The blood-colored Six-Tomoe Rinnegan on his forehead and the pale purple Six-Tomoe Rinnegan in his left eye seemed to have finally absorbed enough majestic energy, and their internal structures instantly completed their final transformation.
Those six tomoe spun like living things before finally stabilizing, shockingly transforming into a form with nine deep tomoe each!
The Nine-Tomoe Rinnegan!
Takuno was not surprised by this in the slightest.
He knew well that the core of the Rinnegan's evolution lay in the power of Yin Release.
His original Six-Tomoe Rinnegan was already just a step away from the final nine-tomoe form, separated only by a thin bottleneck.
At this moment, the surging new power within him fused with the Yang Release power he had just taken from the Sage of Six Paths.
Though their natures were different, it was enough to finally become that crucial "catalyst."
This Yin Release didn't directly drive the evolution; rather, it completely satisfied the last sliver of demanding evolutionary conditions, allowing his eyes to naturally cross that chasm.
The moment his eyes evolved into the Nine-Tomoe Rinnegan, the pressure around Takuno, which had already been physically compressing space, erupted like the core of an ignited star!
Boom!
An indescribable wave of terrifying energy swept out with him as the center.
The air solidified, and space groaned under the unbearable weight, as if the entire battlefield ruins had been paused at this moment.
Hashirama and Tobirama felt their very souls trembling, pinned to the spot, their thoughts becoming sluggish.
Black Zetsu was like being thrown into an abyss of absolute zero; the fear of a higher level of power originating from deep within its bloodline almost caused it to dissipate on the spot.
As for Kaguya, who had been enraged just moments ago by her stolen power, for the first time, her beautiful face showed undisguised horror and...
A trace of unbelievable wavering.
She clearly felt that the pressure emanating from the human before her had completely surpassed her own in both intensity and level!
It was a crushing weight from a higher power, giving her, the Ancestor of chakra, an unprecedented sense of oppression.
Takuno slowly raised his hands, feeling the ultimate ocular power flowing through his eyes.
The Nine-Tomoe Rinnegan on his forehead and left eye flickered with an eerie and divine light, while the Tenseigan in his right eye flowed with azure starlight.
A faint, inscrutable curve formed at the corner of his mouth as his gaze calmly swept over the shocked crowd, finally settling on the pale-faced Kaguya.
"It seems that this experiment has finally reached the moment to harvest the final results."
"No, that's impossible!" Kaguya looked at Takuno in disbelief; she didn't believe anyone could truly surpass her!
But the fact was right before her eyes; the aura Takuno emitted now not only surpassed her current state but was even above her peak period.
How... how could this be?
Takuno glanced down, and the soul form of the Sage of Six Paths Hagoromo beside Hashirama and Tobirama did not cause him much surprise.
The focus of his gaze was the continent beneath his feet, which had become shattered during the fierce battle between several "Six Paths" level beings.
The former battlefield had now turned into a scene of apocalypse.
Massive rifts crisscrossed like hideous scars, bottomless, with lava churning faintly in the depths of the cracks, emitting an ominous red glow.
The former mountains and rivers were completely flattened, leaving only charred craters and upturned earth and stone.
The air was thick with dust and the scent of destruction, the echoes left behind by Truth-Seeking Orbs annihilating all things and the collision of Sage Art and Rinnegan power.
This land that carried countless lives was now on the verge of total collapse after the previous clashes between Six Paths Obito, Madara, Kaguya, and his own power.
Takuno clearly perceived the structure of the continent wailing.
If he and Kaguya were to erupt in full conflict again above this fragile, broken land, the result would be certain.
Not just the aftershocks of the battle, but likely the mere moment their full energy torrents collided would cause the continent to disintegrate completely.
The land of the entire Shinobi World would cease to exist.
This was not his wish.
He pursued the origin and limits of power, the exploration of the ultimate, not meaningless destruction.
The Shinobi World itself, and the wills struggling to survive upon it, still held value to him.
Therefore, the battlefield had to be moved.
Then, Takuno reached out and gave a crisp snap of his fingers.
Snap!
Without any warning, a bone-chilling wind suddenly struck, replacing the smoke and scorched earth of the battlefield ruins.
