Uchiha Obito's plan to capture the tailed beasts had not exceeded Jigen's expectations. In fact, the reason Sarutobi Hiruzen and Shimura Danzō were aiding Obito was not because of him, but because of Jigen's orders.
For in Jigen's eyes, Obito never possessed the power to truly rival Kirigakure.
The Captains of the Shinigami. The Sternritter of the Quincy.
Kirigakure's high-tier fighting force far outstripped anything Obito's side could muster. Even discounting Yuki Yoru, and even with Hiruzen, Danzō, and those so-called allies at his back, Obito was still not enough.
In Jigen's calculations, Obito was destined to be defeated during his invasion of Kirigakure, forced to flee, and ultimately fall into Jigen's hands as a perfect "vessel" to complete his own rebirth.
But what he had misjudged was the combat strength of Ōtsutsuki Toneri. This descendant of Hamura had unleashed a terrifying level of power—shattering Kirigakure's barrier single-handedly, and even stalling its strongest warriors.
It was this miscalculation that caused Jigen to lose what he believed to be an almost flawless "vessel."
"Buzz…"
After transmitting his latest orders to Sarutobi Hiruzen, Jigen rose from his throne.
Space twisted before him. With a single step, he entered a sealed-off dimension.
This realm was barren, desolate, and oppressive—but within it lay a colossal being, sealed away.
The massive figure imprisoned here was none other than another Ten-Tails, the one Jigen himself commanded.
Sensing his presence, the creature slowly opened its great single eye, revealing a six-tomoe Rinnegan.
Clearly, compared to the Ten-Tails that Obito had just revived, this one was far weaker—its chakra, its strength, everything about it paled in comparison.
"ROAR!!!"
The Ten-Tails let out a low, resonant growl at the sight of Jigen, its tone laden with complex emotion.
Expressionless, Jigen floated up before it. His gaze turned toward the figure bound within the wooden shell of the beast's body, and he said calmly:
"So, you've sensed it too."
The Ten-Tails was a unique lifeform created by the Ōtsutsuki to devour planetary energy. But not every Ōtsutsuki was granted one—only those of the noble main family received such a "standard."
Servants like Kaguya were never allowed to possess one.
When he and Kaguya descended to Earth, they had brought a Ten-Tails with them. But Kaguya's betrayal had turned him into that beast's sacrifice. Barely escaping death and seizing Jigen's body, he had immediately begun cultivating a second Ten-Tails.
Yet without the nourishment of the Ōtsutsuki clan, relying only on absorbing fragments of this world's natural energy, the beast's growth was painfully slow. Even after a thousand years, it could not compare to the original Ten-Tails.
Still, being of the same kind, the two Ten-Tails could sense one another. Though the one Obito devoured had been consumed so hastily it could not manifest much response, this Ten-Tails was different.
It had felt its kin's existence—and its kin was stronger.
That was not good news.
The Ten-Tails fed upon worlds, devouring entire planets like meals. Now that two of them existed upon the same planet, who would this world belong to?
The answer was obvious: to the stronger.
"Don't worry. With me here, you will not lose."
Jigen spoke softly, as if soothing the beast. But the Ten-Tails rumbled with impatience at his words, making the very dimension quake.
Jigen remained unfazed, ignoring its outburst, and fixed his gaze once more on the figure cocooned within its body.
A pet, naturally, would have a little temper.
One had to admit, though—this generation of Six Paths descendants was unusually fertile.
Uchiha Fugaku had sired Indra's reincarnation and also produced Uchiha Itachi.
Hyūga Hiashi had given birth to the "Byakugan Princess."
Her younger sister, Hyūga Hanabi, though her Byakugan was not as unique as her elder sister's, was still remarkable. And now, after being nurtured by the Ten-Tails' chakra, Hanabi's eyes had begun to transform in the very direction Jigen had anticipated.
"Soon… I wonder, just what kind of eyes will you evolve into?" Jigen murmured with a trace of expectation.
As he spoke, he channeled his own chakra into Hanabi's body. At the same time, the Ten-Tails beneath him condensed chakra without end, pouring it into her as well.
