Momoshiki casually waved his hand, dragging Kinshiki's body into the air, then opened a black portal and stepped inside.
Minato froze for a second, then immediately reacted, shouting at Obito,
"Not good! Obito, hurry, go to Madara and the others!"
"Understood!"
Obito placed his hand firmly on Minato's shoulder, then used Kamui and vanished on the spot.
...
On the other side,
Urashiki opened his mouth wide and absorbed the Amaterasu flames. He raised his hand and fired several purple energy orbs, cursing,
"Damn humans, how dare you—"
"Calm yourself!"
Momoshiki appeared beside him, frowning with clear disdain.
Urashiki froze for a moment.
"L-Lord Momoshiki? You've returned!"
He almost blurted out "Momo," but luckily Momoshiki didn't catch it. Instead, Momoshiki turned his head toward Madara, surprise flickering across his face.
"The Rinnegan? Just what is going on with these humans?"
Urashiki added from the side,
"That one is the most troublesome. He must be connected to Kaguya!"
"Hmph, looks like I'll need to take this seriously."
As he spoke, Momoshiki pulled Kinshiki's floating body in front of him.
Kinshiki's consciousness was already fading. He muttered,
"Lord Momoshiki... do it!"
"You don't need to tell me twice."
Momoshiki opened his right hand, releasing a crimson light that enveloped Kinshiki. Kinshiki's body immediately transformed into a red fruit. Under the shocked gazes of Madara and the others, Momoshiki bit into it, devouring it piece by piece.
Immediately, dark curse markings spread across Momoshiki's body. But unlike Urashiki, his transformed appearance still looked far more human—at least he hadn't turned into some kind of birdman.
Kinshiki's red circular ring also manifested behind Momoshiki. He reached into it and pulled out a crimson glowing staff, then charged straight at Madara.
Madara shoved Itachi aside and gripped his black Truth-Seeking Staff, meeting the blow head-on.
This time, Urashiki didn't sit back and watch—he rushed in to join the fight.
Itachi tried to find a chance to use a Fire Style to support Madara, but Minato—who had just arrived—stopped him.
Minato's tactical instincts were sharp. From his earlier brief clash with Momoshiki, he'd roughly deduced the abilities of Momoshiki's Rinnegan. He realized that using ninjutsu would only strengthen Momoshiki.
After warning Itachi of this, Minato leapt into battle.
Obito and Itachi stayed behind. Their abilities were awkwardly unsuited to this kind of fight, leaving them no choice but to observe for now.
Momoshiki and Urashiki's transformed power was overwhelming. Both Madara and Minato struggled under the assault. Thankfully, they weren't relying solely on ninjutsu—Madara had the Rinnegan, and Minato had Sage Mode.
Even so, at this rate, defeat for the two seemed almost inevitable.
Compared to Urashiki, Momoshiki was clearly far stronger, with a broader arsenal of techniques.
Their teamwork wasn't flawless, but it was more than enough to force Madara and Minato into a desperate fight.
Minato cursed inwardly,
"Kaito, where the hell are you? If this keeps up, I'm going to die again!"
Just as this thought surfaced, another black portal opened in the sky.
Minato's heart leapt with joy. He was certain Kaito had finally returned.
But the figure who stepped out froze his expression on his face.
It was Ōtsutsuki Kaguya.
The instant she appeared, everyone in battle stopped simultaneously.
Urashiki stared at her, dumbfounded.
"That's..."
His words were cut short by Momoshiki,
"Kaguya! You disgrace of the clan! So you finally decided to show yourself!?"
Facing Momoshiki, Kaguya's expression held a trace of fear. But the creature hidden within her sleeve, Black Zetsu, wasn't about to let that slide.
Black Zetsu immediately went on the offensive,
"And who the hell are you supposed to be?! How dare you speak to Mother like that! Look at yourself—neither man nor ghost!"
"Nani!?"
For the first time ever, Momoshiki was cursed out to his face. He glanced at Kaguya's sleeve, asking,
"What is that thing?"
Black Zetsu locked eyes with him, utterly fearless. If he'd had the power of Hagoromo and Hamura, he would have already fought Momoshiki for three hundred rounds.
But reality was cruel. Though the most devoted of children, Black Zetsu had no combat power—only his sharp tongue to lash out with.
Urashiki saw Momoshiki take the hit and twitched at the corners of his mouth. He badly wanted to laugh—because he couldn't stand Momoshiki either.
That smug superiority, the constant condescension—not only toward other beings, but even toward his fellow clansmen—always looking down his nose at everyone.
But since they were technically allies right now, Urashiki suppressed his amusement and said,
"Ignore that thing. Since Kaguya has appeared, we should just finish these pests off and extract the location of the Ten-Tails."
Momoshiki frowned, snapping,
"Are you trying to teach me how to act?"
"..."
Urashiki clenched his fists, exhaled a long breath.
There was nothing he could do. Momoshiki's standing within the Ōtsutsuki clan really was high. Urashiki had no choice but to swallow his anger.
So he vented his frustration by hurling several energy orbs at Kaguya.
Kaguya twisted aside to dodge, then transformed her hair into countless silver needles, launching them at the two.
Momoshiki sneered. From the red ring behind him, a shield shot out, blocking all the attacks with ease.
Kaguya retreated quickly, positioning herself between Minato and Madara.
Minato asked curiously,
"Why are you here? Do you know where Kaito is right now?"
Kaguya shook her head softly.
"I don't know where Master has gone..."
In truth, the moment Urashiki and Kinshiki had appeared at Konoha's gates, she had sensed them.
Fear of her own clansmen was buried deep in her soul. So her first instinct had been to hide her presence and play ostrich inside Kaito's home.
But endless retreat wasn't a solution. She knew they had come for her. And if someone died at their hands, when Kaito returned he would be furious. To Kaguya, that was an even more terrifying thought.
Especially once Minato had rushed to confront them—she couldn't sit still anymore.
From her time spent with Kaito, she'd learned that Minato was one of his closest friends. If Minato were killed, that would spell real disaster.
After an inner struggle, she had finally chosen to intervene.
Madara, however, held no fondness for Kaguya. His dislike stemmed from two reasons—first, because she too was an Ōtsutsuki, and second, because of Black Zetsu.
After all, Black Zetsu had deceived him for decades.
Black Zetsu was well aware of this. Shrinking back a little, he forced a smile and said,
"Madara-sama, we meet again..."