The successful awakening of the Rinnegan also marked another significant leap in Takuno's mastery of the Yin-Yang and Five Elements.
At this moment, although he had not yet obtained a complete Six Paths Body by becoming the Ten-Tails Jinchuriki, the surging power within him had already laid the foundational groundwork for him to research a higher level of power: the Kekkei Mora.
However, Takuno's thinking did not lead directly to the Kekkei Mora.
After careful deliberation, he chose a goal that seemed lower-tier but was actually more fundamental and critical as his breakthrough point: the Truth-Seeking Orb.
Compared to the complex fusion required for the Kekkei Mora, mastering the manufacturing principles of the Truth-Seeking Orb was more practical for his current situation and a more gradual path.
Researching the Kekkei Mora would be safer once he became the Ten-Tails Jinchuriki.
The essence of the Truth-Seeking Orb is a high-density chakra crystal formed by using Yin-Yang Release to shape a framework and infusing it with all seven chakra attributes, including Yin and Yang.
Typically, when a Shinobi becomes a Ten-Tails Jinchuriki or fully masters the senjutsu inherited from the Sage of Six Paths, nine Truth-Seeking Orbs automatically manifest, circling their body.
But this seemingly powerful gift actually hides limitations.
This automatic generation process only proves that the user possesses the basic conditions to create Truth-Seeking Orbs; it by no means implies they truly understand or have mastered the core techniques and principles of creating them.
Therefore, once these automatically generated Truth-Seeking Orbs are consumed or destroyed in battle, their owner is often helpless, unable to rely on their own power to manifest them again.
This "disposable" predicament is no accident.
Whether it is the Ten-Tails Jinchuriki relying on the power of the Tailed Beast's origin, or someone like Naruto, whose Six Paths Technique power was actually a temporary gift bestowed by the Sage of Six Paths, none of them have systematically learned the method of creating Truth-Seeking Orbs.
The Truth-Seeking Orbs they possess are, in essence, merely "gifts" attached to their power.
Takuno had a clear understanding of this.
He was unwilling to let his own Truth-Seeking Orbs become such disposable consumables dependent on external forces.
His goal was to thoroughly understand the generation principles of the Truth-Seeking Orb and master the mysteries of its independent creation.
Only in this way could he truly make this power his own and achieve stable, sustained control.
More importantly, successfully mastering the creation of the Truth-Seeking Orb would bring an immediate leap in combat power.
Although the Rinnegan granted him supreme Ocular Power, he knew well that in terms of pure energy destructive power, there was still a gap compared to the Tenseigan's ultimate technique, the "Golden Wheel Reincarnation Explosion."
If he could replace the energy beads used when casting the Golden Wheel Reincarnation Explosion with true Truth-Seeking Orbs, the power of this ultimate move would surely rise to an unimaginable new level!
By then, even if the legendary Sage of Six Paths were present, he would never dare to easily face the devastating strike of the Golden Wheel Reincarnation Explosion infused with Truth-Seeking Orbs!
If there was still time before the space-time closed loop after researching the Truth-Seeking Orb, he could then begin researching the Kekkei Mora.
Takuno had a clear plan for every step.
Time passed, and several more years flowed by.
Takuno sat in the quiet room; the 'Truth-Seeking Orb' floating before him, while possessing some power, was still just an empty shell.
He sighed softly, and the chakra lingering at his fingertips slowly dissipated.
All the effort poured in over these years, attempting to crack this creation derived from the pinnacle of Yin-Yang Release, had ultimately fallen short.
After all, it was a gift originating from the "Six Paths Technique" and the "God Tree," the two pinnacle powers of this world, so its depth was indeed high enough.
However, although the research on the Truth-Seeking Orb had not been fully completed, another power concerning its foundation, the Rinnegan, had arrived at its expected transformation at this moment.
The moment that unique ability exclusive to his own Mangekyo Sharingan reawakened and perfectly integrated into the Rinnegan system, a mutation suddenly occurred!
Within the pupils of his deep purple Rinnegan, three ink-black tomoe shifted from ethereal to solid, imprinted with absolute clarity, slowly rotating.
Takuno slowly opened his eyes, the outlines of the three tomoe in his pupils appearing and disappearing in the dim light.
He raised his hand to gently stroke his eyelids, feeling the surging power contained within that far exceeded an ordinary Rinnegan, and muttered to himself.
"So this is... the tomoe Rinnegan?"
A sense of transparent control welled up.
