After returning to the laboratory, Takuno's slender fingers gently stroked the three scrolls in his hand. He had only skimmed through them hurriedly while at Iwagakure, and the ninjutsu contained within the scrolls still required careful study.
As for Dust Release, that would require more secure and steady research in the future.
However, he did not harbor the slightest doubt deep down that Onoki would dare to fob him off with fakes.
This confidence stemmed from an absolute crushing gap in strength; the price of deception was far from what the current Iwagakure could bear.
His power was not a flash in the pan that would vanish after being used once. If these scrolls were even half-false, he could once again reign over the skies of Iwagakure with just a single thought.
And at that time, it would no longer be a simple deterrence; a cold arc hooked at the corner of Takuno's mouth.
He had always advocated efficiency and security; slaughter was never the objective itself, but merely a means to clear obstacles.
As long as the opponent was "wise" enough to know to bow their head before absolute power and offer the "tributes" he required, he did not mind letting them off.
Conversely, if they put up a desperate resistance, he also did not mind using absolute power to send the opponent to meet the Shinigami!
At this moment, Takuno stretched, an indescribable sense of satisfaction filling his heart.
The harvest from this trip could be said to have far exceeded his expectations back when he set out right after capturing the Four-Tails.
Not only did he successfully extract and seal the violent and majestic chakra of the Four-Tails and Five-Tails, but he had also completely taken into his possession the two core secret ninjutsu scrolls that Iwa regarded as secret techniques—the Added-Weight Rock Technique and the Light-Weight Rock Technique—as well as the method for the "Kekkei Tota" Dust Release secret technique.
This harvest originated from that divine-revelation-like epiphany he experienced while standing tens of thousands of feet high in the sky above Iwagakure, looking down at the village and ninjas that were as tiny as ants beneath his feet.
Unknowingly, he already possessed the majestic and mighty power to lord over a nation's ninja village with a single person's strength!
Once upon a time, before mastering Sage Mode, although he was strong, he could only ensure that he could retreat unscathed under the siege of a powerful village like Iwa; he had never extravagantly dreamed of being able to suppress an entire village so overbearingly.
At that time, perhaps even if he wanted to, he would only apply this strategy of "subduing by force" onto relatively weaker targets like Sunagakure.
Recalling his comprehension of power at that moment, he couldn't help but laugh out loud.
Within this laughter was the ultimate pleasure brought by power!
The two words "power" that he had been diligently seeking for a long time had finally, at this moment, transformed into a touchable, controllable, and freely wielded reality!
That mighty power sufficient to strike terror into a village and force Kage-level powerhouses to submit was now truly flowing inside his body.
However, his laughter did not last for too long.
Within Takuno's deep eyes, that blazing fire which had briefly ignited due to his achievements in power quickly extinguished and settled down, ultimately transforming into a bottomless pool of dark water.
He knew clearly that this was far from the end.
The ninja world was vast, and there would be even more powerful existences waiting for him to conquer and surpass in the future.
The road of pursuing power had no end.
He slowly gathered back those emotional fluctuations that rarely surfaced outwardly; only that light of a near-paranoid and pure thirst for power within his eyes would perhaps never extinguish.
Takuno took a deep breath, pressing down the surging thoughts in his heart.
He had no time to waste; he had to invest his entire mind into the plan before him that urgently needed to be advanced.
The primary task was to digest the two major ninjutsu from Iwagakure: the Added-Weight Rock Technique and the Light-Weight Rock Technique.
To him, the threshold for these two ninjutsu was not high.
By virtue of his own exceptional talent in chakra control, after merely a single detailed reading and pondering, he could basically master them; afterwards, it would be fine to let his shadow clones practice a few more times.
However, this was merely the beginning, and also the simplest task.
He currently already held the Magnet Nature chakra originating from the One-Tail Shukaku, the Lava Nature chakra coming from the Four-Tails Son Goku, and the Boil Nature chakra obtained from the Five-Tails Kokuo; lastly, relying on Swift Release, he had even reconstructed Dust Nature chakra from Onoki's Dust Release ninjutsu.
Furthermore, he had personally invaded the consciousness of the Four-Tails Jinchuriki, Roshi, and controlled Lava Release, lowering the difficulty of deduction.
In this way, the exploration of these three Kekkei Genkai as well as the Kekkei Tota also needed to be put on the agenda, with Lava Release leading the way.
Apart from this, the training concerning his foundation could not be slacked off in the slightest either.
The exploration of normalizing Sage Mode and the training of his physique could not be stopped either.
With so many matters waiting for him to resolve, how could he possibly stop!
...
Time flew by.
Springtime in Konoha brought gentle and warm sunlight.
At this moment, the entrance of the Shinobi Academy was bustling with crowds, overflowing with the enthusiastic atmosphere of new students enrolling.
The laughter and shouting of children and the instructions of parents intermingled together, filled with vitality and hope.
Among the crowd, a dazzling head of blond hair was exceptionally conspicuous under the sunlight.
