Seeing that the crab was still struggling endlessly, Takeshi struck once more at the cracked shell with another gust of wind.
Worried the creature might be in too much pain, he thoughtfully followed up with another jutsu.
"Fire Release: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet!"
Wind fed the flames, and soon the crab was engulfed in roaring fire, spreading a mouthwatering aroma of roasted meat through the air.
"Is this thing even edible?"
Uchiha Hikari, who had been trying hard to maintain her cool image, broke character in an instant. When Takeshi looked closer, there was even a glimmer of drool hanging at the corner of her mouth.
"I feel like eating it will just give you diarrhea."
Sniffing at the smoky scent in the air, Takeshi gave his sincere advice.
"It's too risky to eat an unknown creature like this."
Watching the crab roast to a perfect golden brown that could rival Naruto's grilled fish, Sarutobi Hiruzen's once-straight posture slumped again.
He slowly walked over to Takeshi's side and patted him on the shoulder with a smile.
It had been a long time since he'd felt the joy of fighting side by side with a disciple.
...
While the two—no, the two Hokage—were bonding in the middle of the battlefield, deep within a distant palace, Toneri suddenly lifted his head as if sensing something. His eyes, covered in black cloth, glimmered faintly beneath the fabric.
"Who is it?"
His voice was cold and devoid of emotion.
In response, several puppets hiding in the shadows clattered to life, their joints creaking ominously.
"From the ninja world, huh..."
Toneri was mildly surprised. He hadn't even gone to fetch his bride yet, and people from the ninja world had already come to him.
"Let's see what exactly they intend to do before I act."
After muttering this, Toneri leaned back against the chair and sank into silence once more.
...
"Are we... not there yet?"
High in the sky, Uchiha Hikari clutched her stomach with both hands, her face twisted in pain. She could barely focus on controlling the flying tool beneath her.
"Almost there. You better hold it in—otherwise you'll be really flying freely."
Takeshi tried hard to keep from laughing. Who told her not to listen and insist on tasting that so-called roasted crab?
"Don't you dare laugh..."
Gritting her teeth, Hikari reached out, trying to grab Takeshi.
"Whoa, hey! We're still in the air! Don't do anything crazy! What if you—uh—lose control up here?!"
"Shut up! Ugh—"
"Oh no, don't tell me you're actually gonna—"
"Susanoo!"
"Holy crap!"
...
After much chaotic yelling, the group finally arrived at the ruins of a city.
Kushina stayed behind to look after the pale-faced, exhausted Uchiha Hikari, while the others began searching for traces of the Ōtsutsuki clan.
Meanwhile, Toneri's puppets remained hidden in the darkness, quietly observing their every move.
They seemed to be searching for something.
From their movements, the puppets soon deduced as much.
Until one of them noticed Hyūga Hizashi among the group—his activated Byakugan gleaming faintly.
"Byakugan..."
A soft murmur echoed in Hizashi's ears.
"Who's there?"
He spun around sharply, just in time to notice a passage leading underground within a nearby building.
"What happened?"
The others appeared instantly at his side, following his gaze toward the stone staircase that descended into darkness.
"Let's check it out."
Takeshi narrowed his eyes, trying to see what lay below—but without the Sharingan or Byakugan, it was useless.
"Looks like we've found what we came for."
Hiruzen, leading the way, gazed at the series of mounds before them and immediately understood.
"Graves. No mistake about it. These must be the tombs of the Ōtsutsuki. I wonder if they ever imagined that, centuries later, they'd face a fate like this."
As he spoke, Takeshi unsealed a summoning scroll and pulled out an iron shovel.
"Everyone, start digging."
Just as he was about to move, a wailing sound came from the shadows.
"Byakugan... it really is the Byakugan..."
A man who moved like a zombie staggered into view, approaching them slowly.
"Stop!"
Hiruzen stepped in front of everyone, a shuriken in hand, ready to throw— but then the man opened his eyes, revealing hollow, eyeless sockets.
His mouth gaped unnaturally wide, and from within, he spat out a glowing purple orb.
Bathed in that eerie light, Hizashi collapsed to the ground unconscious.
The man, as if completing his task, fell stiffly to the ground in turn, muttering "Stop the Ōtsutsuki..." over and over.
"What do we do next?"
Hiruko's eyes gleamed with manic excitement as he looked toward the graves.
"Keep digging. It doesn't change anything."
Takeshi knew that whatever had just happened, the man had likely passed some sort of message to Hizashi.
And so, the top shinobi of the ninja world continued... grave robbing.
One after another, eyeless corpses were unearthed and sealed away in storage scrolls prepared in advance.
All of this was faithfully relayed to Toneri through his puppets.
"Ninja from the outside world... are digging graves?!"
Toneri, who had first assumed they'd simply wandered in by accident, was furious.
So they had come prepared, with a clear target—the remains of his ancestors!
Blasphemy. Such unbearable blasphemy!
He could not stand it any longer.
At once, Toneri ordered his puppets to mobilize.
He would personally confront Takeshi and the others.