Chapter 633: What Does Isshiki Want to Do?

Chapter 633: Chapter 633: What Does Isshiki Want to Do?

Chapter 633: What Does Isshiki Want to Do?

"What exactly does Isshiki want to do?"

"If you want a Divine Tree seed, then you first need to understand what the Divine Tree actually is."

Isshiki looked at Kenichi and spoke seriously.

Kenichi could not quite understand Isshiki’s current mindset.

This version of Isshiki felt strange.

Kenichi even suspected that the man was deliberately setting something up, perhaps intending to kill him later or somehow possess his body.

Yet the problem was that Isshiki currently gave off the impression of someone who had already given up and no longer cared about anything.

That contradiction made him difficult to read.

Still, Kenichi listened patiently.

He was naturally extremely interested in the chakra fruit.

Unfortunately, he had never obtained an actual chakra fruit sample to research.

"The Divine Tree seeds are essentially something our Otsutsuki Clan has continuously cultivated and modified."

Isshiki continued.

"Their purpose is to activate our genes and allow us to control even greater power."

"The process is already highly mature."

"However, Divine Tree seeds are also extremely rare."

"Even within the Otsutsuki Clan, not everyone is qualified to possess one."

"Only those who possess the potential to become gods are permitted to obtain a Divine Tree seed."

"Once they receive one, they bring along a guardian and a sacrifice, then search the vast universe for a planet suitable for growing a Divine Tree."

"After finding one, they plant it."

A trace of nostalgia appeared in Isshiki’s eyes.

Once, he too had worked desperately to become stronger.

To earn the right to become one of the few clan members qualified to possess a Divine Tree seed, Isshiki had put in countless years of effort.

With the help of his parents, he eventually obtained one and earned the right to search for a planet where he could cultivate a chakra fruit and strengthen himself further.

Yet he had never imagined that his journey would end with him dying because of his own sacrifice and guardian.

Even now, the thought made Isshiki furious.

If there were not more important matters occupying him, he swore that he would kill Kaguya himself.

He wanted that woman to experience the same pain he had once suffered and force her to understand what humility meant.

But saying such things now was meaningless.

Isshiki took a deep breath and calmed himself.

Strictly speaking, he was only a remnant and no longer needed to breathe.

But the habit remained.

"The chakra fruit can absorb and transform an entire world."

"It extracts the most essential energy from that world and converts it into a form suitable for the Otsutsuki constitution."

"Chakra."

"After the Divine Tree finishes absorbing the planet and matures completely, it produces the chakra fruit."

Isshiki’s tone became more complicated.

"But if you want the chakra fruit to unleash its full potential, a guardian must be sacrificed."

"The Divine Tree consumes that guardian."

"Only then can the chakra fruit fully extract and activate the genetic information of the Otsutsuki Clan."

Kenichi was surprised.

If Isshiki’s explanation was accurate, then the Divine Tree was a very strange organism.

It could consume another life-form, analyze that being’s genes and energy, and then alter the resulting chakra fruit to make it more suitable for the evolution of that species.

That immediately reminded Kenichi of a classic horror movie from his previous life.

Alien.

The main creature from Alien, the Xenomorph, was often described as a nearly perfect organism.

When young, it existed as a facehugger.

After parasitizing a host, however, the embryo would absorb aspects of the host’s genetic information and develop accordingly.

A Xenomorph would not always grow into the familiar form seen in the first Alien movie regardless of its host.

That particular form appeared because the creature had parasitized a human.

If a facehugger infected a different creature, such as a smaller animal, the resulting Xenomorph could develop a different body structure.

It adapted itself according to the genes of whatever it parasitized.

In that sense, it was somewhat similar to the Divine Tree.

The Xenomorph itself also had extraordinary adaptability.

Its blood was highly acidic.

It was difficult to track.

Even if expelled into outer space, it could form a protective layer over its body, enter a dormant state, preserve its vital signs, and wait until conditions became suitable for revival.

