Mufasa's backhand sent the extraterrestrial invader spiraling violently through the air.
Down below, the Allied Shinobi Forces stood paralyzed in sheer awe before a wave of immense satisfaction washed over them.
This chalk-skinned freak had spent the entire battle sneering about inferior creatures and primitive civilizations.
If the allied forces could actually fly or land a single scratch on him, half the battalions would have rushed the sky just to stomp him into the dirt.
After all, cleaving an entire moon in two with a single swing was a terrifying feat far surpassing the level of any ordinary Kage.
Naturally, a select few in the crowd experienced a very different kind of shock.
Madara and Obito stared skyward with their eyes wide, bordering on total panic.
'My moon? Where is my moon?!'
Without a celestial body hanging in orbit, how was the Infinite Tsukuyomi supposed to cast its reflection across the world?
Where was their illusionary paradise without the moon?
Were they supposed to invent an "Infinite Solar Tsukuyomi" instead? No such ninjutsu even existed in the records.
Honestly, they could have saved themselves the trouble by hiring Mufasa. All they really needed was an orbital signal transmitter.
Give Sunagakure the right budget, and the Kazekage would happily launch a massive orbital satellite to broadcast their genjutsu across the hemisphere.
Meanwhile, Black Zetsu was on the verge of a total psychological breakdown.
"Mother... Mother!"
There was no way she survived that strike—the chakra blade was big enough to cleave a continent in two.
An overwhelming, hollow emptiness settled deep in Black Zetsu's chest.
He had spent over a thousand years scheming in the shadows, orchestrating wars, and manipulating legendary bloodlines just to break the seal on his mother.
He had spent an entire lifetime playing grandmaster on the world's chessboard, only for some uninvited celestial relative to chop the seal apart in a single reckless swing.
'What was the point of all those centuries of plotting?!'
'Was my entire existence just a giant, meaningless joke?!'
"Mother... Mother!" Black Zetsu wailed, desperately scanning the tumbling lunar fragments for any trace of Kaguya's chakra.
High in the sky, Momoshiki finally halted his spin, stabilizing his footing on a current of air.
His regal composure shattered into pure, unbridled malice.
"Kill him, Kinshiki! Slaughter this ape immediately!" Momoshiki shrieked, his voice raw with fury.
Receiving his superior's command, Kinshiki moved into action.
The blazing red halo of the God of War ring hovering behind his back ignited with crackling energy.
The crimson ring was a signature ancestral relic of Kinshiki's lineage, capable of forging an endless arsenal of hard-light chakra weaponry with enough destructive mass to split tectonic plates.
He opened with his signature long-range assault: Ame no Nuboko.
Multiple glowing red armaments surged from the spinning halo, whistling through the sky straight toward Mufasa as Kinshiki lunged forward in their wake.
A massive, glowing battleaxe materialized in his massive grip.
Kinshiki intended to close the distance instantly, using the projectile barrage as cover to cleave the insolent mortal in two.
The hyper-dense red spears whistled toward Mufasa at terrifying, supersonic speeds.
The entire allied army held their breath, locking their eyes onto the Kazekage.
Mufasa didn't even flinch.
He wanted to gauge the baseline kinetic output of these Otsutsuki warriors firsthand.
He had slapped Momoshiki away too fast to get a proper reading on their physical durability or whether their attacks could breach his electromagnetic barrier.
The glowing red spears bore down on Mufasa, inches from his forehead and heart.
The distance closed to less than half a meter.
Then, something completely incomprehensible occurred.
Kinshiki simply collapsed.
Or more accurately, his physical form dissolved into thin air.
Like an unfinished watercolor painting washed over with clear water, the pigment drained from his silhouette, fading from solid to translucent before vanishing entirely into the wind.
The terrifying mountain of an alien warrior dissolved into a gentle breeze, whistling harmlessly past Mufasa's coat.
Mufasa stood frozen in place, utterly baffled.
'What kind of jutsu was that?' Mufasa thought. 'A suicide-style kamikaze technique?'
Down on the battlefield, the Shinobi Alliance and Momoshiki stared in stunned silence.
What just happened? Was it some form of advanced ocular genjutsu?
Shinobi throughout the ranks gripped their kunai, frantically scanning their surroundings for hidden traps.
Only Momoshiki and the disguised Isshiki within the crowd understood the terrifying reality.
Kinshiki hadn't turned invisible—his physical body, his chakra signature, and his very soul had been completely erased from existence.
Both celestial beings stared at Mufasa in absolute horror, as if gazing upon a primordial ghost.
Mufasa casually patted down his chest, checking his arms and shoulders.
