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Chapter 294 - Chapter 294: Teaching, Binding, Becoming

[From the target Otsutsuki Hamura, you have obtained a special talent — Hamura's Astonishment!]

[Hamura's Astonishment]: You have acquired massive purification of the Ōtsutsuki Hamura's Sage Body Kekkei Genkai!

[Due to the abundance and similarity of targets currently being bound to the host: The host has been bound to a special target: the Hyūga Clan of Konohagakure!]

[From the target: the Hyūga Clan of Konoha, you have obtained a special talent — King of the Byakugan!]

[King of the Byakugan]: Your Byakugan's purity has reached the peak limit extractable from the Hyūga bloodline.

[Detection complete: similar or complementary talents identified, fusion conditions met —]

[Currently available for synthesis — Hamura's Astonishment and King of the Byakugan]

[Proceed with synthesis? Synthesize!]

[You have acquired the Tenseigan!]

Kazuki slowly familiarized himself with the surging power within his body...

It was only when the Hyūga branch family personally executed those old-fashioned members of the main family that they truly unlocked the cage in their hearts.

Merely removing the Caged Bird Seal from their foreheads was not enough. What truly mattered was breaking the cage in their souls—with blood guilt.

As their desperate, reborn emotions converged, it was as if the branch family had fused their individual Byakugan… and offered them to him.

Kazuki had gained power from the emotional upheaval resonating in the hearts of the entire Hyūga Clan—whether it was reverence from the branch family or awe from the main family...

Emotions may vary from person to person, but the power within them remains the same.

And then there was Ōtsutsuki Hamura, silently watching this upheaval from the sidelines. Upon witnessing how Kazuki's Will of Fire could even calm the bloodthirsty rage of the Hyūga branch family, he generously offered his 'ticket fee'.

Thus…

Before the Rinnegan arrived—

It was the Tenseigan, born from another lineage, that came first!

"Kazuki, I think I've got the hang of water walking... Honestly, you know, mortals may be born with weak chakra, but the techniques they develop are surprisingly useful in combat."

Using Kazuki's body—which now rivaled or even surpassed Hamura's—Kaguya spoke with the heartfelt excitement of a diligent academy student. Her expression carried a pure, unaffected smile—an unspoiled beauty untouched by knowledge.

She was genuinely thrilled to have learned chakra control...

Kaguya clearly felt that if she fully digested all of Kazuki's teachings, then her original strength could be amplified several times over.

Even now, having only grasped the basics, Kaguya believed that had she fought her two rebellious sons with this level of technique, even if victory wasn't guaranteed, she at least wouldn't have rushed in blindly, only to be caught off guard and sealed...

And what's more—Kazuki had promised to teach her even more advanced combat skills.

From probing and concealing intent, to reading the enemy's psychology, to laying traps in advance as setups for future bursts of power... even the core secrets of taijutsu—all of it, Kazuki explained in meticulous, broken-down detail.

Kaguya listened with rapt attention. As someone born into the branch family and inherently unconfident in battle, meeting a gentle teacher like Kazuki—and tasting the tangible rewards of training for the first time—left her utterly enchanted.

So battle... was this simple?

Immersed in this feeling, Kaguya began to develop a kind of dependency on Kazuki.

It was as if, no matter the problem, so long as she asked Kazuki, he would always offer a solution—and guidance filled with warmth.

But she had forgotten one thing.

"When you gaze long into the abyss, the abyss also gazes into you..."

From deep within Kazuki's soul, a branded imprint was slowly creeping into Kaguya's consciousness.

It was only waiting for the moment her spirit trembled—when it would leave behind a permanent, inescapable mark.

A blade that kills doesn't always need to be sharp and cold—it can also be soft, subtle, and unseen.

"It's been quite useful to you, hasn't it, Kaguya…"

"We should still have time. Isshiki, Hamura, and Hagoromo haven't made any moves yet. And since we're in the shadows while they're exposed and likely to act first, just focus on learning for now. I'll teach you everything I know..."

Kazuki was experiencing the overwhelming power granted by the Tenseigan, yet his expression remained indifferent, as if nothing had happened. Still, the dazzling brilliance of the Tenseigan radiated boldly from his eyes.

Kaguya felt a warmth in her chest. Turning with a cheerful smile to ask Kazuki something else, her gaze was immediately drawn to those stunning eyes—and she gasped in surprise.

"The Tenseigan! Kazuki, how do you have the Tenseigan…?"

"Hmm? So this pair of eyes is called the Tenseigan?"

Kazuki blinked blankly.

"I guess they awakened because I've grown up? You know, my dōjutsu replicates the bloodline limits of others, but it takes time for those powers to fully mature."

"I copied the Byakugan and the Sage Body from the Hyūga Clan a long time ago. Maybe those seeds I planted back then have finally borne fruit after more than ten years?"

He chuckled lightly, then teased Kaguya with a playful grin: "Borne fruit, huh… My dōjutsu—it kind of sounds like how the Ōtsutsuki plant Divine Trees on worlds, doesn't it? What do you think, Kaguya—maybe I was born with a gift for tree planting too?"

