Roar, roar, roar, roar, roar, roar, roar, roar~
A terrifying roar like that of a beast from the abyss echoed through the cracks of the stone gate. The foul, blood-reeking wind carried with it the howling of purple demonic energy.
"Hiss~ Bhikkhuni, the offering~ is it ready?"
Though no physical form had yet appeared, a divine might radiated from behind the gate, filling the entire shrine's main hall.
The blasphemous words from behind the door were laced with impatience, as if the being speaking found this world unbearably unpleasant.
"My apologies, Lord Orochi. Our plan has encountered some difficulties. The information provided by the one who contacted you was incorrect, and now the operation has met with trouble."
"Hiss~ Trouble? No such thing exists in our eyes!"
Yao Bikuni lowered her head, her hair concealing most of her expression. "My lord, the divine power here has been completely suppressed. In its place has arisen a force called chakra. And just now, we have come into contact with what seems to be the strongest individual of this world."
"Hiss~"
From behind the gate, the evil god tentatively extended a dark purple, tentacle-like appendage. Yet the instant it touched the barrier surrounding the shrine, a substance resembling lightning materialized out of thin air and struck it fiercely.
"Hiss!!! Roar~"
A furious bellow shook the air as the shrine trembled violently. The shikigami surrounding Bikuni quivered like candles in a storm, trembling under the crushing pressure.
The god's rage lasted for a long time, yet under the world's suppressive force, it was nothing more than impotent fury.
"Hiss~ You are right. This world continuously strips away divine power. Without a proper vessel, I cannot exist here."
Bikuni bowed her head even lower. Though the god she served was irritable, he possessed eight heads—not an idiot by any means.
A sealed scroll flew out from behind the gate, landing before her.
"My lord, what is this?"
"I can sense it—there exists within this world a soul from Yomotsu Hirasaka. Only one who has died and been reborn can serve as my vessel. This will guide you to that person."
After saying this, the evil god behind the gate seemed to grow weary. The sound of scales scraping against one another came faintly from beyond.
"Withdraw for now. My wounds have yet to fully heal. When next you summon me, ensure the offerings are sufficient. When that time comes, I shall meet this so-called powerful being of this world myself, hiss~"
As the serpentine hiss faded, the foul stench and crushing divine presence retreated back behind the sealed gate.
Boom~
As the gate to the otherworld closed, all strange phenomena gradually vanished.
Bikuni slowly rose to her feet. "Hannya, Ootengu, Inugami, Aoandon—finding the vessel for the evil god will be your task."
Four ghostly flames appeared behind her, each transforming into distinct forms amidst the flickering fire.
The scroll floated up from the floor and landed in the hands of a winged youkai wearing a tengu mask.
"Yes, my lady." ×4
...
—That fleeting power just now—what was it?
Far away in the Lunar Capital, Satsuki's clone lifted her head, gazing lightly in a certain direction.
Just moments ago, she had sensed a force completely alien to this world.
A golden light flashed briefly through her Tenseigan before fading again.
At her right hand sat Ranzuki, listening to the reports from the Senju clan and taking stock of their compensation materials.
During the last operation against Madara Uchiha, the Senju clan had betrayed them at the crucial moment, with Hashirama's sudden defection causing all three clans' efforts to go to waste.
Thus, unless the Senju wished to incur the wrath of the Ōtsutsuki, they were obliged to make amends.
"Lord Ranzuki, due to time constraints, the Senju have done their utmost to gather the resources. For now, they can only offer five hundred thousand ryō and precious metals worth approximately one million ryō at market value."
The speaker was one of the Senju clan's elders, though Satsuki had no particular impression of him.
It appeared that Ranzuki had previously dealt with this elder, as their conversation carried the tone of old acquaintances—like that of an "old friend of the Ōtsutsuki clan."
"Elder Hayashi, this isn't our first negotiation. You truly needn't go through such trouble."
When dealing with outsiders, Ranzuki exuded confidence and authority. Many of her gestures unconsciously mirrored those of Satsuki herself.
"Actually, I have a proposal. Perhaps the Senju clan could take this opportunity to attempt an alliance with the Uchiha clan—to unify the entire shinobi world. Would that not be a desirable future?"
"This..."
If any ordinary shinobi had spoken such words before a Senju elder, they would have been unable to restrain themselves. Perhaps they would have responded with a mighty punch to the face.
However, since it was Ranzuki Ōtsutsuki who made the suggestion, he naturally did not have the right to act so recklessly.