From a biological perspective, it truly was an impressive organism.

Still, there was an important difference.

The Divine Tree took a person’s life to strengthen another member of the same clan.

The Xenomorph took lives to reproduce its own species.

They operated toward different goals.

But that comparison gave Kenichi a bold idea.

And an even bolder theory.

Could he genetically program the Divine Tree?

Could he alter its genes without changing the Divine Tree’s basic appearance?

Instead of producing a fruit that became stronger after consuming an Otsutsuki, could he turn the Divine Tree into something that used the Otsutsuki themselves as hosts for reproduction?

Something parasitic.

Something that continuously infected members of the Otsutsuki Clan and produced more of its own kind through them.

Of course, there was an immediate problem.

The Divine Tree itself could not move.

If Kenichi wanted to use such a creation to destroy the Otsutsuki Clan, he would need to genetically modify it far more extensively.

Perhaps the resulting organism would no longer produce an ordinary, immobile fruit.

Perhaps it could instead create some kind of living monster similar to a Xenomorph.

Would that be feasible?

Even if such a creature could not destroy the entire Otsutsuki Clan, it might at least make their lives miserable for a while.

"Still, ordinary Xenomorphs are too weak."

Kenichi thought carefully.

"Human weapons can kill them without too much difficulty."

"But what if a Xenomorph parasitized an Otsutsuki?"

"What kind of creature would be born from that?"

"Could something like that actually work?"

Kenichi became increasingly interested.

He almost wanted to begin experimenting immediately.

But if he wanted to reach that stage, there were several things he had to accomplish first.

The most important was increasing his own strength.

He needed to become stronger.

And he needed an actual Divine Tree seed or chakra fruit to study.

Only then could he attempt genetic programming and transform the Divine Tree into an entirely different form.

"Isshiki."

Kenichi suddenly looked at him seriously.

"I want to ask you something."

Isshiki frowned slightly.

He did not speak.

Instead, he gestured for Kenichi to continue.

"If I had to face you at your peak, together with Kaguya, how could I take the mature chakra fruit from the two of you?"

Isshiki froze for a moment.

Then he immediately understood what Kenichi intended to do.

The question itself was not difficult to interpret.

Still, Isshiki’s mood became somewhat strange.

But then another thought occurred to him.

This could cause trouble for Kaguya.

It might not be the Kaguya of this world, but that was still good enough.

So Isshiki decided to answer.

"If you want to obtain a mature chakra fruit, there is only one opportunity."

Isshiki smiled.

"The instant the fruit finishes maturing."

"Before Kaguya eats it, take it away."

"That is your only chance."

Kenichi looked at him.

That had not actually been what he was trying to ask.

What Kenichi really wanted was information on how to defeat Isshiki himself.

After all, Isshiki should know his own weaknesses better than anyone.

If Kenichi learned them now, then after returning to his original timeline, he could deal with his own Isshiki much more efficiently.

He would not necessarily need to cooperate with Hagoromo again.

And he certainly would not need to release Kaguya.

The Kaguya in Kenichi’s original timeline had no connection to him.

If he released her, then after dealing with Isshiki, Kenichi would have to deal with Kaguya as well.

That would be extremely troublesome.

Kenichi rubbed his chin.

Still, he understood what was happening.

Isshiki almost certainly had another motive.

Perhaps he had not truly died.

Or perhaps he had left behind some hidden contingency.

That might explain why Isshiki deliberately avoided explaining how Kenichi could defeat another version of him.

Realizing that, Kenichi’s expression became calm again.

Fine.

Isshiki was acting.

Kenichi could act too.

Both sides were pretending.

Then they would simply see who played the game better.

"Can the time machine take me back to the moment when the chakra fruit matured?"

Kenichi asked.

Isshiki immediately shook his head.

"You found that thing?"

"That device certainly has its uses."

"But it cannot take you back to the moment when the chakra fruit matured."

