"Stay calm, everyone…"
Fixing his gaze on the spot where Myōshiki had been blasted away, Kazuki said in a deep, steady voice: "It's not that simple. The fight is far from over—this was nothing more than a probe between us."
"That's right! An enemy like this won't be killed by a single punch or kick! The Ōtsutsuki are creatures who—even if you shatter their heads or blow apart their hearts—can very well continue fighting!"
"They merely wear the shape of men. Do not be fooled by appearances!" Senju Tobirama bellowed, backing Kazuki up and warning the shinobi not to let down their guard.
For in truth—
The chakra contributed by the shinobi might not alter the outcome of this battle in any fundamental way.
But for now, all Tobirama could do was ensure that every last drop of power within Kazuki was brought forth to its fullest limit…
If there was anything that could aid Kazuki, then it had to be done to the utmost!
At this moment, within Kazuki's body, Kaguya pressed her lips with one hand, her eyes flashing with brilliance.
Just now, who had Kazuki blasted away with a single punch? Ōtsutsuki Myōshiki—the clan chief's right hand! The one said in legend to be the strongest existence in the tens of thousands of years of the Ōtsutsuki clan, a being surpassing even Ryōshiki, the clan leader himself!
If Kazuki truly defeated Myōshiki… then the calamity Kaguya had feared for a millennium—the threat of her clan's reckoning, the torment that had robbed her of peace and driven her toward madness—would at last have its perfect cure.
'Kazuki, keep fighting! No matter what, I'll make sure you win!'
Silently, Kaguya urged him on in her heart, then turned her gaze toward the fragment of withered bone at the center of Kazuki's body, her resolve deepening further.
She had already mastered the "Baryon Mode," which Kazuki had refined specifically to counter the Ōtsutsuki!
Even if the enemy was the God of the Ōtsutsuki themselves—so long as Kazuki gave the order, Kaguya would unhesitatingly choose self-destruction with that god, burning away his consciousness so that Kazuki could inherit that pure power.
And for Kaguya—once betrayed by her own kin—to be willing to go so far for another… there was only one man she could do this for.
Because only Kazuki gave her the unshakable certainty that he would never abandon her! Even if he became a god, even if she was left consumed and without worth, he would find some way to bring her back.
Sometimes Kaguya wondered—
Perhaps this kind of complete trust, this mutual devotion without reservation, was what humans once called love.
Meanwhile, in the alternate space—
Ryōshiki's attitude had shifted entirely from that of a bystander. His eyes locked firmly onto Kazuki's, all his sensory perception amplified to the maximum, careful not to be discovered by Kazuki.
He had to understand… how had Kazuki evaded Myōshiki's temporal predictions?
"I can ignore Myōshiki's temporal foresight only because my dōjutsu is immune… but Uchiha Kazuki? On what grounds?" Ryōshiki's thoughts raced. Suddenly, the chakra fluctuations he sensed made his heart jolt.
So that was it!
As an old rival who had fought countless battles with Myōshiki, Ryōshiki instantly recognized it.
Within Kazuki's chakra and ocular fluctuations, he detected a frequency nearly identical to when Myōshiki used Shinjutsu: Subi Chimi!
In other words, Kazuki had actually wielded Myōshiki's exclusive dōjutsu!
"If that's the case… then it all makes sense, it all makes sense…" Ryōshiki's eyes glimmered with dawning comprehension.
His old companion Myōshiki, relying on his perfect vision of the future, always attacked with reckless simplicity—direct, unavoidable strikes, the very embodiment of "fate" itself, leaving his enemies utterly helpless.
That in itself was never a problem—
Because so long as Myōshiki could predict his opponent's every move, his seemingly careless and crude attacks were, in truth, the most lethal strikes, filtered through infinite futures.
But the problem was—
Now that Kazuki, too, had grasped the same dōjutsu… were the futures Myōshiki foresaw still destined to occur along the thread of fate?
When the disturbance began, Myōshiki's reckless strike—made with full confidence that it would kill Kazuki—became meaningless, leaving him wide open. Naturally, Kazuki seized the moment and beat him mercilessly!
"Myōshiki's dōjutsu is finished…"
Ryōshiki shook his head. "Even if Uchiha Kazuki's mastery of ocular techniques isn't as seasoned as Myōshiki's, as long as he can interfere with that so-called destiny-like precision, Myōshiki—who's grown dependent on that level of strength—will struggle to use it to create any real advantage."