As far as the eye could see were boundless ice fields and towering glaciers; the sky was a leaden-gray eternal twilight, and goose-feather snow fell silently.
It was a silent world composed purely of ice and snow.
"This... this is...?!"
Kaguya's pure white eyes showed unbelievable shock as she looked around this realm that should have belonged absolutely to her, her voice carrying a trace of imperceptible trembling.
"Amenominaka... the Ice Dimension?! Impossible! This is my exclusive Space-Time Ninjutsu!"
"Amenominaka?!"
Black Zetsu's viscous black substance fluctuated violently, letting out a sharp, piercing hiss filled with panic and confusion.
"How could he... how could he use Mother's jutsu?! This is absolutely impossible!"
Floating in mid-air, the soul form of the Sage of Six Paths Hagoromo also had his calm expression broken by a massive shock for the first time.
His gaze locked onto the blood-colored Rinnegan with nine tomoe on Takuno's forehead, and he said solemnly, "...Indeed. This is Mother's 'Amenominaka' Ice Dimension. Takuno... you haven't just plundered Mother's power origin, but even her divine authority... have you analyzed and mastered it as well?"
Floating in mid-air, the soul phantom of Sage of Six Paths Hagoromo watched this ice world.
On his aged face, a trace of relaxation now appeared.
"Whew..."
He indeed breathed a sigh of relief.
As the Sage of Six Paths, he felt the wailing of the planet beneath his feet more clearly than anyone else.
This planet, which carried countless lives and stories, was already so fragile that it could no longer withstand multiple excessive impacts.
And Takuno's current action of proactively moving the battlefield made his intention clear: he wanted to save the Earth!
This discovery slightly lightened the heavy anxiety in Hagoromo's heart.
"He doesn't intend to destroy this place..." Hagoromo's gaze pierced through the spatial barrier. "He chose to move the battlefield rather than let the Shinobi World turn into dust in the aftershocks."
This behavior in itself was a silent proof.
It confirmed what Hagoromo had said earlier to Hashirama and Tobirama on the battlefield ruins:
Takuno, this pure seeker of power, had no intention of destroying the Shinobi World.
Although Takuno's goal was always to seize power, and his methods could be called cold and ruthless—even putting his own life second—
It seemed his logic of behavior contained some kind of... bottom line?
Or rather, a consideration beyond pure destructive desire?
Perhaps... one could really look forward to it?
Look forward to this mysterious and unpredictable Takuno ultimately not returning with the will to slaughter all living beings?
That after defeating his mother, he would release the Shinobi trapped in the Infinite Tsukuyomi?
The fate of the Shinobi World hung by a thread, tied to the final result of the battle between Takuno and Kaguya.
But at least at this moment, Takuno's act of protecting the Earth gave Hagoromo, and the beings of the Shinobi World sealed in the Infinite Tsukuyomi, a sliver of hope.
Takuno did not know his actions had brought a bit of hope to the Sage of Six Paths.
Even if he knew, he wouldn't say much or explain anything; in matters unrelated to power, he was still willing to act according to the basic requirements of being a human.
At this time, he was looking at Kaguya, who was in shock because of Amenominaka, and the corner of his mouth curled up.
"Isn't it a bit too early to be shocked?"
Kaguya looked at Takuno silently, not knowing what other tricks he was going to play.
"Don't you wonder why I had to go through being hunted by you earlier?" Takuno asked.
Suddenly, Kaguya went silent, a trace of confusion appearing in her pupils.
Indeed, with Takuno's power, he didn't need to go through that stage of being hunted by her; what kind of mindset was he in while fleeing?
Was it just to mock her now?
Thinking this, Kaguya became somewhat annoyed again.
However, Takuno didn't let Kaguya wonder for long; he clenched his hand into a fist and said, "Then, watch closely!"
"Eighty Gods Vacuum Attack!"
Takuno clearly uttered the name of this forbidden technique that should have belonged only to Kaguya.
In an instant, an equal number of invisible Sage Art giant fists with the same power and similar aura of annihilation erupted from before Takuno!
They weren't imitations, but genuine Kekkei Mora power!
"What?!"
Extreme shock and disbelief appeared in Kaguya's crimson Rinnegan.
Kaguya understood!
She finally understood completely!
The opponent's previous "fleeing" wasn't a pathetic evasion at all!
