novelhk Chapter 541 Power Vessel Soul, Three Return to One!
Chapter 541 Power Vessel Soul, Three Return to One!
Chapter 541 Power Vessel and Soul, the Three Become One!
The full moon in the sky seemed to brighten suddenly for a moment, casting a cool, fleeting light, as quick as an illusion.
However, at this moment, Hyuga Neji felt a blur before his eyes, and the scene in his vision rippled and distorted like an ink painting immersed in water.
His consciousness was forcibly ripped away by an irresistible force under the gaze of that "full moon".
When he opened his eyes again, the scene before him had completely changed; it was no longer the battlefield.
It was dark, an endless darkness. Beneath my feet was solid ground, and before me were mounds of earth, like graves.
They are rounded in shape, with a vague outline resembling a tortoise shell, and even have four protruding legs, and are supported by simple wooden pillars.
These "graveyards" stretch into the deeper and farther darkness, seemingly without end, and their number is countless.
"Where is this place?"
Neji Hyuga felt a sudden alarm bell ringing in his mind. He forced himself to stay focused and try to understand the situation before him.
We were just on the battlefield, how did we suddenly end up here?
hum!
Just as he was wondering, the silent mounds in front of him, like graveyards, slowly transformed into figures.
These figures were dressed in clothing with ninja characteristics, their faces covered by cloth, obscuring their features below the eyes, revealing only pairs of tightly closed eyes.
These people were naturally members of the main family who were killed by the branch family to which Otsutsuki Toneri belonged.
Dozens, hundreds—appeared silently in front of Neji, causing him to instinctively grip the katana named "Wrath" at his waist, his gaze sweeping over these suddenly appearing beings.
But soon, guided by the perception brought on by "anger," he realized that these people possessed no life whatsoever.
"dead?"
He recognized the figures in front of him; they were not living people.
They are the dead, souls existing in some form.
"You guys—" Hyuga Neji frowned, just about to ask a question.
Just then, the many figures suddenly moved in unison.
They split into two groups, making way for Neji. They all faced the road, knelt on one knee, clenched one fist and touched the ground with the fist, and bowed their heads respectfully.
A solemn, ancient, and heavy atmosphere permeated this truly dead land.
Snap—Snap—
At the end of the road, an old man with a slightly hunched figure, dressed in a style similar to a monk, and with a pair of horns on his forehead slowly appeared and walked step by step towards Neji along the road.
Neji's gaze fell on the old man, his pupils contracted slightly, and he stared intently at the nine black spheres arranged in an "S" shape behind him.
Chakra beads from the Tenseigan?
No, it must be something more powerful and wondrous than chakra beads—
"The destined one."
The old man stopped, raised his weary eyes, and stared at the bewildered Hyuga Neji. He said in a hoarse voice, "My name is Otsutsuki Hamura."
"Otsutsuki—" Hyuga Neji's eyes flickered slightly, "Hamura?"
The surname Ōtsutsuki, which was just a legend not long ago, is now appearing one after another.
Hamura Otsutsuki nodded slowly and continued, "The Sage of Six Paths is my elder brother, and I am the ancestor of your Hyuga clan."
",9
Hyuga Neji instinctively opened his mouth, the first absurd thought that surged into his mind was that he wanted to laugh.
They laughed at the old man's nonsensical ramblings and his sudden, seemingly fantastical self-proclaimed title.
A figure from a thousand years ago, the younger brother of the Sage of Six Paths, and the ancestor of the Hyuga clan, actually appeared before him like this?
How is that possible?
However, the sneer got stuck in his throat, his throat felt dry, and he couldn't speak.
Because that resonance and connection originating from the depths of his bloodline was emanating from the hunched old man in front of him, subtly echoing his own bloodline.
It's getting clearer and clearer, stronger and stronger.
This feeling cannot be faked.
Moreover, his "half-finished" Reincarnation Eyes, which he had painstakingly unlocked at the cost of almost everything, could see some essential things.
Behind the old man in front of him, the nine black spheres contained an aura that was not even comparable to the Bloodline Elimination; it was a power that truly touched upon a higher level.
With such power, it seems really unnecessary to deceive a guy on the verge of despair like him.
In other words—
Hyuga Neji felt as if something was blocking his throat, making it dry and painful.
