"By the way, about those little ones earlier—the ones who mentioned the Goddess of the Moon. Who arranged that?"
"Lady Satsuki, that was decided jointly by Lady Ranzuki and myself," Kiyomaru replied calmly. "According to your long-term plan, you will one day resurrect Lady Kaguya Ōtsutsuki as an ally. In that sense, your status must never be seen as inferior to hers."
"Even within myth?"
"Of course," Kiyomaru said as if it were obvious. "The lingering influence of Ancestor Kaguya on Earth is immense. If her true intentions were known—and if her methods were less extreme—it's likely that many Ōtsutsuki descendants would choose to follow her. When that happens, the chaos of the Warring States era could be ended—whether by force or by submission."
"And when that time comes, you, Lady Satsuki, as her direct descendant, would find yourself in an awkward position. Should Lady Kaguya attempt to absorb your faction into her own, how could you justifiably refuse?"
"So, to prevent that, you've started a god-making plan ahead of time?"
Satsuki hadn't expected her subordinates to plan this far ahead. The fact that Kiyomaru and Ranzuki had thought so deeply—even considering such distant contingencies—surprised her.
However, there was a misunderstanding here. Both Kiyomaru and Ranzuki still believed that Satsuki's strength could not yet rival Kaguya's. That might have been true back when she was still in the shinobi world—but after tempering herself through two different worlds, Satsuki's power had transcended far beyond their imagination.
"The deification process starts from within the Hyūga clan," Kiyomaru continued, "and will gradually spread outward. As the clan's influence grows within the shinobi world, it's only a matter of time before your name resounds across the lands."
"You've done well," Satsuki said softly. "But truly, such arrangements are unnecessary."
Kiyomaru shook his head. "It serves another purpose as well. The Hyūga are an artificially created clan. Sooner or later, they'll begin to question their origins. By establishing a divine source early on, we provide them with an answer."
Hearing that reasoning, Satsuki no longer objected.
After all, she had already reached a divine level of existence. Whether worshiped as a Demon Buddha or a Goddess of the Moon—it mattered little to her.
Thus, she silently approved of their plan.
After leaving the area, the two continued upward through another passage, this time arriving at a much smaller facility.
It was known as the Bloodline Mutation Experimental Sector.
Here, children were separated from the main Hyūga population and managed independently. Their numbers were much smaller, though their living conditions and resources were equal.
As Satsuki approached, she heard a soft, melodious song echoing through the air—a tune from the ancient Rōran ruins (original song: To Light).
The singer was a young girl, sitting gracefully upon a stone staircase, around fifteen or sixteen years old. Her voice was beautiful, filled with a faint melancholy and a yearning for the future. Multiple emotions intertwined within her tone, forming a gentle yet profoundly moving resonance.
Unlike the other Hyūga children, she had long red hair, and her eyes were not pure white but a soft, grayish hue similar to that of an ordinary person.
According to the experimental records, she possessed no extraordinary abilities besides a notably high potential for chakra capacity.
Around her sat several younger children humming along. Their hair colors varied, and none displayed the characteristic Byakugan traits of the Hyūga bloodline.
Kiyomaru and Satsuki stood at a distance, quietly observing. When the girl finished her song, Kiyomaru spoke.
"This one lacks the aptitude to become a shinobi. However, her musical talent is exceptional—far beyond the norm."
"What's her designation?" Satsuki asked.
"D-0004."
"D-rank? Then her combat ability is roughly that of a genin at best."
"Yes," Kiyomaru confirmed. "Their constitutions are inherently weak. Even if a few possess significant chakra reserves, their bodies cannot withstand the strain. As such, they're incapable of properly performing ninjutsu or taijutsu."
Satsuki showed no disappointment. "Not everyone is meant to fight. Roles like theirs are necessary as well, aren't they? If they lack talent for battle, then let them live peacefully within the Rōran Kingdom."
"If they grow curious about the outside world and decide to leave Rōran?" Kiyomaru asked.
"Then we'll tell them the truth about the world beyond," Satsuki replied. "Let them choose for themselves whether to stay or go. As for their accompanying puppets, they may keep them. At the very least, those constructs will grant them a certain degree of self-defense."
"Understood."
