A deep blue light rose in hazy mists from the spring, illuminating the surrounding rocks as if they were covered in a layer of flowing liquid stars.
Takuno stood by the spring's edge, gazing at this strange light source.
This was precisely the mysterious passage leading to the distant Moon, which he had finally locked onto earlier by driving his Shinobi Crows to track the Toneri father-and-son duo.
The scene before him overlapped vaguely with a fragment from the depths of his memory.
He remembered clearly that this seemingly holy spring actually harbored a danger that could lead one to ruin.
It could entice those who stepped into it to fall into a cage of illusions representing their deepest inner desires.
Takuno's brow furrowed imperceptibly; in the face of the unknown, he never spared the utmost caution.
His hands formed seals.
"Wood Release: Wood Clone Technique!"
The soil beside him heaved in response, and a verdant sprout broke through the earth, growing rapidly against the wind.
The trunk extended, molding itself in an instant into a form identical to Takuno's original body.
The Wood Clone abruptly opened its eyes and, without needing verbal communication or a moment's hesitation, leaped into the spring water that emitted a blurring halo.
As the spring water touched its body, there was no expected sensation of cold or suffocation.
He immediately noticed an anomaly; in this seemingly liquid space, one could breathe normally, as a crisp scent flooded the lungs;
Even more peculiar, his eyes required no deliberate protection from chakra, nor did they feel the slightest irritation or blurriness from being soaked in liquid; instead, his vision was exceptionally clear and transparent.
Looking around, the scene before him completely overturned the concept of a "spring."
Below was a bottomless, profound passage that seemed to lead straight to the center of the earth.
Countless boulder-like spheres of varying sizes, resembling weightless celestial debris, floated silently in the surroundings, drifting slowly.
Specks of shimmering light flickered on the surfaces or within the crevices of the boulders, interweaving into a river of stars.
Where was this "underwater"? It was clearly like being situated within a boundless and silent deep space of the universe.
Of course, true outer space would not provide the oxygen necessary for survival.
Just then, a strange energy quietly washed over his skin, seeping into his body in thin strands.
"Is it this energy?" Takuno understood in his heart, his mouth curving into an interested arc, "Is this the illusory power that makes one indulge in their most fervent inner cravings?"
At his current level of power, he could easily isolate this invading energy from his body with just a flicker of thought.
However, a notion spread through his mind like a ripple.
He wanted to see what he actually desired within the illusion.
Takuno actively withdrew all defenses, allowing that hallucinogenic energy to drive straight in.
After a moment of trance, Takuno's consciousness coalesced within another "reality."
He found himself sitting cross-legged at the peak of a ten-thousand-fathom isolated mountain; a biting gale howled around him, yet it could not move him in the slightest.
Below were the masses of living beings, tiny as ants, and a magnificent, boundless landscape of mountains and rivers—all prostrate beneath his gaze.
He raised his hands and stared at his palms.
An unprecedented sense of power filled his entire body.
With a slight thought, a water screen as smooth as a mirror instantly coalesced before him, clearly reflecting his face—especially those vortex-like pupils.
Nine pitch-black Tomoe revolved slowly within the pupils of the Rinnegan, emitting a divine majesty that looked down upon all living things!
"Heh..." Takuno let out a knowing chuckle, carrying a trace of imperceptible mockery, "As expected, power... is my eternal obsession?"
But this illusion was clearly lacking in ability.
The so-called Nine-Tomoe Rinnegan possessed only an awe-inspiring appearance, yet failed to grant him even a shred of that world-destroying true majesty.
The curve of Takuno's mouth took on a clear edge of derision.
"Such a fragile illusion is truly... disappointing."
He used his powerful spiritual energy to inspect his inner self.
As expected, he "saw" that colossal beast imprisoned within the core of his body by layers of seals: the Ten-Tails!
That hideous silhouette filled with an aura of destruction, and those vast, abyss-like chakra fluctuations, all served as symbols of ultimate power.
Unfortunately, it was also just an empty shell with a superficial appearance.
The meager imagination and power level of this illusion's creator simply could not support simulating the power of a Ten-Tails Jinchūriki that exceeded the limits of cognition, let alone the true sensation of wielding that supreme ocular technique.
"Not even possessing the qualification to experience it for a moment?"
The last trace of investigative interest in Takuno's eyes vanished completely, replaced by disappointment.
