"I can tell you clearly like that evaluation quite a bit. You should be more honest with yourself."
Carl shook his finger, then casually ate the remaining half of the chakra fruit in his hand.
The moment the flesh entered his mouth, a thought flashed through Carl's mind.
"Damn… I didn't ask Lily what this fruit was supposed to taste like…"
Fortunately, when the flavor of the fruit exploded across his tongue, Carl did not experience the nauseating sensation he had felt years ago when eating a Devil Fruit. Not only was the chakra fruit not unpleasant, it even carried a faint sweetness. The texture was nothing like the mucus-like grossness of a Devil Fruit.
This time, Carl didn't need to pinch his nose and swallow it whole. He chewed for a while before finally swallowing the flesh.
A moment later, Carl suddenly felt a surge of power welling up inside his body, most intensely at the center of his forehead.
Before Carl could properly experience this newly gained power, a sudden change occurred in the Divine Tree after it lost the chakra fruit. The massive trunk twisted as if it had come alive, then uprooted itself entirely and surged straight into Carl's back.
As the Divine Tree entered his body, Carl immediately felt an overwhelming vitality. With a low shout, the entire pocket dimension erupted into a vast sea of trees.
...
Outside the pocket dimension, the primeval forest—already reduced to ruin by Carl and Isshiki's earlier battle—suddenly saw countless saplings break through the soil. In the blink of an eye, it transformed into an even more lush and flourishing forest than before.
Terumī Mei stood there in utter disbelief, staring at the verdant scene before her. Instantly, her thoughts went to the legendary Wood Release of the ninja world—the Wood Release belonging to the First Hokage.
Yet after the First Hokage's death, Wood Release had vanished without a trace. Could it be that the man who saved her earlier was actually a descendant of the Senju clan?
...
Within the pocket dimension, Carl exhaled lightly after releasing part of his power. Looking around at the towering trees filling the space, he couldn't help but feel surprised himself. He had never expected that one day, he—an incarnation of darkness—would wield such a life-rich ability. It truly clashed with his usual style.
Beside him, Lily clicked her tongue in amazement.
"Isn't this the power of the Wood-Wood Fruit? It really looks spectacular."
Carl shook his head.
"This power is far stronger than a single Wood-Wood Fruit. This is the embodiment of Yang Power—birth to all things, endless and unceasing. This is Yang Power."
With the boost of Yang Power, Carl felt like he had become a true perpetual-motion machine. He would never again face exhaustion or depletion of strength.
Of course, the Divine Tree entering his body brought more than just Yang Power. Carl raised his hand and touched his forehead. At its center, a thin black slit could be seen—and within it rested Carl's own Rinne Sharingan.
Now, Carl could easily accomplish Uchiha Madara's ultimate goal: casting Infinite Tsukuyomi upon the entire world.
Even Kaguya herself could not do this anymore. Her power had long since been divided into individual tailed beasts, and she had lost the Rinne Sharingan.
It had to be said—worthy of a Ten-Tails that devoured an entire Ōtsutsuki Isshiki. Even though the chakra fruit was only half, its effects were in no way inferior to the one Kaguya had eaten—if anything, it was even stronger.
As for why the Divine Tree did not choose Lily, who had also eaten half of the chakra fruit, Carl guessed it was because he had already awakened the Tenseigan beforehand. Compared to Lily, he was far more attractive to an Ōtsutsuki creation like the Divine Tree—it had practically followed the "scent" straight into him.
Lily herself didn't feel much about it. She had never been particularly obsessed with power. Or rather, she had been the "strongest under heaven" for far too long and had long grown bored of it. After experiencing the effects of the chakra fruit, she wanted to leave the pocket dimension.
However, when she turned around, she realized that the spatial gate opened by Isshiki was already closing, leaving only a small opening behind.
This wasn't a problem for her. Her Devil form allowed her to disperse into black mist and leave easily. But when she tried to call Carl to leave together, he told her there was no need to "crawl" out.
Carl slowly closed his eyes. When he opened them again, a circle of black triangular patterns clearly appeared in his left eye.
This was Isshiki Ōtsutsuki's black eye, possessing the rule-based and space-based ocular techniques "Sukunahikona" and "Daikokuten."
This very pocket dimension had been created by "Daikokuten." Now, it had become Carl's personal space.
With a thought, the already closed spatial gate opened once more. Carl floated out leisurely, bringing Lily and Kaguya with him.
...
The moment the three emerged, they saw the Kirigakure ninja who had stopped nearby to rest. This expedition from Kirigakure could only be described as disastrous—most of them didn't even know what had happened in the forest before being instantly killed by Isshiki.
The survivors were all badly injured. Terumī Mei was currently organizing her subordinates to return to the village for reinforcements. But when they saw Carl and the other two fly out of the "black hole," their faces turned deathly pale.
After all, these three looked far too similar to the monster from before. Their unnaturally pale skin, and eyes that radiated overwhelming pressure with just a glance—they were clearly not human.
Terumī Mei was initially frightened as well, but when she saw that Carl was leading them, she immediately felt much more at ease.
This was her savior. Although their appearances shared similarities, she was certain that Carl had nothing to do with the monster who slaughtered people so casually.
Moreover, judging by their formation, Carl's status was clearly the highest among the trio. With that, Terumī Mei concluded that they were safe.
Lily had no interest in the Kirigakure ninja, but her gaze happened to fall on Ao's single Byakugan. She turned to Kaguya and asked casually,
"Kaguya, that guy's eye looks a lot like yours. Could he be your descendant?"
Kaguya looked toward Ao. In that instant, Ao—an elite jōnin of Kirigakure—felt as if a mountain had pressed down on him, nearly forcing him to his knees.
Fortunately, Kaguya only glanced at him briefly before looking away. She shook her head and said softly,
"No. That eye doesn't belong to him. He's just an ordinary human."
"Oh? Then he must have stolen someone else's eye. Should we kill him?"
"No need."
Hearing the exchange between Lily and Kaguya, cold sweat poured down the Kirigakure ninja's foreheads. No one dared to breathe too loudly, terrified of provoking the two terrifying women before them.
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+80 chapters on p@treon/tambeerg