"This really is a useful ability… such a shame the requirements are so steep…" Kazuki's thoughts stirred as he assessed the strength of the Soul Mark embedded in Kaguya, a trace of reflection crossing his mind.
"I was able to imprint Kaguya's soul for two main reasons. First, she entered my body, which naturally fulfilled the possession condition…"
"Second, her mental state is unstable. Among all the powerful beings worth marking, she ranks near the bottom—making the process significantly easier…"
"Plus, she harbors a strange kind of affection toward me… That makes it even easier to act. If it were another Ōtsutsuki, imprinting a Soul Mark would be flat-out impossible."
If he had been able to imprint Soul Marks onto Isshiki, Urashiki, and Momoshiki, then Kazuki wouldn't be forced to drain the Shinobi World of its final essence within just three years…
At the very least, there were still several decades to go.
Though for Kazuki, even three years was more than enough...
"Kaguya… is very useful."
Kazuki gazed at the wandering figure in the pitch-black void, as if he were looking at a natural filter—an ideal vessel capable of holding power, yet with a soul marked and controlled by him from the inside out.
Whether it was the Chosen of Gaia's consciousness or the corpse of Ōtsutsuki Shibai—both of which far surpassed the power of the average main-branch Ōtsutsuki—Kazuki, despite his intense desire for them, maintained a deep wariness.
The term "Chosen" made Kazuki uneasy. What if the so-called planet-designated guardian followed some cosmic rule—like in certain other worlds—binding him into some powerful but immobile, planet-bound wraith?
After all, from the perspective of the planet's will, once it has selected a living being as its protector, would it really allow that chosen one to act freely? The power born from collective planetary consciousness wouldn't give up its anchor so easily.
And as for Shibai—the god of the Ōtsutsuki—his corpse might be a priceless treasure, but was the chakra contained within it really something that could be approached so lightly?
Just like what happened with Uchiha Madara, who was taken over by Kaguya—when there's a gap between power levels, recklessly absorbing a higher-tier energy is extremely dangerous.
Kazuki had never hesitated to regard every powerful being with the deepest, most ruthless malice.
In his eyes, every transcendent figure—without exception—had walked a road paved with bones. Not one of them could possibly be a "good person."
To take their power, he had to proceed with the utmost caution—layered on top of more caution.
And Kaguya… was the stepping stone Kazuki had chosen.
He would turn her into a fully controllable vessel—one completely dominated by him. By planting an indelible Soul Mark within her spirit, he would have her approach the power of Ōtsutsuki Shibai… or perhaps the Gaia consciousness itself.
The moment of contact, Kazuki would siphon only the pure energy into his own body—while the excess consciousness or any hidden traps would remain sealed within Kaguya, acting as a proper firewall for him.
"Watch closely, Zetsu. This is how you use Kaguya!"
Kazuki smirked silently, and whispered teasingly in his heart: "You probably didn't even realize how useful Kaguya really is, my foolish little brother… or maybe sister?"
"But rest assured, I'm not one to break my word. I'll give Kaguya a proper ending—one where she can be happy… and stay by my side."
Her fate had already been decided—completely orchestrated by Kazuki.
The next step was simple: find Black Zetsu and have it cooperate with Kazuki to engrave that unremovable mark of Kazuki deep into Kaguya's soul.
...
Meanwhile—
Shinobi World.
"Where the hell did he go? Damn it, where the hell is he?!"
Black Zetsu, eyes flaring with the Kamui Mangekyō, no longer bothered to hide its identity. It brazenly began mobilizing the remaining White Zetsu to scour the Shinobi World, frantically searching for any trace of Kazuki.
Everyone drunk in their delusions, while I alone remain clear-headed—that was exactly the state Black Zetsu was in now.
While the rest of the Shinobi World—including the Sage of Six Paths—believed that Kazuki had simply absorbed too much Ōtsutsuki chakra due to his dōjutsu, or that he'd gone astray due to the extreme tendencies of the Uchiha and Indra bloodline…
After all, with Kazuki's lineage, the descent into madness was always dangerously easy. Chakra, by its very nature, carried immense information and emotion—enough to distort anyone's mind.
The struggle between the Tailed Beast jinchūriki and the chakra of the Tailed Beasts themselves was a perfect example.
To the Sage of Six Paths, he fully agreed with this logic.
Because he had witnessed firsthand how Kaguya, as an Ōtsutsuki, transformed from the Rabbit Goddess into a monster intent on destroying the world. He had also experienced how his eldest son, Indra, due to disagreements over the inheritance of Ninshū and the ideal of peace, fought against Asura—and then stubbornly reincarnated for a thousand years just to prove he was right…
And Kazuki happened to possess both of these critical elements.
