Chapter 285: Spoils of War
While Uchiha Itachi and the others were still marveling at Kinoshita Genichi's new dōjutsu, Genichi himself had already plucked Ōtsutsuki Isshiki's right eye from his severed head.
This eye, he felt, would be very useful. His Four-Faced Deity form still had three empty foreheads, after all.
He had also kept Uchiha Madara's Rinnegan, but he hadn't used it for himself. Madara's Limbo was redundant for someone who already possessed the Future Body technique.
After securing the eye, Genichi said, "Isshiki, you who have spent your existence harvesting other planets, did you ever consider that you, too, might one day become the prey?"
In the face of defeat, Ōtsutsuki Isshiki seemed remarkably calm. "The strong devour the weak. This is also a part of fate. Kinoshita Genichi, you are prey, too."
The words were heavy with meaning. Genichi paused, then smiled. "You're right. We are all hunters, but at the same time, we are all prey."
With that, a wave of ice swept over Ōtsutsuki Isshiki's bisected body.
Ice Release: Absolute Zero!
Frozen while completely defenseless, the terrifyingly low temperature brought all cellular activity to a halt. Even if Isshiki still had his eye, he would not have been able to escape in this "dormant" state. Now that his eye was gone, escape was truly impossible.
After encasing Isshiki in ice, Genichi opened a space-time gate and sent both frozen halves of the body directly to his underground experimental facility in Konoha, where a puppet clone was waiting to receive them.
Releasing his Four-Faced Deity form, Genichi landed in front of Naruto and the others. "Let's go see Isshiki's home base."
The group nodded, and Genichi opened another portal, which they all filed through.
On the other side was a massive castle integrated into a mountain. Genichi observed it for a moment, then strode through the entrance.
Naruto hurried to catch up. "Uncle Genichi, shouldn't we send in a scout team first?"
Genichi brought a fist down on Naruto's head. "Remember to use my proper title when we're on the clock!"
Naruto rubbed his head. "Right, Sensei Genichi!"
The castle interior was vast. "Genichi, should we split up?" Kakashi asked.
Genichi nodded. "In that case, proceed as squads."
Team Kakashi and Team Obito split off.
Genichi watched them go, then opened another space-time portal and stepped inside. He emerged onto a massive altar. Before him was a towering stone wall, smooth as a cliff face, covered in different patterns.
"This is the place," Genichi smiled.
He walked up to the wall and touched one of the patterns. A purple light glowed, and he turned to see a projection flicker to life on a corresponding stone slate. It was Ōtsutsuki Kinshiki.
Genichi studied the three groups of patterns and recognized them. They corresponded to the horns of the Ōtsutsuki. The center, vertical pair was clearly Isshiki and Kaguya—Isshiki on top, Kaguya on the bottom. The pair on the left was Ōtsutsuki Momoshiki and Ōtsutsuki Kinshiki. He noted that Momoshiki's pattern was level with Kaguya's. He wondered if that held any meaning.
He then looked at the two patterns on the far right. They were positioned at the same levels as Momoshiki and Kinshiki, but the patterns themselves had been destroyed.
Who would they correspond to? Ōtsutsuki Urashiki and Ōtsutsuki Ryūshiki? And who was superior? Was it even them? And why three groups? Is this all that's left of the clan?
Given Kaguya's fear, Genichi doubted it.
"The Ōtsutsuki clan is divided into a main family and a branch family. Those like Kinshiki and Kaguya are considered expendable, meant to be sacrificed."
Genichi pondered, looking at the mural. "These patterns might represent the teams led by Isshiki. Kaguya was Isshiki's guardian, while Momoshiki and the other main family member were his subordinates, his team members."
Combining this with his existing intel, Genichi could deduce that the God Tree on Earth—the original Ten-Tails—did not belong to any of these three teams. This was proven by the fact that Isshiki still had his own Ten-Tails. Furthermore, Earth's God Tree had existed for a thousand years before Isshiki and Kaguya even arrived. Their mission was to harvest its fruit.
If Momoshiki and the other pair were on a mission with Isshiki, had they also gone to other planets to harvest fruit? Or perhaps they had gone to plant their own God Trees, each with their own Ten-Tails? And maybe Earth was their designated rendezvous point?
Of course, it was also possible they had only brought one Ten-Tails on their mission, which Isshiki held.
"Regardless, in the coming decades, three more Ōtsutsuki will appear on Earth."
Genichi pulled his gaze away and located the Ten-Tails slumbering beneath the altar. Sensing his presence, the beast opened its eye. It was a crimson, nine-tomoe Rinne Sharingan.
"It seems I was wrong before," Genichi noted. "All Ten-Tails possess the nine-tomoe Rinne Sharingan."
The Ten-Tails let out a deafening roar, its massive, fanged maw opening to devour him.
Genichi merely scoffed. The beast was instantly flash-frozen, its posture locked in a silent roar. Another excellent research specimen.
He sent the Ten-Tails back to his lab and vanished.
Elsewhere in the castle, Genichi appeared beside Naruto.
"Sensei… these children…" Naruto's face was pale with horror.
Kakashi and the others looked equally grim. Before them were rows upon rows of glass vats, each containing a child floating in liquid. It was a scene reminiscent of Danzō and Orochimaru's Wood Release experiments.
"Isshiki was using these children to test their compatibility as his new vessel," Genichi explained calmly. "I've told you before that Isshiki and Kaguya are from the Ōtsutsuki clan. Isshiki was nearly killed by Kaguya's ambush. He only survived by infesting the monk, Jigen."
"The Ōtsutsuki have an ability to implant their power—you can think of it as their genetic data—into another's body. This is known as Karma."
