Takuno took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the surge of reluctance in his heart.
He deftly replaced the Sharingan back into his eye sockets, and the familiar flow of chakra instantly returned.
At this moment, he held the Tenseigan he had just removed in his hand. The crystal-clear eyeballs shimmered with a mysterious luster in the dim light. He had originally planned to find a special container to seal them in and carry them on his person for easy access at any time.
However, the moment that thought surfaced, a flash of inspiration suddenly struck him.
A container is an external object after all, and taking them out would be cumbersome. How could it compare to the convenience of directly integrating them into his own body?
Previously, his Yin-Yang Release wasn't sufficient to open a new pair of eye sockets in himself.
But after activating the Tenseigan Chakra Mode, he already possessed the ability to carve out two entirely new eye socket spaces on his body.
This idea lifted his spirits, despite the thought that he might end up looking like a "four-eyed" freak.
Takuno couldn't help but frown slightly; that image was truly unappealing. But for now, he hadn't mastered a method to merge the Sharingan and Tenseigan into one.
After weighing his options, strength was the foundation; flaws in appearance were merely minor details.
Besides, why must the Tenseigan be restricted to the face?
He could completely place them in other parts of his body, making them both concealed and practical.
His mind made up, Takuno did not hesitate in the slightest.
He took a deep breath and once again swapped his Sharingan with the Tenseigan he had just removed, which radiated a deep, ethereal blue glow.
As his will flowed, a majestic amount of chakra began to surge toward the pair of Tenseigan.
In an instant, a layer of chakra shroud, burning like translucent green flames, suddenly rose and enveloped his entire body. Powerful energy fluctuations pulsed silently within the quiet room.
It was none other than the Tenseigan Chakra Mode!
Takuno slowly closed his eyes, sinking his entire consciousness into his body. He began the project of modifying his body using the significantly increased power of Yin-Yang Release.
He knew that simply opening two "nests" for the Tenseigan was far from enough.
To allow this ultimate Ocular Power, originating from the Ōtsutsuki bloodline, to be fully exerted, he had to construct a highly compatible energy circulation system for it.
From the minute Tenketsu extending from the eye sockets to the nodes connecting to the body's entire chakra network, every detail needed to be shaped by his own hands.
Fortunately, Takuno himself possessed impressive attainments in Medical Ninjutsu and later received the true teachings of Princess Tsunade. His understanding of human anatomy and energy channels was profound.
Combined with the miraculous energy of chakra and supplemented by the powerful Yin-Yang Release...
...this project, which would seem inconceivable to ordinary people, became something within his reach.
Time passed quietly amidst his focused construction.
Takuno's spirit was like the most precise carving knife, silently sculpting within his body.
After repeated calculations, he finally selected the ideal location: his palms.
This position offered natural advantages.
Normally, he would only need to let the Tenseigan in his palms close naturally, and the minute slits would be enough to hide within the palm lines, undetectable by anyone.
Moreover, it was almost standard for Shinobi to wear gloves, which added another layer of perfect cover.
However, for an ordinary person, the thickness and structure of the palm were simply insufficient to accommodate an organ like an eye.
But Takuno was different; he possessed the Kaguya Clan's Kekkei Genkai, Shikotsumyaku!
This singular ability to control the body's entire skeletal system became the key to realizing this concept.
He precisely manipulated his metacarpal bones to carve out two perfect chambers deep within his palms, surrounded and protected by bone, without affecting hand function in the slightest.
Not only that, this position also held a strategic advantage.
Should he need to use the power of the Tenseigan in the heat of battle, he could use his control over Shikotsumyaku to "swap" the Tenseigan in his palms with the Mangekyo Sharingan in his eye sockets in an instant!
After all, if his Mangekyo Sharingan were only used for insight rather than casting Genjutsu, the temporary loss of "sight" would have a relatively controllable impact on his combat.
And in terms of pure visual observation—whether it be range of insight, clarity, or penetration...
...the Tenseigan was fundamentally superior to the Mangekyo Sharingan, and perhaps even the future Rinnegan.
Objectively speaking, the Tenseigan seemed more suited to be placed in the center of the forehead as the primary visual organ.
However, like the Rinnegan, once the Tenseigan is awakened, it is very difficult to revert it back to the Byakugan.
