After finishing her arrangements, Satsuki had no time to rest—there was still another matter that required her attention.
It concerned the Sage Land she had seized.
Ever since mastering the Tenseigan, Satsuki had contemplated integrating the Sage Lands into her own power system.
It was undeniable that the world of shinobi—judging by both manga and anime—was a realm that revered individual might above all else.
Passion, friendship, perseverance, and bonds had been the central themes in the early and middle stages, but ever since Nagato's Rinnegan appeared, bloodline and inherited power had taken over as the dominant narrative.
However, Satsuki, who had grown up under a vastly different worldview, saw things differently.
What was the greatest power in this world?
She believed it was wisdom.
Wisdom led to comprehension—an understanding of external rules and order—and with sufficient knowledge, that understanding could reshape the environment itself.
Thus, the Sage Land, a place of infinite potential, naturally became one of Satsuki's primary focuses.
When she left the Tenshukaku and traversed space-time to arrive at the Sage Land, the scene before her was nearly unrecognizable.
The environment had completely changed from before. Once, it had been a natural paradise, like something out of legend.
In the past, the natural energy here had been a golden hue—similar to that found in the Tenryū Heart Cave. Even without absorption, it would actively flow into one's body.
By simply arranging a proper natural energy absorption array, she could induce multiple experimental subjects to enter the Sage Mode state.
But now, that energy had become dull and stagnant—its activity gone, its total quantity greatly diminished.
Throughout the Sage Land, one could see numerous stone statues—former experimental subjects who had failed in their attempts to master Sage Chakra. Their number reached well into the thousands.
For the past five years, this Sage Land had played a crucial role in Satsuki's puppet-soldier training system. It was one of the key facilities where her human puppets grew into powerful combatants.
"Yet, it seems my use of the Sage Land was still far from refined," Satsuki mused.
Were it not for her Tenseigan's ability to perceive the rich natural energy still buried deep underground, she might have thought the Sage Land she once knew had ceased to exist.
At that moment, her system materialized beside her in the form of a glowing orb. "Host, if any other sage saw how you've abused this Sage Land, they'd probably be furious enough to explode."
"With the Three Divine Kings' Sacred Wheel, purifying this natural energy is simple," Satsuki said calmly. "But before that, I must conduct a few experiments."
As she spoke, Satsuki began to release the Dead Line Boundaries stored within the rubies embedded in her earrings.
These Dead Line Boundaries were the result of fusing her Sage Chakra with the power of Vipralopa within the Fate world.
However, to re-enter Sage Mode now meant she would have to deconstruct a portion of that energy once again.
For most, such a reversal process would be highly dangerous—but for Satsuki, it posed no real threat.
The black Dead Lines turned into purple Vipralopa energy and silvery Ōtsutsuki Sage Chakra.
She then infused this Ōtsutsuki Sage Chakra into her body.
At once, an overwhelming power surged from within. Silver radiance erupted outward, carrying with it a fierce gust that shook the entire Sage Land.
Yet, under Satsuki's perfect control, the tremors soon subsided—no harm done.
Satsuki had entered her long-forgotten Sage Mode.
Visually, however, she appeared almost unchanged—even the pair of dragon horns she once bore were now gone.
Closing her eyes, she silently felt the flow of energy within her and quickly reached an evaluation of this state.
Her Sage Mode, as it stood now, enhanced all her fundamental abilities—a comprehensive amplification more akin in function to the [Aspect of the Demon Buddha].
By contrast, the Judgment of the Ten Kings: Aragami Form was more specialized toward manipulating the Tenseigan's energy, and under that state, she could also perform techniques such as Earthly Wheel Reincarnation Annihilation.
Because natural energy carried distinct personal traits, it required time to harmonize across different worlds before becoming truly usable.
Thus, in the Fate world, this ability had seen little to no opportunity for application.
Later, by combining Ōtsutsuki Sage Chakra with the power of Vipralopa, Satsuki developed the ability known as the Dead Line Boundary, and from there she went on to create the ultimate weapon—the Mahākāla's World-Annihilating Holy Wheel.
At least that ensured this segment of power would not remain a mere background force.
