"Isshiki."
The moment Kaguya saw Isshiki appear, her heart tightened and a trace of panic rose within her.
She remembered clearly what she had done in the past.
Now, not only had Isshiki recovered from his injuries, but he had also reached the Kekkei Mōra level.
Based on what she knew of his personality, he would never let her go.
To be honest, the reason Kaguya had behaved so obediently was partly because of Seiryū's strength and partly because of the threat posed by Isshiki.
"It's been a long time, Kaguya."
Isshiki fixed his gaze on her, a cold smile appearing on his lips.
"I'm truly pleased to see that you're still alive."
"I haven't forgotten what happened back then."
If Seiryū was the greatest threat, then Kaguya was the person Isshiki wanted to kill the most.
If not for her, he would never have ended up in such a miserable state.
He had nearly died and spent an entire thousand years recovering to his peak.
Kaguya was someone he had to kill!
Now, he could finally take revenge.
More importantly, she was also another stepping stone on his path toward godhood.
Isshiki had already set his sights on her Kekkei Mōra-level Chakra!
"You."
Kaguya gritted her teeth, panic appearing on her face.
She had always known Isshiki would never let the matter go.
But there was nothing she could do except see things through to the end.
The Ōtsutsuki Clan did not tolerate betrayal.
From the moment Kaguya attacked Isshiki in the past, she had already become an enemy of the clan.
"Why does it always happen when I'm just a little short?"
Seiryū had already sensed Isshiki's Chakra the moment he appeared above Konoha.
He could not help shaking his head.
"Give me a few more days and I would've been confident enough to attempt breaking through to Kekkei Mōra."
Seiryū had already been preparing for that breakthrough.
He was only waiting for the right moment.
A total solar eclipse would occur in a few days.
In the shinobi world, there were examples of celestial phenomena being used to complete special rituals.
Hiruko's Kekkei Genkai fusion ritual from the movie was one example.
Such celestial events could sharply increase natural energy.
And since natural energy could be combined with Chakra, it could also serve as another source of power for Seiryū.
"Do you think I would allow you to succeed?"
Isshiki swept his gaze across the numerous Chakra sources gathered nearby.
Even he was surprised.
He had not expected the shinobi world to contain so many powerful sources of Chakra.
And those sources could be used by him as well.
Although I don't know where you found all this Chakra, it's mine now."
"With this much power, my God Tree can produce another Chakra Fruit!"
The God Tree required a sacrifice in order to bear fruit.
Although Seiryū was not a pure-blooded member of the Ōtsutsuki Clan, his level of existence was already close to Kekkei Mōra.
He could serve as a sacrifice.
If all the surrounding Chakra sources were used to nourish the God Tree, its growth would accelerate tremendously.
Then, if Seiryū was offered as the sacrifice, the God Tree could produce a complete Chakra Fruit!
"Yours?"
Seiryū grinned.
"You don't seriously think that just because you've reached Kekkei Mōra, you're suddenly my match, do you?"
'Boom!'
Chakra surged violently.
Six Paths Power filled Seiryū's entire body, while crimson Chakra flames danced wildly around him.
He unleashed his full combat power!
Seiryū threw a punch.
The surrounding space trembled as dragon-shaped fist force erupted and roared forward!
"We'll find out."
Isshiki did not move.
His scarlet Rinnegan immediately shone.
A vast repulsive force erupted and collided head-on with the incoming Dragon Fist Burst.
'Rumble!!'
The moment the two attacks met, the impact shook Konoha.
A massive shockwave exploded outward.
Trees throughout the Forest of Death were uprooted one after another.
'Boom, boom, boom.'
The shockwave swept across the land like a bulldozer.
The ground was flattened beneath it, and an enormous crater nearly a thousand meters wide formed in the area.
A single probing exchange had already produced such terrifying destruction.
This was a battle at the Kekkei Mōra level!
"Kaguya, I'll leave Konoha's safety to you."
Seiryū glanced back at her.
"Once I deal with him, I'll give you his Chakra. That should be enough to restore your strength."
Now that Kaguya could be considered one of Seiryū's people, he naturally intended to treat her well.
Besides, having a Kekkei Mōra-level ally restored to full strength would be useful.
She could help deal with the Ōtsutsuki Clan in the future.
As for whether Kaguya might still have other ideas, Seiryū did not care.
She was not his opponent anyway.
With her poor combat experience, even Tsunade and Nagato working together would be enough to give her serious trouble.
And the effects of Kaidō were nothing to underestimate!
'Boom! Boom, boom, boom!'
Without waiting for Kaguya to respond, Seiryū charged toward Isshiki.
Every punch unleashed another Dragon Fist Burst.
The uninhabited northern section of the Forest of Death was quickly reduced to ruins.
Members of the Ōtsutsuki Clan generally possessed the ability to absorb Chakra.
Naturally, Seiryū relied mainly on Taijutsu and Kenjutsu against them.
'Boom, boom, boom.'
The two immediately entered a fierce close-range battle.
The deafening impacts never stopped.
Both were masters of Taijutsu.
And even without using their strongest techniques, the destruction they caused was terrifying.
Seiryū had always possessed exceptional talent in Hakuda.
Now, with Six Paths-level power behind every movement, each strike was comparable to a full-powered attack from someone using the Eight Inner Gates Formation.
Isshiki also understood the importance of combat experience.
He had not wasted the past thousand years.
In terms of Taijutsu, he was capable of overpowering Naruto and Sasuke and was one of the few Ōtsutsuki who possessed genuine combat skill.
With his full power unleashed, Seiryū possessed Kekkei Mōra-level combat strength.
Isshiki was a true Kekkei Mōra-level existence who could fully control his power.
The battle between them had reached the absolute peak.
Of course, their fight was not limited to Taijutsu.
Various techniques collided violently as the battlefield moved farther and farther away.
The disturbance was so great that it could be felt throughout much of the shinobi world.
It almost resembled the ancient battle that had once devastated the world.
Wherever the two passed, everything around them was destroyed.
"Leave it to me?"
Kaguya watched the two figures disappear farther into the distance and stood there in a daze.
A strange feeling rose within her.
Seiryū actually trusted her.
He had even entrusted something important to her.
More importantly.
Was he protecting her?
Kaguya pursed her lips.
"This man really is impossible to understand."
"Does he actually trust me, even though I was his enemy?"
Ever since her resurrection, Kaguya had been worried about Isshiki.
But now, someone had stepped forward and stood between her and that threat.
She had never experienced anything like this before.
The feeling made her heart stir inexplicably.
Was this what it felt like to be trusted?
"Mother, you're no match for him in your current state."
Black Zetsu, hidden inside Kaguya's sleeve, became excited and hurriedly spoke.
"For now, gain his trust."
"Once your Chakra is fully restored, we'll wait for the right opportunity and reclaim all the Chakra in the shinobi world!"
"Shut up!"
Kaguya's voice immediately turned cold.
"Since he trusts me, then I will not betray that trust."
Black Zetsu froze.
"???"
Something was wrong.
This was definitely wrong!
That was not Mother's personality at all.
Could it be that Mother had already.
No!
It did not want to think about that possibility!
Black Zetsu was on the verge of losing its mind.
Was it really going to end up with an extra father in the future?
And the worst part was that the other person was only a teenager.
His age was not even a fraction of how long Black Zetsu had already lived!
(To be continued.)
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◇ You can read the ahead chapter on Pat if you're interested: p-atreon.c-om/Blownleaves (Just remove the hyphen to access normally.)