"Another… Ōtsutsuki?"
"He looks similar, but not the same. That guy is strong—but he doesn't have Ōtsutsuki Genshiki's oppressive presence. A very strange person."
"There are still beings similar to the Ōtsutsuki? His goal—is it Ōtsutsuki Genshiki?"
"Not sure. Anyway, the fight between them was completely inexplicable."
Obito's words left everyone present a little bewildered. Could there really be other beings like the Ōtsutsuki in this world?
But at that moment, the long-silent Black Zetsu suddenly had a flash of realization!
"Goal?"
He murmured the word softly, his eyes gradually brightening.
'That's right—the goal. That man's goal might indeed be Ōtsutsuki Genshiki, yet also not. Most likely, his real target is…'
'Kitagawa Gen!'
Combining the fact that his tree bark had been altered, with Ōtsutsuki Genshiki's immediate decision to attack, and with Obito's claim that the man seemed like an Ōtsutsuki but not quite the same—the answer now seemed almost self-evident!
'That man came from the moon. He must have wanted to check on Kitagawa Gen's situation—and also intended to warn him of the coming danger.'
'He discovered the thing I left behind, so he acted to alter it, because Kitagawa Gen most likely would be able to see it.'
'It's just that he was unlucky—Ōtsutsuki Genshiki noticed him. So he fought desperately to draw the battle away from Konohagakure, which is why the village wasn't affected.'
Everything connected—everything finally fit together!
Although even Black Zetsu himself felt his reasoning was somewhat forced, at least his work being altered, Genshiki's sudden appearance, and this mysterious Ōtsutsuki-like being—and the fact that despite such a terrifying battle, Konohagakure remained completely intact—somehow, all of it seemed to make sense!
Thinking that, Black Zetsu finally let out a slight breath of relief. Although there were still things that needed confirmation, at least he now felt it probably wasn't his fault.
'After all, if they really wanted to come after me, they would've made it perfectly clear by now.'
Just as Black Zetsu felt a little reassured, the hidden Isshiki clenched his fist tightly.
"A group of inferior creatures—how dare they so wantonly pass judgment on us?"
However, in the end, he didn't actually do anything. His gaze merely fell upon Nagato.
"The Rinnegan—it isn't his own. But his potential far surpasses that of that Uchiha Obito…"
He hesitated slightly. The man's physique truly surprised him a little—if he were to use this man as a 'Kāma' vessel…
"Forget it. Just another short-lived creature."
In the end, though, he shook his head and gave up on Nagato. This fellow seemed intent on confronting Ōtsutsuki Genshiki directly, which he found utterly laughable.
To face that man head-on was certain death. Every one of these wretched worms would die without exception!
"Still clinging to the arrogance of the Ōtsutsuki, are we?"
As for why they were still alive, Isshiki already knew the answer. If it were him, he probably wouldn't bother slaughtering these insects at random either.
After all, it would be disgraceful—and besides, it would only waste the Divine Tree's energy…
But if he chose Nagato as the 'Kāma' vessel, then Ōtsutsuki Genshiki would definitely strike with full force!
"Better to choose this Uchiha Obito. After all, with that spatial dimension of his, at least there's some interesting ocular technique to be gained…"
…
As turmoil swept through the shinobi world, within the "Ame-no-Minaka"—violent chakra continued to brew.
Suddenly, a strange aura rippled throughout the Ame-no-Minaka.
The space itself trembled under its resonance, and even the massive Source of the Divine Tree swayed gently along with it.
"Phew."
Kitagawa Gen slowly opened his eyes. Those eyes—brilliant and flowing like starlight—appeared particularly extraordinary in that moment.
He lowered his head, looking down at the colossal tree beneath him, now even vaster, its canopy blotting out the sky and the sun.
At that instant, the corner of his mouth lifted into a faint smile. And right then, a familiar panel appeared before his eyes.
[Name: Kitagawa Gen]
[Bloodline: Ōtsutsuki Clan (Development: 72%)]
[Shinjutsu: Yomitsu]
"Shinjutsu."
Staring at his own status panel, Kitagawa Gen couldn't help but be taken aback.
In fact, the term "Shinjutsu" wasn't all that unfamiliar to him—or rather, for an ordinary Ōtsutsuki, they were innately born with one.
