Chapter 238 : Hagoromo Otsutsuki Appears
The moment Uchiha Taiga withdrew his hand, Uchiha Sasuke's body went completely limp, and he collapsed onto the tatami mat with a heavy thud.
He lay sprawled out, his head resting on his arm and his legs slightly curled. He looked just like an exhausted child who had fallen asleep the moment he hit the bed. His breathing was even, his chest rising and falling steadily, and his expression was completely peaceful.
Uchiha Itachi hurriedly stepped forward to check on him. He leaned in close to Sasuke's face, inspecting him carefully. Upon realizing that Sasuke hadn't suffered any injuries and was merely in a deep, steady sleep, Itachi finally let out a sigh of relief.
With that settled, Itachi shifted his attention to Taiga's hand.
Resting in that hand was a misty, grayish-white substance. It writhed faintly in Taiga's palm, pulsing as if it were a living, breathing entity.
The mist was small, only about the size of a fist, but it gave Itachi an incredibly strange feeling—like a cluster of chakra that possessed a life of its own.
"Sensei Taiga, what is that?"
His voice was slightly hoarse, carrying an uncontrollable undercurrent of tension.
Taiga didn't hide anything. He looked down at the writhing mist in his palm, the corners of his lips curling up.
"This is Indra's chakra."
Itachi furrowed his brows. He wanted to ask who Indra was, but held his tongue, knowing the man would explain.
As expected, Taiga elaborated. He cupped the mist carefully, as if holding a bowl of water, making sure it didn't slip through his fingers.
"Hagoromo Otsutsuki, whose true name was Otsutsuki Hagoromo, had two sons. One was named Indra, and the other was Asura."
He paused, looking at Itachi.
"Indra was the eldest. He inherited the Sage's Eyes, which is the Sharingan. He is the ancestor of the Uchiha clan."
"Asura was the second son. He inherited the Sage Body, meaning immense vitality and physical energy. He is the ancestor of the Senju clan and the Uzumaki clan."
Itachi's frown deepened, his lips parting slightly in surprise.
"The brothers, Indra and Asura, were at odds and fought their entire lives. After Indra died, his chakra didn't dissipate. Instead, it reincarnated into genius ninja of later generations, continuing its eternal feud with Asura's reincarnations."
He raised a hand and pointed at Sasuke, who was still fast asleep on the tatami.
"Uchiha Madara was the previous reincarnation of Indra, and Sasuke is the current one."
Itachi's expression turned grim. He stared at the writhing mist in Taiga's palm, killing intent flashing in his eyes.
Fiercely protective of his younger brother, he absolutely refused to allow anything to threaten Sasuke.
"So you're saying... Sasuke is the reincarnation of Indra?"
His voice was tight.
Taiga shook his head, the smirk never leaving his face.
"To be precise, Sasuke is the reincarnation of Indra's chakra, not Indra himself."
"Madara was the previous vessel for Indra's chakra, and Sasuke is the current one. They aren't Indra; they merely inherited his chakra and some of his traits."
His tone was absolute.
"The two are entirely different concepts."
Hearing this, Itachi finally relaxed a fraction.
Taiga continued, "Having Indra's chakra inside him isn't necessarily a good thing for Sasuke. However, it does have its perks—namely, the presence of Indra's chakra guarantees a high baseline for his natural talent."
He paused, his grin widening.
"But now that I've extracted this chakra, it's hard to say how his talent will develop from here on out."
He looked at Itachi and raised an eyebrow.
"So, what do you say? If you want, I can put this chakra right back where I found it."
Itachi took a deep breath. He stared intently at the mist for a few seconds before shaking his head.
"There's no need for that."
His tone was resolute.
Taiga watched him, his smirk unwavering.
"Don't you need to ask for Sasuke's opinion?"
Itachi's gaze fell upon Sasuke, taking in his peaceful sleeping face. "I know Sasuke. He would never allow this kind of chakra to remain inside his body."
Taiga chuckled and nodded.
"Alright then, we'll leave it at that."
He raised his hand, steadying the mist in his palm.
