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Three years had passed since Code awakened in this new world, but that time was already behind him. Now only the present existed: a metallic dojo, absolute silence… and Jigen's murderous intent.
Code was on the ground, breathing heavily, with blood sliding down his cheek.
Jigen stood several meters away, arms crossed.
"Stand," he said, without raising his voice.
Code pushed himself up, even though his legs were shaking.
Training began again.
Bone-breaking blows
Jigen's body vanished from his sight.
BOOM.
A fist sank into Code's stomach, sending him flying backward. He rolled across the floor, but he no longer screamed like before. Pain had become part of his growth.
Code took a deep breath, extended his hand, and activated one of his Claw Marks, leaving a black sigil on the ground. Another mark on a column. A third on the wall.
The pattern was ready.
He disappeared into a mark and reappeared behind Jigen, aiming a punch straight at his neck.
But the leader of Kara turned instantly and blocked his arm with one hand.
"Predictable."
CRACK.
Jigen's knee smashed into Code's jaw so hard he heard a ringing in his ears.
He fell—then got up again without hesitation.
The air shattered with each exchange.
Jigen's footsteps sounded like explosions.
His taijutsu was flawless, inhuman, impossible.
And even so… Code tried to reach him.
"Your movements are improving," Jigen mentioned while attacking nonstop, "but your reaction time is still slow."
After a sweeping kick, Code landed on the floor again. He coughed blood, wiped his mouth… and smiled.
"Tomorrow… I'll be faster."
For a second, something resembling respect flickered in Jigen's eyes.
Taijutsu. Isshiki's weapon.
When Jigen declared the training finished, Code remained still for a moment, leaning against one of his marks.
Pain flooded his body, but his mind was disturbed for another reason.
He remembered a scene from the anime.
Isshiki Ōtsutsuki overwhelming Naruto and Sasuke using only taijutsu.
No complex jutsu.
No elaborate strategies.
Only raw strength.
Raw speed.
Raw physical mastery.
That was the level he had to reach.
If Code wanted to become someone who would never need a limiter…
If he wanted to become someone no Ōtsutsuki could ever control…
Then his taijutsu had to reach the realm of the impossible.
And Jigen was the best tool to achieve it.
Training never ended
Training "ended" only for Jigen.
For Code, ending meant something completely different.
As soon as Jigen left, Code remained in the dojo—bleeding, panting, staring at the metallic floor marked by his Claws.
Pain didn't break him.
It sharpened him.
The echo of battle
He could still feel Jigen's blows humming inside his bones.
Jigen's physical power was monstrous, overwhelming—and Code understood that the path to reach him wasn't just training…
It was transformation.
He pushed himself upright, holding his ribs.
Then he activated a mark and teleported to the other end of the room, breathing heavily.
"Too slow…"
He clenched his teeth.
He teleported again.
And again.
And again.
The dojo became a field of black-and-white shadows as Code pushed his teleportation endlessly, sweating and bleeding from the earlier training.
While he moved, his mind filled the void that words couldn't.
If I want to surpass the Ōtsutsuki… taijutsu alone isn't enough.
I need something more.
Images resurfaced.
—Might Guy opening the Eight Gates.
Surpassing even Madara for a moment.
Brilliant… but suicidal.
Temporary.
Destructive.
Not useful for someone seeking stable growth.
—The Kaguya clan. Kimimaro.
A kekkei genkai built on raw physical supremacy.
Bones harder than steel.
Brutal regeneration.
Inhuman movement.
Code stopped.
Sweat dripped from his chin, but for the first time in hours… he smiled.
"That…" he whispered. "That could work."
A power based on the body.
Perfect for his combat style.
Ideal for speed, destruction, and taijutsu.
The Shikotsumyaku of the Kaguya clan.
The ultimate physical power.
How to obtain it?
Code leaned on a wall as his body trembled… but his mind raced.
That kekkei genkai was almost extinct.
But there was one man…
A man who recovered corpses, mixed DNA, became a monster, and perfected forbidden techniques.
Kabuto Yakushi.
The serpent-man.
The perfect sage.
The one who obtained DNA from almost every clan.
He must have Kaguya DNA.
He is the key.
But Code wasn't stupid.
He couldn't simply go to Amado and say:
"Can you give me indestructible bones like Kimimaro?"
Amado would suspect.
Amado would doubt.
Amado would report to Jigen.
But Code had an advantage:
He was Jigen's favorite.
Not because he was strong…
But because his Karma showed compatibility with the Ōtsutsuki
—without being a vessel.
He was rare, valuable, unique.
And if Jigen ordered something…
Amado obeyed.
Maybe the path wasn't to ask directly.
Maybe he had to manipulate the situation.
The second piece of the puzzle — Sage Mode
As he stretched his neck, another image came to him:
Kabuto during the war, transformed into a monstrous sage.
A perfect Sage Mode.
He had combined countless kekkei genkai, cells, DNA, and senjutsu.
Code whispered:
"If I get Kaguya DNA… why not also look into Sage Mode? It might even help me hurt the Ōtsutsuki."
He didn't need to become like Kabuto.
He didn't want to become an aberration.
That's where Amado would be useful.
But learning the principles—
The physiology—
The accumulation of natural energy—
That would also boost his physical power.
Two goals.
Both dangerous.
Both nearly impossible.
He just needed Jigen to send him "outside on a mission."
Any excuse.
Any pretext.
Any permission.
After all…
he was Jigen's favored weapon.
And as long as Kawaki wasn't a stable vessel…
Code remained at the center of the board.
Decision
Code took a deep breath and wiped the blood from his lip.
"If I want to stop falling under Jigen's blows…
then I need to become something more than human."
He dropped into a fighting stance, activated his marks, and vanished inside them.
With a clear objective:
Obtain the power of the Kaguya clan.
Study the secrets of perfect Sage Mode.
Surpass everyone.
Even the Ōtsutsuki.