The blazing Seirin finally quenched the last of the flames.
Burns covered him and charred skin peeked through tattered cloth, his aura weakened, combat strength slashed. Gasping raggedly, eyes drained of arrogance, he stared about in exhausted dread.
Yojin, Murata, and Migaki regrouped, suppressing their wounds as they closed in once more on Shun and Kaguya.
Migaki had shaken off the illusions, yet his face stayed ashen, breath ragged.
Blood still oozed from Murata's shoulder and every step tugged at the injury, drawing a grimace.
Yojin continued leeching life from nearby clansmen to keep himself upright.
All five bore grave injuries, but as the highest-ranking Otsutsuki who had lived millennia, their battle experience ran deep. They swiftly re-formed their ring, hemming Shun and Kaguya on every side.
Migaki clenched his teeth. "We can't retreat any further. Today, either we kill them or they kill us. Kaguya, your strength has soared. Have Momoshiki and the others already fallen to you?"
The other four nodded in unison, they were desperate for the answer.
After all, Momoshiki's trio weren't weak. If they'd really died at the hands of these two, today's odds would be even slimmer.
"It seems you won't give up until I show you something real." Shun's eyes turned cold.
Two energies intertwined inside him, weaving into a gold and violet barrier laced with mysterious runes that exuded terrifying pressure, making the surrounding space tremble.
He began to fuse his Mental Energy, Ninjutsu, and ocular techniques into one, preparing an even deadlier finisher.
"Since you want to die, I'll oblige but first, you'll serve your purpose."
He was already scheming how to deliberately let these Otsutsuki escape so his plan could unfold.
Kaguya sensed the shift in Shun's aura. Her spatial Chakra surged once more, resonating with his barrier to form an even sturdier defense.
"Shun, whatever danger comes, I'll face it with you. Together today, we'll finish them for good."
She turned toward the five encircling Otsutsuki, murderous intent flashing in her eyes, yet her heart held a new realization.
Though she had often engaged in intimate acts and sparred with Shun, steadily growing stronger, she had never fought a High-Rank Ōtsutsuki at full strength, until now. Only now did she truly understand her own power had long since surpassed its former limits, enough to stand against these veterans for a long while.
Shun gave a slight nod, warmth flickering in his gaze and the coldness faded.
Looking past the ring of five Ōtsutsuki, he spoke flatly, "The game ends here."
The instant his words fell, he and Kaguya struck together.
Where the attacks swept, the ground caved, rocks shattered, and space twisted. A fiercer, more perilous battle began.
On the battlefield, the roar of colliding energies was deafening, as if the entire palace might collapse.
Beams of the palace snapped and huge stones crashed from the sky, slamming into the ground with thunderous booms and clouds of dust.
Gold-violet, pale-pink, black, gold, gray, and green Chakras wove into a dazzling yet lethal curtain. Where it passed, the earth sank into vast pits, rocks were ground to dust, space itself warped, forming hair-thin spatial rifts.
Shun fused his Mental Energy seamlessly with Ninjutsu and ocular techniques, employing tactics with perfect flexibility.
A Mind Storm to disrupt the High Ranks' rhythm, opening flaws in their moves.
Dread Demon Eye to shatter their defensive will, sowing terror in their hearts.
The pair coordinated flawlessly, offense and defense in one, steadily crushing the five Ōtsutsuki.
Though the five Otsutsuki were seasoned and worked in harmony, under Shun and Kaguya's perfect onslaught, they steadily lost ground, their situation worsening.
Murata's void state was tightly countered by Kaguya's spatial arts. Every attempted ambush was foreseen and punished, the wound on his shoulder deepening, his Chakra draining until maintaining the void form became nearly impossible.
Yojin's energy threads were again and again blocked by Shun's mental barrier. The life he stole could not keep pace with his expenditure. His aura waned, his face pale as paper.
Migaki's gravity field was constantly disrupted by Shun's Mental Energy, never reaching peak might and sometimes even backfiring, while fear illusions broke his combat rhythm entirely.
Kugen's spatial techniques were powerless before Kaguya. Every attack was nullified by her spatial power or turned back by spatial blades, the wound on his chest festering, black blood staining most of his robe.
Seirin's storms were easily shredded, his burns unhealed, his strength weakened. He could barely defend, unable to launch any effective strikes, wincing as fire-scorched wounds flared in agony.
Fear grew in all five hearts. Hope of victory dimmed, and their dread of Kaguya's strength deepened. A mere thousand years had reshaped a person's power beyond recognition.
