Looking at the determined eyes of Pain, Konan's worries gradually faded. She knew that as long as Nagato was there, their ideals could be realized.
She approached and softly said, "The plan to collect the Tailed Beasts may have to be pushed forward."
Pain nodded slightly, "I'll prepare the 'Gedo Statue' as soon as possible."
At this stage, he had not fully adjusted the Gedo Statue, but the external situation had changed, so they needed to adapt.
Konan continued, "Should we notify him?"
The "he" that Konan referred to was, of course, Tobi.
Pain said, "Regarding the collection of the Tailed Beasts, he won't interfere. In fact, we can use the collection process to test his strength!"
Konan nodded, "Alright, I'll inform him!"
While the Five Great Shinobi Nations slowly pushed forward their talks amidst bickering, the Akatsuki continued to accumulate power in the shadows.
Uchiha Shinji, of course, wasn't idle either!
Over the past few days, Shinji had been regularly exchanging chakra with Karin through 'Jikibi' and 'Wazunagi.'
Karin's high-purity Yang Release chakra greatly stimulated Shinji's Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan, and with each chakra exchange, his dojutsu would noticeably increase in power.
Similarly, Shinji's high-purity Yin Release chakra brought significant benefits to Karin.
The most obvious result was that the wrinkles around the area where Karin's arm had the transplant had smoothed out, no longer appearing as unsightly folds.
According to Shinji's estimation, in about two months, the wrinkles in the transplant area should completely return to normal.
Once that area returned to normal, it would mean that Karin had fully integrated with the White Zetsu cells, and there would be no risk of rejection.
"Phew…"
After exhaling, Shinji stopped using 'Wazunagi.'
He had just completed another chakra exchange with Karin.
As he leaned against the tree, slowly getting to his feet, he began to assess the results of this chakra exchange.
His dojutsu's enhancement was significant, but the real shock came from the increase in Karin's chakra reserves.
Due to 'Wazunagi,' he could clearly sense the overall chakra level of the linked target.
Therefore, Karin's chakra levels were even more apparent to Shinji than to herself.
Initially, he estimated that Karin's chakra level was about twenty times his own, which was already an astonishing figure.
However, with each chakra exchange, her chakra levels continued to skyrocket.
Just now, when he used 'Wazunagi' to extract her chakra, he found that Karin's chakra levels had already risen to about twenty-five times his own.
One could only imagine how terrifying her chakra levels would become once she fully integrated with the White Zetsu cells.
"Am I cultivating a human Tailed Beast, just like the First Hokage?"
Shinji thought to himself, secretly amazed.
Previously, he hadn't dared to hope that he could restore the fully damaged Mangekyo Sharingan. But seeing Karin's rapid growth, he suddenly felt that once she fully integrated the White Zetsu cells and her Yang Release chakra reached a higher level, restoring that damaged Mangekyo might no longer be an unattainable dream.
However, for now, he wasn't planning to let Karin attempt to restore that fully damaged Mangekyo.
Aside from the fact that Karin hadn't yet fully integrated the White Zetsu cells, there was another reason: recently, the Hidden Grass Village had been frequently contacting Karin.
In fact, it wasn't just Karin.
The Hidden Mist had also been frequently reaching out to White, urging him to get closer to Sasuke and investigate the secrets of the Uchiha clan and the Akatsuki.
The reason for this sudden increase in communication was due to a rumor circulating outside. The rumor suggested that the Akatsuki was secretly supported by the Hidden Leaf and that all the Uchiha with Mangekyo Sharingan in the Akatsuki were top Uchiha elites who faked their deaths and secretly disguised themselves. This was why they all wore masks.
Because of this rumor, both White and Karin were once again ordered by their respective factions to get closer to Sasuke.
"Heh…"
Shinji chuckled, shaking his head.
He had the clearest insight into the truth of the rumor, but of course, he couldn't come out and say anything, so he just treated it as a joke.
After thinking it over for a moment, Shinji activated 'Jikibi' and entered the 'Jikibi' space.
In the 'Jikibi' space, he linked to a spirit and pulled it into the space.
"Wh-Where is this?!"
The person whose spirit had just entered the 'Jikibi' space exclaimed in surprise.
Sitting leisurely, Shinji said calmly, "Neji Hyuga, find yourself a seat."
It was unmistakable—this spirit pulled into the 'Jikibi' space was none other than Neji, whom Shinji had marked that day using 'Jikibi.'
Seeing Shinji in the center seat, Neji was shocked, "It's you?"
Shinji nodded slightly.
Neji, though filled with questions, restrained himself and, while cautiously observing the surroundings, found an empty seat and sat down slowly.
After sitting, he carefully asked, "May I ask, where is this place? How did I get here?"
Shinji didn't offer much explanation, replying casually, "You don't need to know the details. Just understand that this is a hidden spiritual space. Your spirit has been brought here, but your body is still in its original place."
"A spiritual space?!"
Neji's eyes narrowed.
As a member of a prominent family, he understood that anything involving spirits was often tied to mysterious and dangerous techniques in the ninja world.
Shinji continued, "From now on, I'll contact you in this way. Here, you can speak freely without worrying about leaks."
Realizing the advantages of such a space, Neji asked, "Then how should I address you?"
Shinji pondered for a moment and said, "You can call me 'Leader.'"
"Leader!?" Neji was surprised, then asked, "Are… are you the leader of the Akatsuki?"
Shinji nodded slightly.
Knowing about the summit being held to counter the Akatsuki, Neji, as a member of a prominent clan, had also heard of the Akatsuki's crimes. So upon learning that the person before him was the leader of the Akatsuki, he couldn't help but ask, "Do you know that the village is holding talks to deal with the Akatsuki?"
