Chapter 472: The Living Puppet
"That damned Fujiwara Nagase again..."
In the Land of Rivers, a man wearing a white haori, hair braided into a long ponytail, looking like he was in his late twenties or early thirties, listened to a subordinate’s report with a curious expression.
The man in white gently swirled a clear glass of dark red wine before taking a small sip and waving his subordinate off.
"Yes, Lord Jigen."
The half-kneeling subordinate replied respectfully and exited the room.
"Could he be a descendant of that traitor Kaguya? His power seems... excessive."
Jigen placed the wine glass down, leaned back in his chair, tilted his body slightly to the right, and supported his cheek with his right hand, fingers spread.
He fell deep into thought.
To his subordinates, he was just a mysterious and wealthy shinobi leader. But what they didn’t know was that their leader had been alive for over a thousand years.
Jigen wasn’t powerful because he had mastered the sage arts like the legendary Sannin. No, he had survived since the ancient age of the samurai for one reason only,
He was possessed by an Ōtsutsuki.
Specifically, by Ōtsutsuki Isshiki.
(Note, This story borrows some concepts from Boruto, but it’s not a Boruto story.)
The relationship between Isshiki and Jigen wasn’t like that of Nagato and the Deva Path. No matter how lifelike the Deva Path appeared, it was still a corpse, and once Nagato’s chakra ran out, it would collapse.
But Jigen was different, he was still alive, a man with no thoughts of his own, kept alive only through Isshiki’s chakra.
Jigen had become, a living puppet.
"His genes aren’t bad. Maybe he could bear my Kāma. Too bad he’s from the Land of Fire..."
Jigen’s tone carried a hint of regret, though his expression remained blank.
The Kāma Seal was the foundation of the Ōtsutsuki clan’s terrifying power across the stars.
The Ōtsutsuki could embed their data into another person. A black diamond mark would appear on the target’s palm, the Kāma. As long as the seal remained, the Ōtsutsuki could be resurrected.
But such power came at a price. A mere ant couldn’t bear the power of a titan.
Most bodies couldn’t withstand it. In all his years on this weak planet, Isshiki had yet to find a suitable vessel, including the one he currently inhabited.
Jigen’s body was unsuitable to bear the full power of the Kāma, but Isshiki had no better choice at the time, so he took over regardless.
Part of the reason might be that Isshiki had been keeping a low profile since his betrayal.
Due to his injuries, Isshiki was exceptionally cautious.
For a millennium, he built no great shinobi organization. He hid in mountains and forests, doing nothing flashy.
And he had good reason. Using too much power while in Jigen’s body would damage it. He couldn’t afford to fight, even though 99% of the shinobi world was no threat to him, there were always monsters in every era.
Isshiki had been gravely wounded by Kaguya. Half of his body had been devoured by the God Tree, and he barely escaped with the other half.
Being crippled, unable to fight at full strength, and forced to rely on an unworthy vessel, no wonder he had grown so careful.
He only began expanding again after the First Great Ninja War, when Hashirama had already died.
Isshiki’s demands weren’t high. He just needed henchmen strong enough to kidnap children, to test whether they could withstand his Kāma.
This was the only thing he’d consistently pursued for over a thousand years.
And now, Isshiki felt he had recovered as much as he could. Further improvement wouldn’t come with time.
He needed a new body.
One that could bear the Kāma.
Only then could he return to his peak.
With the Five Great Nations preparing to reconvene for a new Five Kage Summit, Isshiki felt the pressure rising.
Though he wasn’t present for the battle between Kaguya and her sons, the aftermath told the story clearly, her children had betrayed her and sealed her away.
Even though Kaguya was of a lower status than Isshiki within the Ōtsutsuki hierarchy, she was still a full-blooded Ōtsutsuki. He had a strange confidence in her, she would not stay sealed forever.
But if Kaguya revived while he was still in this crippled state, her full power, boosted by the God Tree’s fruit, would obliterate him.
This wasn’t the ninja world of a thousand years ago. Now, the shinobi were dominant, with powerful jutsu everywhere.
If Kaguya took control of the modern world, Isshiki doubted he could hide.
"Time to act. I must expand my forces. I need talent from this world, and more experimental subjects."
Jigen downed his wine in one gulp, eyes flashing.
It was time to abandon caution and begin aggressive expansion.
It wouldn’t be hard for him. Even though he hadn’t done much these last centuries, a thousand years of quiet accumulation was a fearsome foundation.
The relics in his room? Artifacts from the samurai era, each worth more than gold.
Though arrogant, Isshiki wasn’t stupid. He knew today’s shinobi world was vastly different, ninja villages had united the powers of old clans and families.
