As the descendant of the Sage of Six Paths' younger brother and the last pure-blooded celestial in the human world, Toneri Ōtsutsuki never imagined this day would come.
He had been meditating and chanting scriptures—when the invader arrived.
The guardian who was meant to remain in the Lunar Dragon Palace, high above, overseeing and monitoring the 'failed world' created by the Sage of Six Paths, now found himself utterly powerless—a fish laid upon the chopping block.
"Cough... Who are you? What is your purpose in coming to the shinobi world?"
The sound of steady, rhythmic footsteps echoed.
Clack.
A blonde woman wearing the crisp uniform of an Imperial Guards officer stepped into view. A sash hung from her shoulder, a double-headed eagle medal gleamed upon her collar, and in her hand she held an orb emitting a faint purple glow, shaped like an eyeball.
She ignored the questions of the man crushed beneath her heel, instead watching with interest as she drew forth the blood-red fluid pulsing with immense chakra and Ōtsutsuki genetic factors. Compressing and refining it, she murmured to herself:
"Hmm... For a half-breed with a trace of pure Ōtsutsuki blood, this should be enough."
"You bastard! I am a direct descendant of the Ōtsutsuki clan, heir to the Sage of Six Paths' will! If you possess even a shred of warrior's pride and lineage etiquette, you should know—a man can be killed, but not humiliated!"
Since childhood, Toneri had been taught: You are the savior and guardian of the shinobi world. You must take pride in your bloodline. Never allow the name Ōtsutsuki to be sullied. He held to that creed with elegance and composure—always.
But there was one thing no one could ever question—his lineage.
To call him a half-breed? A mongrel?
This detestable woman had dared to call him that!
"Even if I lost to you, that does not mean you surpass me! You cannot insult my blood, my ancestors—!"
Whoom!
Even with his arms severed and joints dislocated, Toneri clenched his teeth through the searing pain that felt like his entire body was aflame. His chakra erupted, burning like an azure fire, shaking the entire castle—the entire moon.
And yet, the next moment, it was silenced.
Bang!
The walls of the Hamura Temple groaned as cracks spread outward, and the violent shockwave nearly blew the roof away. The blonde officer slowly lifted her boot from Toneri's skull, which had been driven deep into the floor.
"General!"
The door burst open—Valkyries and Imperial soldiers rushed in, alarmed by the commotion.
"To be frank, brat, you really are just a mongrel with a hint of Ōtsutsuki blood. Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki, Hamura Ōtsutsuki—mixed breeds, the lot of them."
She chuckled, gesturing casually to assure the soldiers she was unharmed, while tossing the purple orb marked with the crescent sigil of the Lunar Ōtsutsuki clan.
"A weapon forged at the cost of every branch family member's Byakugan, used to annihilate the entire main family for ideological dissent—and later, to sacrifice their flesh and blood, forging this imitation Tenseigan. I must say, you people had guts."
"The greatness of our forebears, and their willingness to sacrifice... are things you could never comprehend, let alone insult..."
Though his white robes were drenched crimson, though his flesh hung in tatters, Toneri's innate pride only burned fiercer. Even the hollow sockets where his eyes once were radiated that same unyielding arrogance—it was enough to make one's blood boil.
Call it noble and steadfast—or call it foolish beyond measure.
The blonde, blue-eyed officer fell silent for a moment.
Perhaps this man believed his loss was due to being ambushed, to not having activated the twin Tenseigan or found suitable Byakugan for his empty sockets.
Toneri wasn't lacking in power—he was lacking in experience.
A fool who lived within the confines of his own delusion.
"How tiresome. When did I, the Empress, acquire the habit of wasting words? ...Though I suppose I only act this way to distinguish myself from my main body. Still, I really should choose my conversation partners more wisely. You, mongrel, are merely alchemical fodder for my pill refinement."
Indeed—the one who had landed upon the moon and captured Toneri Ōtsutsuki alive was none other than a fragmentary incarnation of Selene, the Divine Empress herself, disguised and simplified into a lesser vessel.
Removing her pointed cap, Selene rubbed her golden high ponytail bun, styled with a distinctly British flair.
"Pill."
She had no patience left for this fool. With a flick of her finger, an invisible repulsive force snapped Toneri Ōtsutsuki's jaws apart, tore out his tongue, and ruptured his eardrums.
