Lucky draw time!
"Still, the enemy who attacked me today is somewhat concerning. He didn't seem to be in his prime condition. He wasn't even in the Otsutsuki form but appeared more human than Otsutsuki!" After contemplating the matter of the Ten-Tails' "Ten-Second Human Transformation" incident, Seiki finally started reflecting on the enemy he encountered today.
Though his memory of the three Otsutsuki wasn't abundant, he did know they typically had pale skin, horns on their heads, and only a few black markings on their bodies.
Yet, the attacker today, aside from the horns on his head, otherwise resembled a human afflicted with a cursed seal.
"Could he be in a near-death state, like Orochimaru was in the original timeline? Is he relying on a human body to survive...? If that's the case, maybe today's attack was meant to take over my body."
Remembering how Orochimaru groomed Kimimaro as a vessel in the original storyline, Seiki's pupils constricted. "If that's true, Kara's secret collection of gifted children might be preparing suitable vessels for him!"
Though there was no concrete evidence linking this man to the leader of Kara, the clues were enough for Seiki to make a connection.
Kara had an otherworldly realm to support its strength and was likely backed by the Otsutsuki. Considering the pride of those Otsutsuki, the fact that someone had forced them to operate covertly suggested the leader's condition couldn't be very good, aligning perfectly with today's enemy.
Furthermore, his human form correlated with Kara's objective of gathering talented children.
Realizing this, Seiki inwardly felt relieved.
Good thing he attacked today. Otherwise, if he had really sent Kimimaro and Haku into Kara, he might have ended up helping the enemy instead.
"The plan stays the same, but I need to up my game!" Seiki mused silently. "I should plant contingencies inside Kimimaro and Haku's bodies. Ideally, they could rebel against the Otsutsuki like Sasuke turned on Orochimaru in the original story! Let them replace the Otsutsuki and become my most capable assistants!"
Although Sasuke's rebellion against Orochimaru wasn't perfect—and Orochimaru might have intentionally allowed it—Seiki could do like Itachi: push them at the crucial moment.
Risk-wise, it's nothing compared to what he stood to gain!
"Still, to set up contingencies within Kimimaro and Haku's bodies, I must first thoroughly study the Star Meteorite. If my guess is correct, his method of body stealing must be that energy left within the Hoshigakure Ninja after practicing Star Chakra cultivation. Perfect, I can utilize this upcoming period of hiding to study the Star Meteorite!"
Thinking about laying low, Seiki slightly shook his head. The loss of Dragon Pulse Chakra could be replenished relatively easily—just by recharging at the Dragon Veins.
But the Ten-Tails core needed time to recover gradually. Although, in reality, this was already quite fortunate.
If it were an ordinary tailed beast, even with the Dragon Veins' Chakra as a buffer, such injuries would have been enough to cause complete collapse.
Regular tailed beasts would require several years to be reborn after death, but the Ten-Tails core could recover entirely in just a few months at most.
"Other than that, I hope the Ten-Tails' aura I 'accidentally' leaked at the end makes him think of Hagoromo. Let him believe I'm actually Hagoromo's hidden agent!" Seiki sighed slightly.
He didn't want to go this far, but getting targeted by such a dangerous bastard was seriously getting on his nerves. Might as well let Hagoromo deal with this headache!
...
Inside the extradimensional space.
The subordinates waited idly for their leader's return.
"Sigh, why hasn't the leader come back yet? It's already been three days!"
"Did he get lost or something?"
Of course, they didn't genuinely believe their leader was in danger. With his strength, perhaps there were those in this world who could interfere with his plans, but absolutely no one could threaten his safety!
Just as they were discussing, the spatial portal opened.
"L-Le-Leader!" One person shouted joyfully as he rushed forward, only to scream in horror at the sight before him.
A head barely recognizable through bloodstains and swollen more than twice its normal size flew through the portal.
They weren't frightened by this "gruesome" scene, but rather by the implications behind it.
Their leader had set out shouting "Even a lion gives it all when hunting a rabbit," attempting to ambush a human, yet he returned having been beaten down to just his head.
Is their leader really a god? Is this really the performance of a deity?
For a moment, many irreverent thoughts passed through their minds.
Jigen, who'd barely escaped back, ignored their reactions as he thought it through calmly, finally reaching a bitter conclusion: "I've been outsmarted by that brat Hagoromo!"
Hearing Jigen's words, the others felt somewhat surprised.
They exchanged uneasy glances. One of them finally asked carefully, "Wait... he's just a regular human, right?"
"Jigen sneered. "Would a human be able to withstand my full-powered attack and then demonstrate strength surpassing mine in such a short time?"
"When I first escaped back, I thought he might be a contingency left behind by Hagoromo. But upon further reflection, something seems off. The Strength humans can wield is inherently limited. Plus, although that brat Hagoromo is slightly stronger than me, there's no way he could bestow power that would enable a mere human to exceed my level! Furthermore, I vaguely sensed the aura of the Ten-Tails on him!"
"Putting this all together, the only possible explanation is... that this human named Seiki Shimaseki must be the Rebirth of Hagoromo!"
Upon hearing this, everyone sucked in a sharp breath.
"No wonder! I was thinking to myself how a mere ordinary human could possess such extraordinary talent!"
"Exactly! Someone with no noble lineage rising faster than everyone else? That just doesn't add up!"
"If he's the Rebirth of the Sage of Six Paths, then mastering all Ninjutsu makes perfect sense!"
"If he's indeed reincarnated, wouldn't that mean the Underworld is now unguarded? Maybe we could..."
Jigen frowned. "Hagoromo wouldn't leave such a huge oversight. Also, I can vaguely sense his will still exists... Therefore, I suspect he's split his power and soul!"
"One part of his soul has undergone Rebirth, while his Strength remains as a Puppet to monitor the world!"
"Thinking about this, Jigen sighed, 'Unfortunately, if I had realized this earlier, I would have wiped him out from the start. Now he has grown too powerful, even daring to use himself as bait to lure me out!'
'Lord Jigen, what should we do next?'
Jigen's eyes darkened. 'My body originally could have lasted another thirty years, but after being outsmarted by him, it's been cut down to merely fifteen. Plus, I'll need a tremendous amount of time just to repair my body!'
Taking a deep breath, Jigen continued, 'Keep lying low. Find me a suitable vessel. Also, ramp up production of Ninja-Ware. Prepare for an all-out war!'
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