On the moon.
In the shrine of Hamura's temple, an elderly man with white hair sat cross-legged on a mat, his eyes closed in quiet meditation.
Not far from him, a golden orb encased in a peculiar metallic structure pulsed rhythmically.
This was the Tenseigan.
It was the pride of the Moon Clan and their greatest source of power.
The Tenseigan's might was undeniable. In the great battle of the past, it was through the sacrifice of branch family members who offered their Byakugan to create a purple Tenseigan that the main family was defeated.
The current Tenseigan was formed from the Byakugan left behind by the main family.
However, that war had nearly wiped out the Ōtsutsuki clan on the moon.
Now, only a few of them remained, but their hope endured.
"Toneri, you must grow quickly..."
The elder murmured softly.
But at that moment, his cloudy Byakugan suddenly snapped open, and he turned to look at the golden Tenseigan nearby.
"What's going on? Why is the Tenseigan reacting?!"
The golden Tenseigan suddenly emitted a dazzling light, illuminating the entire shrine.
The strange phenomenon left the elder in disbelief, as he hadn't activated the Tenseigan.
"Elder, what's happening?"
"What's going on? Why is the Tenseigan being used?"
Two other men quickly entered the shrine, their faces filled with confusion as they looked at the elder.
"It wasn't me."
The elder shook his head, his expression grave.
"I didn't activate the Tenseigan, but it reacted on its own."
"Reacted on its own?"
The second elder stared at the Tenseigan in confusion. By now, the orb had gradually calmed down, returning to its original state.
"What's going on? Only the three of us can use the Tenseigan, and even Toneri hasn't..."
"Could it be related to the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path?"
The third elder pondered for a moment before voicing his suspicion.
The disappearance of the Demonic Statue had troubled them for years. Occasionally, they had detected faint traces of its presence, but the signals were too vague to pinpoint its location.
"I don't know. It's hard to say."
The elder sighed. The sudden reaction of the Tenseigan had caught him completely off guard.
"Could it be related to the Hyūga Clan in the lower world?"
The second elder spoke gravely.
"Don't forget, years ago, we investigated them. Their clan heiress is no ordinary individual—her Byakugan..."
"Hmph! What's the use of the purest Byakugan?"
Before the second elder could finish, the third elder interrupted with a cold snort.
"Without proper guidance and training from the true Ōtsutsuki, she won't accomplish anything. And don't forget, they are merely degenerates, destined to perish along with the failed world created by the Sage of Six Paths!"
"Enough! Stop arguing."
Seeing the second elder's face darken, the elder quickly intervened.
"The will of our ancestors must be fulfilled. The degenerate world will be destroyed, but our bloodline must continue. That girl will be Toneri's future companion. Let's not discuss this further."
The elder's authoritative tone silenced the other two.
"However, we need to monitor the situation. The Tenseigan's reaction cannot be ignored."
The elder sighed and continued,
"From now on, we'll take turns observing the Tenseigan. If anything unusual happens, we must investigate immediately. Understood?"
"Yes."
The second and third elders nodded in unison. For now, this was the only course of action they could take.
Still, the third elder seemed hesitant. After a moment of thought, he asked softly,
"So, when will we deal with the lower world?"
"We can't act recklessly. We need to wait for Toneri to grow stronger. That's final."
The elder cast him a cold glance before replying indifferently.
In truth, he was well aware of the complexities of the shinobi world.
While he longed to fulfill their ancestors' will and destroy the failed world, his observations through the Tenseigan revealed that the shinobi world held many secrets.
Three locations in particular were shrouded in mysterious natural energy, and he couldn't determine what lay within them.
Even the ancient texts left by their ancestors offered little insight, merely stating that these places contained "the power to change the future."
Such vague descriptions only deepened his concerns.
Meanwhile, in Konohagakure...
"Hey, hey, hey! How many bowls have you eaten already?!"
"I'm really hungry, Naruto. Didn't you say you were treating me? What's the matter? Are you backing out?"
"I am not—ahhh! You bastard! You're doing this on purpose, aren't you?!"
"Correct. But there's no prize for guessing right."
As the sun set over Konohagakure, Kitagawa Minamoto sat comfortably at Ichiraku Ramen, enjoying his meal.
In front of him, a towering stack of empty bowls had already formed.
Naruto, on the other hand, looked ready to cry. For a moment, he seriously considered running away.
But knowing that he couldn't outrun this unpredictable guy, he ultimately gave up on the idea.
"Can't you eat a little less...?"
"I'm really hungry."
Minamoto chuckled and turned to Teuchi.
"Another bowl, please!"
"Coming right up."
Teuchi smiled and went back to cooking. Naruto, seeing this, slumped in defeat. He didn't even want to speak anymore.
Minamoto, however, was in high spirits. As he sipped his soup, he couldn't help but laugh.
"Thanks for the treat, Naruto. You really are a great friend!"
"..."
Naruto pouted but didn't dare to say anything. Having a friend like this felt a bit unlucky.
"Alright, Minamoto, stop teasing him."
Even Teuchi couldn't help but step in, chuckling as he spoke.
"Naruto, don't worry. The money left over from your last meal here is more than enough to cover this."
"Huh?"
Naruto finally remembered that the last time he, Minamoto, and Jiraiya had eaten here, someone else had paid.
