"Hehehehe…"
Ōtsutsuki Hekira walked out of the clan leader's castle with a dazed, lovesick grin. Her steps were unusually light, as if she had returned to the blooming years of her youth—back when she was considered the number one beauty of the clan, before her mental state caused her figure to change shape.
Humming a joyful tune, she skipped through the floating palace, causing the very structure to rumble. Dust trickled down the walls from the tremors her steps induced.
Inside the castle—
The elegant crystal chandelier began to sway from the unknown vibrations, sending accumulated dust drifting downward—just about to fall onto Tsukihime's pristine silver hair.
Boom~
A sudden burst of bluish-aqua light erupted from her body, forming a thin barrier that repelled every grain of dust. Knowing who was behind the disturbance, she wasn't angry—instead, a small smile tugged at her lips, and her pure white eyes flashed with a hint of nostalgia.
"So it's Hekira again… it's been a long time since she's been this happy. She never used to cause such a racket."
Her memories brought up the figure of a graceful, seductive woman—every movement and glance bursting with charm, enough to make countless men fall to their knees.
Who would have imagined that the once-sensational Ōtsutsuki Hekira would become the woman she was today?
"Forget it, let her be."
Tsukihime allowed herself a rare smile. But a breeze swept in, and the chill between her thighs wiped it away immediately. Her expression darkened, and she grit her teeth in frustration.
Hmph! If that little thief dares come back tonight, I'll teach him a lesson he won't forget!
Elsewhere—
"Hey Kuro-rōda, what's that place for?"
Gin, soaring through the sky aboard the flying ship, pointed curiously at a floating island resembling a shrine overhead.
"Beep-beep-beep. Gin-sama, are you talking to me?"
The black puppet clearly didn't process the question at first. Its yellow eyes blinked expressionlessly, and rather than answering, it countered with a question of its own.
"Er… didn't like that nickname?"
"I can analyze human speech tones. Gin-sama, your tone just now clearly contained mockery and disrespect."
For the first time, the black puppet responded with what sounded like independent judgment. This advanced reasoning ability made Gin—very much a human—raise an eyebrow.
What the heck? Is this the rise of Ninja World AlphaGo?
"Sorry, I shouldn't have joked like that."
Gin scratched his curly hair, apologizing with a sheepish smile—real or fake, it didn't matter. Apologies worked either way.
"That place used to be a shrine where the Ōtsutsuki clan's servants would worship."
Now that the apology had been accepted, the puppet didn't press further and began explaining.
"It houses a replica of one of the clan's ancient treasures. The real one is not stored there."
"Can I go take a look?"
"You may."
The puppet raised both hands, and the ship accelerated instantly, arriving at the dilapidated shrine in the blink of an eye.
Staring at the run-down state of the place, Gin couldn't help but sigh about how crucial population was. The current Ōtsutsuki were so few, they didn't even have real servants anymore—just dolls doing everything.
He stepped into the shrine. At the very end, upon a raised platform, sat a giant stone sphere carved with the same patterns seen in the Tenseigan from the movies. Judging by its size, it was clearly a 1:1 scale model made by a branch family, put there to commemorate their former glory.
But time erodes everything. Just like this neglected shrine, forgotten in a corner of history.
Beep beep beep
A harsh beeping pulled Gin out of his thoughts. The black puppet's yellow eyes flickered on and off like it was receiving some message. After a moment, the light stabilized. It turned to Gin and spoke firmly:
"Gin-sama, it's getting late. I must return now."
"Alright. I've seen enough anyway, and it's about time for dinner."
Gin calculated the time, rubbed his slightly empty stomach, and nodded.
Man and machine exited the shrine and reboarded the ship, leaving the ruins behind.
The artificial sun inside the moon changed with programmed precision. From blazing daylight, it now glowed orange with the colors of dusk. The ship passed through it and landed smoothly in front of Hekira's palace.
Following the black puppet inside, they found the short attendant dolls had already prepared a grand feast. Gin didn't hold back and began devouring everything happily.
Full and slightly tipsy, he was then carried—still confused—by two kimono-wearing maid puppets into a steamy palace. Seeing the hot spring in the center and catching a whiff of sulfur, Gin was baffled.
"Who the hell digs a hot spring inside their house?"
"Gin-sama, please bathe and change."
The two maid puppets clearly had lower-level CPUs than the black one. They only followed preset orders and began undressing Gin without asking.
"Stop! I can do it myself!"
Gin backed away in terror, holding his collar. Even though they were puppets, their lifelike features made him extremely uncomfortable. He was the type who couldn't undress in front of strangers.
"Gin-sama, please bathe and change."
But the puppets wouldn't stop. Four nimble hands clung to his clothes, trying to strip him clean.
Tch. Why didn't I ask Second Uncle for puppet-control jutsu last time? I was too busy listening to his nonsense…
With no other options, Gin prepared to violently defend his sacred territory. His Sharingan changed shape, cold power slowly leaking out. He was about to use Kage no Kai (Shadow Release) to erase the two dolls. With so many puppets around, losing one or two wouldn't even be noticed.
