Takuno stood in the dark space of the Space-Time Hole, not in a hurry to leave, and began analyzing this Zero-Tails technique.
However, as his understanding deepened, a trace of undisguised disappointment quietly crept onto his face.
The essence of this technique had a fundamental difference from the blueprint he had originally wanted to obtain.
According to Shinnō's explanation in the original story, the birth of dark chakra is rooted in the negative emotions such as anger and hatred that breed in the depths of human hearts.
The logic is that one only needs to induce a target to produce intense dark emotions as 'soil,' and then plant the 'seed' of the Zero-Tails into it, to catalyze those ethereal shadows of the heart into physical dark energy.
It was based on this description that Takuno had some expectations in his heart before stepping into this place.
He imagined that this method could open a door for him to an endless source of dark chakra.
Even if he didn't need it himself, the Mini Ten-Tails would certainly never refuse it!
Any form of energy could be devoured and converted by it, becoming nourishment for its growth.
Unfortunately, the technique in his hand was far from a shortcut to infinite energy.
It had an insurmountable fundamental limitation: it did not change the core essence of chakra.
Which is the product of the combination of physical energy and spiritual energy.
The so-called 'dark chakra' was merely the forced inclusion of intense negative emotions as a catalyst and 'dye' during this combination process.
The inevitable result of this was that a person's theoretical upper limit of total chakra was the limit of the dark chakra they could produce.
The technique itself could not create energy out of thin air that exceeded an individual's limit.
No matter how dark and surging the emotions were, the amount of dark chakra could not break through this hard ceiling.
So, was this technique completely worthless?
Perhaps its only highlight was that it could break the barrier between Shinobi and ordinary people.
For those ordinary people who had physical and spiritual energy but could not generate chakra due to a lack of refinement methods, this technique provided a way to forcibly 'activate' their inner energy.
However, that was all.
Compared to the infinite dark chakra Takuno wanted, its value was worlds apart.
Shinnō in the original story spent a long ten-plus years accumulating it, and the total amount of dark chakra finally extracted could not even reach the scale of an ordinary Tailed Beast!
One could say this so-called forbidden technique was truly a chicken rib—it was simply pathetic to the extreme!
A trace of slight disappointment flashed through Takuno's heart, but this emotion was fleeting.
He was already highly knowledgeable and knew that the concept of 'infinite chakra' was almost a fantasy; the possibility of a single technique attempting to achieve such a miracle was minuscule.
Coming here to investigate this time was, to a large extent, just based on a trial mindset.
Getting it would be an unexpected pleasant surprise, but if nothing was gained, it was also within reason and perfectly consistent with his understanding of Ninjutsu principles.
After a moment's thought, he was completely relieved.
Imagine, if there really were such a simple technique that could continuously produce infinite chakra without any cost.
Then why would a being like Ōtsutsuki Kaguya bother to expend the effort to launch the 'Infinite Tsukuyomi' that covered the entire planet?
Wouldn't it be easier to just use this technique and keep humans as 'energy sources' to easily obtain inexhaustible chakra?
Wouldn't this method be much more powerful than creating a massive Genjutsu to control all living beings?
Moreover, there was actually evidence in the original story that no one noticed.
That is, those villagers imprisoned by the technique and forced to produce so-called 'dark chakra' all showed obvious states of mental abnormality without exception.
Even a Shinobi like Hyuga Hinata appeared extremely mentally lethargic during her imprisonment.
These phenomena were by no means accidental; they proved that the generation of dark chakra was not as simple as just consuming a person's emotions—it still required the consumption of physical and spiritual energy.
Having figured out all these connections, Takuno shook his head slightly.
He felt a bit of self-mockery for his initial unrealistic expectations.
Without staying any longer, his figure disappeared from the Space-Time Hole.
Leaving the Space-Time Hole, Takuno returned to the laboratory on the moon.
During the period when the Mini Ten-Tails had not finished absorbing the Vein of Gelel, he also used this time to have a period of peace.
On Earth, there was clamor and turmoil, and there were very few things that could truly pique his interest.
Rather than wasting time there, it was better to settle down and focus on his own training in this pure land on the moon, far from the mundane world.
As his thoughts drifted over Earth, there were indeed two legendary existences that had once piqued his interest.
