"What's wrong, Kaguya?"
Seeing her dazed, Kazuki gave a helpless smile. "Did I embarrass myself a bit? Back then, because of the Ōtsutsuki clan, I tried to imitate their path and attempted to absorb natural energy to enhance myself…"
"But I didn't have the God Tree. Even though I developed the corresponding techniques, the absorption rate was just too slow."
"Still, if it helps even a little in resisting the Sage of Six Paths, then it's worth it…"
Kazuki sighed and shook his head. "That's what we mortals do. It may look laughable to those up in the heavens, but it's the limit of what we can achieve through struggle."
Although—
Kazuki's words were deeply moving. For a moment, Kaguya felt that spirit of a mere ant daring to challenge a dragon…
That unyielding willpower!
But the next second, just as Kaguya started to feel touched, she remembered who was standing in front of her.
A 'mortal' who could simulate—and even surpass—the God Tree with his own body?
"Haha…"
Kaguya let out an awkward laugh, tried to put on a straight face, and mumbled vaguely, "R-right… You're absolutely right, Kazuki…"
[From the special talent - Kaguya's fear, your Otsutsuki bloodline has been purified!]
Kaguya's face froze.
She could vaguely sense that Kazuki had grown stronger again?
She had once believed she had seen true genius within the Ōtsutsuki clan—many members of the main family were dazzlingly talented.
But compared to Kazuki's growth rate, those so-called geniuses now felt more like the 'mortals' in the comparison…
"That's why you need to get stronger, Kaguya!"
Kazuki looked her in the eyes, expression earnest. "You have talent far beyond mine. Mastering combat techniques and learning to wield your power skillfully—that's the best way to face those evil Ōtsutsuki!"
"I'll teach you all the techniques I've mastered. As long as you want to learn—and put your heart into it…"
In Kazuki's pure black eyes, Kaguya saw nothing but sincerity.
Kazuki truly wanted to help her!
"I—I understand, Kazuki…" Kaguya raised her fists. "I'll do my best!"
After witnessing Kazuki's talent…
Kaguya felt as if she had finally found hope for a peaceful life in the future!
Even though the Sage of Six Paths, Isshiki, Hamura, and the Ōtsutsuki from beyond the stars were all eyeing them covetously… it might not be long before they launched a ruthless strike against Kazuki!
Even with Kazuki's astonishing talent, the difference in foundation still made him a genius yet to mature—he had not yet turned his potential into real combat power, and thus couldn't defeat his enemies.
But… wasn't she still inside Kazuki's body?
Compared to facing those terrifying enemies alone, in solitude and confusion, a new idea was already forming in Kaguya's heart—
If further observation proved that Kazuki was someone she could trust,
Then Kaguya didn't mind lending him her power—helping him survive this early stage of being hunted by powerful foes and slowly grow stronger…
It would be, in a sense… a different kind of nurturing?
Her face flushed involuntarily, but she still maintained a degree of composure.
Even though Kazuki matched her preferences in many ways, this was no time to be ruled by romance!
Kaguya kept reminding herself in her heart: 'Not yet! Kaguya, you're only using Uchiha Kazuki to learn how to fight. He's not someone you can trust yet!'
'You don't truly know him. Stay calm. You can't afford to be fooled again like before!'
Having once been betrayed by Hamura and Hagoromo, Kaguya now harbored a deep caution within her heart.
Kazuki, of course, was unaware of Kaguya's thoughts—and didn't care either.
Kaguya imagined that Kazuki would accept her power, temporarily hide away from the shinobi world, and wait quietly for his strength to grow…
But that wasn't something Kazuki could do.
In Kazuki's view, as long as the outcome or present situation of a ninja close to him was better than what it had been in the original timeline, then no matter how he arranged their participation in the story, he hadn't done them wrong…
His standards weren't high—but they still existed.
And those standards wouldn't allow him to abandon the shinobi world.
On the contrary, he needed to gather the world's emotional focus onto himself as quickly as possible—not just to trigger more golden coins, but also to absorb more fate energy and ultimately gain Gaia's recognition.
"Hello, classmate. Are you the son of Clan Head Fugaku?"
Kazuki walked confidently up to Itachi and asked, "May I ask… have you already mastered the Three Basic Techniques? The homework assigned just now by Asuma-sensei is pretty difficult for me…"
"If you don't mind, I'd like to see how you perform them."
Startled out of his thoughts by Kazuki's voice, Uchiha Itachi looked a little flustered and replied with some embarrassment, "Sorry, I was just lost in thought."
"This classmate… are you also from the Uchiha clan?"
Hearing the name 'Fugaku' in Kazuki's words only made Itachi's headache worse.
