Chapter 78: Just Enjoy the Show, Everyone
"Sakura, I'm entrusting Sarada to you."
Sasuke cast a complicated glance at the Flaming Cloud Evil God behind them. This time, he might have to face his own brother in battle, and there was a real chance that he and Naruto might never return.
"Dad…"
"Sasuke…"
Both Sarada and Sakura sensed that something was off.
"Let's go."
With the Rinnegan opening a portal to another world, Sasuke was the first to step through. His Rinnegan allowed him to sense chakra, and the massive presence inside Naruto was as conspicuous as a bonfire in the night.
Alternate Dimension
Naruto was bound to the withered trunk of a Divine Tree cultivated by Ōtsutsuki Momoshiki, groaning in pain.
"How does it feel to become nourishment for the Divine Tree I've been cultivating?"
Momoshiki asked as he absorbed the chakra from Naruto's body.
Originally, the Divine Tree had completely withered. It only began to recover slightly after absorbing some of Killer Bee's chakra, which had been transferred into it.
"This massive chakra sure takes a long time to absorb,"
Momoshiki muttered, lifting his hand from Naruto's abdomen—after all, keeping it there for so long was tiring.
"Sorry to disappoint you, but us ninja aren't as easy to handle as you think. We're not like you people—we don't obtain power so easily, which is exactly why it can't be taken away so casually…"
Naruto said weakly, his chakra already partly drained.
"So what? To us Ōtsutsuki, you lowly creatures are nothing but fodder,"
Momoshiki said, flexing his right hand before placing it back on Naruto's stomach. "Stop resisting. Let me drain your chakra obediently."
"Sorry, but that's not happening… I still need to defeat you and get back to the Leaf Village…"
Just then, Sasuke, Shunhi, Minato Namikaze, and Itachi Uchiha descended from the sky.
Once again, they had chosen not to bring Kushina.
In a battle of this scale, someone like Kushina—who lacked combat experience—would be in grave danger. Plus, with Hinata unconscious, Boruto and Himawari needed Kushina's care.
"Rasengan!"
Minato appeared before Momoshiki in a flash. Though his Rasengan was absorbed by Momoshiki's Rinnegan, it still forced him to retreat.
Sasuke quickly moved to Naruto's side, slashing through the branches that bound him and catching him as they landed on the ground.
"Naruto, are you alright?"
Cradling Naruto, Sasuke looked down at him with concern.
"I'm fine… Thanks, Sasuke."
Naruto struggled to pull himself away from Sasuke's arms.
"Also, during the fight, be wary of S.H.I.E.L.D.—we can't afford any slip-ups right now."
Just to be safe, Sasuke voiced his concern. After all, the Deputy Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. insisting on joining the rescue mission was just too suspicious to ignore.
"How long do you plan to keep chatting?"
Having followed them here on impulse, the S.H.I.E.L.D. officer now regretted his rash decision after cooling down.
Without Sasuke and Naruto as the main fighters, no one else dared to confront the Ōtsutsuki head-on.
"Sorry, sorry," Naruto said as he stood up. "Alright then—time to fight back!"
The others nodded.
"The enemy can absorb chakra and then release it again, but those re-used jutsu are single-use only. So don't use ninjutsu—let's win this with taijutsu."
Sasuke drew his katana.
"Ah, in that case, I'll leave it to you guys. I'm really not good at taijutsu…"
Shunhi's words caught Sasuke's attention for a moment, but he quickly refocused on the enemy before him.
Though taijutsu-specialist Ōtsutsuki Kinshiki could fight several people without losing ground, Momoshiki—who lacked taijutsu skills—was the opposite. He had nearly been hit by Naruto's kunai several times.
"This isn't looking good. Then allow me to show you how the Ōtsutsuki clan deals with troublesome situations!"
"Ōtsutsuki Kinshiki!"
Momoshiki extended his hand toward Kinshiki.
"Lord Momoshiki!"
"Go ahead! Looks like the time has come for you to devour my chakra!"
"Just as my forebears passed power down to me!"
"Come! Don't hesitate!"
As he flew toward Momoshiki, Kinshiki shouted in reply. This was the fate of the guardian—much like the Hyuga clan's main and branch families, a guardian must always be ready to be devoured by the one they serve.
Having grown up watching over Momoshiki, Kinshiki naturally assumed there might be some hesitation in consuming him. But Momoshiki had no such reservations.
"Of course not!"
Momoshiki completely absorbed Kinshiki's chakra—going so far as to condense it into a chakra fruit and devour it for full absorption.
"This just got bad… Damn it, if you were gonna fight, just fight! Why waste time talking? See that? It's not just villains who die from monologuing—protagonists do too."
Shunhi's complaints went ignored.
Instead, the group stared at Momoshiki, whose appearance had drastically changed—he now had a golden third Rinnegan on his forehead. Naruto exclaimed in shock:
"You actually ate your own comrade!"
"Sick and twisted!"
Sasuke added.
"Kinshiki willingly became my power. The passing of strength—this is tradition in our clan."
Momoshiki slowly floated upward, looking down at everyone.
"Looks like I've dragged this game on long enough. Time to end it. All of you who dare defy a god… prepare to die!"
He raised his hands toward the group, the golden Rinnegan now present in both his palms. But just as he seemed to recall something amusing, he suddenly lowered them and teleported directly in front of Naruto.
"You all enjoy using taijutsu against me, don't you?"
Momoshiki said as he kicked Naruto hard, sending him flying.
"So fast."
Minato watched Naruto get kicked away in shock.
"Next is you. I still remember the humiliation of being sent flying by you!"
In an instant, Momoshiki appeared behind Minato and kicked him as well.
"The Sharingan can't keep up with his speed… but—!"
Itachi had already anticipated Momoshiki's move. After all, it wasn't just him and Minato who had defeated Momoshiki once—so if Momoshiki was targeting Minato, then he'd be next for sure.
Just as Momoshiki appeared before him, Itachi used a genjutsu.
"It's useless!"
Even so, that brief moment of delay gave Itachi just enough time to evade using a crow clone, dodging Momoshiki's direct punch without hesitation.
"This opponent really is a monster..."
Meanwhile, Shunhi had quietly hidden himself away.
After surviving this long, dying here would be far too ironic.
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