Seeing Indra's Arrow bypass Isshiki and Kaguya, heading straight for the moon, everyone was stunned.
Ōtsutsuki Isshiki: Σ (ﾟДﾟ;)!!!
Ōtsutsuki Kaguya: (O_O)?!!!
"Not good—the target is the moon!"
Isshiki realized too late, but it was already futile.
Indra's Arrow, bursting at full speed, could travel hundreds of thousands of meters per second, crossing thousands of kilometers in less than ten seconds.
This extreme speed was beyond even Isshiki's reach, leaving him no chance to intercept.
As for opening a space portal to block it?
Pure fantasy!
Opening a portal precisely from thousands of kilometers away to redirect Indra's Arrow?
That was like expecting Uchiha Obito to sit in Amegakure and use Kamui to twist the heads of the other five Kage, killing them instantly.
Though theoretically possible, Isshiki clearly couldn't do it.
Unless he had Dual Mangekyo Sharingan + Senrigan + the Ten-Tails as a power bank—then maybe…
What about Kaguya?
After the arrow passed her, she was still in a state of shock and confusion.
Only when Black Zetsu, inside her sleeve, shouted in frustration did she snap out of it.
"Ahhh! That guy wants to destroy the moon!"
"Why is that naturally wicked Uchiha so evil?"
"Mother, stop him quick!"
Kaguya, puzzled: "How do I stop him?"
Black Zetsu froze: "Uh—"
*SWOOSH!*
Indra's Arrow, carrying destructive power, finally struck the moon precisely.
The arrow pierced into the moon, seemingly vanishing without a trace, but moments later, the true destruction erupted from the silence.
To the naked eye, the entire massive moon was like a glass ball—cracks spread like lightning, then the celestial body shattered and disintegrated in despair, as if in slow motion. Ancient craters and deep, dark lunar seas crumbled into pieces instantly.
Countless fragments, enveloped in blinding light and fire, suddenly scattered in all directions, like a silent yet dazzling fireworks festival in the universe.
The moon exploded!
As Sasuke had calculated, Indra's Arrow, infused with six Gudōdama and all his remaining Six Paths chakra, was far stronger than the Ten-Tails' giant Bijuudama and even more terrifying than Toneri's former Golden Wheel Reincarnation Explosion.
As long as it hit the moon's core precisely, blowing up the entire moon was no issue.
Moreover, the moon's interior had already been hollowed out by Toneri's family, and with the loss of the Six Paths seal, it was no longer as sturdy as before.
Sasuke was always highly rational.
Early in the battle, he knew defeating both Isshiki and Kaguya simultaneously was nearly impossible.
He deliberately charged Indra's Arrow for a long time to intimidate Isshiki, attempting to target Kaguya.
But upon realizing Isshiki was willing to fight to the death to block him, Sasuke immediately changed his target to the entire moon.
With Isshiki blocking, he might not be able to harm Kaguya with one arrow.
If he couldn't kill Kaguya in a single strike, even interrupting her Banshō Ten'in would only delay the moon's fall.
Once Kaguya recovered slightly, she could reactivate her Dōjutsu, controlling the moon to continue crashing into Earth.
Only by directly blowing up the entire moon could the problem be resolved once and for all!
Besides, if he didn't choose to destroy the moon and instead kept attacking Kaguya or Isshiki, whoever was severely injured would only benefit the other.
Sasuke wasn't that foolish or that kind.
◆━⊰✧⊱━◆
Seeing the entire moon explode into fragments and fireworks, Isshiki finally accepted reality, his face turning deathly pale with rage.
"Uchiha Sasuke! Damn &…&%…￥%…"
Isshiki cursed, relieved Sasuke hadn't targeted him but furious that the enemy had blown up the moon.
(This cursed, cunning ninja really uses every trick!)
(Why is he so infuriating!)
(Can't he just die quietly? Let me destroy the entire ninja world?)
Isshiki glared at Sasuke with hatred, preparing to join Kaguya and seize the chance to kill Sasuke!
But he suddenly realized Sasuke's figure was no longer in the distance.
Only a slowly closing space portal remained…
Clearly, Sasuke had fled immediately!
Upon seeing Indra's Arrow hit the moon, Sasuke opened a portal and retreated without hesitation.
Having exhausted all his Six Paths power, he was back in his "weak kidney" state, his strength reduced to quasi-Six Paths level, no match for Isshiki and Kaguya.
Facing this situation, Sasuke naturally wouldn't stay.
The moon's threat was temporarily resolved, and retreating to join Daimon and Boruto was the safest choice.
◆━⊰✧⊱━◆
Kaguya also stopped Six Paths: Banshō Ten'in, no longer controlling the moon's meteor fragments.