Even in the three-tomoe state, he could freely use his Mangekyo's exclusive ocular technique. If it evolved to the six-tomoe, or even the legendary supreme nine-tomoe realm, what kind of world-destroying power would it possess?
This thought stirred a ripple in his heart.
But Takuno knew that the path to a higher level of Ocular Power was by no means simple.
Even the legendary Sage of Six Paths, having expended the vast energy accumulated over an unknown amount of time in the underworld, had only opened a single Six-Tomoe Rinnegan for Sasuke.
Without the external power augmentation of the Sage of Six Paths's level, relying solely on one's own accumulation, the difficulty of touching the threshold of the Six-Tomoe Rinnegan was akin to ascending to heaven.
Unless... he became the Ten-Tails Jinchuriki, took the power of the God Tree into himself, and used that nearly infinite energy as fuel to push the Rinnegan to complete its final transition.
Otherwise, the hope for the Rinnegan to achieve a qualitative evolution at this time was slim.
Settling this realization in his heart, Takuno decisively reined in that urgent desire for a higher tomoe form.
Rather than aiming too high, it was better to be pragmatic.
He refocused his main energy on the mysteries of the Truth-Seeking Orb and the study of Yin-Yang Release.
As his mastery of Yin-Yang Release deepened, the assistance provided by the "Tenseigan Chakra Mode" had become inadequate.
At this moment, the power of the newly born tomoe Rinnegan was perfectly filling in this piece of the puzzle.
With both eyes combined, the two complemented each other, allowing him to continue moving steadily forward on the path of Yin-Yang Release.
He was not impatient; it was like water dripping through a stone—as long as his power was still advancing, it was the best state.
Meanwhile, the Ancient Kingdom of Rōran also ushered in its new era.
Sara officially took over her mother's burden and was crowned the new generation Queen of Rōran.
The wheels of history rolled forward, and Rōran ultimately could not escape the flames of war from surrounding great nations, being swept into the vortex of conflict.
However, Takuno, who had long since perceived the space-time closed loop, chose to watch coldly from the sidelines.
It was not that he lacked the power to stop it, but he did it intentionally to avoid discovering things that didn't match the original work while investigating Rōran.
This could lead to mutations in the future space-time that contradicted the "established trajectory," thereby attracting unnecessary trouble.
Therefore, in the public records of the Shinobi World, "Rōran" had to exist as a nation destroyed by war and already "extinct."
This was a necessary disguise.
As for reality? With Takuno presiding here, using his current methods and the terrifying combined power of the tomoe Rinnegan and Tenseigan to lay down layers of Barriers and illusions, it was enough to perfectly hide Rōran's true state in the cracks of the sandstorms and space-time.
Unless Black Zetsu, who had been hiding for a thousand years and was proficient in concealment, came to investigate personally, it was absolutely impossible to see through.
But there was only one Black Zetsu, and it needed to follow closely by Obito's side, racking its brains to push the "Eye of the Moon" plan; how would it have the leisure, or the need, to penetrate this "barren land" forgotten by the world to investigate?
It was also during this period in Rōran, which seemed tumultuous but remained as stable as ever, that Queen Sara made a request to Takuno: she wished to become his wife.
For Takuno, romantic love was not an obsession in this life, and worldly status bonds seemed insignificant.
He calmly agreed, handing the matter entirely to Sara to handle, as if he had merely agreed to a trivial matter.
To him, this marital relationship would neither become a shackle nor bring about much substantive change.
His attitude had not changed either after or before the marriage.
Sara, on the other hand, was very happy.
At this moment, Sara put down the government report in her hand, but her thoughts drifted to that figure, Takuno.
Her heart was clear; she knew that man's nature well.
Cultivation was the most unshakable cornerstone of his life and the only path for him to reach the pinnacle of power.
In his heart, no matter how much affection she gave, it could ultimately not be compared to that obsession with power.
She had long since seen this clearly.
However, this clarity did not bring despair.
Takuno's heart was not a frozen wasteland.
Sara could sense that there was not total indifference beneath that layer of ice.
If that were not so, why would he have agreed to her request?
And why would he have spent his energy not only to help her cultivate but also to teach her the profound secret technique of the "Strength of a Hundred Seal," personally guiding her?
These little things, faint but real, proved that she indeed had a corner in his heart.
"This is enough." Sara sighed in her heart.
She never asked for much, and besides, asking herself, in the kingdom she built, did the weight of Rōran not also firmly outweigh Takuno's figure?
This was just a tacit balance, a "tit-for-tat" that both understood.
Even both sides did not care much about it.
There was only one thing; she longed to have a child flowing with both their bloodlines, and she had proposed it to him.
