The sweeping changes in the outside world had yet to reach the remote Land of Rivers.
February 20th, 15:00.
Land of Rivers, Numazu City.
Carrying an intelligence scroll gathered by his subordinate organization, the "Pawnshop," from Oyashiro En on the far side of the ninja world, Kakuzu hurried through the winding alleys of Numazu City, rushing back to the inn.
However, as he approached the vicinity of the inn, he suddenly felt a palpitation in his chest. Looking up abruptly, he noticed a gray, fluorescent dust drifting through the air around the building. It was confined within a fifty-meter radius by a "Wind Cage" formed by a constant Wind Release.
The innkeeper and the surrounding residents seemed to have received prior notice and had already evacuated the area.
The moment Kakuzu stepped into this zone, a severe sense of discomfort washed over his body. His throat went dry and hoarse, a wave of nausea hit him, and his chakra trembled slightly, its flow becoming somewhat chaotic.
He suddenly felt a wetness at the tip of his nose. Reaching up to wipe it, he found a smear of dark, dull blood on his hand.
The Earth Grudge Fear inside his body also began to tremble collectively at that moment. They seemed to sense something terrible mixed in the air, frantically sending signals to Kakuzu, their "brain," urging him to leave this place immediately.
Kakuzu frowned, mobilizing his chakra to cover his entire body. Only then did that subtle discomfort subside. At that moment, he looked toward the center of the inn. Even though it was clearly mid-afternoon, the inn where Hyuga Yu was staying looked as if a lamp had been turned on "in the dead of night." The interior seemed to be on fire, flickering with a brilliant, eerie dark red glare.
Overall, it looked as though a spherical cage of gray mist had swallowed the inn and the surrounding fifty-meter radius entirely. And at the center of this gray sphere, a dark red point of light was beating continuously, much like a heart.
Many citizens of Numazu City had gathered nearby, whispering among themselves, seemingly curious about the scene.
A look of confusion crossed Kakuzu's face. In just one day yesterday, Hyuga Yu had already cultivated his Fire Release to a level Kakuzu couldn't quite comprehend. And now, after only half a day outside, the commotion caused by Hyuga Yu's Fire Release training had become even more exaggerated. Gray dust, dark red flames, and this indiscriminate area-of-effect influence that felt like a localized poisoning...
Just what on earth is he training?
Is this even Fire Release anymore!?
Kakuzu couldn't understand it, but he still followed his agreement with Hyuga Yu. Enduring the bizarrely altered environment, he stepped into the inn to deliver the gathered intelligence scroll to his new boss.
However, just as Kakuzu was about to set foot inside, the second floor of the inn suddenly began to vaporize!
There were no flames, nor was there any combustion. He could only feel the surrounding temperature skyrocket in a split second, and see the dark red glare on the second floor flash abruptly—
The spherical gray wind cage vibrated, rapidly shrinking inward from the outside!
The air density spiked in an instant, sparking with blue electric arcs as if charged with electricity, to the point that Kakuzu was shocked to discover he could no longer breathe.
Immediately after, as if it had all been nothing more than Kakuzu's hallucination, a blink of an eye later, the three-story inn vanished entirely from his sight. Even parts of the surrounding houses seemed to have been subjected to a spherical cut, suffering varying degrees of damage.
As for Kakuzu himself, propelled by a gentle gust of wind, he was quietly pushed outside the gray wind sphere.
Another blink later, the massive gray wind sphere, now shrunk to a diameter of five meters, collapsed!
A massive amount of gray residue rained down onto the ground.
In the center of the ruins of the former inn, all that remained was a black-haired boy with slightly closed eyes, slowly floating down from mid-air.
Kakuzu stared at Hyuga Yu as he slowly landed, then looked at the bizarre scene around them, his heart trembling slightly.
At that moment, Hyuga Yu opened his eyes.
