Hidden Waterfall Village was a peaceful place—built around a massive waterfall, isolated from the great nations' conflicts, home to perhaps three hundred shinobi at most.
A small village. Weak defenses. Perfect target.
Sasuke stood on a cliff overlooking the village, his Rinnegan scanning every structure, every chakra signature, every defensive position.
"The Seven-Tails jinchuriki—Fu—is in the village center," he announced. "Training ground near the great tree. Two guards with her. Chunin-level at best."
"We should scout more thoroughly, yeah," Deidara said, preparing clay birds. "Make sure there aren't hidden defenses—"
"There aren't. I can see the entire village with my Byakugan overlay." Sasuke's purple eyes shifted slightly, the lavender-blue tint becoming more prominent. "Three hundred twenty-seven shinobi total. Twelve jonin. No Kage-level threats. This extraction will take fifteen minutes."
"Confident," Konan observed.
"Accurate," Sasuke corrected. "I've done this three times now. I know exactly what's required."
He began walking toward the village.
"Wait—" Konan called. "We should coordinate a strategy—"
"Strategy: I teleport to the jinchuriki using Flying Thunder God. Subdue her with Rinnegan's tailed beast control. Extract the Seven-Tails. Teleport out before the village can respond effectively." Sasuke didn't stop walking. "You three can watch or participate. Either is acceptable."
"Arrogant bastard," Deidara muttered.
"I prefer 'efficiently direct,'" Sasuke said without turning around. "Now, are you coming or not?"
Kisame grinned, Samehada shifting on his back. "This should be entertaining. Lead the way, Uchiha."
Hidden Waterfall Village—Training Ground
Fu practiced her flight techniques, green wings of Seven-Tails chakra extending from her back. She was young—maybe sixteen—with an enthusiasm that bordered on reckless.
"Watch this!" she called to her guards, performing an aerial loop. "Chomei's chakra makes me the fastest flier in—"
She stopped mid-sentence.
Every instinct she had—every warning from Chomei within her—screamed danger.
She spun in the air to see Sasuke standing in the training ground's center, having appeared from nowhere.
His Rinnegan blazed purple with rippling tomoe patterns, draconic pupils gleaming, utterly inhuman.
"Fu of Hidden Waterfall. I'm here for the Seven-Tails."
Her guards reacted instantly, throwing kunai and forming hand seals—
"Shinra Tensei."
Both guards were hurled backward with devastating force, crashing into trees fifty meters away. Unconscious before they hit the ground.
Fu's wings flared, her chakra spiking as she accessed more of Chomei's power. "You're Akatsuki! The ones who've been hunting jinchuriki!"
"Correct. And you're the next collection." Sasuke's voice was utterly calm. "This can be easy or difficult. Your choice."
"I'll never let you take Chomei!" Fu shot into the air, her speed increased by beetle-like wings. "We're partners! Friends! You can't just—"
Sasuke's Rinnegan tracked her flight path with perfect precision. "Bansho Ten'in."
Gravitational attraction.
Fu was yanked from the sky like a fish on a line, pulled directly toward Sasuke despite her desperate attempts to fly away. She crashed into the ground in front of him, the impact cratering the earth.
"Your speed is impressive," Sasuke observed clinically. "But meaningless against gravitational manipulation. I can pull or push you regardless of how fast you move."
Fu struggled to her feet, her Seven-Tails chakra forming a partial cloak. "Chomei, we have to—"
"Chomei can't help you." Sasuke's Rinnegan blazed with full intensity. "Rinnegan commands tailed beasts. The same power that created the bijuu now controls them absolutely."
He unleashed the full force of his tailed beast domination.
Inside Fu's mindscape, Chomei the Seven-Tails—a massive beetle-like creature—felt the overwhelming pressure of Rinnegan authority crushing down.
"This chakra... the Sage's eyes... I cannot... cannot resist..."
The Seven-Tails had resisted before. Had fought against previous attempts to control it. But Rinnegan power was absolute—the authority of the being who'd originally separated the Ten-Tails into nine bijuu.
Chomei's will crumbled.
In the real world, Fu's chakra cloak vanished. Her wings disappeared. She collapsed to her knees, tears streaming down her face.
"Chomei... I can't feel you anymore... what did you do?!"
"I took control of your bijuu. Now it answers to me, not you." Sasuke formed hand seals without emotion. "The extraction begins. This will be painful. I apologize, but the discomfort is necessary."
"No! Please! Chomei is my friend! We've been together since I was a child!" Fu's voice broke. "You can't just take that away!"
