Meanwhile, as Shirakumaru clashed with his sudden assailants, within the Lunar Capital, Satsuki's clone was observing the battle through the Giant Tenseigan, keeping part of her focus on him.
This man—one of the few with the potential to awaken the Rinnegan—was a crucial component in her grand design.
After all, reviving Kaguya required the existence of the Ten-Tails.
And the Ten-Tails' outer shell, the Gedo Statue, could only be summoned through the Rinnegan's summoning technique.
While watching the battle unfold, Satsuki noted how easily Shirakumaru handled himself. Seeing that, she chose not to intervene.
As for the identities of his opponents, she already knew well.
"The subordinates of that foreign Great Onmyōji, hmm? Their control technique is quite similar to my earlier methods."
In principle, their technique resembled her own remote manipulation system that operated through wireless transmission.
However, due to the different laws of their respective worlds, the distinction lay mainly in the medium of signal transmission, the degree of energy loss, and how they balanced wavelength and frequency.
"Still, it seems this so-called 'Sage Mode' ability really is ubiquitous. No matter the world, there's always some kind of power-up transformation."
It could almost be called a universal tradition.
But what truly piqued Satsuki's curiosity was the reason they were after Shirakumaru.
"They seem to be searching for someone… perhaps it's connected to that strange force I sensed that day."
She instinctively linked the two incidents in her mind.
...
Facing the four enemies who had now undergone drastic transformations, their power several times greater than before, Shirakumaru still maintained his calm focus and sharp gaze.
"So this is your trump card? You think such a crude imitation of Sage Mode can defeat me?"
As he spoke, his eyes flared open—
Shiiing~
The tomoe within his Sharingan spun rapidly, shifting into a far more intricate pattern.
—The Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan.
The instant the shikigami met his gaze, chills ran down their spines. For the first time, all four showed visible fear.
"That power in his eyes… why does it feel so similar to our master's Spirit Sight?!"
Spirit Sight—an ability detested and feared by most, for it could peer into the very hearts of others.
And the Sharingan, too, bore another name: The Mirror of the Heart.
Different souls, different emotions—each shaped the eye's power in a unique way.
If Spirit Sight was the power to perceive the hearts of others, then the Sharingan was the power to manifest one's own.
The difference between them was simply the direction in which the mirror faced.
"Retreat! Report this to the master immediately!"
Upon seeing those eyes, the four shikigami—even in their empowered Sage-like forms—chose to flee without hesitation.
A wise decision indeed.
For the scene that followed shattered all logic.
"Come and go as you please? Do you think it's that easy?"
Without another word, Shirakumaru unleashed the Eternal Mangekyō's ultimate power—Susanoo.
In an instant, colossal golden chakra erupted around him, taking shape as an enormous spectral skeleton. Muscles, sinew, and skin rapidly formed, layer upon layer.
Before long, a towering golden giant clad in lightning armor stood upon the earth, wings like vast cloaks unfurled from its back. A divine crown rested upon its head, while massive bone spines jutted from its shoulders and back—not symbols of holiness, but of a wrathful deity.
In its left hand it held a cannon-like weapon, and in its right, a great crimson-curved blade.
These were the Uchiha clan's sacred relics—Sword of Totsuka and Takemikazuchi Cannon.
The golden colossus stood over three hundred meters tall, gazing down like a god of destruction upon mere insects below.
Even Satsuki, observing through the Giant Tenseigan, raised an eyebrow in mild surprise.
"Already capable of a complete-body Susanoo? In just a few days… Shirakumaru's progress truly exceeds my expectations."
It seemed her subordinates were proving rather diligent indeed.
However, not everyone could remain composed in the face of such overwhelming might—especially not those standing against it.
Even the mere pressure from the golden giant's casual movements was enough to crush the shikigami beneath it. From the moment the colossus's gaze fell upon them, the four shikigami could no longer find a single breath of calm.
Death! We're going to die! All of us will die!
