Chapter 576: Go to the Moon
Although Hagoromo remained silent, Kenichi could roughly guess what he was thinking just by looking at his expression.
Still, Kenichi had already formed a theory about why the Sage of Six Paths had never been able to activate the time machine.
Hagoromo did indeed possess the bloodline of the Otsutsuki Clan.
But there was another undeniable fact.
He was already dead.
For Hagoromo, the world of the living was no longer his true domain.
His main battlefield was the Pure Land.
The time machine most likely determined whether someone was an authorized user by examining their genetic information.
In other words, the machine had detected that Kenichi's current genetics were extremely close to those of the Otsutsuki Clan.
That was why it allowed him to activate it.
If Kenichi had also existed purely as a soul like Hagoromo, then he probably would not have been able to operate the machine either.
"That information is truly..."
Hagoromo's expression became complicated.
Then he looked at Kenichi again.
"Does Isshiki Otsutsuki also exist in your world?"
Despite the strange situation, Hagoromo made no hostile move.
Kenichi was currently far too powerful.
The Sage of Six Paths was certainly not going to create another enemy merely because of a time machine.
More importantly, learning that Kenichi came from another timeline actually made Hagoromo feel slightly more at ease.
That meant Kenichi would not remain in this world forever.
Whatever changes he caused here would therefore be limited.
Still, Hagoromo was curious.
What exactly had happened in Kenichi's timeline?
And why had Kenichi suddenly appeared in this one?
Hagoromo could already infer a few things.
Kenichi had apparently known that Hagoromo possessed a turtle-shaped machine.
That suggested...
"Yes."
Kenichi shrugged.
"There was an Isshiki in my world too."
"And there was also another version of you."
Kenichi's expression became slightly annoyed as he remembered what happened.
"When I was working together with you, Isshiki ambushed us."
"Then your other self suddenly threw this thing over."
Kenichi pointed toward the turtle-shaped time machine.
"And it smashed into me and sent me here."
"..."
Hagoromo opened his mouth.
Then closed it.
A moment later, he opened it again.
His expression became extremely strange.
For several seconds, he seemed to want to say something.
In the end, no words came out.
After learning that Kenichi had come from another timeline, Hagoromo had already considered several possibilities.
But he had never imagined that Kenichi's arrival here had actually been caused by another version of himself.
"That doesn't make sense."
Hagoromo suddenly frowned.
"If you came from another timeline, then why have I never seen another version of you in this world?"
He looked at Kenichi with genuine confusion.
Even if two timelines developed differently, many fundamental things should still remain similar.
Otherwise, how could Kenichi know so much about this Shinobi World?
"I don't know either."
Kenichi shrugged again.
That question had bothered him as well.
He had never deliberately traveled to another timeline before.
Yet when the machine sent him away, he had arrived almost exactly at the beginning of the main Naruto storyline.
That alone was strange.
For now, Kenichi could think of only one possible explanation.
Perhaps his own existence had caused the timeline to branch.
His original timeline had already diverged heavily because of him.
Then, when he traveled through time, he entered another branch that had followed a different route.
It was only a theory.
Kenichi had no way to verify it yet.
Although Hagoromo remained extremely curious, he did not continue pressing the issue.
Instead, he began asking Kenichi about the events of his original timeline.
Kenichi immediately became interested.
Of course he could provide intelligence.
But not for free.
"Sage of Six Paths."
Kenichi looked at Hagoromo with a faint smile.
"There's something I've always been curious about."
"What exactly are you doing in the Pure Land?"
He genuinely wanted to know.
Amado had previously entered the Pure Land to conduct research.
Unfortunately, before he could learn much, Hagoromo had used some unknown method to erase the memories Amado formed during that period.
Because of that, Kenichi still had no idea what Hagoromo had actually been doing there.
Now seemed like an excellent opportunity to uncover some of the Pure Land's secrets.
"..."
Hagoromo fell silent again.
Frankly, he did not particularly want to discuss the matter.
It involved too many things.
However, after studying Kenichi for a moment, Hagoromo understood the situation.
If he wanted information from Kenichi, he would have to offer something in return.
And when he thought about it carefully, the consequences were not really his problem.
Even if Kenichi learned the truth and eventually used that information...
The one who would need to worry about it would be Hagoromo's counterpart in Kenichi's original timeline.
Furthermore, nothing Kenichi did after returning home would affect this world.
Once Hagoromo reached that conclusion, he stopped caring.
"You should already know that the Pure Land is the final destination of souls."
