[Crack—]
Lightning flashed in sky, and violent wind and rain continuously poured down in Land of Rain.
Inside one room of Akatsuki base, time seemed to have frozen.
Nagato, Black Zetsu, Obito, and Orochimaru all had grave expressions, and even the most arrogant Uchiha Madara was silent at this moment.
"In other words."
No one knew how long it had been before Uchiha Madara finally spoke faintly.
"That Ōtsutsuki Genshiki possesses stronger power and greater ambition."
"Mm."
Obito was still somewhat dazed, but he also nodded.
"He also spoke about God Tree, fruits, and even sacrifices, but his final objective is—"
"To strike at his own clan and obtain power."
"Correct. He said someone had already done it before him, and that person was called Ōtsutsuki Isshiki."
"To be praised by Ōtsutsuki Genshiki… truly one ruthless to the extreme."
"He also said it was Ōtsutsuki Isshiki who made him understand that devouring one's own clan is their 'Ascending-to-Gods Long Stairway'."
At this point, Uchiha Obito already did not wish to continue speaking.
He did not feel there was any issue with Ōtsutsuki Genshiki doing such things; after all, he himself had once cooperated with Uchiha Itachi to kill their own clan.
What terrified him was—how could this guy still become even stronger?
With him around, how was Obito supposed to realize his dream?
"What is God Tree? And what are fruits?"
Nagato's eyes were somewhat cold; he looked at Black Zetsu and asked in a deep voice.
"And who is Ōtsutsuki Isshiki? Could it be that true name of Rabbit Goddess is actually Ōtsutsuki Isshiki?"
"It should—should not be!"
Hearing Nagato's words, Black Zetsu instinctively spoke, but immediately reacted.
"I do not know what exactly they are. This name was not mentioned in the books."
His voice was calm, but at this moment, Black Zetsu's heart was already about to collapse!
What the hell was all this?
He had only not gone along to Land of Water—how did Ōtsutsuki Genshiki end up saying everything and even going completely berserk?
And he even wanted to skip planting entirely and directly fast-forward to devouring his own clan, doing some so-called 'Ascending-to-Gods Long Stairway'?
To Black Zetsu, this was simply a horror story; his mother was also an Ōtsutsuki!
'Still, how did Isshiki become the pioneer of devouring his own clan?'
Black Zetsu could not understand; he remembered that this guy was supposed to be an unlucky fool.
But he did not want to think further, and he even wondered whether he should simply give up.
Having his mother sealed was better than having her devoured.
"Devouring one's own clan… an 'Ascending-to-Gods Long Stairway'?"
Orochimaru, who had not spoken the entire time, seemed to fall into thought as well, while Uchiha Madara spoke heavily.
"Now that he has succeeded, he has become even stronger, and even Hashirama has appeared. This is truly troublesome."
"Hmph, no matter what, I will not give up."
Uchiha Obito clenched his fist, his gaze firm.
"The Ten Tails is always our trump card. As long as we have the Ten Tails, we will definitely be fine!"
"The Ten Tails, huh?"
Nagato furrowed his brow. He suddenly thought that the Sage of Six Paths seemed to have been the Ten Tails' jinchūriki.
Then, since he had inherited Rinnegan, should he also become the Ten Tails' jinchūriki—
To obtain power able to rival those 'Gods' like Kitagawa Gen?
"The Ten Tails…"
Uchiha Madara also clenched his fist. This was his goal as well.
Only by becoming the Ten Tails' jinchūriki could he fulfill the "Sage of Six Paths' legacy" and ultimately create a world of peace.
The Ten Tails—he would never give up on it.
And those so-called Gods only made him even more excited.
'The Ten Tails, combined with my evolution guided by Rin, should produce a different kind of change.'
Obito's thought was far simpler; he had already begun "evolving" under Rin's guidance.
So if he combined with the Ten Tails, he would definitely become even stronger!
By then, whether it was Ōtsutsuki Genshiki or Kitagawa Gen, he would be able to match—perhaps even defeat them!
