[Evolution completion time remaining: 5 minutes]
At the center of the supermassive water prison formed by the Great Exploding Water Colliding Wave, Kazama Kaguya checked the information on the obelisk in his mind and couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.
Only five minutes remained until his evolution was complete.
He was now protected by Kisame Hoshigaki's Water Release. With Kisame's terrifying amount of chakra, holding out for five more minutes would be no problem at all.
All he had to do was hold his breath underwater. Shinobi had powerful bodies, so staying submerged for half an hour was easy.
Besides, this was Kisame Hoshigaki's home turf.
With Shisui Uchiha's amount of chakra and Fire Release Ninjutsu, evaporating water on this scale was simply impossible.
As long as Shisui dared to enter the water prison, unless he activated Susanoo, he'd go in standing up and come out lying down.
At the bottom of the water, Kazama Kaguya gave the Shark Face in front of him a thumbs-up.
The gills on either side of Kisame Hoshigaki's face opened and closed as he switched to underwater breathing, blowing out a string of bubbles. "Stay down here. I'll summon sharks to protect you. Another bug user has shown up outside. I'll go test him."
As he spoke, his hands swiftly formed seals.
"Summoning Jutsu: Thousand Feeding Sharks."
Boom, boom, boom...
As the water burst around them, countless sharks were summoned. About a hundred gathered near Kazama Kaguya, while the rest quickly swam away.
The sharks gulped down seawater. Their razor-sharp white teeth still had bits of prey's flesh on them, and their eyes glinted with bloodlust.
"Thousand Feeding Sharks, tear them apart."
Kisame sent the water surging forward with his school of sharks, launching an attack of his own.
Before long, flashes of various jutsu lit up outside the water prison.
Water Release, Fire Release, Taijutsu, Genjutsu, insect secret techniques—the three of them were all powerful Jonin, each with their own signature moves.
With his vast chakra reserves and the advantage of the terrain, Kisame fought two opponents at once and dominated the battle.
Kazama Kaguya didn't pay much attention to the fight. As long as Shisui Uchiha didn't activate Susanoo or use Kotoamatsukami, even with Aburame Ryoma joining him, their chances of beating Kisame weren't high.
He simply sat cross-legged on the bottom of the water, carefully sensing the changes as his body evolved.
He was getting shorter, shrinking to around one meter thirty. His skin had also grown softer, as if he were growing young again.
The deep green color of his right eye had vanished completely, replaced by a Byakugan. His head of white hair had grown long enough to reach his shoulders.
Deep within his flesh, his muscles, bones, meridians, and even the folds of his brain had been restructured and transformed. Their density, resistance, endurance, and tissue vitality had all received a massive boost, and the amount of chakra he automatically refined with every breath was astounding.
He had become a higher life-form that looked human, but had nothing in common with ordinary humans.
"My head's a little itchy."
He suddenly felt bone growing on top of his head, pushing against his scalp. A tingling itch swept over him.
"Are horns growing?" Kazama Kaguya couldn't wait to find out.
The Otsutsuki Clan had one especially obvious trait: horns growing from their heads.
Someone with a Byakugan could be from the Hyuga Clan, but anyone with horns was bound to have Otsutsuki blood.
And if someone had a Byakugan and horns, there was no doubt about it: they were a pure-blood Otsutsuki.
Kinkaku and Ginkaku of Kumogakure had displayed Otsutsuki traits after their bloodline regressed to its ancestral form. They had even defied all odds by consuming the Nine-Tails' flesh and blood, gaining the Nine-Tails Chakra.
Even an incomplete Otsutsuki bloodline had such abilities. Kazama Kaguya grew more and more eager to see what he'd become after his complete transformation.
"My Otsutsuki bloodline is modeled on Kaguya. I've already evolved All-Killing Ash Bones. Will I gain some of her other abilities when this is over?"
"Amenominaka, Yomotsu Hirasaka, Eighty Gods Vacuum Attack, Rabbit Hair Needle, Truth-Seeking Orb... If I awaken even one of those, I'll have power beyond Kage Level." Kazama Kaguya imagined himself gaining Kaguya's various abilities and laying waste to his enemies.
As time passed, the itch on his scalp grew more pronounced. Kazama Kaguya could even sense the bone on either side of his forehead growing until it finally broke through his skin.
He raised both hands and gently felt the bony horns that had just grown.
A small pair of horns had sprouted from either side of his forehead, curving slightly backward. They were pale white, with a bony texture, and felt cool to the touch.
They were only about two inches long, twisted into triangular spirals, and hidden in his white hair. Unless someone looked closely, they wouldn't notice them at all.
At the same time, Kazama Kaguya felt his body growing lighter, as if he had overcome the planet's gravity. He began to float on his own.
"Is this the Otsutsuki Clan's ability to fly?" Kazama Kaguya's eyes lit up.
Flight was another standard ability of pure-blood Otsutsuki. Kaguya, Momoshiki, Kinshiki, Isshiki, and Urashiki—all the Otsutsuki who had appeared could fly.
In the Ninja World, only a handful of people could fly.
Flight meant high mobility, which was an enormous asset in both reconnaissance and combat.
"Let's try it." Kazama Kaguya focused his thoughts, and his whole body shot upward.
He moved swiftly through the water like a fish. Chakra instinctively covered his entire body, forming a protective membrane that kept the water out.
He unconsciously took a breath, and a mouthful of oxygen with a fishy smell flowed effortlessly into his nostrils.
Without realizing it, he had gained not only the ability to fly, but also the ability to survive underwater.
This incredible adaptability brought a possibility to mind. "The Otsutsuki Clan can travel through space. Does that mean my body can not only survive underwater, but also withstand the intense radiation, low temperatures, and lack of oxygen in space? With a body this powerful, plus flight and Space-Time Ninjutsu, no wonder they can wander through space planting trees."
Overcome with the excitement of gaining powerful abilities, Kazama Kaguya glanced at the time on the Evolution Obelisk.
[Evolution completion time remaining: 10 seconds]
"Great. Everything's going smoothly. I can't wait to see what other abilities I'll get from Kaguya."
Kazama Kaguya counted down the seconds. As time passed, he could feel the final transformation of his body approaching.
Three seconds, two seconds, one second...
The countdown reached zero.
[Congratulations, Evolver. You have completed an evolution that has elevated you to a new level of life.]
At the same time, Kazama Kaguya's heart suddenly gave a violent thump.
Thud!
A deep rumble rang out from his chest. A visible wave of energy burst outward, like the first spring thunder of the season, announcing his birth to the world.
The first being in the history of the Ninja World to evolve from a human into an Otsutsuki had officially been born.
Then the newly formed heart unleashed a terrifying force, instantly drawing in all the chakra in his body.
The highly concentrated chakra gathered on the surface of his heart, forming a tiny black diamond-shaped mark. Like an energy core, it then began releasing chakra, which spread throughout his body and restored it to full strength.
A powerful sense of strength swept through every inch of his muscles.
Kazama Kaguya could sense that the black diamond-shaped mark on his heart was dark, powerful, and mysterious, and seemed to contain countless secrets.
Thud... thud... thud...
With each beat of his heart, the diamond-shaped mark gleamed, bringing forth knowledge imprinted deep in the Otsutsuki bloodline.
[Karma Seed]
A strange piece of knowledge told Kazama Kaguya what the diamond-shaped mark was.
At the same time, the Evolution Obelisk began to refresh, filling with lines and lines of information.
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