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JST Chapter 259: The Awakening of an Ōtsutsuki
🕑 Added 2025-04-25 15:36:21 +0000 UTC“By the way, when’s big bro coming back?” Shisui asked excitedly.
“I’m dying to ask him how he got so strong!”
“He became the hero of the entire Shinobi World without telling us—he’s gonna owe me grilled fish every day for a week!”
Kakuzu and Sakumo exchanged glances and couldn't help but laugh at Shisui's cheerful demeanor.
"Yeah, I’ll have to ask Kazuki for a raise too!" Kakuzu chuckled. Even his normally stiff face showed a rare trace of kindness as he looked at Shisui.
"If we're talking raises, count me in as well..." Sakumo nodded seriously.
"Sure, Kakuzu and I may not have done much in this war—Kazuki handled everything on his own—but we still worked hard in our own way!"
Kakashi glanced at his father, speechless, but he couldn't hold back a smile.
Ever since Kazuki had saved Sakumo, the White Fang of Konoha had become like a new man—a strange mix of humor and eccentricity.
And truthfully, Kakashi liked this new version of his father.
“Sigh, I really can’t wait for Kazuki to become the Fourth Hokage and kick that old man out of office already!” Asuma slapped his thigh. “He’s too old! If he keeps hogging the title, I’ll take him out myself—”
Everyone burst into good-natured laughter.
What a dutiful son, Asuma-kun.
They had all gathered here today to give Kazuki a surprise.
Each person had prepared party poppers, candles, and a carefully made birthday cake...
They wanted to make up for the birthday Kazuki had missed during the war.
Even though no one knew exactly when he would return, they were all patiently waiting.
Yet among them, Might Duy forced a smile.
Something didn’t feel right.
He kept thinking about what Kazuki had told him before the final battle:
“Uncle Duy, I’m counting on you to look after them. The next battle… is going to be brutal.”
The Blue Beast of Konoha didn’t believe Kazuki was overthinking things.
Because after seeing Kazuki's overwhelming performance, it was clear—none of the Kage could even compare to him.
As the head guardian of Kazuki’s home, Might Duy knew one thing: Kazuki was never the type to worry without reason. Every word he spoke held weight.
But the war was already over—so what was it that Kazuki had been worried about?
Might Duy pondered this, but couldn’t find the answer. He kept it to himself, not wanting to dampen the mood.
He just hoped he had misunderstood.
Night fell.
Kazuki still hadn’t returned.
But everyone, hoping to give him a proper birthday surprise, had cleaned up the house with care and gone to sleep in shifts.
On guard duty, Shisui remained alert, his senses sharply attuned to chakra…
He had to make sure that when his brother came home, he’d feel the birthday celebration waiting for him.
As for Kazuki, whom everyone had on their minds—he was currently whispering gently to Kaguya:
“It’s okay now… everything’s fine…”
Kaguya raised her eyes, still trembling, and asked nervously, “R-Really? Is everything… truly all right now?”
“It’s really over…”
Facing a still-terrified Kaguya, Kazuki patiently offered her a gentle reassurance.
“At least for now, we’re safe.”
[Detected a surge of emotional resonance from Ōtsutsuki Kaguya towards the host. Linked as a target!]
Kazuki quietly savored the weight of that word—gratitude.
Dragged out of the seal for no apparent reason, Kaguya had thought she was simply lucky to gain her freedom. But the moment she opened her eyes, she was met with a nightmare—her old enemies gathered, hell-bent on hunting her down. The emotional whiplash must have felt like a roller coaster.
It was like laughing out loud, only to be instantly clubbed in the face.
Under those circumstances, Kazuki—who had helped her stabilize her chakra and slip past Ōtsutsuki Isshiki, Hamura, and Hagoromo—naturally earned some gratitude.
But that was just the beginning.
Once that initial wave of gratitude faded, Kaguya would start asking questions.
Why had she ended up inside Kazuki?
Why had he sealed himself in a coffin?
What was his real intent?
Kazuki, for his part, had a fairly clear understanding of the Ōtsutsuki clan’s relationship with the ninja world.
They were basically supersized versions of the Uchiha.
Sometimes, Kazuki found himself thinking—maybe this entire world was just one giant Uchiha…
Take Itachi and the Sage of Six Paths, for example—both could have long conversations about the moral weight of killing one’s own kin.
As for mortals—more specifically, shinobi of the ninja world—
From Kazuki’s perspective, whether it was the Sage pursuing mutual understanding or Kaguya planning to wipe out the world, both had always looked down on humans from atop their clouds. They never truly saw ninja as people they could talk to.
Believe in peace through mutual understanding?
Fine. Then why did the Sage of Six Paths sit back and watch his two sons drag the world into a thousand years of conflict?
All those powerful souls forged in the fires of war…
In the end, they became fuel for the Sage’s power in the Pure Land.
Believe fighting the Ōtsutsuki required creating an army of White Zetsu?
Kaguya didn’t even try reasoning with her own sons. She just cast Infinite Tsukuyomi and started manufacturing weapons.
Then the whole family ended up trying to kill each other—what a joke.
Kazuki didn’t care to judge whether the Ōtsutsuki were good or evil.
The tearful, seemingly fragile and helpless woman in front of him—Ōtsutsuki Kaguya—was no damsel in distress.
She had once killed her own son, Ōtsutsuki Hamura. It was only through Hagoromo’s use of Sage Art symbols that Hamura was brought back to life. Kaguya was the kind of being who once sought to annihilate the entire shinobi world.
