Start with a Zanpakuto and build the strongest Mist Village.

"You shouldn't even think about that. Besides Hiashi, that girl is only close to..." Fugaku glanced at Yoru and smiled helplessly, "Only Lord Yoru. She always has a distant and gentle attitude towards everyone else."

"I was hoping Sasuke would try his best, but there's no chance at all!"

"It seems our Mizukage has protected his disciple very well." Kushina teased Mizuki Yoru. She was very happy to see her beloved child again after so long, and that her child was living a happy and carefree life.

However, as if she had thought of something, Kushina's smile gradually faded, and her voice lowered as she asked Mizuki Yoru, "How is the soul inside Naruto now?"

"Huh?" Fugaku paused, as if he had heard something incredible, and stared wide-eyed at Yoru and Kushina.

The soul inside Naruto?

No, what are you talking about? Is there another soul entity inside Naruto's body?

“I told you before that Naruto’s soul is special. It’s a special ‘Karma’ that was implanted in him from the day he was born. Even I can’t remove it. I can only alleviate this chakra erosion through subtle influence.”

"Fortunately, the result was encouraging."

Looking down at Naruto and Sasuke, who were fighting tooth and nail just a second ago but were now walking arm in arm like best buddies, Ye explained, "Although the Karma inside Naruto is thawing little by little, his consciousness hasn't been greatly affected by it."

"With the help of my spiritual power, Naruto's condition is much better than I originally expected."

Kushina's face lit up with joy: "So that means Naruto..."

“That’s right, Naruto is still Naruto. As long as we maintain the current pace and let him grow, that Karma will not only not interfere with Naruto’s will, but will also transform into Naruto’s power, giving him the ticket to step into the realm of Super Kage or even higher level powerhouses.”

"It's alright now, it's alright now..."

Upon hearing this, Kushina's eyes welled up with tears of excitement. She didn't care about power; as long as Naruto was safe and sound, that was enough for her.

"Although I don't know exactly what happened, it seems things are moving in a positive direction," Fugaku said softly, trying to comfort him.

Over the years, Fugaku has developed genuine feelings for Naruto, taking great care of this hero's son and his wife's best friend's child, and even adopting him as his godson.

Unexpectedly, besides being a Jinchuriki, Naruto also had such a hidden danger within his body.

Fortunately, everything is moving in a positive direction...

Hearing Fugaku's words of comfort, Kushina nodded solemnly: "Yes, I believe Naruto and Sasuke will be alright!"

"Hmm, definitely not... Wait, Naruto and Sasuke?!"

Fugaku seemed to have discovered something incredible. His eyes widened, and he even activated his Kaleidoscope Sharingan, staring at Yoru and Kushina with disbelief: "Could it be Sasuke too?!"

"You didn't know?" Yoru was somewhat surprised, then looked at Fugaku with a hint of realization and smiled, "It was my oversight. Like Naruto, Sasuke also has a reincarnated soul left behind by the Six Paths within him, and he's even the older brother of the soul within Naruto."

Holy crap, bro, how could you forget to mention something so important!

Fugaku, his face full of worry, said anxiously, "What about Sasuke?"

"Like Naruto, Sasuke is also in the stage of soul fusion. With my spiritual power, as long as we proceed steadily and slowly, neither of them will have any problems. They can even absorb the power contained within and break through their limits."

"That's good……"

Even so, Fugaku's eyes were full of worry.

The thought of someone else's soul inexplicably entering one's body is chilling no matter how you look at it.

Fortunately, the person speaking was the master of the soul, otherwise Fugaku really wouldn't know what to do.

After glancing at Sasuke a couple more times, Fugaku kept telling himself to trust Yoru and to believe that Sasuke would be alright before he finally calmed down...

After the morale of the army stabilized, Fugaku was eager to go home to see Sasuke. Kushina, who had finally returned home, naturally wanted to see the child more, so she disguised herself as a distant cousin of the Uzumaki clan, intending to make up for Naruto's absence.

Night did not stop it.

In reality, Naruto and Sasuke's situation is not as simple as Night made it out to be.

The Six Paths' methods are indeed quite formidable. The souls of Ashura and Indra were already bound to their chakra, and they merged into Naruto and Sasuke's bodies from the moment they were born.

Even with the spiritual power of the night stabilizing their souls, no one knows whether Naruto and Sasuke are now Indra and Ashura, or simply Naruto and Sasuke themselves.

What Ye could do was use his spiritual power to shield the power of the Six Paths to a certain extent, preventing that old bastard from doing certain things, and incidentally monitoring and investigating the chakra of Asura and Indra.

"The intensity of Indra's and Ashura's chakra has increased by more than one degree in Naruto and Sasuke today... So you were waiting for the power within them to mature?"

Ye's expression was inscrutable, and he chuckled softly, "Just wait and see what kind of ending you'll get in the end."

