"Magnet Release, huh~"
Naruto sat up from his bed, extending his arm wrapped in layers of seals. Beneath the seals, black, intricate markings spread across his skin—his body had already been half-consumed by the Kāma left behind by Kinshiki.
He carefully examined the list Orochimaru had handed him. It detailed the abilities his soon-to-be-transplanted body would possess:
This body was based on cells left by Nagato, granting it the purest Uzumaki bloodline, along with powerful compatibility across multiple bloodlines.
Building on that, cells from Uchiha Madara and Senju Hashirama had been added, granting the potential to awaken the Rinnegan and once again step into the realm of the Six Paths.
Additionally, cells from Naruto himself—collected by Sasuke from the Valley of the End and uncontaminated—had been incorporated.
These would help alleviate the rejection between the soul and the body.
Finally, combined with a bio-armor modified from White Zetsu, Naruto would be able to control the new body just as easily as his original.
Since this body was crafted specifically for future battles with the Ōtsutsuki, Naruto couldn't help but think of Magnet Release, a nature that also enabled aerial maneuverability.
So, he decided to use Magnet Release to complete the final piece of this new body.
"We'll need Shukaku's power~"
Orochimaru stated the required ingredient for acquiring Magnet Release. Sasuke immediately traveled to Sunagakure and retrieved a sample of Shukaku's chakra from Gaara.
Thus began the final phase of cultivating Naruto's new body.
...
Outside World
After detonating the lower half of his body to fake his death, and consuming special energy to survive, Ōtsutsuki Urashiki poked his head out of a narrow, dark cave.
His eyes were filled with rage and hatred.
He could sense that the Kāma he'd implanted had failed to take root in Neji—it had dissipated.
His proud Ōtsutsuki life-saving technique had actually been broken by a mere native!
The humiliation left him fuming. His body had once again collapsed, and without a suitable vessel, who knew how long it would take to recover.
But this only solidified his determination to capture Neji. The secret technique that had resisted the Kāma would elevate his status within the clan—possibly to the same level as Momoshiki...
He even dreamed of fleeing to some remote planet and establishing his own dominion.
Not only did the branch family of the Ōtsutsuki think this way, even marginalized members of the main family like Urashiki held similar ambitions. After all, most of the rewards from missions had to be turned over to the clan elders and the clan leader.
Those ancient monsters—deified and detached—always got first pick.
Even as a main family member, Urashiki often ended up with scraps...
Moreover, he still held some of Isshiki's research results. If he could quietly manipulate powerful shinobi from this world to eliminate Momoshiki, he could escape from this wretched cycle altogether!
Just as Urashiki was lost in his delusions of grandeur...
A shadow appeared outside the Hoshigakure—a massive, inky-black, mountain-like mass of flesh and spirit.
The shadow compressed and condensed, eventually forming a humanoid figure holding a blood-red scythe shaped like a crescent moon. Even in solid form, it stood nearly three meters tall.
It was Jashin.
After years of nurturing and the chaos of the Fourth Great Shinobi War, Jashin had manipulated countless elders—seeking longevity during the era of peace—into traveling to the so-called Land of Longevity, where they consumed talismans disguised as health supplements crafted from curses.
Through this, Jashin had harvested immense faith energy.
Feeling his power return, he sent an avatar into the world to investigate.
Drawn by the pull between gods of faith, he located the newly awakened Mountain God.
He had originally planned to interact with this newborn deity and test its abilities, but unexpectedly, he encountered a familiar sight.
An Ōtsutsuki!
From afar, Jashin had witnessed Urashiki's ambush and subsequent defeat by Neji and Sasuke. The entire Hoshigakure lit up like a divine weapon had been activated.
"Their divine weapon refinement techniques have reached such a level?"
Jashin no longer looked down on the Mountain God—he even considered seeking its help.
So, after Neji and Sasuke departed, Jashin revealed himself and released a stream of black mist from his palm, binding the disintegrating Kāma that had lost its vessel.
Though weakened, Jashin had fought against the Ōtsutsuki in the past and retained methods to counter them.
Using a curse technique, he locked the Kāma in place—no matter where Urashiki ran, he could be tracked.
"I'll use this thing as a calling card!"
With a twisted grin, Jashin continued to weave his curse over the sealed Kāma. Then, in one swift leap, he flew toward the marked Urashiki.
...
"Damn it, what the hell is this?!"
In a remote village, Urashiki had been about to use a fishing rod to extract the life force and souls of some villagers to restore himself—only to remember Neji had seized it.
Whether Neji carried it with him or left it in the Hoshigakure, it was no longer in Urashiki's possession.
Fortunately, he still had a single Rinnegan. Using the basic abilities of the Naraka Path and Human Path, he could barely make do.
He'd just selected a robust-looking hunter as his next target when—
Suddenly, strange black-and-white skeletal patterns erupted across his once-pristine Ōtsutsuki body.
"I... I can't move! This native's power—"
Urashiki panicked. This kind of technique shouldn't exist on a planet inhabited by primitives.
At the very least, it should be a high-level civilization that even the Ōtsutsuki would approach with caution—sending fleets and multiple deities, and paying a heavy price just to subdue!
He recalled the warnings from the clan elders before setting out.
Only now did Urashiki realize: perhaps this once-glorious planet hadn't truly been conquered. Perhaps it still harbored terrifying, dormant powers.
Perhaps this was the real reason Kaguya and Isshiki had never returned, the Divine Tree's fruit had gone missing, and even the planet's coordinates had vanished for nearly a thousand years!
Remnants of that era were weaving a colossal net—one designed to annihilate the Ōtsutsuki.
Whish!
With Jashin's curse binding him remotely, Urashiki could barely shift his position.
The noise drew the attention of the hunter he had marked.
An arrow pierced Urashiki's chest.
He screamed in pain.
"A swan?"
The hunter turned and saw his arrow had struck a creature with snowy white feathers, some of which gently fluttered to the ground. Overjoyed, he approached.
Urashiki was in agony. With his body suppressed by a curse, his physical functions were now inferior to an ordinary human. He couldn't resist—if this hunter got close, it'd be over.
A noble main family member of the Ōtsutsuki... reduced to this on a remote, desolate planet!
He couldn't accept it. No matter how glorious this planet once was—he couldn't accept it. He was Ōtsutsuki!
With a furious roar, the basket at his side began to glow red.
A new, strange energy surged forth...