The Uchiha clan's protection over the remains of their clansmen was strict to a suffocating degree; the recovery process was completely airtight, and the autopsy phase was incredibly meticulous.
The fake corpse he created simply could not withstand any scrutiny; that clumsy disguise was no different from exposing his own shortcomings before an experienced shinobi.
Even more fatal was that his own strength was fundamentally insufficient to create an "accident" on the scene—an accident that could leave an Uchiha warrior "without a whole corpse" yet happen to be skillfully "recovered" by him into a sealing scroll.
Amidst the torment of his hesitation, anxiety, and repeated calculations, the war... came to an abrupt end, catching him completely off guard.
The smoke dissipated, leaving him empty-handed.
The Uchiha bloodline, the Byakugan of the Hyūga—he hadn't managed to get his hands on a single one.
Forced into a dead end, only a desperate, all-or-nothing madness remained in Takuno's eyes.
He meticulously planned an extremely rigorous scheme, locking onto a single Uchiha clansman who was carrying out an outsourced mission alone, to watch for an opportunity to strike and forcibly seize the bloodline!
The operation began.
Holding his breath, he waited patiently at the pre-designated ambush point, his nerves stretched taut like a fully drawn bowstring.
The target stepped into the trap piece by piece; Takuno's heart pounded wildly, his fingers nearly touching the edge of the sealing scroll.
Right at this crucial juncture, a dazzling golden light tore through the tranquility of the space without any warning, descending between him and the target.
With blond hair flying and azure eyes like the purest sky—yet carrying a sharp penetration that saw through everything—it was Minato!
Takuno's blood froze instantly.
The moment he saw this "Yellow Flash," he knew that all his schemes had come to a complete end.
Despair, like a cold tide, instantly submerged him.
"Why..." A massive confusion and unwillingness churned and roared within his chest cavity.
He could not understand why the Uchiha clan, which was full of "loopholes" in his memory, turned out to be so monolithic in reality, leaving absolutely no opportunity to exploit?
Were it not so, why would he have been pushed to the point of having to make a move against a living Uchiha?
Even more ironically, right at the most critical moment, he happened to run into this Minato, who was renowned for his speed and protectiveness, and who absolutely would not tolerate harm coming to his comrades!
Why was the opponent able to discover his meticulously arranged plan?
Making a move against a shinobi of the same village, especially when the target was a sensitive Uchiha clansman...
The ending awaiting him held no other possibility aside from dark, endless imprisonment.
Takuno stood in place, allowing that sky-turning unwillingness of being ruthlessly toyed with by destiny to gnaw at his heart.
All his efforts had turned to foam, and all his hopes were entirely shattered.
He tilted his head back to look at that patch of sky that seemed permanently indifferent, a silent outcry echoing in the depths of his soul.
Why? Why must all things between heaven and earth set themselves against me as enemies?
Rather than spending the rest of his life inside a prison, it would be better to...
Takuno wanted to use the kunai in his hand to end his own life; however, he looked at the kunai that had been knocked away by Minato.
Indeed, without strength, he couldn't even manage... to commit suicide before Minato!
"It feels like I... died once?" Takuno furrowed his brows, recalling everything.
But very quickly, he shook his head; what was he thinking?
He had definitely died once before; if he hadn't died, how could he possibly be reborn into the Naruto world.
For some unknown reason, lately he seemed to constantly think about matters that had no rhyme or reason.
After casting away these inexplicable thoughts, a sliver of excitement revealed itself within Takuno's gaze.
Because he had already obtained the Uzumaki bloodline, the Uchiha bloodline, and the bloodline of the Hyūga branch family; he was only missing the Chimera Technique.
And the Chimera Technique, as of today, had finally reached the moment where it could be harvested!
He had already heard the news of Kakashi obtaining Obito's eye.
Next, Hiruko would definitely go look for Kakashi; he only needed to take advantage of this timing to go to the opponent's laboratory and obtain the research records of the Chimera Technique!
Takuno stood at the entrance of Hiruko's laboratory, his heart beating heavily inside his chest cavity.