"Too much time has passed."

Isshiki looked at him.

"Whether you travel into the past or the future, the farther you travel through time, the more energy the machine consumes."

"And there is another restriction."

"Certain things cannot be brought back from the past or future."

"The chakra fruit is one of them."

"That fruit was created by extracting the energy of an entire planet in another era."

"If you traveled there and attempted to bring it back, you would fail."

Isshiki’s expression remained calm.

"Otherwise, why would the Otsutsuki Clan still need to divide itself into a Main Family and Branch Family?"

Kenichi felt somewhat disappointed.

Still, the answer made sense.

If abusing time travel to obtain chakra fruits were that simple, the Otsutsuki Clan would have mass-produced them long ago.

The fact that they had not done so meant the method had clear limitations.

Isshiki suddenly changed the subject.

"Do you know what the planet of our clan looks like?"

Kenichi shook his head.

How could he possibly know?

Isshiki waved his hand.

The scenery changed.

A planet appeared before Kenichi.

Its surface was desolate.

Endless stretches of land had dried and cracked, resembling the wrinkles on an old man’s face.

Deep and shallow fissures crossed the ground in every direction.

Dust accumulated between them.

Whenever the wind blew, enormous clouds of sand were swept into the sky.

Yellow dust covered almost everything.

Even the distant starlight seemed dim beneath the raging sandstorms.

There was not a single cloud above the planet.

Only a scorching sun hung overhead, relentlessly baking the barren land.

No water could be seen.

There were no signs of ordinary life.

Even the wind sounded desolate.

Occasionally, pale gray stones appeared through the dust.

They lay scattered across the landscape like ruins from some forgotten era, silently hinting at a prosperity the planet might once have possessed.

The entire world looked as though time itself had erased a painting, leaving behind nothing but death and emptiness.

Every step across the surface seemed to emphasize how dry and hard the soil had become.

The grinding sound of gravel beneath one’s feet was almost the only noise that existed.

There were no recognizable landmarks.

Everything disappeared into a haze of yellow.

Even the toughest ordinary creatures would struggle to find any hope of survival here.

Every corner of the planet carried the same sense of despair.

Life itself seemed to have reached its end.

Sometimes the sandstorms would stop.

But that only made the silence and emptiness even more obvious.

There were no visible stars in the sky.

No birds.

No signs of movement.

Only eternal silence.

As though the world were waiting for some new life that might never come.

Yet within that desolate landscape...

Kenichi saw a settlement.

It was extremely modern.

Quite a few people lived inside it.

And every one of them had an appearance similar to Isshiki.

Kenichi stared at the scene.

"That harsh?"

He was genuinely surprised.

He had expected the home of the Otsutsuki Clan to be something entirely different.

Considering how powerful they were, Kenichi had imagined beautiful landscapes, rich environments, perhaps places filled with flowers and abundant life.

Not this godforsaken wasteland.

Isshiki answered calmly.

"Yes."

"The clan patriarch arranged it this way to train us."

"Any clan member who has not yet consumed a chakra fruit is required to live in an environment like this."

"We might not even see the sun more than a few times in an entire year."

Kenichi glanced toward Isshiki.

The more Isshiki revealed, the stranger his behavior seemed.

Kenichi increasingly suspected that he was planning something.

Kenichi had his system, so he was not overly worried.

But there was always the possibility of an accident.

What if Isshiki actually managed to trap him somehow?

Because of that, Kenichi had already decided it was time to end the conversation and leave.

Unexpectedly, Isshiki made no attempt to stop him.

Instead, Isshiki calmly allowed Kenichi to go.

He even told Kenichi that if he had more questions in the future, he could return and ask.

As for the boy’s body, Kenichi could take it away for research as well.

Isshiki had only one condition.

The boy had to remain alive.

If the boy died, the remaining illusion containing Isshiki would collapse completely and could no longer be maintained.

Kenichi agreed.

.....

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