Konoha, at the Hokage's office.
A Yomotsu Hirasaka portal opened, and Kaguya, Isshiki, and Eida returned directly from it.
Upon their return, the two sides immediately clashed.
"That's Uchiha Sasuke's chakra? He's not far from here—why should we flee?"
Kaguya didn't understand why her usually cold and elegant boss, Otsutsuki Isshiki, acted like a startled bird upon sensing Sasuke's chakra, urging her to leave and return to Konoha immediately.
She hadn't even finished absorbing the chakra of Sunagakure's ninjas, forced to stop and return to Konoha.
"It's different."
"If it's just Uchiha Sasuke alone, there's no need to fear."
"But that guy has Daimon's power. Even if we team up, we might not win…"
Isshiki defended himself.
He wasn't afraid of Sasuke at all; he just wanted a more stable victory.
"Daimon?"
"That's this person's younger brother, an android implanted with Shibai's genes, granting him Killing Intent Reflection. You know the power of Shinjutsu, right?"
Kaguya didn't know much about Amado and androids, but she was very aware of the terror of Otsutsuki clan Shinjutsu!
Not to mention Shibai, who had reached the realm of an Otsutsuki God—each of his Shinjutsu was unmatched in power.
Even Eida, Daimon, and Code, who only inherited incomplete Shinjutsu, were already terrifying.
"You said these androids' Shinjutsu are incomplete…"
"Indeed, they're incomplete, each with flaws, but still hard to deal with. That guy's reflection—even I struggle to counter it…"
As long as Daimon clung to someone's back or was in contact with them, continuously activating his Shinjutsu reflection, it was essentially half-invincible.
Combined with Six Paths Sasuke, it was a flawless attack-and-defense duo.
This was one reason Isshiki chose to avoid direct confrontation.
"Trash…"
"?!!"
Kaguya's mockery made Isshiki's face burn with shame. He wanted to turn around, but he knew he couldn't afford to now!
"Mother, we've already lost once. It's better to stick to the plan—it's safer."
Black Zetsu's pitch-black half-head emerged from Kaguya's sleeve, proactively reminding his mother.
Hearing this, Kaguya pouted slightly.
Even the usually attentive Black Zetsu was no longer attentive.
With both Black Zetsu and Isshiki opposing her, Kaguya felt uneasy.
"You created this beast, and it's got some brains."
Isshiki glanced at Black Zetsu, casually praising him. Compared to the witless Kaguya, he preferred working with the slightly smarter Black Zetsu.
Of course, deep down, he scorned Black Zetsu, who lacked a soul and wasn't even considered a hybrid Otsutsuki.
(Bastard! I'm not a beast—I'm Mother's child!)
(Just wait! Once we get rid of Uchiha Sasuke, I'll make Mother chop you into pieces!)
Facing the mockery, Black Zetsu roared inwardly with his dark face. He never considered Isshiki, who had hurt his mother, an ally.
He only wanted to use the enemy to further help his mother recover and eliminate major threats.
Isshiki, who underestimated him, would pay!
"Alright, since I've helped you complete the first phase of our agreement, it's your turn to fulfill your promise."
Isshiki stared at Kaguya, pressing her.
Their cooperative agreement could roughly be divided into three phases.
Phase one: Isshiki used Eida's Senrigan to help Kaguya capture all Bijuu except Kurama, allowing Kaguya to absorb their chakra to further recover her condition.
Phase two: Kaguya helped Isshiki reclaim Kawaki as a vessel for his revival.
Phase three: They worked together to eliminate all ninjas on Earth, including Uchiha Sasuke and other resistors.
Now, Isshiki had helped Kaguya successfully capture eight Bijuu. It was time for Kaguya to uphold her end.
Isshiki's current target was only Kawaki—he just needed to reclaim this revival vessel.
What about Boruto?
The young God Tree had already consumed the Gedo Statue, passing its juvenile phase, so there was no need to capture "Otsutsuki Boruto" as a sacrifice.
Forcibly taking Kawaki from Six Paths Sasuke and Daimon was something Isshiki couldn't do alone.
But with Kaguya, the success rate would skyrocket.
No need for an all-out fight with Six Paths Sasuke and the others—Isshiki could likely abduct Kawaki with just one of Kaguya's Amenominaka, forcibly teleporting everyone, then exploiting its gravity-suppressing spatial traits.