Yet for Satsuki, the enhancement granted by Sage Mode was no longer essential.
She had long surpassed the so-called "sage" stage, ascending instead to the higher existence of the Demon Buddha.
However, that did not mean Sage Mode had lost all value.
Compared to the Aragami Form and [Aspect of the Demon Buddha], the greatest advantage of Sage Mode lay in its scalability—it was a power that could be replicated and mass-produced.
Satsuki gently flicked the divine wheel in her hand. The Brahma Creation Wheel, imbued with Energy Control, began to emit a vast divine brilliance, merging with the creative force of the Tenseigan to restore the Sage Land to its original state.
For Satsuki, this was hardly a difficult task.
After all, she possessed the original imprint of this Sage Land, and with both creation power and divine authority, even a replica of the Tenryū Heart Cave could be repaired without much trouble.
With her motion, the entire Sage Land began to regenerate at a speed visible to the naked eye. The golden natural energy once again filled the surrounding air.
"That should do it..."
Feeling the spontaneous flow of natural energy returning to her, Satsuki gradually ceased her restoration.
In about half a day, the once withered land had regained its former glory.
"Host, your mastery over power far exceeds most I've encountered," the system remarked with admiration. "Many can only use strength for destruction or killing—few ever channel it into creation and restoration."
"That's to be expected," Satsuki replied calmly. "Creation is far harder than destruction—whether in terms of mindset or the actual application of power."
"So, what do you plan to do with this Sage Land?" the system asked. "If Candle Nine Yin were awake, they'd be the perfect candidate to manage it. But since they're still dormant, you'll need someone else."
"That's not difficult to arrange. After analyzing the Sage Land just now, I've thought of a solution that serves two purposes at once."
Closing her eyes, Satsuki sent a transmission through her colossal Tenseigan, reaching out to a specific individual.
Moments later, a spatial rift opened beside her, and a figure emerged from within.
Upon seeing Satsuki, the newcomer immediately dropped to one knee in salute.
"—Tenjin Hyūga, at your service, Lady Satsuki."
Tenjin Hyūga.
A name shrouded in legend—used by later generations to describe the most gifted and talented member of the Hyūga clan.
Unfortunately, in those later generations, the bearer of the title was none other than the rather unremarkable Neji Hyūga.
But since the Hyūga clan originated from Satsuki's own hand, she had long envisioned how to swiftly elevate them into a clan of considerable might.
After all, if the Byakugan she had painstakingly cultivated were to be reduced, as in later eras, to nothing more than a tool for perception, that would truly be a waste.
"Tenjin Hyūga, though this is our first meeting, I assume you are not unfamiliar with me."
"Yes, my lady. You are the creator of our clan—the strongest being in existence. The one who holds the eyes of creation and destruction, destined to reign and rule over this world—the Moon Goddess, Lady Satsuki Ōtsutsuki."
"Good grief, stacking titles again?" the system muttered dryly beside Satsuki.
Yet despite the grandiose and embarrassingly chūnibyō tone of the titles, Satsuki received them with complete composure, showing no reaction whatsoever.
She didn't bother correcting him. Instead, she went straight to the point. "How much do you know about the Sage Land and natural energy?"
The boy, whose appearance strongly resembled that of Neji from later generations, stood respectfully. "Lady Satsuki, during my jōnin-level training, I studied some information on the Sage Lands and natural energy. I also had the honor of accompanying Lord Ranzuki here once to conduct experimental training in absorbing natural energy."
"Oh? And what were your impressions?"
"That…" Tenjin hesitated.
Satsuki frowned slightly. "Speak freely."
With her permission, Tenjin spoke without reservation. "Although I did not absorb much natural energy during that session, I felt that maintaining balance among the three forces within my body and extracting Sage Chakra from them wasn't particularly difficult. However…"
"However what?"
"However, due to our clan's naturally fragile chakra pathways, even after fusing physical and spiritual energies, the total amount of chakra we can use is limited. As a result, the overall Sage Chakra formed in balance with natural energy is low—too low to have practical combat value."
Low Sage Chakra output, huh?
Satsuki pondered.
Indeed, this was one of the very issues she had anticipated back when she first engineered the Hyūga clan's cells.
