Naruto hurriedly tore open his shirt, only to discover that the wedge embedded deep in his chest, piercing his heart, couldn't be removed no matter what method he tried.
However, this thing had its upside. He could clearly feel a powerful force subtly and continuously merging into his body.
Sasuke rushed over as well. Even using his Rinnegan, he couldn't shake the black mark.
Still, his instincts warned him—if this thing remained for too long, it wouldn't end well.
At that moment, they saw Momoshiki swallow a pill in a single gulp—the pill contained Isshiki's power.
The strength refined through Daikokuten's alchemy fully merged into Momoshiki's body without resistance.
It surged rapidly.
In a short time, Momoshiki would absorb power that exceeded his original limit, entering a state of overwhelming strength.
Once the excess power was spent, Isshiki's divine technique would permanently integrate into Momoshiki's own power, resulting in a lasting enhancement.
In other words, Momoshiki now urgently needed a punching bag to vent that thunderous energy.
In that case, these two before him—among the few who were barely worth noticing on this primitive and backward planet—would do just fine for sport.
Naruto and Sasuke became Momoshiki's primary targets.
Now, Momoshiki had inherited the refined taijutsu abilities that Isshiki had cultivated over a long period. He had successfully filled in the gaps in his combat experience as one of the new-generation geniuses of the Ōtsutsuki Clan.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Several heavy thuds rang out. Naruto and Sasuke's chakra cloaks were shattered, and they suffered injuries far more terrifying than those inflicted during their fight with Kinshiki.
Even Naruto's renowned healing ability couldn't quickly recover from internal injuries of this magnitude. What's worse, his chakra flow—his very lifeline—was thrown into chaos by the attacks.
Looking closely, one could see numerous black chakra rods, thinned down to needle size, embedded all over his body.
These rods were the source of the disruption to his strength.
This technique originally came from Isshiki via the ability of Sukunahikona—but Momoshiki was no Isshiki. He was at full power now and could use this many chakra rods freely.
Sasuke managed to hold out for a while using Amenotejikara, but his body was too fragile. After his Susanoo was shattered with a single blow, he didn't even have time to teleport.
Before he could react, Momoshiki used his Rinnegan to freeze time and halt Sasuke's movements, then viciously kicked him away.
Sasuke crashed to the ground, seriously injured and bleeding heavily. His bodily functions were suspended by Momoshiki's time-freezing technique.
Though this temporal suspension wasn't as powerful as Urashiki's version, which relied on tools, it was far more flexible. Now, Naruto and Sasuke were walking a razor's edge with every passing second.
Was the Shinobi World truly about to fall?
Was it destined to become a colonized world under the rule of the Ōtsutsuki Clan? This question surfaced simultaneously in the minds of countless high-ranking—and former high-ranking—shinobi present.
...
At that critical moment, Neji, encased in the protection of the Slug, stirred once more.
With the help of the Breathing Art of the Sage Path and the ceaseless effort of the Slug Sage's clone to harmonize him with the forces of heaven and earth, Neji finally broke free from the time-freeze Urashiki had cast.
With each deep breath, the ice encasing his body melted rapidly. Torrents of natural energy blended with his chakra, surging into his body. Even a portion of the time-related power had become a permanent part of him.
Clang!
A metallic clatter rang out—the sound of chains snapping—as Neji opened his eyes.
In that instant, drawing upon all his previous training, he broke through the time-freeze and shattered the fourth seal in one go!
For ordinary people, breaking through all nine seals would be the limit. Neji had already come close to halfway.
Divine Void Strike!
Fist after fist flew at Momoshiki, forcing him into a retreat under the relentless barrage.
The black rods and Truth-Seeking Orbs Momoshiki had thrown out—even after being shrunken by Sukunahikona—were seen through and obliterated by Neji's precise strikes.
Each shattered rod dissolved into energy and returned to the Shinobi World.
A subsequent flurry of sword strikes forced Momoshiki to scramble in desperation.
He hastily created constructs using Earth Release and Fire Release chakra, but to the current Neji, these were laughably weak.
Any construct struck by his sword or fists was instantly dissolved, returning to the planet as raw energy.
"Aaagh!"
Fist and blade rained down on Momoshiki. He could only rely on the Truth-Seeking Orbs for defense, doing his best to minimize the damage.
But even so, the supposedly indestructible orbs couldn't withstand the endless assault—they shattered into fragments and scattered across the ground.
Momoshiki's once-pristine, flawless body was now covered in deep, bone-revealing sword wounds and gruesome fist marks.
From childhood, even among the Ōtsutsuki, he had always been treated as a genius—meticulously trained, never once tasting defeat.
Yet now, not a single patch of his body remained intact.
This was humiliation—a colossal disgrace!
The proud elite of a superior planet, the brightest star of a mighty cosmic race, was being pummeled by a savage native of this wasteland planet.
He had no chance to fight back!
Without a doubt, the longer this fight went on, the more the balance tipped in Neji's favor—and in the favor of the Shinobi World.
No matter how strong Momoshiki was, no matter how much chakra or how much of Isshiki's power he had absorbed, it all had an upper limit.
But Neji didn't.
Or rather, his limit was the combined total of everything the Shinobi World had to offer. As long as he didn't expend it all in one go, his power was effectively endless.
...
However, just when the tide was about to turn completely—
Neji suddenly flickered, soaring high into the sky, as if evading something.
Down below, Momoshiki, who had been on the defensive, was rapidly healing. The red Rinnegan in his palms now radiated with blinding energy.
Takamimusubinokami!
So that was it—his earlier defensive posture had been a ploy to absorb the overflow of energy from Neji's attacks. The injuries he sustained were merely part of an act.
Time Freeze!
An invisible pulse burst outward from Momoshiki, with him at the center, rapidly spreading in all directions.
But just as it was about to reach Neji, the freezing force abruptly dissipated—Momoshiki had hit the ceiling of his current power.
Just like when Neji broke the third seal and gained the heaven-defying ability to reshape his body with pure energy—
Each time he shattered a seal, he moved closer to fully integrating with the Shinobi World.
Now, having broken the fourth seal, he had miraculously sensed the lingering traces of time-freeze energy within his own body...
And at the critical moment, he used it to briefly glimpse into the future.
That moment of foresight allowed him to preemptively avoid Momoshiki's attack, causing it to miss completely.
Though the time freeze failed—
The Takamimusubinokami in Momoshiki's hands had absorbed and condensed all of Neji's previous attacks...
Now forming a singular chakra sphere.
And the power it contained...
Was double the total of everything Neji had thrown at him before!
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