Inside the laboratory, time seemed to have lost its meaning; only the low hum of instruments and the faint flickering of indicator lights marked the passing of the hours.
Takuno stood before the device that had once held his greatest expectations.
This precise and cold machine, which was once his key to a shortcut toward the Mangekyō Sharingan, now felt more like a silent mockery.
Two years.
A full two years of time had quietly slipped away amidst one failed activation after another.
That pair of three-tomoe Sharingan now reflected the device's cold metallic casing; deep within the gaze was an unerasable obscurity and gloom.
The Mangekyō remained as unreachable as a moon reflected in a mirror or a flower in a water's depths.
Past experience had once brought him a sliver of comfort.
Even though the device failed to directly open the Mangekyō, he clearly perceived that after every attempt, his pupil power was increasing.
This had once given him the thought that "quantitative change will eventually trigger qualitative change."
However, the results of the last two experiments had thoroughly shattered this illusory hope; the growth curve had already stagnated, and the cold instrument readings announced the arrival of the limit.
The pupil power did not move by even a single thread!
Quantitative change? Qualitative change? Such a concept collapsed with a crash in reality, leaving behind only a mess on the ground and deep frustration.
So, is there only that ancient and cruel path left?
To seek "love," and then personally destroy it or witness its destruction, igniting those cursed eyes within extreme agony?
Takuno's thoughts coldly scanned this option; it wasn't that he hadn't weighed it.
It was just that he knew the underlying color of his own soul better than anyone, which was a kind of near-absolute indifference.
Romantic love? Friendship? To him, these blazing emotions were as foreign as the language of another world.
He even doubted whether he possessed the biological function to produce them.
Minato... this name briefly lingered in his mind.
In the eyes of others, that Yellow Flash who was as dazzling as sunlight was perhaps the person in this world with whom his relationship was "closest."
Nearly ten years of interaction, even researching ninjutsu together.
But in the depths of his heart, Takuno was incomparably clear: if Minato were to accidentally perish, the ripple that would surface in his heart would, at most, be a remark of "what a pity."
Like viewing the destruction of a precious experimental specimen, it was absolutely impossible for it to touch the depths of his soul, let alone trigger a "setback" sufficient to ignite the Mangekyō.
If even Minato, with whom he had spent ten years, was like this, seeking a "furnace" in the mortal world who could truly sway his mind and was worthy of his "love" was no less difficult than growing a snow lotus in the desert.
It was nearly unsolvable.
Perhaps one solution would be to use Kotoamatsukami to make him "love" something, yet it had already been used by Shisui; with the cooldown of Kotoamatsukami, he simply could not afford to wait.
An unprecedented sense of powerlessness quietly spread out.
He murmured in a low voice, a sound that seemed exceptionally clear, yet exceptionally lonely, in the empty laboratory.
"Perhaps... the Mangekyō Sharingan truly has no destiny with me?"
The Uchiha clan's iconic emotions—as blazing and volatile as molten lava—and his ice-sealed state of mind were simply two extremes that could not blend.
His feelings were not completely absent, but there was only a tiny bit, not enough to support him in "loving" something.
Just as this haze of self-doubt almost swallowed him whole, a cold spark of fire was suddenly ignited within the depths of his eyes.
The obscure gaze instantly became sharp.
Since he could not ignite his own, then... how about seizing a ready-made one?
Kotoamatsukami? No, that was not what he sought. The Mangekyō of the Itachi brothers? He similarly lacked interest.
His gaze finally locked firmly onto that name: Kamui.
Obtaining that Sharingan in Kakashi's left eye socket was not a troublesome matter for him.
With his methods and status, there were too many ways to achieve the goal "quietly."
The true difficulty lay with Obito—the man hidden behind the mask who possessed the other Kamui Mangekyō.
Regarding Obito's own strength, Takuno had no intention of looking down on it, but he wouldn't go so far as to fear it.
The thing that was truly a headache was that "intangibility" capability which could be called unreasonable.
When facing him, Obito would surely stay completely within an intangible state; physical attacks and ninjutsu strikes would all pass through his illusory body as if hitting the air.
Wanting to gouge out the eyes of an Obito in that state? It truly sounded like a fool's dream.
Takuno's thinking operated at high speed.
He paused for a brief moment, and a sliver of calculating light flashed through his Sharingan.
