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Chapter 273: The Path to the Future
The sky outside had darkened completely, and a soft, warm light filled the room.
Kaguya sat on the bed, her arms wrapped around her knees. Resting her chin on her legs, she tilted her head slightly, gazing at Alex who stood before her.
Her senses were a chaotic mess. Looking at him, her mind couldn't help but flash back to the so-called "guidance" that had taken place in this very room earlier that afternoon. Those breathless, pulse-pounding scenes made her heart flutter at the mere thought.
After enduring that experience, the icy, emotionless goddess she had once been seemed to have thawed, infused with a sudden breath of life. Her emotions had grown richer, as though the untouchable deity had finally descended into the mortal realm.
Kaguya tried her hardest to keep her face perfectly blank, ensuring Alex couldn't see the frantic panic and profound shifts within her. She pointedly ignored the events of the afternoon and instead said, "The Otsutsuki Clan is far more complex than you can imagine. There are many powerhouses on the Homeworld. Their level of existence can no longer be simply described as Kekkai Mora. Their strength is genuinely terrifying."
As a cosmic race that traversed the universe, planting Divine Trees and harvesting life, their power and foundational strength were beyond measure. Kaguya certainly didn't believe that eating a single, complete Chakra Fruit was enough to make her a match for the main family's elders on the Homeworld.
Although the fruit borne from a life-bearing planet of the ninja world's caliber was of exceptional quality, she didn't doubt for a second that the elders—who had lived for an untold number of millennia—had consumed fruits of equal, if not greater, quality. The sheer volume of energy accumulated within their bodies and the absolute depth of their strength were simply incomprehensible.
Alex pulled up a chair and sat opposite Kaguya, his expression growing serious.
"There might be terrifyingly powerful ancient monsters on the Otsutsuki Homeworld, but they won't be coming to the ninja world anytime soon."
Isshiki Otsutsuki was dead. The Six Paths brothers were dead. The next wave of Otsutsuki—Momoshiki and his group—wouldn't descend upon the ninja world for at least another fifteen to twenty years.
At this current stage, Alex and Konan might not be entirely confident in defeating the elders of the Otsutsuki Homeworld. But as long as they continued to grow and develop, they would eventually be able to crush them effortlessly.
Ever since transforming his paper body into flesh, Alex's comprehension of the Spatial Secret Technique and Mental Secret Technique recorded on the Black Fragment had deepened profoundly. This was especially true for the mental techniques. Thanks to his "golden finger" replication ability, the mental techniques had practically become an ingrained instinct within this body. They operated and cultivated themselves passively, every single second of the day.
Alex's mental power and soul strength were expanding with every passing moment. He didn't know if there was a ceiling to this growth, but at this rate, he would eventually be able to use his sheer mental power to physically alter reality. He could turn nothingness into existence, illusions into reality, and become a true, omnipotent god.
To ensure his physical body could withstand his ever-growing mental power, Alex was using the spatial laws he had comprehended from the Black Fragment to slowly temper and strengthen his flesh. He wasn't entirely sure if this method of cultivation was the right path. However, the traditional ninja cultivation system—from extracting chakra, progressing through Genin, Chunin, and Jonin, all the way to Kekkai Mora—had already reached its absolute pinnacle.
According to the intelligence Kaguya provided, the Otsutsuki Clan's subsequent cultivation methods didn't involve any flashy tricks. They simply continued to devour Chakra Fruits, hoarding energy until quantitative changes forced a qualitative evolution, pushing them into higher realms of power.
If Alex and Konan followed that path, even if they risked their lives running across the universe planting trees, there was no telling how long it would take to catch up to the energy reserves of the main family's elders.
It was far better to forge a new path entirely, cultivating the secret techniques and universal rules etched into the Black Fragment. While the future of this path was unknown, his power—which had already reached the absolute summit of the ninja world—was undeniably still growing.
That alone was proof enough. Moreover, Alex had a lingering premonition that this rule-based cultivation method was the truest and most correct path.
"You don't need to worry about the future. Like I said before, as long as I'm here, you have nothing to fear from any Otsutsuki that come knocking."
Alex suddenly pressed two fingers against the center of Kaguya's forehead. Instantly, a warm, soothing surge of power flowed through her entire body. It felt like she was submerged in a perfectly heated hot spring, with countless soft little hands gently massaging away her tension. The lingering soreness from earlier vanished in an instant, leaving her body and mind profoundly relaxed.
"This power..." Kaguya furrowed her elegant brow, sensing it carefully. She hesitated. "It feels a bit like chakra, but... fundamentally different."
She didn't quite know how to describe it.
Alex smiled but didn't answer. This energy was the result of his recent experiments. Having reached his current level of power, standard "chakra" was gradually failing to meet the requirements for his future advancement. He needed a higher form of energy—something closer to the universe's fundamental rules than isolated forces like chakra, natural energy, spatial power, or mental strength.
However, he still needed to continuously experiment and grope his way forward before he could fully convert the boundless oceans of chakra within him into this superior energy.
"Feeling better?" Alex withdrew his fingers, looking at Kaguya with a warm smile.
"Mm." Kaguya replied softly, her clear white eyes reflecting Alex's figure. Then, feeling an unexpected pang of guilt, she averted her gaze, entirely unable to maintain eye contact with the man before her.
"Let's go." Alex stood up, his smile widening. "Put some clothes on and come have dinner with everyone. Get to know them, familiarize yourself. We have a very, very long future ahead of us, and we'll be spending it together."
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