And despite being from the branch family of the Ōtsutsuki, she had the patience and courage to strike down the main branch’s Isshiki at just the right moment—and succeeded.
Sure, her combat techniques were abysmal.
Sure, seeing Naruto and Sasuke made her cry because they reminded her of her children…
But if anyone thought that made her a naive, harmless idiot—they’d be dead wrong.
At that moment, Kazuki and Kaguya’s fingertips were lightly touching.
It was Kaguya’s way of channeling her power into him.
Kazuki subtly pulled his hand away, a faint trace of confusion showing in his eyes as he furrowed his brow and gave her a long, thoughtful look.
But he said nothing—choosing instead to wait for her to settle her turbulent emotions.
[From the target Black Zetsu, you get Yin-Yang Release: Mental Control!]
[You have acquired Bloodline Purification: Descendant of Hamura, from sync target Ōtsutsuki Hamura!]
[From the target Otsutsuki Hamura, you get Bloodline Purification: Descendant of Hagoromo!]
Kaguya’s two sons had each delivered their welcome gifts to Kazuki.
The effects were immediate and powerful.
Kazuki, whose body already housed the bloodlines of the Senju, Uzumaki, Uchiha, Hyūga, and Kaguya clans—unified through the Ritual of the Chimera Technique—now surged with even greater strength.
The bloodline purification granted by the progenitor of the Byakugan, Ōtsutsuki Hamura, dramatically enhanced Kazuki’s eyes. His Byakugan, originally from the ordinary Hyūga line, had now reached an entirely new level of purity.
“From a bloodline perspective, I’ve probably already surpassed the branch on the moon,” Kazuki mused silently.
“How does the Tenseigan awaken again? It’s something only exceptionally gifted descendants of Hamura—like Ōtsutsuki Toneri—can achieve, and only when paired with a pair of extremely pure Byakugan from the Hyūga clan...”
“You need the complementary chakra or bloodlines of two separate Hamura branches…”
Kazuki understood instantly.
He had a loyal subordinate—Hyūga Hizashi—member of the branch family, who had mastered the Sealing Art: Cage Release Mark that Kazuki had granted him.
He ate Kazuki’s food, used Kazuki’s jutsu, and enjoyed the freedom Kazuki had bestowed.
Hizashi would take this technique he’d earned for himself and use it to reshape the current divide between the Hyūga main and branch families—ultimately delivering to Kazuki the collective Byakugan purity of the entire Hyūga clan.
A power fueled by the branch family’s gratitude and excitement, and the main family’s rage, confusion, and helplessness.
With no outside interference, closing the doors and letting internal struggle run its course would only deepen these emotional extremes—nurturing a pair of Byakugan pure enough for Kazuki’s purposes.
Especially while Kazuki remained sealed…
Hizashi would make the most of this window. Kazuki had high expectations for his Root operatives.
“The purification of Hagoromo’s bloodline… it completes my last missing piece.”
Kazuki’s eyes were still jet black—he hadn’t even activated the Sharingan.
But he already knew: if he wanted to, he could manifest the Rinnegan in the very next instant.
Only—
In the world of the Ōtsutsuki, the Rinnegan alone meant nothing.
Truth-Seeking Orbs, the Ten-Tails Jinchūriki state, Rinnegan techniques, Kekkei Mōra—those were the real symbols of status and strength.
And finally there is Shinjutsu, the highest forms of techniques used only by the most powerful Otsutsuki.
But in the end what truly determined power, beyond the functional differences in dōjutsu, was the wielder’s personal tier and the chakra they possessed.
Even Mangekyō Sharingan techniques, when backed by the right “hardware,” could become overwhelmingly powerful.
Take Uchiha Obito, who once wielded the power of the Six Paths—even after losing the Ten-Tails, he could still use dual Kamui to warp Truth-Seeking Orbs.
Or how Asura and Indra, even after being shattered by Kaguya’s All-Killing Ash Bones, could still inhabit Kakashi as chakra remnants—letting him awaken a Complete Body Susanoo and dual Kamui.
That’s the difference granted by tier.
“In the past, the great clans of the ninja world provided me with the Sage of Six Paths’ bloodline. That let me rise to Asura and Indra’s level, face off against the Sage himself, and earn the chance to obtain his full power.”
“Now, the Hyūga on the moon and those in the ninja world are joining forces to help me approach Ōtsutsuki Hamura.”
“The power of Kaguya’s two sons… will both belong to me.”
The combined might of Ōtsutsuki Hamura and Ōtsutsuki Hagoromo would allow Kazuki to approach Kaguya’s level.
And on his path to power, Kaguya’s strength would gradually be siphoned away by him.
In doing so, Kazuki would claim the Kekkei Mōra powers of both the ninja world and this twisted Ōtsutsuki family.
A kind of ultra-powered branch family of the Ōtsutsuki, if you will.
As for the main family’s Isshiki—once Kazuki had him in his sights, his power would be added to the pool alongside Kaguya’s.
At that point, Kazuki might finally feel a sense of security.
With the combined might of multiple Kaguya- and Isshiki-level beings, perhaps he would finally be seen as 'average' even among the Ōtsutsuki elite?
Kazuki longed for the day when Momoshiki, Urashiki and the others would reach the ninja world and could be linked as targets.
Comments
Zero Speed
The betrayal will be so sweet
