Boom! Boom! Boom!
The sound of heartbeats thundered like muffled lightning, merging into a deafening roar. It was as if a colossal waterfall had been carved into the sealed chamber, or two mighty rivers collided, their waves crashing with explosive force.
Crack!
Slender, delicate fingers dug into the edge of the lightning pool. With a casual grip, Hikari crushed the hardened lightning crystal into powder as if it were tofu.
Propping herself up from the plasma, her pale skin now glowed like red jade. Her heart pulsed wildly, each beat consuming an astronomical amount of chakra—numbers so vast even Kakashi wouldn't dare dream of them.
Since awakening her Sage Body, this was the first time Hikari had unleashed her power so recklessly.
Her heart pumped furiously, blood rushing so fast it strained her veins. Her head throbbed, blood pressure likely soaring into the thousands. Adrenaline surged, her nervous system buzzing with excitement, yet the massive chakra drain left her feeling profoundly weak.
Her soul and body were undergoing a qualitative transformation. Her eyes burned unbearably, faint illusions flickering in her irises. The power of decay within her bones sifted through her cells, forcing her body to grow stronger.
Only the chakra seed, nurtured by her life force, tirelessly converted vitality into the energy sustaining it all.
This won't do!
Hikari realized the problem as she watched the energy her chakra seed had painstakingly converted get siphoned off by her three bloodline limits before it could even flow through her meridians.
The third stage of her Sage Body could handle the energy demands, but her cells needed constant repair, her Ash Bones were enforcing a deathly selection, and her Byakugan was evolving while resisting strain. She was running too many processes at once.
Her chakra conversion couldn't keep up with the consumption. If this continued, it could hinder her abilities' advancement. She had plenty of life force and chakra—Konoha's tens of thousands of square kilometers of primal forest were hers to tap—but the opportunity for bloodline evolution was a one-time deal. If her eye technique suffered from "malnutrition" now, she might never recover the loss.
Weighing the risks, Hikari steeled herself and forcibly split off a strand of chakra, sending it through the countless chains in the void.
---
Meanwhile, at the Root base's second-level training ground:
The slate-gray stone walls were stained with indelible blood, kunai embedded deep in wooden stakes. Shadows twisted under flickering torchlight, stretching into deeper darkness. The air was heavy, thick with the scent of rust and dust.
This was Root's largest training ground. Banzo and the other training division ninjas had tactfully cleared out, leaving the space to Hikari and her shadow clones to practice forbidden techniques.
At that moment, Yang-Release Hikari was deep in discussion with countless shadow clones, analyzing the principles of the Flying Thunder God Technique.
"Almost all space-based ninjutsu in the ninja world are, at their core, summoning techniques," she explained. "The Flying Thunder God works by sealing the user's chakra into a formula. The caster senses that chakra to pinpoint spatial coordinates, then uses reverse summoning to teleport to that location. The derivative technique, Flying Thunder God: Guiding Thunder, is a bit more complex. It creates a spatial conduit using barrier ninjutsu, shifting from teleporting oneself to transferring objects—but it's still the same principle."
Having studied Konoha and Root's ninjutsu scrolls, Hikari's foundational knowledge was rock-solid, bolstered by insights from the original story. She grasped the Flying Thunder God's mechanics at a glance, so long as it didn't involve obscure systems like Hidan's evil god or natural energy. In chakra and ninjutsu systems, she was an undisputed authority.
Of course, she hadn't forgotten she stood on the shoulders of giants like the Second Hokage and Orochimaru. Though she might have surpassed the Second, she still held deep respect for the forbidden technique's creator.
"The principle of Flying Thunder God isn't the hard part," she continued. "The challenge is crafting your own unique formula."
One shadow clone pressed a hand to the ground, her delicate lips set in a cold line. "Once chakra leaves the body, sensing it becomes incredibly faint. The Flying Thunder God formula needs to maintain a connection between the chakra and the user. According to the sealing scrolls, everyone's chakra frequency is unique, so the connection method varies. You have to find the formula linking your chakra to your body, then build your own Flying Thunder God seal. I've figured out the connection using the chakra link between my shadow clones and my main body, but I'm still stuck on how to stabilize it with a sealing formula."
