Land of the Moon.
The figures of Kakuzu and Hidan gradually faded into the night after leaving the bustling marketplace.
Meanwhile, from within the crowd of the busy market, a pair of eyes followed their departing silhouettes before vanishing into the throng.
Not long after, a messenger hawk soared into the sky, blending with the night as its sharp cry echoed, flying in the direction of the Land of Lightning.
On a nearby cliff.
Watching the messenger hawk become a tiny black dot against the night sky, Konan said calmly, "Prepare."
"Hm!"
Beside her, Sasori and Deidara nodded in acknowledgment and turned to leave.
At the same time, on another cliff.
Staring at the distant messenger hawk, Obito chuckled, "It seems the message has been sent. The plan is ready to be put to the test."
Zetsu, standing nearby, commented, "Knowing that Raikage's temperament, they won't keep us waiting for long."
Obito stood up. "Have Mōryō and Shinnō ready. This is our first official action towards reviving the Ten-Tails. We cannot afford to fail!"
Zetsu asked, "Are we really going to handle the Eight-Tails' Jinchūriki ourselves? That one won't be easy."
Obito replied, "The two Jinchūriki of the Hidden Cloud are the most troublesome. We must take them out first! In this matter, our goals align with Nagato's."
Zetsu cautioned, "If we rely solely on Mōryō and Shinnō, it might not be enough."
"Don't worry, I'll step in when necessary," Obito reassured him.
...
At the cliff where the communication formula was inscribed.
Swoosh.
With a sharp gust, a figure landed on the cliff.
The figure scanned the area before walking slowly toward the communication formula that Neji had previously carved into the cliffside. He reached out and touched it.
From a distance.
Watching this unfold, Neji's expression tightened. "Something's not right."
Shinji asked, "What's wrong?"
"He doesn't have any chakra pathways in his body... He..." Neji paused, incredulous. "He seems like he's not alive, just a puppet. But where's the puppet master controlling him?"
"A puppet, huh."
Shinji wasn't too surprised.
The giant Tenseigan had many abilities, one of which was the power to grant intelligence to puppets, creating autonomous puppets that didn't need real-time control from a puppet master.
This puppet was clearly one of those created by the Tenseigan.
Not long after.
The Tenseigan puppet, after failing to find anything, erased the communication formula from the cliff and swiftly left the area.
Seeing this, Shinji immediately said, "Follow it!"
Neji nodded.
The two carefully trailed the Tenseigan puppet, silently moving through the forest until they arrived near a lake.
Neji kept his Byakugan trained on the distant puppet as he asked, "Where is it going?"
Shinji responded, "Don't worry, it's probably heading back to the moon. As long as we follow it, we'll find the secret passage to the moon."
Neji continued, puzzled, "It's strange! It's clearly just a puppet, yet it can move freely without a puppet master's control. How is that possible?"
Knowing that they would encounter more Tenseigan puppets on the moon, Shinji explained to Neji, "That's one of the abilities of the Tenseigan. It can give puppets basic intelligence, allowing them to think and act on their own."
Neji was astonished. "That… that's impossible!"
Shinji said calmly, "With a dojutsu as powerful as the Tenseigan, nothing should surprise you."
Neji's eyes filled with hope. "Sir, can I really awaken the Tenseigan?"
Shinji was silent for a moment before shaking his head.
Seeing this, Neji's heart sank. "I can't?"
"I'm not sure either," Shinji admitted. "In theory, you should have the potential to awaken the Tenseigan, but I can't tell you exactly how it's done."
Neji eagerly asked, "Then where can I find the answer?"
"On the moon."
"On the moon?"
Neji was taken aback.
Shinji glanced at Neji, noticing his anxiety. Deciding to share some of what he knew, he said, "There is actually a giant Tenseigan on the moon."
"A giant... Tenseigan?" Neji asked in confusion. "What is that?"
Shinji paused for effect before explaining, "The giant Tenseigan on the moon is made up of countless Byakugan."
Neji was shocked. "What?!"
Looking up at the bright full moon hanging in the night sky, Shinji remarked, "That's right. That's the secret of the giant Tenseigan! It's formed from the collective Byakugan of the Ōtsutsuki clan members on the moon. It's their greatest treasure. That's why I say you have the conditions to awaken the Tenseigan—because the Byakugan is its foundation."
After a moment of absorbing this information, Neji asked a question that had been bothering him, "Does that mean... the Ōtsutsuki clan on the moon doesn't use the 'Caged Bird' seal?"
"No, they don't."
Neji murmured, "That must be wonderful..."
Shinji shook his head. "Having the 'Caged Bird' seal isn't necessarily a bad thing, and not having it isn't always good."
Neji frowned, "Why do you say that?"
"You'll understand soon enough."
Shinji said no more, quietly following the Tenseigan puppet.
Seeing that Shinji had stopped talking, Neji suppressed his doubts and continued watching the puppet closely with his Byakugan.
Soon, the two of them followed the Tenseigan puppet to a waterfall.
Splash.
Without hesitation, the puppet leapt into the waterfall, sending water splashing everywhere.
After waiting a few moments and seeing no further movement, Shinji and Neji approached the waterfall.
Neji activated his Byakugan and scanned the depths. His expression turned serious as he reported, "There's a hidden cave beneath the waterfall. Deep inside the cave, it looks like there's a glowing spring."
Comparing this to his own memories, Shinji nodded. "This should be the place."
With that, he leapt into the waterfall.
Neji followed without hesitation.
After passing through the waterfall's curtain, they found the entrance to the underground cave.
Looking back at the water curtain behind them, Shinji remarked, "This entrance is well hidden. Most people wouldn't be able to find it."
