Two days later.
Just as Satsuki was preparing to leave the Uchiha compound, she suddenly received a letter from the Uchiha Guard Office.
...
"Oh~ how rare. You actually decided to accept that mission?"
Arriving at the guard post, Satsuki gave Madara Uchiha, Izuna Uchiha, and the grinning Hashirama Senju a peculiar look.
"My, my~" she said with a teasing smile. "I never would've thought Madara's little dance would be worth that much money. If I'd known, I might've practiced a bit myself."
Madara's expression had never been this conflicted before. He felt that all the dignity and authority he had carefully maintained over the years had completely crumbled in front of his brother and Hashirama.
"I'm curious," Satsuki continued. "Why did you suddenly change your mind about performing? You were so angry before that even your Sharingan flared to life."
Madara's eyes flashed sharply. "Since I agreed, I'll see it through. As for what doesn't concern you—don't ask."
"Brother, please be careful with your words," Izuna muttered nervously. He was sweating bullets over his brother's temper. "You do realize she's the one choosing the dance, right? If you keep that tone, she might pick something so embarrassing you'll want to disappear!"
But no matter what was said, the smirks on Hashirama and Izuna's faces gave away their true thoughts completely.
—Heh, to see Madara dance… that's going to be priceless.
"You two…" Madara growled. "Do you forget the Sharingan's perception? Wipe those grins off your faces!!"
Thud!Thud!
"Ah—ow ow ow ow ow—!" ×2
Watching the three men bicker like children, Satsuki chuckled softly. "I trust the Uchiha clan head's word. And I think I can guess the reason for this little arrangement. But tell me, is two million ryō really enough?"
After all, Ranzuki's demand had been five million ryō.
And this matter was no longer a secret.
Hashirama's act of freeing Madara could not possibly be concealed, and no matter how one looked at it, it was a tremendous favor to the Uchiha clan.
Despite their cold reputation, the Uchiha were not as heartless as outsiders believed. On the contrary, their emotions often ran deeper than most.
Thus, they understood the difficult position Hashirama had placed himself in.
From the Uchiha's standpoint, they could never simply hand Madara back to the Senju.
So, in order to help Hashirama shoulder the five-million-ryō compensation, many Uchiha voluntarily offered what little savings they had to support him.
Satsuki, of course, knew the origin of this condition.
It had, in fact, been her own idea—relayed through the giant Tenseigan to Ranzuki, along with a few words of praise for her recent efforts.
And upon hearing her 'mother's' voice after such a long time, Ranzuki's usual confidence and commanding presence before the Senju vanished completely.
Her tone had been full of reverence—and an affection so intense it was almost overflowing.
Naturally, she agreed to Satsuki's request without hesitation.
To Ranzuki, there was no being in this world more precious than Lady Satsuki. Any request from her was an order beyond question.
Moreover, her original goal had been to assist Shirakumaru in diverting attention so that he could retrieve the Uchiha artifact. As for Madara's fate afterward, she couldn't care less.
In her eyes, Madara was merely an S-rank rogue ninja at best—not even worth calling troublesome anymore.
...
"I'll gather the remaining three million ryō myself," Madara declared firmly. "With the Uchiha's accumulated wealth and long-standing reputation, it won't be impossible to borrow that much."
"When it comes to money," Satsuki said confidently, "I'm rather good at handling such matters. If you need to borrow funds, you can come to me."
Her expression made it clear she had Madara completely cornered. "Perhaps I forgot to mention—my clan maintains strong connections with the noble and merchant alliances throughout this region. Even across the Land of Iron and Musashi, most trading companies operate under my influence. Five million ryō—whether in cash, precious metals, or equivalent strategic resources—I can raise it for you within a week."
"However," she added lightly, "you'll have to complete this commission first."
"Nani?"
Even the battle-hardened veterans of the shinobi world—who had seen countless wars and slain without hesitation—were dumbfounded by Satsuki's display of wealth.
Izuna Uchiha quietly stepped up beside his brother and nudged him. "Brother Madara… maybe you should consider dancing a few more times."
"What did you just say?!"
"Well," Hashirama chimed in cheerfully, "I actually think it's a good deal. You dance once and earn two million ryō—that's more than I could make in years of hard work."
