The rain continued to fall, and killing intent rose once more.
Jigen, holding the Chakra Rod, transformed into a black lightning bolt and charged fiercely towards Menma, who was standing on the tower wall.
The two clashed again, colliding violently among the forest of towers and ruins of Amegakure. The pure Taijutsu exchange erupted with heart-palpitating roars.
Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!
The sound of rods clashing was like the rhythm of death, sparks flying in the rain.
Jigen's offensive was like a storm, each strike containing the power to tear through steel, attempting to suppress Menma with absolute force.
Menma, however, was like a reef in the stormy waves. The rod in his hand moved imperviously, deflecting Jigen's fierce attacks one by one. His movements were precise and efficient, as if he had already calculated every one of his opponent's moves.
In the intense close-quarters combat, a cold light flashed in Jigen's eyes as he once again used his bizarre ability.
Daikokuten and Sukunahikona!
Countless Chakra Rods, shrunk to an extreme degree like invisible dust, were silently scattered by him into the air around Menma, then instantly enlarged, stabbing towards Menma from all directions and at tricky angles!
These rods appeared without any warning, enough to turn any Ninja into a pincushion.
However, the invisible barrier field around Menma's body once again came into play.
All the suddenly enlarged rods experienced an extremely brief moment of stagnation the instant they touched the barrier field!
Though it might have only been a fraction of a second, it was more than enough for a Ninja of Menma's level!
His body performed incredible evasions through the gaps between the dense rods, or used his own rod to deflect attacks he couldn't completely avoid.
The Chakra Rods shot by Jigen grazed past the hem of his clothes and strands of his hair, embedding into the walls and ground behind him with dull thuds, but never truly managed to touch his body.
'Damn it! This barrier again!' Jigen frowned, inwardly cursing. His opponent's tenacity far exceeded his estimation.
Through his perception, he estimated that this barrier was similar to the earlier Ninjutsu that his Kama couldn't absorb.
Menma was also looking for an opportunity for a fatal strike.
He knew conventional Ninjutsu would be absorbed by Jigen's Kama. Only the Spiralling Ring from another world could effectively harm him.
While blocking Jigen's fierce attacks, Menma continuously pulled out specially made kunai from his tool pouch, seemingly casually throwing them at Jigen.
After Jigen dodged them, these kunai scattered to various corners of the battlefield.
The handles of these kunai were engraved with Flying Thunder God's imprints, silently spreading across the ruins like seeds.
After several rounds of intense exchange, Menma saw an instant where Jigen's old force was spent and new force hadn't yet gathered. His figure suddenly blurred!
Flying Thunder God Technique!
In the next moment, he appeared like a ghost behind Jigen's side.
Right at the location where a previous kunai had landed!
A fist covered in powerful Chakra, without any fancy moves, smashed hard towards Jigen's temple!
'What?!' Jigen's internal alarms screamed. In his haste, he only had time to tilt his head, taking the blow on his shoulder with a hard block!
Bang!
Amidst the heavy, dull sound, Jigen was sent flying sideways by the tremendous force, tumbling several times in the air before barely stabilizing himself.
He felt half his body go numb, a throbbing pain coming from his shoulder blade.
However, just as Jigen's body was still mid-air and Menma prepared to press his advantage, another change occurred!
Jigen's figure, right before everyone's eyes, vanished without any warning!
No smoke, no afterimage, not even a trace of Chakra Fluctuation was left, as if he had never existed!
Everyone on the ground, whether it was Jiraiya who had barely managed to stand with the help of the two Toad Sages, his aura feeble, or Deva Path who had broken free from the rod's restraints, his face gloomy, or Obito, Konan, and Zetsu, were all deeply shocked by this bizarre scene!
"Van... vanished?!" Konan frowned, her sensing having completely lost the target.
'What happened?! No spatial fluctuation at all... doesn't seem like a Space-Time Ninjutsu...' Obito's single eye beneath the mask was filled with doubt and shock. He possessed the Kamui and was most sensitive to spatial anomalies, but the way Jigen disappeared completely surpassed his understanding.
He subconsciously glanced at the Flying Thunder God-marked kunai scattered all over the ground and said in a low voice, 'That black-haired kid's body flicker... no, not a body flicker... is it... Flying Thunder God Technique?'
Obito was somewhat uncertain. His Mangekyo Sharingan could perceive spatial fluctuations. He found the move the other party used indeed had Space-Time Ninjutsu fluctuations, but... the Flying Thunder God Technique had been lost with the death of the Fourth Hokage!
