"It should be you—the person in charge of the Pure Land."
Following the trace of his perception, Kain searched through the Pure Land space for a long time before finally locking onto its source.
When he arrived, he saw a familiar figure—dressed in the Immortal Gouyu robes, bearing the characteristic double horns of the Ōtsutsuki, with a Zen staff before him and a Truth-Seeking Ball hovering behind.
In Kain's perception, the Sage of Six Paths possessed immense energy, yet it was not vastly beyond that of other spiritual beings. This was because the Sage was now fused with the entirety of the Pure Land space itself.
"The Man Who Changed the Prophecy"
Ōtsutsuki Yuyi spoke slowly. He picked up the Zen staff from the Truth-Seeking Ball in front of him, fixed Kain with a serious gaze, and continued:
"Although your existence has changed the ninja world, without a foundation of truth, such change is fragile. True peace can only be achieved by changing people's hearts. Chakra was meant to foster mutual understanding between individuals—only then can lasting peace exist."
"I think you've been fooled by that toad."
Kain almost laughed aloud. Talking to him about ideals? You might as well put your self-interest openly on the table—maybe then he'd consider letting Yuyi go.
"Reason with me about people's hearts? I eliminated the chaos of war, freed everyone in the ninja world from hunger and disease. And you—what are you, to accuse me? A fool tricked by a toad, thinking himself a savior?"
Without waiting for a reply, Kain unleashed a torrent of life energy, intending to use it to seize control of the surrounding Pure Land space.
There was a reason Yuyi had chosen this location: the Pure Land corresponded directly to places in the living world, and this particular section connected to Loulan—a natural wellspring of energy.
Crackling!
Deafening thunder roared as blinding lightning engulfed the entire space. Naturally, Yuyi would not sit idle. Since their positions made them enemies, he would go all out to destroy Kain.
But the lightning vanished three meters from Kain, dissipating as if it had never existed.
Seeing his Six Paths Lightning Style fail, Yuyi narrowed his eyes. The Truth-Seeking Ball behind him morphed into an array of weapons, which shot toward Kain.
Even as a spirit body, Yuyi could still wield the Truth-Seeking Ball and unleash devastating lightning, his strength greatly amplified by the Pure Land's boundless energy.
Swish!
Space twisted, and Yuyi's weapons were whisked into another dimension. In the same instant, Kain appeared right before him, his spiritual will condensed entirely into a single punch.
The Pure Land itself trembled, resonating with the force about to be unleashed.
"Such… power…" Yuyi's calm cracked, his face filled with shock.
Boom!
Kain's punch struck—its power compressed to the extreme, erasing the earlier spatial turbulence and returning everything to stillness.
Yuyi's heart clenched. Not since he had extracted the Ten Tails had he felt death so close. Now, he was certain: he would truly die.
Boom!
The blow landed. Yuyi's form disintegrated—not into dust, but into something smaller, annihilated beyond retrieval. No ninjutsu, senjutsu, or dōjutsu could save him.
The surrounding space was sealed, his escape cut off. Kain's energy dominated the Pure Land.
Yet another Yuyi appeared before Kain—this one faint, his energy on par with Jiraiya's spirit.
"It seems this is an ability granted to you by the Pure Land itself. No… you truly died just now. This must be your other soul," Kain said, certain of his judgment.
He had sensed the change in the Pure Land when the new form appeared.
"I didn't expect you to be so strong," the weakened Yuyi admitted with a sigh. "It seems no one in the ninja world can stop you. But I still believe in Hamamaru's prophecy. I've seen it from here—the tailed beasts, all but the Three and Nine Tails, devoured by you…"
"Enough nonsense. Listening to a fool like you is a waste of my time."
With a thought, Kain cast a soul-binding spell, seizing Yuyi's spirit. For a mage, a soul was a precious tool—and Yuyi's could be forged into a powerful magical artifact.
Once the spirit was subdued, Kain scanned the Pure Land again. There were no more traces of Yuyi's soul, and the realm's will seemed to have vanished, its hostility gone.
"Let's see what secrets this Pure Land holds."
He pressed his mind into Yuyi's captured soul, tearing through its defenses with overwhelming mental force, reading its memories.
After some time, he found what he sought.
"So… this was left behind by the ancient onmyoji. Whether it's the Evil God or the Uzumaki clan's Shinigami, they're all connected to the onmyoji."
Armed with this knowledge, Kain now had a complete understanding of the Pure Land.
Onmyoji, samurai, and witches existed long before Kaguya arrived on the Ninja Planet. At that time, the Onmyoji were known as people who could communicate with the gods, owing to their diverse abilities.
As Onmyoji could develop various powers from natural energy, many sought to draw closer to the realm of ghosts and gods. In pursuit of this, they, along with others, created the Pure Land space.
Back then, the Pure Land was small. Its vastness today is the result of Ōtsutsuki Yuyi's continuous expansion over thousands of years.
"Not only is there the support of natural energy, but for millennia, the dead have turned into Pure Land energy. No wonder Ōtsutsuki Yuyi could still wield Six Paths power after removing the Ten Tails—he may even surpass the ordinary Six Paths level," Kain thought to himself.
He then left a spiritual mark at the core of the Pure Land's energy source. If a spirit body remains here long enough, it can eventually gain control over the Pure Land.
Spirits like Jiraiya, Uchiha Obito, and Sarutobi Hiruzen had grown stronger thanks to Yuyi's influence. But from now on, no spirit would receive such treatment. Without that supply, they would be no different from ordinary souls—able to linger only as long as the strength of their former lives could sustain them.
The chakra in the Pure Land was massive, and within a thousand years, all dissipated spirits would be absorbed into it. Yet Yuyi never used this resource effectively—relying instead on slow, inefficient methods to recover his power.