'Well, nothing hit me.'
'What was that big guy trying to pull? Was he dropping by just to bow out early for the holidays?'
Mufasa looked over at the trembling Momoshiki with an amused smirk.
"Hey. What's that supposed to mean?"
Momoshiki stared back dumbfoundedly, his voice cracking. "What do you mean, what does that mean?! What kind of evil sorcery did you use to assassinate Kinshiki?!"
Mufasa's brow furrowed in annoyance.
"Don't try to pin that insurance scam on me."
"Evil sorcery? I stood right here with my hands in my pockets, didn't lift a single finger. Your buddy's disappearance has nothing to do with me."
Momoshiki bristled. "Then explain where he went!"
Mufasa glared right back. "You're asking me? Who the hell am I supposed to ask?!"
The allied shinobi began muttering among themselves in confusion.
"Is that a high-level Earth Style camouflage?"
"Or maybe some secret Yin Release genjutsu?"
"No way. The Kazekage didn't even mold chakra. Could the alien have just died from strain?"
"Even if he died, there should be a corpse. People don't just evaporate into thin air. Lord Great Toad Sage, do you know what kind of jutsu that was?"
The Great Toad Sage puffed on his pipe with a completely blank expression.
He had lived for over a thousand years, yet this defied everything he knew about the laws of chakra.
Weren't the Otsutsuki supposed to be invincible celestial gods? He had mentally prepared himself for a grueling, continent-shattering war of attrition between Mufasa and the invaders.
Why was one already gone without leaving so much as a stray hair behind?
The ancient toad slowly shook his head in complete bewilderment.
Mufasa sighed, running a hand through his hair.
'So much for the mighty Otsutsuki clan... more like a clan of oversized paperweights.'
He casually gestured toward Momoshiki with an inviting wave.
"Since your heavy-set friend checked out early, why don't you step up and finish what you started?"
Momoshiki instinctively took several steps back through the air, looking at Mufasa with deep, unmistakable dread.
The vanishing act was far too bizarre. Until he could analyze the mechanics behind that lethal mystery, he didn't dare step within striking distance.
At that exact moment, another celestial anomaly erupted.
A blinding silhouette burst forth from the tumbling lunar debris, trailing radiant light like a shooting star.
The figure moved with the speed of lightning, flashing across the sky in a series of sonic booms.
Within the span of a single breath, the figure cleared the distance and landed squarely in front of Mufasa.
Before anyone could react, she threw her arms around Mufasa's leg, clinging to him tightly.
"Father!"
Mufasa froze solid.
'What kind of psychological warfare is this?! Emotional blackmail?!'
"Father!" she called out again, her tone brimming with solemn devotion.
Mufasa slowly looked down.
Pale, porcelain skin, flowing bluish-white hair that cascaded past her ankles, and an ethereal, breathtaking face.
She wore high-collared royal robes adorned with black magatama patterns, pairing pure Byakugan eyes with a crimson Rinne Sharingan centered vertically on her brow.
This was undeniably Kaguya Otsutsuki, the Progenitor of Chakra herself.
'Why is the final boss of the ninja world hugging my leg and calling me daddy?'
Mufasa stared blankly into her pale eyes.
"Listen, lady... you've been alive for well over a millennium. Isn't it a bit unhinged for you to go around calling a young man like me 'Daddy'?"
"If anyone wishes me a long life after this, I'm taking it as a direct death threat."
"I spent years working hard as a promising, self-made youth, standing up against every corrupt power structure in the ninja world to bring honest reform. Now you're turning my heroic journey into a trashy daytime soap opera!"
"Don't you think you're laying it on a bit thick?!"
Kaguya completely ignored the rant, offering an impossibly sweet, radiant smile.
"Do not say such things, Father. You will always be my beloved father."
"The instant I laid eyes on you, I felt a deep, paternal warmth blossoming within my soul—a pure, instinctual reverence from the bottom of my heart. Do you understand?"
Her expression was so profoundly earnest that she looked ready to swear it on the stars.
Mufasa slapped a hand over his forehead, feeling a massive headache coming on.
'If I'm your father, what happens to the generational hierarchy of the entire ninja world?'
Her eldest son was Hagoromo Otsutsuki, the Sage of Six Paths, and her second son was Hamura Otsutsuki.
The Sage of Six Paths was the mythical ancestor of all shinobi on earth—specifically founding the bloodlines of the Uchiha, the Senju, and the Uzumaki clans.
If Kaguya was calling him Dad, that meant Mufasa was technically the great-grandfather of every major bloodline in the shinobi nations.
'How the hell am I supposed to calculate this family tree?'