If abduction truly failed, Isshiki had decided: at worst, he'd kill Kawaki first.
Then have Kaguya revive him!
That way, he could still obtain Kawaki as the perfect vessel!
As long as he could fully revive using Kawaki's body, no problem would remain. And this lowly Kaguya would be used by him!
"Of course, Mother and I always keep our promises."
"Where's Kawaki now?"
Black Zetsu asked slyly, still plotting how to trap Isshiki.
"Eida, check where Kawaki is now."
Isshiki asked Eida beside him, who bit her lip, seemingly unwilling to answer.
"Hmm?"
Isshiki turned, glaring sharply at Eida, who instantly shivered.
Reluctantly, Eida had to activate Senrigan again to locate Kawaki.
"Huh? This…"
Eida seemed to see something, unable to hold back a slight exclamation.
"What did you see? Where is Kawaki really?"
"He's, he's at—"
At that moment, a knock suddenly sounded at the office door.
*KNOCK!* *KNOCK!* *KNOCK!*
"Hokage-sama, urgent report: Orochimaru-sama has successfully rescued Kawaki and returned to the village!"
Hearing this, Isshiki was shocked, his anger bar instantly maxed out.
(Orochimaru?!! He dares return to the village?)
(Wait, Kawaki's back too?!!)
At that moment.
*BOOM!*
A powerful explosion and rumbling echoed from hundreds of meters away, as if a battle had erupted somewhere in Konoha.
Isshiki's heart trembled slightly, almost thinking Six Paths Sasuke was attacking.
But he didn't sense Sasuke's chakra aura at all, calming him slightly.
"Kaguya, stay here. I'll check it out myself."
Isshiki grabbed Eida, activated Daikokuten, and stored her in his static dimensional space—definitely the safest option.
Then he flew out of the Hokage building alone, heading toward the explosion.
He didn't dare leave Eida with Kaguya—she was one of his few trump cards.
Moments later, Isshiki arrived at the target location.
It was Sarada's house, now a mess, with the entire second floor destroyed by a massive explosion, thick smoke rising.
Isshiki raised his hand, blowing away the smoke, revealing the scene.
Kakashi was holding Raikiri, piercing Orochimaru's heart with one strike.
*SLASH!*
Kakashi withdrew Raikiri, and Orochimaru, covered in blood, collapsed, slowly losing breath.
Isshiki landed, seeing this bizarre scene, and immediately asked:
"What's going on?"
"Reporting to Hokage-sama, Orochimaru betrayed us! He brought Kawaki back to Konoha, and I thought he'd rescued him. But unexpectedly, he used the opportunity to sneak into Uchiha Sarada's house, trying to abduct her. I caught him, a fight broke out, and I killed him!"
Kakashi spoke with a serious face, clearly despising traitors.
"Sneaking in? Abducting Sarada? Did Sasuke send him?"
Isshiki looked confused, not expecting Sasuke to be bold enough to send Orochimaru into Konoha to rescue someone at a time like this. Did he really still care about his daughter?
As for Orochimaru, the wound and blood on his chest, along with the fading life aura, confirmed it wasn't a clone.
It was indeed Orochimaru himself.
Unexpectedly, the cunning and repulsive Orochimaru died at the hands of a Konoha ninja. Truly befitting the Sixth Hokage?
Hmm… excellent!
Kakashi was far more reliable than the rest of that trash!
"Wait… you said Kawaki's back too? Where is he?"
After feeling satisfied, Isshiki remembered—where was his most crucial vessel, Kawaki?
"He seems to have escaped. This guy held me off desperately, allowing Kawaki to take Sarada and a few others and flee…"
"What? Escaped?!!"
"Trash!"
"Where did he escape to?"
Isshiki was furious. Though killing Orochimaru felt good, Kawaki, his vessel, was clearly far more important.
"Not clear, but he shouldn't have gotten far…"
Kakashi hurriedly explained. Hearing this, Isshiki's eyes lit up.
Not far?
And that freak Uchiha Sasuke wasn't around—this was a golden opportunity to capture Kawaki!
Such a chance couldn't be missed!
Isshiki immediately activated Daikokuten again, pulling Eida out of the other dimension, then ordered:
"Quick! Show me where Kawaki is now!"
