"It seems Ōtsutsuki Isshiki has been found?"
Orochimaru murmured to himself, fingers still steady as he continued his experiment. He knew very well that this battle was beyond him—at least in the immediate sense. Rushing there would change nothing.
Thinking of this, he sighed softly.
When had he, one of Konoha's Legendary Sannin, become a spectator?
In truth, the current Orochimaru was unquestionably top-tier combat power. Very few understood how far his research had progressed. What was certain, however, was that his survival abilities had reached an astonishing level.
No one knew how many "weapons" he could draw from his own body.
Yet even so… a faint sense of powerlessness lingered.
"Forget it. Today's research ends here."
The name Ōtsutsuki Isshiki weighed heavily on his mind, making it impossible to concentrate any longer.
Meanwhile, on the moon—
Ōtsutsuki Kaguya was preparing to descend to the shinobi world. Certain hidden dangers from the past needed to be erased.
Then she sensed it.
A familiar chakra, blazing across the earth at terrifying speed.
Uzumaki Naruto.
"That brat has already moved?"
Unconsciously, Kaguya calmed down.
Naruto's strength had grown increasingly unfathomable. Even she could no longer measure him with certainty.
Her pale gaze shifted toward the enormous Tenseigan embedded within the moon.
Perhaps… I should agree to that child's request.
When she first learned of this colossal Tenseigan, she had been momentarily surprised. But upon deeper reflection, she found it almost foolish.
So many members of the lunar Ōtsutsuki clan had perished to create this single giant eye. Compared to an ordinary Tenseigan, its functions were limited—amplified ocular power and the ability to monitor the shinobi world.
The price paid did not match the gain.
With proper planning, the blood sacrificed could have produced more than ten standard Tenseigan instead.
Unfortunately, the lunar branch's bloodline had grown too diluted.
Previously, Naruto had asked her for the method to awaken the Tenseigan.
She had refused.
Because Naruto requested two awakenings.
And she had already cultivated one successor through the giant Tenseigan—
Ōtsutsuki Toneri.
Toneri now stood at the Six Paths level.
"If you can eliminate Ōtsutsuki Isshiki… perhaps I can sacrifice a portion of my origin to help those two awaken."
Her gaze drifted toward a distant corner of the shinobi world.
"Achoo! Achoo!"
Naruto rubbed his nose while speeding across the land.
Is someone talking about me?
He had no idea that Kaguya was wavering on the matter he had once proposed.
Naruto had always wanted Hyūga Hinata and Hyūga Neji to grow stronger.
Within the Hyūga clan, only a few possessed the potential to advance toward the Tenseigan: Hinata, Neji, and his sister-in-law, Hyūga Hanabi.
Among them, Hanabi's potential was slightly lower—but not insignificant.
If they could receive assistance from Kaguya, the progenitor of the Byakugan, then awakening the Tenseigan would no longer be impossible.
Of course, the requirements were severe.
To even attempt awakening, one's strength had to reach the peak of Kage-level. Only then could there be hope of entering Tenseigan Mode.
The giant Tenseigan on the moon could serve as an external energy source.
Years ago, Naruto had obtained the method of awakening the Tenseigan from Ōtsutsuki Toneri. But he rejected it.
The Ōtsutsuki methods were steeped in sacrifice.
The Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan.
The Tenseigan.
Even the God Tree.
All were born from blood and loss.
From scattered remarks left behind by "Future Sasuke" and his own deductions, Naruto suspected that the true progenitor of the Ōtsutsuki clan had comprehended the path of Yin–Yang Release at its most fundamental level.
Perfect balance.
Yin and Yang unified.
Life and death intertwined.
Reshaping the true self.
But the method he learned for awakening the Tenseigan was cruel.
Either sacrifice members of the Hyūga clan—
Or find someone with equally pure Byakugan blood, fuse the ocular power through secret techniques, and enter what Toneri described as the "fetal movement stage."
A gestation.
A rebirth.
The eyes would undergo a cycle of reincarnation—hence the name Tenseigan.
Naruto would never slaughter the Hyūga clan for two awakenings.
Hinata would never accept such a price.
Neither would Neji.
The reason Naruto wished for Hinata to reach the Tenseigan was simple—
Only by stepping into the Six Paths realm could she truly grasp the possibility of eternal life.
And in the coming storm against Ōtsutsuki Isshiki…
Only Six Paths power could stand on equal ground.
Otherwise, only what Naruto called a true god could grant eternal life.
"I just hope Madara and Hashirama can hold on a little longer," Naruto muttered as he moved. "If they fall too quickly… that would be disappointing."
His figure flickered—
And vanished.
In the next instant, he reappeared dozens of miles away.
Then again.
Naruto's mastery over space had long surpassed the limitations of the Flying Thunder God Technique. He no longer required a formula seal as a medium.
Strictly speaking, what he used now was no longer Flying Thunder God at all.
It was pure spatial dominion.
Battlefield
At that very moment, Uchiha Madara was being forced back under Ōtsutsuki Isshiki's relentless assault.
Even Madara—who had stepped into the half-step Six Paths realm—was being suppressed.
Seeing this, Senju Hashirama immediately activated a powerful Sealing Technique, temporarily restraining several members of Kara to free his hands.
He landed beside Madara.
"Madara!" Hashirama called out, his voice steady. "It's been a long time since we fought side-by-side like this, hasn't it?"
Madara shot him a sideways glance and scoffed coldly.
"When has the shinobi world ever allowed us to stand on the same side?" he replied. "I invited you once. You refused."
Hashirama's expression turned awkward.
Not only had he refused—
He had stabbed Madara in the back.
Of course, Madara had deceived him as well. Their bond had always been tangled in ideals and betrayal.
Hashirama exhaled slowly.
"Then this time," he said firmly, "let us truly fight side-by-side."
As he spoke, Hashirama forcefully drew Natural Energy into his body.
Unlike conventional Sage Mode, which required stillness, this was a forcibly harmonized method—similar in principle to the perfected Sage Mode system developed through later shinobi research, far more stable than Jiraiya's imperfect version.
Hashirama's chakra had long since been refined under the new cultivation system of the shinobi world. Blending it completely with Natural Energy, he had stepped into Six Paths–level combat power.
Only in this state could he stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Uchiha Madara.
The God of Shinobi and the Ghost of the Uchiha—
United once more.
Across from them, Ōtsutsuki Isshiki's expression remained utterly indifferent.
As if none of this mattered.
As if the two greatest figures in shinobi history were nothing more than insects blocking his path.
Not far away, Kawaki—still relatively young—had already begun to retreat.
The changes occurring within his body, combined with Isshiki's increasingly peculiar attitude toward him, had led him to a terrible realization.
He ran.
Without hesitation.
In the original timeline, he had fled as well—escaping to Konohagakure and allowing it to become his shelter, his Umbrella.
No one wants to die.
Kawaki was no exception.
(End of Chapter)
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