"Myōshiki still has one last chance to turn the tide… his second-stage transformation, and that so-called peerless dōjutsu of his." Ryōshiki smiled faintly.
"Even I haven't seen that form of his in thousands of years."
"And Uchiha Kazuki… your ocular power is even stronger than I imagined. Just as Isshiki's intelligence said—you can copy the dōjutsu of other Ōtsutsuki, leaving not the slightest trace behind…"
In the alternate space, Ryōshiki slowly stretched his limbs, preparing for battle.
A dōjutsu that could copy others' techniques—even Myōshiki's divine arts taken as his own… this meant that if a fight with Kazuki wasn't decided in an instant, there was a very real chance Ryōshiki's own dōjutsu would be stolen as well.
That was far too dangerous.
So Ryōshiki had already resolved that when he revealed himself, he would strike with unstoppable thunder, crushing both Kazuki and Myōshiki—who might compete with him for the remains of the Ōtsutsuki God—in one decisive instant.
He would never allow Kazuki even the smallest chance to recover…
But even as Ryōshiki thought this—
His emotions stirred by Kazuki's eruption of power had already betrayed him.
[From the target Ōtsutsuki Myōshiki: You have obtained Ōtsutsuki bloodline refinement! (Maximum value reached)]
[From the target Ōtsutsuki Ryōshiki: You have obtained Dōjutsu - Sumeru Vishnu!]
Sumeru Vishnu: Consumes energy to manifest a solar sigil upon your body. This sigil disintegrates all forces attempting to invade, alter, or assimilate your mind, soul, or body—whether energy, consciousness, or law—until its core source is exhausted.
Kazuki raised a brow.
A solar sigil capable of defending even against law-level powers? In terms of ability, this was a superior replacement to Senju Tobirama's Ame-no-Iwato, focused entirely on ensuring one could remain untouched by outside interference.
"With such a power… how could Myōshiki's so-called foresight possibly work against Ryōshiki?"
"From his refusal to intervene directly, and from Kaguya's remarks about the Ōtsutsuki's mistaken judgment of their relative strengths… this clan leader is a hidden tiger, ruthless and patient, burying his fangs until the moment he strikes."
The thought flashed across Kazuki's mind.
And this dōjutsu, with its ability to disintegrate invading consciousness, seemed the perfect counter against both planetary consciousness and the remains of the Ōtsutsuki God.
But there was a problem.
In his clash with Myōshiki, Kazuki could not recklessly reveal Ryōshiki's dōjutsu. If Ryōshiki, watching from the sidelines, detected his deception, with his cold, ruthless nature, he would immediately strike and kill the danger in its cradle.
Kazuki needed cover—he needed a grand enough stage to conceal the moment he claimed the powers of planetary consciousness and the Ōtsutsuki Shibai's remains!
[BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!]
And at this moment—
From within the massive crater where Myōshiki lay, a pillar of chakra burst upward like a sword tearing through the heavens, surging higher and higher, rising at a geometric rate as though it had no end…
"This… this feeling, is it the Eight Gates Released Formation?" Might Duy stared unblinkingly at the pillar of light. The way that chakra was climbing so irrationally fast reminded the taijutsu specialist—Kazuki's guardian—of the one technique he had fully grasped in his lifetime.
And it wasn't just Might Duy.
The Shinobi Alliance, who had once witnessed Night Guy crush Isshiki's "Mortal Godslayer" state, were all reminded of that same scene…
But this time—
Back then it had been their ally who revealed his ultimate card. Now it was their enemy, enraged, baring his fangs in wrath! The battle that had been leaning in their favor suddenly became shrouded in uncertainty once more.
"You've done well, Uchiha Kazuki…"
From within the blazing curtain of light above, Myōshiki's voice rumbled out—heavy, furious, yet dripping with pride. "I will remember your name. To behold this form of mine… in the past thirty millennia, aside from that damned Ryōshiki, you are the very first."
Moments later, the light gradually dissipated, flowing back into Myōshiki's body.
And now—his true form was finally revealed before Kazuki's eyes.
Gone was the noble, humanlike appearance with white hair and pale eyes.
His frame had expanded severalfold, his white skin transformed into molten, gilded crimson like flowing magma. From his head jutted two colossal black horns like battle axes, radiating a deadly aura.
And along both arms ran rows of abyssal black eyes, uncanny and eerie—as though a single glance into them would drain every shred of strength from one's body.
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