After discussing matters thoroughly with Black Zetsu, Tamura Hao left and took Samehada to continue extracting residual chakra from corpses, focusing particularly on the fallen Uzumaki. Samehada was adept at sensing and consuming chakra, and the Uzumaki clan's vitality-rich chakra was especially nourishing.
Black Zetsu was efficient as always. By the following day, he had retrieved remnants of the Divine Tree and transferred them into Tamura Hao's sealed space, preparing them as the foundation for cultivating a small Ten-Tails.
The Divine Tree is the original form of the Ten-Tails, so under the right conditions, it can regress back into a lesser version of the Ten-Tails. More importantly, Black Zetsu had stored fragments of tailed beast chakra—collected painstakingly across centuries. Although these fragments lacked the full potency of the complete beasts, they were sufficient to trigger the transformation of the Divine Tree remains into a small pseudo-Ten-Tails.
Naturally, this artificial Ten-Tails lacked the overwhelming might of the original. Its potential was capped; it could, at most, rival the power level of the individual Tailed Beasts, but it could never evolve into a true Ten-Tails again—nor ascend back into the Divine Tree form.
But for Tamura Hao, that was enough. He wasn't trying to become a jinchūriki in the conventional sense. He regarded the small Ten-Tails and Kaguya's residual chakra shadow not as ends but as means—as plug-ins to rapidly accelerate his growth and serve as hidden cards to protect himself. His focus remained firmly on self-cultivation.
To optimize the pseudo-Ten-Tails' ability to imitate chakra natures, Black Zetsu also brought a White Zetsu for it to consume. White Zetsu were born from Hashirama's cells and possessed exceptional chakra adaptability. Feeding one to the Ten-Tails would refine its ability to simulate different chakra types.
"Even if you don't carry Hagoromo or Hamura's bloodline," Black Zetsu said, watching the evolving pseudo-Ten-Tails, "you can still reach their heights. It all starts with chakra."
Tamura Hao's shadow clone fixed its gaze on Black Zetsu, intrigued.
Was there a path to true power without the Ōtsutsuki bloodline?
Black Zetsu continued, "It lies in the evolution of chakra into bloodline. When chakra natures fuse deeply enough, they begin to alter the user's genetics. This process—bloodline evolution—is the foundation of the Kekkei Genkai, and even the Kekkei Tōta. But beyond them lies the Kekkei Mōra, or Bloodline Network. The Rinnegan is one such manifestation—a convergence of Yin, Yang, and all five elemental natures."
He elaborated, "When someone fuses all seven basic chakra natures—Yin, Yang, Fire, Water, Wind, Earth, and Lightning—they begin the transition into a Bloodline Network user. The body is transformed, and the bloodline restructured. That's how Kaguya and her sons transcended mortals. Their essence was chakra—not merely genetics."
This aligned with what Hao had suspected. The Ōtsutsuki didn't start out as gods—they became that way through cultivation. Chakra was the seed, and everything else bloomed from it. Their advantage was a higher starting point and a perfected methodology, not some inherently unreachable status.
If the Ōtsutsuki ancestors could achieve it, then so could others—given enough time, effort, and the right guidance.
Still, Black Zetsu needed Hao to stay motivated.
"I only have lightning nature," Hao muttered, brows furrowed. "No Yin or Yang affinity."
That was a real obstacle. The path to Bloodline Network fusion demanded all seven natures. Would he need to experiment with flesh transplantation like Orochimaru's predecessor, Shinno, or perhaps follow the route of Beilluhu, who created the Chimera Technique?
He remembered a fanfiction author in his past life—Hinata Kagami—who theorized a similar path to Bloodline Network using self-engineered Kekkei Genkai. Was that fiction… or foresight?
"This, too, can be changed," Black Zetsu explained. "Start with your dominant nature—Lightning. Cultivate it to its utmost. Then cultivate compatible elements like Wind and Fire. The key is chakra transformation through bloodline fusion. Once two chakra types coexist in your bloodstream long enough, your body may adapt and manifest a new attribute—permanently."
He continued, "Chakra inherently contains all properties. But most are dormant. Bloodline fusion awakens the dormant natures, bringing them to the surface. What you lack isn't the nature itself—it's the spiritual and physical capability to manifest it."
Black Zetsu was confident. Hagoromo had claimed to understand chakra's essence, but even he hadn't tapped its full potential. If not, how could someone who wielded the Rinnegan still age and die?
