Since he was curious, Takuno chose to give it a try.
His figure blurred within the ripples of time and space, and in the next moment, he stood quietly before his past self.
Without the slightest hesitation, and before his 'other self' could react, he extended a finger and pointed it precisely at the brow of that ignorant 'self'.
A faint light flowed from his fingertip, containing all the secrets of the forbidden and powerful Chimera Technique, which surged into the mind of the past Takuno.
However, at the very instant the knowledge transfer was complete, a sudden change occurred!
Takuno's form was wiped away as if by an invisible eraser, instantly becoming transparent and finally dissolving completely into the world without leaving a single trace, as if he had never existed.
The familiar sense of dizziness struck once again.
Takuno snapped his eyes open, and what met his gaze was still his past 'self' standing not far away.
Then, a trace of familiar, inquisitive curiosity habitually remained in the depths of his current eyes...
But this time, just as he was about to take that step he had repeated countless times, a sudden chill seized him!
His feet were frozen in place.
His eyes shifted instantly in alarm!
The crimson Mangekyo Sharingan snapped open, and the ouroboros pattern deep within the pupils—symbolizing an endless cycle—began to spin at an unprecedented, frantic speed, emitting a hum that seemed ready to tear through time and space!
"Wait!" A thunderous thought exploded in his mind. "I... just how many times have I repeated this attempt?! How many times?!"
Every single time, he personally handed over the Chimera Technique—a power capable of changing destiny—to his past self.
Every single time, he believed this crucial input of knowledge would thoroughly change his future life's trajectory.
However, a fatal problem surfaced along with it.
Would that 'New Takuno' whose trajectory had been changed still make the decision to go back to the past and pass on the secret technique at that exact same point in time?
Perhaps he would.
But who could guarantee that the time anchor he chose would be exactly the same?
Thus, the 'Takuno' after being changed at that specific point in time was, in essence, no longer 'this' Takuno standing here who had experienced countless cycles!
The logical chain broke there; when the past self is changed and the source is overwritten, then theoretically, 'this' Takuno who executed the change should disappear completely and cease to exist!
Thus, the core of the paradox was revealed.
If 'this' Takuno disappeared because he changed the past, then who exactly was it that went back to the past time after time to give the Chimera Technique to 'Takuno'?
The answer was: no one.
Therefore, all the forcibly twisted trajectories would be snapped back to their original point.
Takuno was destined to use the power of the Ryuumaku and 'Toki-Mayumi' at that fateful moment to return here again, reach out his finger again, and pass the Chimera Technique to his past self... and then, disappear again.
Until this very moment!
Until his Mangekyo Sharingan, which could peer into time and was engraved with the ouroboros, finally captured that sliver of discordant echo amidst countless unconscious reincarnations.
And it had condensed enough power to use that fail-safe ability.
"Toki-Mayumi!"
He finally realized that every time he approached that past self and completed that 'crucial' touch, time did not move forward; instead, like a film being rewound, it rolled back violently!
Everything had fallen into this never-ending Mobius strip.
"So that's how it is..." Takuno stared at the still-unaware 'self,' realization crystallizing in his crimson pupils. "A time... paradox trap."
He understood completely. His attempt to change the past was itself a paradox.
Unless... the change he made could perfectly blend into the established river of history.
For example, saving someone who was already dead in the public consciousness and ensuring that person remained completely hidden from the world until after the point in time he used the Ryuumaku.
Then, this 'change' would not trigger a paradox, because it could itself become part of history's secrets!
The corners of Takuno's mouth curled up; he felt this was quite interesting.
So at this point in time, who in his memory was an existence that was already dead?
He... wanted to give it a try.
Soon, Takuno identified a target, but now was not the time yet.
Takuno shrugged his shoulders, feeling his Ocular Power which had already been completely exhausted.
"As expected..."
He muttered to himself, a flash of long-anticipated realization crossing his eyes.
Previously, he had only vaguely speculated that the power of Toki-Mayumi should definitely not be limited to passive life-saving; that might just be an incidental surface manifestation.
