"So that's what this is… some kind of curse?"
Kazuki furrowed his brows. He felt his chakra being corroded by a dark, obscure power, vanishing as though slipping into the void, and his heart trembled.
Not only that, this obscure and unfathomable power was also causing Kazuki's body to gradually grow brittle. With each siphon of his strength, ominous toxins accumulated within him, becoming a bomb that could detonate at any moment.
"Ame-no-Iwato…" Kazuki stirred his dōjutsu, but the instant the flowing light covered his body, it was devoured by the unseen curse and could not be sustained.
"Useless. You think a defense of this level can compare to that bastard's Shinjutsu: Sumeru Vishnu?" Myōshiki crossed his arms, watching with ease as Kazuki tried to break free of the curse.
"Feel this despair. But don't blame yourself—you never had any hope of winning. Even with your ability to replicate dōjutsu, it's impossible for you to recreate my Shiva's Karma Dance."
"Because only one who has reached the Ōtsutsuki limit, stepping into the second-stage form, can unleash this technique!"
In the few breaths during which they spoke, Kazuki's strength continued to be drained. Even the blood-colored steam dragon coiling around his body seemed to be tainted with a layer of decayed gray.
Kazuki remained silent, a glimmer of battle intent flashing in his eyes, and he charged straight at Myōshiki!
For Kazuki, this second-stage transformation ability of Myōshiki's was something he was curious about as well…
Such a form had once been displayed by Momoshiki and Urashiki in the original timeline, yet Myōshiki's was not achieved by devouring chakra fruits. It was unleashed from himself—and it awakened unique dōjutsu besides.
Just how much could this transformation amplify Myōshiki's power?
Kazuki's violent advance tore through the space before him, his terrifying strength ripping reality apart. In the alternate space, black turbulence spun behind him like an exhaust trail.
Twisting and flashing through the air, Kazuki's golden, tear-streaked eyes locked firmly onto Myōshiki. With the same dōjutsu, he interfered with Myōshiki's foresight, forcing him into a head-on clash with no retreat!
Kazuki roared, his fist crashing down like a collapsing mountain. A surge of power blasted the space before him into ruin, and that overwhelming force—like a physical tide—came crashing toward Myōshiki!
'To land a true hit on this guy… the force of my punches must be felt directly! Just the wind of my blows won't cut it.' Kazuki's thoughts raced as he surged forward once more, his body bursting open in molten fissures from the strain of the Death Gate.
But under the curse of Shiva's Karma Dance, those fissures now carried a faint black haze, as if he were nothing more than burning leaves…
They still flickered with sparks, but were already about to crumble into ash.
"Kazuki, Kazuki! Let me out—let me burn myself away to help you seize the power of Ōtsutsuki Shibai!" Deep within Kazuki's being, Kaguya spun in frantic circles, her white, beautiful eyes brimming with tears as she cried out in anguish.
"Don't shoulder this alone! You still have me—I can help you! I've already mastered Baryon Mode, I will burn Shibai's consciousness to ashes!"
But no answer came.
Kaguya stared powerlessly at Shibai's desiccated bones before her. Her nails dug so hard into her palms that fresh blood welled out, scarlet against her pale skin, yet she felt no pain.
Her heart burned like a raging fire—so much so that she could not even notice it.
At this moment, Kaguya wanted nothing more than to shatter the space-time seal before her that imprisoned Shibai's withered remains—to help Kazuki seize that legendary divine power.
But unless Kazuki undid the seal himself, she could not possibly accomplish it. Kazuki had poured enormous effort into binding Shibai's corpse.
After Myōshiki's foresight failed to pierce Kazuki's future, he gave a short laugh.
"So, you mean to fight me head-on? Good! In all these countless years, you're the second opponent to dare battle me this way!"
Myōshiki's muscles bulged in an instant as he surged forward with a might no less than Kazuki's, proclaiming his words like a victor: "And you will be the last enemy ever to face me!"
In Myōshiki's mind, once he killed Kazuki and devoured the corpse of Ōtsutsuki Shibai, then no matter how strong Ryōshiki's dōjutsu might be, no matter how great his talent, he would still be left with no choice but to address him as 'Clan Head, my lord.'
Two cataclysmic fists collided!
[BOOM!]
In that instant, their combined power was as though it would shatter the entire planet!
Ryōshiki lifted his gaze. Watching the alternate space nearly torn apart by the aftershocks, he extended his hand to stabilize it, and could not help but sigh with genuine feeling: "Truly incredible, the two of them…"
On the earth below, everything that existed was scoured flat by the shockwaves—smooth as if polished.
When the aftershocks finally dispersed—
Kazuki and Myōshiki stood facing one another, each seeing the gravity in the other's eyes.
The arms they had clashed with were mirror images of destruction, both shattered by each other's power. Blood traced the corners of their mouths, their complexions stained in unnatural shades of black and crimson.
A strike evenly matched!
"Remarkable, truly remarkable… To have fallen under my Shiva's Karma Dance and still not yield when trading blows with me… Even if your technique burns out in but a brief, exalted dance, it is still one worthy of being remembered upon the stage of the cosmos."
Myōshiki drew in a deep breath, while within Kazuki, his energy was steadily being siphoned away by the curse of that bone-plague, flowing into Myōshiki and knitting his wounds.
