Crack—
Lightning illuminated the sky, accompanied by torrential rain pouring over the Land of Rain.
Inside a room in the Akatsuki base, time seemed to have frozen.
Nagato, Black Zetsu, Obito Uchiha, and Orochimaru all wore grave expressions. Even the proud and arrogant Madara Uchiha was silent at this moment.
"So, what you're saying is..."
After a long pause, Madara finally spoke in a low tone.
"This Ōtsutsuki Minamoto-shiki possesses greater strength and even greater ambitions."
"Yes."
Obito, still somewhat dazed, nodded in agreement.
"He spoke of the Divine Tree, the fruit, and even sacrifices. But his ultimate goal is..."
"To turn against his own clan and seize their power."
"Exactly. He mentioned someone who had done it before him—a figure named Ōtsutsuki Isshiki."
"For Minamoto-shiki to revere him, Isshiki must have been a truly ruthless individual."
"He said it was Isshiki who helped him realize that devouring one's kin is the 'Ascending Path to Godhood.'"
At this point, Obito no longer wanted to discuss the matter. He wasn't particularly shocked by Minamoto-shiki's actions—after all, he himself had collaborated with Itachi Uchiha to slaughter their own clan. What terrified him was how Minamoto-shiki continued to grow stronger. With someone like him around, how could Obito achieve his own dreams?
"What is the Divine Tree? And the fruit?"
Nagato's gaze turned icy as he looked at Black Zetsu, his voice sharp.
"And who is Ōtsutsuki Isshiki? Could it be that the true name of the Rabbit Goddess is actually Isshiki?"
"No, that shouldn't be the case!"
Black Zetsu instinctively denied it, but quickly caught himself.
"I don't know the specifics either. The name isn't mentioned in any of the texts."
His tone was calm, but internally, Black Zetsu was on the verge of breaking down. What was happening here? He hadn't gone to the Land of Water, and now Minamoto-shiki had revealed everything, gone on a killing spree, and was skipping straight to devouring his kin for some "Ascending Path to Godhood"? For Black Zetsu, this was nothing short of a horror story. After all, his mother was an Ōtsutsuki too!
"But how did Isshiki become the pioneer of devouring kin?"
Black Zetsu couldn't understand. Wasn't Isshiki just an unlucky fool? Still, he didn't want to dwell on it, even considering whether he should just give up entirely. Having his mother sealed was preferable to her being devoured.
"Devouring kin for the Ascending Path to Godhood?"
Orochimaru, who had been silent until now, seemed lost in thought. Madara Uchiha, however, spoke heavily.
"Now that he's succeeded and grown even stronger, and with Hashirama back as well, things are becoming increasingly troublesome."
"Hmph, no matter what, I won't give up."
Obito clenched his fists, his gaze resolute.
"The Ten-Tails remains our trump card. As long as we have the Ten-Tails, we'll be fine!"
"The Ten-Tails, huh?"
Nagato furrowed his brows, suddenly recalling that the Sage of Six Paths had been the Ten-Tails Jinchūriki. Could it be that inheriting the Rinnegan meant he needed to become the Ten-Tails Jinchūriki as well? Only then could he gain the power to rival those "gods," like Kitagawa Minamoto.
"The Ten-Tails..."
Madara clenched his fists as well. That was his goal too. Only by becoming the Ten-Tails Jinchūriki could he fulfill the "Sage of Six Paths' legacy" and create a world of peace. The Ten-Tails was something he would never relinquish. And the so-called gods only made him more excited!
"The Ten-Tails, combined with my evolution guided by Rin, should lead to something entirely unique."
Obito's thoughts were simpler. He had already begun "evolving" under Rin's guidance. Combining this evolution with the Ten-Tails would undoubtedly make him stronger! At that point, he could rival or even defeat both Minamoto-shiki and Kitagawa Minamoto.
The three fell silent once more. Although their thought processes differed, their ultimate goal was the same: the Ten-Tails. Each believed that becoming the Ten-Tails Jinchūriki was the best path forward.
"Only then can we win!"
However, within Obito's consciousness, Isshiki completely disagreed.
"What a bunch of idiots, thinking they can rely on the Ten-Tails to defeat the Ōtsutsuki?"
"And damn Minamoto-shiki, you're the one who did all this, but now everyone's blaming me?"
The memory of Urashiki's dying roar, combined with these "inferior beings'" assumptions about him, was driving Isshiki mad.
"And Urashiki was an idiot too, losing like that..."
Despite his anger, he couldn't help but be curious.
"Minamoto-shiki's abilities are truly strange, especially that final technique. Was it a divine art?"
Divine arts were extraordinary powers. And if it truly was a divine art...
"Could it be that he's already done it? Otherwise, how could he be so confident?"
Isshiki's gaze grew increasingly contemplative, but ultimately, he could only shake his head. Still, his curiosity lingered.
"Can his 'Ascending Path to Godhood' truly be completed?"
As he pondered, the Akatsuki members without missions gathered together.
"What a terrifying individual, killing his own kin and even devouring them?"
Kakuzu couldn't help but express his amazement upon hearing Kisame's account. This prompted Hidan to burst into laughter.
"Hey, haven't you killed enough people yourself?"
"That's different. They were all strangers. If you want to talk about it..."
Kakuzu's gaze shifted to Itachi Uchiha, his tone playful as he spoke.
"Why don't you tell us, Itachi, how does it feel to slaughter your own kin?"
His words immediately drew everyone's attention to Itachi. But Itachi merely shot him a cold glance and remained silent.
"Boring."
Burūku snorted disdainfully, then turned to look at another group of three.
"By the way, who are those people?"
"Orochimaru's subordinates, and they're lucky ones."
