Soon, Shinji composed himself.
After repeated clashes, especially the earth-shattering battle with the Reproduction Hegemon in the Sixth Ring World, Shinji's fear of Hegemons had diminished significantly alongside the continuous improvement of his own strength and his deepening understanding of them.
He was now wary of Hegemons, but not afraid!
With a leap, Shinji soared into the high sky, surveying World No. 2 before him.
Compared to World No. 1, which was on the brink of destruction just moments ago, this place appeared exceptionally quiet and peaceful, showing no signs of an apocalypse.
Of the six worlds behind the World-Ending Society members, aside from the black-robed leader's world—which Shinji had designated as World No. 1 because it was the first targeted by the Hegemon—the numbering of the remaining five worlds was arbitrary. Thus, he wasn't sure which world the Hegemon would target next after devouring World No. 1.
He wasn't even sure if the remaining five worlds would be targeted at all, so he couldn't plant a God Tree here yet.
Planting trees only in worlds being eroded by a Hegemon was not only Shinji's consistent practice in the past but also a new rule he had set for himself!
He needed to be constrained by something; otherwise, as his strength grew, he would inevitably degenerate into a monster that only knew how to pursue power, just like a Hegemon.
"Pursuing power is only to give myself more choices, not to leave others with no way out..."
He whispered a sentence and slowly descended to the ground.
Next, he would monitor the remaining five "World-Ending Society" worlds. If the Hegemon that devoured World No. 1 continued to act, he would plant a God Tree in response, preventing the Hegemon from obtaining the full energy of the targeted world. But if the Hegemon didn't act, he would ignore the remaining five worlds, letting them live out their days in peace within the universe.
After using his Lamp to purify his body and remove all the imperceptible pollution he might have picked up in World No. 1, Shinji finally took out the second Chakra Fruit.
This delicate, dripping fruit filled one with an appetite just by looking at it.
Shinji had actually considered researching the Chakra Fruit, but after a simple attempt, he found that the energy contained within was simply too vast. No instrument in the Shinobi World could effectively measure the detailed data of a Chakra Fruit.
So Shinji abandoned that plan; such research would not yield results in the short term.
After hesitating for a brief moment, Shinji delayed no longer and swallowed the second Chakra Fruit in one gulp.
"Ah!"
Instantly, Shinji let out a soft, comfortable groan.
Although it wasn't his first time consuming a Chakra Fruit, the sensation of receiving immense nourishment to both his spiritual and physical bodies simultaneously was still overwhelming. It was as if, in an instant, his body underwent an evolution, a metamorphosis!
Before this pleasurable sensation could fade, Shinji felt a massive burst of energy erupt from within his body, spreading to his limbs, extending to every corner and every cell!
Shinji looked down at his body. Switching to his X-ray vision, he found that even the Tenseigan struggled to see through his meridians and organs. At this moment, his entire being was like a sun-like mass of chakra—too hot, too dazzling.
"Such strong chakra..."
Shinji immediately realized he hadn't fully digested the Chakra Fruit he just swallowed. He quickly focused his mind, sat cross-legged, and silently began to digest the colossal chakra contained within the fruit.
This state lasted until the next day.
It seemed that as his strength increased, his ability to digest the Chakra Fruit had also significantly improved.
In other words, his body hadn't actually fully digested the first Chakra Fruit. That first fruit, which had propelled him to the Kekkei Mora level in one go, actually had a portion of its chakra wasted because his strength at the time was insufficient.
"In that case, the chakra contained in a single Chakra Fruit is absolutely enough to let a ninja advance to Kekkei Mora! No, there should even be some left over!"
After swallowing this second fruit, Shinji's understanding of Chakra Fruits reached a new level.
The chakra contained in one fruit exceeded the requirements for advancing to Kekkei Mora. The reason swallowing one fruit only gets one to Kekkei Mora is simply that the consumer's strength is insufficient to fully absorb all the chakra, so they stagnate after reaching that level.
"Phew..."
Shinji exhaled gently and opened his eyes.
At this moment, the Six-Tomoe Rinnegan in his eyes had slowly shifted from their original pale purple to a crimson red like the Sharingan. At a glance, they looked just like the Nine-Tomoe Rinnegan (Rinne Sharingan) on his forehead.
Meanwhile, the originally crimson Nine-Tomoe Rinnegan on his forehead had somehow gradually turned a deep purple, looking even more wicked and mysterious!
"My pupil power has increased so much!"
Shinji was somewhat startled.
After consuming the previous Chakra Fruit and mastering several pairs of high-level dojutsu, Shinji's pupil power had already reached an astonishing level.
That was exactly why he had hesitated to consume the second fruit earlier; his pupil power was already so strong that he worried swallowing a second one wouldn't provide an effective boost and would just be wasted.
Now it seemed his worries were superfluous. The energy density of a Chakra Fruit was far more exaggerated than he had imagined.
Normally, Shinji would have taken the time to carefully sense the effects of his increased pupil power, but right now, he couldn't pay attention to that. Because with the consumption of the second Chakra Fruit, he finally discovered the level that stood above Kekkei Mora:
Kekkei Shinra!
Kekkei Genkai is the fusion of two chakra nature transformations.
Kekkei Tota is the fusion of three chakra nature transformations.
None of them exceed the cage of chakra attributes. Even the Kekkei Mora level Shinji was at previously was merely the fusion of the seven nature transformations: Yin, Yang, and the Five Elements.
In the end, these were all just nature fusions of existing chakra, never going beyond the scope of chakra itself.
But Kekkei Shinra, which stands above Kekkei Mora, is different. It transcends the cage of chakra attributes. It is the level of editing everything in the world—any form of energy—into chakra and integrating it into oneself!