"Sensei!"
"Sasuke-san!"
"Otsutsuki… Uchiha… Sasuke?"
Seeing Sasuke's arrival, Boruto and the others were overjoyed.
All their previous anxiety and fear vanished with the appearance of Six Paths Sasuke.
No other reason—just that their Sensei was currently the strongest in the ninja world!
Sasuke suppressed a grin, instinctively glancing at Boruto and the others, ensuring their safety.
Honestly, this trap plan was incredibly risky. Sasuke hadn't told Boruto and Kawaki the truth, only instructing them to capture the Hachibi. A single misstep, and Boruto and Kawaki could've died unexpectedly or been abducted by Isshiki.
But to face a powerful enemy like Isshiki, necessary risks were unavoidable. Besides, Sasuke knew Kashin Koji was watching on one hand, and they had the escape techniques granted by the Tenshou Sennin on the other.
Even if they couldn't defeat Isshiki, they should've been able to escape. If worst came to worst and they fell, Sasuke wouldn't regret it—he'd only return all that pain and despair to Isshiki!
However, seeing Orochimaru's appearance, along with Edo Tensei Itachi, Shisui, and the three Hokage Edo Tensei beside him, Sasuke couldn't help but be shocked.
So many afterlife ninjas around Boruto? Even his brother was there!
Since when did he master Edo Tensei too? No, this was mostly Orochimaru's work!
But how was he with Boruto? Weren't his memories altered by Omnipotence?
Or, after being altered, did he find a way to break through?
Orochimaru was indeed capable, breaking Omnipotence's blockade with his own ability? No wonder he was called the King of Resilience, surviving even his brother!
But on second thought, it made sense. After all, even the unbreakable Shiki Fūjin couldn't stop Orochimaru's determined pursuit of truth.
A mere Omnipotence naturally couldn't hold him back… Of course, Sasuke didn't yet know that thanks to Orochimaru's 'potential' to break Omnipotence, Isshiki grew terrified, forcing him to act early to deal with Orochimaru himself.
Using only Boruto and Kawaki as bait, though tempting to Isshiki, wouldn't have easily lured the cautious Isshiki out.
But none of that mattered now. Isshiki had shown himself, and he would die here!
◆━⊰✧⊱━◆
Sasuke focused his gaze and attention on Isshiki.
With the double buff of 'far from Konoha + insufficient vitality,' this was the best time to kill Isshiki, and Sasuke wouldn't miss it.
Isshiki was clearly more panicked.
Seeing his space-time portal neutralized by Sasuke, he grew even more unnerved. He didn't want to fight to the death with this psychopath Sasuke!
How could he seek wealth… no, the Divine Tree's fruit if he fought to the death?
Isshiki abandoned the idea of escaping via a space-time portal.
The portal took too long to open. Against Sasuke, who also mastered space-time Dōjutsu, he had no time to activate it. The only thing he surpassed Sasuke in was pure strength and speed!
Thus, without hesitation, Isshiki unleashed his full speed, flying away frantically. As long as he was fast enough, he didn't believe Sasuke could catch him!
Unfortunately, for this battle, Sasuke had rehearsed countless times in his mind. He wasn't a rookie meeting Isshiki for the first time but a veteran who basically knew all of Isshiki's abilities.
Like playing a game, the first encounter with a boss might result in a first-try kill, but once familiar with the boss's moves, one could predict tactics and strategies, greatly increasing the win rate.
Amenotejikara!
Chibaku Tensei!
Two ultimate Rinnegan Dōjutsu were activated in sequence.
Amenotejikara swapped Isshiki, who was fleeing far away, preventing his rapid escape. Then, a super Chibaku Tensei gravity core floated into the air, using a large-scale gravitational field to further restrict and slow Isshiki's speed.
Isshiki's vaunted super speed was halved.
This highlighted the vast gap in combat experience under equal power. Sasuke needed no external guidance, maximizing his abilities and finding ways to counter Isshiki.
Meanwhile, Kaguya, despite her high stats, relied solely on brute force. She couldn't compare to the seasoned Sasuke, especially with a foolish advisor like Black Zetsu, who only knew theory. No wonder she lost to Naruto and Six Paths Sasuke.
Simultaneously, Sasuke's deadly trap wasn't over. Six Gudōdama from his back flew out, forming black rods piercing the surrounding ground, creating the foundation for a Barrier.
Six Red Yang Formation!
The strongest barrier, only activatable by those with full Six Paths power, was effortlessly deployed by Sasuke alone.
