Chapter 166: Talent Beyond the Six Paths
On the moon, Izayoi's situation wasn't ideal.
After all, Chakra Orbs were not Truth-Seeking Balls, and the Golden Wheel Reincarnation Explosion converted from them could still be absorbed by the Preta Path.
The strike just now, which reached from the moon to Earth, consumed most of Izayoi's chakra.
Since acquiring the Otsutsuki Bloodline (Red) from copying Otsutsuki Toneri and gaining immense chakra reserves, this was the first time Izayoi had experienced nearly depleting his chakra from a single technique.
However, the effect of the technique was also very significant.
While Izayoi was still catching his breath in the air, trying to regulate his breathing, several beams of light—one red and many purple—flew towards him.
Seeing this, Izayoi was slightly taken aback.
He then used the Tenseigan's long-distance and X-ray vision, projecting his gaze directly from the moon to Earth, focusing on the crater where Uchiha Madara lay.
Seeing that Madara was not dead, not even unconscious, and still possessed immense chakra, fully capable of returning to the moon for a second round, Izayoi wondered with surprise, "What's going on? He's not dead, not unconscious, and he still has vast chakra, perfectly capable of returning to the moon for a second round. Why did the system determine he lost?"
Staring at Madara's dazed expression, Izayoi began to analyze, "Could it be that losing morale or fighting spirit also counts as a defeat?"
Other than this explanation, Izayoi couldn't think of another reason for the item drop.
Unless the enemy was too far away, and the system just declared him the winner.
If such a ludicrous possibility existed, Izayoi wouldn't have taken so long to accumulate enough points to upgrade his trait words.
"Ding! You have obtained the talent trait [Six Paths Aptitude (Red)], which overlaps with your existing talent trait. Merge or disassemble?"
"Ding..."
Several system prompts echoed in his mind, pulling Izayoi back to reality.
As if remembering something, Izayoi didn't immediately make a choice. Instead, he brought up his personal panel, first looking at the Otsutsuki Bloodline (Rainbow) and Kekkei Genkai: Tenseigan (Rainbow) traits, then focusing on the Six Paths Aptitude (Red) trait.
The first prompt had made Izayoi realize something very important.
The Tenseigan and Rinnegan were both rainbow traits.
However, these two abilities were merely introductory steps to the Six Paths level.
Without mastering Truth-Seeking Balls and Six Paths Sage Mode, or becoming a Ten-Tails' Jinchuriki, a Six Paths level combatant would still find it challenging to defeat an extreme Kage-level opponent like Hashirama Senju.
And Hashirama Senju, even if Izayoi hadn't seen him at his peak, he could guess that Hashirama's highest talent was merely Sage Body (Red).
Only Sage Body (Red) + Sage Eyes (Red) could give rise to the Kekkei Genkai: Rinnegan (Rainbow).
And a Kekkei Genkai Rinnegan was already a rainbow trait.
Undoubtedly, Kekkei Mōra, formed by the fusion of seven nature transformations, would also be a rainbow trait.
To be precise, rainbow traits started at the Six Paths level.
So... if Six Paths Aptitude could allow one's potential to reach the Six Paths level, or grant Six Paths level combat power, why was this trait only a red trait?
Being just a red trait meant it could still be upgraded.
If Six Paths Aptitude could be upgraded, then what aptitude lay beyond the Six Paths?
Looking through the original story, and even the pure-blooded Otsutsuki appearing in Boruto, their strength remained at the Six Paths level.
The only one who transcended the Six Paths was the individual suspected of having surpassed this world, the Otsutsuki God... Otsutsuki Shibai.
Could it be that beyond Six Paths Aptitude lay the aptitude to transcend this world?
Suddenly, a jolt of electricity ran from Izayoi's brain to his tailbone, then rapidly spread throughout his body, giving him goosebumps.
"Damn it, I'm suffering from a lack of knowledge!" Izayoi cursed inwardly.
All this time, Izayoi's focus had been on the Otsutsuki Bloodline, believing it to be the fundamental trait.
And indeed, it was.
Without the Otsutsuki Bloodline, Izayoi at his age would not have this level of strength.
Many traits, in fact, were subsidiary traits of the Otsutsuki Bloodline.
Including the aptitude trait!
As a result, Izayoi had overlooked the aptitude trait.
Anyone who refined chakra would unlock the aptitude trait.
The lowest was Genin, and currently the highest was Six Paths Aptitude (Red).
