As long as he could sense the aura of others, Instant Transmission allowed him to teleport directly to their location.
Kawaki Aoba soared through the sky, constantly using Observation Haki to lock onto the chakra signature of Ōtsutsuki Genichi, who was traveling underground. He had been tailing him ever since they left the Land of Fire.
The Land of the Moon was an obscure and politically insignificant country in the shinobi world. It couldn't even compare to minor nations like the Land of Rivers or the Land of Frost. In fact, very few outsiders knew of its existence at all.
Yet on this seemingly irrelevant day, this tiny land welcomed two elder members of the Hyūga Clan—and an elder of the Ōtsutsuki Clan.
Above them, high in the sky, a lone figure floated: Kawaki Aoba, whose strength had already reached the upper echelon of the shinobi world.
He had followed the three men all the way from the Land of Fire to this forgotten country, and now they had arrived at their destination—a vast pool, several dozen meters deep, nestled between rocky outcroppings.
Sweeping his Observation Haki downward, Kawaki Aoba instantly analyzed the area below.
There was a massive chakra beast—a crab-like guardian with a significant presence, likely bred specifically to protect this site. It wouldn't stand a chance against a true powerhouse, but it could stall or mislead intruders.
More importantly, beneath the surface of the pool was a structure that resembled a teleportation seal, likely one of the ancient devices used to travel between the Earth and the Moon, remnants of the Ōtsutsuki's legacy.
As expected, Ōtsutsuki Hiroichi approached the edge of the pool and summoned the giant crab.
The creature emerged and exhaled two large chakra-infused bubbles—each enveloping one Hyūga elder and Hiroichi himself—before submerging them into the depths.
Floating silently above, Kawaki Aoba remained motionless, observing.
When the three reached the underwater structure, Hiroichi stood upon the seal and performed an intricate series of hand signs passed down through the Ōtsutsuki lineage.
And yet—nothing happened.
No light. No chakra fluctuations. Not even a tremor. The teleportation seal remained dormant.
After a long silence, Hiroichi furrowed his brow and muttered, "What's going on? I made it clear before leaving—someone should always be stationed here to maintain the teleportation array."
He attempted the seal again and again, but received no reaction. His frustration became obvious, and his face darkened.
He glanced at the two Hyūga elders beside him, feeling deeply humiliated.
"I'll make that lazy fool on the other side pay," he muttered. "He made me look like a fool in front of outsiders…"
Meanwhile, in the sky above, Kawaki Aoba frowned. Something wasn't right.
He glanced upward. It was still daytime—but the moon wasn't visible in the sky.
Was the moon currently on the opposite side of the world?
Aoba closed his eyes and expanded his perception, spreading his aura across the entire world—and beyond.
Then, he found it.
The Moon.
There, an immense and peculiar chakra signature radiated outward. It was unlike anything he had ever felt before—both chaotic and pure.
It felt like the result of countless chakras merged together into a singular, evolved form—like a distilled essence born from the chakra of hundreds, if not thousands.
Besides that presence, Aoba sensed only a handful of life signatures remaining on the Moon.
Had something catastrophic happened to the Ōtsutsuki clan on the Moon in just a matter of days?
Below, Genichi continued channeling his chakra into the seal—likely trying to reverse the teleportation matrix and open a return path to the Moon.
But given the slow progress, Kawaki Aoba decided not to wait. In a flash, he vanished—using Instant Transmission.
---
Moon. Domain of the Ōtsutsuki Clan.
Beneath the glow of a giant golden Tenseigan, several emaciated members of the Ōtsutsuki clan gathered. All of them were blind—their Byakugan removed.
"Have all the Byakugan been integrated?" asked a middle-aged man.
"Yes," another replied. "Even those from the branch families. Now, we wait for the birth of the child carrying the purest bloodline of our clan. With the Giant Tenseigan, we will awaken his own Tenseigan."
"When that day comes," the first man said, "we will finally cleanse the corrupted world born from Ōtsutsuki Hagoromo's mistake."
"Yes… a new world, purified of failure and imperfection. It's a shame we won't live to see it."
"It doesn't matter," said another. "We've already sacrificed our vitality to create the Giant Tenseigan. Our child will use it to see the new world for us."
"Ryuichi still has some strength left. He'll carry on a bit longer."
Ōtsutsuki Ryuichi offered a faint smile and gently took the hand of the pregnant woman beside him.
"I won't last much longer either. But I'll live long enough to ensure our child knows his mission."
Laughter followed, though it was weary.
"We've even left behind automated puppets to raise the child."
"Except one problem remains… Ōtsutsuki Hiroichi. That old fool went down to the surface world. The Hyūga Clan sought our aid, but who knows the details?"
"It doesn't matter. He's obsolete. Once we finish this… even he can be erased."
Despite their blindness and dwindling numbers, the Ōtsutsuki still looked forward to their vision of a "perfect world."
And when Kawaki Aoba reappeared in their sacred chamber, he found himself staring at blind zealots gathered beneath a blinding celestial eye.
It was a surreal sight.
"Who's there?!" roared Ryuichi, instantly placing his pregnant wife behind him and forming a defensive stance.
The others also reacted, surrounding Aoba with hostility despite their blindness.
Kawaki Aoba narrowed his eyes. His Observation Haki confirmed it: none of them had eyes.
