Deep within the palace, Takuno's eyes darted across the scroll containing the secret manufacturing techniques for sentient puppets. Finally, he closed the scroll, letting out a slight sigh of admiration.
As he had suspected, the core materials for these precious puppets were quite rare. It was no wonder Toneri's father had created so many combat-type puppets but hadn't produced these sentient puppets on a large scale.
"Fortunately..."
In the fierce battle earlier, the main force sent by Toneri's father consisted only of combat puppets without autonomous consciousness.
The sentient puppets were currently standing motionless like sleeping statues throughout the palace.
They had lost the drive of their original master's chakra. Although their cores remained, they had fallen into a death-like silence.
For Takuno, this was actually a good thing. He only needed to inject his own chakra into them to easily awaken them and make them his own.
Of course, he wasn't satisfied with just taking over old things.
With a thought, Takuno appeared in the storeroom deep within the palace where rare materials were kept.
Following the methods recorded in the scroll, his chakra transformed into invisible carving knives and furnaces, guiding the combination of various strange materials and the engraving of symbols.
For someone with top-tier chakra control like him, even a first attempt seemed effortless.
Before long, a brand-new puppet with smooth lines and exquisite details was born in his hands.
The moment the chakra core lit up, the puppet's lifelike eyelids slowly opened.
Its inorganic pupils accurately captured Takuno's figure, and immediately, a respectful voice that sounded exactly like a real person's rang out: "Master."
"From now on, you will be called Number One," Takuno said flatly. He had no interest in naming puppets; 'Number One' was merely for the sake of differentiation.
"Yes, Master." Number One accepted the designation without objection, its expression remaining subservient.
Takuno did not stop there.
Utilizing the rare materials piled in the storeroom, one brand-new sentient puppet after another took shape under his hands.
In a short time, dozens of sentient puppets of various forms, yet all equally lifelike, stood in a neat line before him.
"If I were making those low-level combat puppets, the number would probably be dozens of times higher..." Takuno's gaze swept over his new creations, feeling no regret in his heart.
He didn't think those puppets were of much use. Their strength was very weak; even in large numbers, they could at most overwhelm a Shinobi who hadn't reached the Super Kage level and hadn't mastered Space-Time Ninjutsu.
Once someone reached the Super Kage level, trying to rely on a quantity of puppets that hadn't even reached Kage-level strength to overwhelm them was basically a fantasy.
Now, with these dozens of sentient puppets before him plus the ones he was about to take over, the total would reach over a hundred.
"That's enough."
These sentient puppets were more than sufficient for the daily maintenance of this grand Moon Palace, handling chores, and assisting him during his experiments later on.
"Number One," Takuno ordered in a deep voice, "take a portion of the puppets and build a standard laboratory that meets my requirements in the outer area of the palace."
"As you command!" Number One responded. Without hesitation, it turned, precisely selected several companions, and walked out with silent yet swift steps.
Through chakra, Takuno had naturally instilled all the necessary architectural knowledge and instructions into its mind.
Watching the departing figures of the puppets, a trace of satisfaction finally flickered in Takuno's deep eyes.
The Moon, this massive satellite suspended in deep space and far from the noise of the Shinobi World, would become his future experimental site.
Toneri's father was dead, and Toneri's own memories regarding the existence of the Moon had been completely erased.
A barely perceptible curve formed at the corner of Takuno's mouth.
At this moment, no one could probably imagine that someone still existed here on this bright moon.
Takuno suddenly thought of something, and that was...
After moving his laboratory up here, he would naturally bring the Mini Ten-Tails along.
The Ten-Tails had previously been summoned with great difficulty from the Moon to the Shinobi World by Nagato, and now a part of it was being brought back to the Moon by Takuno.
It was... a bit of an unpredictable twist of fate.
After taking over the last batch of sentient puppets and assigning them their duties, Takuno did not stay any longer.
Carrying the unconscious Toneri beside him, he moved, leaving the Moon and instantly crossing the distance between the Moon and the Shinobi World, landing steadily back in his familiar underground laboratory.
The new laboratory on the Moon was still under construction; for now, this base in the Shinobi World remained his temporary foothold.
Takuno's gaze swept over Toneri. Without delay, he decided to immediately enter the next phase.
Soon, he had finished changing Toneri's body.
Afterward, he personally delivered Toneri to the Snow Hide Village orphanage.