Hashirama's tone was full of admiration. "If someone paid me even two hundred thousand—or no, twenty thousand ryō—to dance, I'd do it every day without complaint."
"As if there could ever be such a blind employer!" Madara retorted mercilessly.
"In any case," Satsuki said lightly, "you should focus on preparing for your performance. As for what to dance, just improvise a little—it doesn't have to be anything complicated."
Despite her casual tone, Satsuki reached into her pocket and pulled out a scroll. The moment Madara saw it, his face darkened.
You really came prepared…
"Inside are the choreography notes and musical accompaniment," she said, her voice tinged with satisfaction. "I'll give you one week."
With that, Satsuki smiled contentedly and walked gracefuly out of the guard office.
Once outside the Uchiha compound, however, her expression returned to its usual cool indifference.
She looked down at her hands.
"So this is the final lingering obsession of this soul's human persona," she murmured. "I hardly know what to make of it."
"Host, what do you mean by that?"
The system's golden orb appeared once more, circling around her.
"Just tying up a small matter," Satsuki replied calmly. "For now, I'm heading back to Rōran. I need to check on some experimental results."
"You mean those related to the Hyūga clan?"
"According to the data obtained from the Giant Tenseigan," Satsuki said, "not all the research subjects exhibited the Byakugan. Some of the results showed traits similar to those of the Uzumaki clan."
Over the past few years, under Satsuki's original plans, the entire Rōran Kingdom had developed rapidly. Built around the chakra network of the Ryūmyaku, its energy system had completely bypassed the stages of steam and combustion technology—achieving efficiency equivalent to an electrified civilization.
Though geographically remote, vast mineral and oil reserves lay hidden beneath the surrounding desert, providing a powerful foundation for industrial growth.
Thus, when Satsuki once again appeared in the skies above Rōran, what she beheld was a city utterly unlike anything else in this world—a vision of a future that defied its era.
This was no longer the barren wasteland that had once served as a refuge for rogue shinobi.
Though its size was modest, in Satsuki's eyes, it had already become a prosperous town far ahead of its time.
At the center of the city stood a towering spire that reached into the sky. From there, an almost limitless supply of Ryūmyaku chakra was channeled through an intricate network of conduits, distributing energy to every corner of the settlement.
Surveying the streets below, Satsuki saw that apart from a handful of former rogue ninja overseeing construction, the majority of workers were her mechanical puppets and refugees who had fled here for various reasons.
They came from all walks of life but shared one thing in common—they were people from society's lowest rungs: farmers, wandering ronin, bandits, and others…
There were children who had lost their families to war and adults who, broken by despair, had long since abandoned resistance.
Satsuki had not involved herself much in the day-to-day administration of these people, but she knew that managing such a diverse group was no easy task.
She was genuinely curious as to how Kiyomaru had organized it all.
Though Rōran's current strength made outside invasion a trivial concern, and its technological and industrial capabilities far surpassed those of any other settlement, the city's origins were still obscure. During the Warring States era, it was virtually unknown, and convincing people to traverse the endless sands to settle here should have been impossible.
The architecture of Rōran was centered around its massive central tower.
Thus, finding a secluded spot to land—one invisible to ordinary eyes—was an easy task for Satsuki.
Kiyomaru had established multiple layers of defensive and detection barriers across the entire kingdom, all linked to the giant Tenseigan that served as the city's core control system.
But for Satsuki, who possessed the highest level of authority, these barriers could never detect her presence unless she willed it.
To compensate for potential blind spots, however, she could see numerous autonomous puppets patrolling between the towers, maintaining order and enforcing security.
When Satsuki descended onto one of the towers, a group of three patrol puppets passed through the area shortly after. Yet, at a mere glance from her Tenseigan, they completely ignored her existence, continuing their programmed route.
Her attention then turned to the people below.
When she had last left, the city had been sparsely populated. But now, in addition to the numerous puppets, there were roughly a thousand humans living here.
Unlike the puppets, who could operate indefinitely through Ryūmyaku chakra supply, these humans had real physical needs—food, water, shelter, and sanitation.
Even if Kiyomaru bore no obligation to provide for them, the fact remained: after five years, so many had gathered here.
That in itself was fascinating. What had drawn them to such a remote, unforgiving land?
