Chapter 304: The War Begins
Looking into those eyes that seemed capable of sucking in one's very soul, Kyosuke offered his praise. "Impressive. They are truly beautiful eyes. They suit you perfectly."
Unlike an ordinary woman who might care about aesthetics, the competitive Saori was far more concerned with what kind of power these Tenseigan eyes would grant her.
She clenched and unclenched her fists several times. She realized that, in terms of physical attributes, the boost wasn't massive—at most, it had pushed her a step further toward the mid-tier of Kage level.
And even that was mostly due to the effects of the fusion agent Kyosuke had administered, rather than the awakening of the Tenseigan itself. To truly understand the abilities granted by this "fetal movement" phase, she needed to conduct further tests.
Since they had time to spare, Kyosuke took her to an open clearing, offering himself as a test subject to help Saori explore her new powers.
Under Kyosuke's guidance, they confirmed two primary abilities granted by the awakening of the Tenseigan.
First, the Tenseigan granted the ability to wireless control puppets. Moreover, these puppets possessed self-awareness. The number of puppets she could control depended entirely on her proficiency and her own spiritual energy.
Second, she could condense her dōjutsu power into a green sphere of light. When shot into a person's body, this orb could not only control them but also extract information from their mind.
Most importantly, it could strip a target of their chakra and absorb it into the user's body upon the orb's exit. If used correctly, it could even devour an enemy's ninjutsu.
Although both were support-type abilities, their practical application was immense. If used wisely, Saori could defeat enemies far stronger than herself.
Kyosuke knew that these abilities were strikingly similar to those of the Rinnegan, with only minor differences in the details. The power of such abilities had been clearly demonstrated during Pain's invasion of Konoha in the original story.
While these two abilities alone weren't enough to place Saori at the absolute peak of the shinobi world, they were enough for her to defeat an ordinary Kage-level opponent.
As long as she continued to develop the power of her eyes—unlocking the potential for gravity and repulsion manipulation, or even space-time abilities—one day she would truly reach the realm of "God," or perhaps even higher.
With the primary goal of their trip to the Moon accomplished, the two began to plan how to defeat the Otsutsuki Branch Family.
Saori's idea was straightforward: locate the enemy and steamroll them with their combined strength. With her newfound power, she was confident.
However, Kyosuke offered a different opinion. He suggested they stay put for now and let the Main Family handle the initial fighting.
Knowing Kyosuke well, Saori immediately realized he was scheming again. She didn't ask for details; if Kyosuke had decided, she would follow his lead.
Besides, Saori felt no blood kinship with the Moon Otsutsuki. In her heart, her true people were the Uchiha and the Hyuga back on Earth. It didn't matter to her how many of these moon-dwellers died in the process.
And so, using the excuse that their "experiments had reached a critical phase," the two indefinitely delayed their deployment. Otsutsuki Masaki, the leader of the Main Family, was anxious, but since he needed their help, he had no choice but to wait.
A week later, seeing that the Main Family's combat strength had been sufficiently whittled down, the two finally declared their "experiment" complete and ready for action.
Upon hearing the news, a prepared Otsutsuki Masaki personally led a force of several hundred shinobi toward the location of the Branch Family's stronghold.
However, something puzzled Masaki. Facing such an aggressive approaching force, the Branch Family showed no signs of retreating. Instead, they had gathered a massive army, looking ready for a decisive head-on collision.
Having worked alongside and fought against the Branch Family for years, Masaki knew them well. He couldn't believe they were unaware of the arrival of the "Byakugan Princess" and Uchiha Kyosuke. Knowing that two powerful outsiders were aiding the Main Family, why would the Branch Family choose a frontal confrontation? Had Otsutsuki Hanyu lost his mind?
Unable to figure out the anomaly, Masaki forced down his worries, preparing to gather all his forces to end this in a single battle.
"Father."
Looking at the excited expression on Toneri's face, Otsutsuki Hanyu smiled with paternal affection.
Ever since transplanting the Byakugan obtained from the Hyuga clan, Toneri was overjoyed to see the world clearly for the first time. He had been running around exploring, refusing to stop until he had seen everything with his own eyes.
Although Toneri's young body couldn't yet awaken the Tenseigan, Hanyu believed that one day, his son would surpass him and become a true powerhouse.
As for now... let me, as his father, fulfill the ancestors' decree.
Hanyu touched his own eyes, which had fully adapted to the transplant, and smiled confidently.
"Damn Main Family... you who have forsaken the ancestors' will, I shall deliver your punishment."
"Pass down my order! All forces assemble immediately! We move to intercept the traitors of the Main Family!"
"Yes, sir!!!"
An army several times larger than that of the Main Family quickly assembled and marched rapidly toward Kyosuke's position.
Behind the thousand-strong shinobi force floated countless stiff-postured "humans." These were the puppet troops prepared by the Branch Family.
As the leader of the Branch Family, Otsutsuki Hanyu knew from the ancient texts what abilities the Tenseigan possessed. These massive puppet troops were prepared for this very moment. The Main Family wanted to crush them in one blow, but he intended to do the exact same thing.
Puppets controlled by the Tenseigan retained their pre-death combat consciousness. This meant their strength far exceeded that of ordinary puppets, and their sheer numbers were despair-inducing.
Hanyu eagerly anticipated the look on Otsutsuki Masaki's face when he saw this army.
After marching for half the day, the two armies finally met on a vast plain.
Just as Hanyu had predicted, the sight of hundreds of puppets floating in the sky caused a ripple of panic through the Main Family's ranks.
They knew their history, and they knew exactly what those floating puppets signified.
It wasn't just them—Kyosuke and Saori's expressions turned grim as well.
"Filthy scum," Saori hissed.
The thought that her missing clansmen might have been harvested to create this army or fuel these eyes ignited a fury in her heart. If Kyosuke hadn't held her back, she would have launched an attack on the enemy formation right then and there.
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