He no longer hesitated, his hands instantly forming the seal for dispelling falsehoods.
"Release (Kai)!"
In reality, Takuno abruptly opened his eyes.
The deep blue light of the spring reflected in his profound black eyes; he moved his fingers slightly, confirming the true sense of control over his body and chakra.
Throwing that false feast of power completely to the back of his mind, he refocused his gaze toward the end of the deep passage leading to the Moon.
Within the shimmering spring water, Takuno finally swam toward the darkest core area in his perception.
After an unknown amount of time, a soft yet highly piercing light suddenly flared up ahead, dispelling the surrounding darkness.
Finally, he slowed to a stop, hovering at the source of the light—beside a pool of spring water emitting a strange halo, identical to the one where his original body was located.
Takuno's gaze locked onto it, a clear sense of inquiry and amazement flashing through his deep eyes.
"What... is going on here?" he thought to himself.
He remembered clearly that he had been swimming along an absolutely vertical direction toward the deepest part, following the pull of gravity.
Yet at this moment, he had weirdly emerged from above this mysterious spring!
This completely defied common sense.
Even more startling to his mind was that through the ability of Spatial Reversion, he could incredibly clearly perceive that the connection between himself and his original body had been stretched to a preposterous and terrifying distance.
That was not the "far away" found on land; its scale was so grand that the feeling it gave him...
Was as if spanning the boundless void between the Moon and the continent!
He had indeed arrived upon the Moon!
This seemingly calm, glowing spring before him was by no means ordinary.
It must contain some kind of spatial power within it that surpassed understanding!
"Interesting..." A thick sense of interest rose from the bottom of his heart.
This spring was undoubtedly a treasure.
If he could discern the principles of its operation and analyze the mysteries of time and space contained within, then his understanding of spatial-type Sealing Jutsus would inevitably leap to an entirely new realm.
A thought immediately flashed through his mind: "By then, the S-rank forbidden jutsu that the 'Yellow Flash' relies on for his fame—the Flying Thunder God Technique—might no longer be out of reach for me."
However, just as this thought emerged, Takuno suddenly paused, a complex expression surfacing on his face.
"Wait... do I really still need to 'learn' the Flying Thunder God Technique now?" he asked himself.
Since successfully assimilating Hashirama's cells and obtaining a more powerful system of strength, "Flying Thunder God" seemed to have long been excluded from his list of needs.
He had even never seriously considered attempting to master it again.
Perhaps with the massive chakra he now possessed after fusing the Hashirama cells, and his refined control over energy, he already possessed the qualification and ability to master that once-unattainable S-rank spatial ninjutsu.
Unfortunately, possessing the ability of 'Spatial Reversion', he no longer needed to learn this S-rank ninjutsu.
"Heh..." Takuno shook his head with a bit of helplessness.
This feeling was truly strange; the threshold he couldn't touch even with all his might in the past had now quietly opened for him, yet he already possessed the key to a higher place and had no need to push that door open.
"Truly... the caprice of fate."
After murmuring this, Takuno's hands had already formed seals.
In an instant, his originally standing figure turned into a piece of ordinary decayed wood and merged into the ground.
The next moment, without any spatial fluctuation, Takuno's true body had replaced the Wood Clone's position, silent and soundless, as if he were meant to be there all along.
This Body Flicker that spanned the vast void between the continent and the lunar surface seemed like a stroll in a courtyard to him.
Takuno closed his eyes slightly, sensing the consumption of ocular power.
The consumption was indeed not small, but measured against such an incredible spatial distance, this bit of consumption was simply low enough to be amazing.
One could imagine that if this technique were used merely between points on the continent, its consumption would likely be minuscule.
His gaze shifted, landing upon the bubbling, glowing spring water.
For himself, who possessed Spatial Reversion, even if he researched this object thoroughly, the benefits would likely be limited.
However, the trajectories of power contained within were quite novel; once the dust settled, perhaps it would be worth exploring a bit, if only as a pastime to kill boredom.
His thoughts settled, he stepped forward, walking straight toward the dark tunnel entrance ahead.
The moment he stepped into the edge of the tunnel's shadow, a sudden change occurred!
"Rumble!"
A dull roar accompanied by the tremors of the ground exploded violently!
A colossal entity, at a terrifying speed completely inconsistent with its clunky build, charged out from that narrow tunnel that could barely contain it!
