Chapter 105: The Throne of the Heavenly King
On the Moon:
Within the sacred altar of the Hamura Shrine, a white-haired elder sat cross-legged on a meditation mat, eyes closed in solemn stillness.
Not far from him, a golden orb encased in an intricate metallic lattice pulsed with rhythmic energy—
The Tenseigan.
It was the pride of the lunar Ōtsutsuki clan and their greatest source of power.
The Tenseigan's might was undeniable. In the great battle of old, it was with a Tenseigan—born from the combined Byakugan of the branch family—that they defeated the main family.
The current Tenseigan was condensed from the main house's Byakugan.
But that war had nearly wiped out the lunar Ōtsutsuki.
Only a handful of them remained.
Yet hope still flickered.
"Toneri… you must grow strong… and quickly," the elder murmured softly.
But in the next instant, his dim, milky-white eyes snapped open. He turned sharply toward the glowing orb.
"What's going on? Why is the Tenseigan reacting!?"
The Tenseigan flared with dazzling chakra light, its glow flooding the entire temple with golden brilliance.
The elder's expression turned to disbelief.
He hadn't activated the Tenseigan.
"Grand Elder, what's happening?"
"Why is the Tenseigan being used?"
Two other elders entered the shrine moments later, eyes filled with concern and confusion.
"It wasn't me," the Grand Elder replied, shaking his head gravely. "I didn't activate it. It… responded on its own."
"On its own?" the Second Elder echoed, staring at the now-dormant orb, which had gradually returned to its calm, original state.
"How could that be? Only the three of us can wield it. Even Toneri hasn't—"
"Could it be related to the Gedo Statue?" the Third Elder suddenly proposed, his tone thoughtful.
The disappearance of the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path had perplexed them for years.
From time to time, they had sensed vague pulses from it—but always too faint to track down.
"I don't know… it's too soon to tell," the Grand Elder sighed, clearly shaken by the Tenseigan's unexpected behavior.
"What if it's connected to the Hyūga clan in the Lower Realm?"
The Second Elder's voice turned serious.
"Don't forget—years ago, we investigated them. That girl of the main branch… her Byakugan was no ordinary one."
"Hmph. Even the purest Byakugan means nothing without true Ōtsutsuki guidance," the Third Elder snorted coldly, cutting him off.
"And don't forget—they're degenerates. They're destined to perish along with the failed world the Sage of Six Paths created!"
"Enough," the Grand Elder interrupted, seeing the Second Elder's face darken.
"The Ancestor's will must be fulfilled. The fallen world will be destroyed.
But our bloodline must also endure. That girl will be Toneri's future mate. No more arguing."
His authority was absolute. The other elders fell silent immediately.
"But this anomaly must be investigated. We'll begin continuous surveillance of the Tenseigan," he added.
"We'll rotate the duty. Whoever's on watch will report any change at once. Understood?"
"Yes," the two elders nodded in unison.
It was all they could do for now.
Still, the Third Elder remained unsettled. After some hesitation, he asked in a low voice:
"So… when do we act against the Lower Realm?"
"Not yet," the Grand Elder said flatly. "We need to wait for Toneri to mature. That's final."
But in his heart, he couldn't deny his own reservations.
The shinobi world was far more complex than they had expected.
He had long contemplated carrying out the Ancestor's will—to bring ruin to that failed world.
But the Tenseigan's long-range observation had revealed something troubling.
There were places on Earth shrouded in strange natural energy… three in particular stood out.
Even their ancient records spoke little of them—only vague lines like:
"Within lies the power to reshape the future."
It was that uncertainty… that haunted him most.
---
Meanwhile…
"Hey! How many bowls is that now?!"
"I told you I was starving, Naruto! You said you were treating me—what, backing out now?"
"I am not—HEY! You bastard, you're doing this on purpose, aren't you?!"
"Bingo. Sadly, no prize."
The sun dipped low over Konoha.
At Ichiraku Ramen, under the fading orange sky, Kitagawa Gen sat contentedly slurping noodles. A towering stack of empty bowls stood before him.
Naruto looked utterly defeated across the table. For a moment, he really considered just running away.
Just thinking about how he probably couldn't outrun this sneaky bastard, Naruto ultimately gave up the idea of fleeing.
"Hey, can you eat a little less...?"
"I'm really hungry."
Kitagawa Gen replied casually with a smile, then turned to Ichiraku's owner.
"Another bowl, Uncle Teuchi!"
"Coming right up," Teuchi replied with a grin before turning back to prepare the noodles.
Seeing this, Naruto completely deflated. He didn't even have the will to speak anymore.
Gen, on the other hand, was in an excellent mood. As he slurped his broth, he chuckled.
"Thanks for the meal, Naruto. You really are my best friend!"
"…"
Naruto pouted but didn't dare argue. Having a friend like this... was kind of a curse.
"All right, Gen, stop teasing him already," Teuchi finally said with a chuckle, clearly unable to watch anymore.
"Don't worry, Naruto. You guys left a pretty big tab last time. It's more than enough to cover this."
"Huh?"
Only then did Naruto remember—last time they ate here with Jiraiya, it was Jiraiya who paid!
His eyes lit up as relief washed over him. Trying hard not to laugh, he said:
"Pfft! You jerk, scaring me for nothing. And anyway, I told you guys it was my treat last time. Why'd you still pay yourselves?"
"Well, if we really left it to you, you probably wouldn't be too thrilled."