As one waned, the other grew…
With every passing instant, Kazuki's chances of victory diminished, while Myōshiki only grew stronger.
"Everyone, let us burn together… From here on, I will completely ignite myself and unleash the strongest, final strike. This fight against him can no longer be dragged out."
Kazuki's voice echoed into the chakra-formed figures of the shinobi world gathered within his chest, low and steady: "Everyone—this is the strongest blow the shinobi world has to offer. Are you ready?"
"From here on, don't think of anything else. Just pour out every drop of your strength and entrust it to me!"
"So long as we win, I promise—I will restore this planet exactly as it was, and make it the beginning point of peace!"
[Burning Youth Without Regret]: The backlash of opening the Death Gate is converted into sustained damage over a period of time. Wounding an enemy while in the Death Gate state will siphon their life force to heal the overdrawing injuries inflicted upon the user by the Gate.
This unique trait of the Might father and son gave Kazuki the capital to stake everything! As long as he could injure Myōshiki, the backlash of the Death Gate would be greatly diminished—no longer life-threatening.
Besides—
The battle to the death against Myōshiki was only a means on the surface.
Kazuki's true intention was to use the terrifying surge of chakra released in his eruption to conceal his actions—seizing both the will of the planet and the power of the Ōtsutsuki God!
"Go on, Kazuki! I've long wanted to see just what kind of power I could gain once I burned myself away!" Uchiha Madara roared with laughter, his entire body igniting with the blood-colored steam of the Death Gate.
"This is the true battle! This is the battlefield where peace will be decided!"
"Rin, are you ready?" Obito gripped Uchiha Rin's hand tightly, his gaze unshakable. "Kazuki needs us—he needs us to help him!"
"I told you already, Obito… the battlefield may be terrifying, but with you here, I'm not afraid."
Rin clasped his hand even tighter, her smile blooming from the heart. At the same time, she secretly borrowed a phrase from the diary Kazuki had once forged in her name for Obito, while silently offering up a prayer for Kazuki in her heart: 'Big brother, don't falter! Only you can save everyone—save Obito, save Kaguya, and save this shinobi world that isn't so hopeless after all!'
The Sage of Six Paths and Ōtsutsuki Hamura exchanged glances, and both brothers broke into laughter.
"Brother, this time we're not going up against Mother again—we're fighting the Ōtsutsuki Clan! I'll give everything I have to aid Kazuki. Don't you dare fall behind me…"
Hamura's sage body, too, began to burn as fuel.
"Hamura, don't forget—Kazuki grew up in the shinobi world I created. His vision of peace is one I completely share!"
The Sage of Six Paths spoke without blushing or shame, yet the blood-colored steam bursting forth from his body made it clear that he too was now fighting with everything for Kazuki!
Asura and Indra.
The three great sages: the Great Toad, the Giant Slug, and the White Snake.
Uchiha Izuna, Uzumaki Mito, the alternate-space Sasuke.
Tsunade, Orochimaru, Jiraiya, Namikaze Minato, Kushina…
Shisui, Yashiro, and the entire Uchiha clan, including Fugaku and Itachi…
Asuma, Kakashi, Might Guy, Might Duy, Hatake Sakumo, Hiruko, Hyūga Hizashi and the entire Hyūga clan…
Kisame, Kaguya Jinzaburo, and Terumī Mei.
The Nine Tailed Beasts and the great summoning beasts of the shinobi world.
Ōnoki, the Third Raikage, Hanzō…
All living beings of the shinobi world entered the burning state of the Death Gate's final moment, offering themselves as fuel to pour their last strength into Kazuki!
"Tobirama—now is the time!"
Kazuki roared: "Help me activate Shinjutsu: Sumeru Vishnu! I'm going to seize the power of the planet!"
"I understand, Kazuki!"
Senju Tobirama shouted back at once: "Leave it to me!"
As the entire shinobi world's strength exploded upward, Kazuki's chakra and blood-colored steam pierced the heavens. The violent surges made the entire planet tremble, and in that instant, a destructive power was born!
And within that surge, all perception was shattered by the overwhelming force.
"Kaguya, I'm entrusting this to you!"
Deep within Kazuki's being, Kaguya—her lips bitten raw with anxiety—suddenly heard Kazuki's voice. The space-time energy sealing Shibai's withered remains before her vanished.
"Don't worry, Kazuki! He's just another Ōtsutsuki—I won't allow him to separate us!"
With that cry, Kaguya opened her specially prepared Baryon Mode! Using her Ōtsutsuki body, she unleashed this life-risking technique designed to annihilate the Ōtsutsuki!
Clutching Shibai's withered bones in both hands, she let a terrifying radiation burst forth, instantly engulfing the remains and beginning the purge of the consciousness lingering within.
Amidst the blood-colored steam that seemed capable of swallowing the heavens and earth, Kazuki drew in a deep breath, his eyes shining with a brilliance never seen before.
Everything—everything—was finally reaching its ultimate conclusion…
[Chosen of Gaia—Inheritance Ceremony Commences!]
---
I will post some extra Chapters in Patreon, you can check it out. >> patreon.com/TitoVillar
---