Kaguya's gaze fell on the bloodshot eyes beneath Hagoromo's lashes, her tone carrying a trace of deliberate pity, "Do you see it now? This is what happens when you resist me."
"You killed Hamura with your own hands. Now you stand alone. If you are willing to turn back, I might be able to find a way to bring him back to life."
"It was you who forced me!" Hagoromo roared.
"You treat human lives like worthless weeds. You used control techniques on Hamura and caused his death. The one who killed him is you!"
Hagoromo shouted angrily, the presence of his Rinnegan surging.
Kaguya's brows tightened at once, anger burning in her eyes.
She truly could not understand why her own son would stand against his closest family for those short lived "ants."
"You were born above all living beings. Why cling to these ordinary mortals?"
"You can live for thousands, even tens of thousands of years, long enough to watch generations rise and fall!"
"Five hundred years from now, the people you care about will already be dust. What will you have left?!"
Before her words even finished, Kaguya's figure shot toward Hagoromo like an arrow released from a bow.
Chakra gathered at her fingertips and turned into a sharp blade of air, carrying the force to tear apart heaven and earth.
Since that was the case... she would take Hagoromo's chakra back.
Just as the air blade was about to touch him...
Smack!
A crisp sound echoed all around.
A well defined hand suddenly reached out and firmly grabbed Kaguya's wrist. The grip was like iron pliers. She could not move forward even a little.
"He… still has me."
Arisu's voice was calm and steady as he looked at Kaguya's shocked face.
"!!!!!!"
Kaguya's pupils shrank sharply, and the chakra around her instantly became chaotic.
She suddenly looked up. When she saw clearly who it was, her face turned pale as paper, and she cried out in shock, "It's you?!"
"You're not dead?"
Otsutsuki Kaguya exclaimed in disbelief.
The man stood tall and straight. His black and red long robe fluttered wildly in the fierce wind. His dark hair lifted lightly with the airflow.
His face was still as handsome as before, red lips and white teeth, unmatched in beauty. Yet between his brows there was now a trace of time's carving, and deep in his eyes lay endless calm.
It was Arisu, whom she had believed had long turned to ashes.
"Master!"
When Hagoromo saw who it was, the despair that had built up in his heart was instantly replaced by wild joy, his voice trembling uncontrollably.
Arisu's gaze briefly swept over the Rinnegan in Hagoromo's eyes. The patterns within it carried power strong enough to shake heaven and earth.
Then he said lightly, "Use the Sage Talisman to save Hamura."
"Next, I'll 'fight some magic' with your mother."
Before his words even fell, Arisu suddenly exerted force with his wrist. Kaguya felt a fierce Sage chakra surge out along his arm.
"Why didn't you die?! How could you not be dead?"
Otsutsuki Kaguya muttered in shock, staring at the Arisu before her in disbelief.
All Killing Ash Bones and Infinite Tsukuyomi. How could Arisu possibly have escaped those two techniques?
"Heh heh, Kaguya. Are you surprised to see me?"
"Now it's my turn to fight you!"
Arisu let out a cold laugh.
Before she could react, he had already moved to her side. His right fist, wrapped in Sage chakra, shot toward her face with a sharp tearing sound through the air.
Whoosh!!!
Kaguya hurriedly leaned back, at the same time striking her left palm toward Arisu's ribs. The palm wind was as sharp as a blade.
BOOM!!!!
Golden green and pale white chakra collided violently, exploding with a deafening roar.
In an instant, Arisu and Kaguya had already exchanged hundreds of moves in the blink of an eye.
Palm winds, fist shadows, and the light of techniques wove together into a net. The speed was so fast that ordinary people could not see clearly at all. They could only feel the world destroying pressure that made it hard to breathe.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Pa! Pa! Pa! Pa!!!!
In just a moment, the two had already turned into afterimages at their original spot. The crisp sounds of their close combat rang out densely like drumbeats.
Arisu's moves combined the flexibility of Mount Myoboku's Sage arts with the fierce strength of the Monkey Demon clan. Every punch and every kick carried unstoppable Sage power.
Where his palm wind swept past, dust rose into the sky and stone slabs shattered into powder.
Although Kaguya carried the power of the God Tree, and her close combat skills had reached the peak, and after eating the fruit her body was unmatched, under Arisu's fierce Sage assault she was forced back again and again.
In less than a hundred moves, her sleeves had already been shaken to pieces. A trace of blood flowed from the corner of her mouth. She was completely suppressed by Arisu.
"Your power… is more than twice as strong as it was back then!"
