Mastermind of the Akatsuki

After witnessing Satori flee back into the Box of Ultimate Bliss, Orochimaru glanced at Byakuya, his eyes seeming to ask, 'Did we succeed or fail with this experiment? The creature inside the Box doesn't seem to have fulfilled our wish.'

Byakuya ignored Orochimaru's subtle look and walked directly toward the Box.

Byakuya had his suspicions about why Satori had shown fear just now. Perhaps it was because he possessed Yin-Yang Release or due to the Ashura bloodline flowing within him. These latent powers within him might have led the Box of Ultimate Bliss to mistake him for an Otsutsuki.

After all, while Satori had a keen sense of malice, this perception was undoubtedly chakra-based, which inevitably tied back to the Otsutsuki clan.

Lost in thought, Byakuya reached the Box and pressed his hand against it again.

Having observed Orochimaru's jutsu, he'd recorded its structure, and he was now able to open the Box at will. Channeling another tailed beast's worth of chakra, Byakuya cast the jutsu to open the Box and then pulled it ajar, jumping into the dimension within.

Just as he'd expected, though the Box of Ultimate Bliss appeared small on the outside, it connected to a small alternate space within.

Once inside, Byakuya quickly locked onto Satori's position and summoned black rods in his hand, advancing step-by-step.

Now that there were no onlookers, he could unleash his full power.

Seeing the black rods in Byakuya's hand, Satori's heart sank as he was reminded of the terror he'd experienced a thousand years ago.

Taking a deep breath, with no escape left, Satori launched an attack on Byakuya.

But Byakuya didn't dodge. Instead, he rapidly formed hand seals, creating multiple wood clones, each charging toward Satori.

After a brief battle, the entire dimension was filled with towering trees, and Satori's body was pierced by countless black rods, rendering him completely powerless.

Although Satori's malice-sensing ability was potent, it relied mainly on speed. In the face of Byakuya's Wood Release and black rods, Satori had no way to capitalize on his speed advantage. The first hit from a black rod had already sealed his fate.

At this moment, Satori's body began to change, disintegrating like burning paper, as if he might vanish at any moment.

Within seconds, Satori's physical form disappeared entirely, leaving behind a mass of sentient chakra.

Byakuya watched Satori struggle calmly, showing no concern for his potential escape.

Satori's current form was similar to that of the nine tailed beasts: a mass of self-aware chakra. The black rods could control tailed beasts, so controlling Satori was naturally within their power.

As a native being of the shinobi world and its surrounding dimensions, Satori's essence was far beneath that of the extraterrestrial Otsutsuki.

Realizing he couldn't escape, Satori materialized a pair of eyes filled with resignation and asked, "What will it take for you Otsutsuki to finally leave me alone?"

"Otsutsuki?" Byakuya frowned, realizing Satori knew more than he'd expected.

After a brief pause, Byakuya responded, "What is this Otsutsuki you speak of? I'm only here to make you fulfill our wish for peace in the shinobi world."

"Peace in the shinobi world…" Satori fell silent, seemingly helpless.

Seeing Satori's reluctance to speak, Byakuya drove another black rod into him and continued, "You haven't answered my question. What exactly are the Otsutsuki?"

Under Byakuya's threat, Satori finally began recounting a long-forgotten history.

Over a thousand years ago, two members of the Otsutsuki clan descended upon the shinobi world. They planted a massive tree at the heart of the land, aiming to absorb the planet's chakra.

Before planting the Divine Tree, the two Otsutsuki hunted indiscriminately across the shinobi world, removing anything that could hinder the tree's growth.

Years later, the male Otsutsuki vanished, replaced by a female Otsutsuki, along with the figures of Hagoromo and Hamura Otsutsuki.

After being sealed by Hagoromo, Satori lost contact with the events in the shinobi world. Finishing his tale, Byakuya began using a combination of threats and promises to coerce Satori into joining the Akatsuki.

Satori had no real choice and could only grit his teeth and agree to Byakuya's terms.

Just then, an emotionless electronic voice echoed in Byakuya's mind.

[Satori (Chakra Lifeform) has joined the Akatsuki. You have acquired the Malice Detection ability.]

[Satori (Chakra Lifeform) has joined the Akatsuki. You have acquired Advanced Body Flicker Technique.]

Byakuya glanced over the rewards. The Malice Detection ability was quite useful. Although he already had the Kagura Mind's Eye, he had always been weak in detecting malice specifically, so this ability filled that gap nicely. As for the Advanced Body Flicker Technique, it seemed to be a form of Satori's teleportation skill, which might come in handy.

After claiming his rewards, Byakuya exited the Box of Ultimate Bliss alone. Having confirmed that the Box had a limit on its powers, his interest in it had waned.

When Orochimaru saw Byakuya emerge from the Box, a peculiar expression crossed his face. There were only two possibilities for Byakuya's safe return: either he hadn't encountered the Box's creature at all, or he had managed to defeat Satori. Orochimaru quickly dismissed the first possibility.

Knowing Byakuya's strength, he wasn't surprised Byakuya had defeated Satori, but his curiosity grew about what was inside the Box. Byakuya didn't hide anything and explained the situation to Orochimaru.

After hearing about Byakuya's easy victory over Satori, Orochimaru sighed softly, shifting his gaze from the Box of Ultimate Bliss to Byakuya himself. Compared to the Box, Orochimaru was more intrigued by the secrets of Byakuya's power, an interest that even surpassed his fascination with Wood Release or the Uchiha clan.

After a few words of encouragement from Byakuya, he left the lab.

Orochimaru paced around the laboratory, then glanced toward the Box of Ultimate Bliss. Nearby, on the ground, he noticed a bloodstained tree branch.

Picking up the branch without a word, Orochimaru sensed the chakra on it and confirmed that it was Byakuya's. His heart began to race.

Though the blood on the branch was minimal, it was enough for him to conduct some research. If he could unravel the mystery behind Byakuya's power, he might even be able to create a vessel with similar qualities, allowing him to perform the Reincarnation Jutsu on it.

Orochimaru had always wanted to explore the limits of ninjutsu, but his frail body had held him back, making his quest for the ultimate secrets of ninjutsu fraught with risk. Only by acquiring a perfect body could he pursue the ultimate secrets of ninjutsu without any reservations.

With this thought, Orochimaru smiled, as if he could already see the day his experiment would succeed.