The Kaguya Bloodline

The night in the Land of Gold arrived earlier than it did on the sea.

The shadows of the rolling hills gradually lengthened, swallowing the ochre-red sandy soil. The transition of the sky went from orange-red to deep purple, and finally, it was completely saturated by ink-blue.

The lights of the distant mine lit up, looking like scattered fireflies among the valley. The chimneys of the smelting plant were still spewing dark-red light, dying the half-sky with a faint glow.

The trio's campsite was chosen in a wind-sheltered depression among the hills.

Shizune lit a campfire and was cooking a simple dinner: dried rations, jerky, pickled vegetables bought from the Land of Iron, plus a pot of hot water brewed into soup.

Tonton lay beside her legs, its nose twitching from time to time, drooling toward the direction of the pot.

Tsunade leaned against a flat rock, shaking a flask of wine in her hand. This was the last bit of inventory left, and once she finished drinking it, it would truly be empty. With her eyes half-closed, she did not know whether she was resting or thinking about something.

Yamada Soji sat at the edge of the camp, his back to the firelight, facing the distant lights of the mine. A black cloth covered his eyes, and his figure melted into the deepening night.

He was thinking.

Or rather, he was organizing his thoughts.

For over a year, he had focused on treating the bloodline disease and establishing a connection with Tsunade as her student, leaving him almost no time to calm down and think about his future path.

Now that the illness was cured, the treatment was over, and they were still on the road, there was plenty of time during the journey to sort things out.

First was the Jujutsu System.

Through six years of exploration, he had basically figured out the patterns of this thing.

There was only one core rule: kill ninjas, and cursed energy increases.

Regardless of whether he killed ordinary ninjas, ninjas from major nations, or rogue ninjas, as long as the target possessed chakra.

At the very moment the opponent died, his own cursed energy would grow. The magnitude of the growth was directly proportional to the target's strength, but had nothing to do with the method of killing.

Aside from that, there was no training method at all. No, to be precise, he had tried countless methods.

Meditation, physical tempering, stimulation using chakra, and even trying to use the Six Eyes to analyze the internal structure of cursed energy, but all of them were completely useless.

Cursed energy was like some kind of debt parasitic on his soul, which could only be repaid through slaughter, and could not be accumulated through diligence.

Once the cursed energy accumulated to a certain threshold, the system would open a roulette wheel for a draw.

The first threshold was the first-kill reward: the Six Eyes, a pair of eyes capable of analyzing all things.

The second was Black Flash, a resonance technique of chakra, cursed energy, and physical strikes that could unleash destructive power beyond limits.

The third was the Innate Technique: Ice Formation, the ability to convert cursed energy into absolute low temperatures, capable of freezing matter, energy, and even certain concepts.

He did not know when the next threshold would be, nor did he know how many thresholds there were in total. On the system's interface, there was only a cold number: [Current Cursed Energy: /]

From the next threshold, he was still short of more than fifteen hundred points.

Calculated on the average that a Chunin provided 50 to 100 cursed energy, and a Special Jonin provided 80 to 200, he still needed to kill twenty or thirty ninjas.

This figure, by Tsunade's side, was obviously impossible to accomplish.

That woman's perception might not be as sharp as a sensory-type ninja's, but her eyes were too vicious.

Last time, regarding the bloody smell of the ANBU in the Land of Hot Water, she could judge that he had fought with someone simply based on his breathing rhythm and the slight redness of his skin when he entered the door.

If he were truly to go on a killing spree right under her nose, let alone continue traveling together, he would probably be stripped of his very bones on the spot.

Thus, the path of cursed energy could only be paused until he left Tsunade. Next was the ninja cultivation system.

This was the direction he could devote himself to wholeheartedly at present.

Although Tsunade was unwilling to officially take him as a disciple, through more than a year of getting along, plus the deal over the wine table previously, she was indeed teaching him.

Although she taught half-heartedly, often interspersed with sarcasm and ridicule, those pieces of knowledge regarding chakra manipulation, the principles of medical ninjutsu, and human meridians were all genuine.

Chakra Enhanced Strength was just a beginning.

The existence of the Six Eyes allowed his learning efficiency to reach a terrifying height.

Any technique, as long as he was allowed to see a complete execution process once, allowed him to analyze every detail of the chakra flow, every node of force exertion, and even the possible optimization space of the technique itself.