Then, under some unknown attraction between Selene's fingers, every meridian and chakra channel in his body burst apart. His entire form dissolved into a blood-soaked silhouette, as if scorched by flame. The crimson liquid spiraled toward Selene's center, converging, transforming, compressing.
"Have you learned a bit of humility now? Hard truths often sting."
"You're not pure-blooded. You haven't even inherited the true celestial arts that allow the Ōtsutsuki clan to stand supreme in the cosmos, yet you dare call yourself one of their rightful heirs? You can't even refine a Chakra Fruit properly—just a defective alchemical ingredient."
"And seeking ingredients—that's precisely why I came here." As she spoke, Selene's familiarity with this forcibly seized, assimilated, and mimicked alchemical art grew. The suction in her palm suddenly intensified.
Crack, crack...
"...."
Silent terror.
Never could Toneri Ōtsutsuki have imagined that the very bloodline he had forever taken pride in would one day make him into an ingredient.
Whoosh.
When the blood was drained completely, the chakra, soul, and flesh that composed Toneri Ōtsutsuki burned away—transmuted, like a fleeting spark, into the purest essence of chakra, collapsing into a single, bead-sized golden pill in Selene's palm.
Only his bloodstained white robes remained, drifting gently to the ground before disintegrating at the atomic level, vanishing into the air.
Crunch. The sound of chewing.
As for the taste—it was delicious.
Simply delicious.
An indescribable sensation—wild, vast, pure—an all-encompassing fullness that uplifted every sense: taste, hearing, touch, smell, even consciousness.
It was as though a magnificent symphony, a soothing hot spring, the serene beauty of a manor garden, and the total relaxation of a full-body massage all struck simultaneously—a harmony of ultimate indulgence that made one sink into bliss.
Though it did nothing for Selene's body or soul—no healing, no ascension of her life level—the flavor alone was enough to make her linger.
"For a first-time alchemist, not bad at all."
Gathering Honkai energy particles at her fingertips, she released them in a flame-like form, muttering to herself as she reached toward the massive yellow Tenseigan enshrined deep within the Hamura Temple.
Unlike the purple imitation Tenseigan cobbled together by the branch family's countless Byakugan, this yellow one was the product of Hamura Ōtsutsuki's original Tenseigan fusion—engraved with curses that would drain the chakra of anyone without Hamura's bloodline.
Naturally, such things were meaningless to Selene. Dispelling barriers, erasing curses, shrinking and transferring the artifact—all done in one smooth motion.
Unconcerned with the collapsing temple chamber left behind, Selene carefully gathered the two Tenseigan—one purple, one yellow.
As for implanting them herself?
Hardly necessary. Every ability tied to bloodline limits already existed within even Selene's smallest incarnations. What use would she have for them? If it were merely for the spectacle of special eyes, she could sculpt her own.
If she truly wanted to, she could layer Rinnegan ripples, tomoe, crosses, and even rainbow patterns—wholesale, if she wished.
"A shame, really. I can't eat them yet. These two Tenseigan, along with you three, must be sent to the Imperial Capital. My true body intends to personally refine you into Chakra Fruits—and pills."
The corridor of the Hamura Temple twisted and warped. Selene's gaze passed over the kaleidoscopic tendrils of imaginary energy, reaching into the newly expanded dimensional prison.
There, three figures of varying build froze, eyes widening in sheer terror—their souls weighed down by an oppressive dread.
Each bore the pallid skin typical of the Ōtsutsuki clan, browless, with twin circular marks upon their foreheads.
One was slender, clad in robes, gray-white hair cascading down, twin horn-like protrusions curving forward like a rabbit's ears.
Another was towering, with bark-like limbs, coarse gray-white hair, and a single thick horn jutting upward and to the left.
The third, with light-blue hair tied high, had a pair of forehead-plate-shaped horns crowning her head.
They were none other than Momoshiki Ōtsutsuki, Kinshiki Ōtsutsuki, and Urashiki Ōtsutsuki.
These three were the true retrieval agents dispatched by the Ōtsutsuki High Council to Earth in search of Kaguya Ōtsutsuki's whereabouts.
