"Mother, don't..." Black Zetsu was anxious and wanted to dissuade her, but then he found himself unable to make a sound even as his mouth opened.
Takuno looked at Kaguya; he didn't make a move against Black Zetsu and continued to absorb Kaguya's power.
Seeing this, Kaguya assumed he had agreed to her request. She remained silent for a moment, and then Takuno felt the process of absorbing her power become much smoother.
Previously, out of despair, Kaguya had not resisted, but she hadn't actively cooperated either.
But now she began to actively cooperate, making the process exceptionally smooth and significantly reducing the loss of energy during the transfer.
Takuno glanced at Kaguya; he actually never intended to erase Black Zetsu from the start.
He held no real malice toward Black Zetsu. Perhaps from the perspective of the popular characters manipulated by Black Zetsu, it was indeed heinous.
But to Takuno, Black Zetsu was merely a filial son who had persisted for a thousand years. It only wanted to save its mother—what was wrong with that?
Even if its methods were filthy and the process twisted, its goal had never changed, and that was enough.
Furthermore, judging by Kaguya's behavior, Black Zetsu's actions couldn't even be considered blind filial piety.
Based on the education Takuno had received, he was never averse to such filial devotion.
However, while he didn't mind Black Zetsu's filial piety, it was impossible for Takuno to give up the power that was within his reach.
Takuno greedily devoured Kaguya's power. With her active cooperation, the energy flowed like a collapsing dam.
The blood-red Nine-Tomoe Rinnegan on Kaguya's forehead, the symbol of supreme authority, fluctuated violently.
Those black tomoe melted into the depths of her pupil one by one.
Her Sage of Six Paths Robe fluttered loudly, and the tomoe patterns on the edges of the robe gradually vanished, eventually turning into a simple white robe.
"Ugh..." Kaguya let out a muffled groan and fell to her knees, her body convulsing slightly from the rapid extraction of chakra.
In the distance, Black Zetsu, frozen by the Dojutsu: Tenken, trembled violently but could not even let out a cry of grief.
Takuno's aura climbed steadily. Pale gold Tenketsu surfaced on his pale interface, and his left Nine-Tomoe Rinnegan and right Tenseigan burst with radiance simultaneously.
Under the wash of Kaguya's power, his Tenseigan finally crossed that barrier, reaching the same level as the Nine-Tomoe Rinnegan.
Its color also changed from its original ocean-like azure to a golden glow identical to the giant golden Tenseigan.
At this moment, with her power almost completely drained, Kaguya was left with only about Kage-level chakra, her pair of Byakugan, and the blood-red Rinnegan on her forehead.
Beyond that, what made Kaguya stronger than an ordinary person was that she was still a part of the God Tree, possessing an immortal body and a constitution far beyond what a normal Shinobi could compare to.
At that point, Takuno stopped his absorption; he didn't care for the small amount of remaining power.
Kaguya naturally felt Takuno stop absorbing her power and looked at him with some confusion.
Takuno chuckled and said, "I never said I would drain you completely."
As he spoke, Takuno hooked Kaguya's chin with his finger, gently tilting her head up.
He leaned down slightly, calmly scrutinizing the former Progenitor of Chakra before him.
Forced to look up, Kaguya's pale face and pure Byakugan still carried a hint of indifference from her bloodline, but deep down, they couldn't hide her weakness and humiliation.
She had just been utterly defeated, and the power she relied on to dominate had been forcibly plundered by more than half.
The Kage-level chakra she had left was not even enough to use Yomotsu Hirasaka to escape; to her, this amount of power was equivalent to nothing.
Takuno's gaze slowly swept over her exquisite features, finally resting on those Byakugan eyes filled with complex emotions.
"I suppose I'm satisfied."
This was not a compliment, but more like a confirmation of the quality of a trophy.
Kaguya's body stiffened almost imperceptibly under his fingertips.
To be scrutinized and evaluated so flippantly was an experience she had never had in her long life.
Even though she had given birth to two sons, Otsutsuki Hagoromo and Hamura, she had become pregnant amidst the blessings of the people; she had no other relevant experiences.
