Chapter 203: Tremendous Gains
Kitagawa Gen's chakra spread outward, rippling into the starry void.
Far away, in the endless expanse of space, two figures suddenly paused as if they had sensed something. Their eyes turned sharply toward the distant horizon.
Closer, within another star system, a pair of pale Byakugan eyes swept curiously across the darkness, searching.
Down in the shinobi world, countless people looked up at the night sky in confusion, each of them feeling the pulse of that powerful chakra.
"What on earth is going on? What's happening to the moon lately?"
In Konoha, Hiruzen Sarutobi and the others looked stricken, their expressions heavy with unease.
They had only just begun to recover from the last lunar disturbance, assuming things had finally settled down—yet once again, something had stirred.
Meanwhile, Black Zetsu, hidden within the village, was visibly shaken. His eyes fixed on the night sky, and he muttered under his breath, voice trembling.
"Mother… this chakra—it feels like Mother's…"
In the Land of Rain, Nagato stared silently at the heavens. Beside him, Uchiha Obito gazed through the blurred veil of rain toward the moonlight.
Even Orochimaru tilted his head upward, licking his lips with a faint, twisted smile curling at the corner of his mouth.
"That chakra…"
Elsewhere, in a cave deep within the shinobi world, the Second Elder of the moon clan stood frozen, staring at the sky. At his side, Toneri tugged nervously at his sleeve.
"Grandfather… that's…"
"Don't worry, Toneri. It's fine."
The elder quickly pulled the boy inside a concealed barrier, lowering his voice sternly.
"Stay inside the barrier. Don't step out—you'll be noticed."
He had followed the Great Elder's instructions, fleeing the moon with Toneri under the cover of battle. Yet even now, he was lost in uncertainty.
The world beneath their feet was utterly foreign to him. Worse, above their heads loomed the all-seeing Tenseigan, ever watching.
And he himself… he only had a few years left in him.
"Can that boy really prevail? Does the Otsutsuki clan… still have a future?"
Some were filled with doubt. Others with fear.
In a barren wilderness, a lone monk gazed at the sky in silence.
"It seems… that child has made another great leap forward."
In the Pure Land, Hagoromo and Hamura sat wordlessly, their eyes on the galaxy.
For a long time, neither spoke—until finally, Hagoromo broke the silence with a slow shake of his head.
"Hm?"
Hamura blinked, startled, then turned toward his elder brother, disbelief flashing across his face.
"You… know him?"
"Yes," Hagoromo nodded. "I know him."
He let his gaze fall once more, his body still seated cross-legged in the void.
"At first, I never sensed anything unusual. He was always with Indra and Asura—he even counted Asura as a friend."
"With them?" Hamura repeated, puzzled.
"That's right. It wasn't until a few years ago that I noticed his strangeness… and only then did I realize how different he truly was."
Hagoromo sighed softly, almost in wonder.
"That child carries our bloodline—yet something beyond even that. Perhaps that's why I failed to see him at first."
"And now?" Hamura asked, glancing again at the heavens. "Brother, what do you truly think of him?"
"He is breaking through again… or rather, he is steadily uncovering the depths of his own bloodline."
Hagoromo smiled faintly, then spoke with measured weight.
"At first, I was wary of him. But as time passed, I saw more clearly his true nature."
"Oh?" Hamura raised a brow.
"His path may differ from mine, but he has his own kind of compassion," Hagoromo said warmly.
"To his enemies, he is winter's cold wind. But to his friends, he is the warmth of spring sunlight. He is extraordinary… an existence unlike any other."
Hagoromo had observed Kitagawa Gen for years. Though his growing strength made such watching increasingly difficult, he trusted what he had seen.
He could always discern the good and evil within hearts—and in Kitagawa Gen, he saw light.
Just as Naruto carried kindness… and even Sasuke had begun to alter his destiny.
"So, even if his methods differ, even if his vision is not mine, if the result leads to hope… then I see no problem."
Hagoromo chuckled softly at his own conclusion.
Hamura tilted his head, lips quirking faintly.
"Or perhaps it's because we can't do anything to him anyway?"
"Is that so?" Hagoromo gave a wry smile, then laughed aloud.
"Maybe. If that's what you think, so be it. Still—I prefer to believe in the next generation. Indra and Asura themselves trusted him, after all."
"Leave it to the children to resolve?"
Hamura shook his head with a light laugh. Then, a strange look flickered across his face.
"So, in your eyes, this boy… he's truly remarkable?"
"Yes… remarkable indeed."
For a moment, Hagoromo's thoughts drifted. Images surfaced unbidden:
The boy, awakening his Otsutsuki bloodline, throwing the shinobi world into chaos.
The boy, mercilessly striking Hagoromo's descendants.
The boy, terrifying even his old companion, the Great Toad Sage.
And the boy, entwined in the fates of Indra and Asura.
The smile faded from Hagoromo's lips.
"…But his temperament is also unbearably wicked."
"…"
Hamura blinked. It was the first time he had ever seen his brother so conflicted.
"So then, we don't intervene?"
"You said it yourself—we can't." Hagoromo laughed again, though his eyes were steady.
"Mother has not stirred. We shall not move either. Let the future rest in the hands of our heirs."
His gaze lifted skyward once more, a faint smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.
"Perhaps the feud of Indra and Asura will end with him. Perhaps the change of the world itself will begin with him."
"And perhaps, in that terrifying unknown future… we may still glimpse his shadow."
"He is no ordinary Otsutsuki. He is a guide, a harbinger."
A different kind of Otsutsuki.
