Chapter 355 The Chishōkekki Crystal Release; Is Konoha Going to Be Our Home from Now On? [HN]

The next day.

Deep beneath the Konoha Underground Science Institute, inside the deepest isolation laboratory.

The air was cold, filled only with the low hum of precision instruments and the faint hiss of flowing energy.

Dim blue light seeped from the chakra-conducting circuits embedded in the metal walls and ceiling, illuminating Orochimaru’s face, which was flushed with intense concentration and excitement.

He stood before an analysis platform covered by multiple layers of complex sealing techniques.

Resting quietly on the platform was the scroll containing the sealed soul essence of Mōryō.

Countless hair-thin energy probes coiled around the scroll like living creatures, converting every trace of collected energy fluctuation into streams of rapidly changing data on the screens.

“Amazing stability… After being suppressed by absolute force, its energy activity has decreased by 97.4 percent, yet its core ‘immortal’ characteristic still remains… This structure completely overturns our existing understanding of spiritual energy within the current ninjutsu system…”

Orochimaru muttered to himself, his golden snake eyes fixed on the dark red region of the spectrum that represented extreme chaos and negative emotions, while his tongue unconsciously licked the corner of his mouth.

Just then, the laboratory’s heavy alloy doors silently slid open, and Chiya appeared at the entrance.

He made no attempt to conceal his presence.

Orochimaru immediately turned around, his expression instantly shifting back to that familiar smile filled with curiosity and respect.

“Chiya-kun, you came at just the right time. Preliminary analysis shows that the essence of Mōryō’s energy is extremely unusual. It isn’t simply a conglomeration of resentment. There is a form of self-replication at the energy level within it, along with the ability to absorb negative emotions from the outside world. If we can decipher this power, perhaps we can touch upon the transformation of spiritual energy…”

“Pause the in-depth research on it.”

Chiya calmly interrupted Orochimaru’s report.

His voice was not loud, but it carried an unquestionable decisiveness.

The excitement on Orochimaru’s face instantly froze, and a trace of astonishment flashed through his eyes.

“Pause? Chiya-kun, this is a once-in-a-millennium specimen. It concerns the very essence of energy…”

“It is indeed special, but we need to adjust its priority.”

Chiya walked to the control console and glanced at the complicated models concerning Mōryō’s energy on the screen.

His expression did not change in the slightest, as though it were nothing more than an insignificant data point.

“The study of negative spiritual energy is certainly important, but we currently have another energy source that is more direct, more immense, and closer to the source itself. It needs to take priority.”

“More direct? More immense?”

Orochimaru’s attention was completely drawn in, and the flames of curiosity reignited in his golden snake eyes.

“Could it be that Chiya-kun has found another…”

Chiya did not answer directly.

Instead, he asked, “Orochimaru, how much do you know about the Ōtsutsuki Clan on the moon, aside from the conflict between the Main and Branch Families?”

Orochimaru narrowed his eyes slightly as he quickly searched through the information in his mind.

Ever since the Ōtsutsuki had come to Konoha, he had conducted a comprehensive investigation into the history of the entire shinobi world.

“The lunar Ōtsutsuki are said to be descendants of Ōtsutsuki Hamura, the younger brother of the Sage of Six Paths. They have guarded the moon for generations. Their core power… seems to be connected to a supreme ocular power known as the Tenseigan.”

“That’s right. The Tenseigan.”

Chiya nodded, a profound light flashing through his Rinnegan.

“There is still a Tenseigan on the moon. It was left behind by Ōtsutsuki Hamura. It is a genuine and complete Tenseigan.”

“Ōtsutsuki Hamura’s… own Tenseigan?!”

Orochimaru’s voice suddenly rose, trembling with disbelief.

As someone who had always pursued the truth of ninjutsu and the mysteries of immortality, he understood far too well what this meant.

It was the crystallization of power left behind by an existence on the same level as the Sage of Six Paths, a key that touched the fundamental laws of the world.

