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"Instant recovery??"
"That old geezer from Mount Myōboku really does have some tricks up his sleeve!"
The White Monkey King stared in awe at the miraculous sight, then reached down and pulled Manji to his feet. "How do you feel? Any better?"
Manji cycled his Sage chakra internally, checking every pathway—then snapped his eyes open and looked at the White Monkey King.
"Yeah. I'm fired up!"
He clenched his fists with renewed fury.
At that exact moment—Isshiki's voice echoed from the distance.
"KAGUYA—YOU WORTHLESS LOWER BEING. YOU DARE BETRAY ME? I'LL FEED YOU TO THE TEN-TAILS MYSELF!"
Predictably, Isshiki had overpowered Kaguya with ease. He had her by the throat, dragging her toward the hungry, howling Ten-Tails without so much as breaking a sweat.
And his attention wasn't even remotely on Manji.
"White Monkey King—get ready to move!"
Manji snapped his gaze to his partner.
"Got it—LET'S GO!!!"
The White Monkey King understood instantly—and transformed without hesitation.
"Sacred Beast—White Monkey King—TRANSFORM!!!"
A flash of brilliant light—and the White Monkey King morphed into the Adamantine Staff, landing perfectly in Manji's grip!
In the same breath, Manji channeled every last drop of his Sage power—
And hurled the staff!
Fwip! Fwip! Fwip!
The Adamantine Staff screamed through the air toward Isshiki with razor-sharp killing intent!
At that moment, Isshiki was standing at the edge of the Ten-Tails' gaping maw—about to toss Kaguya in. Both hands were occupied around her throat. He couldn't free either one.
When he spotted the staff rocketing toward him, he assumed it was just a weapon.
"Heh… parlor tricks."
"Sukunahikona."
Isshiki lazily activated his shrinking ability—fully intending to miniaturize the weapon and toss it into Daikokuten.
But as the staff drew closer and closer…
Isshiki's expression crumbled.
"Wait—why won't it shrink??"
"This staff isn't a weapon??"
"WHY WON'T IT SHRINK??"
Isshiki's eyes went wide with genuine alarm—and before he could react—
The staff exploded back into the White Monkey King!
"WHAT??" Isshiki's jaw dropped.
"Surprise, motherfucker!!"
"That was me the whole time—go ahead and try shrinking that!"
"Remember that kick you gave Manji? HERE'S YOUR CHANGE!"
The White Monkey King launched a devastating flying kick—his massive size-49 foot slamming directly into Isshiki's face!
"MMPH—!"
In one fluid motion, the White Monkey King snatched Kaguya to safety with one hand—and drove his other foot straight into Isshiki's chest, punting him into the Ten-Tails' open mouth!
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!"
Isshiki's eyes blazed with impotent fury—a single roar of defiance tearing from his throat.
But the Ten-Tails didn't care who it was eating.
Didn't matter if the Ōtsutsuki was fresh or rotten—once it hit the mouth, it was all chakra.
Down the hatch!
"White Monkey King! BEAUTIFUL KICK! The greatest kick in all of shinobi history!"
Manji was grinning ear to ear.
The sheer value of that one kick was on par with Eight Gates Guy kicking Six Paths Madara!
Actually, Eight Gates Guy's kick might not have been enough to change the ending of Shippuden.
But the White Monkey King's kick? That just single-handedly created the Boruto timeline!
As for Isshiki Ōtsutsuki—his current status was "whereabouts unknown."
Hahaha—and in the shinobi world, "whereabouts unknown" meant dead!
Isshiki Ōtsutsuki was as dead as dead gets!
.....
Kaguya's face lit up with joy as she rushed forward to thank them. "Thank you both—Kaguya is forever in your debt!"
Manji's heart soared. After all—the Chakra Fruit was finally within reach.
His life was about to change forever.
"Munch munch… nom nom nom…"
The Ten-Tails wore an expression of deep satisfaction—then began to transform. Having received its sacrifice, the beast mutated at a staggering, almost frenzied pace!