Hagoromo spoke calmly.
"I am currently attempting to bring the Pure Land under my control."
Kenichi listened carefully.
"My goal is to organize the souls residing there into a reserve force for the Shinobi World."
Hagoromo's expression became serious.
"It is preparation for the possibility that the Otsutsuki Clan may invade this world in the future."
Kenichi nodded.
He was not particularly surprised.
Strictly speaking, that possibility was already close to what he had previously guessed.
There were only so many things worth pursuing inside the Pure Land.
Kenichi had once considered a much darker possibility.
What if Hagoromo took control of the Pure Land and began absorbing the spiritual essence of powerful souls to strengthen himself?
Apparently, Kenichi had assumed the worst.
His recent experiments on Orochimaru had already taught him something important.
Human souls could gradually repair themselves.
Even relatively serious spiritual injuries would recover over time.
The wounds Kenichi had deliberately created in Orochimaru's soul had already begun healing.
The process was slow.
But recovery definitely occurred.
And that naturally reminded Kenichi of a classic elementary school math problem.
Suppose a pool was being filled with water at a rate of X cubic meters per hour.
At the same time, a hole drained water at a rate of Y cubic meters per hour.
How long would it take to fill the pool?
Simple.
Take the total volume of the pool.
Calculate the net filling rate as X minus Y.
Then divide the total volume by that value.
The same principle could theoretically be applied to souls.
As long as Kenichi determined the rate at which a soul naturally regenerated spiritual energy, he could keep the extraction rate below that threshold.
Then he could continuously draw spiritual energy from the soul without causing permanent damage.
After all, even Minato had returned to the Pure Land smiling despite losing his arms while resurrected through Edo Tensei.
Kenichi suspected that if he truly mastered the Pure Land, he could strengthen his own soul at an astonishing rate.
There might even be many other applications.
"Is the Otsutsuki Clan really that powerful?"
Kenichi looked toward Hagoromo.
"Who is the strongest among them?"
Hagoromo's plan for the Pure Land did not sound particularly impressive to Kenichi.
What use was an army of ordinary souls against truly overwhelming enemies?
Based on the power scale of the Fourth Shinobi World War, even if every genin in the world attacked Madara simultaneously, they might not even break through his defenses.
The Shinobi World was ultimately a world where individual strength reigned supreme.
The difference between the strongest and weakest beings was simply too enormous.
If one wanted ordinary people to bridge that gap, then entirely different methods were necessary.
For example, weapons.
That was one reason Kenichi had invested so heavily in technological research.
If sufficiently powerful weapons could be developed, ordinary people would eventually possess ways of threatening top-tier fighters.
Take nuclear weapons.
If every ordinary person carried an atomic bomb, then even members of the Otsutsuki Clan would have to be careful.
"Gods."
Hagoromo remained silent for a moment before answering.
"The only thing I know is that the strongest among them call themselves gods."
His voice became heavy.
"And they live in Takamagahara."
Kenichi remained surprisingly calm.
Kishimoto was Japanese, after all.
Characters like Kaguya and Isshiki already drew heavily from Japanese mythology.
So the idea that the highest members of the Otsutsuki Clan might reside somewhere called Takamagahara was not particularly difficult to imagine.
Perhaps one day Izanagi and Izanami themselves would descend into the Shinobi World and start fighting Boruto.
Then there were names such as Susanoo and Yamata no Orochi.
Japanese mythology only had so many famous figures and concepts to recycle.
Kenichi decided to fulfill his side of the exchange.
"In my timeline, Black Zetsu accidentally discovered Isshiki's base."
"That's how we first learned that Isshiki was still alive."
"Black Zetsu initially remained obsessed with unsealing Kaguya."
Kenichi smiled slightly.
"Then he eventually realized he couldn't defeat me, so he chose to cooperate instead."
Hagoromo listened carefully.
"As for Isshiki's abilities..."
Kenichi proceeded to explain everything he currently knew.
Hagoromo did not interrupt him.
"Karma..."
After hearing the explanation, Hagoromo's expression became thoughtful.
"I didn't expect Isshiki to already be using Karma to restore himself."
Then he narrowed his eyes.
"However, judging by your description, this man named Jigen is probably not a perfect vessel."
"Otherwise, Isshiki would likely have completed his resurrection already."
Kenichi nodded.
"Exactly."
"The current point in this world's timeline isn't far removed from my own."
"So Isshiki shouldn't be at full strength yet."
Kenichi folded his arms.
"And his base is beneath Amegakure."
