Crack—
Thunder flashed in the sky, and heavy rain poured down continuously in the Land of Rain.
In a room within the Akatsuki's base, time seemed to stand still.
Nagato, Black Zetsu, Obito, and Orochimaru all had solemn expressions, even the most arrogant Madara was silent at this moment.
"So..."
It was unclear how long passed before Madara spoke softly.
"That Ōtsutsuki Takeshiki possesses greater strength and ambition."
"Hmm."
Obito was still a bit dazed, but he nodded.
"He also mentioned the God Tree, Chakra fruit, and even sacrifice, but his ultimate goal is…"
"To act against his own clan and gain power."
"Exactly, he said someone had already done it before him, that person is called Ōtsutsuki Isshiki."
"To be praised by Takeshiki, he must be an extremely cruel fellow…"
"He also said that Isshiki made him understand that devouring their own kind is their 'Path to Godhood'."
At this point, Obito didn't really want to continue speaking. He didn't think there was anything wrong with Takeshiki doing that. After all, he himself had once cooperated with Itachi to kill his own clan members.
What terrified him was, how could this guy become even stronger?
With him around, how could he ever achieve his dream?
"What is the God Tree? What is the Chakra fruit?"
Nagato's gaze was somewhat chilling as he looked at Black Zetsu and asked in a deep voice.
"And who is Ōtsutsuki Isshiki? Could the Rabbit Goddess's true name actually be Ōtsutsuki Isshiki?"
"It shouldn't be—no!"
Upon hearing Nagato's words, Black Zetsu instinctively blurted out, but immediately reacted.
"I don't know the specifics, that name wasn't mentioned in the books."
He spoke calmly, but Black Zetsu's heart was already on the verge of collapse.
What the hell is all this?
He just didn't follow them to the Land of Water, so how did Takeshiki spill everything and go completely berserk?
And he even wants to skip planting and directly fast-forward to 'devouring' his own kind for some 'Path to Godhood'?
To Black Zetsu, this was simply a horror story, his mother was also an Ōtsutsuki.
'But how did Isshiki become the pioneer of devouring his own kind?'
Black Zetsu couldn't understand. He remembered this guy was supposed to be an unlucky fellow, right?
But he didn't want to think too much, and he even considered giving up entirely. It's better for his mother to be sealed than to be devoured.
"Devouring his own kind, Path to Godhood?"
Orochimaru, who had been silent, seemed to fall into contemplation, while Madara spoke heavily, "Now he's succeeded and become stronger, and even Hashirama has appeared, it's truly troublesome."
"Hmph, no matter what, I won't give up."
Obito clenched his fists, his gaze extremely determined.
"The Ten-Tails is our trump card. As long as we have the Ten-Tails, we'll definitely be fine."
"The Ten-Tails, huh?"
Nagato frowned, he suddenly remembered that the Sage of Six Paths seemed to be the Ten-Tails Jinchuriki?
Then, does he, who inherited the Rinnegan, need to become the Ten-Tails Jinchuriki?
Only then can he, like Takemi, gain power comparable to those 'Gods'?
"The Ten-Tails, ah…"
Madara also clenched his fists, this was also his goal.
Only by becoming the Ten-Tails Jinchuriki can he fulfill the Sage of Six Paths's will and ultimately create a world of peace.
The Ten-Tails, he would never give up on it. And those so-called Gods made him even more excited.
'The Ten-Tails, combined with my evolution under Rin's guidance, should result in a different kind of change.'
Obito's thoughts were even simpler. He was already beginning his evolution under Rin's guidance. Then, combined with the Ten-Tails, he would definitely become stronger.
At that time, whether it was Takeshiki or Takemi, he could contend with and even defeat them.
The three fell silent once more. Although their ways of thinking differed, their ultimate goal was focused on the Ten-Tails.
And they all felt that becoming the Ten-Tails Jinchuriki was the best choice for themselves.
'Only this way can we win!'
However, as they thought this, Isshiki in Obito's consciousness completely disagreed.
"What a bunch of idiots, actually thinking they can defeat an Ōtsutsuki with the Ten-Tails?"
"And that damned Takeshiki, it was your doing, and now everyone's thinking of me?"
Thinking of Urashiki's dying roar and these inferior beings' conjectures about him, he really couldn't hold back.
"And Urashiki is also an idiot, how could he lose like that…"
But amidst his curses, he couldn't help but become curious.
"Takeshiki's ability is so strange, especially that last move, was it a Shinjutsu?"
Shinjutsu, that was an extraordinary power, and if it truly was Shinjutsu…
"Did he already do it? Otherwise, how could he be so certain?!"
Isshiki's eyes flickered even more, and he could only shake his head in the end, but his heart couldn't help but be curious.
"Can his 'Path to Godhood' truly be completed?"
As he pondered, the Akatsuki members who had no mission had already gathered.
"What a terrifying guy, killing his own clansman and even devouring him?"
Kakuzu couldn't help but exclaim after hearing Kisame's account, which made Hidan laugh.
"Hey, haven't you killed enough people?"
"I'm different, they were all strangers. If you really want to talk about it…"
Kakuzu looked at Itachi and spoke playfully.
"Tell me, how does it feel to kill your own clan, Itachi?"
His words immediately drew everyone's gaze, but Itachi merely gave him a cold glance and said nothing.
"Boring."
Hiruko snorted coldly, then turned to look at the other three.
"By the way, who are those guys?"
"Orochimaru's people, and they're quite lucky." Jūzō spoke directly, which made Hidan somewhat curious.
"Lucky?"
"Exactly, after all, they were crushed by half of a certain God's body, and only suffered severe injuries."
Raiga sneered, and Kisame also pursed his lips.
"And their four teammates all died. Comparatively speaking…"
"Isn't that luck?"
In the Land of Water, Tobirama couldn't help but speak unhappily.
"Tch, they ran really fast."
"That Obito is as good at running as ever!"
"Instead of them, it's more about that Takeshiki." Hashirama couldn't help but sigh, rubbing his brow.
"That guy isn't just cruel, his ambition isn't just big either."
"Indeed." Tobirama immediately nodded.
"Treating his fellow Gods as prey and devouring them, it's cruelly out of line."
"Uh, there might be some other misunderstanding here."
Takemi, who had been silent on the side, really couldn't hold back.
It wasn't good to 'slander' him like this in front of him, was it?
"And we aren't Ōtsutsuki, how can we know their thoughts and logic? Are their cruel deeds truly bad for us?"
These words actually had nothing wrong with them.
From the Ōtsutsuki's perspective, Takeshiki was extraordinarily cruel and terrifying. But from the perspective of other life forms, Takeshiki was practically a savior.
The Ōtsutsuki had hunted and destroyed countless lives on planets, but Takeshiki simplified the process, changing from hunting planets to hunting his own kind.
Didn't this save countless lives…
"Takemi, don't harbor any illusions about these people." Tobirama frowned, shaking his head and speaking.
"Don't forget, the Sage of Six Paths spent a thousand years making the Ninja World flow with blood, wasn't it to deal with them?"
"…"