With that, the two departed, never once revealing themselves to the children.
After all, their origins had already determined the limits of their potential. Though Satsuki's Status Infusion could resolve the deficiencies of some, the Hyūga clan possessed far greater aptitude and qualification.
Even the Hyūga had yet to receive her blessing—so naturally, these children would not.
Satsuki's ascent to this point had not come from sentiment or idealism, but from strength and deliberate calculation. In the real world, the distinction between what was vital and what was not was painfully clear.
Still, she had offered them another path—a chance to live as ordinary humans. In this era, to live peacefully and safely throughout one's life was itself a rare happiness.
...
When the two emerged from the underground laboratories of the Rōran Kingdom, the sky had already turned to dusk.
This was the true core of Rōran. Considering it had only been five years, its current level of development was already remarkable.
Satsuki's inspection was complete, and the reports and experimental data relayed from the Giant Tenseigan showed no irregularities.
Just then, a puppet came rushing in from the distance in great haste.
Upon spotting Kiyomaru, a flash of light flickered in its eyes—an identification protocol. A matching glint appeared in Kiyomaru's own gaze as the two exchanged coded signals.
After a brief moment, the verification process concluded successfully.
The puppet opened a compartment in its chest and withdrew a scroll, handing it to Kiyomaru.
Kiyomaru glanced toward Satsuki, who gestured dismissively. "Handle it yourself."
He nodded, took the scroll, and unfurled it.
After scanning the contents, Kiyomaru's expression darkened. "Lady Satsuki, this message comes from Lady Ranzuki."
"What is it?"
Kiyomaru's voice turned grave. "An unidentified force is attacking the Lunar Capital."
"Oh? Someone actually dares to target the Lunar Capital?"
Upon hearing Kiyomaru's report, Satsuki's first reaction was one of curiosity. In this era, the Ōtsutsuki clan was effectively invincible.
Even without her presence, Ranzuki, Suzuki Kaguya, and the vast puppet army were more than capable of sweeping across most of the shinobi world.
For an enemy to attack the Lunar Capital directly—and even force Ranzuki to request Kiyomaru's assistance—was no small matter.
"I'll go ahead and take a look. You follow Ranzuki's orders and assist her accordingly."
"Yes, my lady!"
After giving her instructions, Satsuki's figure vanished in an instant.
...
Outside the Lunar Capital—
When Satsuki arrived in the skies above, even she couldn't help but feel a flicker of surprise at the sight before her.
A colossal defensive barrier encased the entire Lunar Capital, a massive violet dome of energy that shimmered like glass around the city.
It was powered by the Giant Tenseigan as the central terminal, fueled by Ryūmyaku chakra, and reinforced through countless years of inscribed sealing arrays woven throughout the fortress. Together, they formed an immense defensive formation.
Once deployed, this barrier should have been impregnable—so long as neither the Ryūmyaku nor the Giant Tenseigan was destroyed.
In truth, when Satsuki had originally designed this defense, it had been almost an afterthought. At that time, she already wielded the Tenseigan and, with the Giant Tenseigan's power behind her, stood unmatched across the entire shinobi world.
The barrier had been more a remnant of her cautious mindset from her earlier "conceal and endure" philosophy—a precaution she never expected to be needed. Maintenance of it had long since been delegated to her subordinates.
Yet now, this once-trivial precaution had proven unexpectedly valuable.
"For something to force Ranzuki to activate the barrier… it must be formidable."
Surrounding the Lunar Capital was a sight that could only be described as a mountainous sea of puppets.
As far as Satsuki's golden eyes could see, the mechanical army stretched endlessly—far beyond what any nation's population could match. The wave of constructs extended from the base of the Lunar Capital's mountain paths all the way to the borders of another country.
Though nations in this age were not vast, such a number was still absurd.
"There must be at least several hundred thousand," she murmured.
These puppets resembled ancient warriors, their bodies hewn entirely from granite and marble. Each one weighed at least a ton and wielded long spears or halberds built for war.
Even their mere marching caused the ground to quake in rhythmic thunder.
In the air above, Satsuki's lunar combat puppets—brought from the moon—launched long-range attacks, exploiting their aerial mobility.