'Is the entire Allied Shinobi Forces going to start lining up to call me Great-Grandpa?'
Mufasa sighed heavily, gesturing toward the open sky. "Look, Kaguya, I appreciate the respect, but this 'Daddy' routine is giving me hives. How about you stand up and we throw down like civilized combatants instead?"
If she attacked with reality-warping kekkei mōra and dimension-shattering truth-seeking orbs, Mufasa knew exactly how to dismantle her with raw firepower.
Having a celestial goddess cling to his boots while acting like a dutiful daughter was a tactical scenario no manual had ever prepared him for.
Kaguya simply poked her tongue out playfully and shook her head.
"I don't want to."
Mufasa stood in stunned silence.
'Did spending a thousand years locked in a lunar prison give her brain damage?'
Down below, thousands of shinobi stared with their jaws slack, their eyeballs practically popping out of their sockets.
What in the world was happening up there?!
Was Mufasa actually the patriarch of the entire Otsutsuki clan?!
Black Zetsu's mind completely shattered.
"Gods above... am I losing my mind?!"
He had schemed for millennia to resurrect his mother, not to acquire an adoptive grandfather!
The black sludge trembled violently, on the verge of dispersing from sheer psychological trauma.
The Great Toad Sage's eyes bulged so hard they looked ready to launch out of his head.
'Could the Kazekage be a dormant progenitor of the celestial clan all along?'
'No... that makes zero sense! He doesn't have horns, and his chakra signature is completely human!'
Jiraiya scratched the back of his neck, completely bewildered. "Man... when did Mufasa find the time to fool around with an alien clan and father a grown daughter?"
WHAM!
Tsunade's fist crashed onto his skull, leaving a smoking crater on his head.
"Shut your filthy mouth!"
Even Tsunade was rubbing her temples, her sharp mind utterly unable to process the absurdity of the scene.
Over on the wooden construct, Madara and Hashirama stood side-by-side, watching the melodrama unfold.
"Is that brat seriously our ancestor?" Madara muttered, his eye twitching. "If that's true, I'd rather cancel the Reanimation Jutsu and head back to the grave right now."
Hashirama laughed awkwardly, waving a hand. "No, no... that's definitely impossible."
High above, Momoshiki's face warped in sheer disgust as he watched Kaguya cling to a mortal's leg.
"Kaguya Otsutsuki, you worthless traitor! What do you think you are doing?!"
"You are an absolute disgrace to the noble Otsutsuki bloodline!"
"I will execute you where you stand!"
Momoshiki felt like his head was about to explode with rage.
First, he walked into an absurd tactical grid; then, Kinshiki evaporated without a trace; and now, the rogue clan princess was kneeling before an indigenous ape, calling him her father.
The sheer humiliation was intolerable.
"Hmph!"
Kaguya let out a frigid scoff, smoothly rising to her feet.
Her gentle, docile demeanor vanished in an instant, replaced by the suffocating, imperial majesty of an ancient goddess.
"Momoshiki Otsutsuki... it is you who brings shame upon our bloodline."
"The great Progenitor of our entire civilization stands before you, yet you dare brandish your weapons without offering proper tribute."
"You are nothing more than an insolent, uncultured cur."
Mufasa glanced sideways, raising an eyebrow.
'Hold on a second.'
'How did my status just get upgraded again?'
'I went from the patriarch of the ninja world straight to the Progenitor God of the entire Otsutsuki species?'
Momoshiki was so consumed by fury that he burst into hysterical laughter.
"Have you lost your mind, woman?!"
"The Progenitor vanished into the cosmos eons ago! The supreme Otsutsuki God is the only true deity of our civilization!"
"To think you were secretly a delusional fundamentalist clinging to dead myths."
Kaguya's gaze remained ice-cold. "Your modern sect has corrupted our sacred lineage. You abandoned our ancient heritage to worship an artificial god of your own making."
Momoshiki sneered, raising his chin arrogantly.
"The Otsutsuki God represents the absolute pinnacle of evolution! Through endless consumption, every member of our clan can ascend to that supreme throne! That is our true destiny—the absolute way of the Otsutsuki!"
"Since you have turned your back on the clan's true path, you can perish along with this primitive world!"
Momoshiki reared back, hurling a concentrated sphere of destructive chakra straight toward Kaguya.
Mufasa stroked his chin in deep thought as the attack approached.
'So the Otsutsuki clan is divided into ancient fundamentalists and modern supremacists?'
'What kind of sci-fi faction war is this?'
'More importantly... I've stayed single and disciplined my entire life. How did I suddenly end up with a cosmic lineage?'