"Boy, I'm fortunate to have found you now… If you were allowed to grow further, to awaken the second-stage form that comes from devouring enough chakra fruits, even I would struggle to kill you."
Myōshiki's tone was cold and cutting. "You've impressed me. Even on such a remote planet, there exists one unwilling to remain ordinary. For that, I will remember your name."
"But your story ends here!"
He extended his arm toward Kazuki, the arm crawling with black eyes, and chanted with divine resonance: "Shinjutsu: Shiva's Karma Dance!"
In that instant—
Countless black eyes upon Myōshiki's arms fixed on Kazuki, and from their whites oozed streams of dark-red blood.
"This is…"
Kazuki's expression hardened. In an instant he unleashed Ame-no-Iwato, erecting a golden barrier in an attempt to evade the locking force of the dōjutsu.
[CRACK!]
The shield shattered instantly. Kazuki's chakra, his bodily strength, his very mind and soul—all withered sharply in that moment, flickering like a candle about to be snuffed out.
'Is this a curse? Or…' Kazuki thought rapidly, weighing his options. 'Should I reveal myself now?'
No—not yet!
With all the Ōtsutsuki bloodline power he had already drawn from Myōshiki, along with the two refinements from Ryōshiki, he should be able to endure this blow…
And once he survived it—
That would be Kazuki's chance to rally the shinobi and Kaguya, to pull off deception under absolute disadvantage, and right under the noses of Myōshiki and Ryōshiki, seize the power of the planet and the remains of Ōtsutsuki Shibai!
The will of the shinobi world to sacrifice themselves so Kazuki could prevail…
Kaguya's resolve to unleash Baryon Mode…
The dōjutsu he had obtained from Ryōshiki, capable of disintegrating invading wills…
And the Eight Gates Released Formation, enough to conceal Kazuki's true purpose at the moment of eruption—
By withstanding Myōshiki's strike head-on, what seemed like a desperate last stand was in truth the final piece of the puzzle on Kazuki's path to godhood!
Under the curse of Shiva's Karma Dance, the shinobi world and Kaguya, united with Kazuki, all felt as though their very life force was being drained away, sinking into weakness and agony.
Yet Senju Tobirama, forcing himself to endure the torment, shouted with every ounce of strength alongside Kaguya's cries from within: "Kazuki—dodge! Dodge it! It's dangerous!"
At that instant, Myōshiki had already closed in on Kazuki.
Kazuki glanced at him, and as Myōshiki's terrifying fist came crashing toward his heart, he shifted his stance ever so slightly, deflecting the deadliest point of impact—then took the blow head-on.
[BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!]
Kazuki was smashed deep into the earth's crust, the blast kicking up clouds of dust that swallowed the world. The ground roared like a raging tsunami, as though the end of days had arrived!
Lying amidst the molten rock, his body covered in wounds, Kazuki's eyes burned with an unshakable resolve and fighting spirit.
"Everyone… lend me your strength…"
"I can still burn myself!"
...
The reversal came far too quickly!
Kazuki had just seized Myōshiki's throat with overwhelming power, but in the next instant, the enraged Myōshiki entered his second-stage state. With a terrifying form and eerie ocular jutsu, he suppressed Kazuki as if in an instant kill!
The emotions of the shinobi world and of Kaguya rose and fell like a rollercoaster, pushed to the very extremes of tension!
Victory meant cutting down the strongest member of the Ōtsutsuki clan threatening the shinobi world, ushering in true and lasting peace…
Defeat meant everything reduced to ashes, the coming of absolute destruction.
Every last hidden card, every last hope for the future, was placed upon this final gamble! Winner takes all, loser loses everything…
"Kazuki! Are you alright?"
Senju Tobirama's roar rang within Kazuki's body: "Are you going to burn yourself out? What are you trying to do?!"
"At this point, I can only give it everything I've got…"
Kazuki's voice carried both gravity and acceptance. "I had already anticipated this… These powerful Ōtsutsuki, after devouring chakra fruits formed from the life force of entire planets, would inevitably have some unexpected trump cards."
"Just as you have your Flying Thunder God, Duy had his Death Gate, and the Uchiha have Izanagi… We shinobi prepare our hidden aces, so monsters who have lived for tens of thousands of years surely have theirs as well."
"To answer this moment, I'll do as Duy-san did—open the Death Gate of the Eight Gates Formation… If I can kill this invader before me, then both I and all of you will find life in the place of certain death!"
"Everyone, lend me as much of your chakra as you can!"
"You are my comrades! I trust you—and I ask you all to trust me as well…"
And at that moment—
Before anyone from the shinobi world could speak, Kazuki suddenly let out a furious shout, ripping open his shirt to reveal a body of corded muscle.
At the place of his heart, the muscles throbbed visibly, like a giant hammer savagely pounding at his chest cavity. The sound of "thump, thump" resounded heavily through heaven and earth!