He glanced at the Giant Tenseigan once more.
Their ability to perceive him must be linked to that power source.
A sudden pulse of chakra radiated from the golden sphere.
Kawaki Aoba's eyes narrowed.
His Haki warned him: something was terribly wrong.
Without the slightest hesitation, he immediately dodged away from his original position. In the next instant, a beam of light descended from the sky, striking the spot where he had just stood.
Was that an attack from the Tenseigan itself?
No, it had to be the Ōtsutsuki clan members wielding the Tenseigan's power to launch a sneak attack under cover of darkness.
Since they had already made their move, Kawaki Aoba had no reason to be polite. He immediately launched a counterattack.
"Hundred Transformations: Holy Kannon!"
Without delay, Kawaki Aoba unleashed his ultimate technique. For him, a swift battle was the key—and overwhelming force was the solution.
A massive golden, hundred-armed Kannon statue manifested behind him. The sheer pressure it exuded swept through the area, crushing down on every Ōtsutsuki present.
But the oppressive aura didn't last long—perhaps less than a second—before being neutralized by the overwhelming presence of the Giant Golden Tenseigan floating in the sky above.
"Damn it! This filthy lower-worlder is powerful. Everyone, fall back! Without our Byakugan, we can't match him head-on!"
"Divert all remaining Tenseigan chakra to assist Ryūichi! Only then can we hope to stop this guy!"
A loud command rang out from among the Ōtsutsuki, and then each member became enveloped in a strange layer of glowing chakra.
From their stance and synchronized movements, it was clear they were preparing a joint technique. But there was no way Kawaki Aoba would give them the time.
"Giving the enemy time to transform and power up? Who do you think I am?"
Even if they failed to surpass him after transforming, it would be idiotic to let them try. And he wasn't about to look like a fool.
Half of the Kannon's golden arms surged forward, infused with shimmering blue chakra.
"Water Stream Rock Smashing Fist!"
The Kannon's arms, now empowered with the Water Release-based taijutsu, sealed off the Ōtsutsuki's movement entirely.
"So you pride yourselves on Gentle Fist and close-quarters combat? Fine—here's your chance. Let's see how you handle fists to the face."
Kawaki Aoba's move was nothing short of overwhelming. The so-called elite Ōtsutsuki warriors were instantly knocked out, though he ensured they were left barely alive.
That wasn't mercy—it was strategy.
The only reason they survived was the residual chakra cloak granted by the Tenseigan, which dampened the impact of his attack. Had that cloak not been active, their frail bodies wouldn't have withstood it, even with Aoba holding back.
The exception was one: Ōtsutsuki Ryūichi, who possessed the densest Tenseigan chakra signature.
Instead of the Gentle Fist, Ryūichi countered with a spiraling vortex of silver chakra.
"Silver Wheel Reincarnation Explosion!"
Although it was an incomplete version of the original technique used by Toneri Ōtsutsuki, Ryūichi managed to barely fend off the assault from several of the Kannon's giant arms, breaking free from the golden siege.
But even that cost him—the Tenseigan chakra cloak around him dimmed noticeably.
If Aoba was right, that chakra cloak was the prototype of the Tenseigan Chakra Mode—a transformation similar in purpose to the Nine-Tails Chakra Mode or Sage Mode.
Had Ryūichi been given time to fully activate it, the battle might have dragged on.
But Aoba wasn't about to let that happen.
He seized the moment. Two massive Kannon arms closed together like the jaws of a trap.
From Ryūichi's perspective, he had just broken free—only to be immediately enveloped by two giant palms. The sky darkened. A sound like a divine gong roared in his ears.
The remnants of his Tenseigan chakra cloak shattered in an instant, and his consciousness dissolved into blackness. He lost all combat power in that one blow.
If Aoba hadn't deliberately left space in the palms of the Kannon, Ryūichi would have been crushed into paste—the kind that could be pan-fried like a bloody pancake.
And just like that, the Ōtsutsuki were subdued.
Well, almost. One had slipped through the net—Elder Ōtsutsuki Kōichi. But considering his earlier sluggishness, he wouldn't be showing up any time soon.
Aoba took the opportunity to interrogate the remaining captives. But first—
"Closed Yuan Needle Sealing Technique. Binding Path No. 4: This Rope."
Even though it was among the simplest of restraint techniques, under Aoba's current power, it might as well have been forged from divine chains. The bound Ōtsutsuki had no hope of escape.
"You despicable lower-realm wretch," one of the captives growled. "If we hadn't lost our eyes—if we could access more Tenseigan chakra—you wouldn't have stood a chance!"
Aoba blinked in disbelief. The guy was old enough to be his grandfather—how could he still be this naive?
"Seriously? This isn't a sparring match. This is war. You guys really don't understand the cruelty of the world."
The Ōtsutsuki of the Main Family, already defeated before Aoba had even arrived, had clearly been even more delusional.
Aoba ignored the complaints and focused on what mattered.
"So—who can tell me how to control that oversized eye in the sky?"
"That's the sacred secret of our clan. You'll never uncover it!"
Unsurprisingly, their answer was defiance. Even in defeat, the Ōtsutsuki were as stubborn as ever. Torture wouldn't help. These were the kind of zealots who would annihilate their own bloodline to protect an abstract belief.
Frankly, even Itachi's motives from the original timeline made more sense than these lunatics.
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