, even without the amplification of any seals. Though she had not crossed blades with anyone for years, her body's foundational strength—tempered by superior bloodline and partially inherited Hamura lineage—was unmatched.
Even the distant Toneri Ōtsutsuki of the moon could not claim a stronger body at this moment. And unlike him, she was born with her own Byakugan.
As the unique Ōtsutsuki sage chakra of the shinobi world poured into her, changes began to appear in her eyes. A golden undertone gradually seeped into the frames of her Byakugan; her pure white pupils took on a faint golden hue that deepened over time. The radiance leaking from them pierced through the natural energy "mist," lending her an almost divine presence.
Satsuki had no time to dwell on this transformation. Having stabilized the sage chakra balance and energy guidance on her side, she shifted part of her attention toward Kiyomaru.
At the Uchiha stronghold, Kiyomaru was already facing the current heads of the Uchiha, Tachibana, and Kaguya clans. They appeared to have been in discussion, sparing him the trouble of arranging multiple separate meetings.
The Kaguya clan head was a handsome young man with a mane of white hair, carrying a faint resemblance to Kaguya Kimimaro. His face was expressionless, yet far less bloodthirsty or morbid than most of his kin.
"Suzuki Kaguya."
He offered only his name, making no other move. Though aware that his clansman had been subdued by Kiyomaru, no open hostility showed on his face.
The Tachibana clan head, on the other hand, was a towering figure whose very build betrayed his bloodline connection to the famed Third and Fourth Raikage. Standing well over 2.4 meters tall, this giant exuded raw power: thickly muscled limbs, dark skin, pale-gold hair, a neatly trimmed goatee, and piercing eyes that even Uchiha rarely met directly.
Compared to the Kaguya head's cold detachment, the Tachibana leader was bold and open.
"Oh? So you're the audacious intruder who dared provoke the Uchiha clan alone? Hah! I admire your nerve."
"Ah, I almost forgot to introduce myself. I am Ai Tachibana." He scratched his head with a wry grin. "It couldn't be helped—becoming clan head meant taking this name. My old one, Raizō Tachibana, sounded much more imposing."
Kiyomaru studied them both before replying evenly, "My codename is Hawk. As for my true identity—once the Uchiha clan head arrives, I'll explain everything at once."
"So you state your name as a codename outright? You're certainly fearless."
…
Miles away, Satsuki observed through her remote vision, controlling Kiyomaru's interaction while contemplating the relationships between these two formidable figures and the Uchiha.
The Kaguya's Shikotsumyaku was a rare kekkei genkai to awaken, so their overall strength falling short of the Uchiha's made sense. As for the Tachibana, though each member possessed immense physical gifts, they lacked a bloodline limit to rival the Sharingan. In later generations, their famed Lightning Release Chakra Mode would only be perfected under the Second Raikage. Even as a clan of renowned warriors, they still fell short beneath the Uchiha's shadow.
Tap… tap… tap…
Hurried footsteps approached. Three Uchiha arrived belatedly, the one in the middle wearing a white headscarf and flanked by two youths.
One youth wore a deep-blue kimono belted with pale-violet silk, his unbound hair and the proud, confident set of his face marking him unmistakably as Uchiha.
The other, younger Uchiha boy wore a loose black combat uniform layered with pale-violet lamellar armor. His expression was gentler, more modest, yet his eyes held a keen intelligence rare for someone his age.
The legendary brothers of later generations—Madara Uchiha and Izuna Uchiha? While intelligence suggested they had other brothers, it seemed these two were the ones most favored by their father.
Satsuki regarded these future world-shakers with a complicated feeling before redirecting Kiyomaru's gaze to the Uchiha clan head.
The clan leader's attire fit the Uchiha style perfectly—black combat uniform, pale-violet armor, and a ninja sword strapped across his back. Though his appearance lacked the striking presence of Ai Tachibana, and he was less handsome than the coldly standing Suzuki Kaguya, the moment he arrived, the other two fell silent and stepped back slightly.
Seeing this, Satsuki felt more inclined to believe the Iga castle lord's claim that the Kōga organization was embroiled in internal strife. Neither the Kaguya nor Tachibana clans were known for bowing easily to others, and the Uchiha's rigid hierarchy would only provoke their rebellious pride.
But she couldn't afford to dwell on the matter—too much of her focus was already tied up in controlling multiple fronts, and the natural energy accumulating within her spatial conduit was nearing saturation. She needed a release.
"I am Tajima Uchiha. May I ask, sir—"
Before Tajima could finish, Kiyomaru raised a hand to his mask in a silencing gesture.
"Shh~~"
Under the puzzled and faintly displeased gazes of those present, Kiyomaru offered no explanation—merely pointed skyward.
Everyone paused, then followed his gesture upward.
What they saw was the once-clear, cloudless sky torn by a massive, unnatural current of air. It dragged with it a vast expanse of black, ominous clouds.
Within that foreboding canopy, purple lightning and violent gales tore and howled without pause.
Those of weaker resolve instinctively swallowed hard.
A single, undeniable thought pressed upon every mind: beyond that roiling storm waited something monstrous—something watching them with cold indifference.
As the clouds thickened, two beams of golden light pierced through, striking the earth below.
Even the ever-calm Kaguya clan head was visibly shaken. Ai Tachibana's eyes went wide; he clenched his jaw and stared up at the storm in grim silence.
The proud Uchiha, too, activated their Sharingan in unison, straining to pierce the veil and glimpse the unfathomable presence beyond.
At that same moment—
In one of the Three Great Sage Lands.
On Mount Myōboku, the Great Toad Sage slowly opened his heavy-lidded eyes, gaze fixed solemnly toward the Valley of Clouds and Lightning.
"In this world... aside from that old dragon, could there truly exist another sage power of such magnitude?"