After a full hour of fierce combat, all five were grievously wounded, bodies laced with cuts, black blood soaking their robes and pooling on the ground. Most of their Chakra was spent. They panted, staggered, their once-tight formation shattered beyond recovery.
If this goes on, we'll all die.
Live... I must live!
Murata's Adam's apple bobbed violently twice. This single thought grew and coiled frantically in his mind, completely taking over his consciousness.
He suddenly surged the last of his remaining Chakra. The pale gray energy around him exploded, and his body gradually became transparent within the energy shroud, eventually merging completely into the void.
This time, he completely ignored the searing pain of the wound on his shoulder and burned a portion of his life force, transforming into an invisible streak of light as he fled frantically toward the outskirts of the battlefield.
"Trying to run? Have you gotten my permission?" Shun's cold voice boomed across the battlefield, carrying the authority of a victor.
He suddenly exerted force with his feet. With a sharp "crack," the rock beneath him instantly shattered into countless fragments.
Then, a furious shout rang out. "Where do you think you're going! Give me your life!"
Though he appeared to be in hot pursuit, there was a hidden scheme. Every time his feet hit the ground, he would deliberately shift his step by half a fraction, and his speed subtly slowed by half a beat.
He maintained a delicate distance from Murata, allowing the other party to feel the aura of death chasing him, forcing him to flee with all his might in terror.
Murata's trail, hidden within the void, was plain as day to him, yet Shun pretended to be searching for his figure. If he wanted to, he could catch up and kill his opponent in just an instant.
The reason for this "pursuit without killing" was merely a part of his plan.
Having planned this long ago, Shun thought to himself, 'Run, the further the better. Only if you escape alive can you gather all those Otsutsuki remnants scattered across the Universe to return for revenge. Then, I'll wipe you all out at once, saving me the trouble of searching for you one by one.'
A calculating glint shone in his eyes, yet his pursuit didn't slacken in the slightest as he perfectly played the role of "furious pursuer."
On the other side, the remaining four Otsutsuki, seeing that Murata had successfully lured away Shun's original body, also began planning their escape.
At this moment, they had no battle intent left, they only wanted to escape this dangerous place.
Yojin was very decisive, no longer caring about his image as he burned his life force for a brief burst of power. He transformed into a piercing green streak of light and fled frantically in the opposite direction of Murata.
Migaki quickly contracted the gravity field around him, using all his remaining Chakra to protect his vital points.
A single thought clamored in his mind. 'Faster! Just a bit faster! I have to escape too! Once I enter the Spatial Rift and use the spatial turbulence inside, I can shake off the pursuit!'
With a light tap of his feet on the ground, his figure shot like a cannonball toward the distant Spatial Rift.
Kugen didn't dare delay for a moment. The space before him shattered like glass inch by inch, instantly tearing open a pitch-black Spatial Gate. Without the slightest hesitation, he leaped inside and vanished instantly.
Seirin quickly condensed countless runes, forming a temporary golden barrier that blocked the pursuit of the thousands of Six Paths Shadow Clones swarming from behind.
After doing all this, he forced his back straight and turned elegantly to step into the black Spatial Gate to withdraw, showing no panic throughout the process.
Even in a desperate situation, he refused to discard the dignity of the Otsutsuki High Council Members, as if he weren't fleeing but calmly excusing himself from a gathering.
Meanwhile, after pursuing Murata for a moment, Shun deliberately paused his movements just as the other party was about to plunge into the Spatial Rift. He even purposefully showed a hint of "astonishment," as if he hadn't expected the opponent to suddenly accelerate.
This brief pause provided Murata with a sliver of hope for survival.
Overjoyed, Murata turned into a streak of light and dove into the distant Spatial Rift, leaving no trace behind.
The moment he escaped, he couldn't help but look back, his eyes filled with the relief of having survived a disaster.
Shun watched the direction where the Spatial Rift closed without any surprise. He then quickly turned and chased after the direction where Yojin had fled.
Sensing the intense killing intent behind him, Yojin chose a self-destructive burst. He violently exploded a portion of his internal life force, forming a thick green energy barrier.
Bang!
The energy barrier exploded, and the resulting massive shockwave spread in all directions like a tsunami.
It forced back Kaguya, who was close behind, by hundreds of meters before she could barely withstand the shockwave's residual power.
Taking advantage of this brief gap, Yojin flickered and disappeared into the horizon.
Shun watched the direction where he vanished, only chasing for a symbolic distance before stopping.
He gazed indifferently into the distance. His goal had been achieved, and there was no need to hunt them down to the last man.
Ultimately, all five Otsutsuki successfully escaped, not a single one was left behind.