However, as his gaze swept across the interior of the laboratory, a bone-chilling coldness instantly seized him.
"Empty... it's completely empty?!"
The scene stacked high with scrolls and instruments that he had anticipated was completely gone.
This place looked as if it had been swept through by an invisible storm, leaving behind only a cold stone platform, abandoned glassware, and irrelevant clutter scattered across the ground.
A massive, ominous premonition flooded him.
"How is it possible... how could he have taken everything away ahead of time?!"
Stormy waves surged in his heart; the script wasn't supposed to be like this!
It was incomparably clear in the depths of his memory: after Hiruko defected, there was clearly supposed to be a brief period of delay where his laboratory would be discovered, which would then draw the pursuit of the Sannin!
During this period of time was his golden opportunity to fish in troubled waters.
Yet reality ruthlessly mocked his foresight; Hiruko was clearly more cautious than he had anticipated, having long since wiped away the key traces for his defection.
The small flame of hope abruptly extinguished, replaced instead by a cold abyss of despair.
The Chimera Technique was within close reach, yet as far away as the horizon!
Takuno stood inside the empty laboratory, his gaze flickering violently; ultimately, that patch of despair was replaced by an all-or-nothing decisiveness of burning his boats.
"Only one path remains..."
The objective had never changed: seize the Chimera Technique! Since the laboratory was already empty, then he would directly seize it from Hiruko himself!
In the deep recesses of the dense forest, Takuno hid within the shadows like the most patient leopard.
Everything was as he expected; the Sannin, mindful of old camaraderie, did not drive Hiruko to absolute termination and chose to abandon the pursuit.
But what he did not know was that Orochimaru, looking at the crows in the surroundings, revealed a bit of an amused expression within a pair of golden snake pupils.
Takuno looked at the injured and fleeing Hiruko; given the disparity in their strength, he could only choose a sneak attack!
If the sneak attack did not succeed, then this battle would become difficult!
It wasn't that he didn't want to arrange traps, but rather that even a moment prior, he had no idea which direction Hiruko would take!
Ultimately, Takuno's sneak attack was considered a success, and he subsequently used the Rasengan to successfully kill Hiruko.
Just as he was feeling self-satisfied and wanted to search for the Chimera Technique he desired, a cold voice rang out beside his ear.
"Tch... so Hiruko ultimately still fell here."
Out from the shadows, a figure paced forward slowly, his golden snake pupils flashing with an unhuman, chilly light under the dim illumination, the corners of his mouth hooking into a playful arc.
"However... kid, for you to actually be able to use Minato's Rasengan? Truly... unexpected."
Takuno snapped his head up, his pupils shrinking to the size of pinpricks the instant he clearly saw the newcomer's face!
Orochimaru!
That pair of golden eyes seemed capable of piercing through the soul, exposing all of his secrets and calculations under the bright light of day.
"You exhausted your wits, even going as far as to risk killing Hiruko..." Orochimaru's gaze swept over the corpse on the ground, then fell back onto Takuno's face, which was stiff from extreme tension, his smile growing deeper and more dangerous, "What is it that you want to obtain from his body?"
The Chimera Technique! That was his sole hope! It was the entire meaning of his transmigration up until today! If he lost it here... that would be more terrifying to him than death!
Takuno's teeth were nearly crushed from clenching, and a fierce drive of throwing caution to the wind dispersed his fear.
He bent his waist abruptly, slung Hiruko's still-warm corpse over his shoulder, catalyzed his chakra to the absolute limit, and fled for his life toward the deep recesses of the dense forest regardless of the consequences!
"Hehe..." From behind came Orochimaru's unhurried, light laughter, tailing him closely.
No matter how Takuno squeezed his own limits, that suffocating aura remained attached like a shadow, maintaining a perfectly judged distance just like a cat playing with a mouse.
Why?! Why did Hiruko clear out the laboratory ahead of time?! Why would Orochimaru appear here?!
Why would this pair of eyes that discerned everything lock onto him?!
Takuno let out a silent roar during his wild sprint, a massive unwillingness and doubt nearly tearing his chest open.
