Raizen didn't waste a second.
The moment he received the warning, he tore open Kamui and stepped into the Snow Polar Region — the farthest northern edge of the world, where sunlight limps, storms scream, and almost nothing human survives.
Perfect vacation spot.
He followed the scout's blood-written map through the howling winds, trudging across snow that swallowed sound and breath alike.
That's when he saw it — a lump of darkness half-buried in white.
Raizen crouched, brushed snow aside.
"A corpse…?"
No.
A husk.
Skin shriveled.
Limbs stiff.
Headband: Cloud Village.
"Chakra completely drained."
He'd seen this effect before — the way Wood Release could siphon someone dry.
But this wasn't done by trees.
This was deliberate harvesting.
He moved deeper into the ice fields.
More bodies appeared — wandering shinobi, small clan scouts, foreign agents… dozens of them.
None from Konoha.
That was the only good news.
"So the puppets here are collecting chakra… why?"
He didn't get an answer — but he got company.
A spike of chakra brushed his senses.
Raizen inhaled sharply and sank into the snow like a fox into a burrow.
A heavy figure landed with a thud that shook the ground.
Tall.
Massive.
Eyes glowing with a scarlet ripple.
Rinnegan.
Emotionless.
Lifeless.
A puppet wrapped in a human shell.
"So it's true…"
Raizen burst from beneath the snow.
Four black receivers shot from his fingertips, slicing through the air.
The puppet reacted instantly, moving with terrifying speed for something that had no soul. It dodged, then lunged at Raizen with killing intent.
Raizen flicked his wrist.
"Universal Pull."
Space warped.
The giant flew straight into his grip.
Raizen's other hand formed a chakra rod and drove it into the puppet's head.
A sharp crack.
A hiss.
And then—
No blood.
Only oily black substance oozing from its skull.
"Yin–Yang Release constructs… Great. Someone really went all-in."
As the puppet collapsed, the borrowed Rinnegan fizzled out like dying embers.
Not its own power.
Just an imprint from whoever controlled them.
Raizen continued forward.
More corpses.
More chakra-drained remnants.
More puppets — each one smashed apart with a single black rod to the spine.
The air stung with ice and stale chakra.
At last, the ruins appeared — a colossal shrine half-swallowed by snowdrifts, ancient pillars jutting like frozen ribs from the earth.
"So this is the place…"
The moment Raizen stepped into view, a dozen puppets guarding the entrance screeched and charged.
Fast.
Strong.
Relentless.
But empty.
Raizen's rods blurred, flickering like black lightning.
One by one, the puppets collapsed into the snow, their movements locking as if their strings had been severed.
He entered the shrine.
Inside, the walls came alive with murals — scenes of war unlike anything in the ninja world.
Celestial warriors clashing in midair.
Blades of light.
Worlds split apart.
Meteorites falling like rain.
An Ōtsutsuki war.
Raizen swallowed.
"Great. The DLC nobody asked for."
He wanted to stop and read everything, but the deeper he went, the more oppressive the air became.
Murals faded.
Hallways widened.
Then he saw it —
A massive altar glowing with violent chakra, pulsing like the heart of a dying star.
Raizen's Rinnegan activated on its own, reacting before he even consciously decided.
"Is this how they communicate? A link to the Ōtsutsuki…?"
His thoughts ended abruptly.
The shrine trembled.
Stone cracked.
Snow fell in sheets.
A surge of chakra exploded from the altar, so strong Raizen felt his bones vibrate.
And then—
A voice.
Arrogant.
Ancient.
Hungry.
"You finally feel it… the power of the Divine Tree."
The light intensified, swallowing the room whole.
And something began to crawl out of the altar.