With a slight thought from Takuno, the jet-black Susanoo instantly dissipated into the air, leaving behind only faint glimmers of chakra.
The light of the Tenseigan chakra flowing in his eyes flickered slightly, reflecting the contemplations in his heart.
He knew that his current ability to summon a Perfect Susanoo without relying on the Mangekyo Sharingan was entirely thanks to the Tenseigan Chakra Mode.
In this transcendent state, his Yin Release Power was amplified manifold by the power of the Tenseigan, reaching a level sufficient to command a Perfect Susanoo.
However, this strength did not come without a price.
The Tenseigan Chakra Mode's consumption of chakra was nothing short of terrifying.
Even with Takuno's current total chakra reserves, it was impossible to maintain himself in this state indefinitely.
Exiting this mode was an almost inevitable choice.
But what about after exiting?
What followed would be a significant drop in his control over Yin Release, and he would temporarily lose the foundation required to support the Perfect Susanoo.
This seemed like a step backward, yet it pointed toward a clear path: tempering Yin-Yang Release itself.
The Tenseigan Chakra Mode had opened a door for him, allowing him to glimpse and personally experience the mysteries of a higher level of Yin-Yang Release.
This precious experience made his subsequent path of improving Yin-Yang Release incredibly clear.
In his normal state, he could follow the experience gained under the Tenseigan Chakra Mode to improve the depth and intensity of his mastery over Yin-Yang Release.
Furthermore, this was even a cyclical evolutionary path!
The more refined and profound his Yin-Yang Release was in his normal state, the more the Yin-Yang Release Power he could command and unleash would rise accordingly when he re-entered the Tenseigan Chakra Mode, becoming even more powerful;
And this stronger experience of power would, in turn, become a new benchmark, guiding the direction and goals of his next normal training session.
By repeating this cycle, his mastery of Yin-Yang Release would climb in a spiral through repeated tempering.
When the Tenseigan Chakra Mode could no longer provide him with any further amplification of Yin-Yang Release, his mastery of Yin-Yang Release at that time would surely reach an absolutely terrifying level.
Moreover, during this process, once his Yin-Yang Release reached a certain level...
He would possess the qualifications to touch a higher level of power and condense Truth-Seeking Orbs that contained the power of all things.
If successful, the significance would be beyond imagination.
At that time, his current strongest killing move, the "Golden Wheel Reincarnation Explosion" slashed out with the combined force of the Tenseigan prayer beads and Tenseigan chakra, would surely undergo another qualitative leap in power, ascending to a brand new height!
Although the Tenseigan prayer beads were strong, they could not possibly compare to a Truth-Seeking Orb that contained the power of all things!
The corners of Takuno's mouth couldn't help but curl into an arc.
To this day, standing at the summit, the road ahead was still so clear, with every step having a definite goal—how could this not bring a sense of gratification?
Admittedly, the upcoming path would likely lack the explosive leaps in strength seen when the Tenseigan first awakened, but this down-to-earth progress, where every step led to greater power, was enough to keep his mind clear and focused!
Get stronger, get even stronger!
He would never stop!
After determining his future direction...
He had intended to exit this state. He had basically tried all the abilities he wanted to try; the remaining few unattempted ultimate moves, such as the "Golden Wheel Reincarnation Explosion" that could tear through stars, were simply too terrifying in power.
He knew full well that if he truly swung down that Golden Wheel condensed with a massive amount of Tenseigan chakra, the fate of the entire moon would likely be split in two.
Its destructive power might even far exceed the version displayed by that Toneri in his memories.
Such world-destroying techniques were definitely not things to be tested lightly.
Since there was no need to further explore the power boundaries of this mode, maintaining the state seemed unnecessary.
However, just as he was about to withdraw his chakra with a slight thought, a highly tempting idea suddenly surfaced in his mind!
Eight Gates!
With the enhancement of the Tenseigan Chakra Mode, could his body—which had been tempered to the limit by Yang Release Power—withstand... opening the "Eight Inner Gates Formation"?!
This thought instantly ignited Takuno's strong desire to investigate, and without any hesitation...
A sharp glint flashed in his eyes, he took a deep breath, and the aura around him changed abruptly!
He resolutely activated that forbidden technique that surpassed the limits of the human body.
"Eight Gates: Sixth Gate: Gate of View, Open!"
Without any warm-up, he bypassed the first five gates and instantly burst open the Sixth Gate, the Gate of View!
"Boom!"
A torrent of deep emerald-green chakra, deeper than the color of the Tenseigan chakra, erupted and surged from within his body!