Shinji responded, "And?"
Neji, puzzled, asked, "Aren't you worried at all?"
"Why would I be worried?" Shinji chuckled and countered, "Shouldn't the weak be the ones worrying? Why should the strong worry?"
Neji was left speechless.
He hadn't expected the leader of the Akatsuki to be so arrogant, even considering himself stronger than the Five Great Shinobi Nations.
Shinji said, "Alright, let's get to the point. Have you found anything over the past few days?"
Neji shook his head, "I'm sorry, I searched many places in the main family's estate but found no clues related to the Tenseigan or the moon."
Shinji thought for a moment and said, "This secret likely belongs to the core of the main family. It's even possible that only the clan head knows about it, so it won't be easy to find."
Neji furrowed his brows, "Then how should I go about finding it?"
Shinji replied, "I can't give you any specific advice. You'll have to figure that out on your own!"
"Yes."
Neji nodded reluctantly.
Shinji didn't waste any more time and severed the link with Neji, allowing his spirit to leave the 'Jikibi' space.
After Neji left, Shinji didn't immediately exit either. Instead, he stayed in the quiet 'Jikibi' space to think.
Whether or not the Hyuga clan had a way to contact the Otsutsuki clan on the moon was something Shinji had only guessed at.
If the Hyuga didn't have such a method, then all his efforts with Neji would have been wasted.
Because waiting until Otsutsuki Toneri made contact with the Hyuga clan would be eight or nine years from now.
Shinji could wait.
But the shinobi world might not be able to wait!
"Is there another way to reach the moon?"
Shinji stroked his chin, deep in thought.
He remembered that in the original timeline, Naruto and his team were transported to the moon through a sealed space. While the entrance to that space was on Earth, the Earth was vast, and without any clues, finding a sealed space was akin to searching for a needle in a haystack.
"Unless… I can lure the Otsutsuki clan from the moon!"
Suddenly, Shinji had a new idea.
If he could create something that would attract the Otsutsuki from the moon, he could follow them and infiltrate the moon himself.
But soon he encountered a problem.
He realized that there wasn't much in the shinobi world that could attract the Otsutsuki on the moon. Even when Uchiha Madara stole the Gedo Statue, the Otsutsuki clan's guardians didn't react.
"Could it be that I have to wait until Toneri comes down to abduct Hanabi?" Shinji suddenly had a realization. "Of course! The Otsutsuki on the moon still need two things!"
These two things were what Toneri had sought to abduct in the original timeline.
They were a pure Byakugan and a Byakugan princess!
The pure Byakugan was for merging into the Tenseigan, and the Byakugan princess was for continuing the Otsutsuki clan's bloodline.
These two things were necessary for the Otsutsuki clan on the moon.
If Shinji could obtain one of these two things as bait, he might be able to lure the Otsutsuki down from the moon.
As for which to choose as bait, Shinji quickly made his decision.
Currently, there were still Otsutsuki clan members alive on the moon, and Toneri was still young, not yet an adult, so the Byakugan princess likely didn't hold much appeal to them.
Thus, what could truly attract them would be a pure Byakugan.
"If I can create a pure Byakugan, I might be able to lure the Otsutsuki down from the moon!"
Shinji became increasingly convinced.
Since the pure Byakugan was the only method to merge a regular Tenseigan, as long as the Otsutsuki clan still sought to create a Tenseigan, they would need a pure Byakugan.
Shinji narrowed his eyes. "But where can I find a pure Byakugan?"
In the original timeline, the one who had the pure Byakugan was Hanabi Hyuga.
However, Hanabi was still young, and her Byakugan hadn't yet matured, making it impossible for her Byakugan to reach the level of purity required. Even Toneri didn't take action earlier, which suggested that Hanabi's Byakugan only met the minimum standard for a pure Byakugan.
In other words.
If Shinji wanted to lure the Otsutsuki from the moon ahead of schedule, he would need to create a Byakugan so pure that the Otsutsuki clan would be unable to resist.
As Shinji thought further, he suddenly considered Kimimaro.
He had already confirmed through various means that the Kaguya clan, to which Kimimaro belonged, was distant kin to the Hyuga clan.
Now, Shinji was confident that the relationship between the Kaguya and Hyuga clans was similar to that between the Senju and Uchiha clans.
Therefore, it might be possible to create a pure Byakugan by working with Kimimaro's cells.
After all, according to bloodline theories, both the Kaguya and Hyuga clans shared a common ancestor—Otsutsuki Hamura—who had the purest Byakugan, second only to Otsutsuki Kaguya herself.
If Shinji could fuse Kimimaro's cells with those of Neji or Hanabi, it might result in a pure Byakugan.
With this realization, Shinji immediately flickered to his laboratory.
He had already analyzed Kimimaro's cellular structure and conducted fusion experiments with other cell samples.
However, Kimimaro's cells were highly resistant to integration, making it nearly impossible to fuse them with other cell samples, which had caused him to abandon these experiments temporarily.
But now, a new thought occurred to him.
If the Kaguya and Hyuga clans were related, like the Senju and Uchiha clans, then the cells from the Kaguya and Hyuga clans should be able to fuse.
So his previous failures likely stemmed from overlooking something.
"What did I miss? Balancing the First Hokage's cells required the Sharingan, so… I understand now. The key lies in the Byakugan! Only by using powerful Byakugan chakra can one control the violent nature of Kimimaro's Kaguya cells!"
Instantly, Shinji had a clear direction.
He took out a petri dish, placing both Kimimaro's and Neji's cells inside. Then, without hesitation, he activated 'Wazunagi' and remotely extracted Neji's Byakugan chakra, injecting it into the mix!