Both its activation speed and defensive strength surpassed the Six Red Yang Formation Obito activated as a Six Paths. This was the final piece to stop Isshiki's escape.
It also proved that ninja Ninjutsu and science weren't useless—they could threaten Otsutsuki!
On the other side, seeing the Six Red Yang Formation form, Orochimaru understood Sasuke's intent. As a solo player, he might not excel, but in support, he was a true gold-medal teammate.
*WHOOSH!* *WHOOSH!* *WHOOSH!*
Four figures, at Orochimaru's command, shot out swiftly, landing at the four corners outside the Six Red Yang Formation.
Edo Tensei Hashirama, Tobirama, Hiruzen, and Minato—the four previous Hokages—simultaneously formed hand seals to activate a Jutsu.
Four Red Yang Formation!
Another layer of dense, glowing red giant barrier rose instantly. In a flash, two of the strongest barriers formed an impregnable wall.
Seeing this, Isshiki broke into a cold sweat, saying in fear:
"You—!!!"
Isshiki wasn't foolish. No matter how strong he was, he couldn't break through two layers of the strongest defensive barriers instantly—unless he dared risk his life and take another Six Paths: Indra's Arrow from Sasuke!
His true body, after reviving, rivaled sacred tools but was still gravely wounded by one Indra's Arrow. In Code's fragile body, if hit by one, he'd die instantly!
No ashes would remain, and even Kāma couldn't revive him… especially since he had no complete vessel for revival now.
Undoubtedly, this place had become a death prison to bury Isshiki!
◆━⊰✧⊱━◆
Sasuke glanced at Edo Tensei Hashirama and the others activating the Four Red Yang Formation, silently praising the decisiveness and wisdom of these 'relics of the past.' The added Four Red Yang Formation, though decorative, was effective, further reducing Isshiki's escape chances.
Though he once looked down on these elders, compared to the rotten modern Kages, nearly all past Hokages seemed far superior.
Sasuke shifted his gaze back to Isshiki. The tomb was built; now it was time to invite the beast named Isshiki to be buried!
Six Paths: Susano'o!
Sasuke activated Susano'o.
The ultimate, thousand-meter-tall, robust perfect Susano'o formed again.
Using Six Paths chakra instead of Bijuu chakra, it created the Ultimate Lightning God Susano'o, its power far surpassing a perfect Juubi, a true Demon God!
With Six Paths Susano'o formed, Sasuke's final worries vanished. Though he'd set a near-perfect ambush, forcing Isshiki into a desperate situation, he was the one truly risking his life.
Initially, Isshiki had a high chance of turning the tables and killing him!
No matter how strong Sasuke was, he couldn't activate Amenotejikara, Chibaku Tensei, Six Red Yang Formation, and Susano'o all at once. Ultimately, they required a sequence.
In those brief seconds of activation, if Isshiki was decisive, ruthless, and bold enough to risk his life, he could've attacked Sasuke directly. With his strength and speed, he could've killed Sasuke multiple times.
Even in the worst case, he could've stopped Sasuke from activating his abilities, turning this ambush into a bloody fight to the death!
In such a case, Isshiki would likely have won. After all, in their last battle, Sasuke had spent over half his Tenshou Sennin power; though now in good condition, he wasn't as strong as before.
Unfortunately, Isshiki's bold yet cowardly nature, his fear of death, made him lose his chance to turn the tables. Seeing Six Paths Sasuke, he lacked the courage to fight to the death. Instead, he only wanted to flee, cowardly and afraid to engage.
This allowed Sasuke to activate his abilities one by one, step-by-step completing this death prison.
Of course, this was a battle plan Sasuke crafted after carefully analyzing Isshiki's character; he'd seen through Otsutsuki Isshiki's weaknesses.
Now with Six Paths Susano'o formed, even Isshiki couldn't breach its defense in one strike. With the double barrier prison, Isshiki had no chance of turning the tables!
"Uchiha Sasuke! What exactly do you want???"
"To kill you!"
"Damn ninja, don't forget everything you have is a gift from the Otsutsuki! Without the Divine Tree, without chakra, you're nothing!"
Hearing this, Sasuke coldly controlled Susano'o, beginning to draw its bow and arrow.
"If you kill me, the Otsutsuki Clan will never let you go!" Isshiki roared, threatening with a bold yet cowardly tone.
Sasuke remained silent, speeding up the concentration of Indra's Arrow. The basic form of a pure white lightning arrow began to take shape.
"Wait, we can talk! Don't you care about others' lives? Kill me, and you'll never undo Omnipotence!"
