In the far western wilderness.
Atop a massive withered tree.
Isshiki opened his eyes.
At this moment, his left eye was golden, while his right eye was a scarlet Rinnegan.
The instant his eyes opened, the vast Kekkei Mōra-level Chakra within his body surged violently.
'Boom!'
The powerful Chakra fluctuations stirred up a violent hurricane.
Sand and gravel were swept into the air, filling the surroundings with a dense cloud of dust.
"Stronger than Kaguya was in the past."
"After a thousand years of waiting, I've finally completed my transformation."
"If I consume more Chakra Fruits, I will surpass everyone in the clan and become another God of the Ōtsutsuki!"
Feeling the power within his body, which he had now completely mastered, Isshiki smiled.
For the past thousand years, he had continuously searched for a "vessel" compatible enough to support his Kāma and reincarnation.
Countless attempts had failed.
Unexpectedly, through sheer coincidence, he had not only found a compatible vessel, but had also become even stronger than he had been at his original peak.
For that, he had Urashiki, who had arrived from another space-time, to thank.
Urashiki had served as the sacrifice for Isshiki's God Tree, allowing it to produce a Chakra Fruit.
Although Isshiki was now stronger than his former self and stronger than Kaguya had once been, he was still not satisfied.
He could become even stronger!
Kaguya's Chakra, as a Kekkei Mōra-level existence, could still be absorbed by him as her former superior.
And the vitality of this planet had not yet been exhausted.
As long as everything went according to plan, he might even be able to produce two more Chakra Fruits.
More importantly, Isshiki now knew that another space-time existed.
If Urashiki could reach this world from another space-time, then Isshiki should also be able to travel there.
That discovery was extremely valuable.
He could harvest the Chakra of this space-time, then travel to another and harvest its Chakra as well.
That would allow him to obtain even more Chakra Fruits.
If he consumed all of them.
How far could he evolve?
Perhaps he could become the second God of the Ōtsutsuki!
The God of the Ōtsutsuki.
Shibai Ōtsutsuki.
The strongest known member of the clan.
Shibai had continuously evolved by consuming Chakra Fruits until he eventually became a "God," transcending dimensions and standing above all others.
That was Isshiki's ultimate goal!
And here, he finally had a chance to pursue that level!
"Everything is ready."
"Now let's see whether this eye can take me to another space-time."
Isshiki suppressed the many thoughts in his mind.
His Chakra surged once again.
With a thought, the vertical mark in the center of his forehead opened.
A blue Rinnegan with nine black tomoe was revealed!
'Buzz!'
The power of the blue tomoe Rinnegan erupted.
Space-time power gathered around it as Isshiki attempted to forcibly tear open a passage into another space-time.
However, the attempt failed.
The black and red vortex lasted for less than a second before collapsing.
"Without coordinates, and with this eye's space-time power still insufficient, even after absorbing Urashiki's power, it isn't enough."
"I need another source of assistance."
Isshiki narrowed his eyes.
He had already learned from Urashiki how he had arrived in this space-time.
While using Karasuki to travel through time, Urashiki had encountered interference from another form of space-time power.
That interference had altered the space-time passage and caused him to fall into this timeline by accident.
And that other source of space-time power.
It had come from the Dragon Vein Chakra within Seiryū.
The reason Urashiki had arrived in this space-time was directly connected to Seiryū's Dragon Vein.
"As expected, I still can't avoid dealing with him."
"He remains the greatest threat and the one I need to eliminate first."
Isshiki stopped experimenting.
His gaze flickered slightly.
He already knew that Kaguya had been resurrected.
However, he did not consider her much of a threat.
She was only an incomplete Kekkei Mōra-level existence and was currently even weaker than Urashiki had been.
There was only one person in the shinobi world who still deserved Isshiki's full attention.
Seiryū.
Seiryū's strength and talent were enough to make even Isshiki, now a complete Kekkei Mōra-level existence, feel wary.
Even now, Isshiki was not absolutely certain that he could defeat him.
If possible, he would have preferred to travel to another space-time, plant a God Tree there, and increase his strength further before returning to eliminate Seiryū.
However, his current Dōjutsu alone could not open a stable passage into another space-time.
He needed the assistance of the Dragon Vein Chakra within Seiryū's body.
Everything still came back to Seiryū.
"I can't give him much more time to grow stronger."
"Otherwise, even reaching Kekkei Mōra may not be enough to deal with him."
Isshiki murmured.
He turned his right hand over.
A pink turtle appeared in his palm.
Karasuki.
This treasure had originally belonged to him.
It had served as a communication device for contacting the Ōtsutsuki Clan and also functioned as a locator.
After learning that Karasuki could travel between different space-times, Isshiki had retrieved it and taken control of it again for his own plans.
However, he had not used Karasuki to transmit the location of this planet.
That was his final contingency.
If he truly failed to deal with Seiryū, then he would notify the rest of the Ōtsutsuki Clan.
But if he did that.
The uniqueness of this planet would be discovered.
And the Chakra Fruits that could potentially be produced in this space-time, as well as the other one, would no longer belong to him alone.
"If I transmit this planet's location now, it will interfere with my plans."
Isshiki took a deep breath.
Then his expression became firm.
"There's only one option."
"I'll eliminate Seiryū first."
'Buzz!'
A black and red spatial portal opened.
Isshiki stepped inside and disappeared.
When he reappeared, he was already hovering above Konoha.
He scanned the village below, locked onto a specific location, and activated his Space-Time Dōjutsu once more.
Isshiki stepped out of another black and red vortex.
Then he looked ahead.
Seeing the situation before him, he narrowed his eyes.
"It seems I arrived just in time."
His gaze finally settled on Kaguya and Seiryū.
"If I had waited much longer, you might have reached Kekkei Mōra as well."
Several enormous sources of Chakra were gathered nearby.
Each contained reserves comparable to, or even exceeding, those of the Nine-Tails.
Seeing them, Isshiki immediately understood Seiryū's objective.
Seiryū intended to use these immense Chakra sources to break through to the Kekkei Mōra level!
It was an astonishing idea.
Yet it could actually work.
The essence of Kekkei Mōra was becoming a Chakra-based lifeform.
At that level, almost any form of Chakra could be converted and used.
If Seiryū absorbed such vast amounts of Chakra while already standing at his current level.
Then even without consuming a Chakra Fruit.
Reaching Kekkei Mōra might genuinely be possible.
Seiryū had already possessed terrifying combat power before reaching Kekkei Mōra.
If Isshiki allowed him to complete that transformation.
Then Isshiki did not believe he would still be able to defeat him.
Seiryū was indeed the greatest threat!
(To be continued.)