Chapter 282: Locking on to Jigen
The Nine-Tomoe Rinne Sharingan!
Otsutsuki Genshiki carefully sensed the eye. He could only use two Kekkei Mōra: Infinite Tsukuyomi and God: Nativity of a World of Trees. He was unable to use Amenominaka. It was clear this state was prepared specifically for Kaguya's revival.
The Sage of Six Paths had also been a Ten-Tails Jinchuriki, but he had never sealed the Gedo Mazo within his own body and thus had not awakened the Nine-Tomoe Rinne Sharingan.
The reason Kinoshita Genichi had injected the Nine-Tails into Genshiki and had him reabsorb the Gedo Mazo was twofold: first, to create a more perfect Ten-Tails Jinchuriki for research, and second, to study the God Tree via the God: Nativity of a World of Trees jutsu. This meant that all of its different forms—the Gedo Mazo, the God Tree, and the Jinchuriki state—needed to be studied.
Later, he would even extract the complete Ten-Tails from Genshiki to study it separately. Only by observing the creature from every dimension and in every state could he truly understand it.
As for Genichi himself, he would not die from having half of the Nine-Tails extracted. This wasn't just because of his immense power, but because he still possessed the Eight-Tails' horn fragment within his body. The other Tailed Beast chakra he held was only partial, not enough to qualify him as a Jinchuriki.
After awakening the Nine-Tomoe Rinne Sharingan, Otsutsuki Genshiki immediately activated God: Nativity of a World of Trees.
The God Tree erupted in the vast underground base, growing rapidly until it nearly breached the cavern's ceiling. Tsunade, Orochimaru, and the others had seen this before, when Uchiha Madara had used it in an attempt to drain the chakra of the Allied Shinobi Forces.
"Genichi, will the tree absorb natural energy now?" Tsunade asked.
Genichi looked at Genshiki.
Genshiki nodded. "Yes. The original God Tree and Ōtsutsuki Kaguya were not one and the same. The God Tree was a transformation of the Ten-Tails. Kaguya consumed its fruit, and later, during the war with her sons, she transformed it back into the Ten-Tails to aid her in battle, even merging with it at one point. So, strictly speaking, this God Tree is just an empty shell. The power is still within me. Any chakra it absorbs will be transferred directly to me."
Everyone understood.
Senju Tobirama said, "It seems we can't let this tree grow for long. Otherwise, it will drain all life from the surrounding area, leaving it barren."
"That is correct," Genichi affirmed. "But the research on the tree shouldn't take too long. Besides, Genshiki can control its absorption."
Genshiki nodded in agreement.
Kabuto smiled. "Then let's begin, Lord Genichi. I'm already getting impatient!"
Genichi nodded. Tsunade and the others immediately sprang into action, beginning to collect samples.
Genichi stood still. He opened his Heaven's Eye and began to deconstruct the God Tree, observing it at a microscopic level. He delved deep into its cellular structure, watching precisely how it converted natural energy into its own chakra. If time permitted, he would have loved to observe it bloom and bear fruit. He felt that if he could fully understand that process, he might discover a new path for Sage training, a way to break through the current limits without relying on the fruit itself.
But that was clearly impossible right now. By the time this tree bore fruit, the entire Land of Fire would be sucked dry. That was an experiment for the future.
Even so, just observing the cells and the simple process of energy conversion was a profound shock to him. The cellular structures of the God Tree state and the Gedo Mazo state were similar, but not identical. The transformation from Ten-Tails to God Tree involved a complete cellular reconstruction.
"It's similar to how I reconstruct plant cells into my own…" Genichi noted, seeing many interesting parallels.
While the team worked together, their research goals were different. Tsunade focused on medical applications; Tobirama sought to develop a kinjutsu to counter the Ten-Tails; Orochimaru worked to perfect his Fushi Tensei and Cursed Seal; and Kabuto, following in Genichi's footsteps, pursued the fundamental secrets hidden within the tree.
For Genichi, all of their research was useful. This multi-pronged research approach was, in fact, more beneficial to his own studies.
Time passed. In the blink of an eye, it was December. The new year was approaching, and the time for Genichi's next "leap" was drawing near.
The one hundred thousand White Zetsu had been searching for Jigen for months, and now, they finally had a confirmed lead. This was only because Jigen had begun to establish the "Kara" organization to serve him, allowing Black Zetsu to finally pick up his trail.
After receiving the intelligence, Genichi immediately synced the data with Minato Namikaze.
Minato reviewed the information, deliberated for a moment, and then issued his orders. He dispatched two squads. The first was Team Kakashi. The second consisted of Uchiha Obito, Uchiha Shisui, Uchiha Itachi, and Uchiha Namiichi. The two squads set out to track Jigen.
Next, Minato relayed an order to the moon, asking Neji to monitor their progress with the giant Tenseigan. Combined with Konoha's communications squad, they established a real-time, multi-dimensional support group.
However, finding someone who used space-time abilities and possessed their own dimension was not simple. And Jigen was no ordinary foe.
Kakashi and the others tracked him all the way to the Land of Snow, but in the end, they lost him.
"Space-time abilities. We were a step too late," Obito said, his breath fogging in the cold air.
Kakashi frowned. "Sasuke, can you enter his dimension with your Rinnegan?"
Sasuke shook his head. "No."
"Kakashi," Obito said, "if we had been just a bit earlier, we could have resonated with his transport as he was entering his dimension. That would have worked."
Sasuke nodded. "I can open portals, but I need coordinates. Since I can't lock onto Jigen's—or rather, Ōtsutsuki Isshiki's—dimension, I can't enter it directly."
Naruto sighed, frustrated. "So what do we do? Just go back? Or wait here?"
"That won't work, will it?" Sakura said. "Obito-senpai can appear from anywhere, so Jigen probably can too, right?"
"True," Obito said. "But according to Genichi's intel, Jigen's space-time ability is similar to Sasuke's."
Itachi looked at his younger brother. "Sasuke, what do you think?"
"If his ability is like mine," Sasuke analyzed, "then he can appear at any location he has previously marked, directly from his own dimension. And from here, we can't sense the space-time fluctuations to lock onto his dimension's location."
Naruto scratched his head, looking at Kakashi. "Kakashi-sensei, what do we do now?"
Just as Kakashi was about to speak, Kinoshita Genichi's form suddenly appeared.
"Uncle Genichi!" Naruto was both surprised and overjoyed. The others quickly greeted him.
"Follow me," Genichi said, opening a dark, circular space-time portal. He stepped right through it.
Kakashi and the others exchanged a glance, then quickly followed.