Under the afterglow of the setting sun, the blood on the ground shimmered with an eerie luster.
A few startled birds circled above the ruins, emitting buzzing cries that added to the deathly silence and desolation.
Kaguya flickered and arrived at Shun's side. Her forehead was covered in fine beads of sweat, her chest heaved slightly, and her pale cheeks were flushed from the intense battle. Clearly, the high-intensity combat just now had taken quite a toll on her.
Kaguya's lips moved, her clear eyes filled with confusion.
She was silent for a while, but eventually couldn't help asking, "Shun, why did you let them leave? With your strength, you clearly could have kept them here."
She was well aware of Shun's power. Had he exerted even a little more effort during the pursuit, let alone five heavily injured high ranks, even if they had been at their peak and fled together, it would have been impossible for all of them to escape.
Yet he had paused several times at critical moments and deliberately slowed down. The traces of his intentional actions were too obvious, he was clearly letting them go on purpose.
She couldn't understand the deeper meaning. Did he not realize that letting them return would leave endless trouble? Or did he have some other plan?
Shun slowly turned around to meet her questioning gaze. He slowly raised his right hand and gently wiped the sweat from Kaguya's forehead.
Only then did he speak, explaining patiently, "Kaguya, don't worry, they won't escape. Have you forgotten that to plunder more Chakra, the Otsutsuki clan sent a large number of combat-capable clansmen to various planets to plant God Trees? These scattered clansmen are numerous and distributed in every corner of the Universe."
"They are like scattered sand, it's fundamentally difficult to clear them out completely."
The confusion in Kaguya's eyes faded slightly, replaced by a bit of curiosity and anticipation. "Shun, looking at you, have you thought of a solution?"
A glint of certainty flashed in Shun's eyes, and the residual energy of Ten Directions flowed within them.
His tone grew slightly heavier, and a confident look flashed in his eyes. "I let them go on purpose so they would go back and gather those clansmen to return for revenge. Only in this way can we lure them all out."
Hearing this, Kaguya guessed his thoughts. "So... you're casting a long line to catch big fish."
The corners of Shun's lips curled into a confident arc, his eyes shimmering with the light of strategic planning. "They will stubbornly believe that although we are strong, we only gained the upper hand through a surprise attack."
"They'll think that as long as they gather the strength of the entire clan, they can wipe us out completely. So they will spare no expense and use all resources to summon the clansmen scattered across various planets. Their attempt to gather all their strength for revenge is exactly our chance to catch them all in one net."
"At that time, we only need to wait for the prey and set an ambush here on Otsutsuki Planet. Once they have gathered all their clansmen, we'll take them all down in one fell swoop. It saves us from searching planet by planet, wasting a lot of time and energy."
After hearing Shun's explanation, the confusion in Kaguya's eyes vanished instantly, replaced by a look of sudden realization.
She nodded gently, a look of admiration flashing in her eyes. "I see, I didn't think it through. This way, we really can centralize all the Otsutsuki clan's power and eradicate them once and for all, eliminating future troubles. Your plan is much more brilliant than clearing them out one by one."
Previously, she only thought about eliminating the enemies in front of her as quickly as possible without considering the threat of the clansmen scattered around the Universe. Only now did she understand Shun's far-sightedness.
She looked at Shun, a warm current surging in her heart. Shun was not only powerful, but his mind was also meticulous and his considerations thorough. It's truly good to have him by her side.
She lowered her eyes slightly, and the aura around her became increasingly soft.
Shun nodded slightly, his gaze turning cold and firm once again.
He looked up at the dilapidated Otsutsuki Palace, the cracks in the dome appearing exceptionally clear under the setting sun.
He said indifferently, "They won't escape. We just need to reinforce the defenses of the Otsutsuki Palace, use this place as our base, and wait quietly. When they return with all the scattered clansmen, that will be the time we completely end the Otsutsuki clan."
Beside him, Kaguya stood quietly, feeling the Chakra still abundant within her body. Along with a deeper understanding of spatial rules from the recent battle, she felt increasingly at ease.
This battle allowed her to grasp the baseline of her own strength and gave her more confidence to face the subsequent challenges alongside Shun.