That overwhelming premonition of death—coupled with the crushing weight of the giant's divine aura—instantly extinguished the confidence they had shown moments ago.
They weren't fools. This was no opponent they could possibly contend with.
That form, that power—forget themselves, even if Lord Orochi appeared here, he might not stand a chance against such a being.
Just what kind of world was this, where one could casually encounter an existence of this magnitude?!
"Ask yourselves, insects—"
The booming voice of the golden titan resounded across the battlefield, echoing not just through the air but directly within the minds of the shikigami.
Then, the giant slowly leveled its colossal cannon toward them.
The four shikigami, faces twisted in terror, unleashed every last bit of their strength in a desperate attempt to evade its aim.
But a divine weapon is called such for a reason—its power defies all comprehension.
No matter how they fled—soaring to the sky, diving underground, circling around, or zigzagging frantically—the sensation of being locked on never faded.
Though the giant held only one cannon, each of them felt as if the weapon's deadly intent was aimed squarely at their hearts.
"Tell me—are you feeling lucky today?!"
BOOOOOOM—!
A thunderous roar exploded from behind them, and in that instant, the very heavens and earth seemed to split apart under the immeasurable surge of destructive energy.
The shockwave swept through the battlefield, its raw power obliterating everything it touched. The four shikigami were annihilated instantly—their bodies torn to shreds by the godlike blast.
Indeed, there was but one Takemikazuchi Cannon, yet its targeting precision and power far exceeded the limits of this era.
It was a weapon whose existence belonged not to the realm of mortals—but to the myths of gods.
...
Snap~ ×4
Meanwhile, in the distant Land of Demons, Yao Bikuni's expression darkened as she stared at the four extinguished soul flames before her.
"To think all four—unleashing their full strength—were obliterated in an instant… To face such an opponent, I fear this is no target I can afford to covet."
The final signals returned by her shikigami were faint and fragmented—no clear data on the enemy's identity, number, or strength.
All the information she could glean from their dying flames was a single, overpowering emotion—
Terror.
"It ended faster than I expected. Were those opponents really that weak?"
A battle that could hardly be called fierce, yet certainly qualified as one-sided, had ended just like that.
Though Satsuki knew the Eternal Mangekyō combined with the Uchiha sacred weapons could grant Shirakumaru a qualitative leap in power, the degree of devastation still exceeded her expectations.
"Still… their objective is rather intriguing," her clone mused softly. "Searching for someone who has returned from Yomi—what purpose could that serve?"
As she pondered, the space beside her twisted. From it, Satsuki's true body slowly emerged.
After several days of adjusting the Sage Land's energy flow, she had refined her own silver Ōtsutsuki Sage Chakra, making significant improvements.
Reconstructing the Dead Line Boundary based on this new foundation had taken quite some time, but the results were well worth it.
The barrier's defensive power had reached a new height, and consequently, the Black Domain Buddhakṣetra, which relied on it as its base, had become far more stable and easier to control. Both its effective range and power had increased dramatically.
Yet, these abilities had already reached a near-divine level. Without a suitable test subject, it was difficult to measure precisely how much stronger they had become.
Then again, for Satsuki, power was no longer the point.
Having reached her current level, becoming stronger was merely incidental.
"Anything noteworthy these past few days?"
—"Rather than me saying it, you should see for yourself."
Her clone spoke curtly, showing none of the gentleness she often displayed toward Ranzuki or the others. As she spoke, she transferred all recent events to Satsuki's true body through the Giant Tenseigan.
Once the data transfer was complete, the clone asked, "When do you plan to leave?"
"That depends on my mood."
Satsuki's real self replied calmly, walking slowly out of the Tenshukaku.
"So, you're really going to act like a hands-off ruler, huh?"
Muttering this complaint, the clone once again closed her eyes and resumed her meditative posture upon the throne.
Her hostility toward the main body was understandable.