Naruto, this boy with several unique whisker-like marks on his face, was currently standing on his tiptoes, trying hard to crane his neck to search amidst the bustling flow of people.
Within his sapphire-blue eyes, the light of anticipation was gradually replaced by a thick disappointment.
"Mom." Naruto finally withdrew his gaze, his voice carrying a bit of a muffled nasal sound as he turned toward his mother beside him, whose hair was red as fire.
"Dad... is he unable to come again?"
He had clearly been excited for a long time yesterday; Dad had personally promised that he would come.
Kushina looked down at her son's dejected little face, her heart feeling as if it were lightly twinged by an invisible hand.
She forced herself to tug up a most gentle smile, squatted down, and gently adjusted the collar of Naruto's brand-new orange coat.
"Mm, Naruto be good. Dad is still working; he has very important matters and can't get away. Shall we go in first? You can't be late on the first day of school."
Her smile was warm and resolute, doing her best to soothe her son's emotions.
However, beneath that gentleness, a suppressed rage was quietly churning deep in her heart.
'Minato!' Kushina ground her teeth in her heart as she silently recited her husband's title, 'Who was the one who guaranteed it yesterday? and who is the one letting our son wait expectantly in vain today? Even if there really is a massive unexpected emergency...'
Rationally, she understood the responsibilities her husband shouldered; the Hokage's work was never within one's own control.
But emotionally, that heartache for her son and dissatisfaction toward her husband breaking his promise grew increasingly thick.
If Minato did not have a perfect explanation, the Red Hot-Blooded Habanero, which had been sealed for a long time, would emerge into the world once again tonight!
"Okay then..." Naruto nodded. He was an optimistic child after all, and this disappointment did not last for too long.
Right at this moment, his vision caught a familiar figure on the other side of the crowd. His dejection was instantly dispelled, and his little face lit up immediately. Excitedly waving his arms forcefully, his voice pierced through the noisy human chatter:
"Aunt Mikoto! Sasuke! Over here, over here!!"
That exaggerated waving motion, which almost looked like he was going to dislocate his shoulder, instantly attracted the gaze of many people around.
Mikoto Uchiha was holding her son Sasuke's hand, naturally heading over this way following Naruto's movements.
Hearing the shout, Mikoto Uchiha smiled gently and nodded in response.
As for Sasuke beside her, who was wearing a deep-blue high-collared short tunic, upon seeing Naruto's "summoning ritual" that had no regard for image whatsoever, his little face stiffened slightly, and a bit of embarrassed blush appeared on his face.
"Idiot..." Sasuke muttered in a low voice, yet the steps beneath his feet involuntarily quickened.
Walking close, he finally couldn't resist, grabbing Naruto's arm that was still flailing wildly in the air and forcing it down. His voice carried a bit of low barking from turning anger into shame: "Put your hand down! It's too embarrassing!"
"Hehehe, Sasuke, you're here!" Naruto did not care about his good friend's "disdain" at all, instead appearing as if he had discovered a new continent.
"Huh? Sasuke, did your dad not come either?" he asked curiously, as if he had found a partner in a similar plight.
Mikoto Uchiha had already met up with Kushina by now; the two mothers exchanged a look of mutual understanding, a gaze that carried a few parts of helplessness toward their busy husbands and gentle apologies toward their children.
Hearing Naruto's question, Sasuke coolly turned his little face to one side, curled his lip, and spoke in a tone carrying a bit of accustomed indifference.
"Mm, he has a lot of matters, no time."
His father, Fugaku Uchiha, being the clan head, his absence from the enrollment ceremony was not surprising, and he hadn't anticipated it too much either.
"Oh, I see." Naruto nodded, that bit of lingering minor grievance in his heart due to his father breaking the promise seeming to be diluted a bit further by Sasuke's "matching experience."
Even though... Dad had clearly said yes yesterday.
Kushina and Mikoto Uchiha looked at each other and smiled, tacitly holding their respective child's hand.
"Alright, little guys, it's about time." Kushina spoke in a lighthearted tone, trying hard to dispel that faint haze in the air brought by the fathers' absences. "Let's go in; your new journey is about to begin!"
After the two mothers and the two children entered the school, a certain gaze was also withdrawn.
Takuno stood within the shadows, taking in the scene of the four mothers and sons stepping into the school grounds just now.
Uzumaki Naruto, who should now be called Namikaze Naruto... the Child of Prophecy of the ninja world had finally stepped out on the first step of destiny.
This seemingly ordinary enrollment day appeared to Takuno as a very obvious marker; there were merely six years of time remaining before the original story officially raised its curtains.
However, since he had changed some matters on this side, he didn't know what other changes would occur among them yet.
Some matters might perhaps happen ahead of time.
However, no matter how many surface-level storms he stirred up, there were two undercurrents deeply buried beneath the crust of the ninja world whose flowing directions had absolutely no possibility of changing.
The first was Akatsuki's ostensibly step-by-step Tailed Beast capture plan.