Every time he dodged her attacks, he was performing a precise analysis!
If Amenominaka, as a spatial Dōjutsu, could perhaps be attributed to the innate ability of his strange Nine-Tomoe Rinnegan, Then the Eighty Gods Vacuum Attack, this ultimate Taijutsu secret exclusive to her Kekkei Mora, was absolutely impossible to copy directly through Dōjutsu talent!
The only explanation was...
In the gaps of the battle, in an incredibly short amount of time, he had completely seen through and mastered her proudest ultimate Taijutsu secret!
This realization pierced Kaguya's heart, making her feel humiliation and rage far beyond her previous defeat.
The unique power she regarded as her source had actually been so easily "stolen" by a "mortal"!
"Thief! Lowly insect!!"
Kaguya's shriek pierced through the roar of the energy storm, saturated with unprecedented rage and killing intent.
Facing the incoming Eighty Gods Vacuum Attack, Kaguya had no intention of dodging.
Her chakra boiled again, and the same Eighty Gods Vacuum Attack was condensing in her palms.
This time, she would crush Takuno along with this entire dimension!
Her Eighty Gods Vacuum Attack and Takuno's Eighty Gods Vacuum Attack violently collided!
Rumble!!!
The Ice Dimension seemed to welcome a creation-level explosion.
The invisible giant fists annihilated each other, erupting into a terrifying energy storm enough to warp space.
The ice field was instantly evaporated and crushed, forming a chaotic void zone.
And in Kaguya's disbelieving eyes, her Eighty Gods Vacuum Attack was actually the side that was defeated!
That torrent of fist shadows containing her vast chakra was completely dismantled by an even more overbearing power the moment it collided with the same jutsu issued by Takuno.
The aftershocks of the energy turned into a rampaging storm, tearing the ten-thousand-year-old ice of the frozen world to shreds.
"How is it possible...?!"
Kaguya's inner horror was beyond measure; the opponent's power level had already surpassed her own!
In that moment of mental shock, Takuno's remaining punches after crushing her Eighty Gods Vacuum Attack—
In the gap before her mind could fully react, crossed the shattered energy field and slammed heavily onto her body!
"Boom!!!"
The dull explosion sounded like the wailing of the entire Ice Dimension.
Kaguya only felt a terrifying force penetrate her body; even her Ōtsutsuki physique could not fully withstand this impact.
Sharp pain accompanied the sound of breaking bones; she was like a doll struck by a divine hammer, turning into a blurred white shadow and flying backward at an incredible speed.
"Ugh!"
Kaguya let out a short cry of pain, her body completely losing control.
Her back slammed violently into a massive glacier standing like a blade behind her!
Crack, boom!!!
The hard glacier shattered upon impact, a deep crater with spider-web cracks being smashed into it.
Countless sharp ice shards flew in all directions like blades, and the bone-chilling cold instantly enveloped her, as if to freeze her blood along with her soul.
Takuno floated in the center of the ice storm, looking at Kaguya in the glacier ruins with indifference, the terrifying pressure surrounding him feeling physical.
It announced that the scales of victory in this war had shifted irreversibly toward him.
In fact, he was able to master Kekkei Mora so smoothly not just because of Kaguya, but because before the final battle arrived, he had already truly figured out his own Kekkei Mora on the moon.
However, due to the urgency of time then, Takuno didn't have much time to study Ninjutsu under Kekkei Mora.
And the Rabbit Hair Needle and Eighty Gods Vacuum Attack that Kaguya used while hunting him were precisely the Kekkei Mora techniques she had mastered.
So now that he had mastered Kekkei Mora and had even been boosted by the Kekkei Mora that originally belonged to Kaguya, he was fully capable of mastering these two Ninjutsu as well.
Thus, in the first instance, he didn't directly take back all of his power.
Instead, he acted as if his power were truly much worse than Kaguya's, fleeing frantically under the opponent's Kekkei Mora Ninjutsu.
In reality, everything was under his control; the opponent's Ninjutsu had no possibility of hitting him under Sarutahiko, and he took this opportunity to constantly steal and learn the opponent's Kekkei Mora Ninjutsu.
Now was the moment to test the results.
And clearly, Kaguya could not withstand the power of the Kekkei Mora technique that originally belonged to her!