"Ranzuki, go to the sage land to heal, and also reacclimate yourself to its natural energy."
As soon as they returned to the great hall, Satsuki, leaning in her signature slanted pose on the main seat, issued her first order.
Below, Ranzuki bowed her head in obedience. As she passed by the two Kaguya clansmen, she stole a subtle glance at them before quietly using her Tenseigan's gravitational control to depart the hall.
"As for you."
Ignoring Ranzuki's small gesture, Satsuki spoke slowly: "Since you followed me here, you should already be prepared."
Then she asked casually, "What's your name?"
"Lady, my name is Maei Kaguya. This is our clan leader, Suzuki Kaguya." Though the boy was tense, his words were clear—a feat in itself.
From her seat above, Satsuki said, "I can see that you intend to offer yourself as a bargaining chip to save your clan leader's life. But as a fighting force, your clan leader is worth a hundred times more than you. Even if I cannot use him directly, I could make him into a puppet without losing any of his combat strength."
Her golden gaze fixed on Maei. "So what do you have that compares with him?"
"I…"
It was the very question haunting him. His instinctive action earlier had indeed carried the thought of offering himself as exchange. But now, looking back, he realized he had no such qualification.
Against her power, neither he nor his leader had any choice but to be at her mercy.
"If you cannot answer, then I'll ask you a few questions as interest." Seeing him unable to produce a word, Satsuki wasted no more time. "Your clan leader's bloodline has developed to a level far beyond ordinary Kaguya. Aside from his natural talent, I want to know—does he have any other secrets?"
Maei fell into memory at her words. After searching himself, he pulled out two medicine vials.
"Though the clan leader and I are among the few survivors to awaken the Shikotsumyaku, our clan has always regarded this bloodline with fear and disgust. So I never spoke with anyone about it in depth."
He continued, "This vial was given to me by the clan leader during one of my bloodline sickness episodes. He said it suppresses the illness, giving us time to grow in strength. If we can become strong enough to fully master the Shikotsumyaku, then we will no longer suffer from the sickness."
Satsuki directed a servant puppet to take the vials from Maei and hand one to her.
Accepting it, she asked, "Do you know the recipe for this medicine?"
"…Yes."
After a moment's hesitation, Maei revealed the formula and method of preparation. He had realized this drug was designed specifically for the Shikotsumyaku, and with all its wielders now in Satsuki's hands, things could hardly get worse.
Listening to his explanation, Satsuki showed no outward reaction, only closing her eyes in thought.
Whether true or not, she had time and means to verify later. It did seem, however, that Suzuki had indeed mastered some method of controlling the bloodline sickness. Likely, his rise to such strength had relied on this secret medicine to survive the early torments of developing his bloodline.
But then… what caused his Shikotsumyaku to evolve toward the dreaded All-Killing Ash Bones?
Her golden eyes opened.
"Maei Kaguya, have you ever heard any rumors about your clan's Shikotsumyaku?"
"Lady, I only heard when I was very young that our bloodline supposedly came from a great being who committed a terrible sin—a curse passed down from them. Later, when I showed signs of awakening the bloodline, the clan imprisoned me. So I know nothing more."
It seemed he knew nothing of the All-Killing Ash Bones.
That meant the key to evolving the Shikotsumyaku into the All-Killing Ash Bones still lay with Suzuki Kaguya.
With that thought, Satsuki summoned two puppets with her will, ordering them to carry Suzuki Kaguya away on a stretcher for treatment—conveniently making him a subject to test the medicine's effect.
Then she rose slowly from the main seat and walked up to Maei Kaguya. Raising his chin with one hand, their eyes met. In that instant, Maei felt as though he were gazing into the brightest starlight in the world. Within those golden irises, a six-petaled flower seemed to turn endlessly.
In the next moment, he fell under the Tenseigan's hypnotic genjutsu.
Satsuki whispered in his ear: "Remember—it was Satsuki Ōtsutsuki who killed your beloved clan leader. You want revenge, but her strength is overwhelming. So you desperately seek out one called Isshiki Ōtsutsuki. With his help, once you awaken the All-Killing Ash Bones, you will come to kill Satsuki Ōtsutsuki with your own hands."
She repeated the words three times, then compelled Maei to echo them back.
