With his strength restored, Momoshiki leapt into the air, conjuring a deep crimson spiral with his bare hands and hurling it straight at the armored Susanoo below.
The earlier humiliating defeat, along with repeated setbacks, had completely enraged this young prodigy of the Ōtsutsuki clan.
Prideful and furious, he now intended to annihilate the trio who had shamed him with a single, decisive blow.
The crimson energy vortex surged forward at high speed, and Momoshiki himself became wrapped within it, spinning fiercely along with its core!
He aimed to crush the head of Susanoo directly—obliterating the three insects that had caused him disgrace in one devastating attack.
Susanoo raised its blade and clashed against the crimson spiral.
Clang!
The massive blade couldn't withstand the force—it was sucked into the vortex and began spinning wildly.
Below, the armored Susanoo poured all its strength into the clash. Two opposing forces twisted the energy longsword until it snapped.
Half of the blade shattered into fragments, swept up into the deep crimson spiral, feeding its growth and making the energy within even more terrifying.
Neji sprang from Susanoo, fists flying, releasing a flurry of energy-infused punches at incredible speed.
But half of the punches were torn apart and devoured by the crimson spiral, while the rest were deflected away like dust.
Only now did the energy spiral, having consumed so much, fully take shape.
Such overwhelming power—who in the Shinobi World could possibly withstand it?
"We're ready!"
Hearing the shout from below, Neji quickly darted to the side, revealing the armored Susanoo beneath.
At that very moment—
Naruto and Sasuke had completed the preparations for their most powerful techniques, ready to clash head-on with the now fully-formed crimson spiral.
The armored Susanoo drew its bow with both hands, nocking a lightning-forged energy arrow. The arrow itself was wreathed in black flames!
Behind Susanoo, nine additional arms formed from the Nine-Tails' chakra stretched out. Each one held a massive, deep blue, spinning Super Giant Rasengan.
And in the Nine-Tails' mouth, it was charging a purple-black Tailed Beast Bomb—far larger than any Rasengan.
Before Neji had jumped out earlier, he had poured chakra and Nature Energy—far beyond their physical limits—into the Nine-Tails and Susanoo.
Now, that energy had been transformed into a united strike aimed directly at Momoshiki.
BOOM!
Indra's Arrow pierced through the Tailed Beast Bomb, the two projectiles flying at full speed in unison.
Immediately after, the nine tails each launched their Super Giant Rasengan in rapid succession.
BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM—!
Everything crashed into the deep crimson spiral.
Even people thousands of kilometers away felt the shockwaves of the clash—buildings trembled, the earth quaked.
And that was with the battle taking place in midair. Had they been fighting on the ground, entire swaths of the Shinobi World would have been reduced to rubble.
...
As the shockwaves dissipated, Neji rushed back and caught the exhausted Naruto and Sasuke, refilling them with chakra.
Though it couldn't heal their injuries, reactivating Susanoo kept them airborne, preventing them from plummeting to their deaths—and guarded them in case Momoshiki launched a final, desperate counterattack.
The energy shockwaves from the previous clash had been too intense. The explosion formed a dense mist of residual chakra that even the Byakugan and Rinnegan couldn't pierce.
Caw!
A giant firebird burst from the smoke, shooting beams of red light from its open maw. With every flap of its wings, it launched waves of fireballs.
The firebird, laden with tremendous energy, divebombed directly toward Susanoo.
Divine Void Strike!
Though Neji lacked Susanoo's ultimate killing techniques, with the Breathing Art of the Sage Path, he recovered fastest. He countered by launching a flurry of punches, dispersing the firebird's attacks midair.
With Neji's chakra reinforcements, Naruto and Sasuke slowly regained strength, aided by Naruto's Yang Release and the Nine-Tails.
As the firebird approached, they drew their blades and, in unison, cleaved the beast apart with a single strike!
The firebird let out a screech of agony before exploding.
Thankfully, Susanoo took no serious damage from the attack.
But then, a new towering figure emerged from the mist.
This one was similar in size to the earlier magma giant—but its makeup was vastly different.
It was a divine statue enveloped in wind and lightning, its features hidden behind the elemental cloak.
"You insects of the Shinobi World... dare you face me in the sky?!"
Momoshiki was now fully wrapped in wind and lightning, his features obscured. The wind-and-lightning giant he formed, however, was tangibly powerful.
Especially its mobility—its aerial speed far exceeded that of Susanoo.
The giant raised its hand and launched blades of wind and balls of lightning—not at Susanoo, but as an indiscriminate bombardment upon the Shinobi World below.
If Naruto and Sasuke refused to fight in the air...
He would simply annihilate all life on the surface.
The Ōtsutsuki clan—among the most powerful races in the cosmos—relied on their vastly superior technology and innate combat prowess to leap between worlds.
They conquered planet after planet through sheer force, absorbing native life into their own strength.
When it came to aerial combat, the Ōtsutsuki clan had an overwhelming advantage.
One might even say that only in aerial warfare could the true power of the Ōtsutsuki be unleashed.
They were even more formidable than cosmic races born with wings.
Let alone ninja—who had always relied on ground combat.
Even those shinobi who could fly mostly used it to dodge and maneuver. They couldn't compare to Momoshiki's refined mastery.
Momoshiki had already realized—he couldn't take down Naruto, Sasuke, and Neji, who together possessed seemingly infinite energy.
Their triangle formation was far too tight to break.
Neji had limitless energy and a body capable of rivaling an Ōtsutsuki.
Sasuke had the Rinnegan's insight, allowing him to keep up with Momoshiki's speed, along with Susanoo's solid aerial mobility.
Naruto, meanwhile, had monstrous regenerative powers, and the Nine-Tails—a fellow energy being—could fuse with Susanoo.
Together, the three formed a seamless whole. On the ground, Momoshiki could find no opening—only wasting what strength he had finally restored.
Now, with the pills crafted by Isshiki and Kinshiki completely used up, Momoshiki had no room for error.
Thus, he decided to shift tactics—abandoning his weaknesses and playing to his strengths in an aerial battle!
...
As the wind-and-lightning giant continued its indiscriminate bombardment of the ground, the trio—desperate to protect their homeland—were left with no choice but to engage him midair.
Boom!
A dull thud rang out. The giant, which had been launching wind blades from the front, suddenly teleported behind them.
It hurled a lightning orb, shattering Susanoo's wings.
Fortunately, Neji reacted quickly, replenishing Naruto and Sasuke with energy. Susanoo instantly regenerated and swung its sword toward the giant.
But the slash missed again.
Despite its massive size, the wind-and-lightning giant was eerily agile. Compared to the magma giant, it lacked some defense and raw power...
But in return, its speed made Susanoo look clumsy and slow.
Another slash missed. A wind blade from the giant nearly severed one of Susanoo's arms.
Sensing imminent danger, Neji spun and unleashed a barrage of punches, shattering the incoming wind blades—
But the giant slipped away again.
If this went on, Susanoo would be forced into a purely defensive position, unable to go on the offensive.
Because they simply couldn't keep up with the giant's movements.
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