On that unnamed islet in the Land of Water, the whole island looked as if it had been blasted by a Kamehameha and a Special Beam Cannon; there was hardly a single intact spot left. In the middle, a massive cavity had opened up, exposing the sea below.
Even the barrier meant to protect the island had been torn nearly to shreds. One more ordinary-grade attack and the whole thing would collapse.
This was a super-barrier whose defensive power was in no way inferior to the Four Red Yang Formation, yet now it was ragged and tattered.
It was hard to imagine what level of battle had taken place here.
"So this is the Otsutsuki bloodline's power? Truly… an unbelievable power. I can feel strength flooding my body." Clenching his hands, Meruem wore an expression of disbelief.
"To think the body I believed was already perfect could still improve. It seems that so-called perfect body wasn't perfect at all; it can climb to a higher tier." Eyes closed, feeling the life force coursing within him, Meruem sighed again.
The First Hokage, Hashirama Senju, the man hailed as the God of Ninjutsu—and in another sense, the first reincarnation of Asura, son of the Sage of Six Paths.
The Otsutsuki blood flowed within him as well, but that power had now been taken by Meruem.
He gently raised his right hand. The five chakra natures gathered in his palm, fusing and repelling each other, and then Yin–Yang Release fused in.
A white and a gray chakra stream also began to converge on that five-colored sphere. With the addition of those two, the seven-colored chakra ultimately became a black bead.
The bead slowly floated up, drifted from Meruem's palm, circled around him, and finally settled at his side.
The ultimate aggregate of the five natures and Yin–Yang Release—the Truth-Seeking Ball, also known as Kekkei Mora.
At last, it had appeared.
"Heh-heh, sure enough, after gaining this power, one of the Naruto world's so-called strongest bloodline abilities, Kekkei Mora, is nothing special. It's actually simple." A few more black Truth-Seeking Balls gathered in Meruem's palm and then formed a dozen beads orbiting him.
To avoid trouble, Meruem compressed them, and compressed them again, down to nearly invisible. If he needed to fight, he could summon them at any moment.
As for the shakujo—or those black rods—Meruem hadn't created them, but if he wanted to use them in battle, it wouldn't be hard.
Once you understand a thing's principle and do it once, the second time is easy—especially for a born super-genius.
The Truth-Seeking Balls, or Kekkei Mora—though they appeared multiple times in the Naruto world's final battle and in the hands of different people, such as the Sage of Six Paths and his brother, Madara Uchiha, Obito Uchiha, and Naruto Uzumaki—
that doesn't mean the ability is common. On the contrary, it is exceedingly powerful. With Truth-Seeking Balls, in the entire Naruto world you can completely suppress every other shinobi and bloodline ability—except you can't suppress Kaguya.
That includes the Uchiha's Sage Eyes and the Senju's Sage Body, unless the Sharingan evolves to its final form or the Sage Body is perfected.
Of course, if you reach that level, you're not far from Kaguya's power. Combine such might with Meruem's newly enhanced perfect body and power-amplifying Sage Mode, and it's unimaginable how strong Meruem is now.
"If I can absorb Kaguya and add the God Tree's power, how far will I grow? Heh-heh, I can't wait to find out." Meruem murmured, gazing at his explosively powerful fists.
Obtaining the Truth-Seeking Balls isn't actually difficult—only two conditions are required.
First, push the five natures and Yin–Yang transformations to their limits. Second, possess the Otsutsuki bloodline. The hard part isn't mastering the five plus Yin–Yang; it's possessing the Otsutsuki blood. The shinobi world isn't short on geniuses; many have reached the extreme in the five nature and Yin–Yang transformations. A recent example:
The Third Hokage, known as the Professor, reached that realm; and so did the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju.
Don't be fooled by Hashirama being called the God of Ninjutsu—his Yin-nature chakra was never trained to its limit. Since he gained the Sage Body, he was practically unable to cultivate Yin-nature transformation.
Unless he used some special method—like becoming the Ten-Tails' jinchuriki. Wasn't that how Madara obtained Truth-Seeking Balls?
