After venting his emotions, Kageyama Kokugetsu smiled, pressed a finger to the card's center, and the card disintegrated. A mass of violet-gold light wrapped his body and seeped through every pore into every part of him, down to each cell.
Boom.
Pale blue chakra, almost tangible, erupted from him. Rings of force roared outward without end. Beach sand lifted, grit and stones skittered, waves rolled back, surf heaved, and a circular pit yawned underfoot, widening fast.
A red ribbon streamed with his high black ponytail. His left eye turned from black to white; his right eye became a golden wheel marked with a triangle of three black strokes.
A breath later the burst of chakra drew back inside, and every cell in Kageyama's body began to transform.
There was no discomfort in this near change of life's very tier. It was bliss—more blissful than any life-contact he had ever known.
It simply ended too quickly. The heady, floating feeling vanished in a blink.
"So that's it."
"My body can't bear all of Ōtsutsuki Isshiki's power yet. Forcing it would make me explode, so the change is incomplete."
"The rest is buried through my cells and soul, to transform me subtly over time."
"Pity. I thought I could vault in one step into the top ranks of the shinobi world, first or second."
"Still, this power will grow on its own. Without training I'll keep getting stronger until I reach Isshiki's limit."
"And if I do train, the power sleeping inside will wake faster."
At that thought, Kageyama's grin was hard to suppress.
In this world of cheats, he had become the biggest cheat of all.
"Looked at another way, a blank page makes better art. I have no intention of becoming merely another Ōtsutsuki."
"An Ōtsutsuki who claws up from the bottom and learns every method will be more terrifying than one born above it all."
"Lightning Chakra Mode, Eight Gates, Sage Arts—I can load them all for myself."
"And I need poison resistance training too. Urashiki went down to poison."
"Time to taste the new power."
Universal Pull.
Kageyama raised his right hand toward a three-meter length of driftwood on the sand. It shot into the air and rushed toward him.
Almighty Push.
The wood halted a finger's breadth from his body, then under the crush of gravity and repulsion burst to splinters in an instant. Sea spray and surf blasted back thirty meters.
"Isshiki's black eye really is a mutated Rinnegan, a variant of the Rinnegan."
"It has the full set of base abilities. Isshiki just didn't bother using them; when he was serious, a punch or a kick did more."
"The repulsion of the Rinnegan was broken when Naruto sprouted six or seven tails."
"At super-kage level and above, the Rinnegan's basic kit alone doesn't cut it."
He lifted from the ground and flew toward the island's bustling quarter.
He had not yet become a true Ōtsutsuki, but he had the clan's basic faculties. Limited chakra quality and quantity held his flight speed and endurance far short of a normal Ōtsutsuki's standard.
Skimming the clouds, he flew and looked down on the towns below, heart racing.
"So this is what flying feels like."
"Glorious. Unfettered. Sky and earth, and I stride them."
"Better than hopping around like a flea of a shinobi."
"Wait. To range freely underground, space-time ninjutsu isn't quite enough. I need mastery of Earth Release."
"Same for the water. Mastery of Water Release."
"Perfect. I've got all chakra natures now, and my control is like moving a finger. More skills never hurt."
"Eyes and body arts are my mains, but I won't neglect ninjutsu. Some techniques are simply too useful."
"Years of planning paid off in a day. Time to set a new goal—no, a dream."
"The shinobi world, like the world of pirates, runs on dreams. Blackbeard once said men's dreams never end."
"So what's mine?"
Over the harbor, gazing at the shifting crowds on the docks, he had his answer.
"To become a true god—and make the shinobi world my promised land, a promised land mine to take from at will."
"Peace?"
"If it doesn't hinder my interests, fine. But it will be on my terms."
"The Ōtsutsuki way of harvesting chakra is a touch too crude. Perhaps I can try a sustainable model."
"The chive field model."
Kageyama dropped from the sky at speed, his body fading transparent to blend with his surroundings.
It was a camouflage-style stealth technique akin to the B-rank Hiding with Camouflage used in Iwagakure and Kusagakure for scouting and infiltration.
He had learned a simpler C-rank version with poorer effects. But times had changed: with his extraordinary chakra control, it matched Hiding with Camouflage and Transparent Escape, and with the Ōtsutsuki knack for suppressing chakra leaks, it surpassed them, rivaling the Second Tsuchikage's invisibility.
Silent as mist, he reached the port and boarded a ship bound for the Land of Whirlpools.
Chakra was finite, and so was his proficiency. He would not casually use flight or space-time arts.
Likewise, he would not flaunt his other abilities before others.
Intelligence is king in any world; in the shinobi world it's everything. Back in his last life there was even a saying: Jiraiya of Information.
He had swelled a little, but not so much he forgot himself. He knew exactly who he was.
Ōtsutsuki Kaguya, Ōtsutsuki Isshiki, Ōtsutsuki Kinshiki—all had stumbled.
Back in the Land of Whirlpools, Kageyama ate his fill at an inn, then headed for the front.
Near the battlefield he took care of groundwork in nearby towns.
After vanishing so many days, he would need a plausible reason.
Narrowly escaped pursuit, saved by citizens of the Land of Fire, and returned to the front as soon as his wounds were healed.
Reasonable, and a fine display of the Will of Fire.
With his background—proper enough if not pristine—covering it up would not be hard.
Of course, it was nothing like the purest of pedigrees: a drop of the Hokage's blood, the Senju line, the true green-root heritage.
After the cleanup he shed the samurai garb, put on the ugly but status-marking green flak jacket, and headed straight for the front.
Once across the line he was soon met by Konoha scouts.
After his identity was checked, they led him to a newly established camp.
From comrades of his home village he learned that the Seven Ninja Swordsmen had already been turned into a punchline by Might Duy.
A bit of a letdown.
He had planned to come back and take revenge, but Duy had moved faster than he expected.
He also learned that the Uchiha and Hyuga had reached the front.
Uchiha Fugaku and Hyuga Hiashi each controlled half the camp's forces, cooperating yet competing, a delicate balance.
Fortunately they were still under Advisor Mitokado Homura's hand, so the competition would not go too far or hurt the larger war effort.
After processing into camp, Kageyama headed straight to Logistics for registration and assignment.
Before he reached the tent, a Hyuga and an Uchiha stepped in from left and right to hem him in.