The Sage of Six Paths, standing within arm's reach, felt his expansive Sage robes whipping violently in the sudden surge of power.
He focused his senses on this violent yet pure power, and in his weathered eyes, the surprise could finally no longer be concealed, carrying with it a hint of indescribable palpitation.
What met the Sage of Six Paths's eyes was Takuno's brand-new pair of eyes.
The right eye was as deep as the vast, boundless azure sky, flowing with a pure and mysterious blue halo.
That light seemed to possess the penetrating power to discern the essence of all things, containing endless possibilities.
The left eye, the Rinnegan that symbolized supreme power, had undergone an astonishing transformation at this moment!
Deep within the pupil, six pitch-black tomoe were incomparably clear, slowly rotating along some mysterious trajectory, emitting a heart-stopping pressure.
But this was not the end; beyond those six distinct tomoe, at the edge of the space, there were actually three faint tomoe silhouettes flickering!
Although they were not fully lit, they already heralded further potential!
After completely absorbing and fusing with the immense Yin Release Power gifted by the Sage of Six Paths, Takuno's Rinnegan had completed a qualitative leap, steadily stepping into the supreme realm of the Six-Tomoe Rinnegan.
Furthermore, those three faint, peripheral tomoe clearly pointed toward the next legendary peak.
That is to say, the realm of the Nine-Tomoe Rinnegan was no longer far off!
He curled his fingertips, clenching them into a fist.
An unprecedented power surged between Takuno's fingers, as if a slight relaxation would tear through space-time and shatter the universe.
"Is... this the power of pure stats?"
Takuno whispered, his voice carrying a tremor even he hadn't anticipated.
This was not a simple increase in power, but an absolute transcendence in dimension.
He could even clearly perceive that the power filling his body now already surpassed that of Naruto, who in the original work possessed the recognition of all nine Tailed Beasts and the Six Paths Yang Power.
Not only that, but the mechanisms he discerned and controlled far exceeded those of the Child of Prophecy.
Standing from the perspective of the Shinobi World, such a realm was unprecedented.
As for whether there would be anyone in future generations to surpass it? That was uncertain.
Opposite him, the Sage of Six Paths, floating in this chaotic space, also showed obvious shock on his face.
Those eyes, which had witnessed the changing of the ages, finally fixed complexly on Takuno's Six-Tomoe Rinnegan, which was flowing with deep light.
"Since you have already accepted my power, this place is no longer for you to linger. Leave."
The aged and majestic voice echoed in the void.
Takuno felt no reluctance, responding only with an ambiguous chuckle.
His figure began to blur, about to dissipate into the background of this chaos.
However, the very instant before his figure completely faded, a clear sentence echoed permanently in this strange space:
"There is one thing I believe you can rest easy about. In this lifetime, the thousand-year feud between Indra and Ashura may finally come to an end."
As the voice fell, the space returned to dead silence.
The Sage of Six Paths paused; Takuno's words did not bring the joy he had anticipated, but instead surprised him even more.
How did Takuno know of the secret entanglement that had continued between those twins for a thousand years?
He sat withered in the space, his thoughts churning, countless possibilities deduced and then immediately overturned.
After a long while, a sigh finally broke the silence:
"I only wish... that what you say is true."
If the thousand-year feud could really be brought to an end in this world, that would indeed be the greatest fortune within misfortune.
However, in the bottom of the Sage of Six Paths's abyss-like heart, there was another worry that remained unvoiced:
"I wish even more... that this Shinobi World still has a chance for the future."
Takuno's figure quietly appeared at the Moon Base, his nerves finally relaxing, and he stretched his body, letting out a long, satisfied sigh.
He had deliberately left room for maneuver in that conversation with the Sage of Six Paths just now.
After all, the ripples he had stirred had already quietly rewritten the trajectory of fate.
Although the main trunk of the world would not be overturned by this, the fine branches had already turned.
Naruto's personality was leaning infinitely toward the image of "Menma" that Tenten saw in the Infinite Tsukuyomi.
At this moment, the bond between Naruto and Sasuke was indeed closer than anticipated.
However, could this friendship born in the present world truly transcend the thousand-year curse and completely eliminate the hatred between Indra and Ashura that ran deep through generations?
