When it came to carrying out Satsuki's orders, Ranzuki never cut corners.
For these particular materials, she expelled all who were weaker than jonin level, leaving only five or six remaining. In a place meant for exiling missing-nin and criminals, such a force hardly seemed imposing.
After all, there wasn't even a single S-class missing-nin here—though, to be fair, shinobi of that level were rarely captured alive.
After issuing her orders to Ranzuki, Satsuki focused entirely on communing with the Ryūmyaku.
In the visible torrents of energy flowing around her, a surreal sensation began to overtake her. With her understanding of space–time ninjutsu, she quickly realized that this was the Ryūmyaku's inherent space–time power at work.
It seems this Ryūmyaku has some innate ability for space–time travel. But without proper positioning measures, it can't operate normally.
For most, this would be an insurmountable problem—but not for Satsuki, who possessed the Giant Tenseigan.
She produced the Giant Tenseigan—always kept close to the Candle Dragon's shadow—and tossed it into the air. A vertical beam of light shot from its center, sweeping across the Ryūmyaku before the great eye began working to restore its positioning function.
From the orb's surface, golden Tenseigan chakra began to pour into the Ryūmyaku. It burrowed deep underground with precision, flowing through blocked passages and clearing obstructions beneath the earth.
At the same time, Satsuki directed the Ryūmyaku's chakra to course through damaged sections caused by crustal shifts or other disruptions. In moments, the Ryūmyaku's subterranean pathways were fully restored.
The instant the restoration was complete—Satsuki's body and the Giant Tenseigan vanished into the Ryūmyaku's chakra.
"Lady Satsuki!"
The sudden change caught Ranzuki off guard. Her fine control over the Tenseigan's gravitational pull faltered under the shock, overloading it. Three of the bound missing-nin immediately spat blood, their internal organs crushed.
Ranzuki, I'm fine. Wait for me outside.
The voice resonated in Ranzuki's mind. Only then did she remember—she and Satsuki were linked through the Giant Tenseigan, and its connection allowed communication beyond space and time.
Relieved, she answered, "Yes, Lady Satsuki. I'll wait for your return."
She neither questioned nor worried about danger. The one who had created her was a being whose power, she instinctively believed, was beyond match.
In the otherworldly space, Satsuki reassured Ranzuki to prevent any mishap with the experimental subjects, then turned her full attention to sensing her surroundings.
The space was suffused with natural energy—its purity and scale far surpassing even the hidden sage land she had once visited. Its nature reminded her strongly of the Ryūmyaku in Rōran.
A suspicion formed: Could this be the true source of the Ryūmyaku's chakra?
Spreading her Tenseigan perception to its fullest, aided by the Giant Tenseigan, she took in every detail within a hundred kilometers. The environment was as beautiful as the legendary Three Great Sage Lands—yet utterly devoid of life.
The air teemed with highly active natural energy. Almost the moment she entered, it surged toward her.
Wary, Satsuki immediately wove a protective membrane of Tenseigan chakra over her body to shield herself from the invasive force.
Such domineering natural energy…
In such an environment, only so-called sages could hope to survive.
Satsuki flew toward a distant high mountain. Here, her space–time travel was suppressed, so she simply used the flight ability of her Tenseigan Chakra Mode.
Through the Tenseigan, she saw only that towering peak continuously inhaling and exhaling natural energy. If any sage existed here, that place was the most likely.
Moments later, she arrived beside the massive mountain.
What she hadn't expected was that the source of the natural energy at the summit was an enormous dragon's head.
When she tried to probe the dragon's entire body with the Tenseigan, a tidal curtain of natural energy blocked her perception.
As she drew closer, the dragon's head slowly stirred. Its sheer size—its head alone rivaling the Great Toad of Mount Myōboku—was awe-inspiring.
Golden slit pupils flickered with momentary confusion before scanning the surroundings and finally fixing on Satsuki. The massive jaws opened, speaking their first words: "You have come."
You have come? What does that mean?
The phrase puzzled her. Though she felt a strange, soul-deep affinity for the dragon, she still instinctively kept her distance.
After all, she was of the Ōtsutsuki clan, wielding Tenseigan power—and relations between the Ōtsutsuki and Earth's ancestral sages were anything but harmonious.
Perhaps "like water and fire" was more accurate.
Still, she asked, "Where is this place?"
The dragon seemed unconcerned she hadn't answered its question. "This is the Tenryū Heart Cave—one might barely call it a sage land."
"Barely? You're being far too modest. I haven't visited many sage lands, but I'm not entirely ignorant—this place's natural energy is far more active and abundant than any I've seen."
The dragon smiled faintly. "That is because before your Ōtsutsuki clan came, the source of all natural energy in this world was here."
Satsuki's heart tightened. She instinctively prepared to enter Aragami Form.
But the dragon paid her no mind. "You needn't be so wary. I cannot move anymore—only cling to life through this natural energy."
"You…?!"
As the obstructing tide of energy withdrew, her Tenseigan pierced through to see the truth. The dragon had no body—only a head remained. At its neck was the mark of a clean, blade-like severance.
That wound made her think instantly of the Golden Wheel Reincarnation Explosion.
"With your strength, who could injure you so grievously?"
Even as she said it, she knew the answer. Who else but the invading Ōtsutsuki could harm such a sage?
Seeing her shifting expression, the dragon chuckled. "Your Tenseigan is quite unique… Ōtsutsuki clanswoman."
"You've seen a Tenseigan before?" Satsuki was astonished. In this world, who else could possess one? Even the Ōtsutsuki main family had no such eye—they wielded the Rinnegan, while the Tenseigan belonged only to branch families.
And in the manga of her past life, the Tenseigan was rarer still—only Toneri Ōtsutsuki had ever awakened it.
"This story is a long one."
A nostalgic expression crossed the dragon's face.
"Before humans existed on this planet, it was already suffused with natural energy. In time, various creatures were born from it. After the earliest, most primitive ages passed, a rare few learned to absorb and use natural energy, stepping beyond ordinary evolution to become the first sages of this world."
The dragon paused, inhaling and exhaling natural energy before continuing. "These first sages possessed great power and wisdom. Through deep mastery of their respective sage arts, some gained the ability to see the future."
A sly pride crept into his gaze. "I was one of them."
Satsuki couldn't help a wry smile. To be reduced to only a head and still so smug—what a colossal heart. She doubted she could match such composure. Still, she focused on the point.
"So you foresaw the Ōtsutsuki's arrival?"
"Indeed. I and that little toad of Mount Myōboku foresaw the invasion of your clan. They would use something called the Ten-Tails—an energy converter—to twist this planet's natural energy into a chakra fruit and steal it away."
"Upon learning this, the sages split into two camps. The little toad urged immediate war—gather every sage's strength and strike the two Ōtsutsuki as soon as they arrived."
Even Satsuki, standing in their place, would have agreed. Faced with invaders who came without cause, hitting them with sage arts was basic courtesy.
"And the other side? Surely the sages weren't cowards before the fight began?"
"Of course not. The other side foresaw more. They saw not only the Ōtsutsuki's coming, but also the future rise of humanity—and they discovered a surprising fact."
The dragon's smile turned open and amused. "We all know frogs and snakes cannot produce offspring—but this world is full of surprises."
Surprises? What could be more unlikely than a frog and snake having children?
"Yes… this world does have such surprises." Satsuki's mind raced, then she murmured, "That the native humans of this planet could conceive a child with the alien Kaguya Ōtsutsuki."