Chapter 281: The Moon Plan, and the Nine-Tomoe Rinne Sharingan
Genichi didn't believe a word Ōtsutsuki Kaguya said. All that talk about bearing his children? If she regained her power, the first thing she'd likely do is murder her new "husband."
The Kaguya he remembered from the records seemed almost naive, but the woman he had just spoken to was anything but. She was an extremely dangerous woman. Genichi decided to let her stay right where she was, sealed within the moon.
His gaze fell on the collapsed castle. Genichi raised his right hand. The ruined parts of the castle immediately flew up and reassembled themselves. Soon, the structure was fully restored.
With a satisfied nod, Genichi appeared on the moon's surface.
"Alright, so there's an atmosphere here too."
It was clear, however, that the atmosphere was far thinner than Earth's. The moon's magnetic field was weak, offering little protection from cosmic radiation. As a result, the solar radiation here was much stronger.
For Genichi, this was a good thing.
His figure ascended, flying fast through the thin atmosphere and into the vacuum of outer space. Here, the solar radiation was on another level entirely.
"This… this is my true holy land for training," Genichi mused to himself.
Unfortunately, even for him, the amount of natural energy his Sage-transformed body could absorb was limited. He couldn't simply accumulate power indefinitely. Even the Yin Seal had its limits.
"The God Tree…" he thought, gazing at the distant sun. "A quantitative change leads to a qualitative one… I must master the Ten-Tails God Tree!"
And it had to be the Ten-Tails God Tree he envisioned.
His gaze shifted, peering into the dark void. How far away was the Ōtsutsuki clan's home base? Or did they no longer have one, wandering the cosmos, planting their trees?
He turned back to look at the blue jewel of Earth.
"The shinobi world is special…"
He had come to this conclusion because of the God Tree, its fruit, and the Ōtsutsuki clan itself. The clan searched the stars for suitable places to plant the tree and harvest its fruit. They had clearly devoured many planets. But judging from Ōtsutsuki Isshiki and Momoshiki, the harvest from those worlds was far inferior to the fruit from Earth's God Tree.
Earth's natural energy far exceeded that of other planets.
Furthermore, Earth had other so-called "divine" powers. The Jashin! The Shinigami! And the native power, Sage Art.
Of the three great Sages of Earth, Genichi had the most contact with the Slug Sage, but he had only ever seen a tiny fraction of its true body. Even Tsunade, using her full power, could only summon one-fifth of its main body. The true power of Gamamaru and the White Snake Sage remained unknown.
His research on Hidan had so far failed to trace back to the Jashin itself. And he had studied the Reaper Death Seal long ago. The key was that demon mask. But looking back on it now, he found many more interesting, and unsettling, details.
"Only faint traces, and I can't track them to their source."
Genichi guessed, "Conceptual gods? Did they transcend, like the Ōtsutsuki God, Shibai?"
And another thing… Gamamaru's ancestors… had a toad transcended as well? Or had it simply died?
The waters of the shinobi world were still deep. The stronger he became, the more he found himself pondering things he had never noticed before.
Collecting his thoughts, Genichi looked back at the moon. Developing it was a necessity. It wasn't just for fending off an Ōtsutsuki invasion or planting his own God Tree; it could also serve as a mobile fortress for entering deep space. He hadn't yet decided whether to wait for the Ōtsutsuki to come to him or to take the fight to them, but it couldn't hurt to be prepared.
That left one problem. The giant Tenseigan needed someone to control it.
Genichi himself could do it, or assign a clone, but… it was too troublesome. He felt he couldn't do every single thing himself.
"Neji or Hinata, who would be more suitable?"
Genichi returned to the moon's surface. "I'll test them both first. And I can't entrust it to just one person. It needs a dedicated team. I also have to guard against anyone being bewitched by Kaguya."
Genichi returned to the castle in the moon's interior. Using the giant Tenseigan's power, he reassembled all the shattered puppets, forming an army one thousand strong. He also repaired their associated weaponry.
"Hmm, these puppets need an upgrade."
