Shortly after Neji and Kimimaro returned to the Hidden Leaf, Shinji quietly slipped back into the village, replacing the shadow clone in his apartment.
After washing away the dust of his journey, Shinji lay on his bed, gazing through the window at the Moon in the night sky.
Who could imagine that one day, this radiant orb hanging in the heavens would become a weapon to crash into the earth, annihilating the ninja world?
He rolled out of bed. Now wasn't the time for rest.
The "biological exoskeletons" on Neji and Kimimaro, though currently dormant for unknown reasons, could awaken at any moment, potentially acting in unpredictable ways.
As core components of his Tenseigan Plan, Neji and Kimimaro couldn't be compromised, so Shinji needed to address this hidden threat swiftly.
Leaving another shadow clone behind, Shinji's real body flickered, stealthily exiting the village to his secret laboratory outside.
All the data from creating the "biological exoskeleton" had been relocated here.
Flipping through the pages of notes, Shinji's expression shifted—sometimes a slight smirk, sometimes a furrowed brow.
Clearly, with his current expertise, revisiting the data from when he created the exoskeleton revealed numerous flaws.
Of course, there were also many bold, almost serendipitous, strokes of genius.
Setting the notes down, Shinji sighed faintly. "I was too careless with the sealing arrangements. Knowing the Tenseigan chakra's high level, I actually thought the 'Four Symbols Seal' could restrain the 'biological exoskeleton.' That was simply…"
Developed by the Uzumaki Clan, the Four Symbols Seal was a masterpiece among sealing techniques, capable of strongly suppressing even tailed beast chakra.
But against Tenseigan chakra—especially the Six Paths-level chakra from the giant Tenseigan on the Moon—the Four Symbols Seal was woefully inadequate.
Shinji didn't dwell too much on this mistake.
The giant Tenseigan's chakra was standard Six Paths-level. To effectively seal such chakra, one would need a sealing technique imbued with Yin-Yang Release, the All Creation Power, or sage chakra—none of which Shinji currently possessed. Even if he could turn back time, he couldn't rectify the error unless he abandoned the entire "biological exoskeleton" project.
Shinji pushed the notes aside. "Time to change my approach…"
Using sealing techniques to re-restrain a sentient exoskeleton capable of communing with the giant Tenseigan was no longer feasible.
The sealing technique path was clearly a dead end.
Tap, tap.
His fingers rapped lightly on the desk as he mused, "The 'biological exoskeleton' was primarily made from White Zetsu cells, but to better integrate with my Wazunagi, its core was crafted from my own cellular tissue, so…"
Suddenly, a spark of inspiration flashed in Shinji's mind.
If he treated the "biological exoskeleton" as a mere runaway weapon, he was indeed out of good options.
But if he viewed it as a new lifeform, a living entity, the possibilities expanded.
"The giant Tenseigan can influence it, and so can I… No, why should I compete with the giant Tenseigan for control?"
Shinji's thoughts grew clearer. He realized there was no need to treat the giant Tenseigan as an adversary.
Though a Six Paths-level Otsutsuki treasure, the giant Tenseigan lacked active consciousness. His true adversary wasn't the Tenseigan but the Otsutsuki branch family that could manipulate it.
Thus, Shinji didn't need to reseal the exoskeleton. He only needed to influence the activated exoskeleton to prevent the Otsutsuki branch family from controlling it.
Whoosh. Shinji stood, pacing the lab.
"The exoskeleton's core is my cellular tissue, so I'm not entirely without advantages in vying for control against the Otsutsuki branch family! No, its activation by the giant Tenseigan's chakra was an accident. The Otsutsuki branch family might not even be aware of it yet."
Currently, Toneri Otsutsuki hadn't yet acquired the Tenseigan as in the original timeline, so the branch family controlled Tenseigan puppets via the giant Tenseigan.
In the original timeline, when Naruto and Hinata destroyed the giant Tenseigan, all Tenseigan puppets collapsed instantly, proving that control over all chakra-activated puppets resided with the giant Tenseigan.
Thus, the Otsutsuki branch family, which indirectly communed with the giant Tenseigan to control puppets, likely hadn't yet realized that Shinji's exoskeleton had become an activated Tenseigan puppet by chance.
Rubbing his chin, Shinji devised a strategy.
He had two approaches. The first was to keep the exoskeleton as far from the giant Tenseigan and the Otsutsuki branch family as possible, severing their mutual connection. The second was to elevate the exoskeleton's authority with the giant Tenseigan, not surpassing the Otsutsuki branch family but approaching their level, preventing them from gaining control through the Tenseigan.
After brief consideration, Shinji discarded the first approach.
The giant Tenseigan's influence was too vast, covering nearly the entire ninja world. As long as the exoskeleton remained in the ninja world, there was no hiding from it.
The second approach—elevating the exoskeleton's authority with the giant Tenseigan—seemed improbable at first glance, but Shinji suddenly had a bold idea.
From his ninja pouch, he retrieved a sealed scroll, unfurled it with a flick, and formed a hand sign to release its contents.
Poof.
A cloud of white smoke billowed, revealing a corpse clad in a robe bearing the Otsutsuki clan crest, its skin deathly pale.
Undoubtedly, this was none other than the Otsutsuki branch family elder killed by the mysterious figure's bizarre Blood Demon Art during the Land of Grass battle.