High above in the sky.
Natsuro, surrounded by what looked like blood-red flames, hovered as he gazed down at the Genesis Dimension's earth below.
The terrain had been leveled, the five strikes of the Evening Elephant had driven the entire land to an incredibly low elevation, the soil beneath compressed solid by the air cannons.
And at the center of this battle-scarred wasteland, a humanoid crater was visible, the very spot where Kaguya had been slammed down by his blows.
"Huff!" Natsuro exhaled deeply, panting hard. The final gate, the Gate of Death, truly lived up to its name as the gate that burns one's life.
Even with his enhanced body, Natsuro was starting to feel the limits.
Still, given the sheer power of the Eight Gates Formation, the drain felt justified.
After all, its destructive might had exceeded even Natsuro's expectations. It had overwhelmed Kaguya to the point she couldn't even fight back.
Of course, Natsuro also understood the Eight Gates' power depended heavily on the user's physical condition.
For instance, Might Duy, even going all out, could only manage up to the fourth speed of Evening Elephant. Might Guy, however, could not only perform the fifth speed but also execute his self-created ultimate technique—Night Guy.
That was something even Might Duy couldn't perform, no matter how hard he tried.
As for Natsuro, his situation was far better than Might Guy's. His physical strength far surpassed Guy's.
It wasn't because he trained harder or had more talent in taijutsu, it was because, after merging three Sage Modes at the Dragon Vein, his body underwent a complete metamorphosis.
In terms of strength and recovery, his abilities were borderline broken, unless compared to the Ten-Tails Jinchūriki. It's just that, after his breakthroughs, the enemies he encountered were all at the level of the Ten-Tails Jinchūriki, which made it hard to showcase his physical superiority.
But in truth, Natsuro's post-transformation physique had surpassed Guy's Seven-Gate state, though still not quite on par with Guy's full Eighth Gate. Compared to Might Duy's Eight Gates, though, he had already surpassed that.
He couldn't help but reflect. It wasn't like he hadn't trained in taijutsu; he simply didn't go to the extremes like Might Guy did. He would stop each time he reached the limit his body could withstand.
Might Guy and Lee, on the other hand, were clearly overtrained, forcing their bodies far beyond the sustainable peak. While this let them reach greater heights, it drastically shortened how long they could maintain them.
If it weren't for Natsuro's multiple breakthroughs, his physique might've lagged behind Lee's. But with two major transformations, he'd overtaken them.
And that, wasn't cheating.
It was his natural path. If others could follow the same route, they too could gain a body as strong as Natsuri's.
But even with this nearly broken-level physical strength, sustaining the Eight Gates Formation remained extremely difficult for him.
Because the technique scales with the user... The stronger the body, the more powerful the Eighth Gate becomes and the more power it unleashes, the more brutal the strain on the body.
A paradoxical feedback loop. No matter how powerful you are, the Eight Gates Formation will never be easy.
"After this battle ends, I should send Lee and Guy to the hypergravity dimension for training…" Natsuro thought to himself.
At this point, both he and the others found it extremely difficult to train their bodies effectively. But the hypergravity space could clearly compress their training time.
And since he could sense the Flying Thunder God markers from this realm, that meant he could sense this place from the original world too.
In fact, aside from the Sea of Acid dimension, Natsuro had placed Flying Thunder God marks in all of the other realms.
He continued contemplating, but the blood-red aura around his body only grew more intense. There was no time to waste. The Eight Gates burned through life with every breath.
And in this state, he could see every ripple in space. He could sense it clearly, under the Eight Gates Formation, if he went all out, his punch could even shatter space itself.
Just like now…
Natsuro smiled, raised his fist, and punched downward, a shockwave of air tore through the atmosphere, crashing into the crater below.
At that moment, Kaguya was in an incredibly disheveled state. Her robes were tattered in many places. The overwhelming, invincible aura she had once radiated was gone.
And right now, she had no intention of continuing the battle. A black spatial rift had appeared above her, her plan was to escape through it, hopping through dimensions to evade Natsuro.
Because, just as Black Zetsu had said, once his Eight Gates ended, he would die. So there was no need for her to remain here in a direct confrontation.
This… wasn't running. Definitely not fleeing.
Kaguya coughed up another mouthful of blood and tried to float upward through the portal.
But then, her eyes widened.
Right in front of her, the spatial rift shattered before her eyes, destroyed by nothing more than a single shockwave.
She looked up and saw Natsuro, his fist still extended.
She finally understood... She was completely locked down.
Even if she tried to use Yomotsu Hirasaka, it would be shattered before she could escape.
Worse yet, she could feel his power rising again, he was clearly building up to some terrifying attack.
"There's… something stronger than this?"
Even her voice now carried bitterness and disbelief. Black Zetsu was silent too. Even he couldn't offer a way out, the only option was escape.
But they'd just seen it, Natsuro wasn't going to let them escape.
"Why... Why can a human create such powerful ninjutsu?" Kaguya muttered in confusion. She knew it was over. The only choice left… was to rise from the crater and face him.
Natsuro, seemingly having heard her, gave a faint smile.
"Because… compared to you, humans are lacking in almost everything. Physically, mentally, even in raw abilities—we're inferior. But there's one thing we have that matches you… and perhaps even surpasses you."
Kaguya stared at him. "And what is that?"
"Creativity." Natsuro answered firmly.
There were countless types of ninjutsu in this world, many of which surpassed even the abilities of the Ōtsutsuki and he firmly believed that if humans weren't limited by their own physical boundaries, they could create techniques that would leave even the Ōtsutsuki in awe.