The chakra spheres they fired were each comparable in power to a mid-level shinobi's full-strength jutsu. But when they struck the stone puppets, the results were minimal—minor explosions that barely chipped their surfaces.
Even the more advanced models, capable of using terrain to their advantage, could only slow the tide, not turn it.
In the chaos below, only two figures—Ranzuki and Suzuki Kaguya—were capable of cutting through the enemy in large numbers.
Ranzuki had already entered her Tenseigan Chakra Mode. Against her radiant Golden Wheel Reincarnation Explosion—a blade forged from Truth-Seeking Orbs—no puppet could stand. With each sweep of her sword, entire swaths of enemies disintegrated into dust.
Meanwhile, Suzuki Kaguya fought on another front. He seemed to have achieved partial control over his bloodline sickness. In his hand, a gray bone blade gleamed with deadly sharpness—every puppet it grazed decayed rapidly, crumbling into sand.
But beings like Ranzuki and Suzuki Kaguya—those capable of large-scale destruction—were few.
Satsuki's puppet legions, though numbering in the thousands and individually matching the strength of jonin, could do little against constructs impervious to conventional attacks.
Once the enemy's numbers exceeded one hundred thousand, the sheer pressure they exerted became overwhelming.
Ranzuki and Suzuki Kaguya had been fighting for an entire day. From the moment the alarm had sounded until now, they had destroyed uncountable enemies—yet the tide seemed endless.
The stone puppets emerged continuously from the forests, marching toward the Lunar Capital without pause or emotion, their heads fixed forward, utterly ignoring the defenders cutting them down.
"This is the first time I've faced an enemy like this. What's their strategy—'stick your neck out and get chopped until your opponent collapses from exhaustion'?"
Ranzuki muttered as she swung her Golden Wheel Reincarnation Explosion, cleaving through wave after wave of puppets. She had maintained her Tenseigan Chakra Mode for nearly a full day. Even with the Giant Tenseigan feeding her ocular energy, the strain was immense.
The chakra enveloping her body flickered unsteadily, like a candle flame trembling in the wind.
"Silver Wheel Reincarnation Explosion!"
With a sharp cry, she extended her other hand, releasing a furious storm that blasted a massive portion of the puppet army back from the city's barrier. The next instant, countless Truth-Seeking Orbs rained down like meteors.
BOOM—BOOM—BOOM—
A deafening chain of explosions resounded across the battlefield, vaporizing hundreds of puppets in moments. Yet within barely half a minute, the gaps she had created were once again filled by new waves of stone soldiers.
"Ugh, this is getting ridiculous… I wonder if Uncle Kiyomaru got my message. To deal with an army like this, we might have to use the Giant Tenseigan itself to strike."
Her concern was well-founded. During the first lunar war, the Giant Tenseigan had annihilated the entire Ōtsutsuki lunar branch family. It was originally designed as a weapon—its purpose was mass destruction on a planetary scale.
However, from Satsuki's perspective, using the Giant Tenseigan as a weapon, while not technically wrong, was far from ideal.
The Giant Tenseigan was a crucial strategic resource—immensely powerful, but also fragile. Though surrounded by multiple layers of defense, it could only be safely accessed or breached by Ōtsutsuki chakra.
Still, exposing its presence at all carried immense risk.
After all, Satsuki was not the only Ōtsutsuki in existence. Somewhere in the shadows, the one known as Isshiki Ōtsutsuki still lurked, watching and waiting.
And so, Satsuki decided to intervene.
Her hands moved rapidly, forming a series of seals before pressing one palm into the air. A glowing pattern of runes spread outward from her touch, radiating like ripples on water.
At the same time, her golden Tenseigan eyes blazed, and her chakra link extended far into the heavens—reaching toward something resting upon the moon.
"Summoning Technique."
BOOM—
A colossal burst of white smoke exploded across the sky, so vast it blanketed the battlefield. Even from afar, Ranzuki and Suzuki Kaguya turned instinctively toward the source.
When the smoke cleared, a titanic figure stood between heaven and earth—so enormous that the phrase "covering the sky" scarcely did it justice.
Ranzuki's expression froze for an instant before her eyes widened in awe.
"That's—the Hamura Ōtsutsuki statue summoned by Mother?!"
—
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