……

Rain Hidden Village, behind the mountain.

Looking at Hiruzen, who was excitedly directing Akatsuki members to manipulate various instruments in the distance, Obito's expression behind his swirling mask was strangely eerie.

After two and a half years of planning, Hiruko finally gathered all the offerings he wanted to use to become the ultimate ninja.

With all conditions met, Hiruko had no intention of waiting for the celestial phenomena to occur. With the help and permission of the leader Nagato, Hiruko resolutely embarked on his path to godhood!

The back mountain has a wide terrain, and with the help of Earth Release ninjutsu, the empty back mountain has been transformed into an altar more than ten meters high.

The altar was filled with instruments, and there were five racks on both sides, but only four of them were used to seal people.

Those four were carefully selected by Hiruko as bloodline ninjas, and they were the most important members of the upcoming ascension ceremony. They possessed the abilities of Dark Release, Steel Release, Magnet Release, and Sharingan.

Hiruko originally intended to fuse with Deidara, who possessed the Explosion Release bloodline limit, but because of Deidara's outstanding talent, suitable age, and his madness for art, Pain saw his potential and took him from Hiruko.

Unable to fight city hall, Hiruko had no choice but to settle for second best and opt for the indestructible Steel Release.

In addition to the [Swift Escape] which he had already fused with long ago, he now has a total of five bloodline limits!

Black Zetsu looked at the excited Hiruko and asked Obito beside him, "Do you think he can succeed?"

Obito glanced at Black Zetsu but did not respond.

As the creator and deep researcher of the technique, Hiruko's failure would be a huge blow to Obito, because today's ascension ceremony is not only the most important event in Hiruko's life, but also a rehearsal for Obito's future ascension ceremony!

If the ceremony succeeds, Obito will have great confidence in his ritual.

But what if the ceremony fails...

Obito then had to carefully observe all the details of the ceremony, find out the reasons for its failure, and make sure to fill in any gaps.

Seeing Obito remain silent, his eyes fixed on the ritual altar, Black Zetsu's expressionless face seemed to soften with a smile, and his unique, hoarse voice rang out once more.

“Nagato’s personality has become increasingly twisted. You should have made him your sacrifice in the first place.”

"Nagato, huh?"

The crucial name brought Obito back to his senses. Looking at the expressionless red-haired boy slowly descending from the sky in the distance, Obito's eyes narrowed involuntarily.

He never expected that Nagato would have such courage and determination, forcibly absorbing the natural energy of heaven and earth and fusing it with the chakra in his body after his injuries had healed, in an attempt to create his own Sage Mode.

Most importantly, he succeeded!

The boost from Sage Mode is undoubtedly terrifying, it could even be described as a doubling of the enhancement.

However, after learning Sage Mode, Nagato no longer showed the attitude of wanting to punish the evil soul devourer Minazuki Yoru as a god.

He seemed reserved, yet also somewhat subdued by the power of Minazuki Yoru.

But Obito knew perfectly well that beneath those Rinnegan eyes, which were like an abyss, lay a madness suppressed to the extreme!

Nagato descended from the sky, landing directly on the altar, and asked Hiruko, "How is the ceremony going?"

“Everything is ready, except for the chakra source.” Hiruko looked at Nagato with a hint of flattery and said in a low voice, “I used Madara-sama’s dark chakra techniques to condense a portion of dark chakra, but to complete the entire ritual, I’m afraid we’ll still need the help of you, leader, and the rest of the organization.”

'Bloodline Fusion' requires a massive amount of chakra. In the original story, Hiruko came up with a clever solution to this problem by moving the ritual to a mountaintop and using the power of the stars.

However, Hiruko had already completed the collection of bloodline ninjas in this world, and his thirst for power made him unable to wait any longer.

Hiruko obtained the Dark Chakra Gathering Technique from Obito through Hiruko's help, and managed to condense a portion of Dark Chakra. However, this was still insufficient for the entire ritual, so Hiruko had no choice but to seek Nagato's help.

Nagato remained indifferent and nodded slightly: "Don't worry, I've already sent them all over. You don't need to worry about the chakra."

Although the Akatsuki organization is still just a bunch of small fry, in terms of chakra alone, they have already completed Sage Mode. With Nagato in Sage Mode, they are even more powerful than the Jinchuriki!

He alone is enough!

Upon hearing this, Beiliuhu was overjoyed.

If the chakra problem can be solved, he'll be 90% confident about this ritual!

Nagato glanced at Obito and Zetsu in the distance and said calmly, "When do you plan to start?"

"anytime!"

"Then let's get started."

Nagato waved his hand and gave the order: "Let me see your capacity, Hiruko. If you succeed, I will entrust you with the task force of the organization and the task force within Amegakure!"

"Yes, leader!"