Deva Path remained silent, his Rinnegan fixedly staring at the airspace where Jigen had disappeared. The ripples in his pupils slowly rotated, as if he had caught some extremely subtle trace, but his expression became even more grim.
He had just broken free from those rods that sealed his Chakra, expending considerable effort. Now, witnessing such a bizarre ability, his wariness deepened.
"Cough... cough..." Jiraiya covered his still intensely painful chest, breathing heavily with difficulty supported by the two toad sages.
His mind was in chaos looking at this completely unexpected situation.
'The Sage of Six Paths' Rinnegan was terrifying enough, and now two mysterious powerhouses who can easily kill Pain have appeared...' He was now mostly certain that the black-haired youth was the Shura who had attacked Konoha multiple times.
'So, what was the origin of the other guy, who could fight Shura to a draw and even possessed even more bizarre abilities?'
'The Great Toad Sage's prophecy hadn't mentioned this...'
'The waters of the Ninja World were much deeper than I had imagined!'
Meanwhile, Menma, his hands cautiously gripping the Chakra Rod held horizontally in front of him, his left Mangekyo Sharingan spinning wildly, his right pure white Byakugan also perceiving the slightest detail, tried to find Jigen's traces.
However, Jigen himself possessed the Otsutsuki Clan's unique Chakra Concealment Ability, coupled with the extreme shrinking of Sukunahikona.
The two stacked together made him seem as if he had completely merged into the microscopic world. Even with Menma's Ocular Powers, it was difficult to accurately locate him for a moment.
'This is troublesome...' Menma frowned, thinking to himself.
'Do I activate the Flying Thunder God's mark on him now, force myself to find him? But that's a backup plan reserved for locating his other-dimensional lair...'
Just as he hesitated, a glimpse from the corner of his eye caught Deva Path seemingly having made a discovery. Those Rinnegan were fixedly locked onto a certain direction!
'Right!' A thought flashed in Menma's mind, remembering some information.
'In Boruto, Sasuke managed to track Jigen's shrunken form using his Rinnegan! So it seems at least Rinnegan-level insight is required!'
As soon as this thought arose, a confident arc curled on Menma's lips.
He didn't have the Rinnegan, but he had other trump cards!
He suddenly channeled his full power into his right Byakugan!
An intangible Ocular Power pierced through the obstruction of space, instantly establishing a connection with the giant Tenseigan, formed from the fusion of countless Byakugan, deep inside the moon!
Hum-!
A vast, sea-like pure ocular power surged into his Byakugan through the connection!
Borrowing the powerful force of the Giant Tenseigan, capable of perceiving the essence of all things and even interfering with space, the previously blurry microscopic world instantly became clear in his eyes!
He 'saw' it!
In that seemingly empty rain, an extremely shrunken 'point', like a speck of dust yet emitting a unique energy fluctuation, was moving silently!
"Found you!"
A fierce light flashed in Menma's eyes. His right hand instantly condensed a Mini Spiralling Ring containing ominous Dark Chakra. Without hesitation, he charged fiercely towards the location of that 'point'!
"That is...?!" Jiraiya stared blankly at the energy ball, whose shape was extremely similar to the Rasengan but whose internal Chakra Nature felt completely different.
'Why does it look so much like the Rasengan? But it feels... completely different!'
Jigen, who was trying to find an opportunity to counterattack in his miniature state, suddenly felt a deadly sense of crisis locking onto him!
He was horrified, 'The other party could actually see through me in the Sukunahikona state?!'
He immediately tried to evade,
But at that moment, Menma's figure vanished into thin air again!
Flying Thunder God Technique!
The next moment, Menma appeared directly in front of the shrunken Jigen. The Small Spiralling Ring also teleported synchronously.
The moment he appeared, it struck the shrunken Jigen directly!
Boom-!!!
Dark purple Dark Chakra exploded. The violent blast once again swept through the battlefield!
Annihilating everything in that area into its most basic particles!
A disheveled figure was forcibly forced out at the edge of the explosion. It was Jigen, compelled to cancel his shrunken state!
His robe was even more tattered, blood once again trickling from the corner of his mouth, his eyes filled with a mixture of shock and fury.
As soon as he stabilized his stance, a circular spatial portal with black-red edges, like a vortex, instantly opened behind him!
