Toneri Otsutsuki's body shook violently as he clutched his father's robe, his fingers turning white from the force. Waves of nausea and dizziness slammed into his fragile mind, and disgust and fear nearly drowned him. He could barely remain standing.
"Do you see it, Toneri Otsutsuki?" his father asked calmly, his voice flat and distant. His tone carried a lofty contempt as he spoke of those driven by greed and desire who endlessly created death and destruction. They slaughtered each other to satisfy desire, and spread suffering to satisfy greed.
Pain, hatred, madness, loathing, anger, fear, and death were listed one by one. This, he said, was what Ninja were, and their greed, hatred, and war had twisted this world into something deformed. Each word was like a sharp spike stabbing into Toneri Otsutsuki's confused mind.
"The source of all this is Sage of Six Paths," his father continued. This was the world Sage of Six Paths created, the world where Chakra was spread. That power was used by Ninja to breed endless hatred and war, turning a pure planet into a filthy dumping ground.
His voice rose with undeniable conviction as he spoke of their lineage. As descendants who inherited Hamura's blood and will, their mission was to destroy this twisted world and correct the mistake of Sage of Six Paths. All twisted and fallen Ninja would be erased, cleansed, and remade.
As these words poured into Toneri Otsutsuki's ears, ideas of filth, error, and removal slowly took root alongside his physical disgust and fear. He repeated to himself that the world created by Sage of Six Paths was wrong, twisted, and deformed. His trembling grip gradually steadied, and the pain on his young face eased.
An expression of agreement and resolve far beyond his age appeared on his face. Disgust and fear transformed into a sense of sacred duty that bore heavy responsibility. His father was right.
The world created by Sage of Six Paths had failed, and his mission was to destroy it and recreate it. Feeling that Toneri Otsutsuki's hand had stopped shaking, his father smiled. His first purpose in bringing him to the Ninja World had been achieved.
As for the second purpose of this journey, his voice grew hoarse but gentle as he spoke again. He told Toneri Otsutsuki that he would take him to meet his future wife. On the Moon, there were no longer any female clanspeople, so to continue the bloodline and keep it pure, they had to find the recorded Byakugan princess.
This was the second reason for the trip. Hearing the word wife, even the innocent Toneri Otsutsuki felt his calm face flush with embarrassment. At the same time, a small sense of expectation rose within him, because in his understanding a wife was someone who could also be a playmate.
"Let us go," his father said at last. He cast one final cold glance at the battlefield below, his contempt and disgust undisguised, as if he were looking at trash. He then prepared to withdraw his gaze and control the flying Ninja Tool to leave.
Suddenly, an overwhelming and terrifying chill surged through him. The sensation was sharp and unmistakable, the feeling of being locked onto by something. Almost instinctively, he raised his hand to form seals and looked further downward.
What he saw was Shadow at the center of the battlefield between Sunagakure and Konoha, his presence deep and unfathomable. Beside him stood Whirlpool, who raised a hand toward them.
When Shadow saw the two figures high above, he understood at once that prey had delivered itself. He remembered clearly that the Otsutsuki Clan who died on the Moon, including Hamura Otsutsuki, had not had their souls enter the Pure Land. Those souls were still wandering.
Hinata Hyuga Mirai had seen Hamura Otsutsuki and the countless souls of the dead Otsutsuki Clan. These were not the souls of ordinary ninja, but high quality souls from the Otsutsuki Clan. That meant a rare opportunity.
"If I can take all of those souls, how many mid level or even high level Great Hollows could I raise, and how many points would I save?" Shadow smiled as he thought about it.
Becoming an enemy of the entire Ninja World was inevitable, and Hagoromo Otsutsuki held the souls of all the strong ones in the Pure Land, which would be a serious problem if he acted.
To prepare for facing the Sage of Six Paths or even stronger enemies in the future, Shadow needed more strength and more subordinates to handle troublesome opponents.
The souls of the Otsutsuki Clan on the Moon were excellent materials. For now, going to the Moon to face Hamura Otsutsuki was impossible, but since the prey had come to him, there was no reason to refuse Zetsu. With that thought, Shadow appeared at the center of the battlefield between Konoha and Sunagakure, right beside Nagato, Kakuzu, and Miyashiro En.
"…Shadow?" Nagato turned instinctively, raised his guard, then lowered his arm when he recognized him. He frowned and asked, "What are you doing here?"
Long ago, he and Hanzo had agreed on their division of labor. Hanzo would push into the rear camp of Sunagakure for a decapitation strike, while he and the others of Akatsuki would move to the front lines, hide among the Amegakure Ninja, slaughter forces from Sunagakure and the Konoha Ninja, and search for the One-Tail Jinchuriki to seize it.
The goal of Akatsuki was always the Tailed Beasts, and they could not fully expose themselves to the Five Great Nations yet. Because of that, Nagato had not used his full strength. The sudden appearance of Shadow was unexpected and made him uneasy.
With a wet snap, the masked Miyashiro En raised the longbow Ninja Tool taken from the Underground Palace. He gathered Chakra into arrows and shot down several Sunagakure Ninja charging toward them. This bow, named the Sacred Annihilation Arrow, was a Ninja Tool that could form arrows directly from Chakra.
Earlier, before Hanzo had appeared in the camp of the Sunagakure forces, it was Miyashiro En who had fired Chakra arrows into the sky and killed several unaware Sunagakure Ninja. Now, Miyashiro En and Kakuzu both noticed the disturbance and moved closer to Nagato and Shadow.
"Shadow," Kakuzu said in a hoarse, heavy voice. "Did Hanzo finish things over there?"
Shadow ignored their questions and looked up at the thick black clouds overhead. He spoke with a smile. "Nagato, I came to help you clear the field."
"I also want you to see what Universal Pull can do, aside from the repulsion of Shinra Tensei." Hearing this, Nagato froze for a moment, then frowned deeply.
Shadow paid no attention to his confusion and raised the Box of Ultimate Bliss in his hand. With a harsh tearing sound, as if space itself were being ripped apart, a violent noise exploded in the air before him. The space there split open like cloth torn by invisible claws, forming an irregular and terrifying black cavity.
From deep within the black cavity surged rolling darkness and deathly stillness. A cold wave poured out, chilling everything nearby. Miyashiro En stared in shock, while Kakuzu stepped back without thinking.
"What is that?" Miyashiro En asked.
"This is a black cavity," Shadow said calmly. "You can consider it a kind of space time Ninjutsu."