On the ground of the alien dimension, standing before Isshiki and the Ten-Tails were Amado and Code.
Amado stared at Isshiki's battered, heavily injured state, his voice trembling. "How did it come to this? The Hokage and Uchiha… they've actually reached that level?"
"Hmm. You could say they seized a bit of the initiative," Isshiki replied calmly, unwilling to dwell on his defeat. "More importantly, how is Code?"
"As you can see… he's barely alive," Amado said. "Thanks to the limiter being removed, the pure power of your White Karma restored his fatal internal injuries. But his burned skin… won't recover anytime soon."
Isshiki looked down at Code, whose face was barely recognizable.
Code gazed back with pure devotion, like a child meeting a god.
"Lord Isshiki… my most revered, most worshipped, most exalted Lord Isshiki! I can finally behold your true form!"
Isshiki met his gaze. "Code, my most loyal servant. The time has come for you to make a sacrifice for me. Are you willing to offer yourself?"
"Of course! That's what I've always wanted! Tell me—what must I do!?"
"I want you… to become the Ten-Tails' sacrifice."
Amado's eyes widened in shock.
But Code's face lit up with overwhelming joy. "Me!? I—I'm worthy of that!?"
"Of course. You are one I personally chose."
"Hahaha… what an honor! I'm willing! I'm willing to become the Ten-Tails' sacrifice!"
Isshiki said, "Do you have any final words? Speak them. I will remember."
The smile slowly faded from Code's face. He lowered his head, trembling between anxiety and anticipation.
Finally, he gathered his courage.
"Lord Isshiki… may I ask something? It might sound disrespectful… but will you answer me honestly?"
"Ask anything. Even if it's disrespectful, I will forgive you."
Code swallowed nervously. "At this moment… in your heart… can I… surpass Kawaki?"
Isshiki looked at him in silence for a long time.
Then he bent down and took Code's hand.
Blood from his still-wounded chest dripped onto their clasped hands.
"Of course, Code. Kawaki is merely my vessel. Once my resurrection is complete, he will cease to exist."
"But you are different. You will merge with the Ten-Tails, along with the pure power of my White Karma. You will become part of me—my soul and my blood."
"Ah… what glory… what radiance…!" Tears streamed down Code's face. He trembled as if his soul were ascending.
All fear of death vanished.
"Thank you, great Lord Ōtsutsuki Isshiki! I regret nothing! Please… no, I beg you—make me part of you!"
Isshiki lifted him.
The Ten-Tails roared, its massive jaws opening wide.
Isshiki tossed Code into the air—
Crunch!
The Ten-Tails swallowed him whole.
Amado could no longer hold back. "Isshiki! Are you trying to turn the Ten-Tails into a Divine Tree!?"
"No," Isshiki said calmly. "Code's White Karma contains no soul. The Ten-Tails won't become a Divine Tree—only grow stronger, stopping just short of that transformation."
Boom!
The Ten-Tails fully absorbed Code.
Within him was power equal to Isshiki's own.
That power acted as a catalyst.
The Ten-Tails rapidly evolved—first form, second form—until it became a colossal entity rivaling Kaguya's final Ten-Tails stage.
Though similar in form, its power far exceeded that stage. Only the absence of a Divine Tree trigger held it back.
Amado's voice shook. "Isshiki… what exactly are you planning?"
Isshiki replied, "Our clan possesses a technique to merge completely with the Ten-Tails. Kaguya did something similar after consuming the Chakra Fruit."
"I will now perform that technique."
"Merge… completely?" Amado frowned. "Like becoming a jinchūriki?"
"No. A jinchūriki merely uses the Ten-Tails' chakra. The two remain separate."
"But this technique… makes us one."
He spoke calmly.
"My power… combined with the Ten-Tails… combined with Code's power equal to mine…"
"My base strength will be tripled."
Amado's face went pale.
Isshiki smiled. "Of course, since it's still just a Ten-Tails—not a Divine Tree—I won't gain true immortality. My lifespan will still end within three days."
"So… when you die, the Ten-Tails dies too?"
"Correct. But this power becomes mine. Once I transfer it into a new vessel—Kawaki—I will retain this form."
"However… I will never obtain a Chakra Fruit."
"If I fused after consuming it, all would be perfect. But doing so beforehand makes me the Ten-Tails itself."
"And the Ten-Tails cannot eat its own fruit."
"My evolution ends here."
He finished speaking and waited.
Amado exhaled slowly.
"So… that's your plan…"
So he's finally going to kill me.
Isshiki tilted his head. "You're calm. Have you prepared your final move?"
"Of course! I wasn't completely unprepared!"
Amado pressed a button.
Buzz!
A blinding burst of light and sound erupted.
"Scientific tools?" Isshiki said indifferently.
Then—
A tall figure appeared, a swirling vortex forming from his right eye—
And Amado was sucked inside.
Isshiki didn't move to stop it.
"…Ao of the Inner. So that's it."
"He modified Ao's Byakugan to gain space-time ability."
"Clever… you planned for this."
"But you're too impatient, Amado. I wasn't planning to kill you yet."
"You still have value."
"You think I don't know? You secretly preserved those two dangerous cyborgs I ordered destroyed."
"If you die… their location dies with you."
"I'll let you live a bit longer."
Isshiki reached into his eye socket, pulling out his ruined left eye.
From Daikokuten, he retrieved Hinata's Byakugan and implanted it.
"…This should be more interesting."
—Secret Art: Kunizukuri God Fusion!
Boom!
The Ten-Tails' massive body compressed and merged into Isshiki!
Boom!
His white robes flared, magatama patterns spreading as towering white chakra flames surged from his form.
His wounds vanished instantly.
His body transformed—stronger, denser, every organ replaced by pure, perfected cells with immense regenerative power.
Crack!
His horn regrew—larger, more monstrous, like a divine crown.
He flexed his fingers.
"Triple the power… is just the beginning."
Trees burst from the ground at his will.
Wood Release—like the Ten-Tails itself.
Truth-Seeking Orbs formed behind him.
The power of the Ten-Tails' sage chakra.
A red six-tomoe Rinnegan opened on his forehead.
From the Ten-Tails.
His left eye—the Byakugan taken from Hinata—evolved, glowing gold.
A Tenseigan—more refined than Toneri's.
Black claw-like spikes extended from his fingers.
The power of Shibai Ōtsutsuki's divine technique—Claw Marks.
Far beyond even the Divine Tree beings.
This—
Was the form of a cornered god.
The price of abandoning the Chakra Fruit.
Ultimate Ōtsutsuki Isshiki.
"I'm coming for you… Hokage, Uchiha, Sage of Six Paths."
"Kawaki… wait for me."
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