The pride stemming from her bloodline instinctively wanted to resist, but the emptiness of power in her body made it difficult to even gather the strength to break free from that finger.
She could only maintain this humiliating posture, enduring the "inspection" of his cold gaze.
She had no right to refuse, and she didn't even have the right to choose death.
Black Zetsu looked at his mother, who was weak but ultimately alive, with extremely complex emotions surging in his heart.
A sense of humiliation was deeply embedded in his core, which was forged from obsession.
A thousand years of plotting and countless sacrifices had ultimately resulted in a survival bought at the cost of his mother losing most of her power and her dignity being trampled upon.
However, beneath this humiliation, he felt a sense of relief.
From Takuno's actions, he clearly "saw" something.
This mysterious being, whose power already surpassed his mother's, acted overbearingly and ruthlessly, yet his objectives were exceptionally clear.
He pursued power itself and seemed to have no interest in things like ruling the Shinobi World or creating the Infinite Tsukuyomi.
He had defeated his mother and plundered her power, but he had not chosen to completely obliterate her or seal her again.
Even if his motives might be impure...
"At least... Mother survived..."
This thought flashed through Black Zetsu's mind.
A thought that Black Zetsu himself found absurd or even strange popped up uncontrollably.
If they just followed Takuno like this...
The moment this thought appeared, it made Black Zetsu feel a wave of dizziness.
He had schemed against countless people with only one ultimate goal: to resurrect his mother.
And now, his mother was indeed resurrected!
Though the manner was bizarre and her power was gone, her consciousness existed, her body was not sealed, and she was truly standing on this earth!
"The plan... seems to have succeeded?"
Black Zetsu's thinking fell into a brief state of confusion and stagnation.
His core consciousness, condensed from fragments of Kaguya's will, produced an inexplicable feeling upon confirming this basic fact.
A thousand-year wish had been achieved in a way that completely exceeded all his expectations and even brought intense humiliation.
"It's just that... this result..."
Black Zetsu's gaze swept over Takuno's indifferent figure looking down on everything, and over his mother's weak yet still noble form.
His "expression," or rather the emotional fluctuations transmitted through his pitch-black surface, became extremely strange, a mix of daze and disbelief.
And a hint of relief that even he hadn't noticed.
Yes, this result was too strange.
His mother was no longer the Progenitor of Chakra who needed his careful hiding and painstaking planning to be released, but a "survivor" who had lost her power and needed to depend on Takuno.
But regardless, she was alive and seemed to have gained "freedom" in some sense.
Black Zetsu's conspiratorial thinking, accumulated over a thousand years, was still running.
Following Takuno meant huge unknown risks, a complete loss of autonomy, and forever living at the mercy of another.
But at the same time, it meant that his mother could finally live in this world openly without being sealed.
No need to hide, no need to fear the arrival of another seal, as long as Takuno was not interested in her remaining power.
And given Takuno's current power level, Black Zetsu didn't think his mother's remnant power would be of much use to him.
Therefore, his mother was actually safe right now.
Thinking of this, the massive contrast and sense of absurdity caused Black Zetsu's consciousness to almost crash.
His thousand-year plan, under Takuno's absolute power and unpredictable will...
...had reached its end in a completely out-of-control and unrecognizable way.
Takuno now released Kaguya and said to Black Zetsu, "I have things to do. Black Zetsu, you should know what to do, right?"
Immediately, Black Zetsu fell silent; this was an overt trap.
Takuno knew that Black Zetsu wouldn't let his mother die—a dishonorable life was better than a good death—so he would surely do his best to persuade Kaguya during the time Takuno was away.
With that, Takuno left the Initial Sphere Space. He wasn't worried that Kaguya would leave while he was gone.
Her power was now only at the level of an ordinary Kage; she couldn't use Yomotsu Hirasaka or Amenominaka, so how could she leave?
Kaguya was quite important to Takuno, so he still decided to spare her life.
On one hand, he had his eye on Black Zetsu, an exceptionally excellent worker.
After this, he had some tasks that weren't difficult but required a lot of time and continuous effort, and he needed some workers to do them for him.
And in the Naruto world, who would be more suitable for this role than Black Zetsu?
