[ Following Uchiha Hoshi's return to Old Konoha, Kazahana Koyuki also returned to the real world. She stood atop the massive Crystal Wall, gazing into the distance. Surrounding her were countless Honkai Beasts. The most prominent among them was, naturally, her companion beast. Its colossal frame was even larger than the Crystal Wall she stood upon; by comparison, the wall looked like a single brick standing at the foot of a grown man.
"Has the Herrscher of Reason finally left?"
Koyuki breathed a sigh of relief when she could no longer sense the aura of the other Herrscher. Fighting the Herrscher of Reason was truly exhausting. If there were a next time, she genuinely didn't want to do it again. But that was wishful thinking; she had to devise a trump card to deal with other Herrschers—one that couldn't be countered.
With Uchiha Hoshi gone, the Land of Snow seemed to return to a state of calm, but it was merely the calm before the storm.
New Konoha.
When Kakashi and the others returned and reported the emergence of another Herrscher, the entire village was sent into a massive upheaval. No one wanted to believe there were two Herrschers! Previously, they assumed an entity with such terrifying power could only be singular. After all, how could a second being with that level of strength possibly be born?
The appearance of the Second Herrscher was a slap in the face to everyone. Not only did she exist, but she displayed the same abilities as the first: creating and controlling Honkai Beasts. The difference was that the Second Herrscher didn't show the ability to instantly replicate the Uchiha Sharingan; instead, she possessed incredibly powerful space manipulation abilities.
However, New Konoha wasn't focused on her specific powers, but rather what her birth signified. It meant a Third, Fourth, or even a Fifth and Sixth Herrscher might be born in the future! One Herrscher was already a nightmare; they couldn't even begin to imagine a world with four or five.
New Konoha, Root's newly established base.
In the deepest, dampest reaches of this dark facility, Shimura Danzo stood before a massive cultivation tank. He stared at the test subject inside, which was riddled with tubes, his face grim.
"Not enough. This is nowhere near enough!"
"But Lord Danzo, a single person can only produce this tiny amount of antibody. This is a biological limit even we cannot alter." Standing beside Danzo, a researcher in a white lab coat and a thick mask handed over a file.
Danzo took the documents and read through them patiently.
"One thousand? If it takes a thousand, then so be it! You must bring me more culture dishes! Whatever the cost!" ]
The documents were filled with technical jargon that confused most, but not everyone.
Orochimaru: "Antibodies? An antibody that allows one to endure Honkai Energy without harm, or even master it?"
Jiraiya: "What!? Such a thing actually exists?"
First Herrscher - Uchiha Hoshi: "It does. As long as the person doesn't turn to ash the moment they touch Honkai Energy. In people exposed to small amounts, a 'Corrosion' effect occurs. This doesn't kill them instantly. In the struggle against the energy, their bodies produce an extremely rare antibody. However, the amount is so minuscule that it cannot heal them; it only prevents them from turning to ash, turning them into Zombies instead!"
Jiraiya: "If that's the case, what use is such a tiny amount of antibody?"
Jiraiya paused, a dark realization forming in his mind. Those documents... could it be...?
Orochimaru: "Exactly. One person's antibodies are negligible, but what about a thousand? Based on those documents, if you aggregate the antibodies from a thousand people, you can give one individual a sufficiently strong resistance."
A: "A thousand people? Danzo, have you lost your mind? Do you want to make New Konoha the enemy of the entire world?"
Onoki: "You know Danzo's character. He'll use any means necessary to achieve his goals. This is exactly the kind of thing he would do."
Instantly, a wave of revulsion for the 'Darkness of the Shinobi World' swept through the spectators. Those in the Land of Fire who had the means began considering fleeing the country. Staying there felt like choosing between dying to a Honkai Beast's claws or being kidnapped by Danzo as a test subject.
"So that's why I failed so many times... these White Zetsu simply don't have enough Honkai resistance."
Looking at the data on the Sky Screen, Uchiha Obito finally understood his failures. While Danzo had to risk his life to capture beasts near Konoha for experiments, Obito already had a severed limb from a beast—the strongest one at that! He had been studying the limb even without the Sky Screen's inspiration to understand his enemy, but he hadn't made much progress. Seeing Uchiha Hoshi's clone revealed the path: merging White Zetsu with extracts from the Honkai limb. But his Zetsu had either turned into monsters or Zombies.
"If it's a matter of Honkai resistance, does the White Zetsu body have any at all?" Obito began a new round of experiments.
[ The perspective shifts, rising above the ground of New Konoha.
After several years of construction, the land area of New Konoha was larger than the old village. However, the streets were sparsely populated. Clearly, far fewer people were willing to settle here compared to the old home.
Following the news of the Second Herrscher, New Konoha reacted quickly, dispatching an elite squad to the Land of Snow to investigate. For New Konoha, perhaps the only silver lining was that they hadn't actually clashed with the Second Herrscher, Kazahana Koyuki, yet.
While they had intended to occupy the Land of Snow as a fallback point, they hadn't actually started the operation. If a plan hasn't been executed, it doesn't exist! Therefore, in their minds, their relationship with the Land of Snow was still perfectly fine!
Of course, this elite squad also had the task of feeling out the Second Herrscher's stance. If possible, they were to win her over; if not, they at least needed to glean more information about Herrschers. This was the top priority.
After all, they didn't know if the Second Herrscher was friend or foe, but the First Herrscher was a mortal enemy—a sword of Damocles hanging over New Konoha! They desperately needed more intel. ]