Kaguya was both shocked and furious. After dodging a sweeping kick from Arisu, her body flew backward as she stared at him.
Arisu said nothing. With a flash, he chased after her. Sage chakra gathered at his fingertips and turned into fine blades of light, slashing toward her vital points.
His movements were extremely fast. The corners of his black and red robe cut through the air, leaving afterimages.
Hundreds of exchanges were completed in the span of a breath. Each clash of their bodies exploded with thunderous sound.
From the ground they fought into midair. Arisu threw a punch that slammed into Kaguya's blocking palm.
"Sage Art: Multiple Frog Combination Fist!" Arisu exerted force.
Under the explosion of Sage power, Kaguya was struck heavily and sent flying, crashing through several towering ancient trees. The ground was smashed into a deep pit several meters wide.
Before the dust even settled, Arisu had already teleported in front of her.
"Sage Art, Kirin!"
Arisu suddenly raised his hand. Violent lightning chakra gathered in his palm. Dark clouds instantly formed around him. Thunder roared and lightning flashed.
He swung his arm fiercely. A giant lightning Kirin burst out from the dark clouds with a roar.
Silver white lightning carried destructive power as it opened its huge mouth and bit down hard toward Kaguya.
BOOM!!!
The moment the lightning Kirin hit the ground, the earth shook violently. Countless cracks spread out like a spiderweb. The surrounding buildings were instantly flattened.
Dust and lightning intertwined, forming a terrifying zone of destruction.
The aftershock spread like a tidal wave, shaking even the distant mountains until they seemed ready to collapse.
However, Kaguya still flew out from the smoke.
For her, even though Sage arts could cause serious damage, she had eaten the fruit in the end, and her body was extremely strong.
Taking a Sage Kirin head on was not a problem.
Using the rebound force, she retreated several meters. Looking at Arisu pressing closer step by step, her eyes were filled with confusion. "Since you're still alive, why haven't you shown yourself all these years? Do you know that I…"
"What nonsense are you talking about?" Arisu said coldly.
He truly could not understand Kaguya's logic. Back then she had broken her promise and used All Killing Ash Bones to pierce his chest. And now she was asking why he had not appeared?
If he had really gone to her as she wished, he would probably have been met with another fatal strike.
'If I had really come, you wouldn't have been happy either…'
His thoughts flashed quickly, but his hands did not stop. His foot stepped on empty air. Sage chakra condensed into solid steps beneath him as he once again closed in.
His palm wind carried a world destroying force. "More words are useless!"
"So noisy! Take my killing move!!!"
"Sage Art: Raging Wind Palm!"
BOOM!
The two collided again high in the sky. A terrifying air wave spread out from the center of their clash. The mansion below was instantly turned into powder.
The ground split open with crisscrossing ravines, bottomless. Dust shot into the sky, covering the sun.
On the ground, Hagoromo held Hamura's cold body and looked up at the two figures in the sky moving at extreme speed. His eyes were full of shock.
"Master's strength… has actually become this powerful. He can fight Mother head on and even suppress her!"
"But now that I have the Rinnegan, I should also have the strength to fight Mother…"
Otsutsuki Hagoromo clenched his fist. He felt that he was very strong now.
———
[A/N: I need to cut in here. In the original story, Kaguya became pregnant and gave birth to the brothers Hagoromo and Hamura after receiving the blessings of the people.
[In the original, the Hagoromo and Hamura brothers could not use Susanoo, nor did they know ninjutsu. The two of them fought using Truth Seeking Balls and Yin Yang Release.]
[Including the later original plot about Indra and Asura. The one who created ninjutsu was Indra, and the only one who could use ninjutsu was also Indra.]
[Asura did not know any Wood Release or the suspected Rasengan like technique. He fought using Truth Seeking Balls, Yin Yang Release, and something similar to the Nine Tails Chakra Mode.]
[I say this because this book's plot refers to the TV anime. As for the manga plot, let's not talk about it.]
———
He quickly took out the Toad Sage Talisman from his robe. The talisman felt warm in his hand and gave off a faint golden glow. Without hesitation, Hagoromo pressed it onto Hamura's forehead.
Buzz!
Brilliant golden light burst out instantly, covering Hamura's body.
The golden light flowed into his body through his seven openings. His originally cold body gradually regained warmth.
The wound that had pierced through his chest healed at a speed visible to the eye. Color returned to his pale face.
After a moment, the golden light faded. Hamura suddenly opened his eyes. His Byakugan activated at once. He coughed violently, his chest rising and falling unevenly. He was already completely restored.