RUMBLE!!!
The ground shook violently!
The Divine Tree erupted from the earth!
And then—the Chakra Fruit materialized.
Under normal circumstances, the Divine Tree only bore fruit once every thousand years—unless an Ōtsutsuki was offered as tribute to accelerate the process.
And Isshiki was about as pure-blooded Ōtsutsuki as they came.
The genuine article.
A blinding white radiance pulsed outward as the Chakra Fruit's brilliant glow illuminated the entire bamboo forest!
Manji's eyes burned with barely contained excitement.
There it is! That's the one!
As the Divine Tree bore its fruit, the dazzling light revealed it in all its glory—
The Chakra Fruit!!!
"Manji—please. It's yours. You've earned it."
Kaguya smiled warmly, gesturing for him to take it.
Manji beamed back at her. "Kaguya—I wish you the best. Go find your happiness."
"May you and your beloved have a hundred years of joy together—and plenty of children to fill a house."
"And when the wedding comes around, make sure I get an invitation. I'll be there in person."
He meant every word.
Manji had always felt that Kaguya's story in canon was genuinely tragic. Her partner treated her as expendable. Her husband betrayed her. Her own sons turned against her. Then she was sealed away for a thousand years.
Kaguya gazed at Manji's sincere smile, and something stirred deep within her chest. A small smile graced her lips—but her eyes glistened with a sadness she couldn't quite hide.
"Thank you, Manji. You're… different from the others."
Her voice was soft and gentle.
"Alright!"
No more holding back. Manji launched himself toward the fruit without a second's hesitation!
Within moments, the Chakra Fruit rested in his hands.
"The Chakra Fruit—it's mine! I finally did it!"
In that moment, joy flooded every fiber of his being. He'd shattered the Beyond-Kage ceiling!
From this day forward—he could live forever.
And wield Six Paths-level power!
He'd hit the jackpot on both counts!
Every risk, every gamble, every brush with death—it had all paid off in the most satisfying way imaginable!
"Congrats, I guess… though I honestly have no idea what you're so excited about."
The White Monkey King couldn't help but smile, swept up in Manji's infectious joy.
But then—the old ape's gaze drifted toward Kaguya.
His pupils shrank.
Oh no...
.....
"Heheheh… I'm thrilled, really—but why has my killing intent perception been going off nonstop?"
Manji scratched his head. His instincts had never been wrong before. Was it the Divine Tree setting it off?
Regardless—the priority right now was eating the Chakra Fruit.
Once he consumed it, everything else would sort itself out.
At that point, Manji could finally declare it himself:
'I stand at the pinnacle of Six Paths—who dares kill me? Who CAN kill me??'
"MANJI—BEHIND YOU!!!!"
The White Monkey King's voice exploded in a desperate, thundering roar!
SHHNK—!
In that same instant—a razor-sharp grey spike burst through Manji's chest from behind, the jagged tip erupting grotesquely from his sternum.
Manji's pupils contracted to pinpricks. He turned his head—agonizingly slow—
Kaguya still stood in the distance, her expression as cold and serene as ever.
And behind him—the White Monkey King lay collapsed on the ground, utterly spent, both hands gripping an All-Killing Ash Bone… staring up at Manji with desperate, pain-filled eyes.
"White Monkey King…? You—" Manji's mind blanked for a fraction of a second—unable to comprehend why his partner would betray him.
But then—wait. Something didn't add up.
Something was very, very wrong.
How would the White Monkey King even have an All-Killing Ash Bone??
Manji's gaze shifted painfully—from the bone protruding through his chest, to the White Monkey King, to Kaguya—and in a single flash of clarity, he understood everything.
Kaguya fired the bone.
The White Monkey King had tried to intercept it.
Manji looked down at the Ash Bone skewering his chest and murmured through gritted teeth:
"Unbelievable… White Monkey King, you crazy bastard—you tried to catch an All-Killing Ash Bone with your bare hands..."
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