NRAO: Chapter 409/410

Chapter 409

The Ōtsutsuki clan has a method to record the life signatures of its members, along with a unique ability to travel through space.

So, just a few minutes after Orochimaru dealt with the two of them, members of the Ōtsutsuki clan arrived to investigate!

However, Orochimaru wasn't concerned. As long as they didn't realize the one who had returned was Kaguya, the infiltration plan could continue as planned.

Finding an empty room, Orochimaru hesitated briefly before taking two steps forward. In an instant, the distinct characteristics of the Ōtsutsuki clan appeared on him—silver-gray hair, gray pupils, and a white robe adorned with magatama patterns.

"Is anyone there?"

"Please open the door!"

After knocking on two doors in a row, he received no response.

At the third house, looking at the tightly shut door, Orochimaru smirked coldly. "You're all standing behind the door, eavesdropping. Why not just open up?"

Yet, there was still no movement from inside.

"It seems force is the only option." Orochimaru sighed helplessly at Kaguya before slowly raising his hand, placing it on the door.

From his posture, it truly looked like he was preparing to break in.

Orochimaru was never a good person to begin with. In a situation like this, it was already a rare show of patience that he hadn't simply kicked down the door.

"No, don't do it! I'll open it now! Right away! Please don't act rashly!"

As if sensing Orochimaru's intent, a voice hurriedly responded from inside.

The voice sounded like a young man in his twenties, filled with anxiety and fear.

Orochimaru frowned slightly, feeling a hint of curiosity. What exactly is he so afraid of?

When the door finally opened, his suspicions were confirmed.

A young man, seemingly in his twenties, with a sickly complexion and dressed in tattered clothes, stood at the doorway, gripping the doorframe while looking at Orochimaru with terror in his eyes.

His gaunt features and ragged attire made it clear—he was poor and malnourished.

Orochimaru pretended not to notice and strode into the room with Kaguya. The young man hurriedly shut the door behind them.

Plop!

The young man dropped to his knees, his voice trembling with desperation.

"Sir…! I am like this, but she's still young… If you must take someone, take me instead!"

After speaking, he began kowtowing frantically to Orochimaru.

"Take you?" Orochimaru smirked. "What would I need you for? You make it sound like something grand is happening."

He had only just stepped inside, and the man was already bowing in submission, clearly mistaking him for someone else.

Hearing Orochimaru's response, the young man was momentarily stunned. He then glanced nervously at Kaguya, hesitating before cautiously asking, "Then… Your Excellency, you're not here to take us to worship the God Tree?"

"Worship the God Tree?"

Orochimaru exchanged a glance with Kaguya and immediately understood the situation. He turned his gaze back to the young man.

"Yes, we were indeed ordered to take you to worship the God Tree. Given your earlier request, I'll show some mercy and grant it. However…" Orochimaru's tone grew cold. "Pretending no one was home wasn't the best way to greet us."

The young man turned pale with fear and began kowtowing again, his expression full of panic.

"My lord, please spare me! I beg for your forgiveness! We… we had no other choice!"

His voice cracked as he pleaded.

"Oh?" Orochimaru remained calm. "So, you knew pretending to be absent wouldn't work, yet you still did it? Was it truly your only option?"

The young man nodded bitterly, his face full of despair and helplessness.

Orochimaru could understand.

In the face of overwhelming power, the weak could only struggle in vain to protect those they cared about. But in the end, they were simply powerless.

Still, doing nothing was never an option.

After some subtle questioning, Orochimaru finally grasped the situation.

This planet was much like Earth—not only inhabited by the Ōtsutsuki clan but also by other races and civilians.

However, after the last civil war, the Ōtsutsuki clan had established absolute dominance over the planet.

They had planted multiple God Trees, and naturally, these trees needed to be nourished.

But their method of worship was far crueler than Kaguya's, each ritual required nearly ten thousand sacrifices.

And such ceremonies could happen at any time.

Apart from the Ōtsutsuki clan, all other races and civilians were considered nothing more than offerings for the God Tree.

Yet, this planet's human population was already sparse compared to Earth. And after years of ritual sacrifices, their numbers had dwindled even further.

To maintain a steady supply, the Ōtsutsuki had no choice but to reduce the frequency of sacrifices.

At the same time, they began raising humans in captivity—treating them like livestock.

Yes, livestock.

Just like pigs and sheep raised for slaughter. Each person had an assigned number and was managed by a specific Ōtsutsuki overseer.

In a sense, these people were no longer human. They were merely nutrients for the Ōtsutsuki clan's God Trees.

And the most terrifying part?

From birth, each captive was branded with a seal similar to the Hiraishin no Jutsu mark, preventing any chance of escape.

No matter how far they ran, they would be caught within a day.

And once captured… their fate would be worse than death.

"I see."

After gathering the information he needed, Orochimaru casually patted the young man on the shoulder, then turned to leave with Kaguya.

The young man was utterly dumbfounded.

Just like that… he left?

Wasn't he here to take us to the God Tree for sacrifice?

[To be continued.]

Chapter 410

After stepping outside, Orochimaru glanced at Kaguya beside him and said calmly, "It seems that all of your father's people must be dead."

