While I had been able to use the Flying Thunder God Technique to move around before, it had a fatal flaw: the lack of warning during the transfer. It relied on having a spatial sense that allowed you to pick up the marker's position.
It was a strange feeling in the back of your head, a knowledge of something; you couldn't see it, couldn't smell it, couldn't hear it, couldn't touch it, but you could still feel it.
And this was fine. The problem was the Byakugan. It allowed me sight far stronger than anyone else's, and I had grown used to this sight.
Using the Flying Thunder God Technique was like turning off my senses for an instant, then turning them back on in a totally different environment, resulting in near-sensory overload.
It wasn't the end of the world, but it wasn't pleasant, far from it.
Yomotsu Hirasaka, my own personal space-time ninjutsu, didn't have this flaw, as it opened a gate, allowing my all-seeing gaze to seemingly reach the other end before I entered the portal.
It was, without a doubt, an infinitely superior technique. To the point that calling it a ninjutsu was disrespectful.
Not to mention wrong; such things as ninjutsu or ninja themselves didn't exist when I learned that technique. Ninjutsu was merely mortals trying to emulate what members of the Ōtsutsuki clan could do.
Given how amazing my Yomotsu Hirasaka technique was, it was no wonder I hadn't been able to use it. It wasn't something a mortal could use, and it wasn't something a Hyūga could use.
It was an exclusive Ōtsutsuki technique.
I was, without a doubt, Kaguya Ōtsutsuki, but my body still remained largely that of Yuki Hyūga, even if it was slowly being changed by the alterations in my chakra, slowly brought closer to my true body.
But chakra, especially as little as I had, could only do so much.
That was until today.
Now, thanks to absorbing the chakra from the Giant Tenseigan, I had changed. I had regained part of my chakra, and that allowed my body to take a leap forward, toward a true Ōtsutsuki body, and with that came some of my old powers.
The Tenseigan's power over space allowed me to touch Yomotsu Hirasaka once more. I couldn't yet open portals to other dimensions, nor create those dimensions, but I could freely open portals around this planet.
Giving me mobility that even Obito couldn't beat.
The portal I had just opened didn't lead back planetside; I wasn't about to leave Kakuzu behind here.
The Moon held secrets of my past, secrets I didn't want others to find, which meant I couldn't let him simply loot everything that wasn't nailed down.
Not that he would stop there; he would happily pull out the nails and sell them as well.
Truly, his love for money knew no bounds.
First, I returned to where I had fought Toneri, though calling it a fight was hardly fair.
He had been too young, too inexperienced to put up a fight against me. I had caught him by surprise, and he had frozen, unable to react until his death.
Experience mattered; this was something I knew to be true. It was the reason the original Kaguya had lost to Naruto and Sasuke.
I was naturally far stronger than them, but I had nearly no experience, while they had plenty, including plenty of experience fighting against superior opponents.
I cast a glance at Toneri's body before finally deciding to seal it away inside one of my sealing scrolls.
He was, after all, one of my descendants; it wouldn't be right to simply leave him here. I would ensure he was properly put to rest at some point.
With that taken care of, I quickly fished out my blindfold and once again hid my eyes behind it.
Once, I had done so to hide the Byakugan, but there was no need for that anymore; people knew I had them. Or at least, the people around me did. Instead, it would now hide the fact that I didn't have the Byakugan.
No matter how powerful the Byakugan was, most people saw it as little more than a tracking tool; to the people of the Akatsuki, it hardly warranted a second look.
Something that couldn't be said for the Tenseigan.
Not only was the appearance of this new dōjutsu incredibly eye-catching, but the fact that the Byakugan had evolved would draw considerable attention.
Within the Akatsuki, knowledge of the Mangekyō Sharingan wasn't a secret; everyone knew that the Sharingan could evolve, and they had a good understanding of the massive jump in power this new eye offered.
Which naturally meant that, even without knowing anything about the Tenseigan, they would all be able to guess that it was powerful.
And I didn't need more reasons for them to keep an eye on me.
The many Kekkei Genkai I had displayed had already drawn plenty of attention; a new dōjutsu would make someone like Orochimaru look at me far too closely.
And it wasn't just me; the Byakugan itself would draw a new wave of attention.