Just one step away! He was clearly just one final step away from being able to fuse the bloodlines, break free from his shackles, and step onto the path of a true powerhouse!
The massive chakra brought by the Uzumaki bloodline seemed to already be surging and churning within his illusory concepts...
Regrettably, all of this had become a reflection of the moon in the water, an unreachable and extravagant hope.
Cold reality told him that the path he had meticulously planned was completely cut off under the toying of destiny.
"This is as far as it goes; I'm tired of playing."
Orochimaru seemed to grow weary of this chasing game; carrying a hint of lazy cruelty, he lightly snapped his fingers.
Snap!
The crisp sound rang out like a death knell.
The solid earth beneath Takuno's feet suddenly became soft and split apart just like quicksand!
A massive pit instantly generated, swallowing the ground he stood upon.
A sense of weightlessness abruptly seized him, and he fell downward uncontrollably.
The instinct for survival caused him to extend his arms in vain, his vision finally casting a subconscious glance toward that grey, dim sky above his head.
"It's over... ah." A sigh that was barely audible, saturated with endless regret and unwillingness, dissipated into the whistling wind.
What a pity...
His field of vision was completely swallowed by darkness.
A giant maw covered in foul, slimy fluid—like the floodgates of an abyss—opened silently from the bottom of the pit.
Takuno's final consciousness only registered a bone-chilling cold slickness and a suffocating compression before subsequent, eternal nothingness.
Takuno did not know exactly how much he had experienced; some memories seemed to have become completely scrambled.
He clearly hadn't obtained the Uzumaki bloodline, the Uchiha bloodline, and the Chimera Technique, yet it felt as if he had obtained them again.
Time after time, he struggled within the mud of destiny.
The sequels were also like this; he wanted to use the Sealing Jutsu: Chakra Isolation Technique to isolate the Three-Tails, and the result was naturally a failure.
He went to snatch the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path, but Nagato's strength after being heavily injured exceeded his expectations; ultimately, he could only watch with wide eyes as the opponent departed. Not only that, but he was also sneak-attacked by Obito, entering into the Kamui dimension.
Here, even if Obito didn't intend to make a move personally, he would still starve to death after a period of time.
He no longer had any hope of living.
Then, matters arrived at the Nine-Tails Incident; he wanted to take advantage of the chaos to snatch Konoha's Scroll of Seals.
But what he didn't expect was that Danzō seemed to have been guarding this place the entire time.
Facing a Danzō in his prime, he did not possess the ability to snatch the Scroll of Seals from the opponent's hands and could only flee.
During this process, his mask was knocked off, and his identity was also discovered...
He could only flee from Konoha; he couldn't even accomplish the matter of isolating the Nine-Tails' chakra anymore. He could only emulate another group of people, collecting a small portion of the Nine-Tails' escaped chakra to cultivate on his own later.
In this Nine-Tails Incident, the Namikaze couple died, and he... did not obtain a sufficient amount of Nine-Tails chakra either.
But all of this seemed to undergo inexplicable changes again.
Takuno learned the Extraction of Three Realms technique and began attempting to grope his way through Kekkei Genkai.
After everything was prepared and ready, his research failed, and he died a sudden death during this process...
"It feels like I... died several times?"
This was not an illusion.
These were the words Takuno would speak every time he occasionally regained consciousness; he felt that something was wrong, yet... he could not find where the problem lay.
Later on, he was petrified by natural energy, and so forth...
But in Takuno's dictionary, there was no word for "giving up."
Falling down countless times, climbing back up countless times, squeezing his own limits in a near self-destructive manner.
Finally, as if having experienced thousands of tribulations and perils, he touched upon that node he had dreamed of: he became the Jinchūriki of the "Small Ten-Tails"!
At that moment, he thought he would usher in the ultimate transformation of his life hierarchy, that power akin to the legendary Sage of Six Paths would surge and pour in.
He held his breath in anticipation, waiting for the sky-tipping grand power sufficient to subvert the world to descend.
However... though the Small Ten-Tails within his body was powerful, the elevation it brought was far lower than expected.