And now, having personally experienced this soul-stirring time reversal, he could finally be certain.
The true core power hidden in his left eye was to manipulate time and make it flow backward!
However, the price of using this power also weighed heavily on his heart.
Even in the peak state of the Tenseigan Chakra Mode, his own energy was like a drop in the bucket, not nearly enough to support the activation of this great power to reverse time and space.
The reason the 'miracle' just now could manifest was not because he suddenly obtained an extra source of power, but because the object of this reversal was limited only to himself.
When the range of the ability's effect shrank, with no need to cover outsiders or involve massive energy sources, that terrifying consumption miraculously plummeted.
Takuno turned his gaze toward the even frailer figure not far away—his past self.
As Takuno's gaze fell upon that even paler face, a trace of complex emotion welled up in his heart.
"Heh... it turns out that the weakness of my past self also has a share of 'credit' from 'me'." He pulled the corner of his mouth in self-deprecation.
In order to leverage that bit of precious time power, he had to drain power from his past self.
To his current self, this might only be a minor loss, but to his already weak self at that time, it was an almost fatal extraction that nearly drained him dry.
Fortunately, Takuno used the power of the Tenseigan to replenish a portion for the other party.
Thinking of this, his gaze focused once again on the Tenseigan in his palm.
A clear realization emerged regarding these two powerful Ocular Powers currently coexisting: the Tenseigan and the Mangekyo.
Their powers were not connected or fused; their power sources were firmly lodged within their respective eyes and did not truly belong to him as the individual 'Takuno'.
Only when he completely mastered these two pairs of eyes and turned their power entirely into his own would this barrier possibly be broken, allowing the power to be used interchangeably at will.
Since the critical moment to attempt changing another's destiny had not yet arrived, and his own destiny's trajectory could not be changed... then staying here was no longer meaningful.
With one last glance at that former figure whose color was gradually returning, Takuno's figure disappeared silently from the spot.
As yellow sand swept past, Takuno's figure moved through the wind-blown streets toward the most towering building in the center of the ancient city of Rōran.
This high-rising tower cast a huge shadow in the afterglow of the setting sun, and the Ryuumaku sleeping beneath it was precisely the key to all his current plans.
His goal was clearer than ever before.
Next was the most crucial step: guiding the Mini Ten-Tails to devour the vast energy contained within this ancient Ryuumaku.
And he himself would remain in the past, unlike the original Naruto who returned to the future.
Although that wasn't something Naruto could decide, Takuno could decide his own stay or departure.
He already roughly understood what he needed to do if he wanted to return to the future.
That was to study the power of the Ryuumaku and use it to activate the power of Toki-Mayumi; then he would be able to return to the future.
But why would he want to return to the future?
Making the decision to stay in the past was no burden for him at all.
This was simply a god-given extra amount of time, a precious resource that could be seized without paying any price; why would he have any reason to let go easily?
As for his lifespan, he was even less worried.
A powerful constitution was already the foundation, and added to that was the vitality bestowed by the Tenseigan, which was enough to support him for several more decades of dominance.
Not only that, but this 'stolen' time was also the perfect opportunity to awaken that ultimate ocular technique, the Rinnegan.
Once successful, the essence of his life would leap forward once again, and his lifespan would inevitably increase along with it.
Before finally becoming the Ten-Tails Jinchuriki, these accumulated years were more than enough.
Decisiveness had always been his trademark.
Takuno wasted almost no time, using indisputable power and methods to quickly place Rōran under his control, becoming the new nominal king of this ancient city.
However, he was not interested in power; the change of authority was merely a tool to achieve his goals.
Therefore, the subsequent management of Rōran still required a Queen, and since Sara was still young, this Queen was naturally still her mother.
Afterward, he began to cautiously guide the Mini Ten-Tails to sink its roots deep into the energy source of the Ryuumaku, absorbing nutrients and accelerating its growth.
However, Takuno's mind remained absolutely clear at all times.
He understood that the power of the Ryuumaku must not be completely exhausted.
He had to preserve a portion of the intact Ryuumaku energy!