However, due to Selene's unrestrained chakra scans of an ancient God Tree ruin, they had hesitated mid-journey, considering a retreat while still en route through deep space. Unfortunately for them, they had already entered the solar system containing the shinobi world—and were promptly intercepted by Selene's incarnation, who had secretly followed Fu Hua's support fleet.
What followed was a tragedy fit to make the heavens weep.
They were brutally beaten with no hope of escape. Their space-time abilities—meant for interstellar travel—were sealed in an instant. The so-called Yomi-no-Hirasaka became a literal Yomi—the underworld. Captured alive, all three were thrown into an imprisoning dimension.
The principle behind this "alchemy" was a craft Selene had devoured and learned directly from these so-called pureblood Ōtsutsuki elites.
Through soul extraction, invasive assimilation, and the plundering of their bloodline-limit abilities, Selene had uncovered many secrets about the Ōtsutsuki clan.
The so-called Dan—the "pill"—referred to the practice of the Ōtsutsuki clan refining stolen chakra into condensed energy pills, consuming them to extend their lives and gain divine, godlike power.
The Chakra Fruit could be eaten raw—or refined into pills. The latter method was exclusive to the higher echelons of the clan.
Guardians of the God Trees were required to offer the matured Chakra Fruits to the clan's upper ranks. The High Council would then refine those fruits into elixirs. Containing vast energy and genetic data, these divine pills allowed the Ōtsutsuki who consumed them to continuously evolve—until they ascended into gods beyond comprehension.
As for Selene—she, too, could refine "pills."
Well, not exactly pills. More like devouring.
Her method was... crude.
Simply extracting souls, blood, life essence—or swallowing them whole. Easy to absorb, gentle in potency, though the flavor left much to be desired, often retaining the soul's original essence and "taste."
For instance, Selene once crafted Imaginary Crystals for her own consumption—condensed from the higher-dimensional essence of chaotic eldritch gods, the madness of soul oceans, and the power of infinite demonic legions within subspace. The process wasn't unlike the Ōtsutsuki's alchemy.
The only difference? Selene could consume her own creations. Anyone else who tried—would die.
Even Esdeath or any of the Astartes Legion Commanders couldn't handle a single bite.
Those "pills" were the true tiger-wolf medicine—overwhelming in potency. Alyssa licking one would likely collapse on the spot. The Emperor himself would have to sit upon the Golden Throne for decades just to stabilize after a bite.
The Ōtsutsuki elixirs, on the other hand, were quite the opposite.
No matter the source or strength of the material, once refined into a pill, it seemed universally consumable—imposing no restrictions upon the eater.
Naturally, Selene's curiosity was piqued.
She had learned the basics of pill refinement, but the higher-tier techniques remained in the hands of the Ōtsutsuki upper council.
Promising indeed.
Besides—refining pills, swallowing golden elixirs... Hmm, there was something exhilarating about it. She couldn't shake the feeling she was steadily walking the path of a decadent emperor.
Whoosh...
"General Pandia."
Click! The sharp sound of heels striking together echoed crisply through the corridor. A major in auxiliary uniform saluted. "Commander Durandal inquires whether you intend to participate in the upcoming operation against the shinobi world."
Indeed—Pandia.
Selene was not in her true form, but a disguised incarnation.
Her true body was quite busy—handling piles of state affairs in the Imperial Capital: audiences, commendations, grand assemblies, and consolidating authority across the newly annexed colonial territories.
Not to mention her endless debates with the Emperor himself, the assignment of new Primarch positions, and the reorganization of the Imperial Guard, Ecclesiarchy, Mechanicum, and especially the thousand-plus Space Marine chapters—preparing them for Honkai augmentation and reinforcement.
This incarnation's identity wasn't lofty, but neither was it to be taken lightly.
A rising star from the Imperial Guard's inner corps—Major General Pandia von Lorraine of the Imperial Capital Gendarmerie.
Glancing briefly toward the still-floating, half-conscious trio of Ōtsutsuki, Selene waved her hand. Countless tendrils of imaginary energy coiled outward once more, dragging the dazed trio back into the depths of the Imaginary Sea. She had no more interest in them.
"Oh? So the data's ready. Has Commander Durandal decided to launch the final strike?"
Selene hadn't forgotten her official identity here.
An ascension auditor—and military overseer.
In other words, she was here to play the bad cop, to find fault, and to keep everyone on edge.
—
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