The power of the Heavenly Foot of Pain was immense. Tsunade could shatter even a Susanoo with a single strike, and with Sage Chakra amplifying the technique, Hayashi's kick was far beyond what any ordinary shinobi could withstand.
Yet Ōtsutsuki Sōmoku was merely sent flying backward.
His massive frame never touched the ground. Instead, he slid across the ancient city for dozens of meters, smashing through one dilapidated structure after another.
Hayashi did not pursue immediately.
After landing lightly, he narrowed his eyes and watched.
As the dust settled, Sōmoku emerged unharmed.
Although that kick had forced him back, he showed no signs of injury or disorder. Strands of nearly tangible green Chakra flowed around his body, continuously repairing the damage he had sustained.
He slowly closed his eyes and tilted his chin upward, basking in the fading light as though intoxicated by the power surging through him.
There was no doubt that the Tenseigan stood on the same level as the Rinnegan.
Likewise, Tenseigan Chakra Mode unquestionably belonged to the realm of Six Paths power.
After all, the Golden Wheel Reincarnation Explosion was capable of slicing the moon in half with a single attack.
Had Toneri's Tenseigan been fully matured, Naruto would never have defeated him.
If Ōtsutsuki Sōmoku possessed a genuine Tenseigan at this moment, even Hayashi would have stood little chance against him.
Unfortunately for Sōmoku, the power he wielded was not his own.
It was merely power borrowed from the Giant Tenseigan through a special method.
The difference was obvious.
Although green Chakra cloaked his body, no Truth-Seeking Balls formed behind him.
The gap between borrowed power and a true Tenseigan was enormous.
It was similar to the Rinnegan.
The same eyes produced completely different results depending on the user.
Madara could suppress all Nine Tailed Beasts with a single Rinnegan.
Nagato, despite possessing both eyes, struggled greatly against even a single Nine-Tails.
The difference was qualitative.
Judging from Sōmoku's performance, he was undoubtedly weaker than Madara with one Rinnegan, yet significantly stronger than Nagato.
This was a level of power Hayashi had never faced before.
It was undoubtedly one of the highest-level battles in the current shinobi world.
One combatant was an Ōtsutsuki empowered by the Giant Tenseigan.
The other was Hayashi, a shinobi who possessed the Mangekyō Sharingan, Hashirama's cells, and strength already standing at the pinnacle of the ninja world.
Even if Might Duy opened all Eight Gates, he might not surpass either of them.
Hayashi took a deep breath.
Chakra surged throughout his body like a raging torrent.
This battle had begun without explanation.
Sōmoku never asked why Hayashi had come.
Hayashi never asked why the Ōtsutsuki had attacked.
Neither side needed an explanation.
Sōmoku wanted the Tenseigan.
Hayashi wanted the Tenseigan as well.
Since their objectives conflicted, words were meaningless.
Hayashi stepped forward.
Boom!
The ground beneath his foot shattered instantly.
Cracks spread in every direction like a gigantic spider web.
In the next instant, his figure vanished.
He appeared directly before Sōmoku.
Leaping into the air, Hayashi swung his right fist in a wide arc and smashed it toward Sōmoku's head.
Inside the artificial sun, the observing Ōtsutsuki could barely follow the battle.
They only saw a streak of black light crash into Sōmoku and send him hurtling backward once more.
The black streak followed relentlessly.
Again and again, Sōmoku was struck and blasted away before he could regain his footing.
It was inevitable.
Although Tenseigan Chakra Mode had elevated Sōmoku's speed to a level comparable to Hayashi's, Hayashi still possessed a decisive advantage.
The Eight Gates dramatically increased his physical speed, while the Flying Thunder God Technique allowed him to perform instantaneous spatial movement.
Even if Sōmoku's eyes could perceive him, his body could not react quickly enough.
Still, the Tenseigan's regenerative abilities were astonishing.
Every injury healed almost as quickly as it appeared.
But Sōmoku understood that remaining on the defensive was not an option.
His borrowed Tenseigan Chakra Mode had a limit.
Eventually, the power would run out.
As he barely raised an arm to block another punch from Hayashi, a strange golden light suddenly flickered within his blue-white Tenseigan.
At the same moment, Hayashi sensed something unusual.
Six figures materialized around him.
As the golden radiance intensified, the initially translucent forms rapidly solidified.
Each one was identical to Ōtsutsuki Sōmoku.
"Clones?"
The thought appeared briefly before Hayashi immediately dismissed it.
No clone technique functioned this way.
Whether it was a Shadow Clone or another variant, creating clones always weakened the original in some manner.
Yet the six newcomers and the original Sōmoku all possessed exactly the same Chakra fluctuations.
There was no difference whatsoever.
Which meant only one thing.
Six copies with strength equal to Sōmoku himself had appeared.
The power of the Tenseigan truly lived up to its reputation.
Hayashi's understanding of the Tenseigan was limited.
Most of what he knew came from Toneri, but Toneri had revealed only a fraction of its abilities.
Even the Rinnegan possessed countless powers beyond the Six Paths techniques used by Nagato and Madara's Limbo.
There were still abilities such as Chibaku Tensei and many others.
The same principle likely applied to the Tenseigan.
Golden light flowed through Sōmoku's eyes as he spoke in a hoarse voice.
"Six Paths: Anmitsuba."
The six Sōmoku copies immediately erupted with even greater Chakra.
Blue-white radiance burst from their bodies and connected directly to the artificial sun above, linking them to the Giant Tenseigan.
For a brief moment, all six entered an imperfect Tenseigan Chakra Mode.
They spread their arms simultaneously.
The blue-white streams of Chakra intertwined and merged together.
A colossal dragon formed overhead.
Sōmoku's expression twisted with strain.
Thin streams of blood flowed from his eyes, only to evaporate the instant they touched the surrounding green Chakra.
Hayashi looked upward.
His vision was completely filled by an ocean of blue-white light.
The pressure radiating from it exceeded even that of a Tailed Beast Ball.
The giant Chakra dragon roared forward and plunged directly toward him.
Meanwhile, throughout the ninja world, countless shinobi witnessed an astonishing sight.
Although it was still daytime, two suns appeared in the sky.
The moon, normally invisible during daylight hours, suddenly erupted with a radiance brighter than the sun itself.
Far away, Black Zetsu stared blankly upward.
Then his eyes widened.
"Mother... could Mother have escaped?"
His voice trembled.
For the first time in ages, excitement overwhelmed him.
His eyes even became moist.
At that moment, White Zetsu emerged from underground.
"Hey, Kakuzu already captured the Two-Tails. We should investigate the Four-Tails next. Stop slacking off."
"Forget the Tailed Beasts," Black Zetsu replied impatiently.
If Kaguya was truly about to return, collecting Tailed Beasts no longer mattered.
White Zetsu blinked.
"Then... what about Fugaku?"
Black Zetsu snorted.
"Fugaku can go eat shit."
Without sparing White Zetsu another glance, Black Zetsu sat down and continued staring at the sky.
He would wait here.
Wait for his mother to come and find him.
===
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