"Wait—what's this?"
Just as his eye shifted into an equilateral triangle, he felt a strange resonance—a warm, familiar chakra calling to him from somewhere deep beneath his feet.
Hoo~
Though the chakra wasn't malicious, Gin, ever cautious, cut off the connection. The triangle vanished from his eye.
"Guess I'll have to try something else…"
Since Kage no Kai didn't work, Gin activated his mutated Byakugan instead, scanning the puppets for a manual shutoff switch.
"Huh? What's that mark?"
Peering at the two life-like maid puppets with his Byakugan, Gin's gaze accidentally swept across their chests—not distracted by softness, but by the moon-shaped mark glowing there.
It seemed to only be visible with the Byakugan. His Sharingan hadn't picked it up earlier. That must be the puppet control seal.
Curious, Gin injected his chakra into the mark. Inside, he discovered a trace of Hekira's own chakra—weak and easy to erase.
With a light touch, he wiped it out. The maids' yellow eyes dimmed instantly, and they froze like drained batteries.
"Yup. So that's how the Ōtsutsuki control their puppets."
Gin pondered for a second, then tried inserting his own chakra into the maid's core.
As soon as he did, the moon-shaped mark lit up again—this time etched with his chakra signature.
"Master, do you have any commands?" x2
The maids, now powered by his chakra, displayed livelier AI akin to the black puppet.
"Kneel."
They obeyed instantly.
"Raise your hands."
Done.
"Lie down."
Done.
"Rub your bellies!"
"…"
"Hehe… I'm just joking."
Gin gave an awkward laugh as the two puppets stared at him with wary expressions.
"Master, please abide by the Three Laws of Puppetry."
One of them, still clutching her belly, gave a cold reminder devoid of any emotion.
"Geez, I said I was joking. You two are more uptight than the pink mini-fridge!"
Embarrassed at being scolded by his own puppets, Gin grumbled.
"Alright, alright—go wait outside. I'll handle the bath."
He waved them off, and only after they left did he finally strip down and slip into the steamy hot spring. The mild sulfur scent filled the air.
Now this was true relaxation.
Last time I bathed in a hot spring…
Gin's face turned green. He nearly unlocked a repressed memory. Shaking his head, he forcibly wiped it from his mind and turned his gaze to the painted artwork on the palace walls.
One painting in particular caught his eye.
"Damn! That girl's got it going on. I wonder whose she is…"
His powerful eyesight zoomed in. The woman in the painting had curly white hair, seductive peach-blossom eyes, and luscious red lips that oozed allure. A beauty mark at the corner of her mouth added to her mature charm.
"Wait, there's a signature… 'A gift to Ōtsutsuki Heki—'"
Though the final character was smudged, Gin got the gist.
Hehehe… must be that firm-lady Hekira's sister. Who knew someone that rough had such a gorgeous sibling?
This sister-in-law is mine!
Satisfied, Gin leaned back and closed his eyes, soaking in the rare comfort. PTSD from his last hot spring incident still lingered a little.
Back in the palace—
"Hmm? Two puppets went offline?"
Ōtsutsuki Hekira frowned as she checked the personnel logs. Her beady white eyes blinked in confusion, then relaxed.
"Must've run out of chakra. Probably been too long."
She didn't worry about it and resumed arranging the names of the 66 chosen people.
"Hmm… Clan Chief's definitely first. Didn't you see how desperate she was? I'll send freshly-scrubbed Gin to her bed tonight~"
Recalling Tsukihime's frantic behavior earlier, Hekira smiled knowingly. What girl doesn't have springtime longings? The Chief was of age—it was natural.
She'd been the same back then… until her heart was broken and she stopped trusting men.
"Second place obviously goes to me. In terms of seniority, if I'm not second, who dares claim first?"
Hekira proudly placed herself second, a black beauty mark near her lip gleaming under the lamplight.
"Hehehe…"
Meanwhile, deep within the moon's crust, a dormant figure slowly opened her eyes.
Sensing that her chakra signal had been severed, her white eyes filled with disappointment. She was bound by countless chains in a circular chamber. Above her was a barely visible crack in the ceiling.
Through it, slivers of light shone down upon her face—revealing a woman of stunning beauty. But now her elegant brows were furrowed, her cute maru eyebrows squeezed together in helpless sorrow.
"Hagoromo, you're here… so why are you hiding from me?!"
Through the crack, she had finally sensed her eldest son again. But the lack of response made her purse her lips in frustration.
Still, after repeated efforts, she managed to send out a trace of spiritual chakra to begin tracking the reappearance of Hagoromo's aura.
This time, she would definitely discipline that rebellious child!
As the signal faded into the distance, her white eyes flashed with satisfaction. Then a greenish-blue light flickered in her pupils, and her lips curled up slightly.
As for that idiot Hamura? Already dealt with~
(End of Chapter)
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