Kaguya's eyes narrowed the moment she felt the overwhelming destructive force radiating from the thunder spear in Kaito's hand. Chakra surged violently through her body, and with no regard for the Thunder Dragon gnawing at her, she unleashed the Eighty Gods Vacuum Attack.
Countless titanic fists materialized above, descending in a storm that shook the very fabric of the world. The gray-black Thunder Dragon was torn apart in an instant, reduced to shreds of lightning under the divine barrage. Without a second's hesitation, Kaguya turned, her figure blurring as she fled toward a spatial rift.
Kaito's lips curved into a thin, cold smile. That Thunder Dragon had been nothing more than a diversion, infused with Yin–Yang Release but ultimately expendable. He had expected her to break free—what he wanted was the opening that followed.
The moment her body slipped out of the dragon's bind, Kaito thrust forward. His thunder spear, forged from world-shattering lightning, shot from his hand with a resounding whoosh.
The black weapon became a streak of destructive light, tearing through the air toward her.
Just as Kaguya reached the edge of a space portal, the spear pierced through her shoulder with a muffled impact. Her body jolted, blood spraying in arcs as the searing black lightning burned deep into her flesh. Even so, her form blurred again, vanishing into the rift.
Kaito's brows furrowed. He would not allow her to escape. His figure flickered, instantly diving into the same portal.
The moment he emerged, a crushing force slammed down from all directions. Gravity itself surged with unimaginable weight, dragging him violently toward the ground.
Kaito steadied himself, gaze sweeping the surroundings. The earth beneath his feet gleamed with a crystalline green glow—he had stepped into the super-gravity dimension, one of the many worlds hidden within Kaguya's arsenal of spaces.
His senses sharpened. Waves of electromagnetic induction pulsed outward from him, scanning every corner of the realm. Yet he found nothing. No trace of life, no magnetic fluctuations—nothing.
"She's not here?" Kaito muttered, frowning. He expanded his search again, but the results were the same.
A thought struck him. "So… she slipped into this dimension only to immediately cast Yomotsu Hirasaka, jumping again to another space. Cunning. I underestimated her."
Still, he knew she was far from unscathed. His thunder spear had struck true. Even someone as formidable as Ōtsutsuki Kaguya would not shrug off such a wound easily. "She may have escaped, but she's bleeding. That hit must be tormenting her body."
With a ripple of space, his figure blurred and vanished, retracing the coordinates of the portal he had memorized earlier.
Emerging once again into the nexus of rifts, Kaito scanned the swirling gateways before him. Lava, acid, gravity—those he had already traversed. That left two more: the realms of sand and ice.
"She could be in either… or hiding elsewhere entirely," he murmured. A hand touched his chin thoughtfully. "What a nuisance. Still, she's injured. She won't get far."
Resolute, he strode forward.
The scenery shifted. Blinding sunlight reflected off endless dunes as the sand space stretched before him. Kaito's form vanished instantly, piercing through the landscape without pause.
Another ripple carried him away, and when he emerged, snowflakes danced in the air. The world was cloaked in white, every tree and mountain draped in frost. He hovered high above, his induction spreading outward like a storm.
This time, his expression shifted—he had found her.
A flash of lightning, and he appeared directly before Kaguya.
Her once-immaculate figure looked disheveled. The wound on her shoulder still smoldered, scorched black arcs flickering around the hole. Through the torn silk, her pale skin was visible, marked by the cruel precision of Kaito's strike.
At her side, a spatial crack split the air, bottomless like an abyss. Its shape and residue left no doubt—it was the aftermath of his thunder spear's piercing blow.
She was trying to heal herself, chakra weaving around the wound, when her gaze shot up in shock. She had not expected Kaito to arrive so swiftly.
Without hesitation, she darted into the rift once again.
But Kaito's hand clenched. "You won't get away."
A hum filled the space as another spear of absolute thunder formed in his grasp. He lunged forward, lightning tearing through the frozen dimension.
The chase continued. Six spaces in total, each one Kaguya bent to her will, yet none granted her safety. Injured and hounded, she lashed out with bursts of the Eighty Gods Vacuum Attack, titanic fists forcing Kaito back in fleeting moments. Yet every assault crumbled beneath his spear, dispersed with effortless precision.
Kaguya was the progenitor of chakra, a goddess revered since ancient times. With her abilities, she could wield nearly every kekkei genkai in existence, reshaping them into terrifying evolutions—the Shikotsumyaku becoming the All-Killing Ash Bones, lethal even to beings of the Six Paths.
But no matter what technique she used, Kaito shattered it. One strike, two strikes—it made no difference. His black thunder spear stood as the pinnacle of his lightning bloodline, a force capable of erasing worlds.
In truth, her raw strength rivaled his. But her downfall was clear. She lacked experience. Millennia of power had not prepared her for true combat. She had ascended too swiftly, her foundation untempered. Against an opponent of equal standing, her fragile battle instincts crumbled.
It was the same reason she had once fallen to Hagoromo and Hamura. Had she mastered her power completely, even the Sage of Six Paths and his brother would have been nothing before her. Instead, she had chosen to raise an army of White Zetsu, preparing for distant threats while leaving her own skills unrefined.
Now, faced with Kaito, she could only run.
Again and again, she slipped through rifts, but he pursued relentlessly. His patience began to thin. This game of hide-and-seek tested even his resolve. Though attrition favored him—her injuries would only worsen—he did not intend to waste eternity in pursuit.
Far within the gravity space, Kaguya herself faltered. This battle had devolved into something alien to her. It was no contest of chakra reserves or overwhelming jutsu. It was one man, wielding a spear of absolute destruction, chasing her endlessly with no room for counterattack.
Her hand touched her shoulder, the wound nearly closed. Eyes narrowing with cold fury, she whispered, "Wait. Once I recover fully, I will show you my true strength, and you will know despair."
With that vow, she slipped once more into the fabric of space.
"Ancestor of chakra, reduced to fleeing?" Kaito's voice boomed as he watched her vanish. His spear crackled in his grip, his tone sharp with mockery. "Can't we finish this with a proper fight?"
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