Though granted immense power, she was also bound by many restrictions. Her existence, rather than that of a true independent clone, was more akin to a security mechanism—an emergency safeguard Satsuki had left within the Lunar Capital.
If one could read Satsuki's mind at that moment, however, they would surely be stunned.
Because—
"By my estimate, Madara Uchiha should be just about ready. A few more days at most. I mustn't miss the moment."
...
Within the Uchiha clan's compound—
Izuna Uchiha sat grimly, reading over the latest report.
"Still no trace at all?"
A clan member standing before him bowed deeply. "Yes, sir. We've dispatched several scouting units to the surrounding regions, but so far, we've found no signs of the Nine-Tails' chakra."
Izuna set the scroll aside, pressing his temples with a sigh.
The events of the past few days had left him with a deep sense of unreality. First, his brother had been captured—then rescued by Hashirama Senju—and now, the Nine-Tails had vanished entirely.
Standing beside him was Elder Hayato, who spoke hesitantly, "To open the seal on the Nine-Tails' prison requires a Sharingan user—and not just any Sharingan. Only someone with the power of the Mangekyō could accomplish it. Don't tell me…"
He trailed off, but Izuna immediately understood the implication.
Years ago, their father, Tajima Uchiha, had faced fierce internal opposition when he attempted to hand over leadership of the clan to Madara and Izuna.
The Uchiha clan had always followed the law of strength.
Tajima had once ruled with the power of his Susanoo and divine weapons, suppressing dissent through sheer might. Yet after several disastrous strategic missteps—and the eventual blindness that overtook both his eyes—the ambitious within the clan saw their chance.
And so, civil war erupted.
Only after a brutal series of internal conflicts were the rebels finally crushed, and the power transfer completed.
For that reason, once Madara and Izuna assumed leadership, the Uchiha adopted a conservative policy of recovery and restraint, rarely engaging in large-scale conflicts in recent years.
But now it seemed that some remnants from that civil war had survived after all.
And not minor ones either—at least one appeared to possess the power of the Mangekyō Sharingan.
Still, this was not entirely surprising. Both Madara Uchiha and Izuna Uchiha had awakened their Mangekyō through years of slaughtering their own kin during that same turbulent period.
If they could do it, it was unreasonable to assume no one else could.
With that thought, Izuna turned to the clansman before him. "Good work. Continue gathering information on the Nine-Tails. It's one of our clan's trump cards—we can't afford to lose track of it."
"Yes, sir."
The Uchiha bowed respectfully and left the room.
Fwooo~
Elder Hayato took a slow drag from his kiseru pipe before exhaling a thin wisp of smoke. "Should we question the guards stationed at the Nine-Tails' seal?"
"No need, Elder," Izuna replied, shaking his head. "They did their best. The enemy's strength simply exceeded their ability to respond."
"So you intend to shoulder the blame yourself?" Hayato asked quietly. "You realize this incident will be exposed sooner or later. When that happens, it won't end easily."
Izuna chuckled softly. "In the end, this happened because we were caught off guard by a more cunning opponent. If a scapegoat must be found, then the fault lies with me. I'm not so small-minded that I'd refuse to bear the consequences."
"Ah…" The elder sighed. "You and Madara both—always so stubborn, always so determined to carry everything alone."
"No helping it," Izuna said as he walked toward the window. Pulling aside the curtain, he gazed out toward the center of the Uchiha compound.
There, a massive stage was being constructed.
Watching it, a mischievous grin crossed his face.
"Compared to the burden I bear, what my brother has to endure is far heavier. If he can handle it, then what right do I have to complain?"
"..."
Elder Hayato fell silent, unsure how to respond—because ever since hearing that Madara Uchiha had accepted a performance commission, he himself had been utterly dumbfounded.
What he hadn't expected, however, was that not only Madara, but even Izuna—and Hashirama Senju, of all people—had agreed to join him on stage.
It was, quite literally—
A rare sight indeed.