His entire body began emitting a series of sharp clicks—the sound of mechanical switches snapping into place. In the next instant, visible strands of chakra and pitch-black Earth Grudge Fear tendrils burst out from him at the same time.
Just moments ago he still looked like a refined puppet master. In the blink of an eye, he had turned into a monster.
"No wonder something felt off when I crushed Kakuzu's puppet earlier. So you actually embedded one of Kakuzu's hearts into your own body."
"Well, puppet techniques and Earth Grudge Fear… I never imagined these two secret arts could merge this perfectly."
"I'll admit, you're incredibly talented. But I'll say it again—you've gone down the wrong path."
Kazuyama Gekkō looked at Kabuto, now transformed into a grotesque creature, and shook his head.
Beside him, Orochimaru's curiosity only grew stronger. Just as his disciple had said, the fusion of these two arts genuinely fascinated him.
The other four had no worries at all. Kazuyama Gekkō was here—what trouble could Kabuto possibly stir up now?
"Impossible!"
"Puppet Techniques are the strongest arts in this world!"
"With my puppets, I can conquer city after city! Kill ten thousand, a hundred thousand!"
"No one can stand against my puppets!"
Kabuto had completely snapped, descending fully into madness.
As Kazuyama Gekkō looked at him, the Kabuto from the original timeline surfaced in his thoughts.
Different paths—but the same obsessive fixation.
Forget it. What use was thinking about all that? At this point, there was no other solution. The Kabuto before him was more deranged than ever.
Leaving him alive would only invite greater disasters.
"Sigh… you've already driven yourself into a dead end. Find release."
"To the shinobi world right now, you're nothing more than an unstable bomb."
"Shatter."
Kazuyama Gekkō raised his right hand and lightly tapped at the air.
A moment later, a horrifying sight unfolded.
Kabuto—his tentacles and chakra threads still whipping wildly a second ago—froze in place. Even the Earth Grudge Fear tendrils halted completely.
Then, starting from the very tips, everything began to crack apart, fragmenting into dust bit by bit.
"It's happening again. Sensei's new technique."
"Kakashi, Obito, Shisui—can any of you tell what jutsu it is?"
Obito's eyes widened. Even with his Sharingan activated, he couldn't discern the technique's mechanics.
The same was true for Kakashi and the others. They could see Kabuto shattering, but not a single hint of how it was happening.
"Subarashii… no matter how many times I witness it, your abilities never stop being terrifying."
"Did you crush him directly? Crystallization? Or something even more extraordinary?"
Orochimaru's eyes never lost their gleam of curiosity. A moment ago he was fascinated by Kabuto; now he was entirely fascinated by his disciple.
Ever since Kazuyama Gekkō had reappeared on the battlefield, Orochimaru had been completely unable to read him.
Especially this technique—point at someone, and they shatter. What on earth was it?
"Impossible! What did you do to me?!"
Crack!
Kabuto, frozen in place, let out a confused, furious roar. He couldn't understand why he couldn't move, nor why all his puppet threads and tendrils had been shattered.
The disappearance of his chakra and Earth Grudge Fear filled him with dread.
"Dust returns to dust, earth returns to earth. The final fate of a puppet is to shatter into fragments, brother."
"I merely helped you complete that step."
"And since you're all so curious—this is Crystal Release. Though its power is dozens of times stronger than before."
Kazuyama Gekkō explained his ability openly. He was indeed still using Crystal Release, but now it carried an additional character.
Crystal Release: Yang.
And it no longer belonged to the category of Kekkei Genkai—it had evolved into Kekkei Mōra.
This was an ability surpassing both Kekkei Genkai and Kekkei Tōta, born from the fusion of seven nature transformations: Fire, Wind, Earth, Water, Lightning, Yin, and Yang.
The original Crystal Release could instantly crystallize all matter except chakra—even the particles in the air or the blood in a person's body.
But this evolved Crystal Release—now part of the Bloodline Net—could instantly crystallize anything, without exception. The transformation to crystal occurred in an instant.
"I see…"
"Based on my research into Crystal Release, it should be impossible to crystallize chakra. But it seems you've already shattered that limitation."
"And judging by this shattering effect… is this Kekkei Tōta?"
Shock replaced the curiosity in Orochimaru's gaze. In his mind, Kazuyama Gekkō had taken his Kekkei Genkai and expanded it into a Kekkei Tōta—something akin to Dust Release.
In terms of perception and knowledge, no one in the shinobi world surpassed Orochimaru.
But unfortunately for him, Kazuyama Gekkō had already broken the bounds of common understanding.
"Sensei, science may be endless, but some things can't be described by science."
"Like me, for example. Right now."
"Alright, we can study this later."
"Kabuto… go. Having lived a second life, I hope you choose the right path."
"Crystal Release: Shock."
Kazuyama Gekkō raised his right hand again. This time he did not point with a single finger—his entire palm extended outward.
As his hand moved, everyone nearby felt the very air vibrate.
Looking toward Kabuto, they saw he had transformed into a massive crystal, shimmering under the sunlight.
Then, under their stunned gazes, the crystal slowly crumbled into dust, scattering bit by bit.
Kabuto, still sealed within the crystal, disintegrated along with it—vanishing from the battlefield completely.
"That's it? He's just gone?"
"Then what were we fighting for all this time?"
Obito Uchiha felt like he'd taken a massive blow. They had struggled so hard for so long—yet it was nothing compared to one strike from their sensei.
"You really are something, comparing yourself to our teacher for no reason."
"…Huh? You're right. He's the sensei. Why would I compare myself to him? Tch, I might as well go look for Rin instead."
Kakashi's retort instantly brightened Obito's mood. After all these years, he already knew his sensei was a monster. What was there left to be shocked about?
Kazuyama Gekkō looked at his four disciples and smiled faintly.
"You've all grown. Keep pushing yourselves."
"Who knows? Maybe you'll even catch up to me one day."
What a shameless claim. With his current strength, even if all his disciples tied themselves together, they still wouldn't stand a chance against him.
But even so, a bit of encouragement—maybe even a little PUA—never hurt. They were his disciples, after all. He couldn't let them lose their will to move forward.