One was the demon Mōryō sealed in the underworld, and the other was the ominous box that could supposedly grant wishes, the Box of Ultimate Bliss.
However, this interest was also just a flash in the pan.
The Priestess power that opposed Mōryō was at its core just a certain unique but extremely unstable method of controlling Natural Energy.
The Priestess lineage might have mastered some special ways of using Natural Energy.
But in Takuno's view, this was truly third-rate.
He had already attained a perfect Sage Mode, and his control over Natural Energy was extremely smooth, as natural as breathing.
The unstable methods of the Priestesses might have had some reference value for him before he learned Sage Mode.
But now, they were of no value to study.
As for the Box of Ultimate Bliss, the legend of 'granting wishes' was even more of a deadly sugar-coated pill.
Takuno's pursuit was clear and pure: to become stronger, endlessly stronger.
However, what if he made this wish to that eerie box?
First of all, he deeply doubted whether this box truly had the ability to affect the heights he currently occupied.
If it actually had such great power, what would be the price of 'fulfillment'?
Takuno could almost foresee that twisted and dark ending; power might descend, but the person who obtained the power would likely no longer be 'Takuno,' but would be devoured and replaced by the monster in the box named 'Satori'.
This kind of 'gift' was, for him, complete and utter stupidity.
Thus, he discarded all distracting thoughts.
Takuno's state of mind returned to clarity. He closed his eyes and sank his consciousness into his body. Pure Yin-Yang Release Power began to circulate around him, undergoing a deeper level of tempering and realization.
He now only needed to wait patiently for the Mini Ten-Tails to completely digest the surging energy of the Vein of Gelel.
Once the Mini Ten-Tails woke up, the next step of the journey was already clearly planned.
Go to the Ancient Kingdom of Rōran.
The Ryūmyaku buried deep beneath the yellow sands in legend contained a majestic power that could connect space and time.
If he could find and absorb it, it would undoubtedly be a huge leap for the Mini Ten-Tails and even his own power.
Of course, the world is unpredictable; if the Ryūmyaku was hard to find or unobtainable...
Then it would also be time for the Mini Ten-Tails to embark on the path of absorbing the chakra of the nine Tailed Beasts, starting from that initial Ichibi chakra.
The silence of the moon became the best background for his training.
...
During the period when Takuno was training on the moon.
In the cold laboratory, there was only the faint sound of bubbles in the culture tank solution and the occasional beep from the instruments.
Under the pale light, Orochimaru's golden snake pupils were locked onto the mountain of experimental record scrolls in front of him.
That dense data and observation logs now seemed like a series of silent mockeries.
"Failure... another failure... still failure!"
His low, raspy voice echoed in the empty laboratory, every word soaked in a suppressed haze and intense unwillingness.
He had taken a great risk to obtain a precious Ichibi chakra sample and spent a lot of time researching it.
What he craved was definitely not this pile of scrap paper recording 'instability,' 'loss of control,' and 'insufficient power level'!
Not all experiments had turned to dust.
However, these so-called 'successful products' only brought deeper disappointment.
The Tailed Beast power they could mobilize was not only weak but also accompanied by a fatal commonality.
Once they tried to guide that violent energy, no matter how small, the experimental subject would instantly fall into an indiscriminate berserk state.
Their will would be devoured by animality, turning them into beasts that only knew destruction.
Orochimaru frowned in disgust.
What he pursued was a controllable source of power.
The power contained in Tailed Beast chakra was certainly covetable, but if it couldn't be controlled, how was it any different from a high-explosive bomb tied to one's body?
As a scientist who prioritized rationality, he knew that a perfect Jinchuriki was the true way to harness this power.
And he, Orochimaru, knew his own innate characteristics better than anyone.
He could never reach that symbiotic 'perfect' state of harmonious mutual trust with any Tailed Beast.
"Uncontrollable power is nothing more than a shortcut to self-destruction."
For someone like him, a hidden danger that could backlash at any time and drag him into an irrational abyss was absolutely unacceptable.
He would rather give up this strength than allow himself even the slightest risk of losing control.
Confusion gnawed at his reason.
He frowned and murmured in a low voice.
"The Collector... how on earth did he do it? What secret technique does he possess to be able to turn such violent Tailed Beast power to his own use?"
