517 Naruto the Flame-Flame Fruit

The armored Nine-Tails rose to its feet like a warrior, clashing with the stone giant born from Momoshiki. It dodged the mountain-heavy fists, a long blade forming in its hand, and cleaved the giant from crown to base.

Boom!

Momoshiki was blasted away. Kiyosuke murmured, "I'll finish this."

He sprinted forward, flames trailing behind him, closed the distance in a blink, and raised the Kusanagi blade high over his head.

"Lowly creature!!"

Momoshiki roared, but his body couldn't respond. A Rinnegan opened on his brow—and time froze.

Everything fell still. Momoshiki reverted to his original form, hair drifting as he spoke.

"I didn't expect your strength to grow this far. But that is also your tragedy. You cannot pass this power to the next generation. Your destiny is unstable… but I will resurrect through you."

He grabbed Kiyosuke's right hand and planted his mark.

Inside this domain, time was stopped, but attacks were impossible; he could only embed his mark and wait for a chance to revive.

Time resumed. Kiyosuke took Momoshiki's head.

Landing on the ground, he sealed the body away. Konoha's scientists would dissect the secrets of the Ōtsutsuki clan.

"Alright, let's head back."

"Yeah."

"That was close. The Ōtsutsuki are insane," Naruto muttered.

"It really was." Kiyosuke glanced at his right hand. A faint chakra—one not his own—lingered there.

"Momoshiki, huh?"

He clenched his fist. No matter what kind of power it was, nothing would ever control him. Never.

Sasuke asked, "Just now…"

"Nothing," Kiyosuke said with a smile. "Probably imagined it."

It might not have been his imagination.

With the Rinnegan, Sasuke could see things others couldn't.

He patted Boruto. "Let's go."

"Mm."

A portal opened, delivering them back to Konoha. A long stretch of peace awaited.

Konoha began rebuilding, expanding outward.

The clan districts had become the old city; new districts rose beyond them. Even the cliff of the Hokage Monument now held a new residential zone, mostly civilians. Ironically, the old city was more comfortable for shinobi.

Over time, a black diamond-shaped mark surfaced on Kiyosuke's palm.

Through his own probing, he sensed Momoshiki's chakra sleeping inside.

"So this is an Ōtsutsuki resurrection method? Meaning he'll try to seize my body? Keep dreaming."

The mark was called a Kāma. The Ōtsutsuki digitized themselves and implanted that data into others. Those who bore it became "vessels." As the Kāma activated, Ōtsutsuki data spread through the vessel until it decompressed fully, overwriting the host—reviving the Ōtsutsuki completely.

As long as the Kāma existed, they never truly died. In a way, they achieved immortality.

Comparable to Living Corpse Reincarnation.

Orochimaru truly held core technology.

Living Corpse Reincarnation was cumbersome: you needed a vessel prepared, and the takeover carried risks. Otherwise it was much the same as the Kāma.

He should ask Orochimaru.

Kiyosuke sought Orochimaru and explained what Momoshiki had done.

He didn't know the full nature of the Kāma, but from Momoshiki's parting words, it was obviously essential for his resurrection.

Orochimaru examined Kiyosuke, watching the numbers scroll across the instruments.

"This chakra is faint, not yours, and beyond your control. The data inside… I can't decode it. Fascinating."

Excitement gleamed in his eyes. "Kiyosuke-kun, stay here a few days. I want to study this properly."

"Alright."

He stayed several days. Together, they managed to siphon off a portion of the data inside the Kāma, but full removal remained impossible.

"If it were a soul, this would be easy. The Rinnegan could extract it instantly." But the Kāma wasn't a soul—more like data—making human-path abilities useless.

"Impressive. Their abilities surpass mine. As expected of the Ōtsutsuki," Orochimaru said, thrilled enough to want to keep Kiyosuke's hand.

"I mean… worst case, just cut my hand off." Kiyosuke offered. If necessary, he could replace it with a White Zetsu arm.

"That's possible, but not ideal. White Zetsu tissue is corrosive like Hashirama cells. Leave me some tissue—I'll grow you a cloned arm. You can swap to that."

A cloned arm would be made from his own cells—no rejection, no Hashirama-cell risks.

"Fine."

He left a sample. Suddenly—"What? I'm sensing Boruto's chakra."

"Looks like a little mouse snuck into my base," Orochimaru said, amused.

He led Kiyosuke to a lab. Boruto sat on the floor, staring blankly at a tank full of synthetic humans identical to Mitsuki. Even Suigetsu pointing a blade at him didn't snap him out of it.

"Boruto? What are you doing here?"

"Kiyosuke-Gramps!? Why are you here?"

"You're Boruto, right? Nice to meet you," Orochimaru said pleasantly.

"You're Orochimaru? Why are there so many people who look just like Mitsuki?"

Orochimaru glanced at the clones.

"They're all my experiments, just like Mitsuki."

"Experiments? What do you mean?"

"Mitsuki is an artificial human," Kiyosuke answered for him.

"But isn't Mitsuki his son?"

"Of course he is. And I heard he's gone missing."

Mitsuki had left Konoha for unknown reasons, apparently pursued by other synthetic humans.

"What's with that attitude? Aren't you worried?"

"No. I planted a cursed seal inside him. If he leaks anything, it'll activate and self-destruct. So my research is safe."

As expected—he was testing them again.

Kiyosuke, who understood Orochimaru well, saw through it instantly. For all his theatrics, Orochimaru doted on Mitsuki far too much to ever endanger him.