With that question in mind, Satsuki connected her consciousness to the Giant Tenseigan and sent a message to the overseer of the city's development: "I've returned."
"Lady Satsuki? This old servant will come at once."
Clan head…
The word stirred old memories within Satsuki.
"Yes, I suppose I am still the clan head of the lunar Ōtsutsuki branch," she mused softly. "Hardly seems that long ago."
After a short wait, Kiyomaru emerged from an elevator-like platform, scanning the area before spotting Satsuki. He approached respectfully.
Five years had passed, yet neither seemed much changed.
"I took a look around just now," Satsuki began. "You've done well. But I have a few questions."
Kiyomaru bowed deeply. "Please, my lady, ask whatever you wish."
"There's no need for such formality," Satsuki said with a faint smile. "Just a few simple questions."
She gestured toward the orderly city below. "Those new arrivals—the humans. How are they managed?"
"Reporting to Lady Satsuki: through a tiered management system."
"Oh?" Satsuki's interest was piqued. "Can you explain in detail? The concept of tiered management is rather unfamiliar to me."
"It is actually quite simple," Kiyomaru replied. "Because the Rōran Kingdom operates under a strict hierarchy, you and Lady Ranzuki, as holders of the Giant Tenseigan's authority, occupy the highest rank."
"Next in the hierarchy are the key individuals granted authority directly by you, such as Shirakumaru and myself, along with the other puppet leaders," Kiyomaru explained respectfully.
"Below us are the mass-produced autonomous puppets—and the humans."
"Oh?" Satsuki raised an eyebrow. "So, from this tiered perspective, all humans belong to a single level?"
"In terms of authority, yes," Kiyomaru replied, bowing his head. "Objectively, they will always remain a governed class within the Rōran Kingdom. They could never replace you or Lady Ranzuki."
As a creation of the Ōtsutsuki clan—whose rigid hierarchy was deeply ingrained in its very nature—Kiyomaru's AI design reflected that ideology perfectly.
Satsuki, however, seemed unconcerned. "If they have the ability to rise beyond that," she said mildly, "I wouldn't stand in their way."
Yet, it seemed that none among them had such aspirations.
During their conversation, Satsuki's gaze drifted toward a scene below—a small child playing cheerfully while his young parents worked nearby. The father was blacksmithing, the mother weaving and mending cloth. Their lives were humble, but the smiles on their faces were genuine.
And this was not an isolated case. With the far-reaching perception granted by her Tenseigan, Satsuki could observe the entire Rōran Kingdom. She saw countless similar examples.
To her eyes, though the people here were poor and simply dressed, they treated one another with kindness. The atmosphere of the city was one of harmony and honest labor.
No one appeared to be starving or dying of illness. Even malnutrition—so common in other lands—was rare here.
Achieving such conditions in a desert region, where agriculture was nearly impossible, was no small feat.
"It's actually quite simple," Kiyomaru continued. "Our economy is based primarily on trade. During Rōran's early construction phase, most puppet labor had to be dedicated to building the chakra conduits. We didn't have enough resources to mine the materials required for expanding the kingdom's research facilities."
"So, after careful consideration, I authorized human workers to enter the mining sectors. In exchange for their labor, they receive food, lodging, and a share of the profits."
"While the sand and stone used for Rōran's construction belong to the kingdom, the more valuable iron ore belongs to the miners themselves. They submit it to the puppet administration, where it's recorded and graded as merit. Through our trade caravans or through hired courier puppets, these ores are transported to the Lunar Capital."
"The Lunar Capital already maintains large-scale production lines for processing external minerals into weapons and equipment, so absorbing these shipments poses no issue. With stable demand and high sales, the profits return to Rōran in full."
"Once the initial phase was complete and the puppet workforce had sufficient energy supply channels, we gradually replaced human labor in the mines with more efficient specialized puppets. However, since not everyone was suited for such work, we began reopening certain essential civil sectors based on the administrative records from Lord Hamura's rule."
"Fields like textiles, specialty agriculture, blacksmithing, education, and medicine were progressively opened to human participation. Over time, they formed an autonomous society outside of the puppet network. We now intervene only when necessary—to maintain order and fairness—and under that balance, their community developed naturally into what you see today."
Satsuki was silent for a moment, then asked, "And what about those who break the rules? How are they dealt with?"