Its value far exceeded something like Mōryō, which was merely a “phenomenon” formed from accumulated negative emotions.

Chiya watched the almost overflowing fanaticism in Orochimaru’s eyes and continued.

“That genuine Tenseigan is the key to maintaining the moon’s seal and even balancing some higher-level energy. The Main Family guarded it, yet they could never completely control it. Now that the moon is under my control, this eye naturally belongs to Konoha as well.”

He paused, his tone carrying absolute authority.

“Research on Mōryō’s energy can continue later, but for now, we need to concentrate all our cutting-edge forces on deciphering the mysteries of Hamura’s Tenseigan.”

“Its energy level, operating principles, relationship with the Rinnegan, and potential effects on natural energy and space-time… These are what truly matter for dealing with the greater upheavals that lie ahead.”

Orochimaru took a deep breath and forcibly suppressed his excitement.

However, his slightly trembling fingers still betrayed his inner turmoil.

He bowed deeply.

“I understand, Chiya-kun! Compared with Hamura’s Tenseigan, Mōryō really is nothing more than an interesting side specimen. Please, you must let me participate in the research on the Tenseigan!”

“That is exactly why I came.”

Chiya extended his hand and placed it on Orochimaru’s shoulder.

“Prepare yourself. We are going directly to the moon. The environment there is more suitable, and it will also prevent any energy leakage from causing unnecessary risks to Konoha.”

“Now? Directly to the moon?”

Although Orochimaru had been mentally prepared, Chiya’s decisive answer still made his heart tighten.

Crossing space was still a technique beyond his imagination.

“Come with me.”

Orochimaru quickly put down his tools.

The two of them left one after another.

About an hour later.

The two emerged from the spatial passage.

Orochimaru steadied himself and looked up.

A desolate, gray land stretched endlessly into the distance, with enormous craters covering his field of vision like hideous scars.

Far away, a beautiful blue planet hung against the pitch-black sky.

That was the shinobi world.

And they were standing on the surface of the moon.

“So this is… the moon…”

Orochimaru muttered.

Even with all his experience, personally setting foot on this legendary land still left him deeply shaken.

He could clearly sense that the natural energy here was thin and strange, while the gravity was also different from that of the shinobi world.

Chiya did not give him much time to adjust.

His body moved, and he sped toward a certain direction.

“Keep up.”

Orochimaru immediately gathered himself and followed closely with the Body Flicker Technique.

The two quickly crossed the barren lunar surface and soon arrived at a relatively flat area.

An enormous and ancient palace ruin stood here.

It was the palace that had once belonged to the Ōtsutsuki Main Family.

Now, only broken walls and shattered remains were left, bearing the scars of the overwhelming battle that had taken place not long ago.

Chiya did not enter the palace.

Instead, he circled around to an open area behind it.

An enormous sealing formation was carved into the ground, its structure so intricate that it was almost dizzying to behold.

At the center of the formation was not a physical object, but a constantly rotating phantom of a blue sphere that radiated gentle yet immense energy.

Within the sphere, an enormous eye, dazzling like a star and possessing a structure impossible to describe with words, could faintly be seen.

Even through the powerful seal, that vast and sacred energy fluctuation, seemingly containing the ultimate laws of creation and destruction, spread outward like waves of the tide.

Orochimaru instantly felt his soul tremble.

“This is… Ōtsutsuki Hamura’s Tenseigan…”

Orochimaru held his breath, his golden snake eyes fixed on the eye within the sphere as though he wanted to engrave every detail into his mind.

This genuine Tenseigan possessed purer, deeper energy that was closer to the source of the world.

He could feel that all his years of research into souls, energy, and forbidden techniques seemed tiny and laughable before this eye.

“The Main Family sealed it here. On one hand, they used its power to maintain the moon and monitor the shinobi world. On the other, they feared that its true power might run out of control.”

Chiya stood at the edge of the seal.

