Hagoromo Otsutsuki struggled out from the rock layers deep within the moon. His spiritual body flickered erratically, making it clear that Madara Uchiha's kick just now had damaged his very foundation.
The legendary Sage of Six Paths no longer wore a relaxed expression; instead, his face was filled with solemnity, though he stubbornly refused to concede.
"Pure brute force does not represent everything."
The Sage of Six Paths slowly raised his hands, bringing them together in front of his chest. "Descendant who has strayed from the path, allow me to show you what true power of creation is."
In an instant, the nine Truth-Seeking Orbs orbiting him moved in response, instantly converging in the palm of his hand.
The pitch-black energy compressed, ultimately transforming into a shakujo staff imbued with the world-splitting might of creation.
The Sword of Nunoboko!
Legend had it that the Sage of Six Paths once used it to shape the entire shinobi world from chaos!
"With this sword, I shall purge all distortions in this world."
The Sage of Six Paths raised the Sword of Nunoboko high, aiming its tip at Madara Uchiha.
A wave of energy instantly locked onto Madara.
Facing this attack possessing the "divine might of creation," the fanaticism on Madara Uchiha's face only grew.
"Hahahaha! Old man, your era has long passed!"
Boom—!
A colossal energy giant rose from the ground.
Perfect Susanoo!
However, this Susanoo was completely different from any other in the world.
Outside the deep blue energy armor, the blood-red steam of the Eight Inner Gates coiled around it, perching on the giant's shoulders and letting out a silent roar. And between the blood steam and the armor, a layer of pure white Six Paths Sage Jutsu cloak flowed.
Three powers, each representing the pinnacle of their respective domains, perfectly fused upon Madara's body at this moment.
This was his exclusive creation—the "Eight Gates Susanoo"!
"Let me toll the final death knell for the old era!"
Madara drove this Eight Gates Susanoo forward, throwing a punch at the Sword of Nunoboko.
At the moment the fist and sword collided, time seemed to slow down infinitely.
The Sword of Nunoboko, possessing the "power of creation," actually let out an overwhelmed wail as a crack quietly surfaced.
Immediately after, the crack spread rapidly like a spiderweb across the entire divine sword!
"Crack..."
A soft sound, yet it clearly reached the ears of everyone present.
Ultimately, the sword of creation shattered inch by inch, turning into a sky full of fine powder that dissipated into the void.
The expression on the Sage of Six Paths' face completely froze.
It was in this split second of distraction.
Madara Uchiha's figure vanished from his spot.
When he reappeared, he was already right in front of the Sage of Six Paths.
Bang!
A knee strike landed squarely on the Sage of Six Paths' abdomen, violently distorting his ethereal spiritual body.
"Old man!"
Madara's voice exploded by his ear, followed immediately by a vicious elbow strike smashing ruthlessly into his back!
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The muffled sounds of flesh-pounding blows echoed through the dead silence of the lunar space.
Every single one of Madara Uchiha's attacks caused the Sage of Six Paths to leak massive amounts of chakra.
"How does my pure brute force taste?!"
Accompanied by a furious roar, Madara delivered a heavy, powerful roundhouse kick wrapped in blood-red steam, viciously striking the Sage of Six Paths in the waist.
"Crack—"
The Sage of Six Paths' spiritual body was completely shattered by this final strike.
His body, composed entirely of chakra, began to turn into specks of golden light, slowly dissipating.
Before his consciousness was completely extinguished, he cast a complex gaze toward the group.
"Mother's ambition far exceeds your imagination..."
This warning was the last trace he left in the world.
Having dealt with this minor interlude, Ian ignored Black Zetsu, who was trembling with excitement to the side.
He walked slowly to Kaguya's seal and pressed his palm against it.
Then, he applied a gentle push.
"Crack—"
A crisp shattering sound rang out.
Following that, the entire surface of the moon was instantly covered in dense cracks. In the next second, under an irresistible, terrifying force, the entire Chibaku Tensei moon violently disintegrated!
Endless white light surged from the core, blinding everyone's vision.
The light faded.
A tall, holy figure floated quietly in midair. Her floor-length white hair fluttered without any wind.
On her forehead, a Nine-Tomoe Rinne Sharingan radiating an ominous red glow slowly opened.
The moment Kaguya Otsutsuki awakened, her indifferent Byakugan swept across the area, immediately detecting the chakra within Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha that was similar to Hamura Otsutsuki's.
Kaguya's face remained expressionless, clearly treating these two as enemies who had come to seal her once again.
She didn't waste words and attacked directly.
"Amenominakanushi."
As the word was spoken, the surrounding space instantly distorted.
The scenery before everyone's eyes shifted, having been forcibly dragged into another dimension.
Beneath their feet was endlessly churning, scorching magma. In the distance were volcanoes constantly erupting with destructive energy. The air was thick with the suffocating stench of sulfur.
This was one of Kaguya's Core Spaces, the Lava Dimension.
She prepared to burn these "enemies" to ashes.
However, just a second before the overwhelming magma could swallow them all.
Ian snapped his fingers.
"Snap."
A soft sound.
In that instant, the entire world came to a standstill.
The churning magma froze in midair, the erupting volcanoes stopped, and the fiery red pillars of rock hovered over the craters.
Kaguya discovered in horror that the entire world had been frozen; only her thoughts could still barely function.
A terrifying pressure pinned her firmly in place. Let alone activating a jutsu, she couldn't even move a single finger right now.
'This... what kind of power is this?'
Just as she was reeling in shock, Ian's figure walked through the solidified magma and arrived right in front of her.
His face carried a trace of a gentle smile.
"Don't be nervous. You're safe now."
For some unknown reason, upon hearing these words, the panic and unease sealed deep within Kaguya's heart for a millennium were actually soothed. She felt that this man before her seemed worthy of trust.
The world-destroying power radiating from her body slowly retracted, ultimately calming down.
Seeing this, Ian nodded in satisfaction and opened his palm.
"Not bad. Very obedient."
"In that case, I'll give you two little gifts."
In the center of his palm quietly floated two eyeballs exuding an ominous aura.
One golden eye, one white eye.
The moment Kaguya saw these two eyeballs, her pupils suddenly shrank!
She would absolutely never mistake them!
Those were Isshiki Otsutsuki's eyes!
"That guy named Isshiki was hiding in a monk's body, clinging to his last breath,"
"I happened to run into him, so I conveniently cleaned him up."
"Consider these two eyeballs a meeting gift for you."
Princess Kaguya was incomparably shocked. Even she had been extremely wary of Isshiki, only managing to barely defeat him through a sneak attack. Yet, he had been effortlessly dealt with by the man before her.
At this moment, the last shred of dignity and fighting spirit Kaguya held as the Progenitor of Chakra vanished instantly. It was replaced by absolute submission and awe.
Ian reached out and wrapped his arm around Kaguya's shoulders.
The latter offered no resistance whatsoever; instead, like a docile kitten, she gently leaned against him.
Having done all this, Ian took Kaguya and, with a flash, appeared in front of Black Zetsu.
Black Zetsu, who was currently rejoicing over its mother's successful resurrection, hadn't even noticed Ian's arrival.
"Son,"
Ian said to it with a smile, keeping his arm around Kaguya.
"From now on, I am your daddy."
Black Zetsu was stunned.
Its body froze in place, staring blankly at its mother who was docilely snuggled in Ian's embrace. Its mind went completely blank.