Kaguya Ōtsutsuki matched Richard's memories perfectly, from her appearance to her attire. Her skin was pale, her blue-white hair longer than her height, and she wore a white robe adorned with black magatama patterns.
Her delicate face was beautiful yet alien, with two sharp horns protruding from her head, a red Rinne Sharingan with nine tomoe on her forehead, and eyes as colorless as those of the Hyūga clan. Despite these unusual features, Kaguya remained strikingly beautiful. If there was any flaw, it was her cold expression, which conveyed an arrogance that dismissed all life as beneath her.
After successfully resurrecting through Obito's body, Kaguya immediately looked up at Richard, who hovered in the air above her. Though she didn't recognize him, she instantly sensed the extraordinary chakra he possessed.
Without hesitation, she examined him with her Byakugan. Her brow furrowed immediately.
Though Richard wasn't actively using any of his kekkei genkai, Kaguya easily detected those he possessed: Rinnegan.
Upon discovering that Richard simultaneously possessed Otsutsuki kekkei genkai, Kaguya's first reaction was to doubt her senses. But her uncertainty vanished when Richard activated the Rinnegan before her—specifically, a silver Rinnegan she had never seen before.
Seeing Richard activate dōjutsu simultaneously, Kaguya slowly ascended to match his height. They faced each other, hovering approximately one hundred meters apart.
After more than ten seconds of silence, Kaguya spoke. "How can you possess the eye of Otsutsuki? How did you accomplish this?"
Though newly resurrected, Black Zetsu had already transferred all information about Richard to her.
"Care to guess?" Richard replied casually.
Hearing his response, Kaguya's face immediately darkened with anger. In her view, by deigning to ask why he possessed Otsutsuki powers, she had already bestowed a great honor upon Richard. After all, he was merely a mortal. Yet this "human" showed her no deference whatsoever.
Kaguya fixed Richard with a murderous glare. Then, she struck first.
"Rabbit Hair Needle!"
Kaguya's blue-white hair, longer than her height, suddenly spread like a peacock's tail. Thousands of hair strands shot toward Richard at tremendous speed, each sharp as a sword.
Though seemingly a simple large-scale attack, the Rabbit Hair Needle was far more sophisticated. Combined with the Byakugan's perspective and insight—capable of perceiving an enemy's meridians and vital points—the technique would inevitably strike the opponent's weaknesses, blocking movement or completely restricting chakra use. Despite being classified as a physical technique, the Rabbit Hair Needle represented a powerful ability exclusive to those possessing the Byakugan.
Seeing Kaguya's attack, Richard immediately channeled his magical energy, instantly creating a blue-white spherical barrier completely composed of magic.
Kaguya's projectile hair struck the barrier in waves. Though the Rabbit Hair Needle's power was considerable, Richard's spherical barrier proved equally formidable. Moreover, because he used magic rather than chakra, Kaguya's Byakugan couldn't detect its flow—meaning she couldn't identify any weakness in the barrier.
Observing Richard effortlessly block her Rabbit Hair Needle with an unfamiliar energy that created a 360-degree barrier without blind spots, Kaguya's expression grew intensely serious.
She had initially assumed Richard had merely found some special method to harness Otsutsuki power. Now she realized her assessment had been overly simplistic.
Though unfamiliar with Richard's magic, Kaguya recognized one certainty: this energy rivaled or even surpassed both chakra and sage chakra. This realization prompted an immediate suspicion: Could he also be from another world?
Such a conjecture was natural for Kaguya, given that the Ōtsutsuki clan were extraterrestrial beings. Long ago, the Ōtsutsuki had realized they weren't the universe's only intelligent life. After developing space travel capabilities, they began consuming other planets, promoting their own continuous evolution until becoming "gods"—the embodiment of the so-called "Ōtsutsuki Will."
Throughout their history, the Ōtsutsuki had conquered countless planets, planting Divine Trees that absorbed the "chakra" of all planetary life, producing massive chakra fruit. Because these fruits contained both the enormous energy and genetic information of all life on a planet, consuming them allowed the Ōtsutsuki to evolve continuously, eventually transcending life and death to control everything.
If Kaguya had maintained absolute confidence before witnessing Richard's magic, that certainty now wavered after watching him effortlessly repel her Rabbit Hair Needle with a simple barrier.
Unlike others in this world, Kaguya was an extraterrestrial. Precisely because of this, she understood the difficulty involved in reaching other planets. Had Richard merely used chakra, regardless of how many kekkei genkai he possessed, Kaguya wouldn't have been concerned—her own kekkei tōta surpassed even kekkei genkai. Now, however, she couldn't be certain her abilities would counter his.
Unlike Kaguya, whose expression had grown increasingly grave, Richard remained perfectly calm. For others in the shinobi world, Kaguya represented the ultimate adversary. For him, however, she was merely another opponent capable of engaging him directly.
Kaguya studied Richard vigilantly, contemplating her next move.
When Black Zetsu had transferred information about Richard to her—something akin to memory transmission—Kaguya learned that Richard rarely relied on ninjutsu in combat. Over recent years, though Richard had faced various villages' kage and jinchūriki, he seldom employed many techniques. More often, he defeated opponents using physical attributes far exceeding normal human capacity and magic completely distinct from chakra. Even when using ninjutsu, he limited himself to a few techniques like Chidori, Rasengan, and Flying Thunder God.
