Kaito floated in midair with his arms crossed, watching Jigen below with a half-smile.
Jigen frowned. From Kaito's body he could feel the aura of the same clan, but judging by his appearance, Kaito didn't look like an Ōtsutsuki at all.
He looked up and asked,
"Who are you?"
"Me? Haven't you been asking about me all this time? I am Uchiha Kaito."
"Nani?"
Jigen's eyes widened in shock. He immediately activated the Kāma, and at the same time, Kaito dove down from above, swinging a fist at him.
Boom!
The ground beneath Jigen cracked inch by inch. With arms crossed tightly, he barely blocked Kaito's punch, sweat the size of beans sliding down his forehead.
"So strong!"
Kaito's lips curved into a smile. His fist suddenly surged with force, and Jigen could no longer hold on—he was slammed down into the ground.
Jigen pushed himself up, his expression dark and heavy.
From that brief clash alone, he could tell—while only in the first state, he wasn't Kaito's match at all.
He hesitated, wondering if he should enter the second state, but doing so would push this vessel's body to the brink of collapse.
Kaito, of course, wasn't about to give Jigen time to consider. Lightning burst forth dazzlingly from his hand, and he thrust it straight at Jigen's back.
Jigen abandoned all thought of dignity, rolling away clumsily like a donkey to avoid the strike.
Kaito raised an eyebrow. A milky-white ring of light formed under his foot, and with a stomp, the ground began to tremble violently. A jagged fissure tore open and spread rapidly toward Jigen.
Cursing under his breath, Jigen leapt into the air, but before he could steady himself, a storm of lightning engulfed him completely.
He quickly expanded his body, trying to use his Kāma to absorb the lightning.
But after the crackling roar of electricity, Jigen's body was charred black. He coughed out a plume of black smoke and said in disbelief,
"How... how could this be..."
He had thought those bolts were chakra-made, but the moment he tried to absorb them, he realized how wrong he was.
That lightning wasn't chakra at all—it was real lightning from nature itself!
Jigen looked at Kaito with fear and suspicion.
"Did those Elders send you to capture me?"
Kaito blinked, caught off guard. Before he could reply, Jigen nodded to himself and said,
"Of course. It must be because I failed to deliver the fruit on time. That's why they sent you after me."
Then he raised his head and glared at Kaito.
"So what's your true name?"
"Uh... how about Ōtsutsuki Kaito?"
"Ōtsutsuki Kaito? Why have I never heard that name in the clan before? A rising star, perhaps?"
Jigen racked his brain but couldn't recall anything about a Kaito. Still, he now firmly believed Kaito was an Ōtsutsuki. To him, that meant the fight was no longer necessary.
After all, he had more than enough excuses to justify why he hadn't delivered the fruit.
And he was sure—this must have been that wretched Kaguya whispering lies to Kaito, leading him to strike.
The thought made Jigen's face twist into a manic grin.
"Kaguya, you never expected this, did you? I didn't die after all. Now I'll reveal the truth, and this Kaito will be the one to execute you!"
From Kaito's perspective, Jigen's expression suddenly turned deranged. He then began ranting, pouring out grievances.
He told of how Kaguya had ambushed him, how he'd narrowly escaped, and how he'd been forced to endure thousands of years hiding inside a human vessel.
The more Jigen spoke, the more worked up he became. Kaito, however, was already growing impatient. He cut him off bluntly,
"Enough already. What's the point of telling me all this? Am I your dad or something?"
Jigen froze, his face stiff. After a pause, he asked hesitantly,
"You don't believe me? Call Kaguya here—I can confront her directly!"
Kaito stared at him, baffled, wondering if this guy's brain was broken.
"So you want me to kill Kaguya?"
"Exactly! She attacked her own master and kept the God Tree's fruit for herself—that's a capital crime!"
"What the hell does that have to do with me? Besides, she belongs to me now. How I deal with her is none of your business."
"... "
Jigen was left choking on his words. He jabbed a finger at Kaito.
"You—you know what you're saying?!"
Bang!
Kaito slammed a fist into Jigen's face, knocking him down from the sky.
Looking down at the human-shaped crater below, Kaito said coolly,
"You talk too much."
This time, Jigen stayed buried in the ground for a long while without moving. Just as Kaito was about to drag him out, a surge of violent energy erupted from below.
The ground caved in, and a dark figure shot upward, landing before Kaito.
It was Jigen. His form had now changed drastically—a horn sprouted from the left side of his forehead, stretching across the top of his head to just above his right ear.
Kaito narrowed his eyes, scrutinizing him.
"Oh? Finally getting serious?"
Jigen's face was black with rage as he growled,
"You bastard... you've actually forced me this far..."
But before he could finish, Kaito drove a kick into his stomach.
This time, however, in his second state, Jigen was no longer the same. He caught the kick with his hands pressed against his abdomen, and the force only made his body tremble slightly.
Grabbing Kaito's ankle, Jigen swung hard. But Kaito used the momentum, his other leg whipping around to strike Jigen's neck.
The two of them crashed back down to the ground, colliding again and again.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The forest echoed with their battle, afterimages of Kaito and Jigen flashing everywhere. Huge trees toppled one after another until half the forest was destroyed, and only then did they pause.
Kaito glanced down at his torn clothes, chuckling lightly.
"I really underestimated you. Your strength isn't bad at all."
Jigen said nothing, though he knew full well his current form couldn't last much longer. Judging by Kaito's state, he hadn't even used half his power yet.
Inwardly, Jigen cursed,
"What the hell is with this guy? Are all the younger generation of the clan this terrifying now?"
He prided himself on being an elite of the Ōtsutsuki. Even if he wasn't at full power, he shouldn't be someone just any Ōtsutsuki could fight evenly with.
But this so-called "Ōtsutsuki Kaito" hadn't even activated his eyes, yet he fought him to a standstill. That was hard to accept.
And his pride burned—being pushed this far by a "junior" filled him with rage.
Seeing Jigen frozen in silence, Kaito spoke up,
"Hey, are you going to keep fighting or not?"
Jigen raised his head, his tone heavy.
"You've forced me into this..."
"?"
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