Before Izayoi used his beginner's gift pack, his only trait was Chunin Aptitude (Green).
After activating his cheat, this trait followed Izayoi all the way up to Six Paths Aptitude (Red).
Izayoi had thought this trait was the most useless red trait, merely a certification of strength.
Now, it seemed he was terribly mistaken.
Aptitude refers to one's innate qualities and talents.
This trait, which everyone who refines chakra possesses, is not only the most unique-tiered trait but also the trait that best represents the talent trait system.
It is a trait that materializes the upper limit of one's potential.
Talent traits that are not materialized by the system cannot be boosted by cheating; they can only be gradually unearthed and realized, like the Otsutsuki clan's innate spacetime abilities.
However, talents materialized as traits can be upgraded through trait fusion and points.
Izayoi's current aptitude is Six Paths. Without altering his destiny, his potential's upper limit would be Six Paths.
No matter how hard he tried, his limit would remain at the Six Paths level.
And Otsutsuki Bloodline (Rainbow) was the trait that could help him alter his destiny.
However, altering one's destiny, much like the stirring of the Tenseigan, required a long time.
Since altering one's destiny could elevate aptitude, then conversely, would upgrading the aptitude level first accelerate the process of altering destiny?
Upgrading aptitude would mean breaking through the limits of potential and reaching a new ceiling. The speed of altering destiny should then be like having a speed cheat enabled.
The more Izayoi thought about it, the more feasible it seemed.
Having only truly entered his growth phase after his birthday, he didn't know how long it would take to awaken the innate abilities of the Otsutsuki Bloodline (Rainbow), which were its subsidiary traits.
If his potential's upper limit increased, perhaps the speed at which he unlocked subsidiary traits would be as fast as the Tenseigan.
Thinking this, Izayoi immediately decided that his next goal would be to upgrade Six Paths Aptitude (Red) to the rainbow tier.
At the same time, Izayoi became conflicted.
Should he merge Uchiha Madara's red trait, or disassemble it for points?
When he was younger, Izayoi had experimented and found that merging an identical trait wouldn't immediately upgrade it.
Because upgrading with points was cheating, merging traits wouldn't reduce the required points for an upgrade.
Although he hadn't merged a red trait before, Izayoi had a premonition that these high-level traits would likely only require merging two or three to upgrade.
Conversely, disassembling a red trait would randomly yield a six-digit number of points.
If he was extremely unlucky, he might need to disassemble nine red traits to accumulate 990,000 points.
If he was extremely lucky, it might be a one-shot deal, directly gaining over 900,000 points, directly upgrading a red trait to a rainbow trait at a 1:1 ratio.
To gamble or not to gamble?
Izayoi only hesitated for a few seconds before making his decision, thinking, "Disassemble all."
The next instant, the points bar, which previously only had four digits, immediately surged to six digits, conspicuously displaying... [672810].
"Nice!" Izayoi couldn't help but clench his fist, yelling inwardly.
Gambling time, he won!
Although it wasn't a one-shot deal, he only needed 300,000 more points.
After a year, by simply harvesting from the Five Great Shinobi Villages, he would have enough for 990,000 points.
If he was lucky, he might even get another red trait from Naruto, Sasuke, or Hinata.
In an incredibly pleasant mood, Izayoi immediately flew back into the artificial sun, preparing to return to Earth with the Giant Tenseigan.
Just as he started his return journey, Izayoi paused. He turned to look at the moon, which had a third of it sliced off, a trace of shock flashing in his eyes. "What strong gravity, and... it even has self-locking!"
The one-third of the moon that had detached from the main body was slowly moving back towards it.
It wasn't floating on its own but being pulled back by gravity.
More importantly, this gravity only affected that specific part of the moon; even if someone flew through the crack, they wouldn't be affected by the gravity.
What truly shocked Izayoi was that even after a millennium, the Six Paths: Chibaku Tensei could still generate such terrifying gravity.
Was this the true power of the Six Paths?
It seemed his gap with that pair of brothers was not as simple as just the Truth-Seeking Balls and Six Paths Sage Mode.
However, very soon, Izayoi seemed to discover something and breathed a sigh of relief.
Turning to look at the white-glowing universe, Izayoi murmured inwardly, "So that seal can absorb the sun's power to replenish energy. No wonder Kaguya Otsutsuki couldn't break free from the seal after a millennium."
Having realized he was scaring himself, Izayoi accelerated his return to Earth.