The pitch-black irises in his eyes instantly dyed a golden hue, while the pupils in the very center shifted into an eerie dark red. For a fleeting second, a massive amount of golden chemical equations flashed across his clear, crystalline eyes. These chemical formulas were like clusters of dancing golden flames, burning uncontrollably and frantically within Hyuga Yu's eye sockets!
Soon, a bizarre sight occurred. Hyuga Yu's gold-and-red eyes fractured with countless cracks like delicate porcelain. Finally, they peeled away inch by inch from his sockets, shattering and turning into dust in the wind.
Hyuga Yu closed his eyes again, exhaling a long, satisfied breath. "The absolute pinnacle of combustion... is actually a magnetized plasma vortex ionized by flames?"
"Nevertheless, the nature transformation of the Fire Release: Tenseigan Chakra... is finally complete!"
At this time, Kakuzu's uncertain and bewildered voice echoed in his ears. "Tennin...?"
Hyuga Yu lifted his head toward the direction of the voice. "You've returned, Kakuzu-san?"
"Have you found Hiruko's location?"
"Yes... but, your eyes?"
"It's nothing," Hyuga Yu waved his hand dismissively. Soon, a pair of pure, immaculate Byakugan regenerated within his sockets. Just before the Byakugan could begin to evolve under the catalysis of his bloodline, he raised his right hand. Pressing his fingertips—which glowed with five characters reading Fire—against his forehead.
Instantly, a dark red flame mark appeared in the center of Hyuga Yu's brow. "Five Elements Seal: Flame Seal!"
The Fire Release: Tenseigan Chakra, having transformed into a magnetized plasma vortex, spread rapidly through his ocular meridian pathways in a jet-like stream. It halted the evolution of his Byakugan while simultaneously isolating the signal projected by the Giant Tenseigan on the moon.
In practical terms, Hyuga Yu had sealed his own "Tenseigan embryonic form" and ocular prowess, retaining only the fundamental abilities of the Byakugan.
Hyuga Yu opened his eyes once more. The pristine white pupils in his sockets looked the same as always, except for deep gleams of gold, red, and cyan that would occasionally flash through the center of his pupils, adding an air of unfathomable mystery to his presence.
Kakuzu sized Hyuga Yu up from head to toe. He only felt that the youth's temperament had grown increasingly composed and calm, yet it faintly harbored a kind of restrained madness.
He was completely unable to gauge just how terrifyingly powerful Hyuga Yu had become based solely on his appearance or the senses of the Earth Grudge Fear.
Kakuzu shook his head, sighing inwardly. Thank goodness I'm no longer an enemy to this terrifying brat. Furthermore, regarding the fate of Hiruko, who was now in Hyuga Yu's crosshairs... he held a highly pessimistic outlook.
At that thought, Kakuzu immediately tossed the scroll in his hand to Hyuga Yu. "We've tracked down Hiruko's whereabouts!"
"The intelligence reveals that Hiruko has conducted multiple large-scale transactions with Oyashiro En. The purchased goods were mostly transported in secret to the exact same location."
"A desolate gobi desert in the western Land of Rivers, bordering the Land of Wind."
Hyuga Yu unfurled the scroll and flipped through the intel within. Soon, his eyes lit up, and the corners of his mouth curled up into a slight smirk. "Excellent. With this, all three components—the laboratory, the research personnel, and the technology—have finally been assembled."
"The Tenseigan cultivation plan, as well as... my envisioned scheme, can finally begin!"
According to Hyuga Yu's original estimation to fulfill the conditions for the Tenseigan's evolution, he practically only needed to gather the bloodlines of the two clans: the [Hyuga], who inherited Hamura's eyes, and the [Kaguya], who inherited Hamura's body. By neutralizing them with Hashirama cells and providing the energy to support bloodline evolution, he could compensate for the deficiencies in the Hyuga bloodline and obtain a bodily circulatory system capable of sustaining the birth of a complete Tenseigan.