"I can. And I am." Sasuke's technique activated. "Your emotional attachment doesn't change the objective. The Seven-Tails is valuable. Your suffering is... regrettable but irrelevant."
The extraction began.
Green chakra erupted from Fu as Chomei was forcibly torn from her seal. The Seven-Tails manifested briefly—a massive beetle wreathed in scales and wings, crying out in pain and submission.
Fu screamed. The agony of losing a bijuu was indescribable—like having a part of her soul ripped away while still conscious.
From the perimeter, Konan watched with conflicted expression. Deidara looked disturbed. Even Kisame seemed slightly uncomfortable.
"He really feels nothing," Konan whispered. "She's begging. Crying. And he's just... extracting like it's a medical procedure."
"That's what he's become," Kisame said quietly. "Pure efficiency. No mercy. No hesitation. Just objectives and methods."
Three minutes later, it was done.
Chomei—all of the Seven-Tails' power—was sealed in Sasuke's scroll.
Fu collapsed, still breathing but barely. Her body was damaged, aged by the extraction, her chakra system torn apart.
Sasuke looked down at her with his inhuman purple eyes. "You'll die within hours. Use that time to make peace with your fate. Your sacrifice contributes to something greater than yourself."
"Why..." Fu gasped, tears still streaming. "Why are you doing this... you have those eyes... you have so much power... why hurt people..."
Sasuke was quiet for a moment, genuinely considering her question.
"Because power requires sacrifice," he finally said. "And I've decided that my power is worth more than others' suffering. Your pain, your loss, your death—all of it is acceptable cost for my evolution."
"You're... a monster..."
"Yes. And monsters don't need justification." Sasuke sealed the scroll into his cloak. "Goodbye, Fu. Thank you for the Seven-Tails."
He turned away, leaving her dying in the crater.
The village's shinobi were just starting to arrive—drawn by the commotion, forming a perimeter around the training ground.
"Akatsuki!" one of them shouted. "You're surrounded! Release Fu and—"
"Shinra Tensei."
The gravitational repulsion exploded outward in a sphere, hurling every shinobi backward simultaneously. Dozens of them crashed into buildings, trees, the ground. None killed, but all incapacitated.
"Efficient," Sasuke observed. "Now we leave before they recover."
He formed the Flying Thunder God seal—
"Wait." Konan stepped forward. "We should confirm the extraction was successful. Check that the Seven-Tails is properly sealed—"
"It is. I've done this three times. I know when a seal is stable." Sasuke's impatience was clear. "If you doubt my competence, examine the scroll yourself. Otherwise, we're leaving."
Konan took the scroll, her paper-based sensory techniques analyzing the seal. After a moment, she nodded reluctantly. "It's stable. The Seven-Tails is contained."
"As I said." Sasuke activated Flying Thunder God. "Now let's return to base before this village requests assistance from the great nations."
They vanished, leaving Hidden Waterfall in chaos.
Behind them, Fu died alone—her decades-long partnership with Chomei ended by a monster who'd felt nothing about destroying it.
Akatsuki Base—That Evening
Pain examined the sealed Seven-Tails, his expression unreadable.
"Four tailed beasts extracted. All successful. All with minimal casualties to Akatsuki members." His Rinnegan met Sasuke's. "You've proven yourself the most effective bijuu hunter in the organization."
"I've proven myself the only effective bijuu hunter," Sasuke corrected. "Your other members failed the Six-Tails extraction three times. I've succeeded with four different bijuu without a single failure."
"Because you have Rinnegan," Konan said. "You have an inherent advantage—"
"Which I earned through evolution and preparation. My Rinnegan awakened naturally from combining Uchiha and Senju genetics. I planned for it. Worked toward it. Achieved it." Sasuke's voice was cold. "You can't dismiss my effectiveness by attributing it to advantages I deliberately created for myself."
Pain was silent for a long moment.
"The remaining bijuu are Six-Tails, Eight-Tails, and Nine-Tails. The Eight-Tails jinchuriki—Killer B—is highly skilled and fully synchronized with his beast. The Nine-Tails is in Konoha, heavily protected. Both will be significantly more challenging than your previous extractions."
"Challenging for normal operatives. Routine for me." Sasuke's confidence was absolute. "Assign me to the Eight-Tails next. I want to test myself against a fully-realized jinchuriki before moving on Konoha."
"And the Nine-Tails?"
"Is my final objective. When I move on Konoha, it won't just be for the Nine-Tails." Sasuke's Rinnegan gleamed. "It will be for multiple objectives simultaneously. The Nine-Tails extraction. The Hyuga clan's Byakugan collection. Any remaining Sharingan in the village. A comprehensive harvest."
The chamber went silent.