Still, he had to state his position truthfully. "Lord Ranzuki, after so many years, the Senju and Uchiha clans have been carried forward by hatred. Unless one side completely destroys the other, any form of alliance is absolutely impossible."
"Indeed~ Hatred can be a most difficult emotion to cast off, for it is not only tied to the individual, but also to the collective scars and dignity of an entire clan."
Ranzuki nodded in understanding, though her tone remained firm. "Your stance is understandable. However, after the failure of this operation, I fear the Senju clan will soon face retaliation from the Uchiha. I wonder—has your clan prepared to handle that situation?"
(Note: At this time, Ranzuki was unaware that Satsuki had already erased the Uchiha clan's memories through Veil of Light and Shadow.)
She spoke with deliberate intent: "After all, the Hyūga clan is no ordinary shinobi family. I'm sure you've come to understand their value over these past few days. If your clan cannot even ensure their protection, then I will have to reconsider the terms of our cooperation."
"You may rest assured regarding the Hyūga clan. I have already relocated them to the stronghold of our ally—the Uzumaki clan. Their settlement lies behind the Senju territory, surrounded on all sides by water, easily defensible and difficult to attack. It is also protected by powerful sealing techniques—enough to guarantee the Hyūga clan's safety."
"In that case, I am relieved."
Ranzuki was satisfied with Elder Hayashi's arrangements. The Senju clearly understood the coming risk of Uchiha retaliation, and this at least proved that they were not entirely foolish.
However, since the conversation had touched upon the Uzumaki clan, Ranzuki's mind began to turn. In truth, she had already formed some plans regarding them.
"Perhaps, through the Uzumaki clan, I can secure certain advantages for Lady Satsuki."
During her earlier dealings with the Uzumaki, she had used a combination of goodwill gestures and displays of strength to obtain an important piece of information from them—
—specifically, about some of their sealing techniques and a project they were researching known as 'Human Tailed Beast Sealing'.
Using the human body to seal a tailed beast—it may sound unfamiliar at first, but when called by another name, it becomes quite clear.
—Jinchūriki.
This term, in fact, runs through the entirety of the Naruto series.
In the original work, the protagonist Naruto Uzumaki constantly relied on his status as a Jinchūriki to unlock new powers and overcome his enemies.
Of course, during the process, he did study under one of the legendary Sannin, Jiraiya, and learned a few techniques.
However, among everything he learned, only one technique truly held transformative value—Sage Mode.
As for techniques like the Rasengan, they could only be considered powerful jutsu, but compared to abilities that could literally defy fate, they were nothing remarkable.
If we were to strip away Sage Mode and the power of the Jinchūriki, Naruto would be little more than an ordinary jonin-level shinobi.
His only inherent advantage lay in his massive chakra reserves—but such an advantage was hardly rare in the shinobi world.
In the end, what truly allowed him to fight against Madara Uchiha, the Sage of Six Paths, and even Kaguya Ōtsutsuki were a series of external powers—cheats, if you will.
But that is to be expected. In a world where such powers exist, the only way to defeat an external force is to use another external force. It's the sole means of breaking balance in an unfair environment.
However, the power of a Jinchūriki differs greatly from that of Sage Mode or other special kekkei genkai abilities—such as the Sharingan or Byakugan.
Due to the later collapse of power scaling, the increasing number of Jinchūriki diluted their significance. In Shippuden, they were often depicted cowering under the shadow of Akatsuki.
In most cases, just one or two Akatsuki members were sufficient to defeat an entire Jinchūriki.
Thus, while Jinchūriki were indeed considered "cheats," their rank among them was rather low.
If we were to classify the various "external power systems" in the Naruto universe, Jinchūriki would likely fall into the lower tier.
To maintain the protagonist's uniqueness, new power-ups were introduced one after another—Nine-Tails Mode, Fox Sage Mode, and so on.
And eventually, all pretense was dropped.
He revealed himself as the reincarnation of Asura's chakra—a being linked to the Ōtsutsuki bloodline, the "child of destiny" able to transcend mortal limits.
Then came the Six Paths Sage Mode.
What began as a passionate story of effort and determination devolved into a hierarchical world ruled by bloodline and divine lineage—a reflection, perhaps, of a certain nation's cultural tendency.
Yet, if we examine the matter from a real-world perspective, the emergence and refinement of the Jinchūriki technique represents a monumental, era-defining breakthrough.
