There's a common understanding in the shinobi world: when a ninja fuses two chakra natures, they can obtain the power of a kekkei genkai.
And in Iwagakure of the Land of Earth, the Second Tsuchikage took that a step further by fusing two kekkei genkai together.
The result of combining two bloodline limits was the shinobi world's one and only kekkei tōta—Dust Release.
There was no denying how powerful Dust Release was. After all, just its ability to erase everything was already enough to put it far above most kekkei genkai—though that comparison didn't really include things like the Sharingan or the Byakugan.
For Uchiha Chizumi, under normal circumstances, the only way he might have obtained Dust Release would have been for the Third Tsuchikage, Onoki, to commit evil and then be judged by him in the name of justice.
But now that Uchiha Chizumi had begun to touch the Power of All Creation, all he had done was try fusing three chakra natures together—and he had successfully produced Dust Release, the power of a kekkei tōta.
"So it consumes even more chakra than Lava Release…"
Chizumi looked at the tiny glimmer at his fingertip and then felt the chakra expenditure in his body, speaking in thought.
He remembered that when the Five Kage fought Uchiha Madara, even though Dust Release was terrifyingly powerful, Onoki had mostly used it to clear away Wood Release.
Now that he had felt the chakra cost of Dust Release for himself, Uchiha Chizumi could more or less understand Onoki.
But understanding was one thing.
Uchiha Chizumi had never been the type to lack chakra in the first place.
And with the Water Covenant on top of that, he was practically a perpetual-motion machine, able to sling Dust Release endlessly.
"And it's not just Dust Release. If I keep experimenting, it seems like I might be able to create other kekkei tōta as well?"
Uchiha Chizumi found himself genuinely interested now. There were seven basic chakra natures, and depending on the ratios used, different combinations of two could produce completely different kekkei genkai. That was one reason Hiruzen Sarutobi had never developed a bloodline limit of his own.
Every single kekkei genkai had been refined through countless generations of experimentation by the clan that possessed it, until they found the proper chakra ratio.
Hiruzen may have had five chakra natures, but what he lacked was the specific ratio needed to form a bloodline ability.
Under the influence of the Power of All Creation, though, Uchiha Chizumi could instinctively sense exactly what chakra balance would most likely produce a kekkei genkai—or even help him create an entirely new kekkei tōta.
That night, strange noises kept echoing from Chizumi's house from time to time. He was experimenting with the Power of All Creation.
But Konoha wasn't at peace that night either.
When Hiruzen Sarutobi returned to the Hokage building and looked at the now-empty office, an indescribable loneliness suddenly surged up in his heart.
Ever since his daughter-in-law had colluded with Kumogakure, Hiruzen had stopped returning to the Sarutobi clan compound.
Before, when Uchiha Chizumi had left Konoha, Koharu Utatane had at least still been free to move around. But now, even Koharu had been killed by the escaped Hyūga Hiashi.
"Uchiha Kagami, Danzō Shimura, Koharu Utatane, Homura Mitokado, Hiruzen Sarutobi…"
"Without even realizing it, am I really down to just Homura and me now…?"
Hiruzen's face was half-hidden behind the smoke spilling from his mouth. His eyes were deep—and lonely.
Only now did he realize that he could barely remember what Uchiha Kagami looked like anymore. Even Danzō's face had started to blur in his memory, though strangely enough, Hiruzen still remembered his arm vividly.
As for Koharu, he had seen her not long ago, so she hadn't faded yet.
"It seems I really did fail as Hokage…"
Hiruzen shook his head with a bitter laugh.
After truly witnessing Uchiha Chizumi's strength, he had no choice but to admit that no matter how much he might still want to oppose him, he was no longer a match for him.
"Maybe it really is time to hand the Hokage seat over to Tsunade."
"Let Tsunade deal with the Tenseigan problem. Let Tsunade deal with Uchiha Chizumi too. As for me… it's time to step down."
Hiruzen sighed. He had already considered retiring before. It was just that Koharu had been even less willing to let go than he was. But now that Koharu was dead, what reason was there for him to continue clinging to the Hokage seat?
Moonlight poured down, falling over Hiruzen's figure—and over the rest of Konoha as well.
"Little Jiraiya, is there really no way to get that boy Neji to let Mount Myōboku hold the Tenseigan for safekeeping?"
"What you saw today wasn't even the Tenseigan's full power. The Great Sage once said that the Tenseigan contains an especially terrifying force. If that force were to fully erupt, the entire shinobi world would shatter."
Fukasaku looked at Jiraiya and, still unwilling to give up, asked once more.
In Fukasaku's eyes, Uchiha Chizumi handing the Tenseigan over to Hyūga Neji was a decision so foolish it bordered on insanity.
At the same time, though, he also felt a little relieved that Chizumi had given it to Neji. If Chizumi himself had taken the Tenseigan, then Mount Myōboku might as well stop worrying about some Child of Prophecy and start looking for the best place to hide.
"If I dared bring that up to the old man, I'm pretty sure he'd label me a rogue ninja on the spot."
"Even putting aside the technique inside the Tenseigan that could destroy the entire shinobi world, the power it's already shown is terrifying enough. And it belongs to the Hyūga clan. It's also now one of Konoha's hidden trump cards. In terms of importance, it's probably not even below the Nine-Tails."
"How am I supposed to even say that out loud?"
Jiraiya gave a wry smile.
He trusted Mount Myōboku, yes—but he wasn't Mount Myōboku's dog.
At the end of the day, asking to hand the Tenseigan over to Mount Myōboku for safekeeping was just another way of saying that Mount Myōboku was afraid of the Tenseigan's power and wanted to hide it away.
At this point, Jiraiya was starting to wonder something.
Did Mount Myōboku really seek the Child of Prophecy solely for the sake of peace in the shinobi world?
Naruto, in the end, hadn't actually changed the shinobi world that much. At most, the great villages simply didn't dare start another war because they feared Naruto and Sasuke's power.
As for saying Naruto's purpose was to oppose the extraterrestrial Ōtsutsuki clan…
Wasn't that Boruto's role?
Could it be that Mount Myōboku's so-called prophecy about bringing peace to the shinobi world had really just meant that Naruto would father Boruto?
Fukasaku and Shima had no idea that Jiraiya had already begun to feel some doubt toward Mount Myōboku.
They were still just frowning, thinking about how to get the Tenseigan back to Mount Myōboku.
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