However, Izayoi didn't notice that as he left the moon, in the graveyard of the desolate city, a soul, invisible to ordinary people like the Shinigami of the Reaper Death Seal, was watching him with a pair of Byakugan.
This individual wore a white robe, had six black magatama-shaped patterns on his chest, a red swirl symbol on his back, and nine black orbs floating around him.
His sclera and pupils were pure white, and two white horns grew from his forehead.
This person was Otsutsuki Hamura, Kaguya Otsutsuki's second son, who inherited Kaguya Otsutsuki's Byakugan at birth with incredibly pure eyes. Solely through his bloodline and talent, he awakened the Tenseigan, formed Truth-Seeking Balls, and became a Six Paths level combatant.
"Unbelievable..."
Watching Izayoi rapidly fly away from the moon, Otsutsuki Hamura murmured, "Wood Release with Divine Tree properties, my brother's dōjutsu and physique, and my eyes, plus the horned bloodline from reversion to ancestry... A millennium later, the ninja world actually has a descendant who combines my and my brother's strengths. This is simply... a miracle of the Otsutsuki clan!"
Looking at the moon, a third of which had been sliced off by the Golden Wheel Reincarnation Explosion, Otsutsuki Hamura couldn't help but twitch his lips, saying, "Young people have such explosive tempers. Luckily, the Six Paths: Chibaku Tensei sealing Mother cannot be undone without my brother's power and hand seals, and even if the moon is cut, it will continue to attract meteorites to repair itself. Otherwise, this descendant would have caused major trouble."
Finally, glancing at the graveyard full of tombstones, Otsutsuki Hamura sighed, "Alas... it's all my fault for not explaining clearly, allowing you to misinterpret my last words. I didn't expect the branch family to become so extremist."
"The dead should not interfere with the world of the living. All of this is predestined. I hope this young man, who inherits my and my brother's powers, can achieve what my brother and I could not."
With these words, Otsutsuki Hamura's soul also vanished.
The chakra remaining in the graveyard completely dissipated from this world.
In Konoha, in the ninja world.
Izayoi's Wood Clone had also returned home after the meeting.
Inside the traditional building where the barrier was raised, the Wood Clone received the main body's information and immediately vanished with a Flying Thunder God Jutsu.
The next second, Izayoi, in his Tenseigan Chakra Mode, returned home.
Seeing Izayoi return, the three girls—Hinata, Hanabi, and Karin—immediately surrounded him.
"Big Brother, you're back!"
"Izayoi-kun, are you okay?"
"Izayoi-kun, were you fighting someone on the moon just now?"
Looking at the three girls, their eyes filled with concern, Izayoi dispelled his Tenseigan Chakra Mode and chuckled, "Sorry for making you worry. Everything's over."
Hinata and the other two girls immediately breathed a sigh of relief.
Hanabi, however, was beaming with excitement. "Big Brother, did you slice the moon just now?"
"Yeah, was it cool?" Izayoi smiled and ruffled Hanabi's head.
"Mhm mhm... super cool!"
The three girls nodded in unison, their beautiful eyes sparkling, openly expressing their adoration for Izayoi.
"Want to hear the more detailed story?" Izayoi asked with a smile.
"Mhm mhm..."
Looking at the three girls nodding like pecking chicks, Izayoi shrugged his shoulders, feigning discomfort. "After fighting the enemy for so long and traveling to the moon and back, my shoulders are really sore..."
"Big Brother, I'll give you a massage."
"Izayoi-kun, your chakra has decreased a lot. How about taking a bite of me?"
"Izayoi-kun, I'll go get your clothes. Let's go to the hot spring."
The three girls, quick to understand, pushed Izayoi towards the hot spring.
Izayoi, taking advantage of the situation, said, "I want to watch Pikachu, and I want peeled grapes, and sake."
"Hehe... is just watching Pikachu enough? Big Brother, don't think I, and Sister Karin, don't know what you and Sister Hinata do in the hot spring when you're bathing together? Hiss... Ouch, ouch!"
"Hanabi, if you ever dare to use your Byakugan to peek again, I'll train you personally," Hinata said, her face flushed.
"Sister Karin did it too!"
"Hehe... I'm older than you, it's none of my business," Karin said with a smug smile.
"Flat-chested!"
"What did you say?!" Karin instantly erupted in fury, looking utterly defeated. "I haven't grown up yet, and you're the same as me!"
"When I'm the same age as Sister Karin, I'll definitely be bigger than you!" Hanabi pointed at Hinata's chest, lifting her chin. "Sister's genes are right here; I definitely won't be worse than her!"
