"Minamoto..."
Mei Terumī stared at the figure that had suddenly appeared before her, momentarily dazed.
That mentally unstable lunatic, combined with the Akatsuki's Edo Tensei forces—it was enough to make her feel utterly hopeless!
The collateral damage from the clash between two "gods" had already rendered her nearly incapable of continuing the fight. In this moment of dire peril, the Kirigakure forces were at serious risk of being wiped out entirely!
But just when things seemed most critical, Kitagawa Minamoto silently stepped forward to shield her.
"Are you alright?"
Minamoto glanced back at Mei. He was no Minato Namikaze, and he certainly wouldn't arrive late!
Then, his gaze shifted toward the figure who had hesitated upon seeing him appear. Instantly, his eyes lit up with excitement!
The "White Kāma"—his target. Originally, he had thought extracting its power might prove troublesome. But to his surprise, Isshiki and Obito had essentially handed him a gift on a silver platter!
How could he not be thrilled?
"I'm fine..."
Mei finally snapped out of her daze.
"But, Fifth Mizukage, you need to be careful of that guy!"
"..."
Minamoto was momentarily speechless. Wasn't the Third Mizukage still alive? Why did everyone seem to act as though he was already dead?
"Don't worry."
Minamoto shook his head lightly, then chuckled as he spoke.
"With me here, nothing will happen. I'll protect all of you."
Before his words had even finished, the "White Kāma" roared and charged forward again, its chakra swelling uncontrollably. But its mental state seemed increasingly unstable, and upon seeing Minamoto standing before it, it let out a furious howl.
"AHHHHH!"
With its roar, the ground suddenly erupted with black, ribbon-like objects, and its body vanished into the blackness. In an instant, it reappeared right in front of Minamoto!
Buzz—
Its fist swung fiercely, but at that moment, it struck only air. The sheer force of its punch shattered the earth, but Minamoto had already moved Mei to another location, completely unharmed.
However, the punch drew the attention of others on the battlefield.
"Kitagawa Minamoto is here..."
The members of Akatsuki noticed Minamoto's arrival, and apart from Orochimaru's four subordinates, their expressions turned grim.
"So he really came!"
Obito Uchiha also saw Minamoto, his gaze filled with a mix of excitement and complexity.
Minamoto facing off against the "evolved one" was exactly what he had hoped for. But seeing Minamoto's demeanor, it seemed as though he didn't even consider the "evolved one" a threat.
Moreover, Obito had wanted the two "evolved ones" to deal with Ōtsutsuki Minamoto-shiki, not the current scenario.
"Hmph, acting all high and mighty—can you really deal with him so easily?"
Obito felt deeply irritated, but regardless, this wasn't necessarily a bad situation. With Minamoto occupied, not only could Obito observe his combat style, but he could also take the opportunity to capture the Six-Tails!
It wasn't that he didn't want to watch the battle between the two "gods," but he simply couldn't understand it. The disparity between them was too vast, and their inexplicable techniques left him baffled. Watching Minamoto's fight was much more comprehensible.
"Perhaps, one day I'll reach that level too..."
Obito thought to himself, but Isshiki, observing from within Obito's consciousness, frowned slightly.
"Why does it feel like Minamoto's aura has weakened somewhat?"
Isshiki couldn't quite put his finger on it. The person was the same, and his power remained the same natural energy. But compared to the time when he had beaten Obito senseless, something seemed different—less intense.
"Could it be that he's underestimating my 'White Kāma'?"
Isshiki muttered to himself, but he had no time to dwell on it. Below, Ōtsutsuki Urashiki released a chilling aura once more.
The shattered earth remained cloaked in massive clouds of dust, as Urashiki gasped for breath, his cold sweat dripping profusely.
Above the dust-filled sky, the golden radiance still shone brilliantly, and the hazy figure bathed in moonlight was oppressively intimidating.
"How did it come to this?"
Urashiki couldn't understand. As an Ōtsutsuki, he had always been the one to destroy, to plunder. Never had he imagined that one day, he would become the prey.
Nor could he have fathomed that his own kind would turn against him. Even more unthinkable was how thoroughly and miserably he had been defeated. To be hunted by a fellow clansman, and to be utterly powerless to resist—it was beyond comprehension.
"And yet, this guy's aura isn't even stronger than mine!"
Urashiki's mind was muddled, clearly disoriented from the beating he had taken.