I could already imagine quite a few Akatsuki members kidnapping members of the Hyūga main family to study their eyes.
Something I didn't want, and while I could stop it, it would be easier if I didn't have to worry about it at all.
So, once more, I hid away my eyes.
With that done, I opened yet another portal toward Kakuzu; it was time for us to leave.
As I stepped through, I was forced to deflect an attack from Kakuzu.
"Is that how you greet your partner? And here I thought you had finally given up on my bounty," I said, my tone calm and unbothered, even as I deflected another attack.
But I didn't blame him. After all, my portals were completely silent. If I wanted to, I could open a portal and end a person's life before they knew I was there.
Which was just another reason the Tenseigan was amazing.
"Would you stop appearing out of thin air!" he shouted at me as he finally realized who I was, and that I wasn't some new enemy.
"Wait... you look different. You grew a pair of horns?" he asked as he took in my new appearance. I had gained the classic Kaguya horns after absorbing the Tenseigan's power.
They were a result of my body changing, becoming closer to my true Ōtsutsuki body.
"Maybe," I said, not wanting to answer him. "Or maybe you just failed to notice them before," I added dismissively.
He grumbled a bit as he looked me up and down, but he didn't press the issue further. He had seen me do many things over the years, and a new pair of horns wasn't that strange.
"Did you get what you were here for?" he asked, more interested in the mission than my appearance.
"I did," I said, a small, almost invisible smirk on my face. "Now, let's go. I've had enough of this rock."
"Well, too bad, because I still need to loot my share," he said, already turning to go back to looting.
I opened another portal right behind me and stepped backward.
I appeared directly in front of him, using a bone blade to deflect a kunai.
"Change of plans. Those puppets will have to count as your share," I told him, not willing to let him continue.
"You want to cheat me out of my share? The puppets are indeed my prize; I spent a lot of effort not damaging them while buying you time, but I was promised more!" He was clearly angry.
The puppets themselves were indeed very valuable, but the castle itself, and everything inside it, was far more so. He wasn't about to let me cheat him out of that.
"I'm not cheating you. You're just a greedy old man, and we have already spent too long here. You got your puppets, that's more than enough. Now let's go," I said, my tone leaving no room for argument.
He was about to argue further, but I was done. I opened a portal directly behind him, and without moving at all, I hit him with a repulsive blast, sending him flying through the portal and back to the planet.
I didn't follow him, instead simply closing the portal behind him.
Once alone, I had to ensure he wouldn't return.
He did, after all, know the way now.
But with Yomotsu Hirasaka now mastered, I could come and go as I pleased, so the normal entrance, the lake portal, was no longer needed.
With a flick of my wrist, I sent a blast of pure repulsive force through another, smaller portal, striking the seals that made up the portal, shattering them, and causing the lake to drain into the void.
I followed that with another, more powerful blast aimed at the cave's entrance, collapsing it.
Now, no one could reach this place without my personal help.
And with that, I finally opened a portal for myself and returned to Kakuzu's side.
"This is the last straw, I will—" he started to shout, but I cut him off.
"Shut it. You have your puppets, so be happy with them. Now let's go," I said, my tone cold and final, my Tenseigan glowing faintly behind my blindfold.
He might have been a greedy bastard, but he wasn't a fool. He could feel the change in me, the shift in my power, and he knew that pushing me now would be a very, very bad idea.
"Fine," he grumbled, his tone a mixture of anger and fear. "But this isn't over."
"Of course it's not," I said, a small, almost invisible smirk on my face. "Now, let's go. We have a long journey ahead of us."
We started to walk, leaving the Land of Fire behind us, heading north toward the Land of Lightning.
"Why are we walking like this?" Kakuzu asked, clearly confused by my chosen method of transport. "You clearly learned some crazy space-time ninjutsu, so why not use it?" he pressed.
"I don't know what you are talking about. I don't know any space-time ninjutsu. Since Minato died, there hasn't been anyone alive who knew something like that," I said, my tone dismissive.
He grumbled a bit, but he didn't press the issue further. He knew I was lying, but he also knew that there was no point in arguing.
He clearly understood that I intended to keep this a secret, and while he clearly intended to push his luck in the future, now wasn't the time.
(End of chapter)
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