"A fool's dream?" He silently chewed on the phrase, the corner of his mouth hooking into an extremely faint curve. "Not necessarily..."
The core outline of a plan quickly took shape in his mind.
As long as he could take Kakashi's Kamui Sharingan one step ahead...
Perhaps he could pry open this seemingly unsolvable deadlock.
Two eyes belonging to the same pair of Mangekyō—the spatial connection between them was the key to cracking Obito's intangibility.
Or even... act as the bait for a fatal trap?
Doing this could indeed grant him Kamui, but...
Takuno's gaze flickered uncertainly in the darkness; did he really want to transplant a pair of Mangekyō Sharingan containing the power of "Kamui"?
If possible, he still wanted to open a Mangekyō Sharingan that belonged to himself.
His ambition was far from stopping at the Mangekyō Sharingan.
The power of the Rinnegan, sufficient to shake the entire universe, and even that Nine-Tomoe Rinnegan on Kaguya's forehead symbolizing ultimate power, was the supreme hall of his dreams.
The reason he did not want to transplant someone else's Mangekyō Sharingan also lay here.
If this key to opening the Rinnegan—the Mangekyō Sharingan—did not originate from the awakening of his own bloodline, but was forcibly grafted from an unrelated Obito... would the Rinnegan truly still open for him?
No one could give him a definite answer to this heavy question.
Among the few supreme powerhouses in the original work who controlled the Rinnegan, which one did not reach the summit relying on their own pupil power or that of their immediate kin?
Transplanting the eyes of a complete "stranger" and then reaching for the Rinnegan? This was fundamentally a path without precedent!
But if he didn't transplant, he might not even be able to reach the Mangekyō Sharingan...
Takuno's heavy sigh dispersed in the silence, carrying an expressible regret.
Back then, why was he in such a hurry? Merely for a Uchiha bloodline vessel, he had hastily used up a slot for the Chimera Technique?
If he could have foreseen today's predicament, foreseen that he would be unable to ignite those Mangekyō belonging to him, and foreseen that his strength would advance so rapidly that he could include Obito—possessor of Kamui—on the Chimera candidate list...
He would have locked onto Obito as the most perfect "vessel" without any hesitation!
Unfortunately, time cannot flow backward.
"Forget it..." His voice was dry and hoarse, echoing in the empty room with a tone of near self-mockery.
"If there truly is no other way... I shall take that Kamui as the final bet; perhaps I can even use it to open the Rinnegan?"
"Even if I cannot, Kamui... its bizarre power to manipulate space and evade all attacks, on some levels, might not necessarily lose to that unreachable Rinnegan!"
This thought was less an analysis and more self-consolation.
"However, before that, I should indeed try to open my own Mangekyō Sharingan."
Takuno's eyes flickered as he made a decision. Kamui... was merely a backup path of last resort!
And if it truly came to that step, he might have another choice.
That would be to abandon the Shikotsumyaku and choose Obito; even if doing so meant fusing with one more Uchiha bloodline, the Rinnegan was clearly not something the Shikotsumyaku could be compared to.
As for Toneri, that was even more the case; he was hailed as possessing the purest Ōtsutsuki bloodline!
Fortunately, because the Shikotsumyaku itself might have a bloodline disease, he had not yet fused with the other party, leaving himself room for choice.
Takuno sighed longly, and the bit of stagnant frustration in his chest caused by the lack of progress on the Mangekyō Sharingan was slowly exhaled with this sigh.
However, brief depression could not become an excuse for stagnation.
He forcibly suppressed that bit of loss and quickly collected his mind, sinking into that never-ending training just like any other day.
In these two years of time, his pursuit of power had never stopped; every step he took was incomparably solid.
In the field of Kekkei Genkai, he had already climbed to a height unimaginable to ordinary people.
Just to mention the Kekkei Genkai he had figured out, there were several: Magnet Release from the One-Tail Shukaku, Lava Release from the Four-Tails Son Gokū, Boil Release from the Five-Tails Kokuō, and Saiken's acid trait.
Besides these Kekkei Genkai with references, he had even successfully figured out Scorch Release.
Every successful fusion allowed his understanding of the mysteries of chakra nature interactions to go one layer deeper.
Currently, his speed and efficiency in figuring out Kekkei Genkai were increasing day by day.
All that remained was Explosion Release and Storm Release; it shouldn't take much time to master them.