"You—you're telling the truth." He licked his chapped lips and said hoarsely, "People from a thousand years ago are still alive?"
"No, I died long ago." Ōtsutsuki Hamura slowly shook his head and said calmly, "What remains here now is merely a gravedigger."
"Guarding the moon, and also guarding the 'people' within it."
People on the moon?
Hyuga Neji felt a sense of doubt, but he had no time to delve into the meaning behind those words.
"Did you bring me here?" Hyuga Neji asked bluntly. "Why? And—"
"What does 'destined person' mean?"
Hamura Otsutsuki gazed silently at the young descendant before him. After a moment of silence, he spoke again: "You should have seen those who descended from the heavens as well."
Of course, Hyuga Neji saw those four figures who easily crushed everything and treated everyone in the ninja world as nothing.
"They want to destroy this ninja world, kill all living beings, turn it into a breeding ground, and reap the rewards."
Hamura Otsutsuki spoke up: "This is a scene that my brother and I would never have wanted to see, but we are already dead and cannot directly interfere in the affairs of this world."
"So you found me? Because of my eyes?"
Hyuga Neji frowned even more, pointed to his eyes, and curled his lips into a self-deprecating smile: "Then I'm sorry, Ancestor, you'll be disappointed."
"I don't have that ability. Even these eyes, I paid an almost unbearable price, and went through countless pains and struggles to barely open them—"
"It's still just a half-finished product, all show and no substance. Before those extraterrestrials you speak of," it's utterly vulnerable, easily defeated, and incapable of doing anything.
The destined one?
Oh----
Perhaps it was in the past.
But now, he's just a hapless soul abandoned by fate.
The calm, unwavering expression on Ōtsutsuki Hamura's face remained unchanged.
He neither offered words of comfort nor refuted them, but simply said slowly, "By accepting my gift, you can mend these eyes and gain power sufficient to rival theirs."
"————"
Neji Hyuga's breathing paused for a moment.
He suddenly raised his head, staring intently at the old man in front of him, his chest heaving more and more, his breathing becoming deep and rapid.
To complete these eyes?
To obtain power sufficient to rival those from beyond the heavens?
is that true?
this----
Is that possible?
In a daze, these words from his heart were blurted out by Hyuga Neji.
Hamura Otsutsuki did not answer, but instead extended his hands, marked with the marks of time, palms facing upwards, toward Neji Hyuga.
"Hold out your hand." Hamura's voice remained calm.
"."
""
Hyuga Neji stared intently at Otsutsuki Hamura's calm, wrinkled face, and at those Byakugan eyes that, though of the same bloodline as his own, were even more profound.
If, if there were even the slightest possibility—
He slowly raised his slightly trembling hands and reached them toward Hamura's outstretched palms. His left hand touched Hamura's right palm.
Immediately afterwards, his right hand also fell towards Hamura's outstretched left palm—
Just as their other hands touched.
Hiss! !
A sound as if space itself was being torn apart rang out in this space between life and death, as an irresistible force brutally invaded this space that should have been independent.
A sudden rift appeared between Hyuga Neji and Otsutsuki Hamura, who were standing opposite each other!
The moment the figure appeared, it simultaneously extended both hands.
One hand grabbed Hyuga Neji's right wrist, which was about to touch Hamura's palm, while the other hand gripped Otsutsuki Hamura's left wrist.
What?!
Both Hamura Otsutsuki and Neji Hyuga were caught off guard by this sudden turn of events.
Neither Hamura, who controlled this space, nor Neji, who was in turmoil, had expected that a third party would suddenly intrude.
The two of them turned their heads sharply at almost the same time to look at the figure that had suddenly cut in.
"A caged bird?!"
Hyuga Neji stared in disbelief at the face, at the strange double pupils, and at the bone horns that resembled a headband.
Originally, the light and shadow in this space were clearly distinct, with the side where Otsutsuki Hamura was located being dark, while the side where Hyuga Neji was located was pale.
But at this moment, with the "Caged Bird's" forceful intervention, a cold, azure light, centered on him, spread through the space like thick ink dripping into clear water.
Black, white, and blue are blended and mixed together.
"you!"
Hamura Otsutsuki, who had remained calm and composed throughout, as if everything was under his control, finally underwent a dramatic change in expression.