This power, symbolizing the peak of pure Taijutsu, attempted to break free from its shackles with an astonishing momentum.
However, this violent green tide only shone for a brief moment before being quickly suppressed by the even more pure, fluorescent green glow of the Tenseigan Chakra Mode.
The power of the Tenseigan steadily contained this newly born energy within it.
Takuno felt that the burden brought by opening the Gate of View was minimal; even in his normal state, opening this gate didn't pose much of a burden to him.
He didn't linger there; the desire to explore his limits drove him one step further.
"Eight Gates: Seventh Gate: Gate of Wonder, Open!"
An even stronger energy floodgate was blasted open!
"Buzz!"
This time, the erupting chakra took on a completely different form!
It was no longer emerald green, but a blazing blue that shone with a piercing light like high-concentration steam!
This energy originating from the Gate of Wonder, carrying terrifying high temperatures and impact force enough to distort the air, was far more violent than the Gate of View.
It was no longer easily suppressed like the Gate of View's chakra; instead, with a defiant posture, it violently crashed against the fluorescent green Tenseigan shroud enveloping his body.
The two supreme energies did not clash and annihilate each other; rather, after a brief and intense collision, they actually began a strange fusion!
The fluorescent green and the blazing blue blended into each other, like two colors of paint blurring and mixing on a canvas.
Ultimately, the layer of chakra shroud covering Takuno's body changed color—it was an unprecedented azure-green!
This azure-green light flowed incessantly, signifying that the two peak powers had reached a subtle balance and unification within his body.
Takuno concentrated on feeling the power surging within him, but his brow couldn't help but furrow tightly.
This power itself wasn't lacking in strength, but its extreme instability was the root of his concern.
He knew well that the core principle of the Eight Gates lay in completely removing all of the human body's limiters, thereby stimulating the most terrifying instantaneous explosive power.
Therefore, even when he integrated the Eight Gates into combat in the past, he cautiously stopped at the first two gates.
Removing the body and brain's limits was enough; the later gates were so violent and untamable by nature that they could hardly coexist harmoniously with other powers.
At this moment, the Tenseigan Chakra Mode displayed an astonishing suppressive force, managing to forcibly restrain the surging energy brought by opening the Seventh Gate, the Gate of Wonder.
However, this was already its limit.
Takuno clearly perceived that this internal balance was on the edge of its limit.
While the Tenseigan Chakra Mode was indeed powerful, it could not bear the heavy load of the Eighth Gate, the Gate of Death, on top of suppressing the Seventh Gate!
He deduced that if he forcibly opened the Gate of Death, the result would inevitably be the instantaneous collapse of the Tenseigan Chakra Mode.
Once he exited this mode, his own Yang Release intensity would drop back to its normal state.
And the Yang Release intensity in that normal state could absolutely not withstand the terrifying consumption and backlash after opening the Eight Inner Gates Formation; severe injury would be unavoidable.
Fortunately, death might be avoidable.
Because after exiting the Eight Inner Gates Formation, one would not die immediately; he could still re-open the Tenseigan Chakra Mode and use the powerful Yang Release Power it contained to repair his damaged body.
Takuno couldn't help but let out a soft sigh.
The root of the problem wasn't that the Tenseigan Chakra Mode wasn't strong enough; on the contrary, it was because his own physique had been tempered to be too extraordinary.
It was precisely this far-beyond-ordinary physique that made the power boost he gained when opening the Eight Gates even more sensational than that of other users.
He pondered that if his physique were similar to Might Guy's, then the Tenseigan Chakra Mode might be able to easily carry and fuse with the power of the Eight Inner Gates Formation.
Thinking of this, Takuno shook his head helplessly.
This seemed to have fallen into an unsolvable paradoxical loop.
To make the Tenseigan Chakra Mode sufficient to fuse with the Eight Inner Gates Formation, he needed to become stronger;
However, as he became stronger, his physique would become even more robust, which in turn caused the power of the Eight Inner Gates Formation to rise once again...
And so the cycle continued, without end.
From this perspective, without the intervention of external forces, the idea of achieving a perfect combination of these two powers within his body would likely always be a pipe dream.
"Forget it, I'll take it one step at a time for now."
Takuno temporarily suppressed the idea of risking opening the Eight Inner Gates Formation under the Tenseigan Chakra Mode.
Compared to chasing that fleeting, ultimate explosion of power, preserving his life was undoubtedly the wiser choice.
Of course, given his personality, if the fusion of this power could bring a permanent enhancement...
Then even if he had to risk his life, he would certainly take a gamble at the right moment.
Takuno slowly exited the Tenseigan Chakra Mode and the Eight Gates, and the azure glow flowing around him faded away.