This point had already been verified in the Yang Release Laboratory established in Kirigakure.
Simply put, for Hyuga Yu, who had already mastered a massive amount of Tenseigan-related power and knowledge, cultivating the Tenseigan was no longer an extremely high-difficulty technique. Even if Hyuga Yu had merely kidnapped Director Yajima from Kirigakure, as long as they had enough time to tinker around and complement each other's weaknesses, ultimately cultivating the Tenseigan would not have been impossible.
To reach this stage, he didn't actually need talents on the level of Hiruko or Orochimaru.
After all, the Tenseigan did not equate to the Six Paths.
Toneri Otsutsuki, who possessed both the Tenseigan and the direct bloodline of Hamura Otsutsuki, couldn't even defeat an adult Naruto who wasn't using Six Paths Sage Mode.
The power of a single Tenseigan could, at best, reach the Super Kage level, and it would even struggle to reach the absolute peak of Super Kage.
And even if Hyuga Yu didn't awaken the Tenseigan, simply fully mastering the seven major nature transformations of the Tenseigan Chakra would allow him to push his overall strength to that exact tier.
For Hyuga Yu, the Tenseigan was merely a stepping stone, a key to help him glimpse the advancement path toward the Six Paths level.
Its true purpose was to force another leap in Hyuga Yu's combat power within a short period, reaching a level where he could ascend to the moon and snatch the Giant Tenseigan belonging to the moon's Otsutsuki clan.
And obtaining the Giant Tenseigan would mark the true beginning of Hyuga Yu's grand plan!
He intended to pool together four—or even more—major techniques: the [Chimera Technique], [Earth Grudge Fear], [Chakra Core], and [Living Corpse Reincarnation], alongside countless talents. By fusing the bloodlines of the five great shinobi clans—Senju, Uchiha, Hyuga, Kaguya, and Uzumaki—he would perfect the ultimate formula for the Chimera Technique. He would design an ultimate ritual capable of mending any genetic defects and boundlessly purifying his own bloodline.
He would push the strength of his own Otsutsuki bloodline to a level surpassing even the Sage of Six Paths!
Ultimately, relying on this supremely sublimated bloodline, the Giant Tenseigan, and even rallying the might of the entire ninja world, he would forcibly break through to the realm of the Six Paths!
There are still four and a half years before the extraterrestrial Otsutsuki clan descends upon the ninja world...
And before that...
At this thought, a sharp glint flashed through Hyuga Yu's eyes. He rapidly calculated the time required for the subsequent phases in his mind, as well as the time it would take for the Otsutsuki on the moon to locate him using their clairvoyance. Ultimately, he concluded: "I must complete the cultivation of the Tenseigan within half a year!"
"Within a year, elevate my strength to the absolute pinnacle of the ninja world!"
"Within a year and a half, land on the moon, snatch the eye, and unify the ninja world!"
"Within two years, establish the Tower of Science and Technology!"
"Before the extraterrestrial Otsutsuki arrive in four and a half years, I must complete the design of the final ritual!"
"And then—"
"Using the power of the Giant Tenseigan, I will reverse-track the Otsutsuki and sustain war with war!"
"I will... rob the entire universe!"
With that conviction, Hyuga Yu's gaze hardened, and he closed the scroll in his hand.
"From this moment on, everything must be put on the fast track, and what I need to do cannot be delayed for even a second!"
At this moment, Kakuzu watched from the side as Hyuga Yu's aura grew increasingly dominant and his conviction ever firmer. His surging chakra was practically threatening to pierce through his body and directly affect the material world. No longer hiding his edge, Hyuga Yu stood like a drawn, razor-sharp sword!
His gaze trembled slightly as he asked, "Tennin... when do you plan to set out?"
"What are your next plans?"
Hyuga Yu tossed the scroll back to Kakuzu and spoke with ironclad decisiveness: "Right now!"
"We move out!"