"Trying to leave?!" Menma's eyes lit up upon seeing the other-dimensional portal appear. His figure flickered again, making a move as if to intercept.
Jigen, frightened, moved even faster. He leaped backward into the portal. The portal then rapidly closed and disappeared, leaving only a faint, almost imperceptible other-dimensional fluctuation in the air.
"Vanished again... What kind of technique was that?" Konan watched the bizarre spatial door disappear, her hands clenched, paper fluttering restlessly around her.
Deva Path's Rinnegan and Menma's Byakugan, connected to the Giant Tenseigan, simultaneously scanned the entire battlefield, but could find no further trace of Jigen.
This time, he had truly left this space completely.
The gazes of the Akatsuki's members involuntarily focused once more on Menma, the only one left on the scene.
And Menma was sensing the Flying Thunder God's mark on Jigen.
The atmosphere instantly became subtle and tense.
Obito narrowed his single eye, feeling more and more that this black-haired youth had a strange sense of familiarity, especially the combination of those eyes, and that composed demeanor...
Konan and Deva Path were highly alert. With the precedent of Asura Path being instantly killed, they didn't dare be the slightest bit careless.
Nagato's true body, hidden behind the scenes, had consumed a great deal of Chakra and mental energy due to the consecutive loss of two Paths of Pain, and was even somewhat breathless.
A sense of powerlessness and anger welled up in his heart.
'Do I... really need to summon the Gedo Statue here?' As soon as this thought arose, he remembered the previous crushing defeat in the Land of Stars.
Without even seeing Shura's true form, he was beaten into a wretched state by a terrifying Chakra Beam from the sky, and the powerful Hikari...
If he hadn't seized the opportunity to retreat quickly, he might not have made it back.
And the youth before him seemed even more unfathomable than that Uchiha Hikari.
…
Meanwhile, just as the Amegakure battlefield fell into a brief silence due to Jigen's disappearance,
In a certain other dimension unreachable by ordinary people, space undulated like water.
A vortex portal with ominous black-red glowing edges abruptly appeared in a void.
Immediately after, a figure tumbled out rather disheveledly. It was Jigen, who had just forcibly disengaged from the battlefield.
"Cough... Cough!" As soon as he appeared, he couldn't help but cough violently, a large mouthful of dark red blood spraying from his mouth.
His originally pristine white haori, symbolizing elegance and power, was now in tatters, covered in burns from the explosion and tears from the force, the edges charred and curled, looking exceptionally wretched.
The originally cold and arrogant expression on Jigen's face now couldn't conceal a trace of pallor and fatigue.
For the first time in those eyes accustomed to millennia of turmoil, disbelief and fury were reflected.
'That youth who called himself Otsutsuki Rakushiki not only possessed strange abilities that couldn't be absorbed by Kama, but could actually see through my concealment in the Sukunahikona state, even forcing me to use my final means to escape!'
Jigen slowly raised his head, looking towards this other dimension that belonged solely to him.
At the center of the space was a massive, ancient altar.
The altar was constructed from some unknown stone material, its style simple and primal, filled with an exotic aura not of this world.
On the circular walls of the altar were engraved peculiar giant symbols and marks. Each mark represented the existence of an Otsutsuki Clan's member.
Moving his gaze upward, at the highest point of the wall, two of the largest, most eye-catching marks were positioned one above the other.
The top one belonged to him, Otsutsuki Isshiki. Below him was the name he loathed to the bone.
Otsutsuki Kaguya.
And below the lid-like structure at the very center of the altar was a bottomless, massive circular cavity.
Below the cavity wasn't pure darkness, but faintly revealed a heart-palpitating, unimaginably vast Chakra Fluctuation, and an aura that was primitive, savage, and full of destructive desire.
Jigen floated, drifting towards the edge of the cavity.
He looked down, peering through the intangible sealing barrier. He could clearly see the shocking scene below.
A one-eyed giant beast of indescribably enormous size was restrained in the abyss by countless thick Chakra Rods.
Its massive pale body, ten huge tails twisting unconsciously behind it. Its single remaining giant eye was tightly closed, as if in eternal slumber.
It was the Ten-Tails!
However, Jigen had no time to play with this pet now.
His gaze fell on his own abdomen.
There, the cracks in the black wedge-shaped area had noticeably expanded, like porcelain about to shatter. The edges flickered with unstable arcs of light, bringing waves of piercing pain and weakness.
"This vessel... is still too fragile..." Jigen's voice held a barely perceptible hoarseness and unwillingness.