That was "Kāma."
"I actually awakened such an ability?"
Kitagawa Gen looked a bit strange, but soon he had a guess.
"Perhaps that guy Ōtsutsuki Isshiki obtained Ōtsutsuki Shibai's Shinjutsu, and the chakra of Kāma nourished the Source of the God Tree, which then gave feedback to me."
The chakra Kitagawa Gen had extracted was the same as Kaguya's. After discovering that he couldn't absorb it, he had simply "fed" it to the Source of the God Tree.
He truly hadn't expected that the Source of the God Tree would give him this kind of feedback!
Kitagawa Gen forced himself to calm down.
"My ability… seems rather absurd."
The ability of Yomitsu was indeed peculiar—its effect was to completely shift attacks occurring within a period of time to any later point in time!
In other words, any attack directed at Kitagawa Gen—once Yomitsu was activated—would be postponed to another moment entirely.
"Moreover, I can even use it for defense?"
Kitagawa Gen muttered softly, his expression growing increasingly strange.
"Besides that, my attacks can also be delayed."
Kitagawa Gen could likewise postpone his own attacks, meaning that if one of his strikes were blocked and he activated Yomitsu—
"Then I could delay that attack until the instant my opponent can no longer react, and let it erupt then. This…"
He seemed to understand why this kind of technique was called a Shinjutsu—there was indeed an element of "irresistibility" to it.
Kitagawa Gen sighed inwardly, but then couldn't help cursing under his breath.
"This bloodline is pure cheating!"
Although the consumption of this Shinjutsu was not small—the longer the preset delay, the stronger the enemy encountered, and the greater the strength of his own transferred attack—its consumption was entirely foreseeable. Yet the activation of this technique didn't involve any "ocular power"; it merely consumed his chakra!
"As for whether there's a limit to how many times I can use it—does that mean that the more chakra I have, the more I can keep using it?"
Kitagawa Gen rubbed his chin, but soon couldn't help pursing his lips.
Given the technique's consumption setting, combined with the enemies he would face in the future, using it once or twice would probably already be about the limit.
"But even just those one or two times would likely be enough to deal with the enemy."
"And aside from this technique, I've also gained in other areas."
Taking a deep breath, Kitagawa Gen pressed down his restless heart; the issue of consumption was also something he needed to consider.
Moreover, the timing of the enemy's arrival was unknown—he still needed to keep improving himself!
"My bloodline development has once again advanced—and I really have Yin–Yang Release to thank for that. Otherwise, I probably wouldn't have gained this much."
"If I'd obtained it earlier, my development rate would've been even higher. But actually, whether early or late doesn't make much difference."
Kitagawa Gen shook his head and stopped thinking about it. The enhancement of his bloodline had once again strengthened his fundamental abilities.
His eyes were still continuously absorbing chakra, and his bones were in excellent condition.
Especially as he grew stronger, his control over chakra had reached yet another level!
"Power that was originally unrelated between different bloodlines—now I can sense their mutual connections."
With those connections, he could use them as a breakthrough to fuse his various kekkei genkai together.
The bloodline powers he possessed already encompassed all forms of chakra—and now that he had also mastered Yin–Yang Release—once he merged them into one, he would finally obtain the Kekkei Mora he had long dreamed of!
"And with my current physical strength, I can probably stir up a storm with a single swing of my arm, or summon lightning with a roar, right?"
Of course, it still required effort to do so.
This pure "beauty of numerical value" had always been what he longed for!
Standing up, Kitagawa Gen stretched contentedly. He now planned to go out and get some proper rest.
He also needed to think carefully about how to maximize the way he could fleece those Ōtsutsuki in the future!
"With the first Shinjutsu acquired, there'll only be more to come—after all, that Ōtsutsuki Shibai had several of them."
However, just as he was about to leave, he suddenly thought of something.
"My Yomitsu is a time-based ability—could it be that it's formed from Ōtsutsuki Isshiki's energy combined with the power of the Dragon Vein?"
Kitagawa Gen couldn't quite figure it out, but as he returned to the outside world, he suddenly noticed someone knocking on the door—and Ino's voice came from outside.
"Senpai, are you there?"
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