He was a descendant of Indra, carried part of Indra's chakra, had Kaguya sealed inside his body, and had also absorbed chakra from other Ōtsutsuki…
A topping on top of extra toppings.
Even the Sage of Six Paths felt that Kazuki, despite raising the bar for the entire Shinobi World to prove themselves by gaining strength, had still left them a path forward—he hadn't gone on a killing spree. If they failed to prove themselves, they could still go live on in the alternate dimension he'd created…
That already showed astonishing self-control!
Despite being burdened with the chakra of multiple Ōtsutsuki, and the influence of Indra's bloodline, Kazuki had managed to preserve the final shred of kindness in his humanity—and had not been taken over.
This deeply impressed the Sage of Six Paths.
How could this possibly be something a mortal could achieve?
After calming down and thinking it through, the Sage became convinced that Kazuki must possess a love for the world that surpassed even his own!
Only that kind of love could explain how Kazuki, surrounded by the extreme malice of numerous Ōtsutsuki and Indra's legacy, had still preserved a trace of respect and affection for the living beings of the Shinobi World.
And under the Sage's explanation, the people of the Shinobi World naturally accepted his reasoning and became even more determined in their efforts to "save" Kazuki…
After all, while the Sage of Six Paths' character might have been questioned by Tobirama, his power was undeniable.
When it came to anything related to the Ōtsutsuki, only he and Ōtsutsuki Hamura held true authority to speak—and Hamura happened to share the same view.
But unlike everyone else in the Shinobi World—
Black Zetsu knew with absolute certainty:
Kazuki had never been influenced by any Ōtsutsuki, nor by Indra's bloodline, nor by the Uchiha lineage, nor by any of those chaotic external forces!
His freakishly gifted older brother was, in truth, someone born evil!
A thousand years ago, he had already developed that terrifying dōjutsu. From the very beginning, he had set his sights on Kaguya…
Ōtsutsuki? Indra? None of them could compare to Kazuki's scheming nature, vicious personality, and sheer extremism. He was already a pitch-black abyss—how could any shade of gray possibly influence him?
"I have to find him… Where the hell did he go?! Obito's not going to make it!"
Madness brimmed in Black Zetsu's eyes. Uchiha Obito, even as he approached death, hadn't forgotten to send it away safely—and had entrusted his power to it.
That had completely cracked open Black Zetsu's heart—just like when Kazuki had resurrected Tobirama before sealing himself away.
Every time Black Zetsu recalled how it had once mocked Obito, telling him to go study medical ninjutsu and life force techniques… it felt a stabbing pain of regret.
That dumb kid—he hadn't done it for Kazuki.
He'd done it for Black Zetsu!
—And all of it had started with Black Zetsu's own lie: claiming it had used the power of the Mangekyō to activate Obito's latent talent…
But even after that lie was exposed by Isshiki, Uchiha Obito ignored it completely—and still resolutely chose to protect Black Zetsu, going alone to face the terrifying Isshiki!
This was Isshiki!
A main-branch Ōtsutsuki so fearsome that even Black Zetsu's own mother—Kaguya, the Progenitor of Chakra—was utterly terrified of him…
And Obito, all by himself, was going to face such a terrifying enemy?
To Black Zetsu at this moment, time had become an incredibly precious and scarce resource…
Because with every passing minute, every passing second, Obito could succumb to Isshiki's erosion—completely losing himself and becoming nothing more than an unconscious vessel, never to return to who he was.
"This is my fault… All my fault!"
After failing time and again to find Kazuki, Black Zetsu clenched its fists tightly.
It had misjudged the situation.
Black Zetsu had assumed that when Kazuki used his dōjutsu to grant Obito a certain amount of power, it was merely to manipulate him—using Obito as leverage to break through Kaguya's mental defenses…
So surely, before Obito was fully consumed by Isshiki, Kazuki would show up and speak with him directly.
But Kazuki had completely vanished from the Shinobi World, and that disappearance made one thing clear to Black Zetsu: Kazuki didn't care about Obito's life.
If he did, then he would've come to find him the moment things got serious…
And Black Zetsu had made a fatal mistake.
Back then, it actually did know where Kazuki was—but chose not to contact him, afraid that reaching out too soon would put it in a passive position during negotiations. From that moment on, it never managed to locate Kazuki again.
The opportunity had come and gone in a flash.
And Kazuki… had never given Black Zetsu a chance to make up for it.
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