Yamanaka Shinno waved his hand, releasing the shrine maidens' souls he had separated while absorbing Moryō's energy earlier.
More than eighty shrine maidens, dressed in the ceremonial robes of various eras, floated silently in the air.
Having nearly merged completely with Moryō, none of them had ever imagined they would one day return to the Pure Land in human form.
Without exception, each maiden bowed respectfully to Shinno.
Tiny points of golden light rose from their bodies, drawn toward the Pure Land by its powerful pull.
Among them, one shrine maiden who bore a striking resemblance to Miroku appeared before her.
She raised a hand, gathering a small cluster of spiritual energy, and gently wiped the tears from Miroku's eyes.
"Miroku, don't be sad. Reincarnation is something to look forward to. Those who pass away are reborn into the world as new lives. It's the miracle of existence."
"Mother..."
Miroku tried her best to smile, but the tears in her eyes wouldn't stop no matter how hard she tried.
"Live well. Go see the colorful fireworks, the endless seas, and the beautiful landscapes you've never seen before. May your life be vibrant and full."
With a soft smile, Miroku's mother slowly rose into the sky.
The other shrine maidens also began to speak, sending their blessings to Miroku.
To witness the completion of the shrine maidens' mission was, for them, already the greatest fortune.
Miroku sobbed as she responded to each blessing, reluctantly watching the souls ascend and disappear.
With Moryō finally dealt with completely, Miroku, once she collected herself, started treating Shinno like a living god.
Unable to handle such fervent worship, Shinno quickly excused himself, citing urgent matters elsewhere.
As for the matter of the Land of Demons joining the Five Shinobi Army, that headache would be left to the Five Kage and the team led by Nara Shikaku.
Although the special talent training schools had just been established and it would be difficult to quickly reorganize institutions or replace personnel, the absence of a Daimyō in the Land of Demons gave it a unique advantage, making it an ideal site for field training future talents.
With Miroku still alive, pushing through reforms and new policies here would likely be much smoother compared to other lands.
...
Leaving the Land of Demons behind, Yamanaka Shinno retrieved the severed head of Ōtsutsuki Shibai.
Using the residual aura clinging to the head, he began searching the entirety of the shinobi world for Shibai's missing body.
It took him more than a day.
After traversing almost the entire ninja world through Yomotsu Hirasaka, he finally located Shibai's headless body deep underground beneath the "Great Pit" of Tonika Village.
Tonika Village, a sacred site in the hearts of many followers of ancient beliefs in the shinobi world, was legendary for housing the "Spear of Heaven," an artifact said to have been created by a primordial god—an object rumored to hold enough destructive power to annihilate an entire nation with a single strike, giving dominion over the world to whoever possessed it.
Only upon arriving did Shinno remember this particular detail.
In the original work, the underground spring in Tonika Village possessed the ability to wildly stimulate cell division and accelerate cellular evolution, although the resulting cells would have sharply reduced lifespans.
Still, for researchers like Orochimaru or Senju Tobirama, this spring was nothing short of a miraculous resource for advancing their experiments.
Before the Fourth Great Ninja War, Yakushi Kabuto had used this very spring to hasten his transformation into "Sage" Kabuto.
Even Naruto had first barely managed to enter the Nine-Tails Chakra Mode here.
After recovering Ōtsutsuki Shibai's body, Shinno also took the time to examine the so-called "Spear of Heaven."
At its core, it was nothing more than an energy conversion tower—its primary function was to stimulate and draw energy from Shibai's body through fixed energy vibration frequencies, then release it as powerful attacks.
It was somewhat similar to the future chakra cannons developed by Kumogakure, but even less sophisticated in terms of energy control—barely on par with the Sky Ninja's flying fortress.
Without the high-grade energy source that was Shibai's body, the tower was nothing more than useless scrap metal.
With a casual wave, Shinno destroyed it completely.
...
Without pausing, Shinno traveled again via Yomotsu Hirasaka, arriving at the space left behind by the Sage of Six Paths deep within the Pure Land.
Utilizing Six Paths Yin-Yang Arts, he unraveled the heavy seals layered across the depths of the Pure Land.
After a millennium of stagnation, the Pure Land slowly resumed its natural cycle.
The reincarnation energy—capable of washing away the marks of past lives and restoring souls to their purest form—began to spread once more through the land.
As for the powerful souls lingering around this Six Paths space—whether they were the legendary First and Second Hokage or famed warriors of the shinobi world—Shinno chose not to disturb them.
At this point, they no longer posed any challenge to him.
Besides, anyone capable of founding a village in the chaos of the Warring States Era was bound to be a fiercely proud and independent spirit. Subduing them would be far more trouble than it was worth.
Why bother?
...
"Hmm?"