Hiruko excitedly arrived at the altar. After directing the Akatsuki members to activate the instruments one by one, he sat cross-legged in the center of the altar, clasped his hands together, and gathered his chakra.

One by one, figures appeared beneath the altar, including Konan, Shennong, and Sasori. All the current members of the Akatsuki organization were present, and even the trainee member Deidara came with Sasori.

"The ritual of absorbing bloodline limits, huh? It seems to be quite an art form!"

Looking at Hiruko on the altar, his eyes closed as if he were contemplating something, Deidara felt no fear or dread whatsoever; instead, he felt a sense of excitement and anticipation.

However, upon seeing the four sacrifices, Deidara curled his lip in disdain and made a direct judgment: "Unfortunately, art without the fusion of Explosion Release is incomplete. Hmm!"

“Eternal art is true art!” Scorpion suddenly retorted.

"I say, Mr. Scorpion, true art is the beauty of fleeting moments, hmm! A moment of brilliance, that kind of exquisite beauty..."

"boom!!"

The surging chakra abruptly interrupted Deidara's debate on art. The entire center of the altar was enveloped by the vast chakra, which even burst forth with dazzling light, causing air currents like a hurricane.

The immense pressure drew the attention of everyone present. Hiruko, who was at the center of the ceremony, suddenly opened his eyes and let out a cold shout. Suddenly, clusters of strange, pale purple fleshy buds, resembling clay, emerged from his body!

This is precisely the special trait that Hiruko meticulously researched!

At the same time, as Hiruko summoned the Demon Sprout, the surging chakra flow also woke the four people on the altar from the genjutsu. But before they could figure out what was going on, the Demon Sprout on Hiruko's body, like octopus tentacles or a giant python devouring them, directly wrapped around the four people!

Amidst the four men's terror, the astonishment of the crowd, and Hiruko's excitement and even madness.

The Devouring Ritual, the Journey to Godhood.

Officially begin!

Chapter 237 The Power of All Things, the Failure of Hiruko!

The Demon Sprout Technique, a special technique that uses the demon sprout as a medium to devour and absorb other bloodline limits for one's own use, has finally revealed its most magnificent form today.

With the terrifying chakra surging from Hiruko's body, his clothes burst open in an instant, countless bandages shattered, and densely packed demonic tentacles, like ravenous, bloodthirsty pythons, devoured the four sacrifices in a flash.

Seeing this, everyone present narrowed their eyes, especially Obito, whose single eye under the vortex mask turned into a kaleidoscope as he stared intently at all of Hiruko's actions and changes.

"Ahhhh!!!"

The terrified cries of the sacrifices ceased abruptly after only a moment. The ghostly sprout that had devoured the four people began to wriggle and digest on the ground, like a snake or python that had swallowed a huge prey.

Seeing this, Hiruko, who was sitting cross-legged in the center of the altar, let out a cold shout and released all the chakra in his body, urging the demon buds that had devoured the offerings to merge into his body.

The surging chakra stirred up a fierce wind, causing the entire back mountain to change drastically. Even the Akatsuki members, who had initially held a contemptuous attitude, couldn't help but narrow their eyes and reveal a solemn expression.

He was just an ordinary A-rank rogue ninja, a regular Jonin who was not valued by Konoha, yet he was able to do this.

This level of chakra is no less than theirs, and may even surpass them. If Hiruko completes the entire ritual, how powerful will he become?

"Very good, this increase in power is excellent!"

Obito's eyes gleamed, his gaze fixed intently.

The terrifying chakra was continuously released from Ruko's body. Soon, everyone present felt a strange sense of palpitation, and at the same time, an unusual chill rose in their hearts, and even some negative emotions such as violence, fear, and anger arose in their hearts.

"This is the power of dark chakra."

Shennong couldn't help but rub his hands together, his expression somewhat excited.

He has been pursuing the power of dark chakra for over a decade, even wanting to use it as a tool to revive the Sky Ninja.

However, his public persona has always been that of a medical ninja, keeping a low profile, so he has never truly unleashed this power. Today, Hiruko's actions can be said to be the first time that he has truly mobilized the power of dark chakra on a large scale.

This power is indeed incredibly strong!

"Dark chakra is indeed good, but in terms of strength, it is far inferior to tailed beast chakra."

Beside him, Black Zetsu whispered to Obito.

Obito nodded: "After all, a tailed beast is a tailed beast. It is the symbol of all chakra in this world. Dark chakra naturally cannot compare with tailed beast chakra, but it is still not bad for making up the numbers or as batteries."

Dark chakra is chakra condensed using the power of dark emotions in the human heart. In terms of strength, it cannot compare to ordinary tailed beast chakra. However, as the saying goes, the desires of the human heart are endless, which means that dark chakra, to some extent, has endless power, just like the tailed beasts.

This power is perfect for a power bank!