This was to ensure that at a certain moment in the future, his 'past' self could be accurately transmitted to 'this' current time anchor.
This was a key node in the space-time closed loop and allowed for no errors.
Meanwhile, Takuno himself completely settled his mind.
Cultivation became the main theme of his years in Rōran.
And the goal of his training was also very clear.
The tempering of his physique was never-ending, and the training of Yin-Yang Release was likewise a long road with no visible end.
He needed deeper understanding and stronger control to touch the boundaries of creation and annihilation.
In addition to these two cultivations he had already begun, that pair of Mangekyo Sharingan in his hands, which contained unique Ocular Power, became a new target for breakthrough.
He needed to fully excavate its potential and master every bit of its power to prepare for the awakening of his Rinnegan!
Later, after three years of tempering, Takuno finally brought all the power of those Mangekyo Sharingan under his complete control.
However, his pursuit went far beyond that.
He turned his gaze toward the next goal: guiding the fusion of the chakra inherited within Naruto and Sasuke.
Although he knew the essence of this act lay in stimulating the supreme chakra energy inherited from the god tree fruit by the Sage of Six Paths, the actual operation was extremely difficult and by no means easy.
Fortunately, Takuno's preparations were far more thorough than Madara's back then, and unlike the other party, he didn't need to grope blindly.
He did not, like Madara, pay the price of almost his entire remaining life for this.
After another five years of dedicated research and unremitting effort, Takuno successfully achieved the perfect combination of Indra and Ashura's chakra.
This fused power finally triggered the dormant power of the god tree fruit.
This vast energy, as if finding its home, surged and poured into his Mangekyo Sharingan.
At that very moment, a qualitative transformation occurred!
Under the catalysis of the god tree fruit's power, the Mangekyo Sharingan in both his eyes broke through their limits and finally evolved into the even more powerful Rinnegan!
Having just mastered the power of the Rinnegan, Takuno keenly perceived a key change.
"As expected, after evolving into the Rinnegan, the unique ocular techniques of the original Mangekyo Sharingan are temporarily unusable." He muttered to himself.
However, this did not trouble him.
He was already intimately familiar with the Mangekyo's abilities, especially those two core abilities: Sarutahiko and Toki-Mayumi.
He knew that no matter what kind of ability it was, its power source was deeply rooted in the principles of Yin-Yang Release.
Therefore, in theory, as long as his own mastery of Yin-Yang Release was strong enough, he could still perform similar effects even without relying on the form of the Mangekyo Sharingan.
However, Takuno also understood the chasm between theory and reality.
To reach that level, the required Yin-Yang Release was not something that could be easily achieved.
He focused his mind on inspecting the brand-new Rinnegan and realized in his heart that since these eyes evolved from the Mangekyo Sharingan, there must be a connection between the two.
He didn't need to take the long way around to improve his Yin-Yang Release to forcibly simulate old abilities.
A more feasible plan surfaced in his mind: he could fully utilize this connection to re-'write' the formulas and rules of the Mangekyo Sharingan's 'Sarutahiko' and 'Toki-Mayumi' abilities into this pair of newborn Rinnegan.
Relying on his Yin-Yang Release power, which had reached an extremely high level through self-reinforcement in the Tenseigan Chakra Mode, he was confident he had the ability to complete this precise 'ability transplant' work; all it would take was time.
And as it happened, right now... he was not short on time!
As for the brand-new ability birthed by the Rinnegan itself, after perceiving it, Takuno felt its birth was only natural, even most fitting for the pure desire for power deep within his heart.
In contrast, the source of the Mangekyo Sharingan's abilities had been influenced by the strong obsessions of the countless 'selves' he had experienced in the illusions.
Those deep desires to change the past had shaped the form of his Mangekyo's abilities, biasing them toward the power of time reversal.
But now, the new ability bestowed upon him by the Rinnegan was completely free from such imprints originating from phantoms.
It purely echoed his own most primal pursuit: the ultimate exploration and mastery of absolute power.
This power was the true symbol of Takuno's own path.