Rōran, Sōkū Tower.
Sōkyū Hatake still stood before the floor-to-ceiling window, gazing north. Although his Observation Haki could not cover thousands of miles, he could sense an immense presence, long dormant, slowly awakening and moving south.
"Did you sense it?" Sara's voice came from behind him. Carrying a cup of hot tea, she walked to Sōkyū Hatake's side. "You've been watching the north."
"The fish took the bait." Sōkyū Hatake accepted the cup and took a small sip. "That old monster who's been lying low for a thousand years is finally about to make his move."
A trace of worry flashed through Sara's eyes. "Are you confident? Ōtsutsuki Isshiki... they say he was Kaguya's superior, and he's lived for a thousand years..."
"Confident?" Sōkyū Hatake said candidly. "Let him come to Rōran and fight on our turf, under our rules. That's part of my confidence, too."
He turned to Sara. "Tell Anko to step up intelligence surveillance, especially for any unusual activity in the north. Tell Ayame to activate the Firmament Defense System's highest alert mode.
"Tell Orochimaru and Mayuri Kurotsuchi to speed up data collection on Urashiki and Momoshiki. Once Ōtsutsuki Isshiki arrives, they might be used as hostages."
"What about you?" Sara asked. "What are you going to do?"
"Me?" Sōkyū Hatake smiled faintly. "I'm going to... go into seclusion for a few days. Get myself into shape to welcome our honored guest."
He set down the teacup and headed toward the training room at the top of the tower.
"Ōtsutsuki Isshiki's power is completely different from Momoshiki's and Urashiki's. He's a truly powerful Otsutsuki. I can't afford to be careless," he said without looking back. "Sara, I'll have to leave Rōran's affairs to you for the next few days."
"Don't worry." Sara's voice was firm. "I'll keep