There was no earth-shattering alteration, no absolute power that looked down upon all living custom, only a cold sense of disparity.
Thus, he cast his gaze toward the true Ten-Tails.
He stepped onto the final battlefield, launching a challenge toward that legend who stood at the peak of the shinobi world.
However, he was not Madara's opponent; in the battle against Madara, he suffered a defeat.
The Small Ten-Tails inside his body was even completely stripped away.
Looking at all of this, he knew his life was going to meet its termination here once again.
He could clearly feel that this time, there would no longer be any "inexplicable changes"; the termination of death would be the final punctuation mark.
His field of vision began to blur, and the light was rapidly consumed by darkness.
However, at this moment when his life's candle fire was about to extinguish, there was no fear and no sadness on Takuno's face; instead, he split his mouth open and burst into wild laughter.
"Hehe... Hahahahaha!"
Within this laughter, there was no mournful cry toward death, only a sort of ultimate gratification after being completely burned out!
His entire life had long since been sacrificed to the absolute pursuit of power.
Life? Merely fuel for pursuing power!
The resentment of his comrades after his identity was exposed? Merely dust on the path of pursuing power!
The only thing he cared about was becoming stronger itself!
For this, he could pay any price, even if this price was countless deaths and ultimate, complete annihilation!
None of it mattered!
Looking back at this road, from that ordinary person with mediocre talent, struggling, climbing, exhausting every method, and shedding his very last drop of blood and sweat—he truly had already staked everything!
All of his plans—those schemes that appeared crazy and inconceivable to ordinary people—had actually been realized by him one by one after countless failures and "resets"!
He had stood at a height dreamed of by countless people, becoming the Jinchūriki of the Small Ten-Tails!
This in itself was a grand gamble!
Losing to Madara was not his fault.
He had already achieved the ultimate limit of a mortal, squeezing dry every single ounce of his potential and crossing over countless impossible chasms.
Walking to this step, truly... it was already enough!
That wild laughter was a counterattack against the mockery of destiny, a tribute to his own obsession, and an unregrettful declaration rising from the ashes after burning his life away.
Darkness completely swallowed his field of vision, and the final thread of life's aura dissipated along with it.
The lingering sound of Takuno's wild laughter seemed to still echo above the battlefield, carrying a tragic yet satisfied liberation.
He collapsed, that crazy smile frozen upon his face, leaving no more regrets.
He had already given his all, burning out this life for power; even if his body died and his path dissolved, his soul held no regrets or complaints!
The moment Takuno lost all consciousness, it seemed to touch some sort of forbidden switch.
The entire space became filled with cracks, just like a piece of shattered glass.
Crack—Boom!
Accompanied by a colossal roar that felt like the very beginning of heaven and earth, the "world" completely collapsed and was annihilated!
In the abyss where his consciousness sank, a low, barely audible sigh echoed in the deep recesses of his soul, saturated with endless unwillingness and desolation:
"Actually... I regret it..."
He seemed to be conversing with himself, yet also seemed to be questioning destiny,
"What I regret is not this path leading to death itself..."
A brief pause, condensing a heavy obsession that transcended death,
"But rather... simply not being able to become stronger!"
Hum...
The instant his consciousness returned, Takuno snapped his eyes open!
A terrifying energy sufficient to tear space apart boomed out from those eyes that had abruptly snapped open!
His originally deep, pitch-black pupils were instantly soaked and completely dyed by a violent, blazing blood-red light!
Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!
In the deep recesses of those blood-red pupils, eerie tomoe were generated upon summons!
A single pitch-black tomoe rapidly spun into shape, followed closely by a second and a third!
Three tomoe drew heart-palpitating trajectories within the churning sea of blood, accelerating their rotation and colliding frantically!
Every single rotation stirred a substantial storm of energy; the laboratory lights flickered violently, and the instruments emitted an overburdened hum.
Boom!
The rotation reached its ultimate limit!
The three tomoe abruptly gathered and fused at the core position of the blood-red eyes!
An unprecedented pattern was suddenly branded upon those blood-colored pupils!