Chapter 269: The Perfect Vessel
Ōtsutsuki Isshiki was only slightly surprised. After speaking, he calmly continued moving toward the Tenseigan, no longer paying any attention to the Ōtsutsuki branch clan members who had nearly lost all fighting strength.
However, they clearly weren't about to yield so easily.
Just as the Tenseigan was about to fall into Isshiki's hands, a branch clan member behind him suddenly shouted, mustering all his strength to leap at him.
He launched a desperate attack against Isshiki.
Yet before he could even touch Isshiki's body, his own was suddenly pierced through by a chakra black rod that appeared out of nowhere.
A series of heavy thuds echoed.
That branch clan member was pinned to the ground on the spot, unable to move.
At this moment, Isshiki had already reached out and touched the Tenseigan.
That massive eyeball, radiating a destructive aura, was absorbed by him on the spot.
Seeing the Tenseigan—created after great effort, heavy sacrifice, and the annihilation of the main family—stolen away, the remaining branch clan members were instantly enraged.
They all threw themselves at Isshiki with every ounce of strength left in them. Each one was resolved to die, determined to drive him away even if it cost everything.
"We will never let you succeed!"
"This is the eye of the Ōtsutsuki clan—you won't take it!"
"Die! Even if it costs us our lives, we won't let you leave with it!"
…
The few branch clan members lunged toward Isshiki.
But such actions posed no threat to him at all.
He merely released a faint burst of chakra, and the resulting shockwave instantly sent them flying several hundred meters away, leaving them unable to rise again.
Isshiki strolled toward the fallen figures as though he had done something trivial.
He wasn't approaching to save or check their condition, but to take their eyes as well.
After completing this, Isshiki suddenly noticed a baby ahead, lying quietly in a cradle, seemingly unaware of what had happened.
Though it was just a baby, Isshiki had no intention of sparing him.
Originally, he planned to take the child's eyes.
But when he reached out, he discovered that this infant had no eyes at all.
His eye sockets were hollow.
"Born without eyes?"
Seeing those empty sockets, Isshiki finally felt a trace of pity.
Instead of striking, he raised his hand and released chakra to scan the child's body.
If he was indeed of the Ōtsutsuki clan—even if only a branch descendant—his physique would still be far superior to that of ordinary humans.
And just as Isshiki guessed, the scan delighted him. Though born without eyes, the child possessed another trait.
Not only was his body exceptionally strong, he was also a perfect vessel compatible with Isshiki's Kāma.
"This is truly an unexpected gift."
"In that case, you shall be my vessel. From now on, this will be Kara's base."
Looking at the fairly well-built castle, Isshiki made his decision.
Everyone here was already dead, except for this child.
And this child was a perfect vessel.
Without hesitation, he began inscribing his Kāma into the boy's body.
Just as he finished, a weak voice suddenly sounded not far away:
"To–Toneri…"
"Hm? Still alive?"
Isshiki looked in surprise at the man who had spoken.
But the man only managed to call out the infant's name and stretch out his hand, attempting to reach him. In the end, his arm fell limply to the ground, and his life fully slipped away.
Confirming the man was truly dead, Isshiki withdrew his calm gaze.
He looked back down at the baby in his arms. "Toneri—that's your name, isn't it?"
"Then from today onward, obediently become my vessel. I will nurture you with all I have."
"Together, we will evolve into the ultimate being—the supreme god."
…
Uchiha Dali finally understood what endless emptiness and despair felt like.
At the same time, he realized why even beings as powerful as Ōtsutsuki Kaguya, once sealed, could not break free no matter how many centuries passed.
A sealing jutsu of godlike level was indeed formidable.
He had tried countless ways to break free from this seal, learning over a thousand different sealing arts in the process.
But not once had he succeeded.
"Am I really going to be trapped here forever? Never able to return to the shinobi world?"
"That would be way too tragic… at least give me a beauty or two."
Though he mocked himself inwardly, Dali was not truly despairing.
He refused to believe he would remain trapped here for eternity.
"No matter how strong a seal is, there must exist a power greater still."
"I refuse to believe otherwise!"
Dali grew stubborn against himself.
If he couldn't undo the seal through sealing arts, then he would try another way.
"Time to explore my other abilities…"
"Flying Thunder God, space-time ninjutsu, and the Heavenly Rinnegan—let's see just how far my defiance of heaven can take me!"
"Let me grow stronger once again!"
Dali roared in his heart.
If he couldn't leave by dispelling the seal, then he would simply pile up his power.
When his strength reached its absolute peak, perhaps he could smash through the very fabric of this alternate dimension with brute force.
He would be the man to make miracles through sheer strength!
While Uchiha Dali was still searching for a way to escape the alternate dimension sealed by Isshiki, meanwhile in the Land of Fire, near the Valley of the End, Uchiha Madara and Senju Hashirama were once again locked in a fated battle.
The two had been fighting for half a day. The forests, mountains, and rivers within ten kilometers had been utterly destroyed, the landscape completely altered.
Yet no victor had emerged.
"Out of my way, Hashirama!"
Unable to break the deadlock after so long, Madara grew increasingly impatient.
It wasn't that he didn't want to settle things once and for all with his old rival, but he couldn't suppress the worry in his heart.
He didn't know when Uchiha Dali would return.
If he failed to accomplish his goal before then, things would be troublesome.
With both Ōtsutsuki Isshiki and Uchiha Dali present, neither of whom he could defeat, it would be nothing short of delusional to think he could claim the chakra fruit.
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