In the castle's massive hall, Genichi got to work, personally modifying the puppets and inscribing jutsu formulas on them. With his Multiple Shadow Clone Technique, the retrofitting went quickly.
By the time Uchiha Obito arrived with his team, Genichi had already finished the initial upgrades.
"I never thought there was an entire world hidden inside here," Obito said, deeply moved. He wasn't the only one; the other shinobi were equally shocked that the moon's interior was a separate world.
"Genichi," Obito asked, "if the Sage of Six Paths created this, his power must have been…"
"Undoubtedly strong," Genichi smiled. "A normal Rinnegan's power couldn't accomplish this."
"What about you?" Obito asked, curious.
"Mine is more or less the same," Genichi said nonchalantly. "Let's get to work. First, build two teleportation arrays: one in this castle and one on the landmass below."
Obito nodded. "I see the tribes left behind from the war down there. Are you planning a large-scale migration?"
"The resources here can't rely on Earth forever," Genichi affirmed. "The transportation costs are too high." Shinobi had to eat too, and they ate far more than ordinary people.
"Interested in seeing the outside?" Genichi asked suddenly.
Obito's eyes lit up. "Of course. But wait a moment." He quickly created a Shadow Clone to lead the team in building the arrays. He had to participate personally because he was responsible for using Yin-Yang Release to create the chakra-conductive metal. That was why he was leading this team. Of course, the number of people in Konoha who could do this was growing; Senju Tobirama, Hiruzen Sarutobi, Tsunade, Orochimaru, Kakashi, Kabuto, and Uchiha Itachi were all capable.
Once Obito was ready, Genichi controlled the giant Tenseigan and opened a space-time gate. The one thousand puppets under his control flew up and streamed through the portal. Obito followed them, emerging onto the moon's surface.
He watched as the puppets got to work, building fixed cannons on the surface, with several cannons grouped into a single battery. Other puppets mounted on bird-like constructs and flew off the moon, heading into outer space.
Obito was puzzled. He watched as the puppets in space stopped, suspended in the void, and began to orbit the moon.
"Genichi, is this the outer defense?" Obito asked, turning to Genichi, who had just appeared beside him.
Genichi looked at the puppets, which now resembled satellites. "No," he smiled. "Against the Ōtsutsuki, this many puppets wouldn't even count as a defense. They are detectors. Sensor puppets. They are our eyes in outer space, meant to monitor the deep void."
Obito understood. He looked back at the cannon batteries, which were spaced far apart. "Then these aren't for attacking either, but for warning?"
"A warning, and to buy us a little time," Genichi said. "As soon as the sensor puppets detect anything, the controller of the giant Tenseigan will be alerted. These cannons will activate to intercept the enemy and give us a few moments to react."
"Looking at it this way," Obito said, "we don't have enough puppets."
Genichi nodded. "We can have the puppet masters back home build more. But this layout alone isn't enough. Obito, do you have any thoughts?"
Obito stroked his chin, musing. "Our enemies are the Ōtsutsuki clan, who should all be incredibly powerful. Ordinary methods won't work on them. As you said, these chakra cannon puppets can only serve as a distraction. I remember Lady Chiyo could use her puppets to perform sealing jutsu. Perhaps we could use sealing jutsu and barriers?"
Genichi smiled. "A very good idea." He figured barriers wouldn't be very effective, since nearly every Ōtsutsuki had space-time abilities. But sealing jutsu? That would definitely be a powerful weapon against them. Ordinary sealing jutsu, however, would not suffice.
Obito looked at the puppets in outer space. "Genichi, can those puppets go deeper into space? Or be hidden more effectively?"
"Perhaps we can pull in some meteorites to form an outer orbit," Genichi considered, "and then place the sensor puppets on them. However, while the giant Tenseigan's power can radiate far, it's still a short distance relative to the vastness of space. We might need to set up a chakra relay."
"A chakra relay?" Obito asked, confused.
"For example," Genichi explained, "we place special puppets in low-lunar orbit, say 100 kilometers up. These puppets would receive the maximum power from the giant Tenseigan and then transmit that power to the puppets deeper in space, acting as their energy source."