There, this youth would begin a brand-new life belonging only to 'Toneri.'
The surname 'Ōtsutsuki,' which symbolized the supreme bloodline, was thus completely stripped away.
After handling Toneri's affairs, Takuno also chose to rest first.
The continuous space travel between the Moon and the Shinobi World, as well as the battle on the Moon, had actually consumed quite a bit of his energy.
Whether it was Majestic Attire Susanoo: Dragon God or the final Futsunushi, both were heavy consumers of Ocular Power.
Especially Majestic Attire Susanoo: Dragon God—it wasn't that its consumption was higher than Futsunushi, but rather that it was an ability Takuno had created on the fly, so the consumption was much higher than normal.
If Takuno were to use it again now, he wouldn't need to consume so much Ocular Power for exploration.
However, while it was called recovery, it didn't require Takuno's active effort.
He closed his eyes to focus, sitting cross-legged as the powerful chakra within his body slowly circulated, initiating the final stage of training for a normalized Sage Mode.
And his physique, which had assimilated Hashirama cells, was also rapidly repairing that pair of Mangekyo Sharingan that had consumed a significant amount of Ocular Power.
When his fatigue had completely faded and his state had returned to its peak, Takuno brought the Ōtsutsuki bloodline to the Gelel Vein.
In the core area of the vein, dense and pure life energy flowed like a physical substance, and the air shimmered with a faint emerald-green glow.
This was the ideal place for the ultimate metamorphosis.
Takuno had a solemn expression as he meticulously drew the technique symbols on the ground, each stroke infused with pure chakra to ensure it was flawless.
The formation representing the core of the Chimera Technique gradually took shape, emitting deep and mysterious fluctuations.
Finally, everything was ready.
Takuno took a deep breath, feeling the vast vitality of the Gelel Vein. He stepped steadily into the center of the formation and sat down cross-legged.
Now, everything was in place.
He was going to use this forbidden fusion technique here to completely integrate the fifth and final crucial Ōtsutsuki bloodline into himself, completing his ultimate evolution!
...
Within the borders of the Land of Rivers, the originally cloudless blue sky suddenly underwent a drastic change.
Heavy dark clouds swiftly swallowed the entire sky, instantly dragging the daylight into a gloomy twilight.
This sudden celestial phenomenon caused pedestrians below to stop one after another, looking up at the sky in uncertainty. Complaints and curses about such strange and unpredictable weather could be heard from the crowd from time to time.
However, these anomalies in the peripheral areas were but a negligible prelude compared to the core of the upheaval directly above the Gelel Vein.
There, the scene could no longer be described as merely 'gloomy.'
In the heavens, violent thunder resembled silver snakes that had broken free from their cages, crazily tearing through the rolling dark clouds. Blinding flashes of lightning illuminated the earth in a ghastly white, followed by continuous, deafening roars.
The scene looked as if heaven and earth were enraged, sending down divine punishment, vowing to completely erase some 'forbidden' existence from the world.
If Jugo, who was proficient in Natural Energy sensing, were here at this moment, he would surely be horrified to discover it.
The Natural Energy above the mineral vein had fallen into an unprecedented state of extreme and violent chaos!
However, the source of this loss of control over the great power of heaven and earth was not divine retribution, but Takuno himself!
The ultimate fusion of the Chimera Technique he was performing, absorbing the fifth bloodline, had extremely harsh requirements for this stage.
The three elements of 'Heavenly Timing,' 'Geographical Advantage,' and 'Human Harmony' were all indispensable.
Regarding 'Human Harmony,' he was already prepared.
For 'Geographical Advantage,' the Gelel Stone Vein, which contained vast energy, was undoubtedly the best choice.
Only 'Heavenly Timing' had become the greatest obstacle on the path to success.
In the original story, Hiruko's way of solving this problem was to wait for the extremely rare 'Solar Eclipse.'
But no matter how rare a solar eclipse was, its essence was to utilize a specific cosmic phenomenon to trigger and influence the ubiquitous energy in nature—the tidal changes of 'Natural Energy.'
Takuno was fundamentally different from Hiruko.
He had already reached the realm of the perfect Sage Mode, and his understanding and control of Natural Energy had reached the pinnacle.
Therefore, he didn't need to passively wait for that once-in-a-lifetime Solar Eclipse.
Relying on his own mastery over Natural Energy, he chose a more proactive and domineering method.