"Meat is meat, even off a mosquito's leg. You three can become nourishment for my growth as well." Looking down from on high at the three Hokage, all on the verge of drowning in their injuries, Meruem showed a cruel, excited smile.
"I'm going to dig in."
"Damn monster—my body won't move at all. I'm too badly hurt… What is this thing, to the point he could even…" Compared with the Second and Third, the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, was slightly less injured, but even so his body was on the brink of collapse. Overuse of senjutsu had petrified part of his lower body, his right arm was gone, and over fifty percent of his bones were shattered; multiple internal organs were damaged. The fact he was still alive was a miracle. He wasn't like Orochimaru with soft-body modifications.
That was thanks to Minato's extraordinary space–time talent; without it, he would likely have died in Meruem's first wave.
"Mm… so this is the Second Hokage's power? Compared with the First's, there's far less to gain. Still, a few good jutsu… Well, better than nothing. I can't expect everyone to give me a qualitative leap like the First did." After absorbing Tobirama Senju, Meruem continued his commentary.
As if reviewing a meal at a restaurant. Compared to the First, Tobirama's strength truly fell far short.
Or rather, the First's strength is beyond an ordinary shinobi's imagination. If the First wanted to kill the Second, even ten Seconds together wouldn't be his match.
No wonder the First could tower over the shinobi world and be called the God of Ninjutsu.
"Damn it… a monster like this spells disaster for the entire shinobi world. I must get word out. Good thing I still have a little chakra—I can use that thing. I never thought what I left as a contingency would become the key to survival. As long as… as long as my arm recovers a bit of strength." Lying on the ground, Minato thought as Meruem, after devouring the Second, moved toward the Third—but his injuries were simply too severe.
Again: the fact he wasn't dead was already a miracle.
"Mm… compared with the Second Hokage, the Third actually gives me more improvement. No wonder he's called the Professor. Heh-heh… It still doesn't grant a qualitative leap, but it makes me far more adept at using ninjutsu. Heh, next time why don't I fight using pure ninjutsu? Hm—forget it. Compared with a mage-like mobile artillery platform, I prefer a warrior. I'm a pure martial artist; trading blows is my pursuit." After unhurriedly reaping Hiruzen Sarutobi's life, Meruem offered another critique.
"Next is—"
"Flying Thunder God!" Just as Meruem turned his attention to the last of Konoha's Hokage, the Fourth, Minato finally gathered enough strength to release one final jutsu. A golden flash—and Minato vanished from Meruem's sight.
Strangely, Meruem felt no annoyance at Minato's disappearance. Instead, he wore a peculiar smile as he looked at the spot where Minato had been.
"Heh-heh-heh, I finally found it. Hmph, you really were ruthless—keeping Jiraiya from showing himself for three years so I couldn't locate it. You hid it deep. But so what? I've found it now."
"Foremost of the three great summoning sanctuaries… Mount Myoboku!"
"Say, Elder Fukasaku, how long is the Great Toad Sage going to keep me here? I can't even work on my manuscripts." In Mount Myoboku, one of the summoning sanctuaries, a middle-aged man with long hair and a forehead protector bearing the character for "oil" complained to an elderly toad.
"Little Jiraiya, this is the Great One's prophecy. If you leave Mount Myoboku, you will die. The Child of Prophecy's fate has been altered by someone unknown, and the whole shinobi world may be threatened… No—according to the Great One's prophecy, even Mount Myoboku itself could be destroyed." The elderly toad spoke gravely. This old toad was the mountain's other sage besides the Great Toad Sage—Fukasaku.
"What on earth is going to happen in the shinobi world, that even Mount Myoboku would—"
"Bad news, Lord Fukasaku! In the woods on Mount Myoboku's outskirts, Toad Shima found Lord Minato, who once trained here! Lord Minato is gravely wounded, and parts of his body are already petrified—it looks like overuse of Sage Mode!" A small toad came running in a panic.
"What? How is that possible! Minato?!"
(End of Chapter)
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