Hanabi's face immediately twisted in agony, her features contorting, her body struggling to curl in on itself. But because her entire body was cocooned by the Ten-Tails' tissues, she could not move an inch, and instead her body convulsed violently.
With Jigen's chakra and the Ten-Tails' chakra fusing into her, black markings began to spread across her body, her chakra flaring chaotically. Even her forehead started to bulge slightly, and a pair of small horns began to sprout.
Horns were the most obvious genetic trait of the Ōtsutsuki. Any pure-blooded Ōtsutsuki bore horns of some kind, bizarre in shape and form.
At this moment, under the stimulation of Jigen's and the Ten-Tails' chakra, Hanabi was clearly undergoing atavism—a reawakening of her ancestral bloodline.
Normally, this would have been an unquestionable blessing. The world of shinobi was a world of bloodlines: the closer one's lineage was to the Sage of Six Paths, the greater one's power and potential for the future.
But right now, the more her body reverted to her ancestral form, the closer her eyes drew to what Jigen required.
At last, under the relentless catalysis of Jigen and the Ten-Tails' chakra, Hanabi's body not only became more and more Ōtsutsuki-like, but even her physique began to change dramatically.
From a childlike girl, she matured into the figure of a fully grown woman.
The immense chakra had accelerated Hanabi's growth. And looking at the young woman before him, Jigen's expression turned strangely complex.
"How very much alike…" he whispered.
His hand fell gently upon Hanabi's face. "If not for your betrayal, this world would never have fallen into such chaos. We would already be gods, ruling amidst the endless stars."
"If not for your betrayal, then after I achieved godhood, I could have elevated your genetic sequence to the level of the main family itself—even given you the chance to become a god."
"But because of a single act of betrayal, everything came to this…"
Jigen's tone suddenly hardened. The hand caressing Hanabi's face snapped to her chin, gripping it tightly.
"All of this is because of your betrayal!"
If not for Kaguya Ōtsutsuki's treachery, he would have devoured this planet's essence a thousand years ago, instead of wasting millennia here. Even if a thousand years meant little to the near-eternal lives of the Ōtsutsuki.
Even so, during this long millennium, Jigen had learned much of the cunning and deceit of humanity—these "lower beings." But fortunately, it would soon all be over.
Staring into Hanabi's Byakugan, now shimmering with strange light, Jigen slowly placed both hands upon her eyes.
When he finally let go, his elegant face froze, showing for once a crack in his composure. A flicker of surprise—of shock.
Even someone as refined and confident as Jigen—as Isshiki Ōtsutsuki—could not maintain complete composure upon seeing those eyes.
They were a pair of pale blue eyes. Compared to the Tenseigan, they lacked such sharp, radiant brilliance, but the light hidden within them was no less than any power in this world.
"Kaguya… your descendants continue to astonish me, again and again."
Jigen cradled Hanabi's face gently, gazing at those eyes as though he were beholding a priceless treasure.
The Byakugan was the most basic eye of the Ōtsutsuki clan—every member of the Ōtsutsuki possessed it. As for the Rinnegan or Sharingan, those were eyes that only manifested after an Ōtsutsuki fused with the Ten-Tails or consumed a chakra fruit.
For example, the Goddess of the Rabbit, Ōtsutsuki Kaguya, as well as Yuki Yoru, and even the Ōtsutsuki they encountered in the cosmic seas, such as Kinshiki and Momoshiki, all possessed Byakugan as their fundamental eyes.
But the Ōtsutsuki main family could possess eyes of a higher level.
On the Moon, an Ōtsutsuki had awakened the Tenseigan by fusing countless Byakugan together—an evolved form of the Byakugan, and one recorded as belonging to a direct member of the main family.
Similarly, Jigen's own right eye, the [Black Eye], in his complete form, was also an evolved form of the Byakugan.
And now, in Hanabi's eye sockets, there appeared yet another pair of eyes—famous and well-documented in the records of the Ōtsutsuki main family.
"This is becoming more and more interesting…"
Jigen's voice softened once more into a gentleman's tone. Releasing Hanabi's face, he waved his hand, and a spatial doorway opened up behind him.
"Once I find a vessel, it will finally be time for me to reap my harvest."