"You brat, I'll fight you!" Karin was speechless and finally gave in, pouncing on Hanabi.
With the lively atmosphere, the four of them went to soak in the hot spring.
While drinking sake and eating peeled grapes provided by his virtuous wife, Izayoi recounted his battle with Uchiha Madara in detail.
Hearing that Izayoi 'returned home' only for Uchiha Madara to coincidentally find the spatial portal to the moon and for a battle to erupt between them, the three girls' hearts pounded.
But upon hearing that Izayoi unleashed his ultimate strike, sending Uchiha Madara from the moon back to Earth, the three girls looked at him with adoration, like devoted fans of an idol.
Remembering that Izayoi had also arranged for a Wood Clone to handle things back home, Hanabi couldn't help but ask, "Big Brother, your strength is already invincible in the ninja world, so why are you still hiding your identity?"
"Invincible in the ninja world? Far from it," Izayoi finished his sake and handed the cup to Karin, who was warming sake in the spring water. He smiled and shook his head, "Madara and I have only just crossed the threshold into that dimension. If 'that person' truly exists, then there are four individuals in this world whose strength surpasses ours."
"What?! There are four more?!"
The three girls, Hanabi, Hinata, and Karin, were utterly shocked. Karin, who was pouring sake for Izayoi, even trembled, causing the sake to spill into the spring water.
"Who is that person?" Hinata asked curiously.
"I don't know..."
Izayoi shook his head again, saying meaningfully, "That's why I need to bait him."
The 'person' Izayoi referred to was Isshiki Otsutsuki, who came to Earth with Kaguya Otsutsuki to plant the Divine Tree and was also Kaguya Otsutsuki's superior.
If this individual truly existed, possessing size manipulation and spacetime abilities, then as long as he didn't actively reveal himself, no one could find him, not even Kaguya Otsutsuki.
For the safety of Hinata and the other two girls, Izayoi needed to use his identity as Otsutsuki Toneri as bait.
Among the four super-tier combatants, in the eyes of the current world, he and Nagato were the weakest.
And Nagato had already lost his Rinnegan and had no intention of transplanting new eyes.
If Isshiki Otsutsuki were to choose a 'vessel' for reincarnation between him and Nagato, Izayoi would definitely be the best choice.
After all, Uchiha Madara and 'Otsutsuki Toneri' both possessed ultimate dōjutsu. This power, which required the convergence of two extremes to obtain, surely had the 'mark' of the Sage of Six Paths and Otsutsuki Hamura.
With Isshiki Otsutsuki's current strength, unless he forcibly reincarnated, he would simply not be a match for those brothers, even if the latter were only spiritual bodies.
After all, no matter how strong Isshiki Otsutsuki was, he didn't have Truth-Seeking Balls.
And if he forcibly reincarnated, Isshiki Otsutsuki's time would be short.
He would absolutely not risk placing a 'Karma' mark on Uchiha Madara or 'Otsutsuki Toneri.'
The most suitable 'vessel' for reincarnation was only Izayoi.
Once Isshiki Otsutsuki came knocking, Izayoi would definitely give him a huge surprise.
As long as he forced Isshiki Otsutsuki into a forcible reincarnation, Izayoi would be guaranteed to win.
If Isshiki Otsutsuki didn't come knocking, then once Izayoi became truly invincible, he would automatically seek him out.
Thinking of this, Izayoi couldn't help but look forward to the future.
Perhaps it was the lingering post-battle emotions, or perhaps the hot spring water, but Izayoi, looking at Hinata peeling grapes beside him, suddenly covered Hanabi's eyes, leaned in, and slyly chuckled, "Hinata, I want to try a different kind of sake."
"What kind of sake? I'll go get it," Hinata said softly.
"No need to get it; you can make it," Izayoi whispered into Hinata's ear, "I want to drink... Kuchi-Kamizake (mouth-chewed sake)."
Whoosh! Hinata's face instantly turned bright red.
Looking at Hanabi and Karin in front of them, Hinata stammered, her voice trembling, "B-but, Hanabi and Karin are still here."
The Yamato Nadeshiko-esque girl's first thought wasn't to refuse.
"Hehe... that's simple."
Izayoi slyly raised a sword finger and lightly said, "Genjutsu... Bringer-of-Darkness Technique!"
"Ah... my eyes!"
"You're not letting me see, you won't get away with it either... Eight Trigrams Palms Revolving Heaven!"
"Water Release: Water Formation Wall!"