'Is it really Momoshiki?'
Suffocating the overflowing chakra from the Karma seal, Black Zetsu confirmed the arrogant alien's identity.
After all, Kaguya's will had transferred into the mix after Makoto had folded Urashiki and Momoshiki like cheap laundry, leaving her in the dark about the preceding bloodbath.
Even hearing the lore from others wasn't enough to verify the truth. Now, the fleshy confirmation was undeniable.
Since this was Momoshiki's genuine Karma, it lent credibility to Makoto's unhinged story about the future.
The Karma's core function was to compress an Ōtsutsuki's genetic makeup into a parasitic seed, which would then unseal within a suitable meat vessel.
As the vessel's anatomy mutated into an Otsutsuki, the host's original consciousness would be overwritten and erased, allowing the parasite to hijack the body and revive.
Orochimaru, who possessed his own resurrection method through the Curse Mark, disdained the Karma's crude mechanics.
To the snake Sannin, Karma sole advantage was preserving the uncut bloodline strength of the host body.
However, this crude method came with a host of nasty side effects.
The most critical flaw was the Karma's slow genetic extraction rate.
Even Boruto, whose bloodline was a direct branch of the Ōtsutsuki family tree, had failed to revive Momoshiki despite the Karma marinating in his flesh for a prolonged period.
Some might argue that calling it a "long time" is an exaggeration—Momoshiki squatted inside Boruto's body for about a year before being forced to cannibalize his own revival to heal his dying teenage host.
But compare that to how fast Orochimaru can slither out of a cursed seal.
With a basic Evil Releasing Method from Sasuke, Orochimaru could burst out of a neck tattoo on his own, without needing to hijack the host's nervous system.
Occupying a White Zetsu's body and mutating it into his own pale form took the Sannin a mere handful of breaths.
However, that sluggish alien extraction rate had one major advantage.
When strapped to an operating table and studied, it could be physically suffocated.
The Karma's extraction process mutates the host's flesh into Ōtsutsuki tissue.
This mutation can be accelerated, but it is permanent.
Because of this slow process, Orochimaru was able to surgically extract Momoshiki's pure alien cells from the mutating White Zetsu meat.
Then, combining that raw alien flesh with the unethical genetic splicing projects he and the Second Hokage had been researching...
In the original timeline, Orochimaru would modify Mitsuki's genetics to make him a flawless, synthetic vessel for Sage Mode, thanks to this type of grotesque biology.
This time, Orochimaru planned to mutate the extracted Ōtsutsuki genes as well.
He would alter two things: the genetic extraction rate and the seal's trigger condition.
Makoto had lectured Orochimaru on the lore, explaining that the Karma granted by the Otsutsuki came in two distinct flavors.
The black Karma served as a true parasitic vessel capable of housing a hostile soul, while the White Karma was a battery of raw power, incapable of containing an ego.
By cracking the genetic lock of the Otsutsuki cell, it could be mutated into a White Karma.
Thanks to his thorough preparation, Orochimaru synthesized a working prototype in a single, blood-soaked afternoon.
The result was a small, finger-sized glass vial containing a fleshy, white, rhombus-shaped mass—a weaponized White Karma.
Currently dormant, once implanted, it would pump Ōtsutsuki chakra into the victim's veins.
The first gruesome phase of the experiment was a success!
The group washed the blood off their hands and relaxed in the break area
Hanabi had been notified of her impending surgery and was on her way.
The next unhinged step was to see if shoving Otsutsuki meat into the child would force her eyes to mutate into the Tenseigan.
"The Tenseigan awakens in Byakugan users with concentrated bloodlines," Hiruzen mused, smoking his pipe.
"If Hanabi can endure the mutation, does that mean Hiashi and Hinata could achieve it too?"
"And what about Neji? His bloodline and optic nerves were suppressed by that cursed Caged Bird Seal. If his forehead hadn't been branded, with his natural talent, could he have mutated Tenseigan as well?" Hiruzen shared his speculations with his former student.
"You are correct, Sensei. In theory, it's possible," Orochimaru hissed.
"Then..." Hiruzen's voice trembled with excitement.