"That's not the only issue," another clone added, sitting cross-legged with hands clasped. "To use chakra to pinpoint spatial coordinates, you need to mentally visualize the spatial structure. That's how you control where you teleport. If the structure's blurry, you'll end up with random teleports—useless in combat and potentially deadly."
"Manually constructing it is too tedious," a third clone chimed in, offering her perspective. "I think we can—"
Yang-Release Hikari found herself unable to get a word in.
But that was normal. All her shadow clones shared the same intelligence and knowledge. None were inherently "better" than the others. To maximize efficiency, they'd divided the ninjutsu's components, each clone tackling a different aspect. Yang-Release Hikari handled theory and framework, the next clone focused on the formula's construction, and others had their own tasks. Their "discussion" was really just rapid alignment without relying on the main body.
As they dove deeper into their "Flying Thunder God seminar," countless chains materialized in the void, flooding their minds with a surge of chakra-laden information.
"If we can't first master the spatial—" The clone working on the formula froze mid-sentence, overwhelmed by the influx of data. The others closed their eyes, silently processing the memory fragments.
Two seconds later, without a word, they all looked up and left the training ground in unison.
---
Moments later:
"Yo, Hikari, what's—?" Chihaya Tooru, bundled in a coat against the hive-like chill of the lab, was studying Hashirama cells and Sharingan when he froze at the sight of a swarm of Hikaris.
"Open the basement. I need that tree!" Yang-Release Hikari said curtly, leading dozens of clones. No time for small talk—the bloodline evolution they'd waited years for was at hand, and the excitement was palpable.
"Got it!" Chihaya, sensing the urgency, dropped his work and yanked open the rusty basement door. The pale red barrier's chakra pattern unlocked, and the clones poured in.
The basement was cleared of clutter. The massive, thriving tree stood in a glass column, its roots submerged in a waxy, fleshy base soaking in nutrient fluid. A woman with deep eye bags leaned against the glass, fast asleep.
Yang-Release Hikari raised an eyebrow. Training and researching ninjutsu in Root's underground for so long, she'd lost track of time. It didn't seem like nighttime, though—Chihaya and the others were still working.
"Tsubaki-hime," Hikari called.
Tsubaki-hime stirred, her dark eyes bleary with confusion. Hikari waved a hand, and her clones, wielding transparent Wind-Release chakra, sliced open the sturdy glass column in an instant.
A foul, acidic stench mixed with the humid, earthy smell of plants filled the room.
"You guys—" Tsubaki-hime, startled awake by the aggressive arrival, blinked as her stiff, puppet-like face showed traces of humanity.
"Sorry, Tsubaki-hime, but I need the tree's power right now," Yang-Release Hikari said. With her main body low on energy for evolution and time running out, there was no room for hesitation or consideration of Tsubaki-hime's feelings. She wouldn't abandon her plan to consume the Senju Tree.
That's right—Hikari's orders to her clones were to devour the Senju Tree.
Born from Hashirama Senju's body and infused with the vitality of the entire Senju clan—including hundreds of ninjas with Sage Bodies—the tree had been nurtured for decades by Danzo with countless test subjects and nutrients. Its chakra and life force were immeasurable, rivaling even the Nine-Tails.
Over the years, Hikari had already absorbed a portion of the tree's power. Without it, the life force of the Death Forest alone wouldn't have pushed her Sage Body to its third stage. Now, desperate for chakra, the tree was her first thought.
"I—" Tsubaki-hime tried to speak, but Hikari's resolve was unshakable. Years of working together had taught her Hikari's will was ironclad.
Glancing back at the flourishing tree, its pale, fleshy base quivering, Tsubaki-hime's eyes brimmed with reluctance.
Whoosh—
Yellow nutrient fluid, reeking of decay, spilled across the floor with a sizzling sound. The clones reinforced the walls with Earth Release, then positioned themselves like human banners, hands aimed at the Senju Tree in the center.
"Goodbye, everyone…" Tsubaki-hime whispered, tears streaming down her face.
