The murky Nether River stretched beyond sight. Eerie red flowers bloomed along its banks, and beneath the dim sky, an enormous jellyfish drifted slowly, three purple lines forming the outline of its face.
Ever since leaving Great Yamato Toyo-Akitsu, Yu had been traveling along the Nether River.
Great Yamato Toyo-Akitsu, governed by Ubiji, was only one of the Eight Islands of Yomi.
The two gods, Yanmo and Hemo, controlled the remaining seven islands: Iyo, Oki, Tsukushi, Iki, Tsushima, and Sado.
Each island held a vast concentration of netherworld force. The greedy Ōtsutsuki Clan wanted to extend its claws into the Netherworld and use it as a seedbed for the Divine Tree.
But the Eight Islands of Yomi were opposing yet united; a disturbance to one affected them all. To plant Divine Trees here, the Ōtsutsuki would have to bring all eight islands under their control. Not a single one could be missing!
Thus, after the two gods took control of seven islands, Yama of the Netherworld ordered Ubiji to hold the last one, preventing the Ōtsutsuki from taking any concrete action. The situation remained in a delicate balance.
But as the lands outside grew increasingly depleted, the day would come when the Ōtsutsuki Clan, left with no other choice, would launch a greater offensive against the Netherworld!
"If I kill Yanmo and Hemo today, that will be the same as liberating the 'seven islands' in their hands. Together with Great Yamato Toyo-Akitsu in my teacher's hands, all eight islands will effectively belong to our side. That would give us the conditions we need to plant Divine Trees."
"With things as they stand, the Ōtsutsuki Clan will launch a full-scale invasion of the Netherworld sooner or later. Rather than hand it over to the enemy, we might as well use it