"When will the next one come to play?"
Shengu Xuan had said that three months ago and had never brought it up again. His daily routine was as regular as an alarm clock: get up, eat, find somewhere high to lie in the sun, occasionally visit the Moon Base to check on the Shadowkhan's operations, then go back to lying around.
The Shinobi World Union ran unexpectedly smoothly. The council of five Kage handled the vast majority of daily affairs. No more than three documents reached Shengu Xuan each week, and he always stamped them with his eyes closed.
Until Shikaku climbed onto the Hokage Building's rooftop one afternoon.
"Lord Shengu."
Shengu Xuan lay on the rooftop railing with a grass stem between his lips, not even lifting his eyelids.
"What crap is it this time?"
"It's not crap this time." Shikaku held a scroll out before him, his voice lower than usual. "Over the past two months, the ANBU intelligence division intercepted a series of encrypted communications. The signal sources are spread across five countries, forming a complete communications network."
The grass stem in Shengu Xuan's mouth bobbed, but he still didn't open his eyes.
"And?"
"We've only deciphered a small portion of the communications." Shikaku unrolled the scroll on the railing and pointed to a line. "The most frequently occurring words are 'shell' and 'vessel.'"
"Shell?"
"Yes. We've provisionally named this unknown organization Kara, but there's another piece of information that worries the intelligence division most." Shikaku moved his finger to the end of the scroll. "Their communications mentioned a name: Otsutsuki."
Shengu Xuan's eyelids finally moved.
He didn't open them all at once, but slowly lifted them. His chaos-colored eyes emerged through the slits, the golden ripples within them making one turn.
"Otsutsuki?"
"Yes." Shikaku's expression was