After brief consideration, Kaguya launched another attack, performing a physical technique exclusive to Byakugan wielders.
"Eighty Gods Vacuum Attack!"
Under Richard's watchful gaze, Kaguya concentrated extraordinary chakra in her hands. Then, she punched toward him through the air.
As Kaguya struck, massive fists formed from chakra surged toward Richard at incredible speed. Though categorized as a physical technique like Rabbit Hair Needle, the Eighty Gods Vacuum Attack represented the pinnacle of taijutsu in the shinobi world. These enormous chakra fists served both offensive and defensive purposes—provided one possessed the Byakugan.
Shaking heaven with immortal methods, both attack and defense in one devastating fist! This perfectly described the Eighty Gods Vacuum Attack.
Within moments, the "fist storm" generated by Kaguya's technique reached Richard. As these massive chakra constructs approached, Richard chose not to maintain his magical barrier but deliberately dismissed it.
The instant the barrier dissipated, Richard raised his right hand and swung the Masamune. Though aware of the Eighty Gods Vacuum Attack's formidable power, he remained confident in his ability to counter it. No matter how potent a physical technique might be, it could only inflict damage upon striking its target. If it failed to connect, it posed no threat.
Just as Kaguya's attack was about to reach him, crescent-shaped energy blades erupted from the Masamune in rapid succession. Richard performed no special technique—he simply infused the Masamune's blade with magical energy, transforming it into energy slashes. Though fundamentally simple, these energy projections proved sufficient against Kaguya's assault.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Continuous explosions echoed throughout the valley as the crescent energy slashes collided with the chakra fists. Both attacks dissipated simultaneously, their dispersed energies—magic and chakra—scattering in all directions.
Kaguya had anticipated Richard would devise some method to counter her Eighty Gods Vacuum Attack, but she hadn't expected this particular approach. More surprising was that Richard's energy slashes precisely matched her attack—not only in number but in trajectory as well. For every chakra fist she launched, Richard had countered with a perfectly aimed energy slash.
As her Eighty Gods Vacuum Attack dispersed against Richard's defenses, Kaguya realized that long-range physical techniques would prove ineffective against him. Recognizing this limitation, she decisively altered her strategy.
Though close-quarters combat wasn't her preference, circumstances no longer permitted such considerations. Without hesitation, Kaguya flew toward Richard at tremendous speed. Simultaneously, two ash-gray, sharp protrusions grew from her palms.
Observing these gray formations, Richard recognized that Kaguya intended to engage him in close combat using All-Killing Ash Bones. Like her previous techniques—Rabbit Hair Needle and Eighty Gods Vacuum Attack—All-Killing Ash Bones represented another kekkei mōra.
In principle, All-Killing Ash Bones closely resembled the Kaguya clan's Shikotsumyaku (Dead Bone Pulse). In essence, Shikotsumyaku was merely a weakened version of All-Killing Ash Bones. While Shikotsumyaku allowed users to manipulate their skeletal structure for attack and defense, All-Killing Ash Bones proved far more devastating.
Contact with All-Killing Ash Bones caused victims' bodies to rapidly disintegrate from the wound site until completely reduced to ash. Even Yin-Yang Release healing techniques couldn't reverse this inevitable death. Beyond close-range application, these bones could also be launched as projectiles—though hitting distant targets proved challenging.
In an instant, Kaguya appeared before Richard, attacking as though wielding twin bone swords.
Strictly speaking, Kaguya's "swordsmanship" wasn't lacking. Compared to Richard, however, the gap was evident.
CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!
No matter how Kaguya swung her ash bone weapons, she couldn't land a hit on Richard. Moreover, the bone protrusions extending from her palms were repeatedly severed by his Masamune.
Compared to All-Killing Ash Bones, the Masamune vastly surpassed them in both durability and sharpness.
"You wish to defeat me in close combat? Aren't you underestimating me to much?" Richard remarked with casual ease while parrying Kaguya's attacks.
From Kaguya's resurrection until now, Richard had not initiated any offensive against her, merely countering her every attack. From a tactical perspective, his current combat approach seemed "passive." Yet regarding the outcome, whether he actively attacked Kaguya or maintained defensive posturing, the battle's result remained unchanged.
Rabbit Hair Needle, Eighty Gods Vacuum Attack, All-Killing Ash Bones—three in succession!
Though their confrontation had been brief, Kaguya had already employed three techniques requiring the Byakugan. If Richard recalled correctly, Kaguya still possessed Truth-Seeking Balls, Amenominaka, God: Nativity of a World of Trees, Infinite Tsukuyomi, Yomotsu Hirasaka, and her ability to merge with nature.
Among these remaining six techniques, Infinite Tsukuyomi and its complementary God: Nativity of a World of Trees posed no threat to him whatsoever. As for Truth-Seeking Balls, Amenominaka, Yomotsu Hirasaka, and nature merging—none could seriously endanger him.
The reason Richard hadn't actively attacked Kaguya was his desire to witness each of these techniques firsthand. Additionally, he held particular interest in the dimensional spaces accessible through Amenominaka.
Including the first dimension, Amenominaka encompassed six distinct spaces, each containing Kaguya's statues and castles. The remaining five dimensions featured environments of lava, ice and snow, intense gravity, sand, and acid. Though Amenominaka itself possessed no offensive capability—merely relocating individuals between dimensions—it remained an exceptionally useful dōjutsu.