What Orochimaru didn't know was.
Although Takuno had collected the chakra of all the Tailed Beasts, he himself had never truly relied on or used any of them.
His incredible power foundation was derived almost entirely from his knowledge of the original story.
In terms of how to specifically use Tailed Beast chakra, apart from the ultimate 'Ten-Tails' related secrets, what Takuno knew was perhaps not much more than what Orochimaru, who was currently deep in thought in the laboratory, knew.
Orochimaru let out a deep sigh at this time.
It seemed that relying on the shortcut of Tailed Beast chakra to obtain powerful personal strength was not going to work.
He had to face reality.
"But it's not entirely without value..." A glint flashed in his golden snake pupils as he scanned the data recording the startling destructive power during the berserk states.
Although these defective products could not become a stable source of combat power, with a little guidance, their instantaneous explosive destructive power was indeed considerable.
Even the weakest could rival a Chunin, and the destructive power in a berserk state could even threaten the Jonin level.
The only, and fatal, flaw was that absolute uncontrollability.
Once they went berserk, they were like runaway horses, destroying everything regardless of friend or foe.
"Then..." A sinister smile slowly formed at the corners of Orochimaru's mouth.
"Let this uncontrollable 'gift' bloom in the place most suitable for it."
For example... inside a hostile Shinobi village, these 'weapons' will exert their greatest 'value' while destroying others.
Orochimaru's golden eyes, like a snake's, turned to the other side of the laboratory.
Several specially made transparent containers were neatly arranged, filled with nutrient solution rich in chakra.
And deep in these solutions, several pairs of crimson Sharingan were actually suspended!
Looking closely, the quality of these eyes of the Kekkei Genkai, which were regarded as treasures, was uneven.
Most of them were just in their most basic form, with a single tomoe slowly rotating in the pupil.
Only a very few, one or two pairs, had two tomoe imprinted in the pupils, indicating a slightly stronger power level.
Thanks to the Uchiha Clan not having suffered the calamity of extermination, the channels and difficulty for Orochimaru to obtain these eyes were indeed much lower than in the original story.
He only needed to carefully plan and set traps on the way for those proud Uchiha clansmen who left Konoha to perform missions, and he could easily capture his prey.
However, looking at these eyes soaked in the solution, Orochimaru slowly shook his head. Instead of satisfaction, a trace of disappointment and dissatisfaction flowed in his narrow golden snake eyes.
These Sharingan, which were already symbols of power dreamed of by ordinary people, were certainly powerful.
But in the depths of Orochimaru's memory, there was a comparison: Itachi's eyes!
Those eyes that seemed to be able to see through everything and control everything were the Sharingan he pursued.
Compared to Itachi's eyes, the gap between these one-tomoe and two-tomoe eyes was like a chasm.
The more critical issue lay in the bloodline barrier.
Orochimaru's brow furrowed slightly as he fell into deeper thought.
Whether these eyes, once detached from the bodies of Uchiha clansmen and transplanted into vessels of non-Uchiha bloodlines, could continue to evolve was a question.
Although Konoha had the precedent of Kakashi, a non-Uchiha who successfully harnessed the Sharingan, Orochimaru had no close relationship with him and knew little about the inside story.
He didn't know that Kakashi's famous Sharingan was only in a two-tomoe state when it was originally given by Obito, and only later evolved into a Mangekyo.
Because the time span between Kakashi obtaining the two-tomoe and finally awakening the Mangekyo Sharingan was extremely short.
To outsiders, it would almost be mistaken that what he received was a three-tomoe Sharingan.
"Humph..."
Orochimaru examined these eyes with a critical gaze.
The bodies of these Uchiha clansmen could indeed serve as candidates for future 'vessels'.
However, their talent and potential... were truly hard to look at.
Mediocre aptitude, even when paired with a Sharingan, was ultimately mundane.
So...
Orochimaru's gaze turned towards the direction of Konoha.
That iconic long tongue slowly slid across his pale, dry cheek, leaving a cold, wet trail, and naked covetousness and greed burned in his snake pupils.
Ordinary goods were meaningless.
What he needed was a truly talented, pure-blooded Uchiha body with infinite potential!
Like Itachi!