Kaguya nodded with conviction.

"Kazuki… you… it's like you were born an Ōtsutsuki!"

Was the Tenseigan truly something so shocking to Kaguya?

From a pure power perspective, not really—after all, she had consumed the chakra fruit and awakened the Rinne Sharingan with nine tomoe.

But from a bloodline purity standpoint? Yes, it absolutely was.

The baseline for an Ōtsutsuki was the Byakugan. Beyond that, all sorts of colored and stylized Rinnegan were common—eyes like Isshiki's golden-black striped pupils, or Kazuki's own dazzling Tenseigan...

As for a plain, tomoe-less Rinnegan, Kaguya had always believed that perhaps a few rare mortals in the ninja world—like Hamura, Hagoromo, or the reincarnations of Asura and Indra—might have the chance to awaken it.

But the Tenseigan or the tomoe Rinnegan?

Absolutely impossible!

To possess a pair of Tenseigan… even among the Ōtsutsuki, that alone would be proof enough to claim blood kinship with the clan.

In the original timeline, Toneri awakened the Tenseigan through a massive Tenseigan construct, and even after losing his eyes later, Urashiki still referred to him as 'Ōtsutsuki Toneri'—acknowledging him as one of their own.

But was Kazuki an Ōtsutsuki?

Obviously not.

He was clearly a native-born human of the ninja world. Yet, his eye techniques and innate talents had allowed him—in less than twenty years—to acquire power on par with the Ōtsutsuki!

In this moment, Kaguya truly felt as though she had stumbled upon a priceless treasure.

Only someone like Kazuki—someone with such overwhelming talent and the ability to 'plant trees' through ocular powers—could possibly help her escape the Ōtsutsuki's pursuit and gain true freedom.

Kaguya's thoughts began to drift.

Kazuki's power was terrifyingly exceptional, yet his personality was so gentle toward her…

It was simply too wonderful.

Though she felt he might be too kind to mortals—perhaps to the point of holding himself back—that only proved how soft-hearted he was, didn't it?

Kaguya had feared that, after her betrayal, Kazuki might become a ruthless, cold-hearted man who would sacrifice anyone around him for power.

If that had been the case, she would have felt deeply unsafe.

[From the special talent Kaguya's Fear, your bloodline has been refined to the limit of the bound target. You have acquired — Kekkei Mōra!]

Thus—

On this planet, those who now possessed the Kekkei Mōra were: Kazuki, Kaguya, Hamura, Hagoromo, and Isshiki.

Only five.

Kazuki had risen to the level of a player on the board. Though he operated from the shadows, there was no longer anyone who could simply overturn the board and eliminate him with brute force.

Even if the Sage of Six Paths held the foundation of a thousand years in the Pure Land—

Even if Isshiki had the more ancient legacy of a full-fledged Ōtsutsuki—

None of that could erase Kazuki's presence from the game now.

Kazuki was confident: unless an Ōtsutsuki appeared who lay completely outside his current intelligence network, no one in the ninja world could kill him anymore...

'This is just the beginning, Kazuki.'

He slowly exhaled a long breath and said to himself: 'The Ōtsutsuki Clan has many powerful figures... Isshiki and Kaguya, those who were dispatched to plant Divine Trees, are probably just like jōnin sent out on missions from Konohagakure. There's no way they'd be on the same level as Kage-class or higher individuals...'

'Right now, the only resource I truly possess is this single planet—the ninja world. I must consolidate every ounce of power from every person here, regardless of their strength. Only then, by absorbing even this planet's Gaia consciousness into myself, will I have the minimum capital to resist unknown external enemies.'

After giving himself this pep talk, Kazuki turned to Kaguya with a warm smile.

"Don't overthink it, Kaguya… Shall we continue? Since you passed the water-walking exercise, how about I give you a reward?"

Kaguya's heart fluttered, her gaze a little evasive.

"A r-reward? What kind of reward…?"

"The essence of my understanding of taijutsu."

Kazuki replied with a straight face.

"What? Not interested?"

"I-I am! I like it… I like everything you teach me…" Kaguya nodded awkwardly.

Kazuki gave a quiet laugh and shook his head.

"There you go again, saying silly things. What you like shouldn't be what I teach you—it should be valuable knowledge itself."

He naturally reached for Kaguya's arm, and gently squeezed it as he explained in a low voice: "When throwing a punch, focus on channeling strength here. Don't think that just because you're an Ōtsutsuki, you can ignore taijutsu."

"Quite the opposite. When chakra can be absorbed and countered by others, pure strength and speed become the only truly universal weapons."

Feeling the warmth of Kazuki's hand against her skin, Kaguya instantly blushed.

She stole a glance at Kazuki's focused expression, forcibly calming herself before whispering in a trembling voice: "I-I understand…"

And all the while, the soul brand Kazuki had placed on her deepened steadily...

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