In other aspects, the experiment regarding the fusion of a second Kekkei Genkai using the Chimera Technique has not been fully mastered yet.
As expected, fusing a second Kekkei Genkai was much more difficult than fusing the first, and by the time he reached the fifth Kekkei Genkai, he would probably have to emulate Hiruko and search for the appropriate time and place.
However, things like the annular solar eclipse were too demanding; he needed to slightly modify the conditions required for the Chimera Technique.
Now, both his experiments and his Chakra cultivation had to stop.
This was because he had been away from Konoha for quite some time, and he never chose a fixed duration for completing missions, specifically to prevent others from discovering a pattern.
The time he had allocated for this trip had now expired according to his plan, so returning was mandatory.
Takuno looked at the meteorite in his hand, thought for a moment, and then used Sealing Jutsu to store it inside a scroll.
There was still plenty of time, and there was no rush to let the arm of the Gedo Statue take on the form of a 'Tailed Beast,' so he could take it back to Konoha and continue his training. Completing the star Chakra was still very important for boosting his combat power.
Furthermore, Takuno surveyed his surroundings; this underground base was still too massive.
Given White Zetsu's pervasive Ninjutsu, he absolutely had to take precautions.
Fortunately, this was not the Fourth Great Shinobi War, so the enemy also had to consider the consumption of White Zetsu and wouldn't release the army of 100,000 White Zetsu—at most, only dozens to hundreds.
At this moment, he felt somewhat lucky that it was White Zetsu and not Black Zetsu.
If it were Black Zetsu, no matter how prepared he was, he would never be able to detect its infiltration.
After all, that was the being who had deceived the Sage of Six Paths!
It was truly fortunate that there was only one Black Zetsu and only one Obito.
One of them deceived the Sage of Six Paths, and the other possessed an ability that could completely ignore barrier-type Sealing Jutsu, making them impossible to guard against.
Now, Takuno planned to completely upgrade the Sealing Jutsu at the experimental base, and he would use his enhanced Chakra to set them up.
"Shadow Clone Technique!"
He formed hand signs and split into four or five Shadow Clones. After exchanging glances, they began to move separately.
The Shadow Clones were responsible for setting up Sealing Jutsu on the walls surrounding the experimental base, while he set up a barrier around the perimeter of the experimental base.
This type of barrier was not meant to prevent entry. Instead, if any Chakra entered it, the Summoning Jutsu would be immediately triggered, instantly informing him, even from far away in Konoha, that a Chakra-possessing creature had breached the barrier.
As for whether this creature might not be White Zetsu? That didn't matter; whatever it was, it was an entity that required vigilance.
This was because he had already cleared out all the Ninja beasts around the experimental base, leaving only ordinary animals that did not possess Chakra. Even if these animals passed through the barrier, they would not trigger the alarm.
Therefore, he had not yet been directly Summoned from within the Konoha barrier due to an alarm.
In reality, being Summoned only once or twice would not attract much attention. After all, people within Konoha also used the Summoning Jutsu to Summon various Ninja beasts. Although his situation involved him being Summoned, which was slightly unusual, as long as the frequency was low, no one would discover it was him.
Now, if he were Summoned by the barrier, the first thing he would need to determine was the identity of the intruder.
If it wasn't White Zetsu, but a ninja who happened upon the location, then killing them would suffice.
But if it was White Zetsu, then he would need to relocate the base. Most of the crucial equipment inside his experimental base actually had Sealing Jutsu carved onto them, allowing for transfer to be completed quickly.
He also had a series of countermeasures for this situation.
However, if possible, he hoped these countermeasures would never have to be used.
He wasn't worried about whether the barrier could detect White Zetsu, because even if White Zetsu was excellent at concealing its presence, it would still need to use Earth Release Ninjutsu to enter the base, meaning it would inevitably use Chakra!
After completing the upgrade of the barrier, Takuno put on his mask and left using the Summoning Jutsu... "Has anything major happened recently?" Takuno asked, sitting at a table and drinking tea.
"Reporting, Sir, there is one thing we have only heard rumors of: it seems that the great war between the various villages has ended." The person standing next to him was the head operative Takuno had recruited. He kept his gaze fixed on Takuno's feet.
Even though Takuno had removed his mask at this moment, the operative did not dare to raise his eyes.
In reality, even if he did raise his eyes, he would only see a blurred image, and he would also be tormented by the Death Curse Seal.
Takuno was very satisfied with the man's discretion and rewarded him with some money.
The operative's words reminded him. Calculating the time, it was indeed about time for the Great Shinobi War to end.
Thinking about it, although Nagato and the other two had been deceived, resulting in Yahiko's death, their objective for that mission was technically achieved.
Didn't Hanzō deceive them by claiming he would "use the power of the Akatsuki to propose peace negotiations to the great nations"?
Now, the goal of stopping the war had been accomplished, but unfortunately, it wasn't because of the Akatsuki.
Takuno shook his head. Yahiko and his two companions' perspective in the Land of Rain was too limited. They only saw the severe losses in the Land of Rain but failed to notice the immense exhaustion suffered by the great nations as well—the fact that the war couldn't last much longer even without any peace proposal.
As a result, they fell for the schemes of Hanzō and Danzo, and Yahiko lost his life on the spot.
This was the tragedy of small nations and their ninjas during wartime.
Of course, he was only sighing. If they hadn't fallen for the trap, he would have found it troublesome. Who would summon the Gedo Statue that he wanted?
If Nagato were given time to recover, it would be extremely difficult for him to obtain fragments of the Gedo Statue from him!
Takuno thought about the events following the end of the Third Great War. One thing was very clear: after the Third Great War ended, Minato became the Fourth Hokage.
Perhaps Konoha was currently spreading rumors of Minato's unparalleled bravery on the battlefield to build momentum for his appointment.
In that case, his return to Konoha now was perfectly timed.
As for what happened after Minato became the Fourth Hokage, Takuno didn't recall him doing anything particularly notable, only remembering the Nine-Tails Attack that occurred during his tenure, and how Minato and Kushina died during that upheaval.
It wasn't hard to imagine; since the war had just ended, all nations were naturally recuperating, so the lack of major events was normal.
During this period, he didn't seem to have too many urgent tasks, so he could focus on digesting all his current accumulated knowledge and progress.
Body tempering to increase Chakra volume, practicing various Ninjutsu, refining his knowledge of Sealing Jutsu, continuing research on the Chimera Technique, fusing the second Kekkei Genkai, and the plan for activating the Sharingan after fusing the Uchiha Kekkei Genkai, and so on... After contemplating all the things he needed to do and sighing about how damn much there was, Takuno stood up and began walking toward Konoha.
Next, he would go and greet Konoha's new Hokage, Minato!