"How long will it take?"
"The maturation speed of Kāma depends on the compatibility between the vessel and the one who branded the Kāma. Master, your compatibility with me is extremely high. Based on the current data decompression speed, it will take at most half a year for the Kāma to fully mature. By then, you will be able to fully inherit everything of mine." Urashiki replied immediately.
Naruto quickly calculated in his mind.
The timeframe of half a year was within his expectations. Although he could use Absolute Control to forcibly fuse Urashiki's Kāma with himself, if it were really as Urashiki said and something was missing, that wouldn't be what he wanted.
He nodded. "Fine, then we won't fuse the Kāma for now. During this time, you keep a close eye on Kāma's maturation progress, and notify me immediately once it matures."
"Don't play any tricks. You should be very clear by now that inside my body, you have no room to play tricks."
Urashiki quickly lowered his head. "Yes, Master."
Taking one last look at Urashiki, Naruto turned around and left the Kāma space with Kurama. Their consciousnesses passed through the outer shell of the Kāma without any obstruction, just like when they arrived.
In the vast, silent space, only Urashiki remained, suspended in place. He looked down at his still slightly trembling hands, a very complex expression surfacing on his pale face.
He, a dignified member of the Ōtsutsuki Clan and a wielder of the Rinnegan, had actually been manipulated by a creature from the lower world just like this.
His only hope now was that although Naruto could forcibly enter Kāma and suppress his consciousness, he would ultimately have no way to fully digest the power of Kāma.
But the moment he thought of the confident demeanor Naruto had displayed from beginning to end, the hope in Urashiki's heart shrank smaller and smaller.
In the Sealing Space.
Kurama lay back down on the grass, resting its chin on its crossed front paws, and let out a disdainful snort from its nose.
"Tch, that Ōtsutsuki is a coward who fears death. Calling himself a god every other breath, but when it comes to his own life, he's more desperate to save it than anyone else."
Naruto said, "Kurama, don't say that. Although death is only a momentary thing, there aren't many people who can truly face it calmly."
"Besides, the very existence of something like Kāma shows that the Ōtsutsuki have never learned how to face death. If they really had that kind of courage, why would they need to research Kāma? Just fighting the opponent to the death would be the end of it."
Kurama nodded. "That's true. But having said that, you're sure you have a way to deal with that Kāma, right?"
While it cursed Urashiki for fearing death, in its heart, it was actually more concerned about Naruto's safety.
Naruto smiled and didn't answer directly, simply patting Kurama's furry flank.
Seeing this expression on Naruto, the weight in Kurama's heart lifted. It rested its chin back on its paws and closed its eyes.
—
In the training room, Naruto opened his eyes.
Since he couldn't fuse with Kāma for the time being, he might as well improve himself in other areas first.
With this in mind, he took out two scrolls and placed them in front of him.
One scroll contained the Hashirama cells he had obtained from Orochimaru and the other scroll had a vial of blood—Future Sasuke's blood.
Looking at this vial of blood, Naruto's thoughts couldn't help but drift back a few hours.
He had brought Sasuke to the training room and said, "Sasuke, I want to ask you for a vial of blood."
Sasuke was taken aback and frowned.
"You want my blood? What for?"
"To conduct an experiment. I want to try and see if I can acquire the Sharingan through your blood. Combining the Uchiha Bloodline with my Uzumaki Bloodline, I want to see if it's possible to nurture a more advanced eye."
Sasuke's expression became extremely complex after hearing this.
The Naruto he knew would never say something like obtaining a Kekkei Genkai through someone else's blood.
"You want my blood... are you planning to conduct human experiments like Orochimaru?" There was a hint of vigilance in Sasuke's tone.
"The experimental subject is only myself, it doesn't involve anyone else. You can rest assured about that." Naruto shook the empty vial in his hand.
Sasuke's brow was still furrowed, the vigilance on his face turning into confusion.
"Naruto, why do you still pursue even stronger power? In this Ninja World, you currently have almost no rivals. To reach such a height at your current age, you can't find a second person in the entire history of the Ninja World."
Naruto explained, "I didn't actually have that intention originally. At least before I met you and Boruto, my original plan was to train step-by-step for a few years, and once I became an adult, I would naturally be able to stand at the pinnacle of the Ninja World."
"But you appeared and brought an Ōtsutsuki from a different space-time. Although I won this time, what about next time? What about the time after that?"
"If the Ōtsutsuki from your and Boruto's side could follow you through space-time to target Kurama inside me, then when will the Ōtsutsuki on my side come?"
"Who will come? How many will come? Will I have enough strength to block them all outside Konoha when that time comes?"
"I have seen both your Rinnegan and Urashiki's Rinnegan. The dōjutsu system of the Ōtsutsuki Clan is on an entirely different dimension compared to the Kekkei Genkais of the Ninja World."
"I am very strong now but my strength is built upon the volume of my Chakra and the fusion of attributes. I myself do not possess any dōjutsu-type Kekkei Genkais."
"If I encounter an Ōtsutsuki in the future who specializes in dōjutsu, relying solely on speed and strength might not necessarily give me the advantage. So I need to patch this shortcoming."
Sasuke fell silent.
He finally understood why the Naruto in this spacetime was completely different from the Naruto he knew. It wasn't that his personality was different, it was that their ways of thinking were on completely different wavelengths.
The Naruto he knew was a hot-blooded guy who would explode during combat and break through in desperate situations.
But the Naruto before him was a precision monster who would figure out all the enemy's abilities before fighting, patch up all his own shortcomings, and calculate every possibility.
No, 'monster' wasn't quite right. This way of thinking was close to Orochimaru, but more restrained and clear-headed.
"I agree."
Sasuke finally extended his arm. "However, I have one condition."
"Go ahead."
"My blood can be given to you but regardless of your experimental results, you must absolutely not use it to do anything that harms innocent people. If I find out your experiment has gone out of control..."
Sasuke didn't finish his sentence, but Naruto understood what he meant.
"Rest assured. I am truly only experimenting on myself and it will not involve anyone else."
Naruto took out a needle and drew a tube of blood from Sasuke's arm, and immediately used a Fuinjutsu to seal it into a scroll.
After finishing this, Sasuke thought it was over and was about to pull down his sleeve when Naruto spoke again, "By the way, there is one more thing. Sasuke, can I experience your Rinnegan?"
Sasuke froze in place upon hearing this.
If he had only thought Naruto's way of thinking was a bit skewed when he asked for blood earlier, this sentence completely exceeded his range of understanding.
Was the Rinnegan something you could just borrow to experience?
This was no longer just being unconventional, this was heading in the exact same direction as Orochimaru.
"It's not to take your Rinnegan away. I just want to experience the way the Rinnegan's ocular power operates and understand what it feels like to have Six Paths-level ocular power."
"These things cannot be understood just by looking, one must experience them personally to perceive them accurately. This data is very important for my future direction." Naruto explained.
Sasuke stared at Naruto's eyes for a long time. The blue eyes were open and frank, without any flickering or evasion, exactly the same as the Naruto he knew when he got serious.
Back at the Valley of the End, Naruto risked his arm to pull him back from the darkness. Now, the Naruto from another spacetime was asking to borrow an eye, just to experience it.
"I really can't do anything about you."
Sasuke closed his eyes and took a deep breath. When he opened them again, his tone held helplessness and a hint of indulgence. "This one time only. You cannot use it to do anything strange and you cannot use it to pry into anything that shouldn't be pried into. This is my bottom line."
Naruto nodded and promised immediately.