And even the existence of the Byakugan was a secret that required absolute concealment in Konoha, as long as he didn't want to become a Rogue Shinobi.
Although his position in Konoha no longer served any purpose for him, the point was, there was no need for Takuno to just up and leave simply because it was no longer useful.
Maintaining a normal connection and observing the growth of the two protagonists from a close distance was a good thing in itself.
Fortunately, maintaining the "open" state of the Tenseigan in a non-combat situation did not consume much chakra.
With Takuno's massive chakra reserves, it was enough to maintain the basic state of the Tenseigan in his palms for a long time without affecting any of his actions, silently preparing for a battle that could break out at any moment.
However, if Takuno's chakra capacity were the same as Kakashi's, then forget about maintaining these Tenseigan; he'd be lucky if they didn't lose all their power and revert to Byakugan due to insufficient chakra.
When the design of the sockets was complete, Takuno slowly opened his eyes.
He did not deactivate the Tenseigan Chakra Mode that surrounded him with powerful energy; the translucent green chakra flames still flowed over his body.
His gaze was directed precisely to the side.
There, two Mangekyo Sharingan eyes were floating quietly within a special transparent container.
With a slight shift of thought and no extra movement, that pair of Kekkei Genkai eyes were drawn as if by an invisible hand, floating steadily above Takuno's outstretched palm.
In the next moment, they precisely embedded themselves into the two eye sockets he had carefully constructed within the flesh of his palms using the power of Yin-Yang Release.
The size was perfect, fitting as if they were born there.
However, the moment the eyeballs merged with the texture of his palms, Takuno's brow suddenly furrowed.
It wasn't pain, but a powerful visual shock as three distinct sets of images instantly flooded his consciousness!
The clear and wide-angled images came from the Tenseigan in his original sockets;
While the two Mangekyo Sharingan in his palms each transmitted independent scenes with their own unique filters.
Even though Yin-Yang Release was extraordinary, it ultimately couldn't completely smooth over the fundamental difference in perception between the palms and the eye sockets.
These two "eyes in the palms" could not naturally fuse their visual information into one like the eyes on his face.
"As expected..." Takuno thought to himself; this interference was within his expectations.
He had over-created with Yin-Yang Release, which led to this scene.
If he had just opened a spot for the eyes like Danzo without creating Tenketsu, then there would undoubtedly be no such problem.
But in that case, the vast majority of the eyes' abilities would be wasted.
Fortunately, the solution was not complicated.
He concentrated his mind, as if pulling down an invisible shutter in his consciousness, instantly blocking the visual signals coming from his hands.
The chaotic extra images suddenly vanished, and the world returned to the single, clear field of vision he was familiar with.
But he hadn't completely shut off the visual capabilities of this new pair of eyes; rather, he had cleverly placed them in a "standby" state.
After all, who knows if the eyes in his palms might come in handy at a critical moment in the future.
If he needed to activate them, he only needed to lift the blockage with a thought, which was far more convenient than re-establishing a complex connection.
Having dealt with the visual interference, Takuno took a deep breath, and the translucent green chakra flames around him receded, revealing his original form.
He slightly raised his hands, palms facing up.
The three tomoe within the crimson pupils of the two newly embedded Mangekyo Sharingan spun slowly, as if they possessed independent life, "staring back" directly at him.
An indescribable sense of abnormality quietly crept into his heart.
Takuno stared at the pair of strange eyes in his palms that were looking back at him, his mood a bit subtle.
This body had still deviated a bit from the trajectory of a "normal human."
After all, what normal human in this world would grow a pair of eyes on their own palms?
Takuno shook his head, pushing these somewhat complex thoughts to the back of his mind.
He now wanted to try out the concept he had when creating the eye sockets.
He closed his eyes again—not just the ones on his face, but the pair in his palms as well.
Almost in an instant, Takuno opened his eyes again!
The scene changed instantly.
His original eyes had already turned into three black tomoe spinning slowly against a crimson background—the iconic Sharingan.
And the pair of eyes in his palms naturally switched to the Tenseigan.
A sincere smile climbed onto the corners of Takuno's mouth.
The concept was a success, and the process was faster than expected, happening almost as soon as the thought occurred, in an instant.