Yang-Release Hikari reached to pat her shoulder but stopped, recalling Dazna's tragic fate. Instead, she stepped forward, blocking Tsubaki-hime's view, and aimed her hands at the tree. "Begin!"
Countless sturdy trees burst from the ground, surging like a tide toward the Senju Tree, enveloping it completely until it resembled a giant green bulb.
"Wood… Wood Release!" Tsubaki-hime, wiping tears, stared at the figure commanding the trees, seeing the shadow of the invincible warrior who once swept through the four nations.
---
Back in the lightning pool chamber:
Hikari lay in the plasma, her body flushed purple from blood congestion, noticeably thinner. Yet her eyes burned brighter, like twin ashen lanterns.
Inside her, seven emerald-green gates had fully opened. Viscous life force poured from them, her heart frantically converting it into chakra to fill her depleted body.
The Ash Bones' sifting was nearly complete. Her cells had cycled dozens of times, reborn stronger through death. Perhaps it was a special ability of the Sage Body's third-stage awakening, or a synergy between her Ash Bones and Sage Body, or even her unfinished eye technique at play. Whatever the cause, her cells were transcending biological limits, taking on inorganic traits.
Neither living nor dead, neither human nor sage, neither stone nor jade—her cells danced between life and death, blurring the line between vibrant flesh and cold inorganic matter.
This is immortality!
In a flash of insight, she grasped the essence of this ability.
Kaguya Otsutsuki wasn't sealed into the moon by Hagoromo and Hamura out of familial mercy—it was because, as the progenitor of the Otsutsuki, she possessed absolute immortality. No technique could kill her, nor could she age. Her energy, body, and soul could be separated yet still function, surviving a millennium in the moon until Black Zetsu brought her back at full power.
The nine tailed beasts, fragments of her energy, could revive effortlessly after death. Madara Uchiha, as the Ten-Tails' Jinchuriki, had shown similar immortality, surviving a chest-shattering blow from Might Guy's Eighth Gate, regenerating half his body.
Some joked that kicking Madara's head might've worked, but with his chakra-core heart gone and still surviving, his head likely wasn't a fatal weak point either.
Hikari hadn't yet attained the Six Paths' power, but her body was beginning to exhibit this trait.
In a trance, she understood the source of Kaguya's immortality: the deathly patterns of the All-Killing Ash Bones coexisting with the supreme life essence of the Sage Body. Neither fully alive nor dead, a body in a liminal state achieved true immortality.
Crack!
A sound like eggshells breaking came from her eyes, and her vision went black—she'd lost her sight. Her Byakugan was undergoing its critical transformation. With all seven gates open, the gestation period was nearing its end, and her ultimate eye technique was brewing.
Purple chains in the void linked to her, flooding her with chakra and life force like ambrosial nectar, enveloping her completely. Though her bloodlines evolved simultaneously, her countless clones absorbed energy in tandem, not only replenishing what was lost but overflowing with life force.
Emerald light seeped from her pores, blending with the plasma into a liquid state. The electrified liquid cocooned her entirely.
The void's chains poured life like spring rain, the plasma below forming a base, gradually shaping a massive chakra seed. The life-giving nectar and blazing plasma—mental and physical energies—merged into chakra imbued with the power of all creation.
Thump!
Her heartbeat grew distinct, no longer a continuous roar. It slowed—thirty beats per second, five, once every ten seconds, then once every hundred. Time raced by.
The viscous life light thinned, becoming clear and transparent. Within, a blurred figure sat cross-legged, silver threads swirling skyward, reminiscent of when she developed the Rabbit Hair Needle in the Mist Village inn.
Thump!
Another heavy beat, and the chamber fell into an eerie silence. Even the ghostly wail of air currents vanished, as if Hikari had died mid-evolution.
Then—
Zing!
Like a sword slicing the heavens, two blazing ashen points tore through the life cocoon, illuminating the dim chamber. Endless gray light flooded the space, leaving only the cross-legged figure standing apart, transcendent.
"Eye Technique · Takamagahara!!!"
Boom!
Light surged from the chamber, spilling through the shadowed corridors, Root's base, the meeting hall, the labs—bursting out to envelop all of Konoha. Even the vibrant sunset sky turned a miraculous gray.