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Chapter 157 - Chapter 157 – Wait, Who Taught You to Use the Rinnegan Like That?!

Deep within the moon hanging high in the sky—

Inside the sealed space, Kaguya Ōtsutsuki stirred in her sleep.

Her heavy eyelids slowly opened, revealing eyes that held both pity and tenderness. Her pale, cold features softened with a touch of affection.

Slender hands crossed before her gently brushed her sleeve as she let out a quiet sigh.

Moments later, the influence of the seal overwhelmed her once more, and she drifted back into slumber.

...

"Holy craaap! Little Black Zetsu's worth more than Madara?! That can't be right, can it?!"

Yamanaka Shinno glanced at the system notification that had just popped up.

He nearly burst out laughing right then and there.

Two Trait Extraction chances... and one Red Trait Upgrade chance!

And it wasn't random!

He could choose the red trait and directly upgrade it himself!

This was... this was...

Black Zetsu, you damn treasure trove. If I'd known you were this loaded, why did I even bother with Uchiha Madara last time?

Should've just ambushed you when you had no clue what was going on!

Thud!Crack—

A muffled crash echoed from where Black Zetsu had just been, followed by the unmistakable sound of bones breaking.

Tobi—who had been trying to flee with Black Zetsu—had somehow ended up on his knees midair, the force of the Rinnegan crushing him under its own power.

No need to guess. His knees were definitely done for.

"...Who the hell taught you to use the Rinnegan like that?"

Shinno looked down at Tobi, now slowly floating to the ground beneath him, with a face full of disbelief.

Using the Rinnegan... to kneel in midair?

What kind of ridiculous behavior was this?

"N-No one taught me anything! Ahhh—Shinno-sama, you've already killed him, you can't kill me too! It was... It was all his idea!"

Tobi's expression turned exaggeratedly mournful as he pointed toward where Black Zetsu had just vanished.

Before Shinno could say anything, he broke out into another wail.

"I'm only two years old! I don't know anything! Sh-Shinno-samaaa~ I've never even had a proper meal... never even pooped before!"

"Waaaaahhh—he never let me talk! Never let me move around! My life is just so hard!"

"I mean, yeah, I was just hanging from that tree quietly all this time—what's wrong with liking to talk a little? Or moving a little?"

"Aiyaaaah—I'm off-topic again! Shinno-sama, he was the one controlling me! I couldn't resist at all! He could control all the White Zetsus! He was a higher life form, I swear!"

His nonsense just kept pouring out, one breath after another.

Shinno didn't even bother responding. He simply activated the power of the blue trait Fate Weaver, keeping an eye on the swirling, unstable Fate Energy surrounding Tobi.

It was light blue in color, constantly shifting—at times deepening, at others threatening to fall into green.

This was his first time seeing, so clearly, how someone's fate was affected after the timeline had been disrupted.

Was the fluctuation because the next decision he made would determine Tobi's fate?

"What's the reward if I kill Tobi right now?"

Shinno frowned slightly, already preparing to test it out.

Sensing the sudden, bone-deep killing intent, Tobi panicked.

Without hesitation, he gouged out both of his Rinnegan and tossed them toward Shinno mid-kneel.

The moment the Rinnegan left his body, Tobi—deprived of their power—crashed down to the earth like a puppet with its strings cut.

"S-Sir! Let me follow you instead! I'm super useful! I don't even eat or spend money!"

...

Name: TobiOccupation: AttendantTraits: Outer Path Aberrant Embryo (Purple), Limit Break Amplifier (Purple), Elemental Mutation (Blue), Parasitic Mimicry (Blue), Energy Devourer (Green), Jokester (White), Unpredictable (White), Free Flight (Gray)

...

The black dragon formed from Shinno's senjutsu chakra slithered forth, catching the freshly plucked Rinnegan in its mouth—still dripping with blood.

Watching Tobi fall, Shinno frowned slightly.

Attendant?