Neji nodded lightly. "Yes, the water from the waterfall disrupts the vision of the Byakugan. If we hadn't seen the Tenseigan puppet enter here, I probably wouldn't have found this place either."
The Byakugan had a 360° field of vision, though Neji's was slightly hindered by the "Caged Bird" seal, which created a small blind spot at the back of his head.
So, the Byakugan's observational capabilities were clearly superior to the Sharingan.
But while the Byakugan could observe a wide area, a shinobi's attention span was limited.
Just because the Byakugan had a 360° view didn't mean that a Hyuga clan member could constantly monitor everything around them in detail.
As they ventured deeper into the cave, they soon arrived at a glowing pool of water.
"This is it!" Neji stared at the pool, his expression becoming more serious. Finally, he shook his head and said, "I'm sorry, but this pool is strange. It seems to refract light, and my Byakugan can't see what's beneath the surface."
Shinji scooped up some water with his hand and remarked, "If you can't see through it, that's a good sign. This must be the entrance to the secret passage to the moon."
As he spoke, the water he scooped up trickled through his fingers and vanished.
Neji frowned, "What is this...?"
Shinji stood up. "This isn't ordinary water. It's probably part of an illusionary realm. Be cautious from now on."
"Understood!"
Neji nodded quickly.
Without saying more, Shinji dove into the pool, with Neji close behind.
They swam deeper, soon passing through a layer of water and seeing glowing orbs floating on the other side.
Here, the boundaries of space seemed blurred.
Both Shinji and Neji felt disoriented in this space, unable to distinguish up from down or tell which way to go.
At that moment, one of the glowing orbs suddenly darted toward Shinji. Caught off guard, Shinji was enveloped by the orb in an instant.
When Shinji opened his eyes, he found himself in a morgue, a white sheet covering his head, and the sound of footsteps echoing nearby.
At first, he felt confusion, followed by fear, and then a surge of anger.
"Tch, trying to trap me in an illusion!"
With a scoff, Shinji instantly activated his Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan, and as his dojutsu flared to life, the scene before him shattered like glass.
The glowing pool reappeared before his eyes, and everything around him returned to normal.
"So, these glowing orbs are illusion traps. Once touched, they trap you in memories..."
He thought to himself, then quickly turned to look at Neji.
Neji, too, was now enveloped by one of the glowing orbs, deep in slumber. Scenes from Neji's childhood flashed across the orb.
Shinji swam over and dispelled the illusion with a sharp, "Release!"
After a few moments, Neji slowly regained consciousness and shook his head. "Wh-what happened to me?"
Shinji calmly explained, "These orbs are illusion traps. Once touched, they trap you in a memory-based illusion."
Neji's face stiffened as he recalled the recent experience and quickly thanked Shinji, "Thank you, sir. If it weren't for you, I might have been trapped forever!"
Shinji waved his hand dismissively and continued to swim deeper into the pool.
Neji, though still somewhat distracted by his recent reunion with his father in the illusion, followed closely behind.
In the depths of the pool, where up and down had become indistinguishable and gravity seemed nonexistent, they soon encountered yet another layer of water.
"What?! We're already in the water, so why is there another water surface?" Neji exclaimed in shock.
Using his Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan to observe their surroundings, Shinji explained, "This pool is part of an illusionary passage to the moon. The boundary between real and false here is hard to distinguish, even for me. But once we pass through this water surface, we should reach the moon."
Neji marveled, "This is truly incredible!"
Shinji said calmly, "If you can master chakra to the extreme, you can move mountains, create oceans, bend space, resurrect the dead, and even alter destiny. All of it is possible."
The two of them swam through the water surface, emerging into a new cave.
Here, their sense of direction and gravity returned, indicating that they had exited the illusionary passage and arrived in a real location.
Rumble.
Before they could take in their surroundings, a loud rumbling sound came from nearby, and soon, a massive creature crawled out of the shadows.
Neji was horrified. "That's a giant crab! Is it the guardian of this place?"
Just then, a golden light radiated from Shinji's body, transforming into a massive golden Susanoo.
Boom!
The skeletal form of Susanoo threw a powerful punch, causing the giant crab to stagger.
Then, Susanoo grabbed the crab's massive pincers and, with a powerful yank, tore them off in an instant.
In immense pain, the crab reared up on its hind legs, opening its mouth as if preparing to unleash an attack on Shinji and Neji.
Boom!
But before it could release anything, Susanoo delivered another crushing blow, shattering the crab's shell and piercing through its body.
As the giant crab collapsed to the ground, gradually losing all movement, Shinji deactivated his Susanoo.
Neji stood there, stunned.
This giant crab, clearly a formidable creature akin to a powerful summon in the shinobi world, wasn't something an average shinobi could contract.
It was evident that the crab had been entrusted with the role of guardian by the Ōtsutsuki clan.
Yet, in front of Shinji, it had been as fragile as a toy, crushed in mere moments.
The more Neji understood about this leader of the Akatsuki, the more awestruck he became by his immense power.
Shinji, however, paid no mind to Neji's astonishment. Glancing at the passage ahead, he said, "Let's go."
"Y-yes!" Neji quickly followed.
The two of them passed through the underground cave and soon reached the surface, where the sight before them left them in awe.
Neji couldn't help but ask, "Sir, what is this place?"
Shinji replied, "We should be inside the moon."
Neji pointed at the sky, where a sun shone down. "Then what's that sun? Is it fake?"
Shinji looked up and said, "That's a false sun projected by the giant Tenseigan. Look carefully at the ground in the distance—it's curved. This means we're inside a giant space. No doubt about it, we've arrived on the moon!"