Orochimaru's eyes gleamed with a sharp light as he nodded slightly.
"Indeed. Judging by their physical characteristics, they resemble Kaguya Ōtsutsuki almost perfectly. Coupled with the intelligence she provided us before, it's nearly certain—these three individuals were sent by the Ōtsutsuki Clan."
Tobirama Senju's brows furrowed tightly, the gravity of the situation clear in his expression.
After a moment of contemplation, he raised a critical point.
"Should we inform Hikaru immediately?"
Orochimaru thought it over, then slowly shook his head.
"No. We can't always rely on Hikaru. He's already sacrificed too much for us. This time, we should try to handle it ourselves. Think of it as a test of our own strength."
With that, Orochimaru turned to the control console and began operating it with practiced ease.
As he worked, he explained:
"The massive Tenseigan Hikaru gave us is fully modified. We can use it as a powerful weapon to strike first. If it doesn't work, we can contact Hikaru afterward."
When the Moon fell, Hikaru had manually formed a new moon in the sky to prevent panic in the Shinobi World.
He also handed over the immense Tenseigan, brimming with power, to Orochimaru and Tobirama for research.
Now embedded in the artificial moon, this miraculous eye was what allowed Orochimaru and Tobirama to detect those uninvited visitors from the stars.
To combat enemies like the Ōtsutsuki—who could potentially absorb chakra—the Tenseigan was designed with two attack modes.
The first was a traditional chakra-based energy beam, capable of immense destruction.
The second was a pure physical heat ray, powered by chakra but not composed of it.
This latter method was specifically developed to counter enemies capable of chakra absorption.
At present, Orochimaru was deploying the second mode.
Under his command, the Tenseigan rotated slowly on the artificial moon, gathering tremendous chakra that condensed into a searing beam of light—then fired directly at the three members of the Ōtsutsuki Clan.
These three had maintained their usual cold arrogance, believing humans to be nothing more than inferior lifeforms.
But when the blazing ray came streaking down from the heavens, their expressions finally changed to shock and fear.
They instantly mobilized their powers, attempting to absorb the chakra from the attack—
Only to discover, to their horror, that this was no ordinary chakra-based attack.
It wasn't chakra at all, but a condensed force formed through a method they had never seen before.
The beam tore through their defenses in an instant, striking two of them dead center.
In a silent scream, the two Ōtsutsuki elites were vaporized, their bodies erased entirely without a trace.
The third barely avoided the fatal blast—but the aftermath shredded his body, leaving him half-crippled in agony and panic.
Driven by raw survival instinct, he forced open a flickering portal and stumbled through it, vanishing into the unknown.
Orochimaru stared at the monitor, a trace of frustration and regret in his eyes.
He knew this was already the best possible outcome. But letting one escape still stung.
Then again—he understood. Technological progress required time, patience, and repeated failure.
Achieving this level of functionality in only two years was no small feat.
As Orochimaru immersed himself in these mixed emotions, a familiar voice echoed beside his ear.
"Don't feel discouraged. You've done very well."
Though the incident took place in distant outer space, Hikaru had sensed everything through his extraordinary perception.
Recognizing that this was the Tenseigan's doing, he immediately teleported to Orochimaru's location.
Truth be told, he was deeply impressed with the results Orochimaru and Tobirama had achieved.
After all, Ōtsutsuki individuals were abnormally powerful, yet their newly developed weapon had taken down two in one strike.
That was no small achievement.
"Hikaru, we still need to trouble you," Tobirama said with sincerity.
Hikaru nodded lightly.
With a casual wave of his hand, an invisible force swept out across the room.
And in the next moment—the injured Ōtsutsuki who had just fled suddenly reappeared before them.
His face froze in stunned confusion, clearly not expecting to be pulled back in such a bizarre fashion.
"I actually intercepted him earlier," Hikaru said calmly. "There's no way I'd let someone this dangerous get away."
The Ōtsutsuki member—Urashiki Ōtsutsuki—stared wide-eyed in disbelief.
He had thought he had escaped using Yomotsu Hirasaka, only to realize now that this serene man before him had somehow blocked even that.
When... did my Yomotsu Hirasaka become so useless...?
But his shock didn't last long.
Urashiki quickly composed himself. He assumed it was only because of his earlier injuries that his technique had failed.
Even if he couldn't defeat this man, he still had one last trump card:
A mysterious power that could implant his data into another's body and use a Karma seal to be reborn—waiting patiently for the day of resurrection.
As long as the Karma remained, he would never truly die.
A cunning glint appeared in his eyes. He began scanning the room.
His gaze lingered on Orochimaru, who appeared the weakest of the three.
Inwardly, Urashiki calculated how to strike Orochimaru, sow chaos, and escape using spatial ninjutsu—
At worst, he could at least plant the Karma into Orochimaru and leave a backdoor for his return.
But the moment he was about to act—
A crushing force of space locked his body in place.
Urashiki was stunned. He couldn't move a muscle.
Looking up, he saw Hikaru standing not far away, wearing a calm, unfathomable smile.
"Too slow."
Hikaru's voice was light, as if commenting on something trivial.
But in Urashiki's ears, it landed like thunder, sending a wave of boundless terror through his heart.