Tsunade's remark today about being able to analyze everything was frighteningly accurate. Aside from Tsunade's teachings, he had another advantage: foresight of the plot.

He knew the general direction of the future. The closest major event, the Konoha Crush Plan, would involve Orochimaru allying with Sunagakure to attack Konoha.

He also knew the truth behind the Uchiha clan's massacre, every member of the Akatsuki, the outbreak of the future Fourth Shinobi World War, the resurrection of Kaguya...

These pieces of information seemed useless now, but when the appropriate time came, each one could become a bargaining chip for saving his life or seizing benefits.

Finally, and most core of all, was the Kaguya bloodline.

When he fled Kirigakure six years ago, he was only a six-year-old child. Surviving was already a fluke, and there was simply no time to delve into the secrets within the clan.

Later, as he drifted through various countries, was hunted, and treated his illness, he had even less time to spare. But now that his illness was cured and his strength had improved, it was time to ponder this issue.

Was Shikotsumyaku truly the entirety of the Kaguya bloodline?

He knew that truth: Kaguya Ōtsutsuki, the progenitor of chakra, the Rabbit Goddess.

Her technique, All-Killing Ash Bones, could shoot out bones generated from within her body as weapons, and those pierced by them would disintegrate from the cellular level and finally turn into ashes.

Was that kind of power, that level of might, really just a coincidence when compared to the Kaguya clan's Shikotsumyaku?

Or was it that the Kaguya clan truly was the descendant of that goddess? A bloodline branch? Or some kind of incomplete inheritance?

The original work did not explicitly specify it.

It was only known that Kimimaro's Shikotsumyaku was already the millennium-rare extreme within the clan, but it still fell far short of the conceptual destructive power of All-Killing Ash Bones.

Was the bloodline insufficiently pure?

Or did awakening All-Killing Ash Bones require certain conditions, such as Six Paths Power? Ten-Tails' chakra? Or more simply, some kind of inheritance, some ritual or secret technique buried by the passage of time?

At this moment, he thought of the ruins of the clan lands outside Kirigakure.

On that night six years ago, he fled in a panic, only managing to save his life.

Those clan texts, scrolls, and records passed down from generation to generation should all have remained there.

If Kirigakure had not completely destroyed them, if they were still hidden somewhere...

Sōji's fingertips unconsciously tapped on his knees, the rhythm slow and regular.

Return to the Land of Water.

Once this thought arose, it could not be suppressed.

However, that place was too dangerous.

Although Kirigakure had already ended the Blood Mist Policy and the newly appointed Fifth Mizukage Mei Terumi was carrying out reforms, the hunt for bloodline clans was still ongoing.

If he were to rashly sneak in, that would be walking right into a trap.

For this reason, he needed preparation, intelligence, insiders, and sufficient strength to ensure that even if he were discovered, he could retreat unscathed.

Moreover, he needed to avoid Tsunade's route; they were heading to the Land of Lightning, while the Land of Water was in the southeast direction, exactly the opposite.

"Little ghost!"

Tsunade's voice suddenly rang out, interrupting his train of thought.

Sōji turned his head and looked toward the campfire. Tsunade had already sat up from the rock, facing his direction. The wine flask was empty, casually tossed aside by her.

"Why are you sitting so far away? Afraid I'll steal your food?"

"Thinking about some things."

Sōji stood up, walked back to the campfire, and sat down beside Shizune.

Shizune was currently portioning out the soup, handing him a bowl in which a few pieces of jerky and pickled vegetables floated.

"Thinking about what?" Tsunade took her own soup and blew on the steam, "Thinking about what else those eyes of yours can do?"

"Thinking about the future!"

Sōji took a sip of the soup, his tone calm, "Lady Tsunade, have you ever been to the Land of Water?"

Tsunade raised her eyes to look at him, her gaze carrying a hint of amusement, "The Land of Water? That ghost place of Kirigakure? I've been there, back during the war. What, want to go back?"

"Just a bit curious." Sōji shook his head and said, "I want to understand more about the Kaguya clan."

"Understand what? Your clan died out long ago."

Tsunade's words were merciless, "Now that you've escaped, you still want to go back and dig up your ancestral graves?"

Shizune listened with her heart in her throat and secretly tugged on Tsunade's sleeve, but Tsunade brushed her away and continued staring at Sōji.

Yet Sōji showed no anger at being offended, simply answering calmly, "I do want to go back and take a look. There might be some records within the clan regarding the origin of the bloodline."