"The kid will wake up in a bit. You can explain everything to him then."
Itachi nodded and bowed slightly.
"Understood."
Taiga stood up and headed for the door. After two steps, he paused and glanced back over his shoulder.
"That's all for now. Have the kid come find me starting tomorrow."
He paused.
"Oh, and bring Hyuga Neji with you."
With that, he stepped out the door, his footsteps gradually fading down the hallway.
Itachi watched Taiga's retreating figure, remaining kneeling on the tatami for a long time without moving.
His gaze lingered on the doorway, his brows furrowed as an inexplicable sense of unease settled in his heart.
Off to the side, Hyuga Neji was still somewhat in shock, but upon hearing Taiga's parting words, he was now filled with nothing but sheer joy.
Meanwhile, Taiga immediately went to find Nagato.
Nagato was in the underground laboratory, wearing a white lab coat and glasses perched on the bridge of his nose. He held a pair of tweezers, tinkering with something on the workbench.
The door was pushed open.
Taiga strode in with quick steps and a massive grin on his face. He walked right up to Nagato and raised his hand, presenting the grayish-white mist resting in his palm.
"Hurry, hurry, hurry!"
His voice was loud, brimming with uncontainable excitement.
"I got my hands on something amazing. Let's dissect it—we might just be able to reverse-engineer the Karma technology!"
Nagato looked at the cluster of chakra in his hand, completely bewildered.
"Karma?"
His voice carried a hint of confusion.
"You've found a lead on Karma?"
He raised an eyebrow, his eyes lighting up.
Taiga nodded gleefully, his grin stretching so wide it bared both rows of his teeth.
"Of course! This thing is the key to cracking Karma."
He raised his hand, bringing the mist closer to Nagato's face.
"This is the chakra of an Otsutsuki bloodline descendant."
Nagato's interest was instantly piqued. He knew what Karma was—it was a reincarnation technology used by the Otsutsuki clan to engrave their chakra and memories onto someone else, allowing them to resurrect through that mark.
He had never been able to find a breakthrough; his research over the past few years had only barely scratched the surface of the subject.
He reached out to take the chakra from Taiga's hand.
But right at that moment, his fingers froze in midair.
He hadn't stopped them himself—his body simply couldn't move.
His fingers remained outstretched, his arm raised, and his body leaning forward. He was completely paralyzed, as if pinned in place by an unseen force. His eyes could still dart around and his mind was still racing, but his body refused to obey his commands.
Nagato suddenly felt as though the space around him had stagnated, as if time itself had stopped. The dust in the air ceased to float, and the liquids in the beakers on the workbench stopped bubbling. Everything plunged into absolute stillness, like a frozen painting.
He looked up.
An elderly, ethereal figure materialized out of thin air.
The figure seemed to emerge directly from the atmosphere. His body was semi-transparent, allowing the walls and lights behind him to be seen right through him.
His hair was long, cascading over his shoulders, and the wrinkles on his face were deep. Yet, his eyes were strikingly bright—they were the Rinnegan, with concentric ripple patterns expanding outward from the pupils. He wore a long white robe and leaned on a black shakujo staff.
The old man who had just appeared in the laboratory wore a highly complex expression as he stared at the writhing mist in Taiga's palm.
Nagato furrowed his brows and cast a glance toward Taiga.
He noticed that Taiga still maintained his gleeful expression, his grin wide and his eyes crinkled in amusement, looking completely frozen in place.
However, Nagato could sense that the chakra inside Taiga's body was still flowing; it was only his physical form that had been immobilized.
At that moment, the old man spoke. "Could you please spare my child's chakra?"
Nagato's heart sank.
Right then, a cheerful voice rang out.
"Hagoromo Otsutsuki, you finally decided to show yourself."
Otsutsuki Hagoromo's expression shifted slightly. He moved his gaze away from Nagato and fixed it on Uchiha Taiga.
He realized that Taiga was looking right back at him.
Taiga's eyes were smiling. He stepped out of his frozen state with complete ease, acting as naturally as if the temporal stasis had never even happened.
"I've been looking for you for a long time."
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