For the Ōtsutsuki, the Kekkei Mōra wasn't a miracle—it was an entry point. Kaguya's sons merely scratched the surface. True Ōtsutsuki cultivated their bodies and chakra to eclipse mortality itself.
"Could it really be done like this…?" Hao asked aloud, stunned.
It wasn't mentioned in Naruto, but the idea resonated. After all, chakra was the very energy that let the Ōtsutsuki devour worlds and rewrite biology. If such evolution was possible for them, perhaps he could replicate it by walking the same path but on his own terms.
"And what about my teacher's Black Lightning—what is that?"
Hao had previously asked Yeyue A about it. She claimed it wasn't a bloodline trait. Rather, the Third Raikage developed it during intensive Lightning Release Chakra Mode training. Even she hadn't inherited it. Later, Kakashi invented Purple Lightning—another rare variation.
Black Zetsu nodded. "Black Lightning is a product of extreme chakra transformation. Your teacher likely cultivated his Lightning nature beyond its standard form, pushing it into a deeper resonance. The same way Hagoromo did with Yin and Yang Release."
He added, "The five elemental changes can also evolve like Yin and Yang. Most never reach that depth. But if someone does—if their elemental mastery reaches transcendence—those elements can integrate into their bloodline and push it toward transformation."
Thus, Bloodline Network fusion wasn't some mythical goal. It was simply an extremely high-level application of chakra nature transformation, chakra control, and genetic adaptation.
"To surpass Hagoromo, you must master all seven: Yin, Yang, Fire, Water, Wind, Earth, and Lightning."
Tamura Hao repeated them aloud. His eyes gleamed with clarity.
Others would find it hopeless. But not him—not with his plug-ins and divine insight. If he gave himself enough time and luck, he would make it happen.
He already had lightning mastery underway. That was his foundation.
"Go harvest the remains of the Uzumaki," Black Zetsu said. "Their unique vitality and sealing chakra can help the Ten-Tails grow."
After glancing at the pseudo-Ten-Tails—now the size of a watermelon—Black Zetsu left the sealed dimension.
Tamura Hao didn't delay. He exited his tent and made for the Uzumaki burial site.
The corpses had been gathered and buried the day before. Due to the explosive detonations during the battle, most bodies were in pieces. However, thanks to the Uzumaki's powerful chakra signatures, identification was still possible, and the remains were interred collectively.
The corpses of Sand and Rock ninjas had already been retrieved by Cloud operatives. For any hidden village, a fallen ninja's body was invaluable—a trove of secrets, jutsu traces, and genetic clues. Bloodline limit users were especially prioritized as materials for reverse-engineering techniques.
Hao arrived at the mass grave, pressed his hand to the earth, and synchronized with the pseudo-Ten-Tails. A tendril of chakra extended from his palm, burrowing into the soil and snaking its way toward the buried Uzumaki remains, where it latched onto them and began extracting their deep bloodline essence.
Bloodline was the core of ninja power. Particularly so with the Uzumaki, descendants of Asura and cousins to the Senju, whose chakra resilience and sealing prowess were unmatched among mortals.
Previously, Tamura Hao could only absorb residual chakra. Now, empowered by the pseudo-Ten-Tails, he could assimilate bloodline essence—something far deeper and more transformative.
The Ten-Tails seemed to revel in it. It released a gleeful screech, thrilled by the potent chakra signatures.
Kaguya's phantom form cradled the beast and used it as a medium to extract and refine the most precious fragments—chakric imprints etched into the Uzumaki's bloodline. Her form, once vaporous, now grew increasingly defined, and her presence became more intelligent and coherent.
"The foundation has been laid."
Watching Kaguya's emergence and the Ten-Tails' growth, Tamura Hao realized: his own faction was forming.
He didn't care about choosing a 'good' side. To him, neither Kaguya, Black Zetsu, nor Hagoromo were saints.
Even setting aside conspiracy, millennia of warfare and suffering had come under Hagoromo's so-called peacekeeping. Hao couldn't understand how the Sage of Six Paths had the nerve to call it "order."
Peace? Tranquility? Justice? Maybe in the afterlife.
If none of the ancient powers were trustworthy, then it didn't matter whom he allied with. And compared to Hagoromo's cryptic manipulation and two-pawn legacy, Hao preferred Black Zetsu—at least Zetsu was honest about his goals.