The moment the oppressive aura descended, Naruto vanished in a flash of golden chakra.
The enemy made no effort to conceal himself. His presence spread openly across the coastline, heavy and tyrannical, as if inviting confrontation.
Unfortunately for him, the one who arrived was not the "Moon" he had been expecting.
Naruto landed squarely in front of him.
The man frowned slightly.
"…Just the Hokage?"
"They came faster than expected."
This outcome was well within Amado's calculations. With an incident of this scale in Kirigakure, Konoha would inevitably be alerted.
Naruto stared at him, eyes narrowed.
"So you're the one behind this mess?"
Mei Terumī stepped forward, her gaze cold and unwavering.
Mei Terumi's presence shifted—no longer warm, no longer diplomatic.
The authority of a Mizukage pressed down like a blade.
"You are the one who orchestrated the plague in Hidden Mist."
This was not a question.
Only criminals were judged this way.
And Naruto would not tolerate anyone who shattered the peace so casually.
The man smiled faintly.
"I didn't do it personally," he admitted calmly.
"But if you insist… I suppose I bear some responsibility."
His gaze swept over them dismissively.
"Do you truly believe two mere Kage can stand against me?"
Naruto's chakra surged.
"You're awfully full of yourself," he said flatly.
"It makes me want to knock you flat."
Before the clash could begin—
A third presence descended.
The sky rippled.
Two figures stepped down from above.
White and pale-blue robes shimmered beneath the sun, trimmed with faint golden patterns that glowed softly. Their arrival was silent, yet unmistakable.
Below them, a massive figure stood calmly.
Son Goku rested on the ground, unmoving.
The speaker—dressed in white—sighed as he landed.
"…What a mess."
Naruto's eyes widened slightly.
Boruto.
Beside him floated Sarada.
Boruto Uzumaki
Sarada Uchiha
The man in white glanced at the Ōtsutsuki and spoke casually.
"So you're the one calling yourself [Moon] lately?"
"???"
Naruto frowned.
Until now, Kirigakure had assumed Delta and her group belonged to Moon.
And the man before them had openly acknowledged her as a subordinate.
Yet now—
The white-robed man scoffed.
"A cracked shell dares to call me by that name?"
His disdain was blatant.
That reaction immediately provoked the Ōtsutsuki.
"Oh?"
Isshiki Otsutsuki's eyes darkened.
"You've got quite the mouth."
Just as Isshiki prepared to strike—
The white-robed man raised one hand.
"Handle your personal grudges first," he said calmly.
"Then come to me… and die."
The words were spoken without malice.
As if stating a simple fact.
Isshiki laughed in anger.
So even a newly emerged faction dared speak to him like this?
He moved.
Karma surged across his body, black markings spreading as he descended like a meteor.
Below him—
Son Goku reacted instantly.
"Tailed Beast Ball."
The sphere of condensed chakra formed in a heartbeat.
Isshiki raised one hand.
The Karma absorbed it effortlessly.
A black rod formed in his grip—Yin-Yang Release given shape—and he continued his dive.
The two figures above, Son Goku, did not move.
Another sphere formed.
"—Drunken Life · Tailed Beast Ball."
Isshiki smirked.
The rod absorbed it again—
And then—
BOOM!!
The Tailed Beast Ball detonated violently, tearing free from Karma's control.
The explosion hurled Isshiki backwards, sending him crashing through the air until he was forcibly expelled from the illusion's effective range.
The white-robed man exhaled lightly.
"Not now."
He glanced at Naruto.
"Sort out your own problems. This has nothing to do with me."
He tapped Son Goku's head with his foot.
In the next instant, the Four-Tails vanished from the battlefield.
Yet Boruto and Sarada remained suspended in mid-air.
Not supported by chakra constructs.
Not by tailed beasts.
But by something unseen.
Mei Terumī stepped forward again, refusing to yield.
"So you are connected to Moon," she said coldly.
"An organisation that hunts tailed beasts across the world."
Chōjūrō stood at her side, chakra ready to disrupt any illusion.
The white-robed man smiled faintly.
"That has nothing to do with you."
"The tailed beasts were freed after the Fourth Shinobi World War," he continued.
"You gave up that power willingly."
"Don't try to bind others with morality you abandoned yourselves."
Mei frowned.
Naruto remained silent.
"In short," the man concluded,
"The plague in Kirigakure was not our doing."
"Deal with your immediate crisis first."
Then, as he lifted Sarada higher into the sky, he added calmly—
"Even if you're dissatisfied… what can you do?"
"With your current strength, do you really think you can break my eye technique?"
Isshiki hovered at a distance, watching with interest.
Naruto's gaze, however, remained locked on him.
"There's Ōtsutsuki chakra all over that man," Naruto said quietly.
"He's the real threat."
Mei and Chōjūrō finally understood.
Compared to an Ōtsutsuki, Moon was secondary.
The scale of danger had changed.
The white-robed man chuckled.
"I'll say it one last time."
"If you're capable—solve your own problems first."
Then he vanished.
No spatial ripple.
No distortion.
Boruto and Sarada disappeared with him.
Naruto and Isshiki both frowned.
How did he leave… without space-time ninjutsu?
Inside the Space-Time Rift, Boruto and Sarada stood silently.
Ahead of them—
The enemy they were meant to face.
Urashiki Otsutsuki
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