With a heavy carapace of deep brown hue and massive dual pincers waving with an ear-piercing sound of breaking air—it was precisely the giant crab ninja beast that guarded the spring!
"So it's you."
Takuno's eyes flashed, instantly understanding where the source of the illusory power within the spring lay.
In his memory, there were indeed fragments of this crab attacking Sakura and the others, though he hadn't cared for the name of this ninja beast in the past.
Looking at that massive figure crushing toward him like a tank, Takuno's mouth curved into a barely perceptible arc, saying with a bit of playfulness:
"Giant Crab? Heh, since you're a crab, you should follow the basic laws and walk sideways as is your duty. Running wild in such a straight line—where are your manners?"
Before the words had even faded, the Giant Crab's giant pincer, carrying the weight of ten thousand tons, tore through the air and smashed down toward his head!
At the critical moment, the eerie and magnificent Mangekyō Sharingan in Takuno's eyes suddenly spun, a red light flashing and vanishing!
"BOOM, CRACKLE!!!"
The giant pincer smashed fiercely into the ground where Takuno had stood a moment before.
The rock layer, hard as iron, shattered in response like fragile glass; spiderweb-like cracks spread frantically, rock fragments shot out, and dust filled the air as the entire cavern shook violently under this berserk strike.
As the smoke cleared slightly, the Giant Crab shook its compound eyes in confusion.
Empty beneath its pincer? Its dull mind could not understand why the target it had clearly locked onto had vanished.
Its compound eyes turned, and it was stunned to find that the tiny human was standing safely several fathoms away, watching it with a gaze so calm it was almost cold.
Was it seeing things? Did it attack the wrong position just now?
Its simple brain prevented it from deep inquiry; the Giant Crab only knew the target was still there.
It let out a low roar, clumsily retracted its giant pincer embedded in the ground, accumulated strength, and prepared to launch a second charge, its eight crab legs grinding over the broken rocks with an ear-piercing scraping sound.
However, at the very instant its strength coalesced, the anomaly occurred again!
Takuno's figure was like a ghost; without any sign, he had already appeared in the center of the earth that Giant Crab had just smashed to pieces.
The distance was so close that he was almost pressed against the Giant Crab's torso, which was covered in hard carapace!
He could even smell the moist, fishy scent clinging to the crab's shell.
The Giant Crab's compound eyes reflected Takuno's figure at close range, and its massive body experienced a moment of paralysis due to shock.
Takuno looked indifferent and slowly raised his right hand.
There was no earth-shaking aura, no dazzling brilliance—merely a slender finger.
Seemingly at random, he tapped it lightly upon the Giant Crab's crab shell, which was as thick as a fortress; the point of contact was precisely the core position of its torso.
"Sss..."
The moment the fingertip touched the carapace, the Giant Crab's movements completely froze.
Immediately following, a tiny crack, almost invisible to the naked eye, surfaced quietly with Takuno's fingertip as the origin.
This crack spread frantically at a speed exceeding visual capture!
They instantly crawled over the Giant Crab's massive body, covering the hard back shell, the thick crab legs, the hideous giant pincers...
The Giant Crab's massive body went completely rigid; even the slightest tremor vanished as the last light in its compound eyes dimmed rapidly.
The next moment.
"Thump!"
There was no deafening explosion, only a dull, light sound.
The Giant Crab's indestructible, massive body completely crumbled apart!
Debris fell like gray snow, rustling down to cover that patch of earth it had smashed itself.
On the spot, only Takuno's standing figure remained as he slowly retracted that finger.
This was... Spatial Reversion!
A look of slight lament also appeared in Takuno's eyes.
No wonder it's said that spatial and temporal abilities are basically never weak.
For instance, in battle, it's impossible for both sides to always blast each other with ninjutsu without ever using taijutsu.
And once the opponent approached him, it meant the opponent had arrived at a position where he had existed in the past.
As for the consequences, one only needed to look at that Giant Crab.
Unless the opponent's reaction was fast enough, they would have no way to defend against his offense.
And this was under the restriction of being in a completely strange environment; if the location of the battle were a familiar environment to him—
Then any position on the entire battlefield would be a point he could shift to.
Fighting him in such an environment, the opponent would have only one choice: be fast enough in reaction so that even his attacks, with his ability to shift anywhere, would fail to take effect.
But of such people, how many could there actually be?