But as he saw the figure in the sky, chakra surging and dust dispersing, heading toward him once more, his expression changed drastically. He shouted loudly:
"Minamoto-shiki, enough! Stop making mistakes! Do you truly want to wage war against me, and against the entire clan?"
"This is precisely why you lack Isshiki-senpai's character."
Minamoto paused briefly, then sighed and shook his head.
"Isshiki-senpai would never behave like you, nor would he beg for mercy from me."
"You..."
Urashiki's face turned ugly, Minamoto's words were cutting beyond belief!
"Do you truly intend to oppose the Ōtsutsuki clan? Are you really determined to break the rules?"
"That's why I admire Isshiki-senpai, because he was the first to break the rules. He also taught me an important lesson."
Minamoto continued to invoke Isshiki's name, knowing it was the perfect scapegoat for any controversy.
"He made me understand that so-called 'rules' are nothing but 'shackles' holding us back. Only by breaking those shackles..."
Before he could finish, Minamoto launched another attack. The golden sword, carrying lethal intent, rushed toward Urashiki with terrifying speed!
"Can we stand higher than anyone else, shine brighter, and ultimately pierce through the heavens!"
"Madman!"
Urashiki was utterly numb. He now realized that words were futile, and as the golden sword slashed toward him, his body once again fragmented into countless red paper cranes.
After creating sufficient distance, his aura shifted dramatically. The red Six Tomoe Rinnegan in his eyes transformed into a pair of blue Rinnegan, and as Minamoto's sword struck once more—
Whoosh—
Strangely, Urashiki's body flickered, his clothing torn, but his flesh remained unscathed.
"Oh?"
Minamoto raised an eyebrow, but Urashiki spoke coldly.
"Now, you can forget about doing as you please. I told you—I will kill you!"
"Why do you look so confident?"
Minamoto raised an eyebrow again, then struck once more. He aimed for Urashiki's head, while simultaneously preparing to counter any response.
But Urashiki strangely flickered again, receiving only a small cut on his face. During his evasion, he made no attempt to counterattack, which left Minamoto inwardly bemused.
"What an imbecile..."
Minamoto now understood why Urashiki, despite possessing such formidable abilities and a well-balanced skill set—having destroyed countless planets, as evidenced by his Rinnegan—appeared so weak in actual combat.
"Power without skill..."
Urashiki had likely experienced many battles, but most were probably massacres of powerless natives on undeveloped planets. With the Ōtsutsuki clan strictly forbidding infighting, he would never have faced combat against his own kind.
And he certainly would never have encountered someone like Minamoto—someone who had continuously honed his combat techniques and strategies, growing stronger with each battle, able to fully utilize his power!
"Did you really think I couldn't see through your abilities?"
Minamoto continued to speak as he attacked.
"Your power merely allows you to rewind time, but your reversal effect is quite limited. And I'm curious about something..."
Buzz—
Another slash, and Urashiki flickered away, but his injuries multiplied.
"With the ability to rewind time, yet still getting beaten this badly..."
Minamoto's gaze turned ice-cold as he closed in again!
"How have you managed to survive this long?"
"Damn it..."
Urashiki was shocked that his ability, which he had just begun to use, had been so quickly deciphered after just two strikes. This created an unprecedented sense of crisis within him—if this continued, he would truly be killed by this madman!
The thought of retreat had already formed in his mind. He had no desire to become a sacrifice for this lunatic's "shared dream with Isshiki."
"Losing focus in battle—you truly are weak."
But as Urashiki contemplated his escape, Minamoto's golden sword swung down, catching him half a beat too slow.
Slash!
Even with his time reversal, he couldn't avoid this strike. Blood sprayed into the air as a deep, bone-exposing wound opened across his chest!
"Accept your fate."
Urashiki rapidly created distance, but Minamoto merely gazed at him, his eyes filled with indifference.
"Your destiny has already been decided. In fact..."
"Becoming a solid step on the path to godhood for Isshiki-senpai and me—isn't that an honor for you?"
Buzz—
In an instant, Minamoto charged forward again, absolutely determined not to let Urashiki escape.
At that very moment, space rippled, and suddenly Hashirama Senju and Tobirama Senju appeared on the battlefield!
As soon as they arrived, they were immediately overwhelmed by the immense chakra permeating the air.
Looking up at the sky, they saw two white-clad figures repeatedly clashing, emanating terrifying auras. Both Senju brothers were momentarily stunned, then fell into deep contemplation.
Especially Tobirama, who couldn't help but murmur:
"So, my hypothesis was correct after all..."
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