The three once again fell into silence. Their ways of thinking differed, but their final goal all rested on the Ten Tails.
And they all felt that becoming the Ten Tails' jinchūriki was the best choice.
'Only that way can we win!'
But while they were thinking this, Isshiki inside Obito's consciousness completely disagreed.
"What a group of idiots—thinking they can beat an Ōtsutsuki with the Ten Tails?"
"And damn you, Genshiki! These were clearly things YOU did, and now everyone is thinking it was me?"
Just remembering Urashiki's dying roar and these 'lower lifeforms' speculating about him made him mentally collapse.
"And Urashiki was also an idiot—how could he lose in such a way?"
But after cursing, he could not help becoming curious again.
"Genshiki's ability is really strange, especially that last move. Was that Shinjutsu?"
Shinjutsu—now that was an extraordinary kind of power. And if it truly was Shinjutsu…
"Could it be that he already did it? Otherwise, how could he be so certain?!"
Isshiki's gaze flickered more and more, and in the end he could only shake his head. Yet inwardly, he could not suppress his curiosity.
"Can his 'Ascending-to-Gods Long Stairway' really be completed?"
While he was deep in thought, Akatsuki members without missions had already gathered together.
"What a terrifying guy… killing his own clan and even planning to devour them?"
After hearing Kisame's account, Kakuzu could not help giving a sigh, which made Hidan laugh.
"Hey, aren't you the one who's killed plenty of people?"
"I'm different. All the ones I killed were strangers. If we really want to talk about it…"
Kakuzu's eyes shifted toward Uchiha Itachi, and he spoke with a playful tone.
"Tell me—what does killing your own clan feel like, Uchiha Itachi?"
His words immediately drew everyone's attention, but Uchiha Itachi only gave him a cold glance and said nothing.
"Boring."
Hiruko snorted lightly, then turned his head to look at the three people nearby.
"Right, who are those guys?"
"Orochimaru's people—and their luck is pretty good."
Biwa Jūzō answered directly, making Hidan curious.
"Pretty good luck?"
"That's right. They were smashed by half a body of a certain God, yet ended up only seriously injured."
Kurosuki Raiga let out a cold laugh, and Kisame pressed his lips together.
"And their four teammates all died. Compared to that—"
"Isn't that considered lucky?"
...
"Tch, they sure ran fast."
In Land of Water, Senju Tobirama could not help speaking irritably.
"That Uchiha Obito is still just as good at running away!"
"Rather than talking about them, we should be talking about that Ōtsutsuki Genshiki."
Senju Hashirama let out a sigh. He rubbed his brow and said, "That guy is not merely cruel—his ambition is also unusually great."
"Indeed."
Senju Tobirama immediately nodded.
"To treat one's own kin—who are also 'Gods'—as prey and devour them… that is cruelty beyond reason."
"Uh… there might be some kind of misunderstanding in all this."
Kitagawa Gen, who had been silent at the side, really could not hold it in anymore.
Doing this kind of 'slandering' right in front of him—wasn't that a bit too much?
"And besides, we are not Ōtsutsuki. How would we know their thoughts or logic? The things they do to each other—are they necessarily bad things for us?"
These words, in fact, were not wrong at all.
From the perspective of an Ōtsutsuki, Ōtsutsuki Genshiki was exceptionally cruel and terrifying.
But from the standpoint of other living beings, Ōtsutsuki Genshiki was practically a savior!
Ōtsutsuki hunt and destroy planets full of life, whereas Ōtsutsuki Genshiki simplified the process—changing from hunting planets to hunting his own clan.
Isn't that essentially saving countless lives?
"Gen, do not harbor any illusions about these people."
Senju Tobirama frowned, shaking his head as he spoke.
"Do not forget—the Sage of Six Paths spent a thousand years making the entire shinobi world run with blood just to deal with them."
"…"
Kitagawa Gen felt that Senju Tobirama had already been marinated too deeply. Even Senju Hashirama nodded along.
