Ryūshiki continued unveiling the truth behind ocular powers, his voice steady and unhurried.
"Taido was the first to awaken the Rinnegan, and with it, he developed rare dōjutsu. I won't get into Futsu no Mitama right now—what matters here is another technique, one that changed the fate of our clan: 'Mokka Chiru.'"
"Mokka Chiru is the ocular power that gave birth to the Ten-Tails. Taido absorbed more life force than anyone before him, transforming into the Ten-Tails—a rampaging dōjutsu beast. In his frenzy, he devoured countless clan members, then became the Divine Tree itself, even bearing chakra fruit."
Kaguya had heard some of this from Isshiki already, but she stayed silent, listening intently.
Ryūshiki went on, "To us, the Divine Tree's chakra fruit is a fusion of immense chakra and genetic potential. In later generations, our clan refined its own genes by consuming these fruits. But those secrets only revealed themselves after someone took the risk and ate one."
"At the time, no one knew what eating the fruit would really do."
"And because so many died during Taido's rampage, most people treated the Divine Tree and its fruit with awe, keeping their distance."
"But the unknown is always tempting. There was one obscure clan member who risked everything and ate the fruit. He ended up becoming the legendary First Suikon King."
"From then on, the reincarnation power hidden within the fruit became the Suikon King's strength. His bloodline spread throughout Takamagahara, and that power became woven into our clan's heritage."
"As generations passed and the genes were refined, the Sharingan and Mangekyō Sharingan faded from our bloodline, leaving only the Rinnegan."
"But unlike the Byakugan, which is a dominant trait, the Rinnegan—introduced through the fruit—is recessive. That means everyone carries the gene, but only some can actually awaken it. That's why almost everyone in our clan has the Byakugan, but only a few can manifest the Rinnegan."
"Of course, if you eat a chakra fruit from the Divine Tree, you're guaranteed to awaken a Rinne Sharingan. That's a given."
Kaguya absorbed every word, but a new question gnawed at her. "Why haven't you ever eaten the fruit?"
Ryūshiki went quiet—a rare moment of true silence.
Kaguya rested her chin on her hands, searching his face. "Is it because of humans?"
He nodded slightly. "That's part of it…"
The fruit's promise of power and immortality was a temptation no one could ignore. Ryūshiki wasn't a saint. Even if he refused to harm humans himself, getting his hands on a fruit wouldn't be difficult.
He wanted to unravel the world's mysteries, and eternal life would help. He'd considered eating the fruit more than once.
But from an early age, Ryūshiki had learned to think for himself.
Faced with immortality, he forced himself to stay rational—and that's when he noticed a blind spot everyone else missed.
The clan obsessed over the fruit's benefits, but no one wondered: What happened to Taido?
"When the fruit is consumed, the Ten-Tails and Divine Tree become extensions of the eater's will—the original Ten-Tails included."
"So before the fruit was eaten, Taido was still himself, even as the Ten-Tails. But after the fruit? Did Taido just vanish?"
"And what about the others who awakened Mokka Chiru and followed Taido's path? Did they all disappear too?"
Ryūshiki's curiosity led him to a hypothesis:
Taido, and those who became Ten-Tails, their will—their lingering resentment—remained inside the fruit.
To test this, Ryūshiki ran experiments.
Daikokuten's ocular power could duplicate any soulless object.
"So why can't Daikokuten duplicate a chakra fruit?"
"There must be something dwelling inside…"
Another clue troubled him.
History showed that on every land, the first Rinnegan user awakened Futsu no Mitama and became a 'Transmigrator'—their soul wouldn't enter the Pure Land, couldn't be revived, but could linger between realms.
Taido, as the first, should have been the same.
But in Takamagahara, no Transmigrators had ever appeared.
Ryūshiki's theory deepened:
"Taido was the clan's outcast. He died harboring immense hatred. If that hate became a curse—if it was written into our genes whenever someone ate the fruit—then…"
"I haven't found direct proof yet. But ever since the fruit appeared, our clan has slowly become slaves to chakra. That says enough."
So until he solved the fruit's mystery, Ryūshiki refused to touch it.
There were other ways to prolong life—he wouldn't gamble his fate on something so uncertain.
He kept all this to himself.
Some things weren't proven yet. And investigating the fruit meant challenging the clan's deepest interests. He wouldn't drag Kaguya into that storm.
Seeing Ryūshiki's silence, Kaguya looked down, hurt.
Ryūshiki noticed and tried to cheer her up. "Alright, ask me something else—I'll answer for sure."
Kaguya pouted. "I don't feel like asking anymore."
"Go ahead," Ryūshiki urged.
Kaguya relented. "You said the Byakugan can evolve into the Tenseigan. Do you have the Tenseigan?"
Ryūshiki shook his head. "No."
"With your talent, that doesn't make sense."
"I could awaken it, but I chose not to."
Kaguya pressed, "Why?"
Ryūshiki explained, "Ocular power is like water, and your eyes are bottles. More eyes means more bottles, but the water gets divided between them. Sometimes, none of them end up full. So I let go of the Tenseigan and focused on the Rinnegan."
Kaguya challenged, "Why not fill both bottles?"
Ryūshiki grinned. "Some try. Take Kamishiki—he's got both the Tenseigan and Rinnegan, but he's a mess at both. No matter how much he tries, he just flounders around—total trainwreck."
Kaguya propped her chin and teased, "Maybe you just don't have enough 'water.'"
Ryūshiki laughed, hands behind his head. "Or maybe my bottles are too big. Ah, this cursed talent of mine!"
Kaguya rolled her eyes, but for the first time in ages, she felt genuinely happy—even if she didn't show it.
After their playful exchange, Ryūshiki got serious again.
"Let's strike while the iron's hot. I'll teach you a trump card—a technique from the Shikotsumyaku: 'All-Killing Ash Bones!'"
~~~~❃❃~~~~~~~~❃❃~~~~
🔥 Want to read the next 90chapters RIGHT NOW?
💎 Patreon members get instant access!
⚡ Limited-time offer currently running...
👉 [Join on Patreon - patreon.com/DarkGolds]