The silver-haired man moved like lightning, quickly escaping the black water's range. He looked up, and to his surprise, saw a human-like figure, seven or eight parts similar to Ino in appearance but more than ten times fatter, flying towards him with a 'whoosh'.
He was familiar with Ino's information and knew this was the Second Mizukage's ultimate technique, Steam Impurities Explosion. Even in Sage Mode, the silver-haired man dared not take this attack head-on.
He was also quick-witted. He clapped his hands, released an Earth Release: Swamp of the Underworld beneath his feet, and with a push, sank into the ground using the swamp's force, narrowly dodging the Steam Impurities Explosion.
Fat Ino ran incredibly fast. Due to the steam within her body, she could also fly at high speed, but this water clone truly couldn't use Earth Release.
The Steam Impurities Explosion blasted mud into the sky, creating a mud rain that covered most of the capital.
The huge explosion made Sakura stop in her tracks again.
She was now over a thousand meters from the battlefield, but she could still feel the intensity of the distant fight. Would Ino be alright?
"Don't worry about her. Let's figure out where we're running," Pakkun said, sitting atop Bulu's head. Bulu, a giant Shar-Pei, was dutifully carrying Kogane and Pakkun.
Sakura checked her direction. She had to meet up with Shikamaru now. She pointed towards the palace: "We'll go this way."
Ino was very busy. The silver-haired man's speed and strength surged significantly under the enhancement of Sage Mode. After dodging the Steam Impurities Explosion, he launched a Super Big Ball Rasengan at the wooden golem's neck, intending to test it.
If Ino didn't activate her Yang Seal, her Chakra would at most only allow for a Big Ball Rasengan; a Super Big Ball Rasengan would be impossible due to insufficient Chakra.
Facing a Super Big Ball Rasengan with a diameter of over ten meters, she dared not let the wooden golem take the hit directly.
Her Sharingan spun rapidly, seeing through the silver-haired man's movements. Ino, like swatting a fly, controlled the wooden golem to slap at his position.
The silver-haired man's several advances, turns, and feints were all seen through. He immediately abandoned the idea of a head-on confrontation, retreated over ten meters with Earth Release, and slammed his left hand on the ground. He then summoned a giant toad comparable in size to Gamabunta. This toad spewed a large amount of Chakra-infused steam, mixing with the existing steam and dust. Even with her Sharingan, Ino couldn't see through the dense fog.
"Konoha Ninja, you shouldn't be here."
The silver-haired man's voice came from the dense fog.
Ino asked loudly, "Who exactly are you? And why can you use Rasengan?"
The silver-haired man 'hmph'ed: "You're completely missing the point. Your strength is good, but you're still too young."
With a Reverse Summoning Technique, the silver-haired man and his summoned toad disappeared. Ino released two Wind Release jutsus to disperse the heavy fog, then emerged from the wooden golem.
The point? Do I dare to grasp it? Ōtsutsuki Isshiki, who is currently controlling Jigen, is a Six Paths Level powerhouse who can easily defeat Naruto and Sasuke. Sasuke's complete Susanoo was easily shattered. Even if he can't fight for long, using one or two tenths of his Chakra to crush Ino would be no problem.
In Sakura's eyes, she was incredibly strong, but in Ōtsutsuki Isshiki's eyes, she was just a giant ant.
Ino mumbled atop the wooden golem's head: "Toad, Mount Myōboku? Why would he reveal this information to me?"
Her opponent was undoubtedly Kashin Koji, Jiraiya's clone, affiliated with the Kara. But cloning can only clone cells, not Ninjutsu. The origin of these Ninjutsu, and the giant toad Kashin Koji summoned at the end, strongly suggest something.
Ino scratched her head, feeling the situation was a bit too deep. She decided to let Jiraiya worry about it later.
A different dimension very close to the Ninja World.
The silver-haired man, Kashin Koji, slowly walked into a stone house.
Jigen, the wandering monk who once had a brief encounter with a Yamanaka Clan ancestor, was quietly resting in a chair.
On the surface, he was a monk, but in reality, he was an old monster whose age far exceeded that of the Six Paths Sage. The current Jigen was just an empty shell; the one controlling this body was Ōtsutsuki Isshiki, who arrived with Ōtsutsuki Kaguya.
Ōtsutsuki Isshiki was a noble "protector," while Ōtsutsuki Kaguya, revered as the progenitor of the Ninja World, was merely his "guardian," a servant. In terms of status within the Ōtsutsuki Clan, the Six Paths Sage was at most the son of his maid, and Indra and Ashura were even less significant, truly "mongrels."
Ōtsutsuki Isshiki's status was very high, but unfortunately, he was now a tiger fallen into the plains. He was ambushed by Ōtsutsuki Kaguya, and his original body was sacrificed by Kaguya to the Ten-Tails, becoming nourishment for the God Tree. He barely escaped death at the brink of demise, burrowing into the ear of the passing wandering monk Jigen, and has been clinging to life for so many years.
Jigen was just passing by, and his physical constitution was very ordinary, completely unable to bear the immense Chakra of the Ōtsutsuki Clan.
For thousands of years, he had been searching for a new host to restore his peak strength.
It wasn't that he hadn't found one, but the timing wasn't right.
Ōtsutsuki Kaguya, who had consumed the God Tree's fruit, possessed astonishing combat power, far exceeding his peak. She also monitored the entire planet, so he dared not show himself. He didn't even dare to kill bandits like the Yamanaka Clan, fearing it would attract Kaguya's attention.
After Kaguya came the Six Paths Sage, who became the Ten-Tails Jinchuriki. He couldn't defeat him either, so he could only hide in a different dimension.
After the Six Paths Sage's death, he sensed that his Chakra was still monitoring the Ninja World, so Ōtsutsuki Isshiki, being particularly cautious, continued to lie low.
Now, thousands of years had passed in a blink of an eye.
Jigen, his host, an ordinary person, had lived for several millennia and his body was failing. He urgently needed a new host.
The Akatsuki Organization attracted too much attention, and he also began to act, secretly establishing the Kara.
The Daimyo's hostility towards the Ninja Villages, ordinary people's hostility towards Ninja, including the Hidden Sand Village's audacious activation of the Konoha Crush to forcefully establish a major enemy in order to counter the Land of Wind Daimyo's disarmament plan—behind all of these, the Kara's shadow was present.
The Kara's Inner Circle consisted of core members who knew of his existence, while the Outer Circle was spread across all aspects of the Five Great Nations. Many powerful figures, driven by profit, were completely unaware that they had become tools for Ōtsutsuki Isshiki to stir up trouble.
Kashin Koji first reported to him about the "setback" that occurred in the Land of the Moon. Isshiki had little interest in such battles; the Ninja's techniques were like child's play to him. What he feared was the Six Paths Sage. He didn't know how much Chakra the Six Paths Sage still had, and wouldn't recklessly show himself at this time.
Ōtsutsuki Isshiki, controlling Jigen's body, behaved elegantly. He nodded gently: "I understand. You've worked hard, Koji."
Kashin Koji left his room and, under the pretext of a medical check-up, went to find Amado, the Kara's scientist.
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