As the artificial sun within the moon dimmed, night slowly fell over the land of the Ōtsutsuki clan.
In the dark sky, floating islands with glowing lights resembled twinkling stars, bringing a splash of color to the otherwise monochrome world.
Inside Ōtsutsuki Biroku's palace—
"Huff… huff…"
As the doors to the bedroom gently closed, Uchiha Gin—who had been pretending to sleep in the giant bed—slowly opened his eyes.
Sensing that the puppet's chakra was still guarding the door, a sharp gleam flashed through his eyes.
Under the blanket, he quickly formed a seal. A green wooden branch sprouted from his body and then morphed into a perfect clone of himself.
"All good now~"
With the Wood Clone lying in bed, Gin pondered how to sneak out of the thoroughly guarded room. Using brute force would alert everyone. He regretted not asking his second granduncle to teach him Ōtsutsuki-style puppet techniques—then he'd be free to roam in a land full of puppets.
Sigh—there's no way he could hypnotize a puppet with the Sharingan, right?
While he racked his brain for a solution, his gaze landed on the dark shadow beneath his feet, and he suddenly smacked his forehead.
"How could I forget something so important!"
Though he just claimed the Sharingan was useless, Gin's eyes now bled scarlet as the tomoe spun into motion, releasing a dark and obscure energy.
He closed his eyes and activated the power buried deep in them—power born from Uchiha Yao's ultimate feelings of love and regret.
Fwoosh!
When he opened his eyes again, one eye had become his tomoe-less Mangekyō, and the other revealed a triangle-shaped Mangekyō pattern with a black dot at the center.
The dark pressure intensified.
"Definitely—Eternal Mangekyō eyes have a way more terrifying aura."
The unique chakra of the Eternal Mangekyō oozed out, and a wisp of it slipped unnoticed through layers of stone and seal, seeping deep into the moon's crust—as if drawn by some unknown will.
"Old man Yao… your parting gift is quite something~"
Recalling the techniques of Uchiha Yao, Gin murmured. The Mangekyō ability known as Wangliang created shadow clones with a simple will, capable of espionage, assassination, and more. It also allowed manipulation of shadows for both stealth and deadly strikes.
"Let's use Wangliang's power to sneak out first!"
Despite it being his first time, for someone like Gin—who had mastered multiple ocular techniques—this was easy work.
After a bit of practice, he activated the eye technique and sank into the shadow beneath him. The darkness opened like a massive maw and swallowed him up.
It looked terrifying, but Gin appeared perfectly calm, even excited.
[Kageki] (Shadow Rift)
A technique used by Wangliang when it first met him. It creates a shadow region at the feet of the host or clone, allowing entry into a mirrored dimension—movement within limited by chakra reserves.
Back when Yao used it, the distance and duration were short—an effect of his old age and depleted stamina.
"Tch, this is surprisingly cool. I didn't expect Wangliang to open an entire sub-dimension."
Gin strolled through the black-and-white mirror world, where everything was a grayscale replica of reality. He alone remained in full color.
He casually walked out of Biroku's palace and eyed the two puppet guards stationed at the door in their monochrome forms.
"I wonder… can I affect the real world from here?"
Driven by scientific curiosity, he reached out and popped off one of the puppet heads.
CRACK!
In the real world, the puppets stood silently… until one suddenly flickered, lost its glow, and collapsed, headless.
"It actually worked!"
Startled, Gin stared at the puppet head in his hand.
So the shadow world was connected to the real world!
But then—Ugh!
A wave of exhaustion struck him. Nearly falling to his knees, Gin barely managed to stay upright.
"Damn, just that one move almost drained me. No wonder Old Man Yao never used it in battle."
He took several deep breaths and began to recover.
Only someone with his insane physical endurance and pure Yin chakra could even survive using this technique. Anyone else would've passed out on the spot.
"This move goes straight to the bottom of the toolbox…"
Once he regained his strength, Gin exited the shadow realm at a secluded spot.
"Ah~ So much better. Down there felt like the underworld—every breath was a chore."
He had no idea that the shadow realm of Kageki was not meant for ordinary people. Only those fused with the Wangliang clone or possessing certain protections could survive its oppressive atmosphere.
Anyone else would lose their minds in minutes.
"Alright… time to visit that treasure castle."
With a leap, Gin launched himself into the sky toward the luxurious palace towering above all other floating islands.
He hopped from one floating rock to another until he finally reached the top-level castle.
Looking up at the grand structure, Gin couldn't help but mutter,
"Yeah… that's more like it. A treasure needs a place this grand to feel legit."
Sensing countless puppet chakra signatures around, Gin slipped back into the shadow realm and casually strolled inside—unimpeded.
"My palace compared to this is a pigsty."
He marveled at the extravagant interior. The gap between this place and Biroku's residence was night and day.
"But… where's the Rinnegan?"
Though he searched floor after floor, he found no trace of the fabled eye. He scowled.
"That can't be right. The puppet clearly said the Ōtsutsuki treasure is here."
Unwilling to give up, he headed toward the final room: the observatory at the very top.
Whoosh!
Bursting through the last heavy door, Gin arrived at the topmost observatory… only to find it looked more like someone's personal room.
Clothes were scattered everywhere. Food scraps littered the floor. Mountains of books were stacked in the corners.
"…Who the hell lives like this?"
Even in grayscale, it was obvious that the room's occupant was an absolute slob.
A few steps in, Gin spotted something by the window—a life-sized figurine.
Curious, he tiptoed over and, after confirming the room was empty, boldly examined it.
It had pale skin, plump lips, iconic Ōtsutsuki markings, and a cold gaze. Though the body was hidden under robes, it was curvy in all the right places.
"Whoever made this definitely poured all their lonely fantasies into it."
He was impressed—and also weirdly drawn to it.
"As a man of taste, I gotta meet the guy who made this someday."
But… why did the figurine look so familiar?
He squinted, trying to recall. It was on the tip of his tongue.
"…Well, the owner isn't here. No harm in touching it, right?"
He nervously reached out and grabbed the life-sized figurine's chest.
"Hmm?"
Ōtsutsuki Tsukihime, current clan leader, was a genius. At ten, she could beat all adult clan members. At fifteen, she inherited the title of Clan Head.
At first clueless about politics, she delegated all duties to the elders and retired to her castle to become a NEET.
She spent her days training, eating, reading romance novels, and avoiding people at all costs.
Today was another lazy day.
After staying up all night reading, she woke up hungry and summoned a puppet for food.
"Fried chicken and fries. No ketchup—give me chili sauce."
Stripping off her sweaty clothes, she casually tossed them aside for a puppet to clean.
Now in her underwear, Tsukihime yawned, flipped through her latest book, and sighed dreamily.
Beep beep beep—
The puppet delivered her food. She devoured it with zero grace.
"Ah~ resurrection!!"
After finishing, she wiped her mouth with her arm and patted her little belly.
"Oh wait—this hand's greasy too."
Realizing she'd smudged her stomach, she grumbled and headed toward the bath, shedding her remaining clothes as she went.
"Ugh! I hate bathing!!"
Sitting in the massive bath, Tsukihime trembled. Like a rabbit, she hated water.
She quickly washed up, then fled the bathroom and headed for the observatory, shaking out her wet hair.
Ahhh~~~
Feeling the cool breeze on her body, she let out a blissful moan.
"…Damn, this figurine has sound effects? Ōtsutsuki craftsmanship is wild."
(End of Chapter)
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