Neji Hyūga left the palace, still reeling in shock. He never imagined that the Akatsuki organization still existed, and that the person pulling the strings from behind was none other than the man to whom he had sworn lifelong loyalty...
After processing the shock, Neji had asked what exactly he'd be doing in this organization.In truth, Akatsuki didn't assign many tasks. Most of the time, members simply collected various experimental materials from around the world, and gathered intelligence while they were at it.
Information like where uprisings were brewing, or where conflict might soon erupt.
Their job was only to identify and report it to Natsuro. The actual response wouldn't come from them.
Of course, there were times when they did need to take action, and in those rare cases, their targets were typically individuals embedded within "the system."
As for Neji's own assignment, he was to assist Orochimaru in researching the Tenseigan, and would remain with him until it bore fruit.
After Neji left, Kisame approached Orochimaru, glanced at Toneri, and remarked, "So this is the Ōtsutsuki survivor everyone's been talking about? Doesn't look all that special."
"Heh… whether or not he's special, we'll only know after we experiment on him," Orochimaru replied, licking his lips.
"Tsk… Hey, Orochimaru, do you think Neji was sent here to spy on us?" Kisame suddenly asked.
"Spy on us?" Orochimaru turned his head and gave Kisame a long, amused stare. Just when Kisame was beginning to squirm under the gaze, Orochimaru finally chuckled darkly, "Don't tell me… you thought we weren't being watched already?"
Kisame was stunned, unable to respond for a moment.
"Heh. As far as I know, His Majesty has plenty of intelligence channels. Many of which even I can't detect. We've likely been under surveillance for a long time," Orochimaru said.
"You never told us any of that before." Kisame frowned.
"What would've been the point?" Orochimaru asked. "If you knew, would you have rebelled against His Majesty?"
Kisame fell silent. After some thought, reflecting on Natsuro's strength, he shook his head. Forget it. He wasn't ready to die.
"So some things... you're better off not knowing," Orochimaru said, licking his lips. "Just do your job. You're not unhappy with this life, are you?"
Kisame didn't answer. He simply turned and walked away.
"Finally, the distractions are gone," Orochimaru muttered, turning his gaze to the oblivious Ōtsutsuki Toneri, his eyes burning with an intensity rarely seen in a cold-blooded snake like him.
.....
Atop a towering mountain that pierced the clouds, Natsuro sat, gazing down upon the world below.
When he had absorbed all chakra into his body, he had briefly glimpsed the path ahead, but seeing it didn't mean he could reach it.
More than two years had passed since that day, and he was still no closer to a breakthrough.
Of course, he had grown far stronger since then. He had mastered nearly every known kekkei genkai, and even devised several entirely new ones.
But all of this was merely power within the same tier. It was not a qualitative leap.
Now, he pondered what to do next.
Should he follow the example of the Ōtsutsuki clan, jumping from world to world, planting trees or in his case, absorbing natural energy from other worlds, hoping quantity would eventually become quality?
He quickly dismissed the idea.
Back then, he had already absorbed the natural energy of an entire world and had still failed to achieve a qualitative transformation. At best, it had allowed him to faintly perceive the next stage.
His body, too, had limits. At most, it could absorb the natural energy of two worlds on par with the Naruto universe before reaching saturation.
He doubted it would help.
Instead of such invasive harvesting, perhaps it would be better to study the power systems of other worlds. Maybe some insight could be drawn from them.
But, he had also promised Ino to stay by her side...
With a sigh, he let the matter go for now and turned his attention to Neji.
By now, Neji had likely already met Orochimaru and joined Akatsuki.
"Tsk tsk... he must've been very surprised," Natsuro chuckled softly.
He still held high hopes for Neji. Even if he never awakened the Tenseigan, Neji could still achieve his dream.
His goal was simple... to allow main branch Hyūga members to wear the modified Caged Bird Seal, Neji just wanted fairness.
And clearly, the Hyūga clan had failed to provide that.
Of course, Neji would face resistance. But in the face of overwhelming strength, such resistance meant nothing. Neji did have the talent to make it happen.
Plus, Neji wasn't planning to have children anytime soon, because his children might also be forced to bear the Caged Bird Seal.
That was something Neji would never accept.
In fact, Natsuro found the Hyūga main branch system strange from the very beginning. When he first heard of it, he assumed the "main branch" referred only to the clan head and their direct heir.
If that were the case then maybe, maybe, it would be somewhat reasonable. After all, being clan leader did warrant some privilege.
But upon digging deeper, he realized there were multiple main branch families. That was bizarre.
And the strangest part, if other main families already existed, why, when the clan head had two children, was one forced to bear the Caged Bird Seal and become a branch family member?
The more you examined it, the more nonsensical the rules seemed.
Originally meant to protect the Byakugan from falling into enemy hands, the Caged Bird Seal had been twisted into a tool for oppression.
Truly, they were masters of manipulation…
"Do your best, young man," Natsuro said with a soft chuckle. Though, in terms of age, Neji was actually older than him.
Too bad, no one treated him like a young person anymore.
At that moment, Natsuro sensed a familiar space-time fluctuation. Without turning, he said, "You're here?"
"Yeah," replied Sasuke, who had appeared behind him. He sat beside Natsuro, also looking out over the scenery.