Takuno was not entirely certain in his heart, and could only believe, as the original trajectory indicated, that the "possibility is great."
However, Takuno was actually not very interested in how this thousand-year-old brotherly feud would end.
Whether it succeeds or fails, it doesn't have much to do with him.
At this moment, a heartfelt smile bloomed on his lips; the harvest of this trip far exceeded expectations!
First was his Tenseigan.
Under the grace of the power the Sage of Six Paths had accumulated for a thousand years, although it was not the protagonist, it still got a share, absorbed nourishment, and its power increased significantly.
Takuno focused his senses, his fingertips seemingly flowing with a torrent of new power.
What made him even more excited was that a mysterious premonition arose spontaneously.
This shining Tenseigan was far from reaching the end of its evolutionary path.
At the end of that perception, there seemed to be an even higher form waiting for him to reach.
Of course, the biggest surprise of this trip was undoubtedly the transformation of the Rinnegan!
It not only crossed the difficult threshold in one fell swoop, evolving into a form with six tomoe, but the power it contained was also no longer far from the legendary Nine-tomoe realm.
At this moment, Takuno clearly realized that the power contained in this Rinnegan had finally, on the whole, surpassed his Tenseigan for the first time.
Looking to the future, Takuno was confident.
As long as the plan proceeded smoothly, he firmly believed that this Rinnegan would be completely evolved, eventually condensing the nine tomoe that symbolized supreme power.
What was especially important was that this evolving Rinnegan had a pure and unique foundation and origin.
It was by no means a gift inherited from Kaguya like Madara's, but a source of power that belonged entirely to Takuno himself!
After successfully seizing the immense power of the Sage of Six Paths, a question lingered in Takuno's heart.
Was the next goal still the legendary Chakra Fruit?
After all, his power had already reached an incredible level, and he was different from Naruto.
Although Naruto had received the gift of the Six Paths Yang Power, his own foundation was still shallow, and that power was like water without a source—every bit consumed was lost forever, which was not a long-term solution.
Takuno was completely different; this power could be considered just right for him.
Therefore, the Sage of Six Paths's power was by no means a one-time consumable for him, but an incomparably precious signpost.
In time, through his own unremitting study and training, he would surely be able to completely digest the Sage of Six Paths's power, making it a part of Takuno's own source.
The intensity of this power itself was enough to be shocking.
It was the essence accumulated by the Sage of Six Paths over a thousand years, and its massive "numerical magnitude" might even exceed the total power controlled by the Sage of Six Paths in his prime.
Because of this, Takuno assessed that in terms of the "quantity" of this power alone, it was enough for him to briefly compete in numerical power with that mythological ancestor, Kaguya.
The clash between Naruto and Kaguya in the original work proved this point, and he would only be stronger than Naruto.
However, the temptation of the Chakra Fruit always lingered.
If there was a feasible strategy, the desire deep in Takuno's heart could not be clearer.
He must try to seize that fruit power containing infinite possibilities! This was the ultimate ladder to surpass the Six Paths Power.
But reality was before his eyes; the biggest dilemma was that he racked his brains and couldn't think of any effective method to strip the Chakra Fruit's power from Kaguya's indestructible body.
Rely on Sealing Jutsu? This seemed to be a theoretical direction.
But the research of Sealing Jutsu was by no means just talk on paper; it required specific objects and tangible references to conduct countless attempts and adjustments.
Imagining a Sealing Jutsu that could strip away the existence of the Chakra Fruit out of thin air was no different from a pipe dream.
So the crux of the problem lay here; all the plans he could conceive were based on the premise that he must have the opportunity to directly contact and deeply study the Chakra Fruit itself.
But looking around the Shinobi World, besides the one sealed inside Kaguya, where else could he find a second Chakra Fruit to study?
Did he really have to search the whole sky for the Ōtsutsuki Clan and snatch one from them?
But by the time he found the Ōtsutsuki Clan, Kaguya would have long since been resurrected and occupied the entire Shinobi World.
And the resurrected and adjustable Kaguya would definitely be more powerful than in the original work... wanting to obtain the Chakra Fruit from her would only be harder.
