Under the night sky of Konoha, Otsutsuki Isshiki completed his resurrection using Jigen as a vessel. When he revealed his true form, terrifying chakra swept in all directions!
The arriving Konoha ninja were all struck speechless with terror!
"This... this kind of chakra... hey hey, this isn't a joke!!"
Even non-sensor ninja could feel the chill penetrating their skin. Though Isshiki's chakra intensity didn't match Kaguya, the legitimate Divine Tree fruit consumer, it was far more murderous and aggressive!
Whoosh! Shikaku landed on a roof beam, his expression solemn: "Another Otsutsuki. See? Naruto's words are proven right again. That kind of being isn't unique. Our ninja world faces an unprecedented threat. Do you still have reason to think Naruto is fear-mongering?"
Isshiki, who had grown long curved horns, had his right eye transformed into a cross-shaped strange pupil, while his left eye remained the Otsutsuki's original Byakugan.
Kakashi's gaze was grave: "What's going on? My Kamui just now should have definitely killed him, but he suddenly appeared with a different face and form!"
"Fine, I'll use Kamui to kill him again..."
Kakashi partially covered his left eye, and through the gaps between his fingers, his trembling pupil focused on Isshiki's head again!
Whoosh!
The space-twisting vortex appeared at Isshiki's neck, but the next second, it vanished!!
Kakashi was horrified: "Kamui disappeared... what's happening?"
Isshiki glanced over coldly: "Don't push your luck, Hatake Kakashi. Your ability is meaningless against me!"
Shikaku pondered: "Not just objects - he can interfere with phenomena caused by jutsu too. Kamui didn't disappear, it was shrunk by him!"
Isshiki turned to look: "Nara Shikaku. Seeing through the essence at a glance through phenomena - truly worthy of the ninja world's greatest mind."
Shikaku replied: "You flatter me, Isshiki-san. Without glimpsing the future from Naruto and having prior knowledge of your abilities, I couldn't have seen through it at first glance."
Shikaku changed his tone: "However, you could clearly hide, yet you show yourself now. If you're not seeking death, then you have your own arrangements..."
"But based on my understanding of you, it's obviously the latter... You know Naruto is looking for you, and you know this calamity is hard to escape. So you're not hiding anymore. You plan to leave behind the Otsutsuki resurrection tool 'Karma' before dying, preparing for a future comeback. Truly placing yourself in mortal danger to survive."
Isshiki said with appreciation: "Oh, not recruiting you was my mistake. You're far superior to the likes of Victor, Boro, and Deepa..."
Shikaku said objectively: "Setting aside positions, that's my honor. But according to the intelligence I have, not only are there very few people who can bear Karma's power, even if they can, Karma needs a long process to thaw into a resurrection-ready state. If the vessel dies before thawing is complete, you'll be completely unable to resurrect..."
Shikaku glanced at Neji, who was controlled by Isshiki, his gaze becoming deep: "Actually, the method to break this situation is simple - kill the person you've marked with 'Karma' and completely cut off your resurrection possibility. Your organization Kara has already collapsed. After you die, no one can protect your 'vessel's' safety. So you're also taking great risks. In other words, you have no retreat left for more secure arrangements!"
Isshiki smiled: "Heh, you've already seen this far..."
Shikaku asked pointedly: "So what arrangements do you plan to make for 'Neji,' whom you've chosen as your vessel, with what little life you have left!"
But Isshiki said: "The delaying tactics end here..."
Whoosh! A black spatial portal opened beside Isshiki's palm, and he pushed Neji into it with one motion!
But Isshiki didn't follow the opened portal to leave - instead, he closed the portal and continued staying put!
Shikaku's eyes narrowed slightly.
Isshiki said perceptively: "Uchiha Obito has a pupil technique that can reverse time, with an upper limit of ten minutes. Shikaku, you're showing your sharp edge right now to distract my attention and delay my transfer of Hyuga Neji. That way, when Uchiha Obito arrives, it increases the possibility of bringing Hyuga Neji back through time reversal!"
"So for these ten minutes, I'll stand right here in Konoha. No one will get close to this place!"
Isshiki's gaze swept around.
Pop pop pop pop pop~~!
Wherever his vision passed, all buildings shrank to palm-size and floated in mid-air!
Crackle...!
Lightning's hiss covered Kakashi's palm and turned pitch black.
Whoosh!
Kakashi launched a thrust attack at Isshiki!
Isshiki said indifferently: "Raikiri? Infused with Kamui's pupil power. Unfortunately, it's still useless..."
Whoosh!
With just one look, the lightning in Kakashi's palm was directly shrunk to lose all threat!
Isshiki grabbed at Kakashi, who immediately entered intangibility, and the two passed through each other!
Isshiki turned: "The right eye's intangibility ability is troublesome, but as Hokage, you're bound to be full of responsibility, willing to protect with your life if necessary..."
Sizzle!
Isshiki's right eye locked onto 'Hyuga Hiashi' in the pool of blood!
—Daikokuten!