"Lord Genichi," Sasuke interjected, "those marks on Jigen's body, that was the Karma, wasn't it?"
Genichi nodded. "Correct. In his near-death state, Isshiki shrank his body, entered Jigen's ear, and lived as a parasite, slowly gaining control and eventually implanting his Karma. This is how Jigen lived for a thousand years. Of course, Jigen's case was special; he was controlled by Isshiki from a very early stage."
"So, Isshiki never actually revived in Jigen?" Kakashi asked. "At least, not while the Karma was still just a mark."
"That's right," Genichi confirmed. "The Karma is a backup of all of an Ōtsutsuki's data. The person marked with it is the 'Vessel.' When the Ōtsutsuki revives, the data in the Karma 'dissolves'—you can think of it as unsealing—and this process overwrites the Vessel, transforming them into the Ōtsutsuki. This is the process of their resurrection."
"But, as you all saw, Isshiki's power is immense. An ordinary person's body cannot withstand it. Jigen was one such failure, which is why Isshiki never truly revived in him, not until I forced his hand. In truth, even if I hadn't killed him, Isshiki would have died in a few days, his body crumbling."
"But Lord Genichi," Sakura said, "he could have just found another vessel, implanted another Karma, and repeated the process to extend his life, right?"
"Correct."
Naruto clenched his fists. "Then if an Ōtsutsuki prepares multiple vessels, does that mean they're impossible to kill?"
"There must be limits," Sasuke reasoned. "Otherwise, Isshiki wouldn't have been in this mess. And Lord Genichi said the requirements for a vessel are extremely high. These children are clearly not the first batch. Over a thousand years, Jigen... or Isshiki... must have been constantly searching."
At that, Naruto gritted his teeth. "That bastard Isshiki! Unforgivable!"
"Let's get these children out," Genichi said. "See if any can be saved."
Naruto blinked. "They can be saved?"
"We'll know when we try," Sasuke said, stepping forward.
"I'll do it!" Naruto flashed a hand sign. Multiple Shadow Clone Technique!
A hundred Narutos appeared, smashing the vats and carefully lifting the children out. Sakura immediately released her Yin Seal and summoned fractions of Lady Katsuyu to perform mass healing.
Genichi watched the three work together, nodding in approval. He turned to Kakashi. "Let's check the other areas. I doubt this is the only one."
Kakashi nodded.
The two walked out into the empty corridor. "Did you find anything else?" Kakashi asked.
"A Ten-Tails, the one Isshiki controlled," Genichi replied. "And a wall mural, depicting the Ōtsutsuki members. Three pairs in total. Besides Isshiki and Kaguya, there are two other pairs."
Kakashi's expression tensed. "Are they on Earth?"
Genichi shook his head. "Not likely, but they will come sooner or later. Isshiki was probably the highest-ranking among them. And we've only seen three pairs, but they are just a detachment sent by the Ōtsutsuki high command to harvest the God Tree's fruit."
"Which means," Kakashi said grimly, "if the Ōtsutsuki don't receive their fruit, they'll just keep sending more people."
"That's most likely the case."
Kakashi sighed. "What a mess. What's your plan?"
Genichi turned the question back on him. "Kakashi, what do you think?"
Kakashi rolled his visible eye. "You're already at a level we can't even touch. You must have an idea. Now that you have a Ten-Tails…"
Genichi shook his head. "Planting a God Tree costs the planet its life. The drain of natural energy would leave the land barren. This is our home. We can't do that, unless we plan to become cosmic nomads."
"Unless…"
Kakashi, who had been relieved, felt his heart drop again. "Unless what?"
"Unless we create a different kind of Ten-Tails."
Kakashi's eyes went wide. "Create… a Ten-Tails? Like how the Sage of Six Paths created the nine Tailed Beasts?"
"Correct," Genichi affirmed. "This is why I have been studying Yin-Yang Release for so long. You've mastered Sage Mode, Kakashi. I've told you that natural energy can be divided into many types. The God Tree primarily absorbs the planet's energy. But what if... it was designed to absorb solar energy instead? For example, if we planted it on the moon."
Kakashi swallowed. "What… what are your chances of success? That 'Cube' you made for Chisato already seems almost human."
Genichi smiled. "If I just wanted to create a normal Tailed Beast, I could do that right now. But a Ten-Tails… I'm still a long way off. I need to do more research. But the hope is very high, especially now that I have such excellent research samples."
"That sounds incredibly difficult," Kakashi said. "Are there any other ideas?"
"Yes," Genichi nodded. "All of you need to work harder. Follow the path I've walked. Kekkei Tōta, Yin-Yang Release, Truth-Seeking Orbs, Kekkei Mōra, Sage Transformation."
Kakashi's face stiffened. "That… is also probably very difficult."
Genichi was clearly enjoying this. "One generation works hard, then the next! You and Rin should have more kids, pass on your Kekkei Genkai. The next generation will have a higher starting point. The line of descendants is endless."
Many of the children Isshiki had abducted were already dead. Naruto and his team were only able to save just over a dozen.
"Sasuke, do you have the chakra?" Genichi asked.
Sasuke nodded. "No problem. I can go straight to Konoha."
"You could also put them in my Kamui dimension first," Obito offered.
"Let's have Sasuke do it," Genichi decided. "Send them directly to the Konoha hospital. These children need a full examination and a long recovery. Naruto, Sakura, you'll assist."
Sasuke opened a portal, and clones of Naruto and Sakura began carrying the surviving children through, appearing directly inside the Konoha hospital.
Genichi left Obito's team to continue exploring the dimension while he himself returned to his experimental facility in Konoha.