Realizing this, he couldn't help but smile.
"Tch, you jerk. Why scare me like that? And why did you pay last time when I said I'd treat you?"
"Well, if we'd let you pay, you probably wouldn't have been happy about it," Minamoto said with a smirk.
"How about this time—"
"Ah, look at the nice weather today!"
Naruto stiffly changed the subject, but he couldn't help sneaking a glance at Minamoto.
For some reason, he felt that something about Minamoto was different today.
Though he was still as annoying as ever, there was an indescribable change.
After staring for a while, Naruto finally asked,
"Did you... redye your hair?"
"..."
Minamoto gave Naruto a speechless look, but Naruto didn't seem to mind. Squinting his eyes, he continued to scrutinize Minamoto.
"It's strange. It looks better than before. Last time, it was obvious you dyed it, but now it looks so natural."
"Well, of course. This time, it was more expensive!"
Minamoto raised an eyebrow, then jokingly asked,
"So, want to dye yours too?"
"No way!"
"Come on, people need to try new things—"
"No! Absolutely not!"
Seeing Naruto's firm refusal, Minamoto could only laugh.
As a fresh bowl of ramen was placed in front of him, he immediately dug in.
He was genuinely starving.
It seemed like every time his bloodline evolved, his appetite grew exponentially.
"Well, it makes sense. The 'appetite' of an Ōtsutsuki isn't something ordinary food can satisfy. And..."
As he ate, Minamoto glanced at the tips of his hair out of the corner of his eye.
The color did indeed look more natural now—after all, his hair was no longer dyed. It was the real deal.
[Name: Kitagawa Minamoto]
[Bloodline: Ōtsutsuki Clan (Development: 31%)]
[Dōjutsu: Tenseigan (Nascent Eye)]
[Chakra Reserves: SSS (Above Kage Level)]
[Chakra Attributes: Water, Fire, Earth, Lightning, Wind, Yin, Yang]
[Special Abilities: Ice Release, Magnet Release]
Looking at his Status Panel, especially the "Dōjutsu" section, Minamoto couldn't help but feel excited.
The Tenseigan—it was finally his!
"Though, the development level isn't as high as I'd hoped. But that's to be expected."
The exact process of awakening the Tenseigan, and whether or not it required the Tailed Beasts, was still unclear to him.
What he did know was that his situation was unique.
Like the awakening of the Rinnegan in the Ōtsutsuki, his Tenseigan was the result of a "growth process."
But unlike others, he had directly relied on the Tailed Beasts' Chakra and his bloodline development to activate it.
"Still, it's not bad. Even someone as powerful as Madara Uchiha had to be on the brink of death to awaken the Rinnegan."
Madara had taken a shortcut by transplanting Hashirama's cells, but it had nearly cost him his life.
Minamoto, on the other hand, didn't need to wait. Once his bloodline reached the required level, his eyes naturally awakened.
"And the abilities of these eyes are anything but weak."
Through testing, Minamoto had discovered three abilities of his "Nascent Eye":
Attraction, Repulsion, and Chakra Manipulation.
These abilities reminded him of the Rinnegan's techniques—Shinra Tensei, Banshō Ten'in, and the ability to create Six Paths puppets.
Perhaps this similarity was due to their shared origins.
"Though the abilities are limited for now and still need development, I have plenty of time. And my gains aren't limited to just this."
Looking at the "Above Kage Level" label on his Status Panel, Minamoto felt a surge of pride.
Having Chakra reserves at this level was a testament to his progress.
"Even if it's just my Chakra reserves..."
While having a lot of Chakra didn't guarantee strength, lacking it meant you didn't even qualify to compete.
And with his newfound abilities, Minamoto was already imagining unleashing an "Ultra Shinra Tensei."
"Though, isn't this label a bit much?"
Glancing at the "Nascent Eye" tag, Minamoto couldn't help but smirk.
The name was fine on its own, but when he thought about some of the things he'd done, it felt a bit ironic.
"Whatever. It's all the same in the end."
Shaking his head, Minamoto looked up at the sky.
"It's becoming clearer... almost within reach, yet still so far away."
He could now sense the hidden power within the moon more clearly than ever. The pull it exerted on him grew stronger by the day.
He knew exactly what it was—the Tenseigan, hidden deep within the moon.
"One day, I'll come for you. After all..."
While his eyes didn't require additional "phases" to awaken, he needed to actively absorb more power to achieve their full potential.
And that massive orb, so similar to his own eyes, was something he couldn't ignore.
"Hey, why do you keep staring at the sky?"
Naruto's curious voice interrupted his thoughts.
"Nothing. I was just thinking..."
Minamoto smiled, setting down his chopsticks and wiping his hands with a napkin.
Suddenly, he pushed his hair back, revealing a cold, aloof expression.
"The throne of the heavens has been vacant for too long. From now on, it shall be mine—"
"Minamoto!"
Before he could finish, a voice called out from the distance.
Turning, he saw Kakashi approaching.
"The Hokage is looking for you. Come with me."
"...Oh."
Rolling his eyes, Minamoto reluctantly stood up and followed Kakashi, leaving behind a bewildered Naruto.
"What's wrong with him? What was all that about a throne and a vacancy?"
"Wait... the Hokage is looking for him? Oh no... could he be planning to become Hokage?!"
(End of Chapter)
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