At that time, he would truly have gathered all the pieces of the puzzle for the basic Kekkei Genkai.
At that moment, the complex process and exquisite balance of fusing different chakra natures would no longer be a technique requiring deliberate guidance, but as natural as breathing—deeply branded into the depths of his bloodline and genes, becoming part of his bodily instinct.
This profound understanding of the fundamental fusion of chakra was undoubtedly laying the most solid foundation for the path toward the ultimate power: Kekkei Mōra.
However, Takuno's mind was exceptionally clear.
Even if he mastered all Kekkei Genkai, he would absolutely not touch the near-taboo realm of Kekkei Mōra immediately.
That kind of power, which stands above Kekkei Genkai and bloodline Selection and integrates all seven nature transformations of Yin, Yang, and the five elements, was absolutely not something he could carry right now.
To drive it required an equally extraordinary level of life as support.
In his deduction, the opportunity to research Kekkei Mōra would open at the moment he reached the peak of the Six Paths realm.
At that time, he would surely have successfully accommodated the power of the Ten-Tails, becoming the Ten-Tails Jinchūriki who controls all things in nature, possessing a Six Paths body.
Only such a torso and such majestic chakra would possess the true qualification to analyze and control the top-tier power of Kekkei Mōra!
Thinking up to here, he couldn't help but feel a surge of excitement.
But quickly, he suppressed this excitement in the depths of his heart; besides this, there was another peak waiting for him to conquer: Dust Release.
"As expected of the supreme secret of Iwagakure that is not publicly announced, the ultimate skill that the Third Tsuchikage Ōnoki regards as his life."
"Even his own flesh and blood, Kitsuchi and Kurotsuchi, failed to reach the threshold... Kekkei Tota truly lives up to its reputation!"
Dust Release—the process of pushing the nature transformations of Earth, Wind, and Fire to the limit, and then fusing and sublimating them to give birth to that light of "Atomic Dismantling" capable of decomposing all things into an atomic state.
Its complexity and the requirement for precision in chakra control far exceeded any Kekkei Genkai he had previously mastered.
Although Takuno had caught a glimpse of the doorway and made some progress through trial and error, there was still a road ahead to be explored before he could truly drive this power—sufficient to erase existence—at will.
In addition to this, the experience of Shisui's Mangekyō Sharingan that he had previously felt was not wasted.
Takuno's tightly closed eyes snapped open; within those crimson Sharingan, three pitch-black tomoe began to rotate at high speed.
He took a deep breath, and immediately following, a pure and condensed pitch-black chakra—resembling an abyss—began to emerge.
This pitch-black power gathered and took shape violently in front of him.
Accompanied by heart-palpitating energy fluctuations, the pitch-black chakra condensed without dispersing, finally constructing a skeletal outline emitting a dark luster!
It was not a complete giant form; it had no head, no legs to support it on the earth, and even the arms had not yet appeared.
It was merely the most basic and core skeletal structure composed of several giant ribs in the thoracic cavity and a portion of the spine.
However, this incomplete form was also Susanoo!
This was Takuno's own Susanoo, condensed without having opened his own Mangekyō Sharingan, relying solely on his profound understanding of the essence of Yin Release and his own majestic chakra!
Gazing at this pitch-black skeleton floating before him, emitting an ominous and profound aura, a ripple of something unexpected flashed in Takuno's eyes.
It was not the emerald green full of life like Shisui's... but a pitch-black as quiet as an eternal night.
His thoughts turned: "As expected, the Mangekyō Sharingan varies from person to person; the form and color of the Susanoo it reflects are perhaps the external manifestation of the holder's soul essence and pupil power characteristics."
Although he had not yet ignited his own Mangekyō, the evolutionary potential contained within this pair of Sharingan was beyond doubt.
The pitch-black skeleton before him was the most primitive, most authentic posture of Takuno's Susanoo!
However, even though he could touch the threshold of Susanoo at this moment, it could not conversely help him open the Mangekyō Sharingan.
Mastering the "fruit" failed to conversely trigger the "cause."
Truly opening that "eye that reflects the heart" belonging to himself still required an opportunity.
Takuno dispersed the Susanoo and sat down cross-legged, immersing himself in the path of the Sage as he usually did.
At the same time, he was also thinking whether, besides that device and the most traditional way of opening the Mangekyō Sharingan...
There were any other methods to help him open the Mangekyō Sharingan.