Sweeping his senses over the surrounding area, Shinno's spiritual perception suddenly caught a familiar figure—someone carrying a short sword across their back.
With a wave of his hand, Shinno used spiritual energy to pull the figure into the Six Paths space.
It was the dazed soul of Hatake Sakumo.
Upon entering the Six Paths space, Sakumo gradually regained clarity.
Seeing Shinno, he sighed deeply and spoke with a wry smile.
"You must've been fifteen... no, maybe sixteen when I died. You've gotta be... what, twenty now? How did you die?"
"...I'm not dead," Shinno replied dryly, pressing his lips together in exasperation. "I just used a special method to visit the Pure Land temporarily."
He gathered a bit of Yin-Yang Chakra at his fingertips and flicked the recent developments straight into Sakumo's soul.
After a brief moment of stunned silence...
Sakumo scratched his head and laughed heartily.
"Hahaha! You've really become something incredible, huh?"
"Sakumo-san, would you like to be revived?"
"...Nah. Seeing how the shinobi world is doing now, I'm already satisfied. Actually, could you pass along a message to Kakashi for me?"
"Please, go ahead."
"Tell him... back when his mother left, I was devastated for a long time. So... tell him that when he's choosing a partner, it's best to pick someone good for bearing children—make sure her hips are wide enough—"
"Stop!"
Shinno immediately raised a hand to cut him off.
Seriously, how was he supposed to deliver that kind of message with a straight face?
Walk up to Kakashi and say, 'Hey, your old man says you should find someone with big hips'?
Not happening.
Sighing, Shinno closed his eyes and tapped into his [Multiversal Traveler] ability, scanning space for a few seconds.
Then, he opened a portal through Yomotsu Hirasaka.
Reaching through, he grabbed the utterly confused Kakashi by the back of his collar and hauled him into the Pure Land.
Wrapping Kakashi in a protective barrier of spiritual energy to shield him from the Pure Land's corrosive forces, Shinno then turned to the portal again—where Obito's head was already poking through anxiously.
With a casual flick, he dragged both Obito and Rin in as well.
Leaving the three of them to reunite, Shinno turned his attention back to the dense, lake-like Six Paths Chakra beneath his feet.
After a moment's thought, he infused all of it into the Pure Land itself.
Compared to the era when he had traveled to the past to seek out Uchiha Hikari, the shinobi world's average chakra levels had fallen dramatically.
These pure Six Paths energies would surely enhance the potential of the next generation.
Watching the trio catch up with each other, Shinno retrieved Ōtsutsuki Shibai's body from the Boundless Weapon Realm.
Placing a hand on the desiccated corpse, he activated [Star Devourer].
Pure, high-grade chakra, far more refined than what he had absorbed from Moryō, surged madly into his body.
Although his body had already expanded by a third after devouring Moryō, it once again began to grow with seemingly no upper limit, as the endless spiritual energy was absorbed and refined.
More than half an hour later...
[Ding~ Congratulations, Host. The green trait 'Star Devourer' has successfully upgraded to the blue trait 'Satellite Devourer.']
Satellite Devourer (Blue): Allows the user to devour any form of energy to increase their internal energy capacity. Absorbed energy is instantly converted into the user's current energy type. Greatly enhances absorption and conversion efficiency. After absorbing ten units of planetary energy, the trait will advance again.
Having upgraded from green to blue, Shinno immediately felt his energy reserves surge even further.
Continuing to absorb the remaining energy from Shibai's body, he slowly filled his newly expanded reservoir.
Now, his [Satellite Devourer] trait was just seven planetary units away from evolving again.
Looking at the shriveled, mummy-like corpse of Shibai, Shinno hesitated for a moment, then decided to store it away.
The long passage of time had already drained most of the body's value.
If he pushed it any further, it would probably crumble into dust—and Orochimaru hadn't yet finished squeezing whatever secrets remained from it.
No need to kill the goose for one last egg.
Besides, by now, Shinno had accumulated roughly 4.5 units of planetary energy.
According to the description of [Multiversal Traveler], and his previous experiments with the Dragon Vein, three units were enough for a full round-trip between worlds.
"...This trait is seriously broken."
Sensing the vast, ocean-like spiritual energy in his body—enough to use any Sage Art or secret technique without even making a dent—Shinno couldn't help but click his tongue in amazement.
His total spiritual power was now enough to completely overpower anyone who stood against him.
Truly, this trait lived up to being a reward earned only after dominating an entire world.
"Time to head back and start gathering the team!"
With a wide grin, Yamanaka Shinno turned his gaze back toward Hatake Sakumo...
----------------
Pls Drop some Power Stones
Fanfic is finished on Patreon (258 chapters in total.)
Patreon(.)com/Jixo (for only $4.50, read this entire fanfic)