Moreover, with Kaguya in his hands, he didn't even need to worry about Black Zetsu betraying him; he had him right where he wanted him.
Even if Black Zetsu might try to find a way to let Kaguya regain her power and make a comeback during this process.
But...
If Takuno really could be overturned by the two of them, then he wouldn't have anything to say.
Because he couldn't imagine how incompetent he would have to be to be overturned like that; if that happened, it would be better to just die.
Living would just be a waste of time!
Pursuing power? Pursue my foot!
On the other hand, and the most important reason, he didn't know much about the Ōtsutsuki living on other planets.
To understand these matters, he could only go through Kaguya, since even the Sage of Six Paths and the others probably didn't know about these things.
So, after all considerations, Takuno decided to give her a chance, leaving her with only a tiny bit of power that he didn't care for.
Black Zetsu sighed at this point. After hesitating for a moment, he still intended to follow Takuno's overt trap.
Because he truly did not want to see his mother die like this.
Even if life from now on would be somewhat humiliating for a Progenitor of Chakra, even a humiliating life was better than death, right?
Thinking this, Black Zetsu began to persuade his mother, Kaguya.
Kaguya's expression was very complex as she looked at Black Zetsu.
This... was truly her good son. Could he return the touched feelings she had earlier?!
On the other side, Takuno had already returned to the Shinobi World continent with the three people... no, the three ghosts from the Ice Space.
The Sage of Six Paths, Hashirama, and Tobirama didn't even need to ask to know the outcome of this battle.
They looked at Takuno before them; he appeared so transcendent.
An invisible pressure crushed down like something physical, making these once top-tier existences feel their breathing stagnate.
The aura emanating from Takuno could no longer be described simply as "powerful"; it was a vastness and majesty that transcended known rules.
The blood-red Nine-Tomoe Rinnegan on his forehead was now like the core of an abyssal vortex, the tomoe slowly rotating.
It emitted a heart-palpitating aura of intertwined destruction and creation, even more profound and majestic than what Kaguya had once shown.
His left pale purple Nine-Tomoe Rinnegan flickered with a cold light that saw through all things.
It was as if it could see through the boundaries of time and space and the essence of power, its majesty not inferior at all to the eye on his forehead.
And the most shocking change occurred in Takuno's right eye.
The originally deep blue Tenseigan had now completely turned into a golden ocean!
Resplendent, vast, and pure, as if containing infinite starlight and the source of life.
This golden ocean was not static but flowed slowly, each fluctuation drawing in the surrounding light and even causing subtle ripples in space.
It was no longer just a symbol of controlling gravity, but more like an energy core containing the rules of the universe, emitting a sacred and inviolable radiance.
The changes in these three eyes were the direct manifestation of Takuno's complete absorption of the vast majority of Kaguya's power, his fusion with the God Tree's source, and his successful push of his own Rinnegan and Tenseigan to an unprecedented peak.
Now, he was no longer using his Dojutsu: Tenken, but his Tenseigan still remained at this ultimate level!
Seeing through all things, overlooking time and space!
Standing upon the ruins, he was entirely a newborn deity, his power having completely surpassed Kaguya.
The three of them looked at him with only one thought left in their minds.
The fate and future of the Shinobi World were now entirely dependent on a single thought from this unfathomable "Collector."
The knowledge of the Sage of Six Paths Hagoromo was naturally not something the other two could compare to, but his aged face was also etched with shock at this moment.
His Rinnegan stared intently at the figure in the distance, who emitted a pressure that even caused space to warp.
He was also lamenting how the other's power had actually increased so rapidly!
Not long ago, Takuno still needed to use the dangerous Reverse Chimera Technique to merge into his mother Kaguya's consciousness space, betting his will to painstakingly plunder that small amount of God Tree source.
At that time, though he was powerful, he was still within the scope of the Sage of Six Paths's understanding.
He had originally thought his mother Kaguya was the pinnacle of everything—that being who devoured the Chakra Fruit, controlled all of creation, and was almost immortal was the ultimate embodiment of chakra power.
He never expected that Takuno's power would actually grow continuously and rapidly in such a short time until it far surpassed his mother's.