Excluding the unique case of the Sage of Six Paths and the Ten-Tails, the invention of this technique fundamentally solved the problem of chakra supply. Even more impressively, this energy could be shared and transferred.
This meant that ordinary people could, in theory, use chakra in daily life.
Just as normal people cannot generate electricity, but can still use it once connected to a power grid, this system effectively resolved both the source and distribution of energy. Its large-scale implementation would simply be a matter of time.
If someone truly grasped the implications of this concept, the entire shinobi world could witness an unprecedented leap in productivity and technological advancement.
After all, other energy sources require extraction and conversion, whereas a tailed beast's chakra is virtually limitless.
To Satsuki, this was akin to the Industrial Revolution in its significance.
The second technique of comparable importance was Edo Tensei (Impure World Reincarnation), whose world-shaking potential had already been discussed earlier.
The third, meanwhile, was the birth of artificial sages—a creation achieved by Orochimaru in his later years.
This marked the point where natural energy, after years of research, had finally become a force that could be systematically harnessed.
Although Orochimaru succeeded in creating Mitsuki, the prototype remained immature.
Still, once a breakthrough from zero to one had been achieved, progressing from one to two would pose no great challenge to a mind like Orochimaru's—after all, this was the man who had once built both Mecha Naruto and Mecha Kurama.
If the Ōtsutsuki clan were to unveil another ultimate weapon in the future, once again raising the power ceiling of the shinobi world, then perhaps even Sage Mode would suffer the same fate as Jinchūriki.
Artificial sages could soon appear on a large scale, with even minor characters exceeding the power of past Kage—only to be instantly crushed by the Ōtsutsuki.
By then, looking back on the early days of Naruto, one might well question whether all the so-called "training" and "growth" of shinobi had ever held any real meaning.
...
Memories from a past life flashed through Satsuki's clone's mind.
The term Jinchūriki stirred within her countless recollections tied to that concept—memories that, once awakened, were difficult to suppress.
Naturally, Ranzuki's intelligence could not escape her awareness. Information concerning the Uzumaki clan had long been marked by Satsuki as a subject requiring special observation.
After all, they were one of the few shinobi clans in the world whose bloodline shared a connection with the Ōtsutsuki. For that reason alone, close monitoring was only natural.
Moreover, in Satsuki's view, the technology of Jinchūriki was one worth obtaining.
At present, she already possessed Nine-Tails chakra. Once she acquired the Uzumaki's method for creating human-tailed-beast vessels, she would be able to mass-produce Nine-Tails Jinchūriki almost immediately.
Combined with the completion of the Sage Land's reconstruction, and given several years of foundational training for the Hyūga clan, they would soon be able to reach a level comparable to Naruto's Fox Sage Mode.
By that time, their low-tier forces would consist of puppets, their mid- and high-tier combat units would be Hyūga shinobi in Fox Sage Mode, and their top-tier power would rest with the few elite leaders.
With such strength, they would be able to face the Ōtsutsuki main family's invasion. It might not be guaranteed victory, but it would certainly provide a fighting chance.
And if all of this came to fruition, the credit would belong entirely to Ranzuki's previous mission report.
After all, Satsuki had neither the time nor the need to constantly monitor the shinobi world herself.
Though Ranzuki lacked Satsuki's century-spanning foresight, she had already shown the sharpness befitting a capable commander.
With that in mind, Satsuki issued her next order.
"Send a delegation to establish contact with the Uzumaki clan. Inform them that the Ōtsutsuki will fully support their development of the Jinchūriki technology. Whatever they require—be it resources or technical assistance—we will provide it."
"This…"
Ranzuki, having just finished her meeting with Elder Hayashi of the Senju, was momentarily taken aback upon hearing the directive.
However, she did not question Satsuki's decision. Instead, she simply asked, "Is there an upper limit?"
"Within reason, there is no limit," Satsuki replied calmly. "However, to ensure that their demands remain within reasonable bounds, we must place our own personnel within the entire research process. Do you understand?"
Ranzuki nodded. "Understood, my lady."
"Good. Then I'll leave this matter to you."
Satsuki's clone waved her hand lightly, unintentionally assigning Ranzuki yet another task—seemingly unaware that she had already burdened her with dealing with the otherworldly army.
Perhaps, to Satsuki, such matters were hardly worth concern—merely a bit of recreational entertainment involving a handful of puppets.
However, regarding the Uzumaki clan, a new issue now stood before Ranzuki: how to quickly establish relations with them.