Using his own Sage power as a guide, he forcibly gathered and harnessed the Natural Energy between heaven and earth, actively creating the 'Heavenly Timing' necessary for fusing the fifth bloodline!
The thunderstorm currently shrouding the Gelel Mineral Vein was not a warning from above, but an energy storm he had personally triggered. It was a key step in his Chimera Technique toward a perfect form!
When the raging thunderstorm subsided and sunlight pierced through the remaining haze, splashing light back onto the earth, Takuno slowly opened his eyes. He subconsciously raised his hand, his five fingers slowly closing into a fist, feeling the even greater power contained within his palm.
A trace of surprise crossed his mind. After successfully assimilating the Hashirama cells, he had thought his strength had already reached a very profound level.
Even the boost brought by the previous fusion with Shikotsumyaku seemed negligible in comparison.
Yet at this moment, the newly integrated Ōtsutsuki bloodline flowing through his body clearly sent him a signal.
His power barrier had actually been broken once again!
Although the magnitude of this increase didn't seem like much compared to his already massive base of strength, his base itself had long reached a terrifying height.
Therefore, even a tiny percentage of growth resulted in an absolute power gain that could only be described as 'horrifying.'
"This feeling... is it from the great power of the Ōtsutsuki bloodline itself? Or is it as Hiruko said—when the fifth bloodline is successfully fused, the so-called 'Perfect Form' and 'Immortal Body' begin to manifest their power?" A thought of inquiry arose in Takuno's mind.
He carefully examined every slight change in his body. With his current perception, he could make a clear judgment.
The legend of the 'Immortal Body' undoubtedly did not exist.
Trying to achieve a true immortal body just by relying on the Chimera Technique? That was far too delusional.
However, the fusion of the fifth bloodline itself had indeed brought a non-negligible enhancement.
If it weren't so, Hiruko's theory wouldn't have required such incredibly harsh conditions like Heavenly Timing, Geographical Advantage, and Human Harmony to be achieved.
From this, one could infer that if the mad scientist Hiruko from the original story had truly succeeded in incorporating Kakashi's bloodline into his system and completing the final fusion, he might have indeed possessed a sliver of qualification to knock on the door of the 'Super Kage' level.
It's just... Takuno calmly evaluated that possibility.
Even if Hiruko had luckily succeeded and forcibly stepped into the 'Super Kage' realm with his mundane foundation, the height he could reach would likely only be standing at the threshold of that transcendent field, becoming the bottom-most existence there—a literal 'Super Kage Gatekeeper.'
However, even so...
For a mere mortal body that had gone through untold hardships to finally touch the realm of 'Super Kage,' this was in itself a feat worthy of being recorded in history.
This achievement was enough for Hiruko to be proud of.
However, Takuno still felt that the other party would most likely only reach the peak of Kage level; Super Kage was only a slim possibility.
Takuno stretched his body, feeling the newly fused power within him.
However, the changes brought by this bloodline from the Ōtsutsuki Clan seemed much more subtle than he had anticipated.
At least on the surface, the direct boost it provided even seemed a bit plain, not even as significant as when Shikotsumyaku first awakened—at least back then, he could pull out his own bones to play with...
It wasn't that the Ōtsutsuki bloodline wasn't strong. Had he not chosen to assimilate Hashirama cells initially, this Ōtsutsuki bloodline might have truly brought him a considerable leap in total chakra capacity.
Unfortunately, there were no such 'ifs.'
In terms of the energy it contained, Hashirama cells were absolutely not inferior to Ōtsutsuki cells in the slightest.
After all, Hashirama himself might have been the first existence to complete a 'top-tier mutation.'
It was this power that allowed him to completely overturn the inherent strength dynamic between the reincarnations of Indra and Ashura for thousands of years, almost entirely dominating and suppressing his contemporary rival, Madara.
Of course, Takuno knew that the potential of the Ōtsutsuki bloodline went far beyond this.
Toneri's bloodline, which was pure to the extreme, was of such purity that even true members of the Ōtsutsuki main family would likely be dumbstruck upon seeing it.
Now, the power contained within this bloodline still needed to be gradually discovered and mastered through his future training and realization.
However, one tangible benefit had already manifested.
With this bloodline, he now... only needed a pair of sufficiently pure Byakugan to begin nurturing his own Tenseigan!