Success

After taking the necessary precautions, Hyuga Shin pulled Oda Kazuya's sleeping soul out of his mindscape.

Then he put Oda Kazuya's soul back into the dark green gemstone.

For now, Oda Kazuya's soul could only be kept inside it.

There would have been no problem keeping him in Hyuga Shin's mindscape; he couldn't have caused any trouble.

But Hyuga Shin wasn't comfortable with that.

Besides, this gemstone was the true treasure of this space.

It was the core of this other dimension.

Just like the bead carried by Toad Head Sage, the gemstone carried by White Snake Sage served a similar purpose.

As for whether Great Slug Sage had something similar, Hyuga Shin hadn't seen it in his previous life, but he was certain she did.

Every independent otherworldly space had something like this.

The gemstone could gather Natural Energy, and contained a small space of its own where it could store things—even Soul Bodies.

It could also draw on the Power of Heaven and Earth in this Small World to aid cultivation.

Most importantly, it allowed its holder to control the entire otherworldly space.

Oda Kazuya had used those last two functions to discover and remove the Will of the Six Paths embedded in his body.

Those functions would be extremely useful to Hyuga Shin as well, saving him a great deal of time.

More importantly, this otherworldly space was hidden very deep. Otherwise, the Sage of Six Paths and the Three Great Sage Regions would have found it by now.

Its location was also ideal. It was truly a perfect place for the Spark Organization's base.

The only problem was that its Natural Energy levels were too low to gather enough Power of Heaven and Earth.

When Oda Kazuya arrived nine hundred years ago, he had already harvested a large share of it. Later, he spent a great deal of the Power of Heaven and Earth developing his forces and cleansing the Will of the Six Paths from his subordinates.

As a result, the Natural Energy—which hadn't been abundant to begin with—was depleted.

The otherworld itself was also damaged. It could no longer draw in Natural Energy from outside on its own, and the energy it generated internally was meager.

Finally, Oda Kazuya had used it as a place to preserve souls. That had nearly eliminated any possibility of the space drawing in energy from outside.

His actions had also consumed much of the Natural Energy produced and stored inside the space.

However, none of that posed a major problem for Hyuga Shin. He could simply spend more time repairing it.

Hyuga Shin next checked that the passage between the otherworldly space and the Shinobi World still worked.

He also made sure to stamp the gemstone with his own mark.

That would give him complete control over the space.

Hyuga Shin's spiritual sense soon completely erased the will Oda Kazuya had left in the gemstone and imprinted it with his own.

The moment he succeeded, Hyuga Shin gained a clear sense of control over the entire otherworldly space.

He also learned what was truly wrong with it.

The main issue was its age. With no powerful figure stationed there to maintain it, the mysterious formation that had once drawn in Natural Energy had long since failed and fallen into disrepair.

Oda Kazuya had considered repairing it, but the system he had inherited contained no information on how to do so.

He had a talent for cultivation and was extraordinarily strong, but he lacked the knack for repairing formations.

After several failed attempts, he had no choice but to give up.

In the end, Oda Kazuya had removed the core to meet his own needs.

That had caused the entire space to fall further and further into decline.

It was an independent space attached to the Shinobi World, and it couldn't compete with the greater world for Natural Energy.

In fact, the Shinobi World was draining what little Natural Energy it had.

As time passed, the problem only grew worse.

The space had even begun to deteriorate.

In another few thousand years, it would likely become a barren wasteland.

It would be no different from Kaguya Otsutsuki's special dimensions.

A space capable of nurturing life was fundamentally different from independent spaces that possessed only a limited set of rules.

The ability to nurture life meant its rules were relatively complete, and thus its level was higher.

Though they were called otherworldly spaces, they were essentially independent Small Worlds.

The Three Great Sage Regions were like that.

Now that he'd identified the problem, it would be easy to deal with. Hyuga Shin intended to bring this Small World back to life.

He immediately began putting his plan into action.

First, he completely dismantled the old formation for drawing in Natural Energy and rebuilt it from scratch.

This would set the Small World in motion and give it a net gain of Natural Energy.

He had prepared for this long ago, so setting it up wasn't difficult.

Next, he would cut off the Shinobi World's drain on the Small World to prevent further loss of Natural Energy.

With a powerful figure stationed there, this wouldn't be too difficult—and it wouldn't be a problem for Hyuga Shin.

One method increased the supply, while the other reduced the losses. He was confident the Small World would soon reach a positive balance.

After five days of work, Hyuga Shin had more or less finished.

During that time, he received questions and suggestions from Spark members.

He told them not to worry about choosing a location anymore. He had found a suitable place and was setting it up, so they could rest easy.

"It's time to give it a try. It's nearly perfect now. That was no easy feat!"

Hyuga Shin muttered to himself, looking utterly exhausted.

These past few days had taken a serious toll on him. He couldn't afford a single mistake while setting up and carving the formations, or all his efforts would have been wasted.

"Activate!" Hyuga Shin swept his sleeve, and a streak of light shot toward the formation.

The entire formation activated rapidly. Lights rose one after another, quickly spreading across the entire area.

Hum—! A blinding light flared as the formation fully activated.

The formation drew in wisps of Natural Energy, and the amount kept increasing.

"Looks like everything's working. The formation is running smoothly." Watching the Natural Energy flow in, Hyuga Shin felt reassured.

Next, he only had to set up the formation that would convert Natural Energy into the Power of Heaven and Earth. Once that was done, Spark would have nothing left to worry about.

It was time for the Shinobi World's winds to change.

What? Why not use the core gemstone to help shinobi drive out the Will of the Six Paths?

That wouldn't do. Hyuga Shin was determined to keep this thing under his control.

After seeing this Small World's potential, he had already made plans. It wouldn't just serve as a base for Spark.

It would also become his cultivation ground—a place that would eventually rival the Sage Regions.

He didn't want anyone else setting their sights on it.

However, if he wanted this place to recover quickly, he would probably have to stay here personally for quite some time.

For now, Hyuga Shin had no solution to that problem.

This Small World had deteriorated too much. On its own, it couldn't resist the Shinobi World's drain on its energy.

It was like a river flowing into the sea: without a dam, there was no stopping it.

The only alternative was to spend time covering the entire Small World with barrier formations.

But that was clearly impractical. It would take too long.

Hyuga Shin didn't have that kind of time.

He still had to preach and sow seeds of hope. As the Shinobi World's Great Teacher of Virtue, he had plenty to do.

"Forget it. I'll finish the formation that converts Natural Energy into the Power of Heaven and Earth first."

Hyuga Shin didn't dwell on it. There was no point thinking about it now, and he didn't have the time.

He got back to work.

Fortunately, he had already planned everything out. It took him only four days to finish.

This formation was complicated, but it required less work than the previous one.

Hyuga Shin tested it and confirmed that it worked. As he had designed it, the Power of Heaven and Earth could reinforce a shinobi's spiritual will, allowing the tiniest details to be perceived.

It could also let them turn their awareness inward and see themselves clearly.

Later, once the Natural Energy had increased and the Power of Heaven and Earth had grown stronger, it would be easy to use it to shatter the Will of the Six Paths embedded within people.

Everything was ready. The day of reckoning wouldn't be far off!

Sage of Six Paths, are you ready to face judgment?

The winds of the Shinobi World were about to change!