The second was even more ancient and stubborn: Black Zetsu, who had lurked for a thousand long years, had an ultimate goal of reviving his mother, Otsutsuki Kaguya, that would absolutely not waver due to any side issues.
This "filial piety" that spanned across long years had long since surpassed time itself.
Takuno silently deduced the final time limit in his heart; as long as they were still persisting.
Counting from this moment until the launch of that "Eye of the Moon" plan that would sweep through the ninja world, and up until the Ten-Tails emerged in the world, the time left for him to elevate himself was roughly only ten years.
Of course, as long as he was willing, he had the strength to prevent all of this from happening.
With his current strength that topped the ninja world, if he truly had the mind to nip Black Zetsu's conspiracy in the bud, the probability of success far exceeded failure.
This was not arrogance, but a judgment based upon absolute power.
His strength, placed at this point in time, was an existentially broken, over-powered reality.
But he would not choose to prevent it; instead, he would choose to let it take its course.
The reason was actually very simple.
Once he revealed even a slight intention of stopping Black Zetsu, with the cunning and forbearance of that clump of dark will, seeing that the matter could not be done, it would inevitably deeply go into hiding again like a startled venomous snake.
It had already waited for a thousand years of time; to go into hiding for another one or two hundred years was nothing more than an extension line of endurance to Black Zetsu.
It might perhaps feel regretful or even deeply pained over losing a perfect "chess piece" like Madara Uchiha, but what could that regret count for in front of ensuring his mother's absolute safe revival.
By that time, this "Number One Filial Son of the Shinobi World" would only hide even deeper, waiting for the next opportunity.
And against Black Zetsu, who could deceive the peak Sage of Six Paths, Takuno did not think he would definitely be able to find the opponent if they intentionally hid themselves.
This was merely one of the reasons; the deeper reason lay in his greed toward the Ten-Tails' power—yes, greed!
The "Small Ten-Tails" plan he meticulously laid out was certainly his core pursuit, but that "Great Ten-Tails" which symbolized the origin of the ninja world and contained infinite mighty power, he was similarly determined to get!
Perhaps the past him did not have this thought, but along with the growth of his strength, the current him... could not let go of the Great Ten-Tails' power!
The supreme threshold leading to the Six Paths body required passing through the stage of becoming the Ten-Tails Jinchuriki.
If the "Small Ten-Tails" plan did not succeed, then obtaining the Great Ten-Tails would be the link to his follow-up plan.
If the "Small Ten-Tails" plan succeeded, it would naturally be the cornerstone for him to step onto the peak.
But a Small Ten-Tails was ultimately just a Small Ten-Tails; its "quantity" could not possibly compare to the Great Ten-Tails, so how could he be satisfied with merely the power of a Small Ten-Tails?
A trace of burning desire flashed across the depths of Takuno's eyes; when the time came, the majestic power of this complete "Great Ten-Tails" would be his irreplaceable backup food source!
No matter how things evolved, the emergence of the Great Ten-Tails into the world was an indispensable link within his plan.
As for whether Otsutsuki Kaguya could ultimately successfully unseal herself? That was not an important matter.
Admittedly, Otsutsuki Kaguya and the Ten-Tails were originally one entity, and the resurrection of the Ten-Tails was undoubtedly a key step in her unsealing.
However, this absolutely did not mean that the resurrection of the Ten-Tails equated to the opponent being able to immediately break out of the seal.
If Otsutsuki Kaguya wished to achieve a complete unsealing, she needed to satisfy three indispensable conditions:
The Complete Ten-Tails, or rather, the Divine Tree: This was the foundation and carrier of her power, the physical reliance of her existence.
The dispersed chakra: Throughout long history, Otsutsuki Kaguya's boundlessly massive chakra had been separated and scattered everywhere; re-aggregating these drifted powers was the core to restoring her peak strength.
Her own consciousness: The sealed main body's consciousness needed to be awakened or guided.
At the level of consciousness, it was the simplest; Black Zetsu, this existence sneaking in the shadows of the ninja world, was in essence a part of the consciousness separated out by Kaguya prior to her sealing.
Since its birth, it had only one mission: executing Kaguya's "revival" plan.
Therefore, when the timing for unsealing matured, Black Zetsu's existence itself could perfectly satisfy the condition of awakening Otsutsuki Kaguya's main body consciousness.
The true difficulty lay in collecting those massive chakras that had been separated out.
Wishing to thoroughly reclaim these powers, it was almost inevitable to borrow a massive technique that covered the entire ninja world—Infinite Tsukuyomi!
Only this illusionary technique that shrouded the entire globe could forcefully gather the chakra of all people who fell into the illusion, ultimately transmitting it to Otsutsuki Kaguya through the Divine Tree.
Takuno cast his gaze toward the horizon, carrying an indifference of looking down at a chessboard.
That was not a question that needed to be considered at present.
Perhaps, when the time comes, the one who wants Infinite Tsukuyomi won't be Otsutsuki Kaguya, but him... who could say for sure!