If all of it were used, at least two or three fully-formed Ten Tails could be created.
"Store the energy first—figure out how to use it later."
Kain began making arrangements. Aside from this site, there were four other key points within the Pure Land, but this one—corresponding to the Loulan Dragon Vein in the ninja world—was the most important.
After securing the Pure Land, Kain went to find Orochimaru. That opportunist was busy siphoning energy wherever he could.
Kain had assumed it would be difficult to enter the Pure Land, expecting Orochimaru to want to leave and strategize against the Sage of Six Paths first—perhaps taking some resources before departing.
However, upon hearing that Yuyi had already been subdued, Orochimaru relaxed. He could also sense the vast chakra within the Pure Land—enough to train his Tailed Beast Hydra into the strongest of its kind.
Kain ignored his ambitions. The Pure Land's chakra could be replenished endlessly, and even Orochimaru couldn't exhaust it.
After a brief farewell, Kain left the Pure Land.
Uchiha Mikoto, resting nearby, kindly brought two glasses of water—one for Nohara Rin, and then she gently tended to Kain.
"Why are you so energetic today? Neither of us can keep up with you," she teased.
"This time is different," Kain replied. "I need your help to make a magic item."
Mikoto gave him a reproachful look. "What kind of magic item requires this? You're not coming up with one of your… tricky things again, are you?"
"This time it's serious—and powerful. If enemies appear in the ninja world, we can even use it to test its strength."
Kain's gaze drifted toward two bottles in the distance, each containing undead fire and the most malignant energy in existence. Under the influence of such hatred and malice, he was eager to see what surprises these two Uchiha could bring him.
"Madam Mikoto, let's do it again."
"You recovered so quickly? Fine—but be gentle, hmm~"
The night's curtain could not hide the muffled cries, and it was a long while before Mikoto, exhausted, finally rested. Then Kain went to find Nono and Kushina.
In a peaceful ninja world, there was time for enjoyment. The Daming House held supreme authority, and there was no urgent need to focus on the world's development.
Even knowing the Ōtsutsuki threat would come someday, it was still more than ten years away. For now, Kain could simply enjoy life.
This trip to the ninja world had yielded great rewards. With the Ten Tails and seedlings of the sacred tree in his possession, he planned to plant one on the Douqi Continent and see if it could absorb that world's origin.
However, the Ōtsutsuki-style deed was still being unraveled. The deed itself contained all information on the Ōtsutsuki—including the sacred tree's cultivation method.
An ordinary sacred tree required the sacrifice of an Ōtsutsuki upon maturity. If that were unavoidable, Kain would use one of his clones instead. His genetics surpassed even those of the Ōtsutsuki, making him more suited to meet the tree's requirements—but calculations were still needed.
When not with his family, Kain would sometimes visit kurenai in the dead of night.
Kurenai had replaced her bed with a mattress and considered moving somewhere quieter, but with rising housing costs and her current place rented, she couldn't afford it. Otherwise, she wouldn't still be tutoring Uchiha Chiwa in genjutsu for extra money.
Kain especially enjoyed the sight of kurenai stifling her cries, tears in her eyes, unwilling to let the neighbors hear—her attempts to muffle herself only drove his impulses further. There were also moments when she buried her face in the pillow or bit down on a towel to keep silent.
Two months later, the Shell Organization incident drew to a close. The Fire Federation halted its arrests.
Those deserving execution were eliminated, while dozens of officials deeply involved with the Shell Organization—along with their affiliates—were exposed.
Those who knowingly collaborated with the group were sent to the federal border for forced labor.
Except for Sarutobi Asuma, the rest faced a minimum sentence of ten years.
On the day the criminals were escorted away, Kurenai Yuhi arrived early, waiting on the road outside the capital. Today, she wore light makeup to hide the traces of her recent sleepless nights.
"Excuse me, I'd like to have a word with Asuma."
She approached the escort team and spoke to one of the guarding shinobi. The man didn't make things difficult. Instead, he pulled Sarutobi Asuma forward and said with a tilt of his head,
"If you get more than a hundred meters away from me, the chains on him will explode. Don't take too long."
For felony prisoners serving only a two-year sentence, anyone with sense knew someone had intervened on their behalf. A few minutes of conversation wouldn't change anything.
"Thanks."
Kurenai led Asuma a little farther from the group.
After several months of interrogation, Asuma looked worn and disheveled, but his face brightened the moment he saw her. He wasn't abandoned after all—someone still cared.
"Thank you, Hong."
Even with her makeup, Asuma could see the exhaustion in her face. She must have worn herself out on his behalf.
"I know how much effort you put in for me. From facing death to ending up with only two years in prison—it's all thanks to you."
Kurenai shook her head and gave a small smile. "It's fine, Asuma. Two years will pass quickly."
"Hong, who did you ask for help this time?"
Her eyes flickered briefly, but she quickly replied, "Nohara Rin and Uchiha Mikoto. You know Mikoto, of course. Rin is from our generation."
"It's them… It must've been difficult to get them to speak for me. Thank you, Hong."
Regret washed over Asuma's face. He shouldn't have abandoned everything for the sake of hatred and an empty dream. Now he realized—the most important person had been right beside him all along.
"Hong, I promise, everything will be fine in two years—"
"Ugh—"
Before he could finish, Kurenai suddenly covered her mouth and retched.
"Hong, are you feeling unwell?" Asuma asked quickly, concern etched into his voice.
She shook her head and reassured him, "Maybe I just ate something bad. It's nothing."
They didn't speak for much longer; the escort team had to move on. Kurenai personally walked Asuma back before stepping aside to watch him leave.
But as the group disappeared into the distance, she suddenly bent forward and retched again.
A troubling thought crossed her mind.
It can't be… I never forget to take the medicine.