Gen raised an eyebrow and smirked.
"How about this time—?"
"Ahaha! Hey, nice weather today, huh?!"
Naruto immediately changed the subject, stiffly deflecting. But he couldn't help glancing over Gen again.
Something felt... different about him today.
Still annoying, yes—but there was something else. A subtle change he couldn't quite place.
After a long moment of studying him, Naruto finally asked curiously:
"Did you... dye your hair again?"
"…"
Gen gave Naruto a speechless look, but Naruto wasn't fazed. He kept squinting and inspecting him before continuing:
"It's weird, but it really looks better now. Last time I could tell you dyed it—this time it feels way more natural."
"Well, of course. I paid more this time!"
Gen raised his brows proudly, then asked with a grin:
"What do you say? Want to dye yours with me?"
"Nope!"
"Come on, people need to try new things sometimes—"
"Nope! Absolutely not!"
Seeing the stubborn look on the little blond's face, Gen just laughed.
When the next bowl of noodles arrived, he lowered his head and immediately dug in.
He really was starving.
He wasn't sure if it was because every time his bloodline evolved, he got unbearably hungry afterward...
But lately, he felt like his appetite had grown a lot.
---
"Well, it makes sense," he mused while eating, "Ōtsutsuki don't exactly get by on just food…"
Out of the corner of his eye, Gen glanced again at the tips of his hair.
It did look much more natural now—because this time, his hair color wasn't artificial.
It was real.
---
[Name: Kitagawa Gen]
[Bloodline: Ōtsutsuki Clan (Development: 31%)]
[Dōjutsu: Tenseigan – 'Eye of Rebirth (Primordial Form)']
[Chakra Capacity: SSS (Above Kage-tier)]
[Chakra Attributes: Water, Fire, Earth, Lightning, Wind, Yin, Yang]
[Special Abilities: Ice Release, Magnet Release]
Looking at his personal interface, Gen's eyes especially lit up when he saw the entry for "Dōjutsu."
The Tenseigan—this was the power he had been yearning for.
"Though... the development level is lower than expected. Still, that makes sense."
He didn't know the exact steps to awaken a true Tenseigan. Maybe it involved Tailed Beast chakra? Hard to say.
But his case was unique.
Just like how the Rinnegan awakened in Ōtsutsuki with divine chakra, his evolution followed a kind of "seed-planting" process too.
Only, his method was more direct—activating the eye by fusing Tailed Beast chakra with his bloodline.
And not even high-ranking Tailed Beast chakra at that—just one of the lower-tier ones.
"Still, not bad. Even Madara Uchiha, for all his strength, was near death before awakening the Rinnegan."
Madara brute-forced it, pushing himself to the brink before it finally bloomed.
Gen didn't need that kind of suffering. As long as his bloodline developed far enough, the eye would awaken naturally.
And his Tenseigan wasn't weak, either.
"Based on my testing, my vision range has massively improved. Plus, I've gained three interesting abilities."
Being in the "Primordial Stage," he currently had access to three techniques:
Attraction (Gravity Pull)
Repulsion (Force Push)
Chakra Manipulation
These powers gave him serious Rinnegan vibes.
"They really feel like Shinra Tensei, Banshō Ten'in, and the Six Paths puppet techniques."
It made sense, though—both eyes came from the same source.
"Not a huge toolkit yet, but I've got time. And besides, that's not my only gain today."
Seeing that "SSS" chakra rating also lifted his mood.
That label, "Above-Kage," was vague—but it was undeniably a recognition of his own effort.
"Even if it's just my chakra reserves…"
More chakra didn't automatically mean more power—but without chakra, you couldn't do anything.
And now that he had Repulsion, he wondered… could he also recreate Super Shinra Tensei?
Still, when he glanced at the label 'Primordial Eye', he couldn't help but twitch.
It sounded impressive when you said it aloud.
But breaking it down… well, it started to sound a little weird.
Especially when he remembered some of the dumb stuff he'd done lately...
"Whatever. It's all the same in the end."
He shook his head, dismissing the thought, then looked up at the sky.
"It's getting clearer… like it's almost within reach—but still so far away…"
He could now feel the presence hidden deep within the moon much more vividly.
And the pull of that power was getting stronger by the day.
He knew exactly what it was.
The Tenseigan—sealed deep inside the lunar temple.
---
"Eventually, I'll have to go find it."
Although he didn't need any "rebirth cycles" to awaken his eyes, he still had to absorb external power to fully complete them.
And such a giant eye—of the same kind as his—was practically calling to him.
Not claiming it would be a waste.
"Hey, what are you staring at the sky for?"
Naruto asked curiously, snapping him from his thoughts.
"It's nothing… just thinking—"
Gen gave a relaxed smile, set down his chopsticks, and wiped his hands with a napkin.
Then, dramatically, he flicked his hair back and put on a cool, arrogant expression.
"The vacancy on the Throne of Heaven is about to end. From today on, it belongs to—"
"Gen!"
Before he could finish, a voice called out. Turning around, he saw Kakashi walking over.
"The Hokage's looking for you. Come with me."
"...Ugh, fine."
Rolling his eyes, Gen stood up and obediently followed Kakashi, leaving a completely baffled Naruto behind.
"What the hell was that all about?"
Naruto muttered.
"Throne of Heaven? Vacancy? What the heck is he talking about?"
Then his expression froze.
"Wait... Grandpa Hokage...?"
"Crap! Don't tell me... he's trying to become Hokage?!"