Chapter 400: The Third Eye—Tenseigan!
After Pain's arrival and departure, the rumors outside could no longer be contained.
The nations of the ninja world were uncertain about Haneda's current physical state.
In the past, whenever Pain visited Konoha, he would at least stay for a day, and the two of them would make public appearances together.
But that time, he only stayed for one night and the following morning before leaving.
No one in the ninja world truly knew Haneda's current condition.
The undercurrents of the ninja world began to stir. Most people were convinced that Haneda's physical condition had indeed taken a turn for the worse, with no deception involved.
The other four major nations remained skeptical. Their vast territories left no room for taking chances.
Until concrete information surfaced, they continued to lie low, amassing strength.
As a result, the prices of explosive tags, kunai, shuriken, and all kinds of ninja war supplies skyrocketed throughout the ninja world, with demand far outstripping supply.
Every nation was frantically stockpiling war materials.
Some social commentators speculated in the newspapers that even if the Fifth Hokage's supposed death was a ruse, this war was bound to break out.
The economy of the ninja world was now in severe trouble, with nations spending excessively on their military, exacerbating internal conflicts.
Konoha, in particular, had recently restricted its grain exports, causing a global surge in food prices.
To ease domestic tensions, launching external wars had become a necessity.
Otherwise, the hidden "Sparks" faction within each nation would inevitably incite the populace to storm the daimyo's estates.
The Sparks faction derived its name from Haneda's writings in My Struggle, where he wrote: "A single spark can ignite a prairie fire."
Simply put, they were revolutionaries.
As for whose heads they sought to take, that went without saying.
By the time their numbers reached fifty thousand strong, neither the daimyos nor other rulers or vested interests would be spared.
Haneda had also written in My Struggle: "Strike down the rich and divide their land."
The "rich" could refer to landlords or, broadly, capitalists and the wealthy. The "land" could mean literal land or simply wealth.
Among scholars who enjoyed overanalyzing, My Struggle had many interpretations—each finding their own meanings within it.
In other words, "The classics explain me, and I explain the classics."
Once the cold war and arms race began, the daimyos could no longer make independent choices.
And the daimyos' decisions would ultimately determine the choices of their respective ninja villages.
A great war awaited, its stage set by Haneda's unfolding schemes.
Four months passed. A season came and went, and time moved into the spring of Konoha Year 59.
The ninja world had endured a harsh winter, and after the cold came the heightened flames of the cold war's friction.
As the year approached its end, Haneda made his move against all jinchūriki in the ninja world, except for the One-Tails and Nine-Tails.
Kumo's Two-Tails jinchūriki was gravely injured and died after their tailed beast was extracted. The Eight-Tails' Killer Bee narrowly survived thanks to timely reinforcements.
Iwagakure's Four-Tails jinchūriki, Roshi, was critically wounded but saved by Iwa. He too died shortly after his tailed beast was extracted.
The Fourth Tsuchikage's Five-Tails jinchūriki, Han, was left untouched by Haneda.
Kiri's Three-Tails and Six-Tails jinchūriki were also unharmed.
In Taki Village, the Seven-Tails jinchūriki was left alone by Haneda, but Pain seemed to grasp Haneda's intentions and sent Kakuzu to betray his former village.
The Seven-Tails jinchūriki was gravely injured and died after the tailed beast was extracted.
This single operation showcased Haneda's strength to the entire ninja world but also revealed his current weakness.
Haneda refrained from acting against Kirigakure, which maintained an ambiguous stance toward Konoha.
Only the villages overtly hostile to Konoha faced Haneda's decisive strikes.
Even so, he avoided further conflict with Iwagakure, retreating whenever reinforcements arrived.
This uncharacteristic restraint made the ninja world realize that Haneda might truly be running out of time.
However, only a select few knew the truth—Haneda was merely putting on an act. The reason he refrained from directly killing the jinchūriki was to let certain individuals see an opportunity.
The timeline rewinds to the spring of Konoha Year 59, early in the year—on the moon.
Haneda sat cross-legged on the summit of a mountain in the moon's frigid, dark side.
The area was almost devoid of light, shrouded in complete darkness.
But suddenly, a brilliant radiance erupted from the peak of the mountain, growing increasingly intense.
It was as if a golden sun had appeared atop the ten-thousand-meter peak, illuminating a radius of a thousand kilometers.
From other planets, one could see the moon's dark side momentarily light up as a glowing ring.
"It worked."
The cold wind blew around him as Haneda opened his Rinnegan.
His pale purple Rinnegan contrasted sharply with the golden, resplendent Tenseigan on his forehead, making the Tenseigan appear as dazzling as a star.
(This world has its own rules—don't ask why there's wind or air. If the Otsutsuki clan needed spacesuits, they wouldn't have survived to hand out cosmic punches like doting grandparents.) {T/N: That's an author's note, not mine.}
"This power… it's nothing special."
"The chakra quality matches that of the Rinnegan, but in terms of volume, it surpasses the Rinnegan by hundreds of times."
Haneda felt something on his head. He casually waved his hand through the air, creating a water mirror in its path.
In the mirror, he saw that on either side of his forehead, two antlers had grown. Upon closer inspection, they resembled dragon horns.
The trench coat he had been wearing was replaced at some point by a long, pure white robe adorned with black tomoe patterns.
On the back of the robe, twelve Truth-Seeking Orbs formed a perfect circle, adding an air of mystery to Haneda.
"Nine represents the peak, while twelve signifies perfection."
"Not bad. After fully mastering the Tenseigan, my power might already be at this world's limit."
Haneda casually extended his hand. A Truth-Seeking Orb hovered at his side and was grasped in his palm.
He opened his right hand, and the Truth-Seeking Orb slowly floated upward before transforming into a beam of golden light. It became a longsword that obliterated the meteorites orbiting the moon's edge into dust.
"Golden Wheel Reincarnation Explosion. Not bad—it only consumed a portion of my chakra."
"With this kind of power, even Six Paths Madara wouldn't withstand more than a few strikes, would he?"
"But for me, this barely counts as a drain on my ocular power."
Haneda retracted his gaze and lowered his head to process the information transmitted by the Tenseigan.
The Tenseigan's signature abilities—Tenseigan Chakra Mode, Golden Wheel Reincarnation Explosion, and Silver Wheel Reincarnation Explosion—were all present.
But there were three unique ocular techniques.
The first was "Karma," allowing him to implant himself into a compatible human's body and soul upon death.
The second was "Grace," which enabled him to grant a portion of the Tenseigan's power to others, allowing the recipient to activate Tenseigan Chakra Mode. This power could be continuously transmitted on the same planet, much like how Naruto granted Nine-Tails cloaks to the Allied Shinobi Forces during the Fourth Great Ninja War.
The third was "Immortality," literal and straightforward. Those who fully mastered the Tenseigan would gain infinite life.
Haneda strongly suspected that these three unique techniques were standard abilities for all Otsutsuki from outer space.
He had heard of "Karma" before.
As for "Immortality," it was a hallmark of the Otsutsuki clan—Kaguya Otsutsuki herself was immortal.
"Grace" wasn't particularly surprising either. If even the Nine-Tails could bestow power like that, there was nothing extraordinary about it.
Overall, these abilities were decent—basic features typical of extraterrestrial Otsutsuki.
Perhaps this also signified that Haneda had stepped into a realm beyond the Six Paths.
…