"You're planning to assault your former village alone," Konan said slowly. "Extract their jinchuriki, murder an entire clan for their eyes, and somehow escape alive."
"Yes. Is there a question in there?"
"It's suicide. Even for you—"
"It's calculated risk. I have Flying Thunder God for instant escape. Rinnegan for overwhelming combat power. Dragon Sage Mode for extended operations. Byakugan overlay for perfect sensory awareness." Sasuke listed advantages like items on a checklist. "Konoha has strong shinobi, yes. But none of them have the combination of abilities I possess. I'll complete the harvest and leave before they can organize an effective response."
"The Hokage—"
"Tsunade is a medical specialist with enhanced strength. Dangerous in close combat but predictable. I can repel her with Shinra Tensei or simply teleport away if she becomes problematic." Sasuke's dismissal was complete. "She's not the threat you think she is."
Pain exchanged glances with Konan. The silent communication was clear: He's too confident. Too powerful. Too far beyond our control.
"The Eight-Tails first," Pain finally decided. "Two weeks from now. You'll take Kisame as backup—"
"I don't need backup."
"It's not optional. Kisame goes with you. He can handle himself, and he'll report on your methods." Pain's voice hardened. "You're powerful, Sasuke. But you're not invincible. And your arrogance will get you killed if you're not careful."
Sasuke smiled coldly. "My arrogance is matched by my capabilities. That's not arrogance—it's accuracy."
He turned to leave.
"One more thing," Pain called. "What's your real objective? You claim you're collecting tailed beasts for us. But you've admitted you'll eventually betray Akatsuki. So what are you actually building toward?"
Sasuke paused at the doorway.
"The moon," he said simply.
"The moon?" Konan repeated, confused.
"There's a Giant Tenseigan there. Created by the Otsutsuki clan centuries ago. Thousands of Byakugan worth of power concentrated in one location." Sasuke's voice carried absolute certainty. "After I've collected enough tailed beasts to be confident in my power, I'm going to the moon. I'll absorb the Giant Tenseigan, awaken my own Tenseigan, and merge it with my Rinnegan."
Silence.
"You're insane," Pain said flatly.
"I'm ambitious. And honest about my goals." Sasuke looked back, his purple Rinnegan blazing. "You wanted to know what I'm building toward? Godhood. Complete and absolute. Power that surpasses even the Sage of Six Paths. The fusion of Hagoromo's and Hamura's bloodlines into one being."
"That's impossible—"
"So was naturally awakening Rinnegan. So was surviving Hashirama cell integration. So was defeating Itachi at age sixteen. I make impossible things routine." Sasuke's smile was predatory. "The moon mission is simply the next impossible thing I'll accomplish."
He walked out, leaving Akatsuki in stunned silence.
After he left, Konan turned to Pain. "He's telling the truth. He actually believes he can do it."
"I know." Pain's voice was tired. "And the terrifying part is... he might actually be right."
Sasuke's Quarters—Deep Night
Sasuke sat alone, spreading out his research on the moon.
Six months until I'm ready. Four tailed beasts collected. Need the Eight-Tails for experience against a perfect jinchuriki. Then the Nine-Tails combined with the Hyuga harvest.
After that... Pain's Rinnegan. The Gedo Statue for study. Complete separation from Akatsuki.
Then the moon mission.
His Rinnegan blazed in the darkness as he planned every detail.
The Otsutsuki branch on the moon will have Tenseigan. At least one, possibly more. They'll be powerful—descendants of Hamura with centuries of isolated evolution.
But I'll have Rinnegan, multiple tailed beasts' worth of chakra reserves, Dragon Sage Mode, and the element of surprise.
I'll extract the Giant Tenseigan first. Absorb its power to awaken my own Tenseigan. Then hunt down any individual Tenseigan users and collect their eyes as well.
The fusion of Rinnegan and Tenseigan will create something unprecedented. Something beyond anything this world has ever seen.
His purple eyes gleamed with inhuman ambition.
And then... then I'll be ready for the real threats. The Otsutsuki who will eventually come from beyond. Momoshiki. Kinshiki. Urashiki. All of them.
I'll be waiting. With power that rivals theirs. With dojutsu that surpasses theirs.
The Dojutsu Hunter will become the Dojutsu God.
He allowed himself a rare smile.
Six months. Just six more months until everything changes.
Outside his window, the moon hung in the sky.
Silent.
Watching.
Unaware that a monster was planning to claim its greatest treasure.
Unaware that the Dojutsu Hunter had set his sights on celestial prey.
Unaware that in six months, the impossible would become routine once again.
And godhood would be within reach.
One stolen eye at a time.