Moreover, the universe was so big; the possibility of him finding the Ōtsutsuki Clan in it... was really not high.
But give up? This thought had never really existed in Takuno's dictionary.
Admittedly, continuing to advance along the current path, he would eventually reach a peak that was almost "invincible in the world."
But what about after that?
When the Sage of Six Paths's thousand-year power was completely digested and absorbed by him, fully transformed into his own, where would the path ahead point?
Was the end of power just eternal stagnation?
Takuno's gaze became deep and sharp, as if penetrating the barriers of space, locking onto the withered God Tree in the Akatsuki base from afar.
Even if he was not in that situation now, he still wouldn't be willing, and he absolutely wouldn't want to stop there.
So, no matter what, he must find a suitable method.
Even if... this method might be a bit dangerous, he would absolutely try it!
However, solving the problem of the Chakra Fruit was not a task of a moment; he assigned the complicated thinking tasks to several Shadow Clones, ordering them to each deduce a way to break the deadlock along different lines of thought.
And his original body had an even more important task at this moment.
Fully digest the immense and vast inheritance power of the Sage of Six Paths within his body, and concentrate on studying the Six Paths Technique!
Although a definite solution for the Chakra Fruit had not yet taken shape, one thing was incomparably clear in his heart.
Every improvement in his own strength would add a crucial weight to the final success.
Therefore, accumulating power itself was the top priority.
At the same time, Takuno also perceived and confirmed the passage of time.
Sure enough, since he stepped into the Sage of Six Paths's domain until now, a considerable amount of time had passed in the outside world.
After all, he was not like Naruto and Sasuke who needed to wake up immediately to deal with Kaguya, so he would naturally realize the growth process of his power during the gift.
Knowing the what and the why.
And during this time, the Akatsuki's operational efficiency was astonishing; the One-Tail Shukaku and the Matatabi had already fallen into their control.
During this period, the Wood Clone he left in the outside world not only participated in the sealing rituals of three Tailed Beasts throughout, but also glimpsed new mysteries and insights regarding the Kekkei Mora.
It was just that because the connection between the original body and the clone had been temporarily blocked previously, this information had not been synchronized in real-time.
Takuno was not worried at all about the survival of the Wood Clone.
The clone he separated out now, even if the amount of chakra it carried had not reached the Six Paths level, was definitely a Super Kage-level existence, and dissipating was by no means easy.
Moreover, his Wood Clone was no longer ordinary, not only mastering the Dark Release power of absorbing chakra, but also being able to partially use the abilities of the Rinnegan.
Supported by such powerful strength, how could the Wood Clone turn back into a piece of rotten wood due to chakra depletion?
However, a piece of unexpected information made him pause slightly.
The former Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, Kushina, had actually given birth to a baby during this time!
Obito, upon learning of this, seemed to suggest to Nagato that this was an excellent opportunity to take advantage of the situation to trigger the "Nine-Tails Riot" again and seize the Nine-Tails.
They did not yet know that the Nine-Tails inside Kushina had already been acquired by Takuno and she was no longer the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki.
Minato did not seem to have publicized this matter, and it was not something worth publicizing anyway.
It would be of no benefit to Konoha's reputation and dignity.
Minato could not see any hope of retrieving the Nine-Tails from it, so naturally, he would not spread this information.
However, Nagato ultimately decisively rejected this proposal.
Because in Nagato's view, since Takuno had already made a promise to handle the Nine-Tails matter, there was no need to take risky moves, adding variables in vain.
Although Obito was unwilling, he could only stop at the suggestion and could not influence Nagato's final decision.
Takuno was not interested in this power struggle; what really surprised him was that Minato and Kushina had actually welcomed a second child.
This was something that did not happen in the original work; after all, in the original work, both of them died right after giving birth to Naruto, so naturally, they didn't have time to have a second child.
Thinking about it, it was not that strange; rather, it was a bit strange that they hadn't had a child for such a long time.
Thinking that she became pregnant and had a child not long after he had just extracted the Nine-Tails from Kushina, he also probably understood the reason: it was the worry about the Nine-Tails Riot.
However, the name given to this newborn made a slightly playful expression appear on Takuno's face.
Because his name was... Uzumaki Menma!