Fusion

Yota suspected that his Munch-Munch Fruit abilities had left Orochimaru extremely satisfied with his current body, causing him to slow down his research into Living Corpse Reincarnation.

Otherwise, at this point in the original story, Orochimaru should have been preparing for his first reincarnation.

But Yota naturally could not tell Orochimaru, "Why don’t you try using Living Corpse Reincarnation on me and see whether we can exploit a loophole in the Dead Demon Consuming Seal?" Someone as protective of his life as Orochimaru would never do anything he was not confident about.

"Forget it…" Yota shook his head. There was actually a simpler method: find some expendable loyalist and have him use the Dead Demon Consuming Seal. Opening the Reaper’s stomach would do the trick.

But the Dead Demon Consuming Seal was an S-rank forbidden technique. While a large part of the reason it was rated S-rank was because it required a life for a life, its difficulty was absolutely no joke. At the very least, one needed strength at the peak jonin level to barely perform it.

Otherwise, if everyone could use the Dead Demon Consuming Seal, how could the Uzumaki Clan have been wiped out so easily back then?

Sensing the Kotoamatsukami he had just acquired, Yota curled his lips slightly. Maybe when he had the time, he could go give Danzo a little warmth?

The only problem was that guy was hiding even deeper now. Who knew where he could be found?

"Oh, right. I went to the Grass Ninja Village and did find the Uzumaki mother and daughter." Orochimaru glanced at Yota. "I really don’t know where you got that intelligence, but their Bloodline Limit is indeed quite rare."

Yota merely nodded at such a trivial matter. He had only casually mentioned Karin and her mother to Orochimaru after recalling them. Now that his own faction had been established, there was naturally no need for him to handle things personally.

For a moment, Yota actually felt somewhat lost.

But he quickly dispelled that confusion. Having no more targets whose abilities he could transplant did not mean his strength had reached its limit. His own potential had yet to be fully developed, and whether it was Haki, Devil Fruit abilities, or the use of his own bloodlines, he was still far from peak combat power.

This period was perfect for letting himself settle down. Over the past year, he had improved far too quickly. Absorbing bloodlines such as the Rinnegan, Sage Mode, and Shikotsumyaku had left him without a complete understanding of his own strength.

More than half a year passed in Yota’s various training routines and development of his bloodlines. Though he did not absorb any new bloodlines during that time, his strength grew by the day. One by one, he also developed some of the more powerful Rinnegan techniques, such as Limbo: Border Jail and Heaven Concealed in Stars.

Only now could he be considered to have fully mastered the abilities originating from his Ōtsutsuki bloodline and begun merging them with the powers of the Dark-Dark Fruit.

"Boss, this is the Added-Weight Rock Technique." Kakuzu entered looking utterly bedraggled and handed over a scroll. "I nearly got buried alive by those Iwagakure Ninja just to get this ninjutsu! That idiot Hidan still hasn’t been dug out!"

Yota ignored Kakuzu’s complaints and casually tossed him a box. After opening it and making a rough estimate, Kakuzu immediately gave a thumbs-up. "Boss, you’re generous."

Among Iwagakure’s ninjutsu, Yota truly cared about only a few—Added-Weight Rock Technique, Super Light-Weight Rock Technique, and Dust Release.

After gaining the Rinnegan’s ability to control gravity, Yota could already fly freely, so he no longer cared about the Super Light-Weight Rock Technique. As for Dust Release, it was Iwagakure’s lifeblood. Since Yota had another idea in mind, he did not want to go to war with Iwagakure yet.

The Added-Weight Rock Technique was of no help to Yota in battle, but in daily physical training, it could produce an effect similar to the gravity chamber from Dragon Ball, greatly enhancing the results of his workouts. For Yota, who possessed the physique of the Pirate World, it was undoubtedly the best supportive ninjutsu. That was why he had commissioned Kakuzu long ago.

Though Kakuzu had joined the Akatsuki and was even specifically responsible for managing the organization’s finances, he still had to be paid if anyone wanted him to work! Business was business, personal matters were personal. At most, the Akatsuki would get a small cut from his commission afterward.

Still, once he had been paid, his efficiency was indeed extremely high. And as long as the price was right, he would take any job!

Yota spread open the scroll and read through it. With his current talent for the ninja system, he could basically learn it after reading it once and practicing it two or three times.

"Hm? What’s so special about today? Why have all of you come together? Nagato, don’t tell me you found the Earth-Moon Passage too?"

The person entering through the door had a mane of fiery red hair drifting like flames. His once frail body had become robust, and a sharp glint faintly shone in his Hawkeye. He was utterly different from the sickly man who had looked like he was one breath away from death.

"Ninja from the Rain Ninja Village discovered a suspicious location, but after Konan and I went there, we found no way to enter, no matter what we tried. We suspect it can only be opened under certain special conditions."

Nagato, who had entered the room, reported directly to Yota. "If what you said is true, then that area is the only place worth suspecting."

Yota frowned, but when he thought about how this passage had remained undiscovered for over a thousand years in the original story, there was clearly a reason for it.

Most likely, it was only after someone from the moon opened the passage that travel between Earth and the moon became possible.

As for the method of opening the passage between them…

"Notify Hizashi Hyuga. Tell him to prepare himself and come with me when the time comes!"

After training for more than half a year, Yota’s strength had improved considerably, but he truly felt his hands itching for a fight. This was the perfect chance to see whether he could take a trip to the moon.

In his future plans, the moon was of paramount importance. Not to mention that the Giant Tenseigan was up there.

The next morning, Yota and Hizashi Hyuga arrived at the location in the Land of Fire where Nagato and Konan had detected the anomaly.

Hizashi Hyuga stared with his Byakugan and said in a low voice, "There really is a strange barrier here. It seems only the Byakugan can see through it."

Yota narrowed his eyes slightly. Purple light flickered within them, and a flash of blue faintly passed through.

Yota had forcibly merged the Byakugan he had obtained from Ao into his Rinnegan.

Under normal circumstances, although the Byakugan-Tenseigan and Sharingan-Rinnegan both originated from the Ōtsutsuki clan, they were two separate systems. One came from the power of the God Tree, while the other should have been the Ōtsutsuki’s own power. Though they could appear within the same person, they had never fused. Yet the Munch-Munch Fruit had forcibly broken that limitation.