When the last shred of power dissipated within his body, a sudden sense of emptiness swept through him.
It wasn't just Yin-Yang Release; even his own strength was like the difference between heaven and earth.
The power that just a moment ago controlled heaven and earth like a god had now regressed to the ordinary "Super Kage" level.
He looked down at his hands, his brow furrowed.
Just yesterday, this kind of power had made him feel as if he stood at the peak;
Now, having seen the strength under the Tenseigan Chakra Mode, it only felt incredibly weak.
"In the end, my perspective has changed..."
He sighed softly, a bit melancholy, and shook his head without thinking further, his figure flashing toward the Ōtsutsuki Clan territory on the moon.
He had intended to head straight for the laboratory, but a sudden surge of intuition made him stop abruptly.
Some invisible force was faintly coming from the northwest, pulling at his Tenseigan.
That aura... was actually from the same source as the Golden Tenseigan!
"Could it be?!" Takuno's pupils constricted slightly as if he had thought of something, and he instantly turned into a stream of light and sped away.
Dilapidated ruins and broken walls entered his field of vision.
All the marks were relatively new, clearly the embers of a shocking battle from recent days.
He stood in silence for a moment, recognizing this as the place affected when he and Toneri flew off to duel.
Buzz!
A faint light from the Tenseigan rose from his eyes, and the giant stones scattered across the ground floated into the air at his command.
After the dust settled, a giant stone eyeball three people tall was revealed, its surface covered in cracked patterns, with a faint purple light flickering deep inside like breathing.
"As expected... it's the purple Tenseigan." Takuno lightly touched the cold stone surface with his fingertips, closing his eyes to sense it.
A thin thread of Tenseigan power remained within it like a gossamer, but it was nearly exhausted, leaving only an empty shell.
But he could be certain that this was indeed that purple Tenseigan, so the stone eye in the Ōtsutsuki Clan's graveyard was indeed just a fake used for rituals.
Looking over this treasure whose power had already almost entirely vanished, the corners of his mouth suddenly curled into an arc.
The Golden Tenseigan still needed to maintain the clan territory's operations and couldn't be moved lightly, plus he would need to absorb its power later.
But this power-depleted purple Tenseigan... was the perfect experimental material!
The rubble rumbled and floated up again as he carried this purple Tenseigan and flew toward the laboratory.
After returning to the laboratory, Takuno's gaze fell upon his original pair of Mangekyo Sharingan, and an indescribable wave of complex emotions surged within him.
He sighed deeply as a somewhat untimely thought quietly surfaced.
He actually felt a hint of reluctance and hesitation toward these Tenseigan, not wanting to switch back to the Mangekyo Sharingan.
To be fair, his Mangekyo Sharingan abilities were indeed very powerful and practical.
However, measured by pure power levels, they indeed could not compare with the Tenseigan he currently possessed.
Moreover, even if he didn't rely on the Mangekyo, with just the power of the Tenseigan, he was already able to freely open the Perfect Susanoo.
This undoubtedly greatly diminished the strategic value of the Mangekyo Sharingan in actual combat.
However, Takuno soon overcame this psychological hurdle.
After all, the Rinnegan was necessary.
The core of this necessity lay in his ultimate goal of becoming the "Ten-Tails Jinchuriki."
The Rinnegan was the best intermediary vessel to carry the power of the Ten-Tails.
After all, the Rinnegan itself was a product of the combination of Ōtsutsuki bloodline and the power of the God Tree.
Even a Rinnegan awakened later in life must follow this theory.
The progenitor Ōtsutsuki Kaguya was only able to open the Rinnegan after consuming the god tree fruit;
Her son, the Sage of Six Paths Otsutsuki Hagoromo, inherited his mother's chakra power and likewise awakened these eyes that symbolized divine power.
Looking at Madara's eye-awakening process, why did he go to such great lengths to fuse the chakra of the reincarnated Ashura and Indra?
The fundamental purpose was precisely to combine the chakra of the Sage of Six Paths's descendants to form the Sage of Six Paths's chakra, and then utilize the primordial power derived from the god tree fruit contained within it!
Only with the help of this power could the Mangekyo Sharingan achieve its ultimate transformation and evolve into the Rinnegan.
Therefore, the Rinnegan essentially must contain this portion of the God Tree's power, as it shares an inseparable common origin with the Ten-Tails god tree fruit.
Thus, in the critical process of attempting to accommodate the Ten-Tails and ascend to become the Ten-Tails Jinchuriki, possessing these Rinnegan that share the same source as the God Tree's power would absolutely provide him with some unexpected assistance!