From Kazuki's body, green steam began to seep forth, flashing into existence only to vanish—blue boiling steam erupted next, signifying that the Gate of Wonder had already been opened in an instant!
And then, as if in the blink of an eye, blood-red steam surged out in torrents from his body like vaporized lava, pouring out to announce to the world that the strongest shinobi of this era—Kazuki—was now burning his very life as fuel in order to protect!
Ever since Might Duy had opened the Death Gate, clashing with Ōtsutsuki Isshiki as a mere mortal, every shinobi—jōnin and genin alike—had held deep fascination for this technique that allowed a human to slay gods.
And they had all seen what became of Duy after opening the Death Gate—reduced to ashes, as if consumed by fire…
Everyone knew.
No matter how powerful Kazuki was, the principle of the Eight Gates remained: overdrawn life force, the body set aflame. Once the Death Gate was opened, even if he defeated Myōshiki, what awaited Kazuki would, with overwhelming certainty, be death…
That Duy had survived back then was only because Kazuki, stronger than him, had infused him with new life force.
But if Kazuki himself entered the brink of death, consumed to the very end—who could possibly extend his life?
Could it be the Sage of Six Paths? Don't joke around!
"He… he… that devil, is he really risking his life to block the Ōtsutsuki for the survival of the shinobi world?"
One Iwagakure chūnin, who had once died during the Third Shinobi World War in the aftermath of Tobirama-Kazuki's Steaming Danger Tyranny Human Puppet, muttered in disbelief: "What on earth is he? A murderous devil—or a hero saving the world?"
"Of course he's a hero, you fool…"
At his side, Ōnoki's granddaughter Kurotsuchi gazed at Kazuki with eyes full of admiration: "How could Kazuki-sama be some murderous devil? Are you dead right now? If not for Kazuki-sama, do you think the Sage of Six Paths would have willingly appeared and revived everyone?"
"And if not for Kazuki-sama's demand that the shinobi world unite, how could we of Iwagakure possibly have stopped scheming against Konoha, Kumogakure, Sunagakure, and the others—and instead become, for the first time, a true whole?"
"All of this is just part of Kazuki-sama's plan!"
The Iwagakure chūnin nodded thoughtfully, letting out a sigh. "I understand everything you're saying…"
"Hmph, there's nothing to discuss!"
Deidara shook his golden ponytail, his face full of resentment as he glared at Kazuki. "That guy betrayed art! He used to walk the path of the instantaneous beauty of explosions—he was the idol I'd wanted to follow and surpass for my entire life…"
"Why did he change his style of fighting?! I'll make him explain this to me sooner or later! Whatever—this great me won't just sit back and watch him play the hero alone. Is he the only one in the shinobi world with the resolve to fight the enemy to the death?"
Deidara turned his head toward the Iwagakure chūnin standing beside Kurotsuchi, shoved him aside with a look of disdain, then spun his eyes as he suddenly grabbed Kurotsuchi's hand and raised it high in the air. His face flushed red as he shouted with a still-youthful voice: "Anyone who still calls themselves Iwagakure shinobi—lend your chakra to that bastard! It's time we showed Uchiha Kazuki the strength of our village!"
At his side, Kurotsuchi blinked in surprise, looking at Deidara holding her hand aloft. Then, with decisive resolve, she echoed: "That's right! Don't let Uchiha Kazuki look down on us!"
Ōnoki watched this scene with unexpected surprise.
He had thought that Deidara's blockheaded self wouldn't care even about a good girl like Kurotsuchi… Yet under Kazuki's influence, with the final battle of the shinobi world looming, this damned little explosive brat seemed to have figured out something…
"Iwagakure shinobi, together with me—offer your strength to Uchiha Kazuki!" Ōnoki declared, hammering down the decision. Standing at the very front of the Iwagakure ranks, he gave the order as the Third Tsuchikage.
This was no time for schemes or calculations.
This was a fight for life and death between all living beings of this planet and the terrifying invaders.
There could be no thought of retreat!
Meanwhile, in the Kumogakure ranks nearby—
The Third Raikage had already gathered his chakra, commanding: "All Kumogakure shinobi, follow my command! Carry out Senju Tobirama's orders to the letter when they come!"
"Uchiha Kazuki is the savior of the shinobi world—we cannot allow him to fight alone!"
As one of the "Three Survivors" personally named by Kazuki, the Third Raikage still remembered the words Kazuki had once given him—telling him not to collapse, not to lose heart, but to continue pushing his strength further.
And at this moment, the Third Raikage truly understood.
Perhaps even back then, Kazuki had already foreseen the situation unfolding now.
When the shinobi world was still consumed by infighting, still waging shinobi wars, Kazuki had already been planning with the entire world as a single whole—preparing the defensive power that could be mobilized the moment the Ōtsutsuki invaded.
Such perspective and foresight, the Third Raikage knew he could never hope to match.
The only thing he could do now was to provide Kazuki with his chakra—perhaps not much, but at least enough to be of use.
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