Jūzō Biwa replied immediately, prompting Hidan's curiosity.
"Lucky ones?"
"Exactly. After all, one of the gods' severed bodies fell on them, and they only ended up seriously injured."
Raiga Kurosuki sneered, while Kisame pursed his lips.
"Meanwhile, their four teammates died. In comparison..."
"Isn't that luck?"
"Tch, they ran away so quickly."
In the Land of Water, Senju Tobirama couldn't help but express his frustration.
"That Obito Uchiha, still as slippery as ever!"
"Rather than them, let's talk about that Ōtsutsuki Minamoto-shiki."
Senju Hashirama sighed, rubbing his temples.
"That guy isn't just ordinarily cruel; his ambitions are extraordinary as well."
"Indeed."
Tobirama nodded immediately.
"To treat his divine kin as prey and devour them—it's unimaginably brutal."
"Um, there might be some misunderstanding here."
Kitagawa Minamoto, who had been silent until now, could hardly contain himself. Was it appropriate to "slander" him right to his face like this?
"Besides, we're not Ōtsutsuki, so how can we understand their thoughts and ethics? Is the cruelty between them necessarily bad for us?"
His argument was actually quite valid. From an Ōtsutsuki perspective, Minamoto-shiki was exceptionally cruel and terrifying. But from the standpoint of other living beings, wasn't Minamoto-shiki practically a savior? The Ōtsutsuki typically hunted and destroyed planets, killing countless lives, but Minamoto-shiki had simplified the process—from hunting planets to hunting his own kind. Wasn't this saving innumerable lives?
"Minamoto, don't harbor any illusions about these beings."
Tobirama frowned, shaking his head.
"Don't forget, the Sage of Six Paths spent a thousand years turning the ninja world into a river of blood, all to combat them."
"..."
Minamoto felt that Tobirama had been thoroughly indoctrinated, and even Hashirama was nodding along.
"That's right. We need to remain extremely cautious, especially you. He seemed particularly interested in you. What if he..."
At this point, Hashirama couldn't continue, and Tobirama's face was equally grave.
Only Minamoto found the situation both amusing and frustrating. He was actually the good guy, the savior! How had things turned out like this?
"But this mission wasn't without its rewards."
Noticing that Minamoto seemed reluctant to discuss the matter further, Tobirama quickly changed the subject.
"At the very least, we now know that Minamoto-shiki's relationship with other Ōtsutsuki is extremely poor—a potential weakness we could exploit."
"Furthermore, we've witnessed Minamoto-shiki's strength and some of his abilities."
Hashirama nodded, reflecting with deep amazement.
"He dominated the other Ōtsutsuki from start to finish. He can absorb his opponent's techniques, and his attacks seem impossible to block..."
"And they're incredibly powerful, though we don't know the exact mechanics."
Tobirama immediately offered his analysis, his expression grim.
"He even bisected that other Ōtsutsuki at the waist."
"Truly frightening..."
Minamoto nodded from the side, but inwardly, he was smiling. His divine technique had proven remarkably effective!
Yomotsu, this divine art—while he had practiced it since acquiring it, he had never used it in actual combat. This time, to achieve a one-hit kill and counter Urashiki's Eyes of Time, he had unhesitatingly deployed this technique. And its effectiveness hadn't disappointed him.
"Though it consumed more chakra than expected, given that my opponent was nearly a 'top-tier Ōtsutsuki,' it still proved lethal when he was caught off guard."
Kaguya Ōtsutsuki had set a good precedent, showing Minamoto that even powerful beings like Isshiki could be defeated. And Urashiki, who was significantly weaker than Isshiki and had already been half-crippled by Minamoto, had no chance of escape!
Without any surprise, Urashiki had met the "Gojo Satoru achievement"—and now, like Isshiki, he was probably serving as "Urashiki-rama" inside some unfortunate host's body.
"But that's not necessarily a bad thing; it might even be beneficial!"
Minamoto reasoned that since these Ōtsutsuki could be revived, why not try to get multiple benefits from one catch? If they were strong enough, he wouldn't give them a chance, but if they were like Urashiki...
"The more, the better!"
Moreover, Tobirama was absolutely right—his gains from this mission were extraordinary.
"I've secured the host of the 'White Kāma'—now I just need to research and extract it. I've also condensed Urashiki's energy into a 'pill.'"
"Plus, I've collected his body and obtained the Six-Tails' chakra, which means I could..."
Plant a tree!
This was the obsession of every Ōtsutsuki, and even Minamoto was intensely curious about the energy of the fruit. Now that he had nearly all the necessary conditions and materials prepared, he was determined to try!
"And the rewards don't end there."
Just as he was contemplating, Hashirama suddenly smiled.
"That Fifth Mizukage seems to look at you in a certain way."
"If..."
Tobirama stroked his chin thoughtfully.
"Perhaps we could further strengthen the alliance between Konohagakure and Kirigakure."
"Seriously, what are you two thinking?"
Minamoto rolled his eyes, shaking his head as he turned away, seemingly unwilling to continue the conversation.
"Anyway, I'm going to explore a bit. I've been to the Land of Water before, but I've never had the chance to relax here."
As he spoke, he vanished from the spot. When he reappeared, he was inside the "Heavenly Center."
Within the "Heavenly Center," Urashiki's corpse had already been delivered, and the "White Kāma" was securely contained.
"Most importantly..."
At the dome of the great tree, a pill radiating golden light hovered at the very top.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
📚 BOOK COMPLETED ON PATREON!📚
This story has reached its conclusion on my Patreon!
🔥 Full story available now
💎 Exclusive bonus content & early access to new books
👉 Join my Patreon community today!
[✨ patreon.com/GoldenLong]
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━