At the border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Grass.
Deep within a dense forest.
A red-and-black time-space vortex suddenly opened.
"This should be the place..."
A white-robed monk murmured as he stepped out of the vortex.
He was the one who had sensed the Ten-Tails' presence.
Jigen, who had hurried over after dealing with some urgent matters.
Or rather... Ōtsutsuki Isshiki!
"There seems to have been a major battle here just now..."
Isshiki surveyed his surroundings indifferently and gave a careless smile.
"Heh, am I a step too late?"
He had been worried that Kaguya would go after his spare Ten-Tails once she revived.
To be on the safe side.
He had returned to his base specifically to make some arrangements, which had delayed him a little.
Holding up his robe with one hand, Isshiki slowly crouched down.
He touched the ground with his other hand, closed his eyes, and began to sense what remained.
A moment later, he opened his eyes again.
Confusion and delight flashed through them at the same time.
"It is indeed the Ten-Tails' power! But its essence is incomplete, only around half of what it should be."
"...Did something go wrong while Kaguya was being unsealed, preventing her from fully reviving?"
"Or did someone stumble into acquiring part of the Ten-Tails' power by sheer accident?"
At that thought.
Isshiki suddenly summoned a wineglass, swirled it, and began to savor the fine wine.
Good wine helped spark inspiration. It was a habit of his whenever he pondered a problem.
As the rich red wine went down.
Isshiki soon arrived at the most plausible explanation.
"Kaguya did everything she could to lure someone into unsealing her, only for them to see through her scheme.
Instead of summoning the complete Ten-Tails, they found a