Forcibly activating Kama - Stage One, then successively using Daikokuten and Sukunahikona for high-intensity combat, especially finally taking the Mini Spiralling Ring head-on, had placed a load on this vessel far exceeding expectations.
He could wait no longer.
Floating directly above the window sealing the Ten-Tails, Jigen extended his hand covered in black patterns and gently pressed it against the intangible sealing barrier.
His eyes were complex, filled with a thirst for power, and also a trace of 'regret' for this precious 'fuel'.
"Apologies..." He murmured to himself, his tone lacking much genuine apology, more like a procedural announcement. "Now, I need to borrow your power."
As he spoke, the black wedge mark on his palm suddenly lit up with a profound glow!
A powerful suction force instantly generated!
Hum-!!!
The sealed Ten-Tails below seemed to sense something. Its massive body convulsed violently, and its tightly closed single eye snapped open!
A Six-Tomoe Red Rinnegan!
"Roar!!!" The Ten-Tails roared unwillingly.
Its vast, ocean-like Chakra was being forcibly drawn out from the seal, transforming into a visible, turbid and savage dark red energy torrent, madly pouring into Jigen's palm, rushing along his arm towards his entire body!
As the enormous energy poured in, the black wedge patterns on Jigen's body surface seemed to come alive, greedily devouring this power.
The injuries inflicted by the explosions and battle on his body healed at a visible rate under the nourishment of this pure and massive Chakra energy. The damaged haori even began to repair itself.
And the worrying cracks on his abdomen saw their spreading trend forcibly halted. The edges began to slowly close and mend. Although they didn't fully restore to their original state, they at least stabilized.
After a moment, Jigen released his hand, stopping the absorption.
He slowly let out a turbid breath. His originally pale face regained some color. The fatigue in his eyes was swept away, replaced by a light deeper and more dangerous than before.
Jigen, feeling the replenished power within him, even surpassing his previous state, looked down at the stabilized cracks on his abdomen.
"Enough..." He murmured expressionlessly.
"The game should end now."
…
Amegakure.
Just as the three forces were subtly confronting each other.
Hum-!!!
In the sky above the battlefield, that familiar, black-red-edged vortex portal appeared once again!
Everyone's gaze was instantly drawn to it!
They saw Jigen's figure step out calmly and gracefully from the portal.
Completely different from his previous wretched appearance, his robe was brand new, all damages repaired. The blood at the corner of his mouth was gone. Even his aura had become deeper and more vast than before!
He looked down upon Menma on the ground from his superior position. Those eyes, restored to indifference and arrogance, held a pity as if looking at an insect.
"It seems it's time for you, this slightly stronger insect, to truly witness... what 'God'-like power is."
Before his words faded, a terrifying, suffocatingly vast pressure, far surpassing [Stage One], erupted explosively from within Jigen!
The rain in the sky seemed to be repelled by this aura!
The black wedge patterns on his body surface began to spread wildly like living things, becoming more profound and complex!
Above his left eyebrow, a curved, bone-like black horn grew out. This horn extended backward along the contour of his head, circling a full circle, finally stopping its growth above his right temple!
Karma - Stage Two, Activated!
Jigen's appearance now had completely departed from the human category!
The overwhelming pressure, like a mountain toppling and sea roaring, made everyone present, including the two Toad Sages and the self-proclaimed 'God' Nagato, feel a sense of trembling and insignificance!
The Akatsuki's members all had their expressions changed, shocked beyond measure.
'This form change and power surge...' Nagato, possessing the Rinnegan through the Deva Path's perspective, had the clearest perception of the change in Jigen's strength.
As for Menma, facing this overwhelming aura, he merely casually swung the Chakra Rod in his hand, as if stretching his wrist.
He raised his head, looked at the greatly transformed Jigen, and his face showed not fear, but rather an 'as expected' expression. His tone carried a hint of teasing:
"That's more like it... Looks like you finally somewhat resemble your true form's appearance."
He paused, clearly uttering the name that had been sealed for a millennium:
"Isshiki."
The moment he heard this name, the arrogant expression that had just appeared on Jigen's face due to his restored power instantly froze, then transformed into utter rage!
He raised his left hand covered in black patterns, his index finger pointing straight at Menma. His voice, twisted by extreme anger, held a hint of distortion:
"You... You really are that bitch Kaguya's backup plan!!!"
Black Zetsu: "?!!!"