Still entranced, Maei murmured: "It was Satsuki Ōtsutsuki who killed my clan leader. I want revenge, but she is too strong. I can only flee and seek the help of someone called Isshiki Ōtsutsuki. Once I awaken the All-Killing Ash Bones, I will kill her myself."
"Good."
Though it was her first attempt at using the Tenseigan to cast a hypnotic technique, and her execution was somewhat unpolished, the results were satisfactory.
As the supreme eye technique, the Tenseigan's hypnosis was not limited to altering memories. It could also implant conditions that would trigger later. Once met, the jutsu's effects would unfold, turning the target into Satsuki's puppet.
And this trap was laid for Isshiki Ōtsutsuki—the hidden one. Perhaps it would prove useless, but if it worked, it would be a killing move.
After branding Maei's body with a trace of her Tenseigan chakra, Satsuki opened a space-time passage and cast him inside.
Once finished, she returned to the main seat. In the empty hall, Candle Nine Yin's voice resounded:
"Master, your wisdom is truly unfathomable."
"Save your needless words," Satsuki replied. She released the Sage Mode she had maintained all this time; the horns at the sides of her head shrank and vanished into her hair.
"I have a question for you."
"My lady, what matter troubles you?"
Satsuki lifted her left hand. In her palm rotated a silver orb of senjutsu chakra.
"After taming natural energy, this is the senjutsu chakra formed by combining it with my Ōtsutsuki chakra."
Toying idly with the orb that could cause catastrophic destruction, she murmured, "Through it, I faintly sense the existence of a far greater consciousness."
Even Candle Nine Yin, watching, felt cold sweat run down his horns from the immense energy within that silver orb.
"I am sorry, my lady. In my training, I never encountered such a great existence."
"I see."
Though she did not receive the answer she sought, Satsuki was unconcerned. For her, reaching the next layer of power was only a matter of time.
She dispersed the orb of silver chakra with a wave, and finally allowed her eyes to close in true sleep.
Since her return from the Ryūmyaku, she had not rested, constantly arranging plans and strategies, training in senjutsu all the while. Even with a sage's body, she could feel exhaustion. The moment she relaxed, she fell asleep on the throne itself.
By the next day at noon, important news arrived from Shirakumaru's side.
"The Uchiha clan's greatest secret, the Sharingan, will soon become part of your collection, my lady."
No sooner had Satsuki awakened from her rest than she received news from Shirakumaru, along with detailed reports.
Her mind, though still weary, instantly sharpened. After Tajima Uchiha's disastrous decision, his position within the clan had become perilous. He alone still knew how to evolve the Mangekyō into the Eternal Mangekyō. To preserve control, he had chosen to make both his sons the next clan heads. Inevitably, this would spark unrest and rebellion. A coup was almost guaranteed.
"So you're saying Tajima has effectively left it to you to eliminate the disloyal Uchiha, and that their Sharingan will be the reward?"
"Yes, Lady Satsuki," Shirakumaru replied with his head lowered. "Though unspoken, his meaning was clear."
"Heh."
Satsuki chuckled coldly. "Tajima's plan is clever. He avoids dirtying his hands while making the Hagoromo clan the scapegoat."
Shirakumaru thought for a moment and said, "My lady, since he gave us a list, I doubt he'll turn against us."
"Not yet." Satsuki yawned. "After what he saw of my power in the Valley of Clouds and Lightning, unless he has absolute confidence, he won't dare turn."
"My lady, I cannot imagine they have any capital to oppose you."
Her expression returned to its usual coolness, though her good mood made her patient enough to explain her plan even to a puppet.
"You and I may think so, but he does not."
"Why?" Shirakumaru asked.
"Because I gave him a reason not to." She glanced at him with faint amusement. "If I recall, you were the one I sent to deliver that information."
"You mean when we told him his son was the reincarnation of Indra?" Shirakumaru realized.
Satsuki gave a small nod. "All beings are limited in perception. At his level, he cannot judge powers beyond his comprehension."
Thus, as Uchiha clan head, Tajima could only believe—in his own judgment, in the Eternal Mangekyō's supposed ability to withstand the divine power behind Shirakumaru, and in Indra's reincarnation being able to challenge or even destroy the mysterious being who had crushed the entire Uchiha clan with just a pair of eyes.
This was blind conviction, riddled with flaws, yet the only motivation driving him to keep scheming for the clan's future.
