Within the Genesis Dimension, now fully wrapped in space-time energy...
All light had vanished. Only one remained, the white-glowing outer shell and crimson flame core of the space-time dragon, standing opposite the massive Expanding Truth-Seeking Orb.
The space-time dragon moved with incredible speed. In just milliseconds, it had reached the Expanding Truth-Seeking Orb, opened its gaping jaw, and bit down.
"Boom!!"
In that instant, the two forces collided, appearing evenly matched on the surface, neither overpowering the other.
But that was just how it looked.
The moment they clashed, the space-time dragon's energies had already enveloped the entire Expanding Truth-Seeking Orb!
Now trapped inside this sealed space, the orb faced the most extreme, most irresistible force imaginable... A power that twisted everything it touched.
Even so, the orb tenaciously resisted. Its endurance was a testament to its strength, it could survive in such a collapsed dimension for this long.
But now… cracks were forming all across its surface, threatening to shatter it entirely.
At that very moment, inside the space-time dragon, Natsuro—with no fear at all, struck the Expanding Truth-Seeking Orb with a kick from his flesh-and-blood body.
Let's be clear, a Truth-Seeking Orb embodies the power of all creation. Its explosion could erase anything in its path. For anyone not at the Six Paths level, even touching one meant instant annihilation...Let alone physically kicking one from the inside.
But… Natsuro did exactly that!
"Bang!!"
In the next instant, the already-cracking Expanding Truth-Seeking Orb shattered into fragments. The tremendous power it had been containing lost all restraint and exploded outward at terrifying speed.
"BOOM!!"
A massive explosion tore through the Genesis Dimension, seemingly swallowing all in its path. The rampaging, chaotic energy surged in every direction.
And yet, even such force couldn't break through the crimson aura surrounding Natsuro.
If the energy had been concentrated, he might not have endured it. But spread so thinly in all directions, the explosion was meaningless to him!
"HAAH!!"
Natsuro roared, and his kick, though it had shattered the orb, had not lost momentum. In fact, it surged forward faster than before!
Behind him, the space-time dragon had grown faint and ghostly. It had used all its strength to break the orb…But still, it followed Natsuro, roaring as it charged forward!
At last, with the combination of ultimate taijutsu and space-time power beyond his limits, all barriers were obliterated, every obstacle cleared.
Kaguya Ōtsutsuki now stood fully exposed before Natsuro and the space-time dragon.
"Impossible!"
Her eyes widened in disbelief at the sight before her. She couldn't comprehend it. Her ultimate move, the Expanding Truth-Seeking Orb, had actually been destroyed.
But to Natsuro, this was no surprise.
In this world, space-time power had no rival.
Even the Ten-Tails, the Truth-Seeking Orbs, and Kaguya herself had been shown to be vulnerable to it in the original work. Because only space-time could counter space-time.
And the techniques Kaguya wielded, Amenominaka and Yomotsu Hirasaka, did not grant her any defense in this aspect.
"Mother…"
Black Zetsu, stunned, stared at Natsuro's crimson aura and the silver-white dragon behind him.
For once, he had no strategy to offer, only fear. He didn't know what could save his mother now.
Everything had been sealed off. The crushing space-time field rendered all spatial abilities useless.
Even if Natsuro couldn't maintain this field for long, it didn't matter—
At this level of combat, even a fleeting moment was more than enough!
Kaguya remained paralyzed in shock, frozen with disbelief. She didn't move at all.
Had it been Six Paths Madara or Obito here, even they, though equally shocked, would never allow themselves to stand stunned, motionless. Other shinobi? They wouldn't even have the time to react to Natsuro's speed, much less counter it.
That was the greatest gap between Kaguya and this world's shinobi!
"Mother!!"
Sensing something was wrong, Black Zetsu shouted desperately.
Only then did Kaguya snap out of it. She looked up at the approaching Natsuro. She had no response left. Her eyes were filled with terror—
A look she had never shown before.
Natsuro saw it, the fear in her eyes, and felt a strange joy rise in his heart. He wanted to shout back at her, "So... even you feel fear, huh? Just like an ordinary person!"
Yes. When Natsuro first realized he had arrived in the world of Naruto, his first instinct had also been fear. It would've been impossible not to feel it.
Especially after learning he had none of the Six Paths bloodlines—no Uzumaki, Uchiha, Senju, or Hyūga ancestry. Others might not know, but he knew all too well how slim the chances of reaching the peak were without them.
What scared him most… were the broken beings from the Fourth Great Ninja War... Six Paths Obito, Six Paths Madara, and Kaguya Ōtsutsuki.
And yet now, Kaguya was showing fear in his presence.
How could that not thrill him? Everything he had done, everything he had become, was given new meaning in that moment.
"Yomotsu Hirasaka!!"
In a panic, Kaguya tried to tear open a portal and escape with Yomotsu Hirasaka.
But no matter how hard she tried, the black space-time portals were instantly torn apart by the warped dimension around her.
Even Natsuro had to admit, Yomotsu Hirasaka was powerful. To still function, even slightly, under this kind of space-time lockdown was insane.