"I expected as much," Kaguya replied indifferently.

"No wonder you didn't even hesitate when you told me to kill those two the moment we arrived. So that's what happened."

"A coup d'état—if it succeeds, eliminating the opposing side is a perfectly normal outcome, isn't it?"

"That's true." Orochimaru smirked. "Let's go. Time to get to work."


---

Ōtsutsuki's home planet, Flying Tree Country.

This was an ancient nation.

The architecture in the town's center resembled the grand palaces of royalty.

On this planet, only the Ōtsutsuki clan was deemed worthy of such treatment.

At this moment, nine people sat within the main hall of the central building, all clad in the robes of the Ōtsutsuki clan. However, the man seated at the highest position had additional ornate decorations on his robe.

He was the temporary leader of this town—Ōtsutsuki Takeshi.

"What? The two guards stationed at the teleportation portal have disappeared?"

Ōtsutsuki Takeshi frowned upon hearing the report.

He had once been a subordinate of Kaguya's father. After the rebellion a thousand years ago, Momoshiki's father sought to exterminate all of Kaguya's father's followers. In order to survive, Takeshi had no choice but to swear loyalty to the opposing side.

As luck would have it, his new master required someone to manage the city, so he was reluctantly accepted.

Moreover, due to the shortage of manpower, he was even granted a God Fruit.

This delighted him beyond words.

After all, a God Tree required vast amounts of time and countless sacrifices to bear its fruit. From a thousand years ago until now, only two batches of divine fruit had ever been produced.

Thus, upon receiving one, Takeshi devoted himself wholeheartedly to Ōtsutsuki Momoshiki's service.

Hearing that the guards were missing, his expression turned serious, it was a matter concerning the safety of the other God Trees.

"They never abandon their posts without reason. I suspect…"

Ōtsutsuki Takeshi made his decision immediately. "Deploy all remaining clan members to find them. Bring them back alive if possible. If they're dead, I want their corpses!"

"Yes!"

The eight subordinates acknowledged the order and then began conversing among themselves.

They were all Takeshi's trusted aides, having received a portion of his chakra, so they were eager to assist him.

Ironically, Orochimaru had always believed the Ōtsutsuki clan to be a superior race, capable of world-ending destruction with just a single member.

But reality was different.

Aside from their long lifespan and their ability to traverse space, their raw combat power wasn't significantly beyond that of a Kage-level warrior.

The modern Ōtsutsuki clan's strength no longer came from innate ability but from God Trees and God Fruits.

Over time, they had become utterly dependent on chakra.

More importantly, their method of utilizing chakra was completely different from that of ninjas on Earth.

The current Ōtsutsuki clan was so selfish that even among their own people, only a select few possessed chakra.

As a result, those few wielded an immense amount of chakra.

And because Ōtsutsuki Momoshiki ruled this planet, it had long since become an Ōtsutsuki world, one that had known no war for generations.

For many reasons, their chakra usage had remained crude, with little refinement.

Their strategy? Massive chakra expenditure.

Their techniques were overwhelming, brute-force "big moves" that consumed absurd amounts of chakra with no efficiency or skill.

By contrast, Earth's ninjas, influenced by the Sage of Six Paths, had made chakra widespread. But since they were still human, their individual chakra reserves were far more limited.

This limitation led to the development of intricate ninjutsu that conserved chakra.

Of course, if an Earth ninja were to directly face an Ōtsutsuki clan member with chakra, the outcome would be like an egg smashing against a rock.

The reason was simple—those few Ōtsutsuki members who possessed chakra had an absurd amount of it due to their bloodline.

Moreover, nearly all of them had Truth-Seeking Orbs.

Against them, conventional chakra-based elemental jutsu were utterly ineffective.

To harm them, one would have to rely on Senjutsu or Taijutsu.

Or, of course—sealing techniques.


---

Back to the main hall.

After watching his subordinates leave, Ōtsutsuki Takeshi exhaled in relief.

Just as he was about to stand and attend to his next task, a sudden sense of unease washed over him.

His heart skipped a beat.

Ahhh!

Two agonized screams erupted from outside the palace—confirming his worst fears.

He recognized the voices. They belonged to the very subordinates who had just left.

His subordinates… Ōtsutsuki clan members… had been killed?!

Ōtsutsuki Takeshi's expression darkened as he leapt outside.

What he saw made him frown.

Six remaining Ōtsutsuki members had formed a defensive circle, surrounding a white-haired man wielding a black sword.

At the man's feet lay the corpses of two Ōtsutsuki warriors.

Takeshi's gaze landed on the black sword, it was a Truth-Seeking Orb weapon!

How does this man have a Truth-Seeking Orb?!

Takeshi was utterly bewildered.

After all, not every Ōtsutsuki possessed chakra. And this stranger, someone he had never seen before was clearly not one of Momoshiki's subordinates.

With that realization, Ōtsutsuki Takeshi narrowed his eyes and shouted, "You don't look like one of Momoshiki's men. Who are you?!"

The man smirked.

"You're about to die. What's the point of knowing?"

[To be continued.]