Even an Ōtsutsuki like him, in his current condition, would need help from these natives.
He devised a two-phase plan, expand his base of power in the Land of Rivers then send infiltrators to corrupt ninja villages from within.
For now, he wouldn’t target the Five Great Nations directly. He would start with newer, smaller villages, like Kōnin Village.
Over the centuries, though no one had fully withstood the Kāma, there had been partial successes, individuals who gained limited powers from it.
These "survivors" could tap into the Kāma for brief periods, but would eventually die if they overused it.
Even these flawed vessels were rare. Only three remained alive, Isshiki’s most trusted agents. He rarely sent them on missions to preserve them.
Now, he would send the weakest of the three to infiltrate Kōnin Village.
Newer villages were easier to infiltrate. With sufficient strength, this agent would rise quickly, eventually allowing Isshiki to control the village and search for children who could bear the Kāma.
---
Because Itachi had agreed, he showed up the next day at the rendezvous point with Shijou Kaori.
Kaori arrived soon after, fully armed and accompanied by two guards.
She looked like she was marching off to war, armor from head to toe, missing only a helmet.
Itachi stared, speechless.
"Doesn’t that feel heavy?" he asked.
"Phew..." Kaori panted.
"Of course it’s heavy! Even on horseback it was annoying. Now walking? Even worse!"
Itachi wondered if maybe she’d received some shinobi training. A normal girl in that gear wouldn’t be able to walk.
He said no more, silently accompanying her on the "hunt."
But Kaori was more like a tourist, chattering endlessly, asking Itachi all sorts of questions, scaring off any animals with her noise.
Still, she was the client. Itachi said little, but endured it.
Then something unexpected happened.
First, both guards vanished. Then they wandered into a cave, and suddenly a boulder rolled down and sealed the exit.
Though young, Itachi wasn’t a fool. He stared at Kaori suspiciously.
Despite being trapped, she just kept smiling and chatting about unrelated things.
"Miss Shijou... did you plan this?" he asked directly.
"How could I? I’m just a delicate girl with no strength or scheming mind,"
Kaori said, eyes wide and misty with feigned innocence.
"How could you doubt my pure soul like this?"
Despite his intelligence, Itachi was still a kid. He began to doubt his suspicions, until Kaori slipped.
"This is so lame. In novels, when the male and female lead get trapped together, their relationship grows instantly. Why’s it not working on you?"
She tried to lean on Itachi’s shoulder but was coldly dodged, her armor clanging as she hit the floor.
Itachi sighed deeply, coming to a new understanding of human stupidity.
"Miss Shijou, please don’t do this again.
Also, this stone won’t hold me."
He raised his hand. Chakra swirled into his palm, forming a spinning ball of energy,
Rasengan.
He struck the boulder, BOOM, and cracked it wide open.
Kaori stared in shock. She had no idea Itachi was that strong.
"I should’ve used a bigger rock..."
she muttered.
The boulder hadn’t even sealed the entrance completely, just enough to keep people from squeezing through. She hadn’t considered Itachi’s power.
As he finished clearing the entrance, a massive boar, over three meters tall, appeared nearby.
No, this was no boar. It was a Ninja Boar.
Itachi glanced at Kaori, tempted to leave her behind.
Even after a few days, he’d seen how much trouble this girl was.
But Kaori also looked genuinely surprised.
’Wait, she didn’t plan this?’ Itachi wondered.
"Wait, is this your doing, Itachi? Like a summoning beast for a heroic rescue?"
Kaori looked at him with excitement.
"No need for all this trouble, you know, if you just.."
"No."
Itachi cut her off, deadpan.
He had no interest in such nonsense. This wasn’t part of his mission.
"Get back in the cave. I’ll take care of it."
Despite how annoying she was, Itachi wouldn’t abandon a protection mission halfway.
Kaori called out to her "missing" guards and got no answer. Realizing this wasn’t a joke, she backed off.
She wasn’t trained enough to help. At least she knew that much.
Itachi first tried communicating with the boar, but it didn’t respond. He abandoned the idea and prepared to fight.
The boar was strong but clumsy. After some testing, Itachi unleashed his Breath Style, disabled its limbs, then finished it with Fire Style, Phoenix Flame.
"Wow, Itachi! You’re so strong! Even stronger than Father’s guards!"
Kaori gushed.
Itachi ignored her. Praise from strangers meant little. He focused on inspecting the boar, it felt too coincidental.
But he found no irregularities. Maybe... maybe it was a real coincidence.
From the shadows, one figure nodded, while another shook their head.
"That kid Itachi... he’s probably going to die single,"
murmured the one who shook their head.
(Author’s note, Some of these elements reference Boruto, but also include original reinterpretations.)
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