"Boruto!"
Not just Momoshiki, but everyone else nearby was startled by Naruto's rough actions.
"Inferior creature!" Momoshiki, controlling Boruto's body, let out a furious roar. He pressed his hands against the ground, about to break free and make the one who had blasphemed a god atone with his death. Clearly, he hadn't anticipated that this fellow would have the heart to act so harshly against Boruto.
But—
No matter how much force he exerted, his head remained firmly embedded in the dirt.
Crack~
Naruto's palm pressed down again, and Momoshiki's head sank several more inches into the ground.
"It seems... you didn't understand what I meant?"
"Ugh..." A muffled struggle and low whispers came from beneath Naruto's hand.
Naruto couldn't hear what he was saying. He grabbed Momoshiki and lifted him halfway into the air.
The Seventh Hokage and the others, witnessing this, averted their gazes, unable to bear watching. They didn't step forward to intervene because they knew that if they did, it would only fuel Momoshiki's arrogance. Regaining Boruto's body would then become even more difficult.
"Hhhooo..." Momoshiki's face was covered in blood and bruises, but his posture remained arrogant. "Don't you all find this ironic?"
"What do you mean?" Uchiha Sasuke's eyes narrowed.
"Only a god can slay a god." Momoshiki spat out blood, yet his face was filled with unstoppable mockery.
The Seventh Hokage looked at the pale figure before him, so similar to an Otsutsuki, and asked, "Are you saying... he is also an Otsutsuki?"
"Your left eye, it belonged to Urashiki, didn't it?" Momoshiki ignored him, refocusing his gaze on the man restraining him.
"What if it is? What if it isn't?" Naruto had already roughly guessed what Momoshiki was about to say. Ever since he had cultivated his own Sage Mode, a certain latent power within his body had been awakening. After fusing with Urashiki's tomoe Rinnegan, the awakening speed had intensified. Combined with Momoshiki's words, he now roughly understood what exactly was reawakening within him: the Otsutsuki power hidden deep within his genes. The Uzumaki clan's lineage, traced back, originated from Asura; traced further back, it came from the Sage of Six Paths, Hagoromo Otsutsuki; and even further up, from Kaguya Otsutsuki, a true Otsutsuki. The existence of natural energy, the tomoe Rinnegan, and the Truth-Seeking Orbs had successfully allowed him to trace back to the power from the source of his bloodline.
"Your level of existence has already far surpassed theirs." Momoshiki's gaze shifted slightly, looking towards the Seventh Hokage and Uchiha Sasuke at the front of the group. "Although I myself am reluctant to admit it, you already count as an Otsutsuki. And they," he sneered, "are merely half-breeds with meager Otsutsuki blood."
"Your so-called 'level of existence' is meaningless; your so-called 'bloodline' is equally meaningless," Naruto stated. "Someone of 'noble' bloodline like you, weren't you also defeated at the hands of 'half-breeds'?"
"No, you still haven't understood my meaning," Momoshiki said. "As an Otsutsuki yourself, you are already qualified to consume the [Chakra Fruit]. Let's cooperate. After we cultivate the [Chakra Fruit], we can share the [Pills] equally. Don't think fifty percent is too little. The [Fruit] can only be refined into [Pills] after being sent back to the clan. After those people take their cut, what's ultimately left for us isn't much."
"What are these [Pills]?" Naruto slightly loosened his grip.
"The [Fruit] contains immense energy and genetic information. When an Otsutsuki consumes the [Pills] refined from the God Tree's fruit, they continuously evolve, until the moment they become an unparalleled 'God'." Momoshiki sensed the reduced pressure on his neck, a flicker of joy in his eyes. "Skip the tedious, endless, hopeless cultivation, and directly embark on the path to godhood."
"Then why don't you tell him that the growth of the [Seedling] requires devouring an Otsutsuki?" Nara Shikamaru interjected, questioning him. If Momoshiki was allowed to continue his enticement, no one could guarantee that their strongest asset here—Uzumaki Naruto from another world—wouldn't be tempted.
"Explain in detail?" Naruto turned his head to look at Shikamaru.
Nara Shikamaru recounted all the intelligence he had obtained from Amado.
Crack~
The pressure on Momoshiki's neck suddenly increased. He hastily explained, "Kawaki can serve as excellent [sustenance]."
"What do you mean? The [Karma] on my body has already disappeared?" Kawaki's expression darkened.
Naruto looked at Momoshiki.
"Even if the [Karma] mark disappears, the 'thawed' and dissolved Otsutsuki [information] can still remain in his body," Momoshiki quickly explained. "Moreover, he has already synchronized with Boruto; the [thawing] is already eighty percent complete. In other words, his body is already... basically [Otsutsuki Isshiki] himself. He can already serve as a [sacrifice] to be offered to the God Tree. Of course, the God Tree might grow a little small, since he isn't a true Otsutsuki, but it will still be able to bear a considerable [Fruit]."
"Isshiki obtained a hidden [Ten-Tails] from somewhere, which is the God Tree seedling. As long as we feed Kawaki to the Ten-Tails, we can obtain the God Tree fruit."
"What?" Kawaki's face paled.
"Boruto, had enough sleep yet?" Naruto suddenly asked.
"Huh?" Momoshiki was stunned. He then felt it becoming increasingly difficult to control Boruto's body. He immediately realized: the chakra his opponent had been injecting into this vessel wasn't to heal his injuries and obtain more information about the Otsutsuki, but to awaken Boruto's consciousness!
Naruto sensed Boruto's physical condition and felt a slight relief. Boruto had fallen unconscious because Isshiki, while attacking him, had also used Karma to completely drain his chakra. Momoshiki had likely been able to control Boruto's body based on this. So, Naruto had thought, if Boruto's chakra recovered, could he be awakened?
"Momoshiki! This ends now!" Boruto struggled to control his own right hand, preventing Momoshiki from continuing his rampage.
CRACK~
He forcefully broke off the horn on his right forehead.
Accompanied by intense pain, he successfully regained control of his body.
"Sorry for causing you all trouble," Boruto said with a pained smile.
"Indeed." Naruto set him down.
Seeing this, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. The battle was finally over.
Naruto deactivated his Six Paths Sage Mode, reverting to his original appearance.
Mindscape.
Two Kuramas sat facing each other.
"If we hadn't appeared just now, you were planning to use that, weren't you?" Kurama said.
"Yes," the 'Seventh Hokage's' Kurama sighed. "Otsutsuki Isshiki's strength is beyond reason. Apart from Baryon Mode, I really couldn't think of any other way to save that fellow's life."
"Is it really worth it?" 'Past Naruto's' Kurama asked. "That mode consumes your own life force. If you die in that state, you will lose the chance to be reborn."
"There's no such thing as 'worth it' or 'not worth it'," the 'Seventh Hokage's' Kurama replied with a shake of his head and a smile. "If you encountered the same predicament, I believe you would make the same choice. After all, in our long and meaningless existence, their presence brought us 'light,' didn't it?"
"Heh..."