…
Although Uchiha Obito had retreated, everyone knew he would inevitably return.
Whether for the sake of seizing the remaining Nine-Tails, or for completing his dangerous plan, Kirigakure was an obstacle standing in his way.
Thus, while reconstructing the village, every shinobi of Kirigakure was also striving to raise their combat strength.
"The Nine-Tails' power is indispensable. And beyond that, doing this is also a form of protection for Naruto."
After much discussion, Namikaze Minato spoke in a grave voice:
"According to the information provided by the half of the Nine-Tails sealed within me, the tailed beasts can sense one another. Just now, the Nine-Tails felt a wave of dread—it's highly likely that the Ten-Tails has already been revived.
If that's the case, then no matter where I hide Naruto, Obito will be able to track him down through the Ten-Tails' connection. Therefore, extracting and transferring the Nine-Tails out of Naruto is undoubtedly the best solution."
Kushina's eyes softened as she looked at Naruto. With Uchiha Hikari present, she wasn't too worried that forcibly extracting the Nine-Tails would endanger Naruto's life. After all, even Ashura's chakra had once been extracted—let alone the Nine-Tails.
But since it concerned her child, Kushina still asked with some worry:
"But the Nine-Tails' nature is too violent. Will it agree to our plan?"
"There won't be a problem."
Minato gently pulled Kushina into his embrace. "The Nine-Tails is a tailed beast—it understands better than anyone how dire the current situation is. Besides, I already have half of the Nine-Tails sealed inside me. Between the two halves, there's no true distinction. There won't be any issues."
"In that case, Minato, I leave everything to you."
"Don't worry," Minato said softly. "Naruto is my son. How could I ever gamble with his life?"
With those words, Minato didn't hesitate any longer. His consciousness sank inward, entering directly into Naruto's inner world.
Bound by the Four Symbols Seal combined with the Eight Trigrams Seal, the most powerful tailed beast in existence was tightly imprisoned.
The demon fox slowly opened its eyes, staring at the man before him—the very man who had once sealed him with his own hands.
"It's you!"
After the Asura's chakra was stripped away, Kushina strengthened the Nine-Tails' seal to better help Naruto's growth, so the Nine-Tails couldn't see everything through Naruto's perspective. So it had no idea what had happened in the shinobi world.
As the saying goes, enemies meeting face-to-face burn with rage. The instant he saw Minato Namikaze, the Nine-Tails' beastly eyes widened sharply. With a furious roar, he raised his massive claws and slammed them down against the unbreakable seal gate.
"Why are you here, Namikaze Minato?!"
Soon, however, he noticed something unusual about Minato.
"A spirit… Don't tell me—you've become a Shinigami too?!"
Minato's expression didn't waver. With his usual gentle smile, he walked straight up to the Nine-Tails.
"It's been a long time, Kurama."
"You bastard…" The Nine-Tails' face darkened. In the past, he would have swatted Minato away without hesitation, sending him flying.
But now, the shinobi world had changed into something utterly unfamiliar to him. The appearance of the Shinigami had completely shattered his understanding of the order of things.
Even the chakra of the Sage of Six Paths' sons had been stripped away by Yuki Yoru. After realizing Minato's identity as a Shinigami, how could the Nine-Tails dare act recklessly?
His eyes burned with words left unsaid—anger brimming, yet suppressed by a gnawing fear. His proud, tsundere-like expression made Minato feel almost amused.
But Minato didn't waste time. He stepped up to the gate of the seal and began to release it.
Kurama's eyelids twitched violently at the sight.
The power of a Shinigami was something far beyond the Nine-Tails' conception of shinobi strength. Whether it was Uchiha Hikari, who had extracted Asura's chakra, or Yuki Yoru, their existence had already taught Kurama what true power was.
To beings like them, the tailed beasts—once akin to natural disasters—were laughably insignificant.
Now Minato, too, had become a Shinigami. In such a situation, the Nine-Tails couldn't believe Minato would suddenly appear here, only to casually release his seal, without some ulterior motive.
Especially since he was sealed inside Minato's own son, and Minato and Kushina had both died at his hands!
"Namikaze Minato—what the hell are you planning to do?!"