It wasn't hard to predict—weak chakra pathways inevitably led to low chakra reserves, and insufficient chakra meant less natural energy could be harmonized.
In Sage Arts, maintaining balance among the three energies was crucial, but the quantity of Sage Chakra that could be refined in a short period was equally important.
The former could be improved through specialized training—and with the Byakugan's precise chakra perception, the Hyūga had an innate advantage there.
The latter, however, was a compromise Satsuki had made to improve the success rate of her original genetic cultivation process.
This inherent flaw had never been fully resolved.
Only a few days ago had Satsuki proposed that members of the Hyūga clan train in the Eight Gates Technique and her newly refined Gentle Fist forms to strengthen their chakra pathways through physical reinforcement.
But that was not a long-term solution. True progress required addressing the defect at its root.
During her recent reconfiguration of the Sage Land, the Three Divine Kings' Sacred Wheel had recorded detailed data on the properties of natural energy.
With that data, Satsuki now planned to remodel the entire flow of the Sage Land's energy.
Since Sage Chakra itself could drastically enhance the human body, modifying it to specifically strengthen chakra pathways was not beyond possibility.
However, this undertaking would require a suitable test subject.
And Tenjin Hyūga's chakra control made him the perfect candidate to work alongside her.
This was Satsuki's true intent—and she had made it clear during their earlier telepathic contact.
Tenjin had not even asked about the potential risks before accepting the offer. For one so young, he already possessed the resolve and composure befitting a future Hyūga patriarch.
Though, in truth, this experiment carried almost no danger at all…
After all, Satsuki's level of mastery was simply too high. Whether it was in the art of delicate precision or instantaneous power output, she had already reached a realm that no one before or after could hope to match.
To her, natural energy was no longer something mysterious—it was a force she had long since learned to manipulate, refined through countless experiences over the years.
The true difficulty lay not in controlling natural energy, but in determining how to alter it so that it would effectively strengthen the chakra pathways.
Even Satsuki possessed only partial knowledge on this matter; she would need time and experimentation to find the correct formula.
...
Meanwhile, as Satsuki and Tenjin Hyūga delved deeper into their research on Sage Energy—
Within the Land of Demons, Yao Bikuni was performing a sacred purification ritual beneath a great waterfall. This was an essential step before presenting herself before her deity.
Even though she had attained the rank of Grand Onmyōji, when standing before the god she worshipped, she still observed every complex rite and reverent gesture without omission.
Only a select few—those who were exceptionally blessed and favored by divine grace—were ever permitted to commune with the gods or borrow divine power without such procedures.
And it was precisely one of these chosen, god-favored individuals who now stood as Yao Bikuni's greatest enemy.
Though his actions were, in her eyes, unforgivably heretical and steeped in sin, the gaze of the gods lingered always upon that graceful and radiant figure.
He was the one bathed in divine favor—the so-called child of the gods walking upon the earth.
It was because of this unbearable reality that Yao Bikuni had ultimately resolved to devote herself to a god who had been cast down—a banished deity, reviled and shunned.
After completing her ritual cleansing, she donned the traditional attire of a shrine maiden.
A white robe layered with an undergarment and scarlet hakama; her feet clad in white tabi and tied with red corded sandals. Her hair was bound with strips of white sandalwood paper, and in her hands she carried a set of kagura bells and a divine sword.
Step by solemn step, she passed through the worship hall and entered the inner sanctum of the shrine.
At the center of the main chamber stood a great stone gate, encircled by a shimmering ring of light.
As one of the greatest Onmyōji alive, Yao Bikuni's standing in the eyes of the gods was far from low. Among her generation, only the orthodox Saio Priestess and the rebellious Asakura Hao could compare to her.
Although she could not commune with the gods as freely as Asakura Hao could, she no longer required the lengthy and exhaustive rituals that ordinary priests did.
Yet, driven by resentment over how the gods favored Asakura Hao, she had turned instead to serve a fallen being—a god cast into shadow.
Raising her divine sword and kneeling before the luminous gate, her voice rang clear and solemn through the chamber.
"Great Lord Yamata no Orochi, your devoted servant humbly entreats your descent and guidance."