Even under those limitations, they had still created many brilliant techniques—Shadow Clone, Flying Thunder God, Eight Inner Gates…
Flying Thunder God, for example, might not surpass Yomotsu Hirasaka, Kamui, or Amenotejikara in certain aspects. But it had one very particular strength, it could be used instantly with minimal chakra cost.
Sure, Amenotejikara could also be cast instantly, but everyone knew how chakra-hungry it was.
Granted, in battles at this level, it was nearly impossible to throw Flying Thunder God kunai directly at opponents, they could only be used on fixed points around the battlefield for dodging and positioning.
"Creativity?" Kaguya murmured the word. She had been born with her abilities, so the concept was utterly foreign to her.
Natsuro didn't say anything more.
His preparations were complete. The blood-red flames around his body now seemed to fill the entire space.
In his mind, he recalled Night Guy, Might Guy's ultimate final move. He could replicate it now, without a doubt.
But…
"A space-time ninja should use a space-time technique." He whispered to himself.
His eyes locked onto Kaguya. Around him, the vast force of space-time chakra began to surge…
"Snap!!"
Suddenly, Natsuro snapped his fingers. In the next instant, the space around him and Kaguya began to distort violently, as if space-time itself were boiling.
"What is this…?" Kaguya looked around at the twisting space, instinctively activating Yomotsu Hirasaka. But the moment the black portal formed, it was devoured by the surrounding distorted space, warped and disintegrated instantly.
"This space has already been sealed. Come..." Natsuro's calm voice echoed in her ears, "face my final technique head-on."
At that moment, Kaguya's last hope of escape was gone. The next move, she could only face it directly. No more fleeing, no more evading — only a direct clash!
Gritting her teeth, Kaguya's body began to swell rapidly.
"Is Mother really going to use that technique?" Black Zetsu was momentarily stunned by her transformation, but quickly realized what was happening.
If it was that move, then maybe... maybe there was still a chance…
Before Natsuro's eyes, Kaguya's body expanded into its original form, a massive white sphere.
On the surface of the sphere, the silhouettes of the nine Tailed Beasts writhed, and atop it sat a rabbit-like head with blood-red Rinne Sharingan bearing nine tomoe.
Then, the outer layer of the sphere began to peel away rapidly, revealing a vast black orb emerging from within.
This massive orb, constantly growing, was none other than Kaguya's ultimate attack. And once it stabilized, her humanoid form re-emerged, facing Natsuro in the sky.
"Natsuro Shindōkawa, the power of the nine Tailed Beasts has been stabilized. This is Mother's Truth-Seeking Ball, the Expanding Truth-Seeking Ball, forged from wind, fire, earth, water, lightning, yin and yang, every nature, the very essence of Kekkei Mōra! A new dimension is already being constructed!" Black Zetsu was grinning now, shouting triumphantly, "Natsuro, no matter how powerful your creativity is, before absolute power, it's meaningless!!"
It seemed the Expanding Truth-Seeking Ball had reignited Black Zetsu's courage, he raised his voice proudly.
But Natsuro only gave him a passing glance, then shifted his focus to the colossal black sphere.
His Secret Technique wasn't fully charged yet. If he used it prematurely and failed to kill or crush Kaguya, he would be in serious danger—because he likely wouldn't be able to launch it a second time.
And that would leave him defenseless.
Moreover, as he observed the orb, he knew it operated on the same principle as a regular Truth-Seeking Orb. But to reach such a scale, one needed Kekkei Mōra—a fusion of all chakra natures.
Technically, he could create one, but not on that scale.
Kaguya's orb had absorbed the chakra of an entire world. His chakra alone couldn't possibly match it.
Besides, he never intended to clash or compare with the orb using one of his own.
At that moment, he gathered all his strength into his legs. He could feel his leg bones screaming in agony, protesting against the strain.
But he ignored the pain. Because what came next… might be the final strike.
He drew in a deep breath and suddenly opened his eyes wide, countless waves of chaotic space-time surged toward him, like a raging tide, swirling and condensing around his body.
Anyone approaching him now would be shredded by these chaotic space-time flows, even a being at the Six Paths level wouldn't survive.
Kaguya and Black Zetsu watched in horror as the entire dimension seemed to collapse inward, as if time and space were being vacuumed into one singularity.
All they could see now… was Natsuro.
What they saw, in the heart of the chaos, was Natsuro. Like a blazing sun amidst the maelstrom of space-time, something was forming behind him—a colossal dragon, equal in size to the Expanding Truth-Seeking Orb, roaring with power. It was forged from the crimson energy of the Eight Gates Formation and pure white space-time energy.
Natsuro locked eyes with Kaguya and Black Zetsu.
Kaguya's eyes widened in alarm. She immediately sank into the Expanding Truth-Seeking Orb, rushing to its far side, hoping to pit the massive orb directly against Natsuro's next move.
Natsuro didn't care.
His body was breaking apart. Blood streamed from him, only to instantly vaporize and fuse with the giant dragon behind him.
Then, Natsuro stepped forward into the air, shattering space itself beneath his foot, as he charged toward the Expanding Truth-Seeking Orb. The massive dragon of crimson and white followed close behind.
Everywhere he passed, the surrounding space warped and broke apart under the overwhelming pressure of time-space energy. The fragments of shattered space-time were reabsorbed into the dragon's body…
…making it even more fearsome and massive!
Finally, Natsuro took his last step.
From above, he descended in a classic flying side-kick, aimed directly at the Expanding Truth-Seeking Ball.
The space-time dragon opened its mouth wide, and together, they roared down like divine judgment.
"Final Time-Space Secret Art: Eternal Silence!!!"
Within this realm, completely drained of space and time…
Beneath that massive white dragon…
All that awaited the enemy… was eternal annihilation.
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