But the response she received was Takuno's refusal without the slightest hesitation, saying it was not yet the time.
Sara sighed; fortunately, she was still young, and with the Strength of a Hundred Seal, she didn't need to worry about the problem of physical age.
The dossier before her was about the conception of Rōran's future development.
Since Takuno had taken charge here, the war clouds and covetousness of enemy nations that once surrounded Rōran had long since vanished.
Under the protection of his absolute power, "living and working in peace" had changed from an unreachable dream into a tangible reality.
However, in her view, peace was not the end point.
How to let Rōran's roots strike deeper and its branches grow more lush on this rare, peaceful, fertile soil.
This was the core problem she had to face now.
Opportunities were like quicksand between fingers, fleeting.
In her mother's generation, they still needed to guard against invasions from all sides.
But now, with Takuno in charge, the worry of external threats was gone. This was the golden period for Rōran's rapid development!
"So, what exactly should be done?" Sara withdrew her gaze, her fingertips pointing back at the dossier, her eyes gradually becoming sharp and focused.
Personal feelings could be temporarily set aside, but Rōran's future could not tolerate the slightest slack.
Time continued to flow, silently.
Takuno gazed at the jet-black sphere floating in his palm, emitting a deep, eerie light.
That Truth-Seeking Orb, which had consumed countless efforts to finally reach perfection.
An imperceptible arc slowly curled at the corner of his lips.
"It is done." He whispered, his voice triggering a slight echo in the depths of the empty Leyline.
Ultimately, he had forged this power before the destined space-time closed loop.
However, calculating the days, the moment another version of himself was about to step into the Ancient Kingdom of Rōran was already imminent.
Lazily stretching his muscles and bones, which were slightly stiff from long-term concentration, Takuno slightly closed his five fingers, and the Truth-Seeking Orb containing terrifying power silently vanished into the void.
It was time; it was time to make some necessary preparations and arrangements for that "self" who was about to arrive.
The image of the ground engraved with the mysterious ouroboros totem clearly appeared in his mind, as well as the idea of how to cleverly connect it with the remaining energy of the Leyline.
Sporting a pair of bewitching and magnificent pupils, Takuno's figure, like a ghost, sank once again into the deep and cold core of the Leyline.
This period of bitter training was not wasted; his control over Yin-Yang Release was already sufficient to perfectly merge two completely different supreme Ocular Powers into one body.
At this moment, in his left eye was the three-tomoe Rinnegan, a deep purple vortex slowly rotating;
The right eye was the Tenseigan, brilliant as the stars, its azure radiance seemingly containing the great power of creation and manifestation.
The two powers coexisted harmoniously in his eye sockets; not only was there no loss, but they appeared even more majestic.
This was a symbol of the sublimation of his power; if they hadn't merged so perfectly, he would rather have continued to endure the inconvenience of having a pair of eyeballs hosted in his palms than make any compromise that would weaken his own strength.
Arriving at the deepest part of the Leyline, a violent burst of energy rushed toward him.
Takuno's gaze was cast toward the center of the cave, and the arc at the corner of his mouth rose again, this time with even purer satisfaction.
There, a massive giant was crouching: his Mini Ten-Tails.
At this moment, its body size had expanded to an astonishing degree; roughly estimated, it had actually reached about 40% of the complete God Tree form!
This far exceeded Takuno's initial expectations.
Fortunately, the Tailed Beast chakra reserves he had previously collected were sufficient, and combined with the power he had quietly "harvested" from the Tailed Beasts over the years, and then carefully cultivated with secret techniques, it was enough to satisfy the needs of this Mini Ten-Tails.
"Soon..." Takuno's gaze seemed to pierce through the barrier of space-time, "Just waiting for that moment when 'I' arrive in Rōran."
By then, this young Ten-Tails, which had begun to take shape, would be able to open its giant mouth without any scruples and completely devour the remaining energy in the Leyline.
That would be the prologue to the final feast.
After devouring the Leyline, he could let the Mini Ten-Tails begin absorbing the Tailed Beast chakra that had long been prepared.
This was also a huge and time-consuming project.
Even though the Mini Ten-Tails before him was only 40% of the complete form, according to the speed at which the God Tree in the original work devoured Tailed Beast chakra, this process would definitely not be accomplished overnight.
Moreover, this long absorption period required him to guard it without leaving a step, not allowing the slightest mistake.
However, Takuno gazed at that massive body, which was emitting a heart-palpitating power under the nourishment of the Leyline energy, his eyes burning.
Everything was worth it!