"Disassemble!"
As Izayoi spoke, the points in his balance instantly jumped from just over seven hundred thousand to 2,810,000, precisely an integer.
"No low-roll, I'll take that!"
Izayoi's lips curved into a slight grin.
A one-for-one trade already wouldn't be a loss, and getting a one-for-three multiplier was undoubtedly a solid profit.
With a shortfall of only a little over a hundred thousand more points, Izayoi's total would allow upgrading three red-ranked traits to color-ranked.
At that point, he would be a man bearing five color traits.
Picturing that, Izayoi felt an impatient urge to confirm his ideas.
He raised a hand and tapped the "+" behind Six Paths Aptitude (Red).
In an instant, his 2,810,000 points drained down to 1,810,001.
The original text label, smaller than the color-ranked entries and displayed in non-flowing red, immediately changed. The red hue rapidly faded, replaced by a flowing rainbow radiance, while the words "Six Paths" seemed to wriggle like worms, undergoing transformations.
When they finished morphing, the original "Six Paths Aptitude" had vanished. In its place was…
Thump—thump-CRACK!
Just as the trait completed its metamorphosis, Izayoi's heart gave a fierce jolt. He vaguely heard something shatter. Yet in the silent void of space, it felt as though it must have been an illusion.
But Izayoi's attention wasn't on that sound. His gaze had riveted upon the trait column.
In a manner analogous to computer sorting, the trait column also adhered to a ranking of levels and "prestige."
The highest-level traits came first; among those of the same level, the rarer and more precious ones took precedence.
Before upgrading, Izayoi had only two color traits: the first was always Ōtsutsuki Bloodline (Multi-Color).
All of Izayoi's current power hinged on the Ōtsutsuki Bloodline.
One might call it the "heart" of his entire trait system.
Without it, he would never have awakened Bloodline Limit: Tenseigan (Multi-Color) at such a young age; even snatching the Sage Eye (Red) from Uchiha Sasuke or the Sage Body (Red) from Uzumaki Naruto would not suffice to let him become a Six Paths–level powerhouse by the final war arc.
Given that was the inherent limit of mixed-blood descendants of the Ōtsutsuki.
Comparatively, "Ōtsutsuki Toneri," who had an Ōtsutsuki Bloodline (Red), could by his teen years already combine high-purity Byakugan to awaken Tenseigan.
Hence among all Izayoi's red traits, Ōtsutsuki Bloodline (Red) had long stood at the top—becoming (Multi-Color) only reinforced that position, presumably outstripping Tenseigan by a wide margin.
After all, the bloodline's first awakened side trait was already red-level.
Tenseigan and Rinnegan, by contrast, were each formed by fusing two red traits.
Izayoi reasoned that even among color-ranked entries, Ōtsutsuki Bloodline (Multi-Color) must belong to the upper stratum.
But now, that trait—once unshakably first—had gotten displaced. In the top slot stood Transcendence Aptitude (Multi-Color).
For Izayoi, the word "aptitude" had always seemed like trash among traits:
Something like Chakra Control could be pivotal for mastering the Truth-Seeking Balls.
Even a Medical Prodigy or Medical Master could let him become a famous doctor.
But Aptitude—be it green or red—didn't provide any immediate power, seemingly just occupying a slot.
All along, that trait was purely a side entry: whenever he raised his upper limit, that entry would ascend first. At best, it might rank in mid-lower or mid-upper range.
Now, Aptitude had soared beyond the "heart" trait and risen to first place.
Even more amazing: for some reason, Izayoi felt that Ōtsutsuki Bloodline (Multi-Color) being surpassed wasn't unfair at all.
Transcendence Aptitude—the four syllables spoke for themselves.
Especially to someone like Izayoi who had watched Boruto, only two people in the entire cosmos and timeline might own that:
He himself, and the possibly "world-transcending" Ōtsutsuki Shibai.
Muttering to himself, Izayoi said:
"So that shattering sound I just heard wasn't an illusion. Something really did break—
It wasn't matter but a concept…
My shackles…just got shattered!"
As if responding, a surge of endorphin-like chakra filled his mind, concentrating into his eyes.
Izayoi's eyeballs began to writhe uncontrollably.
"Hssss…"
He pressed a hand over his eyes, drawing a sharp breath.
An instant later, he let out an incredulous exclamation:
"Is that…a 'fetal movement?' Tenseigan can still evolve?!"
He had believed that after the third "fetal movement," the Tenseigan was complete, culminating in Tenseigan Chakra Mode.
Now it seems like a fourth.
