Gains and Plans

Teleporting back to their HQ, the girls found Shiki who had left his seclusion amidst their battle.

"So, I understand you three have been busy." Shiki said.

"You were already out and didn't come and help us?" Anko asked.

"What's the point of commanding an organization if I end up having to do everything myself?" Shiki asked.

"Besides, I'm sure you all had well in hand. Was I wrong to trust you capabilities?" He added.

"Not a chance!"

"No Shiki-sama!"

"Shiki-nii is never wrong!"

Anko, Guren and Chino responded with enthusiasm. They were very much pleased by Shiki's praise and his trust in their prowess.

They then reported to him the sequence of events during their battle with Pain, as well as the information they gleamed from it and the boons from the battle in the form of Chino's take over of three of the bodies as well as the destruction of two others and the capture of the final one.

'They not only figured out Pain's true nature but even managed to take out three paths and turn the other three into moles . . .'

'My girls are even more capable than I gave them credit for!' Shiki thought after listening to their report.

"Chino, give control over the three Pains you infected, I'll strengthen the hold and use it when I meet Pain in the near future to "discuss" this attack." He commanded.

"Sure thing." Chino replied.

In their training together, Chino and Shiki found out how to shift control of their blood constructs, barriers and even Ketsuryugan chakra so this shift of control was quite easy to do.

Shiki, who had a lot more raw power than Chino could then strengthen the infection to the point of having absolu and unresistable control over the Paths whereas Chino could only fight Pain for control or blow the paths up once he discovered they had been tampered with.

Letting the girls get some much deserved rest Shiki began pondering over both his next move as well as the gains from his seclusion, which were quite significant indeed.

'Breaking through my limit and moving onto a whole new stage was impossible but gains were nevertheless great.' Shiki thought to himself.

Reaching a level similar to the Hagoromo and attaining the Six Paths Senjutsu like he and Hamura once did proved to be a feat yet beyond Shiki's reach but he still made precious progress.

One of the main boons he received from approaching the form of an Otsutsuki was the tremendous strengthening of his White Eye of the Kagura whose half was a Byakugan, an originally Otsutsuki doujutsu.

Not only was the range and precision of his third eye's abilities greatly increased, he also developed two new ones. The first was an extension of his ability to read moods and emotions, originating from the Divine Eye of the Kagura.

Kaguya could use her Byakugan to peer into others' minds and read them like an open book. Shiki now had access to that power which combined with his advance ability to read emotions and state of being to reach a whole other level of power. He could even see emotions physically in the form of colour.

Right now, attempting to hide one's thoughts and feelings from Shiki while he was actively trying to read them would be utterly impossible unless one surpassed him significantly in terms of raw power, something which perhaps was reserved to the likes of Ishiki from the Boruto era.

Speaking of Ishiki, Shiki knew he should be around during this time and only hidden but he failed to grasp any trace of him.

'Not only is the bastards careful, he is probably making use of the Otsutsuki kekkei mora, Yomotsu Hirasaka to move to other dimensions and thus avoid detection.' Shiki deduced.

As for the second ability he gained was focusing chakra through his third eye and fire it and an energy attack. He could both use a wave like form of energy or focus it into a powerful beam, just another addition to his already considerable arsenal of destructive abilities.

Other than the improvements to his White Eye of the Kagura, Shiki's control over his Nine Tomoe Rinnegan also improved allowing him to use its abilities for a short time. During which he wielding truly god like power.

Lastly, even though it didn't undergo a qualitative change and drastic transformation, Shiki's Perfect Sage State was still further refined, raining his power and control another notch.

'This seclusion was quite fruitful but I should begin planning my next move . . .' Shiki thought.

'Paying a visit to Nagato in Amegakure is a must. As for the place I take the conversation . . . I will let my newly acquired ability to accurately read people guide me to the path that yields the most benefit.' He decided.

'First though, I have other business to take care of, namely Hiruko and his Chimera Jutsu.'

Shiki's plans for this were quite simple, at this stage, Hiruko was barely a challenge and he could just trample over the poor sod even in his supposed perfect state, much less right now.

As such, the way to go was to kill the target, take his soul and learn all of his tricks before letting it go since he was trying to reduce his soul refinement before the backlash the Underworld Owl, Reika spoke of came to haunt him.

As for his three cronies, it would depend on their attitude after Shiki killed their boss. Either they became slaves, much like Orochimaru and his cronies were before, or be summarily executed, it was up to them.

Speaking of Orochimaru and company, they had been promoted for their usefulness and obedience and as such, were no longer slaves but full members of Mugetsu but the details of such a change were a story for another time.

For now, Shiki was planning on checking his various holdings as both Mugetsu's leader and those of his public identity. His first order of business was too take care of the ruins left from Pain's assault.

'Nagato might have actually done me a favor here . . . Not only has he given me an excuse to enter open hostilities with the Akatsuki, thus making it easier to have the world tolerate Mugetsu and accept an alliance in the coming 4th Great Ninja war but he has also give me a chance for something else.'

'If I fund and direct a relief effort of the country he destroyed under public identity, I will gain a significant boost in reputation and greatly increase my significance to all the great powers, not to mention it will reinforce my benevolent image.' He planned.

And so he did. Setting up a partnership with the Land of Snow and Spring, thus allowing him to also use resources and technology from Mugetsu without letting others realize it, Shiki publicly started a campaign to restore the ravaged country.

He set up relief funds, construction projects, established medical centers run by great medical nin who were quite enamored by his great prowess in the medical arts and more.

In addition to this, he also made a plan to help the country rebuild, giving it a new infrastructure, education systems and so on, letting the surviving leaders know that their fallen country would not only recover but also grow even stronger after the destruction it endured.

Much like Shiki had predicted, this earned him immense popularity in the smaller countries of the continent and even the great nations' people had a great impression of him, this was further enhanced by all the medical products and advancements he hand introduced to the world.

Furthermore, using this project has a trigger, Shiki was planning on making as strong connection to the Land of Snow and Spring and begin exporting various technological commodities to the world at large.

So, even though war based tech would remain strictly under Mugetsu's purview, advancements in other fields would be spread to the world at large under the banner of his public identity.

The Land of Snow and Spring had already been earning a reputation as a scenic paradise after its reforms and change in leadership and now, under Shiki's lead, these wonders would start to be exported to the rest of the world.

This not only had the effect of increasing his influence and reputation, but would also modernize the whole world and maybe even paint him as a bit of a messiah.

Needless to say however, it was imperative all of this was implemented gradually so as to not arouse too much suspicion.

As a person of note in the world, it was inevitable for Shiki to fall under envy and suspicion from at least some individuals but he was to minimize this to the greatest degree possible.

But, with such plans in motion, Shiki could now visit those who had missed his presence and inspect his various subordinate's works as well as visit his lovers that were often to occupied to come and see him or he himself was too busy to visit.

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P.a.t.r.e.o.n is officially up!

The link is: https://www.p.a.t.r.e.o.n.com/lusoba without the extra dots of course.

You'll get to read up to FOUR week ahead, a full month, but I'll still post here.

There's also my other novel Archon of DanMachi, do check it out!

I would greatly appreciate any support since this is going to be my breadwinner.