He hadn't paid much attention before—just a quick glance at the trait interfaces of Black Zetsu and the others.

Now, taking a proper look at Tobi's status, he finally noticed that his "Occupation" was different from the usual White Zetsu soldiers.

His gaze fell to the Rinnegan beside him.

For now, Shinno gave up the idea of killing him outright.

After all, Tobi wasn't the only experimental subject on the field. Over at the other end, Yagura—the Three-Tails' jinchūriki pinned under the Sanbi—also had unstable fate energy.

With a snap of a hand seal, Shinno summoned a thick vine from his wooden avatar.

The vine shot out, caught Tobi mid-fall, and hoisted him up onto the wooden avatar's head.

"Yaaay~ I'm alive! Shinno-sama is such a good person! From now on, I'm your loyal servant!"

Tobi waved his arms around like a clown.

His body morphed into countless pale, sinister wood-vines that detached from the half-dead Hoshigaki.

Now devoid of his eyes, with both knees crushed and his life force drained by the Rinnegan, Hoshigaki collapsed onto the wooden avatar's head and died within seconds.

Shinno glanced at Tobi's remaining eye—an ordinary one—and twitched.

So when you knelt just now, that wasn't even your own knees?

And those weren't your real eyes you ripped out either?

You little sly bastard.

Ding—Significantly altered the fate trajectory of a major character. Minor interference with world timeline detected. Reward: Purple Trait Conversion Card ×1.

Purple Trait Conversion Card: Converts any trait, regardless of rank, into a Purple-grade trait.

...

Shinno immediately looked toward the only black trait on his system interface.

The trash of all trash—Ominous Duel.

Among conceptual traits, its effect was undeniably powerful. But he'd never used it, not even once.

No need for it against weaklings.

And against strong enemies? His current strength was more than enough.

As for those absurdly strong, practically unkillable freaks—he'd just strip or downgrade their traits directly.

Shinno was already in a great mood, and now it got even better.

Even the way he looked at Tobi softened considerably.

Earlier, the guy's fate energy had nearly dropped to green, but now it had stabilized in deep blue.

Turning his gaze toward the Three-Tails, Shinno casually added:

"Behave yourself. I'll have Orochimaru get you a new eye later."

"An eye?" Tobi pointed to the blank space on the right side of his face.

"Yeah... a colonoscopy eye."

"Waaaaaah—Shinno-sama, you're the best! Black Zetsu never helped me fulfill any dreams! I swear I'll be good!"

"..."

Whoosh—

Shinno vanished from atop the wooden avatar with a Flying Thunder God Technique, leaving Tobi to babble to himself up there like a lunatic.

Inwardly, Shinno comforted himself.

He'd be fine once he got the new eye.

This obsession... this curiosity... it was all born out of ignorance.

Once Tobi truly understood—once he got used to it—he wouldn't think about all this weird crap anymore.

...

"Alright, I'll give you a chance. Find a new jinchūriki."

Shinno appeared before Yagura, who had been flung aside by the Gedo Statue's earlier attack and was now playing dead at the edge of the Four Red Yang Formation.

Yagura, curled up with eyes tightly shut, quickly peeked out from his left eye when he heard the voice.

With a trembling tone, he whispered:

"Whatever you say, sir... cough cough..."

"..."

Boom—

A wooden clone of Shinno arrived, dragging the recently lopped-off, massive torso of the Gedo Statue—five meters long and three meters tall—and dropped it in front of Yagura.

As the physical shell of the Ten-Tails, this thing was the perfect vessel for a tailed beast—both a natural residence and the ideal sealing material.

Splurt—

Blood sprayed from Yagura's neck.

His head went flying, rolling across the ground.

Yagura's body, already halfway embedded into the Ten-Tails' remains, trembled violently and moved three times faster.

Too brutal!

Humans are way too brutal!

"Just borrowing your life for an experiment."

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Pls Drop some Power Stones

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