Seeing the terrifying Indra's Arrow gradually form, Isshiki couldn't help but shudder. He abandoned bold threats, starting to plead and negotiate softly, trying to appeal to Sasuke's conscience.
Unfortunately, Sasuke had no such thing as a conscience.
"Don't rush! You can ask for anything, I can return Konoha to you! We don't need to die together!"
"The only one dying is you!"
Sasuke declared coldly. Even if Isshiki's speed was restricted, his Indra's Arrow might struggle to hit precisely. But this time was different.
Even if he couldn't hit Isshiki accurately, within this double barrier prison, he couldn't escape anywhere and would surely take the explosion's damage.
Sasuke had calculated silently. At most two shots would kill Isshiki! His first shot could be blocked by Six Paths Susano'o, and the second could use Amenotejikara to swap himself out of the barrier, avoiding the explosion's damage.
Sasuke had no intention of dying with Isshiki; he still needed to save his life to atone and activate Rinne Tensei.
*RUMBLE!*
Six Paths: Indra's Arrow finally formed. Susano'o's bow was fully drawn, waiting to unleash this heaven-and-earth-shattering attack in an instant!
Seeing this, the crisis of death exploded in Isshiki's heart, feeling unprecedented fear. He no longer cared about honor or pride. As Sasuke was about to fire the deadly arrow, he finally played his trump card.
"Uchiha Sasuke, look at this!"
Isshiki activated Daikokuten, pulling a fainted figure from the static-time Daikokuten dimension.
Seeing the target's identity, everyone, including Sasuke, couldn't help but be shocked. The hostage Isshiki pulled out was none other than Sasuke's wife, Sakura!
"Auntie Sakura!"
"Haruno Sakura?"
Boruto and the others outside the barrier instantly changed expressions.
They didn't expect Isshiki to be so shameless, having kidnapped Sakura as a hostage beforehand! And daring to use her to threaten Sasuke!
Clearly, to save his life, Isshiki had abducted Sakura as a precaution before setting out.
As the great Eighth Hokage, controlling all of Konoha, plus his mental paranoia after his previous crushing defeat, how could Isshiki let go of Sakura, such a key asset?
She was the only weakness of Sasuke he knew. Sasuke's daughter, Sarada, wasn't touched by Isshiki, left in Konoha as a trap.
The two closest to Sasuke, mother and daughter—one overt, one hidden—ensured they were under his control, the safest approach.
Initially, Isshiki hadn't planned to use this trump card easily; but now, forced and near death, he had to reveal it early!
He didn't believe these lowly ninjas, with their fragile emotions, could bear to kill their own wife!
"If you don't want your wife to die, stop now!" Isshiki roared hysterically.
Using a hostage as a threat meant abandoning the lofty demeanor he'd painstakingly maintained.
It symbolized the total collapse of the Otsutsuki divinity he prided himself on. So cowardly as to threaten a native ninja this way.
Like a human unable to defeat a dog, having to kidnap the dog's wife to threaten it—too humiliating!
This nearly shattered all of Isshiki's pride, driving him madder.
Simultaneously, facing the threat, Sasuke actually halted the Indra's Arrow he was about to release. He loosened the bowstring, dispersing the arrow, retracting all chakra… as if truly concerned for his wife's safety, forced to yield to Isshiki's intimidation.
Seeing this, Isshiki was overjoyed.
"That's right! As long as you don't attack me again, I can guarantee her safety. You don't want your wife to die in…" Isshiki grew more excited, certain he hadn't misjudged.
These ninjas' weakness was their kin, their useless, tedious fragile emotions. Now holding Sakura hostage, no matter how powerful Six Paths Sasuke was, he'd still bow to him.
But before Isshiki could finish, a series of strange, uncontrollable laughter interrupted him.
"Hahahaha!!!" Sasuke suddenly burst into wild, unrestrained laughter.
This unexpected laughter made Isshiki extremely uneasy and confused.
A loser in his grasp—what was he laughing at?
Had he gone mad?
"Uchiha Sasuke! What are you laughing at???"
"You really think you can threaten me with a hostage?"
Sasuke stopped laughing, staring coldly at Isshiki, his eyes filled with disdain and hatred.
(Threatening me, Uchiha Sasuke, with a hostage? How ridiculous! The last guy who did that, his grave's already three meters high!)
"You actually—"
"Then die together!"
With Sasuke's cold death sentence, a hundred-meter-long Raiton Chidori blade extended from the tip of Susano'o's katana.
*PU-CHI!*
In Isshiki's utterly horrified and bewildered gaze, it pierced through Sakura and his heart!