If it's possible, would Konoha not gain four god-tier combatants?
At that point, the Hyuga Clan might stop being a joke and live up to their claim of being Konoha's strongest clan!
"But it's theoretical. Neither I nor Makoto would hand out such power to those traditionalists," Orochimaru shattered Hiruzen's daydream.
"Why? Would a squad of Tenseigan users not be a devastating force against the Otsutsuki invasion?" Hiruzen's expression stiffened in confusion.
"We lack neither the means to acquire power nor the power itself. What we lack are loyal individuals who share our vision. For those people, we would mutilate the laws of nature to elevate their strength." Orochimaru sneered.
"Tell me, Sensei, do you believe that Hyuga Hiashi and his oldest daughter qualify as like-minded allies? If we granted them the eyes of a god, would they not turn around and use that power to oppose our new world order?"
"As for Neji, the day Makoto burned that Caged Bird Seal off his skull was the day he became radicalized enough to join us. No need to overthink it." Orochimaru's explanation was pragmatic.
'You are not a loyal asset.'
'Why would I waste priceless Otsutsuki meat buffing your stats?'
"...Then what about Hanabi? Is she not a core part of the main Hyuga Clan?" Hiruzen asked after a moment of silence.
In his eyes, the girl was a Konoha shinobi through and through.
She wasn't some rogue bastard adopted from outside the village walls.
As the Second Heiress of the main branch, raised in their traditions since birth, shouldn't she be considered a risk?
"That is... complicated," Orochimaru muttered.
He shot a questionable glance at Makoto, who was sitting across the table sharing a cup of tea with Black.
The Sannin hesitated.
"Complicated, or too cursed to say it out loud?" Hiruzen asked with a knowing smile.
He sensed his former student was at his wit's end, trying to justify an absurd situation.
"Fine, Sensei. Watch this footage yourself." Orochimaru sighed, producing a chunky video tape.
He shoved it into a monitor setup and slammed the screen down in front of the Third Hokage.
"What's this?" Hiruzen asked, taken aback by the equipment.
"The young ninja got bored in the barracks, so they are putting on a theatrical play based on that propaganda movie they saw. They are planning to perform this live in front of a crowd during the upcoming New Year celebrations."
"Oh? Let me see."
Hearing that it was a children's play, Hiruzen smiled.
He gazed at the screen, his face taking on the expression of a benevolent grandfather watching over the next generation of youth.
However...
"What the fuck is this?!" Hiruzen's eyes nearly popped out of his skull in shock.
They are going to make civilians sit and watch THIS during a New Year celebration?!
Is this a terrorist organization's twisted idea of cultural arts?!
On the video footage, Ameyuri Ringo was dressed up as Makoto—without bothering to use a Transformation Jutsu.
This was likely a theatrical choice to ensure the audience knew it was a stage performance.
Oddly, only the role of Makoto was played with such blatant cosplay.
The other child actors did not follow this pattern!
Could this be a psychological tactic to prevent the kids from getting immersed in the trauma?
On the screen:
Hyuga Hanabi knelt in the center of the stage on one knee, pledging her allegiance to the shadows.
She spoke zero lines, relying on her body language and expressions to convey her torment.
'Good grief, it is a silent pantomime! Quite good one, I must say,' Hiruzen thought, sweating.
However... the plot that followed felt familiar to the Hokage.
According to the play's narration, the traditionalists of Konoha, led by the Hyuga Clan, opposed Makoto's reforms to the Shinobi World and planning a coup.
Hyuga Hanabi, her face etched with melancholy, held up a cardboard sign with the word "Potential" crossed out in red ink.
Activating her Byakugan, the ten-year-old unleashed her Gentle Fist choreography, initiating a night of clan annihilation across the stage.
In the play's climax, Hanabi struck down an actor playing her father, Hyuga Hiashi, before the eyes of someone playing her older sister, Hinata.
At that moment, Hanabi wiped fake blood from her eyes, popped in a pair of glowing blue contact lenses, and broke her character to deliver her only spoken line to Hinata.
"My foolish older sister... flee! Run away and cling to your life. Come find me again when you have managed to mutate eyes like mine!"