If he hadn't specifically targeted that technique, she might really have escaped.
But now, every escape route had been sealed shut by Natsuro.
After struggling a few moments, Kaguya had no choice but to accept, escape via space-time techniques… was impossible.
And Natsuro, was closing in.
Kaguya's expression twisted. Her blood-red Rinne Sharingan on her forehead widened. From all over her body, gray bones erupted forth...
"Kekkei Mōra: All-Killing Ash Bones!!"
These gray bones transformed into walls of defense, hoping to block Natsuro's final technique.
He saw the bones. He knew they could annihilate anything they touched.But still, he didn't stop. He kicked down anyway.
Crimson flames of Eight Gates met the All-Killing Ash Bones... and in an instant, the bones disintegrated into nothingness.
After breaking through the Ash Bones, Natsuro's crimson aura once again twisted into the shape of a dragon, roaring as it lunged toward Kaguya.
And then, Black Zetsu, like a puddle of tar, suddenly leapt between them.
He had no defensive power. But still, he did not hesitate. He placed himself between Natsuro and Kaguya.
But Natsuro didn't care. His kick drove straight through Black Zetsu, tearing his form apart.
Nothing stood in his way now.
Natsuro could feel it, his kick had landed directly on Kaguya.
"Uugh—!" Kaguya let out a scream of pain.
"It's time… to end this." Natsuro said softly.
An endless surge of power erupted at that moment.
Kaguya Ōtsutsuki, her face twisted in agony, was kicked down from the sky to the earth by Natsuro's final blow... But even this, was not the end.
Natsuro's power was still surging.
The crimson aura engulfing him was still blazing. Even after Kaguya crashed into the ground, it wasn't over.
Natsuro, along with the massive crimson dragon, continued to charge downward, as if he intended to pierce straight through the very ground of the Genesis Dimension.
No one knew how much time had passed… Eventually, the crimson aura finally faded.
And with it, all sound disappeared.. No wind, no space-time energy. It was as if even time had vanished from this place.
After a long silence, a figure suddenly appeared in this dead-still world, staggering across the barren earth, taking a few steps before collapsing face-first.
It was Natsuro.
And at that moment, he looked utterly devastated. His body resembled charred wood, as if barely left intact by flames. Faint traces of fire still glowed on parts of him.
Natsuro's condition was extremely poor, though, to be fair, still better than Might Guy's after opening the Eighth Gate.
Yet that didn't matter. The flames still burning on his body were continuing to consume his life.
Once those flames reached and burned away his heart, his life would end.
And yet, Natsuro showed no fear... In fact, his face bore a smile.
"Heh… hahaha…" He laughed, using all the strength he had left.
He laughed because, even someone like Kaguya had a survival instinct.
His final secret move still hadn't completely erased her.
Far off in the distance, on a patch of scorched earth, a tiny fragment of flesh was slowly absorbing chakra and beginning to regenerate.
Yes, that minuscule scrap of tissue, was all that remained of Kaguya.
In that final clash, Kaguya had miraculously come up with a response, she used all her remaining strength to open Yomotsu Hirasaka one last time.
As expected, the black space-time portal was instantly torn apart by the chaotic dimensional forces around her... But not before it opened.
In that split second, the portal wasn't large enough for her entire body to pass through, but it was enough for that tiny piece of flesh to slip through.
Kaguya's plan had been to send it to another dimension... But she no longer had the strength to do so.
So instead, it remained here, that tiny tissue fragment was the key to Kaguya's recovery.
After all, she possessed a truly immortal body.
Even from just that single scrap of flesh, she could fully regenerate, as long as she had enough chakra.
And right now, the one thing Kaguya had in abundance…Was chakra.
Natsuro laughed as he looked on.
He had to admit, Kaguya's power was the strongest he had ever witnessed. Even the final form of Six Paths Madara couldn't compare.
But her abilities were too one-dimensional. Though powerful, they could be countered and once countered, her threat level plummeted.
In fact, she hardly utilized her abilities at all... Compared to Six Paths Madara, she was even less lethal to him.
However, defeating Kaguya was definitely harder than defeating Madara.
Their levels of regeneration were in completely different leagues.
He had originally intended for his final kick to erase every last trace of Kaguya—
But… As we now know, she narrowly escaped that fate through an incredibly rare stroke of instinct.
And that's exactly what Natsuro found hilarious.
A being with such poor combat instinct, at the brink of death, had managed to survive through a clever last-second trick. No need to wait around for another resurrection.
Still, if he died now from the backlash of the Eight Gates Formation, then yes, Kaguya technically won.
But unfortunately for her… He was prepared.
The Eight Gates Formation didn't guarantee death.
Just like in the original story, Might Guy survived, thanks to the power of Yang Release.
Natsuro had Yang Release too, though his was clearly not on Sage of Six Paths level.
It couldn't heal him, only delay his death.
Even so, he smiled.
Because if his Yang Release hadn't reached that level yet…
Then all he had to do, was reach it now.
If you want to read more...
Check out the patreon and get 55 chapters in advance -> SaintXI
Next Chapter: The Pinnacle of Sage Mode