Hamura raised his head again, eyes following the stars. At last, he gave a slow nod.
"…Yes. Perhaps you are right. That boy truly is… extraordinary."
But then he hesitated, his expression tightening.
"Brother."
Hagoromo turned, curious. "What is it?"
"That boy said… the war between Indra and Asura was your doing. Was it?"
"…"
"You let their blood feud stain the land for a thousand years… forged through countless lives, all to prepare for the 'heavenly visitors.' Is that true?"
"…"
"Are you truly so cold… so cruel?"
"…"
Hagoromo fell silent, unsure how to respond. Even with his great wisdom, his fists clenched tight in the stillness.
Meanwhile, within the moon, Kitagawa Gen slowly opened his eyes.
He let out a long breath, scanning his surroundings warily.
"…Seems safe enough."
Though immersed in breakthrough, he had stayed vigilant. Now, it appeared his fears were unnecessary.
Those two only seemed curious—nothing more.
"Of course. Unless Kaguya herself escapes the seal, those brothers never lift a finger. Even when Momoshiki, Kinshiki, Urashiki, or Isshiki came… even when the 'God Tree Wars' erupted… they did nothing. Always steadfast in their so-called faith in the next generation."
He chuckled to himself.
"And besides, I'm technically on their side. Why would they bother with me?"
Still, he smirked slyly.
"…Though, after the way I slandered Hagoromo, I hope the old man doesn't hold a grudge."
The thought of Hiruzen flashed in his mind—how the Third Hokage nursed even the smallest slights forever.
He shook it off quickly and focused inward.
His gaze fell to the system screen before him.
"Bloodline development… not bad at all."
A satisfied nod. His progress was undeniable.
The deeper he delved into his bloodline, the slower his progress became. That was only natural.
Even so, what he had just achieved was terrifying by any standard — yet it amounted to only 58% of his bloodline development. Which could only mean one thing:
"So my limit really isn't the other Ōtsutsuki… It might actually be that so-called Ōtsutsuki God."
He had suspected it before, but now he could feel it with growing certainty. If anything, his earlier thoughts might have been too conservative.
Shaking his head, Kitagawa Gen stopped dwelling on it. "Whatever comes later, comes later. For now, this breakthrough is more than enough."
Before setting out, his bloodline development had been at 52%. By combining Naruto's Yang Release with the immense power of the Tenseigan, he had vaulted straight to 58%. That alone was astonishing.
Now his control over chakra was approaching the unimaginable. His body felt sturdier, denser. Even his very bones seemed to drink chakra with insatiable hunger, overflowing with power. Every punch, every movement brimmed with cataclysmic force—force enough to bring down natural disasters by his own hand.
But his greatest gain wasn't his body. It was his eyes.
The Tenseigan's resonance had pushed them beyond their prior limits.
[Dōjutsu: Tenseigan (Eye of the Full Moon)]
[Unique Techniques: Silver Wheel Reincarnation Explosion, Tenseigan Chakra Mode, Kāma, Chakra Beads, Golden Wheel Reincarnation Explosion (unlocked)…]
Kitagawa Gen couldn't help but grin.
At last—his eyes had reached the third stage.
At last—he had obtained the power he had long craved: the Golden Wheel Reincarnation Explosion.
The Silver Wheel was mighty, but compared to the Golden Wheel? The gap was immeasurable. After all, the Golden Wheel could cleave the moon itself in two.
"With this technique, my destructive power has only just begun… And that's not even everything I gained."
On his forehead, a strange power was building, growing stronger by the moment. Even he was curious what it would become.
And thanks to the resonance with the colossal Tenseigan, controlling meteors now came with ease. Heavenly Obstruction: Meteor Cataclysm would strike harder and truer than ever before.
More than that—he now possessed the ability to command the Ancestor Giant Statue, completing the Tenseigan's full arsenal of powers.
And then there was the colossal Tenseigan itself. Its chakra could be infused directly into the Divine Tree's Core.
Kitagawa Gen's eyes flickered. "The Divine Tree's Core… That's no ordinary thing. It's almost certainly tied to the Ten-Tails. And if my memory serves… wasn't the true creation of White Zetsu something born of the Divine Tree?"
The thought unsettled him, but one thing was certain—the Divine Tree's Core would accelerate his eye's growth. Especially now, when even after their third evolution, his eyes still continued to absorb chakra.
"If they're still absorbing, then my eyes are nowhere near their limit. Beyond dōjutsu lies the realm of shinjutsu… even my Kāma is proof of that."
Rising to his feet, Kitagawa Gen formed a hand seal. A Divine Tree clone manifested at his side.
The moon's interior may have been devastated, but abandoning it was out of the question. Not with the colossal Tenseigan here, and not with the troves of ancient knowledge and relics it contained. All of it was treasure. All of it could sharpen his growth.
"From here on, my path lies with the tailed beasts, Indra and Asura's chakra… and above all, the Kekkei Mōra. That is the key. Perhaps only by fusing them will I truly ascend to the next stage."
Stretching lazily, he felt the ocean of chakra surging inside him. His gaze lingered on the colossal, radiant Tenseigan, and a quiet smile tugged at his lips.
"This harvest… it's beyond words. If I digest it fully, I'll rise even higher."
As he turned to leave, another thought crossed his mind and made him chuckle.
"That Ōtsutsuki Toneri really ran fast. Not that it matters—he won't be stirring up any storms now."
He exhaled softly, the vast lunar ruins silent around him.
"Time to return. Staying here alone… doesn't feel quite right."