With that said, Hyuga Yu pinpointed the direction and, without looking back, strode toward the city gates, heading toward the western Land of Rivers. Kakuzu hurriedly followed suit. However, as Hyuga Yu walked, he suddenly paused and turned his head to look at Kakuzu. "Oh, right, Kakuzu-san, there's one more thing I need to trouble you with..."
"What is it?"
"I accidentally burned down the inn during my training... so, could you lend me a little more money? We need to pay for the damages..."
Kakuzu's face instantly turned pitch black.
Meanwhile, on the other side, in the capital of the Land of Lightning, Cloud Thunder City.
Inside the chairman's office at the headquarters of the Land of Lightning's largest biological equipment manufacturing company—"Mokukei Precision Biological Instruments Co., Ltd.," a corporation on the verge of sparking an information technology revolution in the ninja world.
A monk dressed in a white haori sat back in the throne-like chair that originally belonged to the chairman. His hair was gathered at the top of his head with a long braid running down his back, possessing a Roman numeral IV tattooed beneath his left eye, and a black diamond-shaped mark on his chin. Holding a glass of red wine and propping his feet up on the desk, he indifferently cast a sidelong glance at the gray-haired company chairman, whose legs were trembling uncontrollably on the other side of the room.
At this moment, the chairman gave the monk a deep 90-degree bow and spoke with a face full of reverence, "Jigen-sama, as per your will, the first batch of products has been launched across the entire ninja world!"
"Very soon, with the continuous influx of returning funds, the time until we develop the instrument you require is drawing nearer and nearer!"
Hearing this, the monk named "Jigen" kept a tranquil gaze. Looking down at the chairman, he asked coldly, "This 'very soon' of yours... how long is that exactly?"
"Within two years!" The chairman shivered entirely under the man's deeply resonant, low voice, immediately gritting his teeth. "We will absolutely be able to create an instrument capable of transferring the 'Karma'!"
"When that time comes, you will no longer have to operate within this current vessel!"
"When that time comes, the entire ninja world will witness—your magnificent power!"
Jigen narrowed his eyes slightly, and suddenly, he smiled.
He revealed a gentle smile, yet an icy killing intent rose in his eyes. Suppressing his voice, he spoke coldly, "The progress is not bad."
"However, it seems... you lot have managed to decipher quite a few things from the technical theories I provided—things you shouldn't know about."
"Yes!" The chairman immediately bowed deeply once more. But this time, a fawning, sycophantic hue appeared on his face. "Jigen... no, Isshiki-sama!"
"What I mean is, if we perfectly complete the task you have bestowed upon us, could you grant me... that thing?"
"Oh?" Jigen narrowed his eyes. He knew the man was referring to what he held in his possession: the partial remains left behind in this universe by the former Otsutsuki God, "Shibai Otsutsuki," after his ascension. And within these physical remnants lay... a power beyond ordinary humans, beyond even what ninjas could possibly fathom—[Shinjutsu]!
"Please, you must not misunderstand! Even if you don't, we will gladly work for you until our dying breath!"
"It's just that life is short, especially after meeting a figure like yourself, Isshiki-sama..."
The chairman immediately prostrated himself on the ground before Jigen, like a potbellied dog.
"I... I want to be your dog for the rest of my life!"
"To be your most loyal servant!"
"To watch over this planet for you during your conquest of the universe and your ascent to godhood!"
Yet at this moment, watching this scene unfold, Jigen felt absolutely zero emotional fluctuation in his heart. He simply stared indifferently at this "dog" at his feet, rapidly calculating the gains and losses in his mind. A moment later—Crash!
He downed the red wine in his glass in one gulp and smashed the glass onto the floor. Glancing at the chairman, he declared coldly, "One and a half years!"
"I am only giving you one and a half years!"
"In one and a half years, my vessel should also be just about fully mature!"
"If you can accomplish it, what does it matter if I bestow Shinjutsu upon you?"
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