The distant Tenseigan seemed to fluctuate, causing faint ripples to spread through the surrounding space.

“I need to maintain the moon’s stability, so I cannot casually undo the final seal. But these outer energy channels and sealing structures are sufficient for your preliminary research.”

He looked at Orochimaru, his tone serious.

“Remember, Orochimaru, the power level of this eye far exceeds your imagination. Your task is to observe, record, and analyze. Build an energy model and understand its possible connections to natural energy, space, and even time. Without my permission, you absolutely must not conduct any form of energy extraction or stimulation experiment. Otherwise, the consequences may not be limited to the moon collapsing.”

Orochimaru nodded heavily, his face filled with reverence and excitement as though he were standing before a divine miracle.

“I understand, Chiya-kun! Being able to observe and study such a miracle from this close is already the opportunity of my dreams! I will be extremely careful and will not act recklessly.”

He immediately summoned various highly precise observation instruments from the scroll he carried and began arranging them around the sealing formation.

His movements were swift and precise.

It was as though he had suddenly become ten years younger, returning to the age when he had first become obsessed with exploring the mysteries of ninjutsu.

Seeing Orochimaru quickly enter his working state, Chiya said nothing more.

He walked to the side and sat down cross-legged.

His Rinnegan slowly closed.

He was not resting.

Instead, he began using his own method to sense and attempt to communicate more deeply with the Tenseigan left behind by Hamura.

Within his perception, the Tenseigan was like an enormous energy core.

Its energy channels seemed to have faint connections with natural energy nodes scattered throughout various regions.

Did Hamura leave behind this eye merely for the Ōtsutsuki Main Family to guard the seal?

Or perhaps…

Was this also a contingency plan, a preparation for some future crisis?

Thoughts flowed through Chiya’s mind.

Combining the previous appearance of the Era Tree with the strange energy and the unusual nature of Mōryō…

He increasingly felt that the shinobi world, and perhaps an even broader realm beyond it, concealed an enormous mystery.

Time slowly passed across the silent lunar surface.

Orochimaru occasionally let out an uncontrollable exclamation as he recorded all kinds of unbelievable data.

After an unknown amount of time, Orochimaru suddenly raised his head.

His face was filled with the excitement of someone who had discovered a new continent.

“Chiya-kun! Preliminary energy spectrum analysis shows that the energy fluctuation frequency of this Tenseigan has an extremely weak… antagonistic effect with the foreign energy we detected from the ‘Era Tree’! It’s like light and darkness. Although they oppose each other, they seem to originate from an even more fundamental ‘source pool’!”

Chiya suddenly opened his eyes.

His Rinnegan activated, and purple light surged brilliantly.

An antagonistic effect?

The same origin?

Orochimaru’s discovery was like a bolt of lightning, instantly illuminating many clues that had previously remained blurred in Chiya’s mind.

If the power of the Tenseigan and the energy from that “other world” were antagonistic yet shared the same origin, would that mean the energy system of the so-called “other world” was actually rooted in the same source as the shinobi world, merely developing toward a different extreme?

And was the existence of the Tenseigan meant to balance that extreme?

Could Mōryō’s pure negative spiritual energy also be a distorted form of this “source energy” under certain rules?

“Continue the analysis. Focus on constructing the energy mapping relationship between them!”

Chiya immediately gave the order, his voice carrying an unmistakably sharp edge.

“I need to know what the essence of this shared origin is, and… whether we can use the Tenseigan to locate or influence the passage to that ‘other world’ in reverse!”

“Yes!”

Orochimaru answered excitedly and devoted himself completely to this unprecedented research.

Within the lunar base, comprehensive research into Hamura’s Tenseigan officially began.

Chiya stood beside the sealing formation.

He had a feeling that unlocking the secrets of the Tenseigan would not only greatly enhance Konoha’s ultimate power, but might also reveal a tremendous truth concerning the fate of the entire world.

And he was already prepared.

No matter what the truth turned out to be, he would use absolute strength to control every variable.