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The sky was now illuminated by the early light of dawn. The first rays of the rising sun stretched across the horizon, dispelling the darkness and cold of the night.

Suddenly, a black fissure appeared in the sky. The fissure rapidly expanded into a pitch-black hole, and through it descended a bizarre red full moon into this world.

This was the moon summoned by the "Infinite Tsukuyomi." Though the technique used the moon to cast its effects, it wasn't the Earth's moon—it relied on a moon from another dimension, projecting its power through the otherworldly moon to execute the jutsu.

Thus, there was no concern that the technique would fail if the moon were to disappear from the sky; the Infinite Tsukuyomi would persist until someone defeated Kaguya and disrupted the jutsu.

At that moment, rings of patterns appeared on the red moon, and nine tomoe symbols emerged. In an instant, a brilliant white light poured down from the crimson moon, streaming like strands of silk, flooding the world in blinding brilliance. Even the early morning sun was eclipsed by this dazzling light.

The original purpose of the Infinite Tsukuyomi was to gather all the world's chakra, utilizing it to revive Ōtsutsuki Kaguya. However, Kaguya had no intention of doing so here; she wasn't interested in using this method to harvest chakra.

Though chakra and mana were both essentially forms of energy, the idea of absorbing energy this way still had its merits. In the Fifth Holy Grail War, Caster had caused a huge disturbance by putting an entire school's staff and students into a coma to drain their mana. But that paled in comparison to Kaguya's current actions, which were on a scale beyond measure.

The range of this Infinite Tsukuyomi was vast, encompassing the entirety of Fuyuki City. If Kaguya's power had been greater, she could have easily enveloped the entire world within the jutsu.

While ordinary people's energy was meager, and absorbing it wouldn't yield much power, there were so many of them. The city's population was large—at least hundreds of thousands, perhaps even millions. This was far more than the population of the Naruto world. Without realizing it, Kaguya had already absorbed a significant amount of energy in a short time, and her strength had increased considerably.

However, that wasn't her main goal.

Inside a luxurious mansion, a man stood by the window, gripping the windowsill, staring in shock at the strange red moon hanging in the sky. The man was handsome, slender, and exuded an air of noble elegance—this was Tokiomi Tohsaka.

But at this moment, his usual composed demeanor was gone, replaced by a face full of dread. As a high-ranking magus, Tokiomi could sense the flow of magical energy in the world around him. Now, he felt an unimaginably vast power—like a river of magical energy, almost solid in its presence.

"What... what is this?" Tokiomi's eyes widened in disbelief as he stared at the crimson moon in the sky.

Nearby, Gilgamesh, usually so haughty and arrogant, also looked grim. His teeth were clenched, and a cold glint flashed in his eyes. Despite his pride, he couldn't deny that whoever had cast this magecraft—no, this was already on the level of a "sorcery"—was capable of standing on equal footing with him.

"Master, something strange is happening in the city," a young man said as he entered the room. He was tall, with a handsome face. This was Kirei Kotomine.

Tokiomi Tohsaka, regaining his composure, turned to face him. "Kirei, what is it?" he asked.

"The situation is strange. I felt it was best to return early and report to you in person," Kirei explained.

"What's happened?" Tokiomi asked, his tone deepening, a growing sense of unease settling over him. He knew Kirei's character well; he wouldn't raise concerns without reason.

"The people in the city appear to be under some sort of control," Kirei replied.

"Under control?" Tokiomi was momentarily taken aback, his brows furrowing. "What do you mean?"

"I've observed that the residents seem to be under mental manipulation. Their expressions are vacant, their eyes dull, as if they've lost their sense of self," Kirei said gravely. "And I've also discovered..."

"Discovered what?" Tokiomi pressed.

"The life force of ordinary people is being converted into mana, which is then flowing outward as if it's being absorbed by something," Kirei explained.

Tokiomi's brow furrowed even deeper.

He was familiar with spells that could absorb a person's mana, having encountered such magic in ancient texts. But something on this scale, affecting an entire city, was unheard of.

This was a new ability that had emerged after Kaguya's "Star Eyes" had evolved. Originally, the Infinite Tsukuyomi required the Divine Tree to encase people and draw out their energy. But now, it was no longer necessary. The energy would automatically gather and be absorbed by the red moon in the sky, eventually flowing into Kaguya's body.

Who... who could it be? Who could have cast such an immense spell?

Gazing up at the crimson moon in the sky, Tokiomi's eyes hardened. For the first time, the usually confident magus felt a weight of gravity settle over him.

At the same time, other participants in the Holy Grail War, such as Rider, Lancer, and Emiya Kiritsugu, also noticed the unusual phenomenon in the sky. Each had their own thoughts, whether shock, contemplation, or concern.

But there was one commonality among them all: the need to uncover the identity of the person behind this.

An opponent lurking in the shadows, waiting to strike with lethal precision, was the most dangerous kind.

Standing atop the tallest building in Fuyuki City, Kaguya's lips curled into a smile.

It seemed that Masters and Servants couldn't be controlled by the Infinite Tsukuyomi.

As beings born from the collective faith of humanity after death, Servants were manifestations of strong wills. Their mental fortitude was such that ordinary illusions wouldn't sway them, so they weren't affected by the Infinite Tsukuyomi. This was within Kaguya's expectations; she hadn't intended to rely on the technique alone to deal with them.

But Kaguya had already achieved her true goal. Through the vast reach of the Infinite Tsukuyomi over Fuyuki City, she had pinpointed Caster's hideout and located Sakura Tohsaka's whereabouts.