Absorbing the Shikotsumyaku

Sasori of the Red Sand, Orochimaru, and Yota made no attempt to stop the fleeing Kaguya ninja. Their objective had already been mostly accomplished. Besides, with only the three of them, they could never have stopped everyone unless they went all out.

Though Sasori of the Red Sand and Orochimaru appeared to be holding back, both were Kage-level ninja. They had already subdued several Shikotsumyaku ninja and obtained sufficient experimental materials, so they did not care much about the rest.

After casually killing the last Kaguya ninja, Yota slightly raised his head. Ninja were certainly commendable when it came to fleeing. Without any barriers, a few hundred ninja like this could escape with ease; even chasing them down would be impossible.

However, none of the three had any interest in pursuit. Orochimaru studied the two Shikotsumyaku ninja he had subdued with great interest. If he had experimental equipment on hand, he would likely have begun his experiments already.

Sasori of the Red Sand had also felled two Shikotsumyaku ninja with paralytic poison. He pressed and prodded their bodies, seemingly preparing to turn them into Human Puppets.

Once Yota saw that all the Kaguya Clan ninja had fled, he stopped concealing himself. First, he returned the metal he had devoured within his body to the Dark Space. Then black mist spread from his hands as he devoured the corpses one by one, extracting the ninja’s Bloodline Limits and directly integrating them into his own body.

The Kaguya Clan could actually be considered to possess a kind of Sage Body. Their Chakra could not compare to that of the Senju Clan, but their bodies had extremely powerful regenerative abilities. Their bones pierced directly out of their flesh, yet once withdrawn, their wounds healed completely. That recovery ability was almost on par with Hashirama Senju’s.

After absorbing a large amount of the Kaguya Clan’s Bloodline Limits, Yota felt an incessant itch throughout his body, especially in his bones. He even shot up several more centimeters, while the Chakra in his body also underwent a surge.

Most importantly, the nature of his Chakra seemed to have changed. The Seven-Attribute Chakra within him faintly showed signs of merging.

"Senju, Uzumaki Clan, Uchiha, Hyuga, Kaguya! In terms of individual bloodlines, I’m already very close to an Ōtsutsuki."

"If I can obtain the bloodline of the Ōtsutsuki clan on the moon, I’ll probably be no different from a true Ōtsutsuki clan member!"

The Ōtsutsuki clan on the moon had never intermarried with outsiders. In terms of bloodline, they were the race closest to pure-blooded Ōtsutsuki.

Even in the later Boruto, only Toneri Ōtsutsuki was acknowledged as kin by the extraterrestrial Ōtsutsuki clan, which showed just how pure his bloodline was.

"What a pity there isn’t any way to reach the moon yet." Yota let out a long breath. "Perhaps I should look for the New World, or return to the Pirate World and search for a third Devil Fruit."

Ever since the day he had nearly been forced onto the battlefield at the age of ten, Yota’s pursuit of strength had never known an end. It could be said that nearly everything he did was for the sake of increasing his strength, with everything else merely done as a matter of convenience.

Even now, when he could be considered one of the strongest experts in both worlds, his resolve to pursue power had never ceased.

Afterward, the three searched the Kaguya Clan compound once more. Sasori of the Red Sand and Yota found only some research materials on Kaguya Clan ninjutsu. Orochimaru, meanwhile, somehow produced a young child from somewhere. Yota recognized him at a glance—he was Kimimaro Kaguya.

The Kaguya Clan’s appearance and attire were rather unsettling. A group of burly men would dot two red marks on their foreheads and paint dark circles around their eyes, making anyone who saw them feel sick.

Yet on Kimimaro Kaguya, this style seemed remarkably fitting. That strange makeup on his delicate, cold little face, beautiful like that of a girl, instead gave him an ethereal air.

For now, however, Kimimaro Kaguya quietly followed behind Orochimaru. He had clearly been won over by the number one kidnapping expert in the ninja world.

Although Kimimaro Kaguya was a member of the Kaguya Clan and one of its geniuses, his relationship with the clan had never been much to speak of. He had been locked in prison since childhood, so no one could expect him to care deeply about the Kaguya Clan. He had likely fought for them only because of the confusion in his heart. Upon meeting a kidnapping master like Orochimaru, he naturally surrendered after just a few words.

After thoroughly looting the Kaguya Clan, the group quietly departed. Yet the consequences they left behind soon caused an uproar throughout Kirigakure.

"This must be the work of those bastards from the Akatsuki!"

Inside the Mizukage Building, Obito Uchiha, wearing a spiral mask, roared in impotent fury. "What the hell are these bastards trying to do? Aren’t they ruining my plans?"

Obito Uchiha’s original plan had been to proceed gradually, driving the Bloodline Limit clans to their breaking point step by step. That plan had now been ruined, not to mention his intention to take those Bloodline Clans under his command by posing as their savior.

The Kaguya Clan had suffered a devastating blow. The vast majority of ninja who had awakened the Shikotsumyaku were dead, and not even their corpses remained. This put all the remaining Bloodline Limit clans on alert.

The Kaguya Clan was second only to the Hozuki Clan as the second strongest ninja clan in all of Kirigakure! Yet they had been silently devastated by the Fourth Mizukage’s Anbu. The other ninja clans immediately felt that they would share the same fate, and faintly began to unite in preparation to resist the Fourth Mizukage.

Under such circumstances, forget driving the Bloodline Clans to the limit—perhaps the Fourth Mizukage himself would be overthrown first!

Moreover, Obito Uchiha did not dare let the Fourth Mizukage fight at full strength. The reason he had been able to control the Fourth Mizukage was entirely because Madara Uchiha had already used genjutsu to brainwash him from the start. Otherwise, as a perfect Jinchuriki, he could never have maintained long-term control with just one Mangekyo Sharingan.

If the people of Kirigakure noticed anything during battle, or if intense combat caused the Fourth Mizukage to break free of his control, he would have no choice but to leave in disgrace.

Losing face would be the least of it. He would no longer have any standing within the Akatsuki. How could he lead those ninja to capture the Tailed Beasts, or carry out the Eye of the Moon plan?

"Nothing has gone right ever since that Black Shadow Ninja appeared! And this time, those Kaguya Clan ninja said that among their attackers was someone impervious to blades and spears, whose body was even tougher than the bone blades of the Shikotsumyaku. That was probably the Black Shadow Ninja again!"

Yota rarely revealed his own physical strength. In ordinary battles, he generally used the Mangekyo Sharingan, Wood Release, and the abilities of the Dark-Dark Fruit. Still, Obito had evidently obtained some information.

With a vast number of White Zetsu at his disposal, Obito’s intelligence network could be called the best in the entire ninja world. That was the foundation that allowed him to stir up trouble.