Chapter 168: Transformation!
Sukuna propped himself up on his knees, then slowly stretched his arms.
Though he hated to admit it, he understood he would inevitably follow the path Kagami had laid out for him.
It was as though he were a hunting dog with a predetermined route… but it wasn't exactly that.
A normal hunter wouldn't let a dog eat its fill – they'd worry it might lose its drive to hunt.
But Kagami's actions felt more like he was preparing for a death match in the arena.
The same old trick…
Long ago, he'd relied on the pressures of the Nine-Tails and others to break through his limits and achieve the Mangekyō Sharingan.
Now again, he wanted to repeat the technique: break free from the world's restraints through a life-or-death struggle, a caged beast's desperate fight, or something like that.
Yes, that might explain Kagami's behavior.
Thinking of this, Sukuna's eyes brimmed with sinister killing intent.
He, too, was just a beast on the battlefield.
---
Kagami turned slightly, as if casually waving off an attendant. "Why are you still dawdling?"
"Haven't I made myself perfectly clear? Your job is to kill some people and finish this Ninja World Tournament."
Sukuna didn't immediately move. A grim grin tugged at his lips. "I think I get it now."
"You claim there was no need for such a tournament, no need to involve so many people, that you could've done anything you wanted all along."
"Is it all just a sense of ceremony? Like a final farewell to the world?"
---
Kagami pursed his lips and shook his head.
"I said I wouldn't mind if you ended up winning; you really think you could win?"
"You don't even grasp how to do a proper 'reverse death flag,' and you call yourself some world-destroying curse?"
His figure slowly rose into the air, heading toward the giant Tenseigan.
Sukuna was long since immune to such casual taunts. With a sneer, he said, "Aren't you afraid I might kill Uchiha Shisui? You may act cold, but you definitely care about that brat."
"No problem. Go ahead and kill him," Kagami replied without turning around.
"Dying once would be a valuable learning experience for him."
---
Drawing near the Tenseigan, golden light shone upon Kagami's body. This enormous eye, born from countless Byakugan fused, housed formidable power – it was one of Kagami's objectives.
A vague specter gradually formed in front of the Tenseigan. Half-transparent, neither a pure soul nor a mere projection. An elderly figure with white pupils, bluish hair, and two horns on his forehead:
Ōtsutsuki Hamura.
A legendary figure from a thousand years past, he had joined the Sage of Six Paths to seal Kaguya. Wearing a grave expression, he spoke in a deep tone:
"Descendant of Hagoromo…"
Whoosh!
A sudden gust cut him off mid-sentence. Kagami, with a wave, shattered Hamura's residual consciousness before a single phrase could escape.
Spitting in irritation, Kagami said, "What's this nonsense? A mere fragment of consciousness trying to monologue."
He stepped onto the platform and opened his Mangekyō Sharingan, the tomoe spinning.
Blackish-red chakra invaded the Tenseigan.
---
---
Between the cycles of rebirth, the Sage of Six Paths watched the moon with a blank expression.
He couldn't fathom Kagami's intentions, had no idea what Kagami aimed for.
But there was nothing he could do. He lacked the power to stop Kagami. Unless…
He gave power to Asura?
Suddenly, a faint blue radiance intruded into the dimension – a spirit somewhat resembling Hagoromo, albeit older.
"My lingering will on the moon was destroyed. Brother, do you know what happened?"
Like Indra's and Asura's chakra existing for a thousand years, Hamura, equal to the Sage in strength, had also existed as a chakra spirit after death. Unlike the Sage, he'd slumbered within the Pure Land, waiting for the possible arrival of the foe Kaguya feared.
The Sage paused briefly, then touched his staff to the ground, sending a surge of information into Hamura's awareness.
---
"You… Actually allowed that monster to grow unchecked?!"
The Sage wore a pained expression. "Kagami isn't a bad child, he just sometimes—"
"I'm not talking about him!" Hamura retorted. "I'm talking about that thing called Sukuna!"
"You long knew that thing wasn't a beast of this world!"
"And your two sons' centuries of conflict cost countless lives!"
Hamura scolded him in fury.
---
"I've done a poor job…" The Sage cast a troubled look at Hamura. "But your own descendants did far worse, didn't they?"
Hamura fell silent.
Ever since his death, he'd never watched over the world like Hagoromo. He'd only left a fragment of himself on the moon and slept in the Pure Land. Upon sensing that fragment's destruction, he'd awakened and sought out his brother for answers.
He was enraged by the ninja world's situation – but then recalled the tragedies on the moon…
At least Hagoromo's descendants still existed in large numbers. But his own lineage on the moon…apparently was no more.
All that remained was some Byakugan offshoot in the ninja world, lacking any status or influence.
---
"So…what now?" he asked finally.
The Sage was silent for a long moment.
"Unless it's absolutely necessary, we shouldn't interfere. I still believe the ninja world's future belongs to the new generation. We can't remain here forever."
Hamura considered this. "Your descendant awakened an entirely different eye."
"Combine that with the Tenseigan, and he might match you in your heyday."
At Hagoromo's peak, when he defeated Kaguya, extracted the Ten-Tails, and became its Jinchūriki, he was virtually unstoppable.
But the ninja world was unique. Even the star-harvesting Ōtsutsuki rarely saw such tremendous chakra fruit beyond simply "chakra pills." Kaguya, having devoured the fruit, gained true immortality, beatable only by sealing.
If she hadn't split her power and had refined it thoroughly, not even the next waves of Ōtsutsuki pursuers would be a threat.
But there was no redoing the past. Kaguya, too, hadn't originally aimed to destroy the world. At first, after gaining her power, she pacified endless wars and was revered as the "Rabbit Goddess."
Fear of the unknown had driven her to change, step by step.
---
"I don't know. He's chosen a path I never imagined."
---
---
The so-called Tenseigan, which only Hamura's descendants could access, crumbled before the impact of Kagami's Mangekyō. Like a thin sheet of paper.
Black-red overshadowed golden. It was like a monstrous beast relishing its prey.
The colossal Tenseigan, forged through a thousand years by the lunar branch of the Ōtsutsuki, could even destroy the planet by moving the moon's orbit.
Unlike Isshiki or another sentient being, the Tenseigan had no will of its own – it was an inert container of massive ocular power.
As time passed, the Tenseigan gradually shrank, steadily absorbed.
Within Kagami's Mangekyō, shaped like a thorny crown, the tomoe spun. Little by little, they merged into four distinct commas.
He could feel it.
That sensation – he had seized it.
He recalled the experience gleaned from working on Shisui and the White Dragon. Now, that knowledge was fueling his final transformation.
His eyelids lowered.
They shut briefly.
Quivered gently.
Then reopened.
It was like a vast black ocean rippled, and from its depths rose a scarlet full moon.
---
---
Wooooooosh!
"Graaagh!!!"
Kagami couldn't help but tilt his head skyward, letting out an ear-splitting roar from deep within his eyes!
A red dragon and a black dragon burst from his two eyes, twining and merging into one gigantic black dragon with crimson eyes!
An enormous black dragon, like a mountain, coiled once in the air, then dived downward.
In one powerful gulp, it swallowed Kagami entirely!
The huge serpentine shape curled into a sphere, compacting layer by layer!
---
Now a mass of scales, black-red in color, floated there.
Thump—
Thump—
Thump—
It pulsed rhythmically, like a heartbeat.
The sky was stained by endless blood-hued light.
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