Whoosh! A pillar fell from the sky, directly smashing toward Hiashi!!
"!" Kakashi's pupils contracted sharply. The next second, he unhesitatingly rushed toward Hiashi and knocked him to the ground!
"Ughhh...!!!"
Kakashi's legs were crushed, and the intense pain made his Sharingan disappear!
Isshiki withdrew his gaze, not bothering with him.
Shikaku said grimly: "That's Isshiki's other pupil technique, Daikokuten. It stores objects he's shrunk in a time-frozen space and deploys them at will!!"
Boom...!
Just then, a white air-current tiger roared forward!
Isshiki's gaze focused slightly: "Edo Tensei, Might Guy, Seventh Gate, Daytime Tiger..."
Whoosh! He just glanced at it, and the Daytime Tiger shrank to negligible size. With a flick of his finger, it dispersed!
More and more Konoha forces arrived!
Isshiki's thoughts flowed: "Well, rather than waiting, there seems to be a better method..."
—Daikokuten!
Whoosh!
Countless black rods appeared in the sky, raining down like a sudden downpour!
"Ugaaahhh...!!" All who approached were mercilessly slaughtered!!
Whoosh!
A spatial portal opened beside him.
"Nara Shikaku, just as you said, I'm already cornered, forced to bear many risks. I'm gambling - gambling on what you ninja call 'conviction,' the conviction to never abandon comrades. Time reversal also requires time costs. These people I killed will probably take ten minutes to revive. Hyuga Neji is with me - at least he won't die. Will you prioritize reviving the dead, or prioritize transferring Hyuga Neji back? Nara Shikaku, tell Uzumaki Naruto these words exactly as I said them!"
With that, Isshiki retreated into the spatial portal!
Whoosh!
Dozens of seconds later, through swirling vortexes, Naruto and Obito arrived at the scene. The carnage before their eyes was shocking.
Shikaku truthfully explained the situation and said: "Naruto, to completely cut off Isshiki's retreat, strategically we should prioritize reversing Neji's time, but you won't do that, will you..."
Naruto said without question: "Need you ask? Of course we prioritize reversing the dead's time..."
Obito passed by each corpse in turn, reversing their time.
Finally, he came to Kakashi's side: "Pretty pathetic."
Kakashi: "Can my legs be saved?"
Obito: "Barely. Ten seconds later and there'd be no way..."
Whoosh! With reversed time, Kakashi's legs were restored.
Naruto came to his father-in-law Hyuga Hiashi's side, pulled out the spikes embedded in his eyes, and covered them with his right hand bearing the Six Paths Yang power seal.
Shortly after, Hiashi's eyes were restored. He said weakly: "Naruto, I'm sorry to trouble you about Neji."
Naruto said: "Leave it to me, father-in-law."
This move by Isshiki was indeed beyond everyone's expectations, including Naruto's.
This couldn't be helped - after all, no one knew that Neji, who died back then, was actually chosen by Isshiki!
Shikaku said: "I'm afraid Neji has already been marked with Karma by Isshiki..."
But Naruto said: "Probably, but this might not be a bad thing."
Shikaku's expression shifted: "Could it be..."
Naruto said: "In the era I lived in, Karma's secrets were completely unlocked by Amado. He could purify the 'Black Karma' used by Otsutsuki for soul reincarnation into 'White Karma' that purely carries power."
Shikaku said: "I see. If that's the case, Neji will gain Isshiki's power without having his personality taken by Isshiki..."
Naruto said: "Exactly. The current Amado can't do it yet, but we can wait..."
Whoosh! As he spoke, Naruto opened the black Truth-Seeking Ball covering his shoulder slightly, exposing skin. He forcefully stabbed the spike pulled from Hiashi's eye into his shoulder!
Through reverse chakra tracking, Naruto... locked onto the space where Isshiki was located!
He pulled out the black rod, completely crushed it, and the Truth-Seeking Ball flowed again, covering all his skin!
—"Let's go... I can't wait even one second to finish off Isshiki!"
Obito asked: "Do you need me and Madara to face him together?"
Naruto said: "No need. You all just wait for me at 'that place'!"
...
Isshiki's alternate dimension.
He had already placed 'Karma' on Neji's right hand and erased the 'Caged Bird' mark from Neji's forehead.
Clang!
A black bowl-shaped sealing device fell from the sky, suppressing Neji within it.
Whoosh!
Yomotsu Hirasaka opened, and powerful chakra that emerged unexpectedly descended upon this space!
Isshiki, with his back to the newcomer, said: "This is a race. The winner will regain the favor of the god of life, but the loser will be doomed forever, with even their soul ceasing to exist. Actually, I've always been curious why 'Karasuki,' which can travel through time, was made into a turtle?"
Isshiki slowly turned around to face his life's nightmare.
"I think I understand now. Those who come from behind will stand out alone. This is probably the ultimate future foreseen by the 'Great Toad Sage' of Takamagahara who created Karasuki. Am I right? Star of prophecy, Uzumaki Naruto!"
~~~~❃❃~~~~~~~~❃❃~~~~
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