Black Zetsu wasn't foolish. The moon's core had been blown up by Sasuke. The remaining countless meteor fragments, if still controlled, could still fall to Earth.
But most fragments would likely burn up in the atmosphere.
The few larger meteors that reached Earth, while capable of causing significant damage and destroying many nations and lives, couldn't obliterate the entire ninja world's ecosystem or kill everyone…
Continuing was pointless and would only waste chakra.
He could only tell his mother to stop her Dōjutsu.
"Black Zetsu, you beast, this is all because you deliberately stalled, letting Sasuke succeed!"
Isshiki, furious, pointed at Black Zetsu, accusing him angrily.
Black Zetsu was also mad: "Nonsense, it's clearly you who couldn't stop Sasuke!"
His beautiful "kill two birds with one stone" plan had collapsed like this, and he was equally frustrated.
"You're courting death!"
Isshiki's killing intent flared, truly wanting to kill Black Zetsu.
Black Zetsu retreated into Kaguya's sleeve but still arrogantly said:
"What, you want to break our cooperation agreement?"
"You…"
Isshiki choked. Though furious, Sasuke was still alive, and the ninja world wasn't destroyed.
Did he dare turn against Kaguya?
If he fought her to the death now, win or lose, it would only benefit Sasuke and the others.
"If you don't dare turn against us, shut your mouth. Who do you think you are?"
"Without you, Mother can still survive. Without Mother, you can't even handle one Uchiha Sasuke!"
After several interactions and tests, Black Zetsu had seen Isshiki's cowardly nature, so he increasingly disdained him and stopped pretending to be nice.
"Black Zetsu!!!"
Isshiki roared wildly, but as Black Zetsu predicted, he didn't dare act against them.
"Mother, let's return to Konoha first."
"Seize this chance to absorb all the chakra of Konoha's ninjas!"
Black Zetsu ignored Isshiki, proposing to Kaguya instead.
Kaguya was very obedient. Hearing she could absorb chakra to recover, she opened a Yomotsu Hirasaka portal without much talk, heading straight to Konoha on Earth.
Seeing this, Isshiki panicked, suppressing his anger and hurriedly stopping her.
"Wait, you can't act alone. What if Uchiha Sasuke attacks again…"
"Fool, the goal is to force Sasuke to show up! Don't give him time to recover. Either he hides and flees, and everyone in Konoha becomes Mother's chakra food, or he returns to save them, and we can eliminate him directly!"
With the Earth-Moon collision plan ruined, Black Zetsu quickly shifted strategies, plotting against Sasuke again.
"No way! That guy doesn't care about others' lives."
"Not necessarily—you don't know the Uchiha at all!"
Black Zetsu showed disdain.
In the entire ninja world, aside from Senju Tobirama, Black Zetsu arguably knew the Uchiha Clan best.
Having infiltrated the Uchiha Clan for thousands of years, he was practically an alternate Uchiha ancestor.
Moreover, Black Zetsu had watched Sasuke and Naruto grow up, fully aware of the Uchiha's "cold outside, warm inside" nature.
Initially, he thought Sasuke had changed over the past ten years, becoming ruthless, fearless of hostage threats, even killing his wife, Sakura.
But learning Sasuke had secretly sent people to Konoha to save others, Black Zetsu was certain Sasuke hadn't lost his humanity.
Poor Isshiki was likely just being played by Sasuke.
So now, by threatening all of Konoha, Sasuke would likely walk right into their trap!
◆━⊰✧⊱━◆
Kaguya took Black Zetsu through the portal, instantly returning to Earth.
Isshiki gritted his teeth in anger but didn't dare hesitate, hurriedly following.
He didn't dare be alone now. If Sasuke brought Daimon, aided by Eida's Senrigan, to ambush him, he'd be no match!
Though Black Zetsu and Kaguya were infuriating, as long as the two Ōtsutsuki stayed together, they'd be safer.
◆━⊰✧⊱━◆
Meanwhile, on Earth.
In the Land of Fire, about fifty kilometers outside Konoha.
Three figures were hiding and resting there: Kawaki, Sarada, and Sumire.
Since Orochimaru and Kakashi began their plan to rescue Eida, the three had already retreated from Konoha.
Both Kawaki and Sarada, if captured, would be disastrous, so they couldn't stay and take risks.
Of course, to lure Isshiki, Kawaki left a shadow clone as bait.
The real trio had already escaped Konoha and hidden there.
"Sarada, are the Sixth Hokage and Orochimaru okay?"
"Class rep, trust the Sixth Hokage and the others—they'll be fine!"
"Kawaki, it's been almost ten minutes. How much longer do we wait?"
"Wait five more minutes. If they don't come, it means the plan might have failed. We keep retreating…"
Kawaki's heart was slightly anxious. Without Sasuke, the others were no match for Isshiki.