"Like Nagato's Six Paths puppets?" Obito ventured. "Just with a few extra steps in the middle."
Genichi gave him a thumbs-up. "Obito, you're getting smarter."
Obito rolled his eyes. "If I wasn't sure I'd lose, I'd teach you a lesson."
Genichi just patted him on the shoulder, unconcerned. "Work hard. You might still get the chance to teach me that lesson."
"I'm not falling for that!" Obito huffed. "Besides, I may not be able to beat you, but my Rin might not be weaker than your Marin in the future."
He couldn't beat Genichi, but his daughter could certainly beat Genichi's children.
Genichi laughed. "Obito, how can you place the burden of your own failures onto Rin? That's not what a good father does."
Uchiha Rin was Obito's daughter, the same age as Genichi's daughter, Marin. Around the same age were Kakashi's son, Hatake Kumo, and Guy's son, Might Tsuyoshi.
"I'm not doing that!" Obito said hastily. "I will train Rin well, and she will definitely inherit my excellent abilities."
"I believe in Rin," Genichi nodded.
Obito's face darkened. "So you don't believe in me?"
Genichi held up his hands. "I never said that, Obito. That's your own conclusion. Sigh… Obito, you're a father now. Why are you still so insecure? You can't set a good example for your child like that. Why don't you let Kakashi be Rin's master?"
Obito instantly flew into a rage. "IMPOSSIBLE!" he roared. "Absolutely not! I'll never let that guy teach Rin!"
Once the teleportation array was built, Genichi used the Tenseigan's power to create stone golems to guard it. These golems served as both guardians and energy conductors for the array, with their power source being the giant Tenseigan itself. Since the eye could absorb solar radiation to restore its chakra, it was, in a sense, a limitless battery.
The next day, Team Guy arrived at the castle via the teleportation array. Genichi led the four of them to the giant Tenseigan.
"This is really an eye? Amazing!" Lee exclaimed in awe.
Tenten was curious. "What kind of being could have an eye this huge?"
Guy thought seriously for a moment before answering his student. "Perhaps something like the Ten-Tails." He then turned to Genichi. "Genichi, is our mission to protect this eye?"
"That's one part of it," Genichi said. His gaze fell on Neji. "The Tenseigan is, in fact, the evolution of the Byakugan."
Neji, Lee, and Tenten all gasped.
Tenten, always quick, asked, "So, Lord Genichi, does that mean you need a Byakugan to control it?"
"Something like that," Genichi replied. "Neji, hold out your right palm."
Neji, though confused, did so without hesitation. Genichi placed his own palm over it, and Tenseigan chakra flowed into Neji's hand, forming a golden, circular mark.
"Neji, this is a curse mark formed from Tenseigan chakra," Genichi explained. "Through this mark, you can control and draw upon the power of this Tenseigan, and by extension, command the puppet armies both inside and outside the moon."
Lee and Tenten stared at the mark on Neji's palm. "Incredible!" they breathed.
"Lord Genichi," Tenten asked, "since Neji has the Byakugan, can't he control the Tenseigan directly?"
"He could," Genichi said. "But the prerequisite for that… is to merge Neji's Byakugan into the Tenseigan."
The three of them were left speechless.
After temporarily settling matters on the moon, Genichi returned to Konoha. Of course, the moon's development would not be so simple; it would require long-term planning. For a long time, Genichi would be coordinating this entire affair.
His research on the Ten-Tails, however, had not stopped.
While the White Zetsu army continued its search for Jigen, Genichi's main body once again descended to the lowest level of the experimental facility.
Under the watchful eyes of Orochimaru, Kabuto, Senju Tobirama, and Tsunade, Genichi injected the Nine-Tails from his own body into his clone, Otsutsuki Genshiki. Afterward, Genshiki absorbed the Gedo Mazo into his body.
This time, horns sprouted from his head. The horn-like plate on his forehead split apart, and a crimson, nine-tomoe Rinne Sharingan opened.
The Nine-Tomoe Rinne Sharingan!