Isshiki had been extremely troublesome the first time Kenichi fought him.
The primary reason was simple.
Kenichi had known almost nothing about his abilities.
Fighting an unknown opponent of that level was incredibly restrictive.
Now, however, Kenichi understood at least part of Isshiki's arsenal.
Unless Isshiki suddenly revealed entirely new abilities, Kenichi was not particularly worried.
Hagoromo fell silent.
He seemed to be calculating something.
Kenichi did not interrupt him.
At present, there were very few people in the Shinobi World who could meaningfully participate in a battle against Isshiki.
Hagoromo himself.
Madara.
Hashirama.
Perhaps those three could contribute.
The sages of the Three Great Sage Regions had yet to show any intention of interfering.
As for the current Kage...
Their strength simply was not enough.
Against a fully unleashed Isshiki, most of them might struggle to withstand even a single serious attack.
If Kenichi wanted to force Isshiki to reveal more of his abilities, he needed cooperation from Hagoromo and the others.
"I understand."
Hagoromo finally spoke.
"But with the current level of strength available to us, defeating Isshiki would be extremely difficult."
He paused.
"Unless..."
Hagoromo narrowed his eyes but did not finish the sentence.
Kenichi understood exactly what he meant.
The Shinobi World currently lacked enough top-tier combatants.
But there was one more person who could immediately change that situation.
Unfortunately, she was also extremely dangerous.
Kaguya Otsutsuki.
Releasing her merely to fight Isshiki would introduce an entirely new disaster.
Now was not the right time.
"I think you should focus on cultivating Naruto and Sasuke instead."
Kenichi spoke calmly.
"They're the reincarnations of your sons."
"Their future potential is guaranteed."
"More importantly, Isshiki still doesn't know that we've exposed him."
Kenichi smiled.
"We're in the shadows."
"He's the one standing in the light."
"That gives us plenty of time to prepare."
Hagoromo considered the proposal.
"That is reasonable."
He nodded and prepared to leave.
Before he could disappear, however, Kenichi reached out and stopped him.
Hagoromo turned back.
Confusion appeared in his eyes.
"I want to go to the Moon."
Kenichi spoke directly.
"And I want to capture someone there to help increase my strength."
He remembered that the Moon storyline came primarily from one of Naruto's theatrical films.
Normally, movie plots had little effect on the main series.
But this world clearly did not operate under such convenient limitations.
The events connected to the Moon were probably real.
Unfortunately, Kenichi did not know how to reach it.
Hagoromo, however, certainly would.
So Kenichi decided to ask.
Hagoromo silently studied him.
Of course he knew what existed on the Moon.
After Kaguya had been sealed long ago, Hamura had gone there.
Hamura himself had already died by now.
But his descendants still lived on the Moon.
Unfortunately, after remaining isolated there for generations, many of those descendants seemed to have developed rather questionable ideas.
At least, that was what Hagoromo had gathered from the information available to him through the Pure Land.
"If you wish to reach the Moon, there is a hidden passage."
Hagoromo spoke slowly.
"It allows someone to travel there through another route."
Then he hesitated.
"But..."
His gaze lingered on Kenichi.
Kenichi's strength had already reached an absurd level.
Extremely high.
Hagoromo genuinely doubted whether Hamura's descendants could stop him if he decided to do something.
Kenichi's own safety was certainly not the concern.
"If possible..."
Hagoromo sighed.
"Leave at least one bloodline alive."
"They are still Hamura's descendants."
Kenichi nodded.
Even if Hagoromo had never asked, Kenichi would have done exactly that.
The reason was simple.
If he killed every one of Hamura's descendants, what would he use for future experiments?
Kenichi could not allow valuable experimental material to disappear completely.
After bidding farewell to Hagoromo, Kenichi returned to his laboratory.
Before leaving for the Moon, he needed to properly arrange everything involving Orochimaru.
The moment Kenichi stepped inside, he performed his usual complete scan of the laboratory.
Nothing unusual appeared.
That was expected.
After Orochimaru's previous escape attempts, Kenichi had upgraded every security measure restraining him.
If Orochimaru still managed to find another escape route after all that, even Kenichi would have to admit it was absurd.
"Teacher."
Kenichi approached with a smile.
"How has your body been feeling lately?"
Orochimaru looked outwardly no different from before.
But the condition of his soul had already changed completely.
The spiritual transformation Kenichi had been inducing had finally progressed to the female state he had been studying.
As an experimental result, it was certainly interesting.
....
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