Though the plan seemed feasible, he wasn't one hundred percent sure they could save Eida.
Especially since his clone was blown up by Isshiki first, he didn't know the final outcome for Orochimaru's side.
*WHOOSH!*
Suddenly, a figure approached their hiding spot rapidly.
"Uncle Itachi!"
Sarada first spotted Edo Itachi, who had indeed come to their agreed meeting point.
"Good, you're all safe."
Edo Itachi landed on a tree branch, relieved to see Sarada and the others unharmed.
"How did it go? Did it work?"
"It worked!"
"Really saved Eida?"
"Yes, give me the scroll."
Sarada hurriedly handed the summoning scroll to Edo Itachi. The scroll bore the pre-prepared Ryūchi Cave summoning contract and a small vial of Orochimaru's blood.
Edo Itachi opened the scroll, applied the blood, and instantly activated Kuchiyose no Jutsu.
*POFF!*
White mist exploded, and a gray snake appeared on the ground.
The large snake opened its mouth, spitting out Kakashi and two others.
"Sixth Hokage, are you okay?"
"I'm fine. How about you all?"
"We're all fine."
"Great, the plan really worked. We all retreated safely. Orochimaru and Itachi, you two are still so cunning!"
Kakashi marveled, not expecting they could actually save Eida under Isshiki's watch.
And without Sasuke's strength, it was truly astonishing.
But perhaps because Sasuke wasn't there, Isshiki underestimated ordinary ninjas like them? If Sasuke had appeared, Isshiki might never have released Eida from his dimensional space, giving them no chance to rescue her.
"Big sister, I missed you so much!"
Daimon hugged Eida, sobbing, clearly overwhelmed by the recent mental strain from dealing with oddballs like Sasuke and Orochimaru.
Fortunately, they didn't lie and truly saved Eida.
"Good little brother, Daimon, thank you for saving me."
"And all of you, thank you so much!"
Eida comforted Daimon while thanking Kakashi and the others.
They were the ones who saved her from Isshiki's grasp, a kindness worth gratitude.
If she stayed with Isshiki, Eida felt she'd surely die…
"We'll talk about thanks later. Right now, I need you to activate your ability again, help us confirm the situation in Konoha and Isshiki's location, so we can decide our next move."
Edo Itachi was straightforward, directly requesting Eida.
"Alright, I'll look now."
Eida didn't refuse, immediately activating Senrigan to check Konoha and Isshiki's status.
This was also crucial for her own sake.
"I see—the one you call Orochimaru is dead."
"As for Isshiki…"
"Not good, he seems to be fighting Uchiha Sasuke!"
Eida's information left Itachi and the others puzzled. Weren't Sasuke and Boruto supposed to be at the Lightning Country border, destroying Iwagakure's forces?
Why were they suddenly fighting Isshiki?
Wasn't Isshiki just in Konoha?
"Dad's fighting again?"
"Where are Sasuke and the others fighting? What's actually happening?"
Eida continued: "They seem to be fighting in outer space!"
"Huh?"
"Ōtsutsuki Kaguya is trying to use the moon to destroy the entire ninja world. Uchiha Sasuke is stopping them!"
Hearing this, Kakashi, the only one who'd experienced the meteor fall incident, couldn't help but shudder, his heart trembling.
"The moon? They're using the moon again to destroy the world? Damn, why did I say 'again'?"
Edo Itachi continued: "Outer space—do we have a way to get there? Or help Sasuke?"
"No, you can't intervene in a battle like that. Daimon might qualify, but without a portal, he can't reach the battlefield quickly. It's thousands of kilometers away in space…"
Eida answered honestly. She certainly didn't want Earth destroyed.
Otherwise, where would she and her brother live?
They couldn't return to Isshiki and go back to the main Ōtsutsuki clan with him, right?
Without the ninja world and its threats, Isshiki would likely kill them both in no time…
But while Eida could see everything, she was powerless to stop it. Besides Sasuke, none of them had space-time abilities.
"Wait, what about Boruto?"
"His Kama can open portals!"
Kawaki remembered his best friend Boruto, knowing he had the ability to open space portals.
"Boruto? He's… he's in Konoha too…"
"Why's he in the village? No, I have to get him out!"
Kawaki's heart grew anxious, increasingly worried about Boruto. They'd all just escaped Konoha, and Boruto, marked as an Ōtsutsuki, was stuck in the village—too dangerous!
"You can't go back. If Isshiki catches you, it'll be trouble. Trust Boruto—he's not as fragile as you think!"
Edo Itachi held Kawaki back to prevent him from doing something foolish.
"But…"
Kawaki still wanted to argue, but a brilliant aurora suddenly lit up the distant horizon, illuminating the entire ninja world.
It was the light of the moon, shattered by Indra's Arrow, briefly outshining even the sun!