"Toneri, run."
Black Zetsu's voice came from inside Toneri's sleeve. "Once we reach the ninja world, Grandmother will help you obtain her power. When that happens, Jie Uchiha will no longer be your opponent."
Toneri nodded, but he knew the real problem was not reaching the ninja world. It was shaking Jie off first.
If Jie followed them into the new passage, everything would be over. Jie would never give him the time needed for Hanabi's Byakugan to finish changing.
Through the Byakugan, Toneri could see the Perfect Susanoo closing in behind him.
The distance between them was shrinking fast.
"Almighty Push!"
The cooldown had just ended. Toneri turned around and pushed both hands toward Jie, sending out an even stronger repulsive force than before.
But against the Perfect Susanoo, Almighty Push was no longer enough.
The force struck the red-gold armor and only made the chakra around it ripple slightly. It could not stop Jie's advance at all.
However, Toneri had not used it only to attack.
Since Almighty Push could not push Jie away, the recoil pushed Toneri back instead. His body shot backward at high speed, pulling open the distance between them in an instant.
Even Jie was slightly surprised.
He had not expected Toneri to use Almighty Push like that.
It did help him escape for a moment, but Toneri himself did not have Jie's body. The recoil slammed back into him, and he immediately felt blood rise in his throat.
He had no time to check his injuries, but he knew they were not light.
Worse, the damage slowed him down. The distance he had just opened began to shrink again.
Black Zetsu had only just relaxed when it noticed Toneri slowing down. Jie was still chasing from behind, and the Perfect Susanoo was closing the distance even faster than before.
If they were caught here, Black Zetsu would have nowhere to run. This was the moon, not the ninja world, and without Toneri, it would be trapped alone in front of Jie.
What worried it even more was the Rinnegan. The other eye had already fallen into Jie's hands, and Black Zetsu still did not know where he had hidden it.
If this last eye was lost too, all the plans it had prepared for countless years would collapse.
After a moment, Black Zetsu made its decision.
"Toneri, use that move."
Toneri's expression changed. "But if I use it now, the Byakugan's transformation will take much longer."
"Then let it take longer," Black Zetsu said quickly. "That is still better than dying here."
Toneri hesitated, but only for a moment. Jie was already getting closer behind him, and there was no time left for him to think.
A sharp light flashed in his eyes.
Jie could not hear every word between Toneri and Black Zetsu, but he could tell they were still discussing how to escape. His eyes turned sharp as the Perfect Susanoo raised the huge blade in its hand.
"If you still have things to discuss, save them for the Pure Land."
At almost the same time, Toneri turned around, and the chakra in his left eye surged. A silver storm gathered in front of him and rushed toward Jie with terrifying force.
"Silver Wheel Reincarnation Explosion!"
The Perfect Susanoo swung its blade down without hesitation.
"Susanoo Slash."
The silver storm and the red-gold sword light collided above the moon's surface. For an instant, the light from the clash spread so far that even the sun seemed dim beside it.
Down in the ninja world, countless people looked up in shock. It was broad daylight, yet the moon was shining with a strange, blinding light.
Then the explosion spread.
The force tore across the moon, cracking the ground and swallowing the puppet army caught in the middle. Under the violent impact, nearly a fifth of the moon broke apart, and the entire moon began to shake.
The moon in this world was not the same as an ordinary moon.
It had been created by Hagoromo to seal Kaguya, so in the end, it was still a massive sphere made by ninjutsu. Its toughness could not truly compare to the land of the ninja world.
Even so, breaking nearly a fifth of it with one clash was still terrifying.
Toneri looked at the shattered moon around him. Even the Silver Wheel Reincarnation Explosion had failed to stop Jie, managing only to delay him for a brief moment.
For the first time, Toneri felt regret.
After taking Hanabi's Byakugan, he should have listened and gone straight to the ninja world.
If he had waited there until the eye finished changing into the Tenseigan, he could have obtained Hamura's power first and then returned to deal with Jie.
Instead, he had wanted to see Jie's strength for himself.
Now he was being chased with nowhere to run.
Black Zetsu was also furious.
Obito was dead, Nagato already knew the truth, and all the pawns it had prepared over the years were gone. With no other choice, it had controlled White Zetsu and used the passage to reach the moon, hoping to turn Toneri into its new tool.
It had even given Toneri the last Rinnegan.
All of this was supposed to create someone strong enough to defeat Jie and help free Kaguya.
But Toneri had ruined the timing.
If he had listened from the start, none of this would have happened. For a moment, Black Zetsu even regretted not reviving Madara instead. Madara might have been weaker than Jie, but at least he had already fallen completely into its trap.
Regret was useless now.
Black Zetsu had never been the type to wait for death. Whether Toneri lived or died did not matter much to it, but the Rinnegan could not fall into Jie's hands, and it had to return to the ninja world.
"Toneri, ignore Jie and enter the passage," Black Zetsu said quickly. "Once you are inside, I will use the last of Grandmother's power to stop him."
Toneri's left eye was already bleeding. He had only passed through the first stage of the Byakugan's change, and forcing out Silver Wheel Reincarnation Explosion had placed a heavy burden on him.
But he had no better choice.
He gritted his teeth and rushed toward the passage Black Zetsu had prepared.
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