His father had been acting even weirder lately…
First, he kept muttering about how the Mangekyō's eye technique had gone wrong, and now—these past two days—he was suddenly ecstatic, his mental state one of the most unhinged in the entire Uchiha clan.
Just this morning before school, Uchiha Fugaku had solemnly told him:
"Son, you are the Child of Destiny. You must study diligently. The future of the shinobi world and our clan rests on your shoulders…"
The young Itachi, still dazed by Kazuki's image as a warrior effortlessly slaughtering enemies, had already been overwhelmed by that. And now, with Fugaku's latest speech, he was even more confused.
No matter how you looked at it, wasn't that great Kazuki-sama clearly the real chosen one?
What did a mere academy student like him have to do with any of it?
Especially after hearing Asuma's little lecture on Kazuki and the Will of Fire, Uchiha Itachi's respect for Kazuki had only deepened—along with a bone-deep resentment toward his own father…
How could his clueless father have ended up on the opposing side of such a man, someone burning with the true Will of Fire?
Itachi steadied his emotions.
He had no intention of becoming a fool like Fugaku. He wanted to protect the Uchiha clan by following in Kazuki's footsteps.
And the first step—
Was to start just like Kazuki: by helping teach classmates with less talent.
"Of course, no problem. The hand seals for the Three Basic Techniques are done like this, and the chakra flow needs to be guided like this inside the body..."
Uchiha Itachi began explaining to Kazuki. He then quickly performed the seals and demonstrated the Transformation Technique—turning himself into a wooden stump.
Kazuki nodded.
"Did you see clearly, Kaguya?"
Kaguya stared intently at the hand seals and movements Itachi used, her composure beginning to crack.
Wait a minute—there really are mortals who can perform ninjutsu with such a small amount of chakra?
In that case, doesn't that make her, an Ōtsutsuki, utterly useless aside from having better lineage?
"Go on, give it a try, Kaguya."
Kazuki confidently gestured, allowing the Rabbit Goddess to take control of the body.
He wasn't worried about Kaguya doing anything reckless at the moment.
Not only could he take back control of the body at any time...
But objectively speaking, in the current shinobi world where countless Ōtsutsuki lurked like wolves—
If Kaguya wanted to remain hidden, avoiding detection while masking her presence, she had no choice but to rely on Kazuki's mastery over power.
Even if he gave her this body, she wouldn't know how to use it properly.
But inside Kaguya's mind, all she felt was Kazuki's complete trust in her—he didn't seem worried at all that she might do something harmful to him…
This feeling of being trusted so openly, without reservation, stirred something unfamiliar and emotional within Kaguya's heart.
Trust—and being trusted.
There's a simple truth: when someone is often trusted by others, they begin to believe others are trustworthy too...
Having never been trusted before—and having been betrayed multiple times—this was the first time Kaguya had experienced trust from someone else. And it came from Kazuki.
She recalled Uchiha Itachi's hand seals and, under the restriction of 'academy student-level talent' imposed by Kazuki, tried her best to use her pitiful amount of chakra to initiate the technique...
But she still failed.
Kaguya froze in place, her cheeks turning completely red.
Uchiha Itachi scratched his head as he looked at Kazuki (currently Kaguya), who had her head lowered in silence, and offered a quiet word of comfort: "It's okay. The Three Basic Techniques are part of the graduation exam. Not being able to do them right now is perfectly normal…"
Itachi's kind reassurance only made Kaguya feel even worse.
So basically, every one of these little kids she could see—once they graduate a few years from now—will have better chakra control than she does?
This kind of reality… she really didn't want to accept!
"Kaguya, I might have a way to help you master these techniques more quickly…"
Kazuki paused, then spoke slowly: "But it will require your complete trust. I would have to guide your consciousness into my five senses—allowing you to experience, immersively, how I perform ninjutsu…"
"But I must warn you—it's dangerous."
"With your current level of ability, if I really wanted to trap your consciousness in the process, you'd be in serious trouble. I don't believe someone who can't even manage the Three Basic Techniques would be able to resist my control if things went wrong."
In truth—
Kazuki couldn't actually imprison Kaguya's consciousness or forcibly take all her power.
Even if Kaguya didn't resist at all, she was still someone who had eaten a chakra fruit. If she ever went wild during a forceful extraction, it would be like trying to draw chakra from a Tailed Beast that completely refused to cooperate.
Maybe he could barely extract a small amount of chakra—but it would cause serious problems for him too.
But after Kazuki laid all this out plainly—
Kaguya, who was in the middle of deeply doubting herself for not even being able to perform the Three Basic Techniques, still chose to fully believe the man who had once beaten her down.
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