This way, even when facing the lightning-fast life-and-death struggle of the Six Paths level, it would be enough to capture that fleeting gap and complete the "eye swap."
However, Takuno thought again; frequent switching might not be necessary.
Admittedly, thanks to the power of the Mangekyo Sharingan, his Genjutsu attainments were already extraordinary, but compared to those "masters" who specialized in that path, the gap was still like heaven and earth.
Genjutsu was not his usual method, after all.
Without the core advantage of Genjutsu, the special abilities of both the Mangekyo Sharingan and its advanced form, the Rinnegan, could be used without hindrance from his palms. There really was no need for them to return to their original positions.
Having finished his verification, Takuno's mind shifted slightly.
The Tenseigan in his palms quietly faded away, and that sense of ultimate clarity that could seemingly perceive every speck of dust in the world refilled the eyes on his face.
He gently closed his palms, and the extra pair of eyes closed with them.
In their original position, the heart-stopping light of the Tenseigan gradually withdrew.
What remained in the end was a pair of eyes as deep and azure as the boundless sea. In the center of the pupils, a vertical slit symbolizing Sage Mode was clearly visible, adding a touch of majesty to him.
Takuno stared at his eyes in the mirror, his fingertips brushing the corners of his eyes.
Unfortunately, this still couldn't replace his original deep black pupils.
The change brought by this power was obvious; at certain times, these eyes still needed to be carefully hidden.
However, such a morphological change was still within an acceptable range; its prominence was far less than the difficult-to-conceal, iconic concentric circle patterns of the Rinnegan.
If only the color of the core pupil area changed, the most direct solution was to use special contact lenses to cover them.
But there seemed to be a more feasible path to choose from.
That was to tailor a completely new Ninjutsu specifically for concealing the eyes.
If he only relied on the basic Transformation Technique, even if his current strength was already at the peak, it would still be fraught with difficulties to completely deceive everyone due to the inherent limitations of the technique.
However, if the target was focused only on the disguise of the eyes, as long as the technique was maintained, it would be basically impossible to be discovered.
No one would go out of their way to inspect his eyes.
Therefore, the best strategy was to use the basic Transformation Technique as a blueprint and make targeted improvements to develop an exclusive illusory Ninjutsu that only acted on the eyes with a long-lasting effect.
This would undoubtedly be more comfortable and convenient than wearing external contact lenses long-term.
Of course, there was still a problem to face.
The eyes in their original position could be hidden, but what about the eyes on his palms?
Could they hide from the Hyuga Clan's Byakugan and the Uchiha Clan's Sharingan?
The extraordinary insight possessed by these two Kekkei Genkai was a potential source of threat to him.
But thanks to his current prominent status and responsibilities in the village, Takuno basically no longer needed to personally go out and perform routine missions.
This fundamentally and significantly reduced the chance of him encountering elite members of the Hyuga or Uchiha.
And from the current situation, while inside Konoha, the members of these two clans would not lightly activate their eyes.
Let alone activating their eyes in front of him to observe his situation.
Such behavior was not only an impolite probe but also carried the meaning of "insubordination," which was a taboo in the strictly hierarchical Shinobi system.
Therefore, the risk of exposure in daily situations was actually not large.
But it was still a hidden danger after all.
The Sharingan was okay in this regard, but the Byakugan was a headache.
It could see through all his wrappings to the eyes on his hands and the Tenketsu that were different from ordinary people.
However, it was absolutely impossible for Takuno to give up the power of these eyes just to avoid a potential problem.
The power boost and strategic value brought by being able to wield two pairs of eyes simultaneously far outweighed this small trouble he needed to guard against.
After a long time, Takuno couldn't think of a very good solution, so he stopped thinking about it and decided to take it one step at a time.
And there was no need to worry that much.
Just like Danzo successfully hid an arm covered in Sharingan with layers of seals and thick clothing.
And by living in seclusion and rarely showing his face in public, he effectively avoided the gaze of the Hyuga Clan, who possessed X-ray vision.
Takuno's own work was highly similar to this; he had long since moved away from front-line missions and daily affairs that required him to show his face, and he likewise rarely appeared in the public eye.
So, in the future, he just needed to be careful when facing the Byakugan.