She nodded gently. "Alright, I'll follow your lead."
The battlefield wind, carrying dust and the smell of blood, brushed past, rustling their clothes with a faint sound.
The violent energy in the wind gradually dissipated, replaced by darkness and silence.
"Kaguya, follow me back to the core area of the Otsutsuki Planet to handle the follow-up matters." Shun withdrew his gaze.
The "follow-up" he mentioned included taking stock of the precious spoils left on the battlefield, such as Chakra Crystals, ancient scrolls recording Shinjutsu, and God Tree Seedlings containing pure energy.
Even more important was dealing with those Otsutsuki who had luckily survived. These people were both potential hidden dangers and a useful link in his plan.
He raised his hand to signal Kaguya to follow, his body already moving toward the core area first.
Kaguya nodded slightly and followed closely behind Shun, their figures streaking across the sky like two beams of light.
In just a few seconds, they arrived at the core heartland of the Otsutsuki home planet. Although this place wasn't directly involved in the battle, many spiderweb-like cracks had appeared due to the energy shockwaves from the previous fight.
Many walls of the buildings along the streets had collapsed, and rubble was piled up like mountains.
Occasionally, sporadic wails could be heard from the distance. Those were the painful groans of the surviving Otsutsuki.
Shun looked around. At this moment, there were very few survivors left.
"First, use Amenominaka to transfer all surviving Otsutsuki to the Origin Space. These people cannot stay on the Otsutsuki Planet, lest our plans be leaked."
The original population of the Otsutsuki main family was only a few hundred. The energy shockwaves from the earlier battle had swept indiscriminately across the planet, causing the Otsutsuki clan to lose many more members.
Hearing this, Kaguya's Chakra surged abruptly, spreading out like a tide, causing the space it passed through to ripple slightly. This spatial power precisely enveloped all the surviving Otsutsuki on the planet and female Otsutsuki clones.
In the next second, their figures were forcibly transferred into the Origin Space controlled by Kaguya.
Shun then stepped into the Origin Space. Over a hundred Otsutsuki were huddled together in a corner of the space.
Upon carefully counting the Otsutsuki, one would find that nearly seventy percent were thin, raggedly dressed children. Their small faces were filthy, covered in dust and blood, and their eyes were filled with fear of the unknown. Some were still tightly clutching the hands of their companions, sobbing softly.
The rest were mostly white-haired, stooped elders.
Hardly any young or middle-aged adults could be seen. Obviously, they had either been sent to other planets to plant God Trees or had perished in the previous battles and the Branch House rebellion.
Among them, many bore scars from being burned by energy aftershocks or hit by falling rocks. Their wounds were seeping blood, and they were sobbing in low voices, occasionally letting out suppressed whimpers full of despair and helplessness.
"Kaguya, these people are the few remaining sparks of the Otsutsuki clan."
Shun's gaze swept over the crowd indifferently, without a hint of pity. Then he slowly closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, a faint golden halo had appeared in them.
Senrigan and Ten Directions operated and intertwined simultaneously, golden light flowing within his eyes. Instantly, countless fragments of information flooded into his mind like a rushing tide.
These were the memory fragments of every Otsutsuki's past, from small scenes of being enslaved by the high ranks in childhood and only being able to eat leftovers, to the humiliation of being scolded and beaten by overseers.
To the larger pictures of the class oppression they personally experienced, the bloody scenes of the Branch House rebellion being brutally suppressed, and even their possible future trajectories.
In the information flow, the twisted class system of the Otsutsuki clan was clearly outlined.
The High Ranks, who had lived for thousands of years, relied on their long lifespans and powerful strength to proclaim themselves "Gods." They held the power of life and death over the entire clan, living in luxurious palaces, eating fine food, and enjoying the nourishment of the purest Chakra.
Meanwhile, the Otsutsuki of the Branch House were reduced to the lowest grade of consumables, bound for life to plant God Trees and plunder planetary Chakra for the High Ranks.
Because of this, the Otsutsuki Branch House had raised rebellions in despair several times. But they were all brutally suppressed by the High Ranks using overwhelming power. The rebels were either killed outright or fed to the God Tree.
This led to a further sharp decrease in the already sparse population, severely damaging the clan.