Eida was startled, not daring to resist, and obediently activated Senrigan.
But at that moment.
A hundred meters ahead, a figure suddenly leaped onto a tall building, shouting loudly at Isshiki:
"Otsutsuki Isshiki, you filthy dog, come and kill me!"
"Kawaki!"
Isshiki was enraged but inwardly thrilled, unsure why Kawaki dared appear alone.
But at this distance—too close for him—he could capture the opponent in an instant!
*WHOOSH!*
Isshiki exploded into action, flying toward the distant Kawaki.
His speed was too fast.
In less than a second, he crossed a hundred meters, reaching Kawaki on the rooftop opposite, grabbing him.
But his force was slightly too strong, and "Kawaki" couldn't withstand the impact, exploding into a puff of white mist.
Clearly, it was just a fake Kage Bunshin!
Not Kawaki's real body at all!
And just as Isshiki flew toward Kawaki…
Orochimaru's "corpse" beside Kakashi suddenly moved, its mouth opening wide, spitting out a small figure from its stomach.
Daimon, covered in disgusting slime, emerged from Orochimaru's mouth, ignoring the revulsion and immediately clinging to Kakashi's back.
Instantly, Kakashi, combined with Daimon, activated Raiton, transforming into a bolt of lightning, charging at Eida ten meters away!
All the calculations were for this moment.
Using Kakashi's record of killing Orochimaru to lower Isshiki's guard, using the bait of Kawaki's recent escape to lure Isshiki into releasing Eida, then exploiting Kawaki's appearance to draw Isshiki away from Eida, and finally relying on the hidden Daimon in Orochimaru's stomach combined with Kakashi to rescue her.
A thrilling plan to save Eida was mostly successful.
(Damn it! Tricked! It's just a clone!)
(Bastards! Their target is Eida!)
Isshiki realized he'd been fooled.
It was all a trap again!
Unprecedented rage from being played erupted in Isshiki's heart.
But he didn't care about the anger—he could only explode with full force again, flying toward Kakashi and Eida.
At the same time, a red and a green Susano'o suddenly appeared in Isshiki's flight path, blocking him.
Isshiki had no intention of fighting.
He knew the enemy's target was only Eida. Once she fell into Sasuke's hands, he'd lose all advantage.
Even with Kaguya, they might not defeat a near-omniscient Six Paths Sasuke!
He absolutely couldn't let Eida go!
*BOOM!*
*BANG!*
Isshiki activated Stage Two Kama, instantly piercing through Edo Itachi and Edo Shisui's Susano'o, continuing toward Eida.
But this brief obstruction, plus the time it took Isshiki to return, exceeded one second.
And Kakashi, bursting with full power, had already reached Eida, grabbing her.
"You're courting death!"
Isshiki arrived in an instant, reaching Eida.
But how could Kakashi face Isshiki head-on? He turned, facing away from Isshiki.
And who was on his back?
Daimon, the strongest android, clinging to him.
In his haste, Isshiki touched Daimon on Kakashi's back, and Killing Intent Reflection activated instantly!
The next second, a terrifying force equal to Isshiki's full-power attack was fully reflected, hitting Isshiki's real body.
*BANG!*
The entire building collapsed instantly from the shockwave, and Isshiki, like a cannonball, was sent flying back, crashing through several buildings and landing hundreds of meters away.
Clearly, Daimon's Shinjutsu reflection was astonishingly powerful!
Even Isshiki's absolute strength couldn't break through it, instead being repelled by his own reflected force.
"Kuchiyose no Jutsu!"
Orochimaru, lying on the ground, slapped his hands together, using Summoning Jutsu.
Instantly, a giant summoned snake appeared with a roar, swallowing Kakashi, Eida, and Daimon.
Then it exploded into a puff of white mist, disappearing from the spot.
*WHOOSH!*
A black light shot into the sky, returning to its original spot even faster than before.
But Isshiki, looking around, saw no trace of Eida or Kakashi.
Only the dying Orochimaru remained, lying on the ground, staring at Isshiki with a mocking, disdainful smile.
"Otsutsuki Isshiki, this surprise is shocking, isn't it?"
"AAAAAA!!!"
Isshiki having lost Eida, roared furiously like a madman, unleashing countless black rods, piercing Orochimaru on the ground like a porcupine, venting his rage!