Satsuki stated coldly, "So he will inevitably turn on us. And that list? If he slips in a few names from his own faction, then when the time comes to confront him, it won't be convincing evidence. Or worse—by then his sons will already hold the clan, their positions secured by awakening the Mangekyō. If Tajima then betrays us and kills himself, with no proof left behind, the Hagoromo clan will instantly become the scapegoat."
"I no longer understand such emotional reasoning," Shirakumaru said in an icy tone. "Shall I simply kill Madara Uchiha and Izuna Uchiha now, to end their clan's will to resist?"
"There's no need. Just follow the agreement with Tajima."
"As you command."
With that, Satsuki severed the connection.
The Sharingan was indeed a treasure, with the potential to evolve into the Rinnegan, and worth collecting. But Satsuki had no intention of acting personally. Her current position was too advantageous. Few even knew she existed. The sages thought she had vanished into the Tenryū Heart Cave, and Isshiki Ōtsutsuki was unaware of her altogether.
Long ago, she had devised a stratagem—and that stratagem was the "Hagoromo clan."
Acquiring the Sharingan, sowing discord between the Senju and the Uchiha—such deeds would be carried out under that mask. And if the Hagoromo clan were ever exposed, it mattered little. It was only a disposable disguise Satsuki had created. Later, Shirakumaru could simply reemerge under another name.
The aftermath of Tajima Uchiha's scheme was meaningless, and those Sharingan would be lost forever in history. Even if Madara later sought to pursue the truth, he would never find any trace linking it to the so-called "Hagoromo clan."
And if he chose instead to turn his grudge upon the Ōtsutsuki name—that would be far more interesting.
Satsuki's revelation of the Ōtsutsuki surname had not pointed solely to herself, but also toward her enemy, Isshiki Ōtsutsuki. If the heavily wounded Isshiki were to clash with Madara, and she could reap the benefits as the fisherman between them—that would, of course, be ideal.
Naturally, she knew the likelihood was slim, nearly impossible.
Rising from the main seat, Satsuki went behind the hall where the mountain spring remained clear and secluded. She shed her robe and entered the water, letting its coolness wash over the smooth curves of her body. Her fair skin gleamed against the rippling surface, every line of her form flawless in proportion.
After bathing, she stepped out, droplets sliding down exquisite legs before she dried herself. She slipped into a short kimono of soft black silk, its loose folds outlining the curves of her chest and the length of her thighs, leaving her presence alluring yet restrained.
Once dressed, she activated a teleportation formula and departed, arriving at the Rōran stronghold.
In the time since her last visit, it had changed greatly.
Kiyomaru had built it up well. With inexhaustible energy supplies, the puppets provided endless labor. They required no rest, no food, and their efficiency and organization far outstripped ordinary people.
When Satsuki appeared at the very core of Rōran where the Ryūmyaku chakra erupted, even she paused briefly at the sight of its transformation.
Through her Tenseigan, she observed the entire city's layout and progress of construction. Towering spires rose everywhere, already numbering in the hundreds, connected by aerial walkways. Within the towers, elevator-like mechanisms allowed movement between levels. In every unfinished section, puppets labored tirelessly, like worker ants building the vast network.
Still, Kiyomaru had reported several conflicts between the puppets and the rogue ninja originally imprisoned here. It was inevitable: the samurai puppets were tasked with both preventing intrusions from outside and escapes from within. Against rogue shinobi who were starving and weak, however, the outcome was predictable.
Because of the desert environment, Kiyomaru had gathered sand to produce glass in abundance. As a result, much of Rōran's architecture gleamed with glass designs, forming a style utterly distinct from the Warring States shinobi world.
And with the near-infinite power of the Ryūmyaku as an energy source, Kiyomaru had, using stored records, rebuilt an energy network within Rōran itself. With the giant Tenseigan at its center, the system converted Ryūmyaku chakra into electricity, heat, and other usable forms, laying a solid foundation for life and experimentation.
"It's like creating an industrial nation in the middle of an agricultural world. It seems Hamura's records weren't as outdated as they appeared," Satsuki remarked.
Standing before the giant Tenseigan, she watched as the Ryūmyaku chakra still gushed endlessly from the cavern below. Over time, its condition had improved, though until the Six Paths treasured tools were restored, it remained a temporary fix.
Her purpose here was clear: after a period of cultivation and screening, the first batch of Hyūga clan cell embryos had matured. Today, she had come to examine their survival rate and record data to refine future experiments.