"Indeed. We still need to remain extremely cautious—especially you. He seems particularly interested in you. If he were to…"
At this point, Senju Hashirama found it hard to continue, and Senju Tobirama's face was also filled with severity.
Only Kitagawa Gen felt utterly speechless. He was clearly a great benefactor—practically a savior!
How had things ended up like this?
"But this time, it wasn't without gains."
Seeing that Kitagawa Gen didn't seem willing to continue this topic, Senju Tobirama immediately shifted the subject.
"At the very least, we now know that Ōtsutsuki Genshiki's relationship with the other Ōtsutsuki is extremely poor—this may be a point we can exploit."
"Besides that, we also managed to witness Ōtsutsuki Genshiki's power and part of his abilities."
Senju Hashirama nodded as well, speaking with deep emotion.
"He actually suppressed another Ōtsutsuki from start to finish. And he can absorb opponents' techniques, while his own attacks seem impossible to block…"
"Their power is incredibly immense. We just don't know the specifics of how they work."
Senju Tobirama immediately gave his guess, though his expression was extremely grim.
"In addition, that other Ōtsutsuki was directly cut in half at the waist."
"Truly terrifying…"
Kitagawa Gen nodded at the side, yet inwardly he could not help but laugh.
His own Shinjutsu—the effect really did look exceedingly good!
Yomitsu—although he had practiced this Shinjutsu after obtaining it, he truly had never used it in actual combat.
And this time, in order to achieve a one-hit kill, and also to counter Urashiki's Time Eye, he had not hesitated to activate this technique.
And the effect of this technique really did not disappoint him.
'Although the consumption was a bit higher, since the opponent was a 'nearly top-tier Ōtsutsuki,' he still could be killed in an unguarded moment.'
Ōtsutsuki Kaguya had provided an excellent precedent—she made Kitagawa Gen understand that even someone as strong as Isshiki could crash and burn.
And Urashiki, who was far weaker than Isshiki and had already been beaten half-crippled by him, naturally could not expect to escape!
Unsurprisingly, Urashiki had given him the "Gojo Satoru Achievement."
And now he was probably just like Isshiki—sitting as a "Urashiki-rama" inside some unlucky person's body.
'But this is not a bad thing—in fact, it might even be a good thing!'
Kitagawa Gen pondered. Since these Ōtsutsuki could revive, why not try making use of them multiple times?
If they were strong enough, he certainly would not give them the chance—but if they were like Urashiki…
'Then naturally, the more the better!'
And Senju Tobirama was absolutely right—this time his harvest was anything but small.
'The host of the 'White Kāma' is already in hand. Next is research and extraction. Urashiki's energy has also been condensed by me into a 'pill.''
'And his body has also been collected by me. I even obtained the Six-Tails' chakra. Doesn't that mean I can now…'
Plant a tree!
This was the obsession of every Ōtsutsuki—and even Kitagawa Gen was exceptionally curious about the energy of the fruit.
Now his conditions were essentially complete; he had even prepared the materials. No matter what, he wanted to try it!
'And beyond that, the gains are far from over.'
Just as he was thinking this, Senju Hashirama suddenly laughed again.
"That Fifth Mizukage… the way she looks at you seems a bit unusual, you know?"
"If—"
Senju Tobirama also stroked his chin, speaking seriously.
"It might be possible to further deepen the alliance between Konohagakure and Kirigakure."
"What are you two even thinking about?"
Kitagawa Gen rolled his eyes, shaking his head as he turned away, clearly not wanting to continue.
"All right, I'm going to walk around for a bit. Even though I've been to Land of Water before, I've never relaxed here."
As he spoke, he vanished from where he stood. When he appeared again, he was already inside "Ame-no-Minaka."
Inside Ame-no-Minaka, Urashiki's corpse had already been delivered, and the "White Kāma" was sealed here as well.
"Most importantly—"
At the crown of the giant tree, a "pill" radiating golden light floated at the very top.
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