Hearing Satori Hyūga's command, Kitsuchi naturally agreed without hesitation.
He followed Satori Hyūga back outside the temple of the Land of Demons and ordered the Protective Barriers unit holding Bei Gongcheng back to stop.
Under the baffled gazes of the barrier team members, Kitsuchi suddenly turned sides and swiftly subdued all of them.
"Lord Kitsuchi, what are you doing?"
"Yeah, Lord Kitsuchi, are you betraying our village?"
Kitsuchi stared at them with a fanatical gleam in his eyes and loudly declared, "Stop struggling. I shall lead you all to pledge allegiance to our great master. This is your supreme honor."
The Protective Barriers unit exchanged confused glances.
They looked at him as if he were mad, convinced he must have been brainwashed by some monster to say such horrifying things.
Kitsuchi didn't offer further explanation but simply turned around respectfully and stepped aside to clear the path.
Satori Hyūga then stepped forward. Under the horrified stares of the protective barriers team, he turned them all into his slaves.
With the protective barriers unit neutralized, Bei Gongcheng finally broke free from the seal.
Though possessing incredible physical strength, he was ultimately subdued. Unable to escape on his own—this was the fatal flaw of relying solely on brute force techniques.
"My lord," Bei Gongcheng said, rushing out of the confinement seal and standing before Satori Hyūga while releasing the [Eight Gates technique].
His original form returned—his broad, muscular frame rapidly shrunk down to a frail, emaciated form.
Seeing his condition, Satori Hyūga instantly understood. He had kept the [Eight Gates technique] open for too long, draining excessive energy from his body.
Although the new version of the [Eight Gates technique] no longer carried the risk of death, its enhanced power came at a heavy cost—extreme depletion of both physical strength and stamina.
Overusing the [Eight Gates technique] left him looking gaunt and ghost-like.
"Drink a few chakra replenishment potions. Don't worry anymore; I've already subjugated all these Iwagakure ninjas."
Bei Gongcheng's breath caught sharply upon hearing this.
These were elite warriors from Iwagakure—yet his master had captured and turned them with ease.
Now that it had happened, it felt like nothing more than a dream.
He had accepted assassination missions through the black market to kill his master, was captured for experimentation, later replaced in those trials, and ultimately gained access to an improved version of the [Eight Gates technique].
This journey transformed him from a mediocre ninja into one capable of challenging the Five Great Ninja Villages.
And his master was even more powerful—having defeated and captured them all alone.
This revelation sent a shiver down his spine—and crushed any remaining thoughts of rebellion. From that moment onward, he obeyed Satori Hyūga without hesitation.
After retrieving the bodyguard he had brought along, Satori Hyūga entered the temple.
By now, after the battle involving the Jinchuriki, the temple no longer resembled its original appearance.
Scorching heat filled the air, and rivers of molten lava flowed like the aftermath of a volcanic eruption.
A group of Iwagakure ninja stood together, surrounding Shrine Maiden Miroku closely and holding her captive.
When Shrine Maiden Miroku saw Satori Hyūga return, with Kitsuchi following behind respectfully, a flash of despair flickered in her eyes.
She had hoped that the arrival of Iwagakure—one of the Five Great Nations—would be enough to stop the man who had stolen Moryo's power.
He never expected the opponent to possess such astonishing power, like a World-Destroying Demon God, capable of defeating the Iwa ninja and taking them captive.
Even her mind had been altered, turning her into nothing more than a slave.
How could she not feel despair?
Is the Land of Demons truly destined to fall completely during my generation?
As she was lost in thought, suddenly a large hand gripped Miroku's delicate face. Her jet-black eyes stared directly into his.
The next second, the mental control ability activated again.
Miroku, wearing light pink shrine maiden robes, whose unparalleled beauty and grace were unmatched, immediately changed expressions—from resolute defiance to reverent devotion and affection.
"Shrine Maiden Miroku greets her master."
She gave a graceful bow, her form-fitting shrine maiden outfit accentuating her alluring curves and generous cleavage.
No wonder she's the mother of Shion, the next shrine maiden. Those snow-capped peaks alone would surely nourish Shion well.
"Rise. From now on, you will still be the shrine maiden of the Land of Demons. Tell everyone outside that Moryo has already been sealed away by you."
"After everything settles down, there will be a faction called Shinno making contact with you. At that time, cooperate appropriately."
Miroku replied, "Understood, master."
With Miroku subdued, Satori Hyūga suddenly remembered someone less important.
Yomi.
The future ultimate villain of the Land of Demons.
Satori glanced around and found out that, coincidentally, Yomi had died from collateral damage on the battlefield.
Tsk tsk tsk. People's fates really are different. The future big boss ended up dying here so ignominiously.
After a brief moment of reflection, Satori quickly shifted his focus elsewhere.
To him, someone who only appeared in a side story, and hadn't even grown much yet, simply wasn't worth too much attention.
After settling things with Miroku, Satori also sent Kitsuchi's group on their way.
However, before they left, he extracted part of Son Goku the Four-Tails' chakra.
Though called chakra, it was effectively a part of Son Goku's actual being.
The Tailed Beasts were all purely formed from concentrated chakra energy—in essence, energy-based lifeforms.
By taking a piece of a Tailed Beast's chakra, Satori intended to gather all nine Tailed Beasts' chakra and see if they could synthesize Ten-Tails-level chakra.
If he could revert it to its primal form and then obtain a piece of the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path's body, perhaps he could uncover the secrets of the God Tree.
Thinking about the Outer Path Demonic Statue reminded Satori of the manipulative Madara.
Technically speaking, Uchiha Madara should still be alive at this point.
After all, the Obito Uchiha he eventually chose as his successor wouldn't fake his own death until during the Third Great Shinobi War, after which he'd inherit Madara's legacy.
I wonder, am I even remotely close to matching Uchiha Madara right now?
Satori made a rough estimate and concluded he probably still couldn't match up.
Activating the Eight Gates plus wielding the Tenseigan elevated his strength to surpass the Kage level.
Yet even among those who surpassed Kage-level strength, there were vast differences.
Uchiha Madara was an established powerhouse, surviving all the way from the Warring States period until now, amassing countless battle experiences.
In a one-on-one fight, Satori couldn't be sure he'd come out on top.
Still, Satori wasn't afraid of facing off against Uchiha Madara either.
He might be strong, but the Rinnegan had already been given to Nagato of Amegakure, and he himself was growing old, his vigor waning.
If only I could find Madara Uchiha's hideout and secretly cut off his life support—maybe then I could land a solid hit or two on the old man.
The very thought of taking on Madara Uchiha thrilled Satori Hyūga.
"No, I must keep my head."
"He's not so frail that he can't hold his own in a fight. I should wait a bit longer and grow stronger."
"The Rinnegan is likely still in Amegakure. With my current strength, if I plan carefully, I should be able to sneak in unnoticed, steal the Rinnegan when Madara isn't watching, and run."
"And there's White Zetsu too—I could capture a few and bring them back for Orochimaru and Shinno to study, trying to achieve Sage Physiology."
"The Sharingan complements Sage Physiology well, so my Tenseigan should be just as compatible."
...
...
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