Chapter 364: Inhuman
In underground darkness, Black Zetsu felt unprecedented unease and distress.
Thousand-year schemes, dawn imminent. This was closest to success—liberating Mother Kaguya Otsutsuki from moon seal.
Its most successful, most powerful chess piece—Uchiha Madara—had successfully awakened Rinnegan! According to plan, as long as "Akatsuki" organization methodically collected all Tailed Beasts, gathering into Ten-Tails, then having Madara become Ten-Tails jinchuriki, casting "Infinite Tsukuyomi"... Mother's revival path would be unobstructed.
It no longer needed painstakingly instigating and guiding each generation's Indra chakra reincarnator and Ashura chakra reincarnator into duels like the past thousand years.
However—this generation's Ashura chakra reincarnator—what's going on?!
Though throughout a thousand years, Indra reincarnations never once defeated Ashura reincarnations.
But this generation's Ashura reincarnator's power level already completely exceeded "balance" scope.
Note that after Sage of Six Paths' demise in long years, Hashirama Senju was strongest shinobi Black Zetsu had seen, but Uzumaki Naruto—at equivalent age—had already eclipsed Hashirama's brilliance.
Therefore, shortly after Orochimaru's "Konoha Crush Plan" failure, Black Zetsu through White Zetsu intelligence network initially understanding Naruto's terrifying power, immediately heightened vigilance, secretly arranging massive White Zetsu lurking around Konoha, conducting round-the-clock strict surveillance, attempting to ascertain this variable's true nature.
However, today's witnessed everything still far exceeded Black Zetsu's expectations, making it feel helplessly bewildered.
Why did two "Indra chakra reincarnators" suddenly appear?
Why did Mother's worries—those threats from distant starry sky same-clan "Otsutsuki"—arrive so much earlier? Those guys should pose threats in more distant future!
Why was that newly appeared "Indra reincarnator's" strength so overwhelming? Black Zetsu could assert—even Uchiha Madara at prime combat power absolutely couldn't match today's seen black-clothed man.
Why? Also most important, most making Black Zetsu feel spine-chilling—what exactly happened to this generation Ashura reincarnator's body?!
When Naruto finally opened that bizarre black-base golden-pupil right eye and casually opened Blood Limit Snare [Yomotsu Hirasaka] only Otsutsuki clan could master...
Black Zetsu sensed pure, rich, even vaguely surpassing Mother Kaguya Otsutsuki's... Otsutsuki origin aura!
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"How is it? Where exactly can this space lead?" Watching Naruto manipulate that pitch-black portal opening and closing, finally returning to original position, face carrying expression mixing novelty and strangeness, Sasuke asked.
Naruto somewhat uncertainly answered: "Seems... determined by my current intention deciding exit? I just thought 'go home,' then portal opposite showed my apartment interior scene."
Sasuke thoughtfully nodded. Space-crossing space-time ninjutsu—this was indeed one of Rinnegan's possessed multiple advanced abilities.
Though Naruto's new eye's external form more approached Boruto's special "Jougan," its functional performance seemed more inclined toward Rinnegan scope?
And Naruto's face looked strange because he quickly realized this "new ability's" subtle relationship with existing skills.
Flying Thunder God technique—as his long-practiced signature ninjutsu—advantages lay in no-seal-requirement, instant activation, precise coordinates, enabling extremely flexible instant displacement and tactical interjection in combat.
Comparatively, though Yomotsu Hirasaka could also conduct spatial crossing, it required actively opening fixed portal. This process had brief gaps. In rapidly changing high-speed combat, difficult achieving Flying Thunder God's "without warning" ambush or evasion. Tactical flexibility seemed slightly inferior.
"This way... seems bit redundant..." Naruto quietly muttered, but immediately an extremely critical distinction was captured!
Flying Thunder God technique must at target location pre-leave Flying Thunder God formula marks before teleporting.
While Yomotsu Hirasaka... according to just-now tests, seemingly only needed clear "intention" or "cognition" as coordinates?!
Wait... Naruto's eyes slightly widened. A bold speculation emerged: "Doesn't that mean... as long as I want, even places never visited, absolutely no opportunity leaving Flying Thunder God marks—as long as can 'imagine' or 'know' its approximate bearing or characteristics... can directly open door there?!
Wouldn't this become... 'Anywhere Door'?!"
This discovery made Naruto's heartbeat slightly accelerate. Though this eye "gifted" by Urashiki seemed still containing another yet-to-explore ability, currently he decided first thoroughly clarify this "Anywhere Door" characteristic.
Naruto again concentrated intention at right eye. A brand new pitch-black portal silently opened before him.
This time he didn't immediately step in but first created a shadow clone.
"Be careful." Satsuki couldn't help quietly reminding.
Shadow clone nodded to main body, then unhesitatingly stepped into that deep black darkness.
Moments later, shadow clone's memories transmitted back to main body—no danger, no abnormal spatial turbulence, only peculiar... spaciousness sense.
Receiving safety confirmation information, Naruto deeply breathed, calming slightly accelerated heartbeat from novelty, nodding toward Sasuke, Boruto and Satsuki beside him, then stepped forward, entire figure submerging into pitch-black portal.
Hum...
Like passing through a cold yet resistance-free water curtain, instant weightlessness afterward—surrounding everything's sounds instantly vanished.
Not silence but absolute soundlessness. Ears only retained own blood flow's subtle hum plus... increasingly clear heartbeat sounds.
"...Am I... flying?"
Naruto somewhat surprised moved hands and feet. Body sensation abnormally light, free, completely without water's drifting-with-currents stagnation, also didn't need chakra maintenance.
He could freely adjust posture in void, movements smooth no different from ground.
He took a breath—breathing smooth, without obstruction. Lungs working normally, no anticipated suffocation.
"In this place... can also breathe normally? This probably is... one of Otsutsuki clan's basic survival abilities?" Naruto thought with complex feelings. "Should I... feel happy about this?"
His body constitution seemed—after fusing Urashiki's power—in certain aspects already quietly stepped into "inhuman" realm.
This naturally excited, meaning brand new possibilities and powerful adaptability, but simultaneously brought indescribable, departing from "ordinary people" scope alienation and unease.
He raised head, scanning surroundings.
Vision reached—boundless, deep to heart-palpitating pitch-black void, dotted with countless bright or dim, eternally twinkling star light points.
And at that incomparably distant beyond, a massive emanating endless light and heat brilliant white light sphere quietly suspended—was that the sun?
He lowered head, looking toward "below."
A planet covered with vast azure and mottled land-white, slowly rotating on pitch-black backdrop, quietly hanging there. That familiar outline, those cloud-wrapped atmosphere, those vaguely visible continental plates...
"This is... the universe?"
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