No, more precisely, a triple synergy had once restricted his earlier triple evolution: the red-level Ōtsutsuki Bloodline plus Six Paths Aptitude.
That third "fetal movement" had yielded Tenseigan Chakra Mode and the "Chakra Beads," but apparently a full color-level Ōtsutsuki Bloodline and color-level Transcendence Aptitude allowed for a fourth metamorphosis.
While curiosity rose within him, the eye's writhing abruptly ceased.
"It's done so quickly?"
Izayoi, puzzled, summoned a mirror to check.
Freed from his transformation jutsu and Tenseigan Chakra Mode, the reflection showed the same white hair, the same pair of horns on the forehead, the same refined countenance—still the Tenseigan's blue-white eyes.
As if that ocular writhing had been but an illusion.
Yet with his hyper-keen sight, Izayoi got close enough that his nose almost touched the mirror's surface.
Upon careful inspection, the Tenseigan's black corona-like pupil ring was no longer pure white but faintly tinged gold.
Seeing that subtle ring—barely noticeable—Izayoi again smirked.
He could already sense a new type of ocular power, something even he could not command.
It gently drew in his chakra, unlike the previous three fetal movements which ravenously devoured it.
"So it's going to last a while, this fourth metamorphosis,"
Izayoi mused.
But that suited him just fine. The longer it took, likely the bigger the eventual gain—like how Madara had spent decades fusing Indra's and Asura's chakras.
He welcomed that. He had enough powers in his arsenal to handle short-term battles.
What he lacked was a "mysterious, exclusive ace."
Since both sides had glimpsed his known cards, a hidden trump was vital.
At last, Izayoi turned from the mirror to his trait panel, eyes settling on Sage Body (Red).
He promptly dismissed the notion of leveling that up.
"Mount Myōboku's mastery yields a red-tier Sage Body, and it was enough to pass down to Asura, so presumably his was color-tier. If even he accomplished that, I definitely can now. But I don't need to blow points on a trait uncertain to break through. Let's save them for a guaranteed use…maybe on this."
His gaze shifted to Skysway (Red).
Soaring had given him flight plus formidable spacetime talent.
In just a few months, he had turned Heaven's Transfer and Flying Thunder God to creative new extremes.
Were it to reach color-level, that might unlock powers like Hiraishin-level portals or dimensional gateways.
But Izayoi thought it over, concluding:
If he keeps honing, he might well replicate such feats anyway, or glean them from pure-blooded Ōtsutsuki inheritance.
The cost was steep, requiring 900,000 points to upgrade.
Hence he set the trait column aside and shut his panel, deciding not to haphazardly invest.
Finally, Izayoi conjured a seven-layered space-time array with "chakra orbs," jumped through the vacuum, and reappeared in his subterranean base on Earth.
Because he and Madara had been fighting out in deep space, practically no one else was aware.
Possibly only "that few" might glean from Madara's injuries who had won.
In sum, their "second bout" concluded in utter secrecy.
Having verified that no hidden watchers were present, Izayoi used his new color-level aptitude and bloodline synergy to watch for any lurking major threats. None had shown.
"Heh. All bark, no bite."
Confident from having awakened "Transcendence Aptitude (Multi-Color)," Izayoi inwardly sneered.
With that apex trait, plus Tenseigan's fourth metamorphosis looming, his future growth would be terrifying indeed.
Just then, a door slid open at home:
"Izayoi-kun, you're back?"
"Are you alright?"
"Onii-chan, Hanabi was so worried!"
He'd barely emerged from the cellar before Hinata, Karin, and the newly arrived Shion all rushed over with anxious faces. Even Hanabi flung herself into Izayoi's arms, hugging his waist.
Initially exuding strong confidence, after nearly three days with no sign of him or even a message from his Wood Clone, their composure had collapsed. Inadvertently they'd begun envisioning worst-case scenarios.
"Sorry to have worried you."
Izayoi gently stroked Hanabi's hair, then pulled the other three into a comforting hug, letting them feel his presence. That tension in their hearts visibly melted away.
But the warmth was short-lived. A call arrived from an Anbu cat-faced kunoichi:
"Izayoi-sama, Hokage-sama orders you to come to the office alone. She wants Hinata and Karin to come to the tower with me."
Sharing a puzzled look, they complied. Izayoi parted with them, instructing:
"Hanabi, Shion—stay here at home."
"Mm-hmm!" the two nodded.
A few days later—just as the third-chance preliminary of the Chūnin Exams ended—news spread from the Hokage's domain throughout the Konoha, and from there swiftly across the entire ninja world.
The whole realm erupted in shock.
~~~
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