Because he felt that an extremely hidden and unfamiliar power within his body was forcibly activated the moment the "Caged Bird" grabbed his wrist.
This power was so deeply hidden that neither he nor his brother had noticed it before.
It's as if a seed that has been planted long ago has been "awakened" by the caged bird in a special way!
A pure white diamond-shaped mark slowly appeared in the palm of Otsutsuki Hamura's hand.
It is precisely a "wedge".
A white "wedge".
The "Wedge" retains only the power of the Otsutsuki.
"What's going on? What time is this?!"
Hamura Otsutsuki tried to break free from the Caged Bird's grasp, but found that the power within the white mark bound him firmly in place.
Furthermore, it begins to resonate and connect with the power of the "Caged Bird" itself, as well as with Neji Hyuga, who is connected through its other hand.
In that instant, Otsutsuki Hamura suddenly remembered.
He had an idea.
He wondered when this power had been hidden within him.
"The Sage's Talisman?!" Otsutsuki Hamura's gaze darkened. "It's the Sage's Talisman that my brother used to save me!"
""
[Foreshadowing is in Chapter 499, "Waiting for the Seas to Dry Up and the Rocks to Crack, Waiting for the Seas to Change into Mulberry Fields, Waiting for Two Thousand Years Later." If you've forgotten, you can go back and take a look.]
A thousand years ago, he and his brother rebelled against their mother, but he was controlled by her. His brother could only kill him by piercing his heart, and then resurrected him using Gamamaru's "Sage's Talisman".
If there was any time when I was attacked in secret, it could only have been at that time.
So, they were actually being watched a thousand years ago?
Who is it?
"alright."
Just then, the "caged bird" spoke.
His voice was eerily calm, indifferent yet detached.
"Now, all the conditions are met," he said softly.
The caged bird turned its head, its deep, strange eyes meeting Hyuga Neji's eyes, which were filled with fear and confusion.
"Don't worry," the caged bird said gently. "I'm just borrowing your body temporarily."
"Go see an old friend."
"Go and do what I have to do."
As soon as the words fell, the "caged bird's" strange double pupils, the two separate pupils on the iris, moved inward and merged together without any obstruction.
"Well!"
"Hmm!"
Hyuga Neji and Otsutsuki Hamura both let out a muffled groan as an irresistible force forcibly connected the three of them through the hands of the "Caged Bird" as a bridge.
Hamura Otsutsuki had already been quietly marked with a "wedge" belonging to the "Otsutsuki River style".
He embodies the "power" of the Otsutsuki River.
Hyuga Neji, a descendant who inherited the purest bloodline of the Kawa clan, endured hardships and touched the power of the "Ten-Seigan".
He is the most perfect "container" of the Otsutsuki River style.
And "caged bird" —
Hinata Kumokawa now knows that the so-called "Virtual Realm" is actually an alternate dimension of his own divine technique "Eighteen Hell Realms".
In the earlier past, after Kawashiki's "death," Otsutsuki Kumoshiki placed Kawashiki's soul into the tenth level, "Sunagakure."
[Foreshadowing is in Chapter 510, "Such a Night Shouldn't Be Silent," you can go back and take a look if you've forgotten.]
Later, the souls of Otsutsuki Toneri's father and Hyuga Hizashi were also placed into the "Hollow Realm".
The three souls merged in the "Virtual Realm" and, by absorbing other "Virtual" entities, transformed into the current Espada, "Caged Bird".
In other words, "Caged Bird" is the very "soul" of the Otsutsuki River style.
At this very moment, the conditions for the unification of power, vessel, and soul have been fully met through planning and execution!
hum! !
Black, white, and blue rays of light shot into the sky, intertwining and swirling to form a huge vortex in the air, engulfing the figures of Hyuga Neji, Otsutsuki Hamura, and "Caged Bird".
Not only that, but it also dragged in the souls of the surrounding Otsutsuki clan members, like fuel thrown into a furnace, further catalyzing the fusion of the three.
The space, originally clearly divided into black, white, and blue, was gradually tinged with a flowing, ever-changing gray-blue.
After an unknown amount of time, the vortex that had been stirring up space began to recede inward, the light gradually dimmed, and the gray-blue chaos gradually settled and became clear, revealing the figure that stood quietly.
[Things have settled down. One more chapter to go, currently writing!]
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