"Is everything ready?" Natsuro asked.
"All of it. Toneri's chakra has been fully collected," Sasuke nodded. He had also located the turtle-shaped Ōtsutsuki relic, and, he had asked Orochimaru to grow numerous infants at different ages that were lifeless from the start, meant only as decoys.
Now that his ocular powers had reached an advanced level, his genjutsu could make enemies believe they had killed the Uchiha infants.
"Good. Be careful with this operation. Avoid letting anyone detect your presence," Natsuro instructed.
"Understood." Sasuke nodded.
"Take Umbreon with you. It'll act as a beacon. With it there, maybe I can travel to your location as well,"Natsuro smiled.
Umbreon blinked as it perched on Natsuro's shoulder.
"But if you want to come, couldn't you just go with me?" Sasuke asked, confused.
"There's no fun in that," Natsuro grinned. "I want to test whether I can travel through time and space using a fixed coordinate, relying solely on my own power."
Of course, he didn't mention the real reason. He hoped the attempt might spark inspiration, he wouldn't break through to the next realm but perhaps he'd deepen his grasp of time-space techniques.
Sasuke nodded in silence.
"You brought everything?" Natsuro asked again.
"The turtle is here. The 'infants' are all sealed," Sasuke replied.
"Then let's begin," Natsuro said without wasting another moment.
"Alright." Sasuke took out the stone tablet, then a glowing orb containing Toneri's chakra.
Under Sasuke's guidance, Toneri's chakra was injected into the stone.
Soon, the stone began to change, its appearance shifting from a mere rock into a turtle.
The turtle slowly extended its limbs and head, then opened its mechanical mouth and spoke:
"Activation confirmed. I am the treasured tool: Karasuki. Please allow me to explain the usage instructions."
"Now, please confirm the operational sequence. An incorrect order may affect functionality. Lord Toneri, please infuse chakra to begin. After that, initiate the movement configuration."
The turtle's speech was agonizingly slow, which agitated Sasuke, already tense and nervous, but he had no choice but to listen patiently.
Then, the turtle's shell began to levitate. Its entire body floated in midair, radiating a brilliant golden light.
"Go in," Natsuro instructed.
"Right." Sasuke took a deep breath and stepped forward solemnly. Umbreon blinked curiously, then followed after him.
Under his gaze, the figures of Sasuke and Umbreon vanished along with the turtle, disappearing from sight.
Unlike the previous time, when younger Sasuke and Boruto had left and he couldn't perceive much. Now, he was strong enough to see through the mysteries of time-space, and could begin unraveling its secrets.
A faint smile formed on Natsuro's lips.
"So that's how it is."
As the words left his mouth, his body also vanished from the summit of the towering mountain, without a trace.
When Sasuke opened his eyes, he found himself in a place he knew well, the Uchiha clan grounds. But it wasn't the decayed ruins of his time.
This was a time before that event had happened…
"I really… arrived in this time," Sasuke murmured, his voice filled with emotion.
"Gula~" Umbreon blinked as well, its gaze drawn to the moon above. It seemed to sense something from it.
However, it didn't act. Apparently, Kaguya sealed within its body had no notable reaction.
Just then, a ripple of space-time spread around them. A familiar figure appeared before Sasuke and Umbreon, it was Natsuro.
His eyes were still closed, as though he were comprehending something deeper.
Sasuke didn't disturb him. Instead, he stored the turtle away and began surveying the current state of things.
Very quickly, Sasuke realized, this moment in time was more precise than he expected.
It was the night of the Uchiha Massacre!
Looking at the familiar faces around him, a wave of complex emotions surged through Sasuke's eyes.
For the sake of stability in the future he knew he couldn't bring these people, whose fates were already sealed, back with him.
What he could take… were only the children, the ones not yet part of the world.
Even though Natsuro had once told him he didn't care if the past was altered, Sasuke felt this much was already enough.
He would, at last, fulfill his dream and once he had gathered the next generation of Uchiha children…
Sasuke even considered resigning to become the head of an orphanage, where the children would all be from the Uchiha clan.
He slowly closed his eyes and said, "This… is enough... It's more than enough."
When Sasuke opened his eyes again, something within his Rinnegan had begun to change.
The tomoe marks began to reappear.
One... two... three... and then a fourth, which had always been his limit, but this time, the fifth tomoe also emerged!
Sasuke could feel his ocular power evolving. But right now, he had no time to focus on that.He only wanted to expand his field of vision over all of Konoha and, using all of his power, cast "Tsukuyomi!"
Sasuke's eyes flared open. At his current power, he didn't even need to use such a strong genjutsu to deceive the people of this era.
No one in Konoha at this time could detect it.
Even Obito, if he appeared, wouldn't notice anything!
Still, Sasuke went all out.
He was afraid.
Afraid that even the slightest mistake might ruin this once-in-a-lifetime chance to change his destiny.
Soon, his Rinnegan eyes seemed to reflect in the sky above, but no one noticed.
It was a pair of single Rinnegan eyes, one with six tomoe, the other with five.
Prior to this, Sasuke's Rinnegan had never had more than four tomoe.
The fact that it had now evolved so dramatically showed just how significant this mission was to him.
His heart, his beliefs, his entire being were fully committed to this moment.
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