—Midobane Enhanced Divine Illumination!
With Midobane amplification, Divine Illumination didn't just increase its destructive range—it also activated a hidden mechanic.
Contact Erasure.
No need for eye-based targeting. Any non-soul entity that made physical contact with Akira's body could be instantly annihilated.
In a situation like this—his body pierced from multiple angles by All-Killing Ash Bones—this ability was enough to save his life.
"Crack!"
The Ash Bones disintegrated in an instant. Akira's right eye trembled violently.
—Time Reversal!
He targeted himself, rewinding time.
His cracked, collapsing body reverted to its state before being pierced.
Could he rewind time while still carrying those Ash Bones? Of course—but doing so would require targeting the surrounding spacetime, which would also rewind Kaguya.
And that would erase the causal links he had built through over twenty physical contacts—undoing everything.
—Severance of Friction!
"Whoosh!"
With friction erased, Akira slipped free from Kaguya's grasp like a fish, sliding down the tree beneath him before ascending once more.
Kaguya stood, touching her neck. The bite marks healed instantly.
"Whoosh!"
She recalled her Truth-Seeking Orbs, floating behind her once more.
Looking at Akira in the sky, she frowned.
He went to such lengths to fight me at close range… I thought he had a strategy.
But he neither killed nor sealed me.
It feels… anticlimactic.
Was it all just to hold me… and whisper those words? To disturb my heart?
The tears at the corner of her eyes had dried.
But the ripple in her heart had not.
This man… is dangerous.
Attacking his body or blunt force to the head was meaningless.
Only decapitation—or destroying his right eye—could stop his time reversal.
And to do that—
She had to get close.
"Whoosh!"
Kaguya vanished into Yomotsu Hirasaka—and appeared above Akira!
The tree beneath him had served as a defense against her hair needles.
This time—
She would separate him from it.
—Universal Pull!
"Whoosh!"
Gravity yanked Akira away from the tree. Her hair surged, binding him tightly and dragging him closer!
Truth-Seeking Orbs and Ash Bones could be erased by Divine Illumination.
But her hair—
Was part of her body and soul.
It was immune.
Her index finger sharpened into a black spike, stabbing directly toward Akira's right eye—
But—
Akira's eye suddenly flared!
—Time Reversal: Causal Link!
"Whoosh!"
Time rewound—
And the Kamui Raikiri that had once struck his arm earlier—
Returned.
The spiraling vortex tore off his right arm—along with the hair binding him!
"Whoosh!"
He turned his head, narrowly avoiding her strike—
Then—
His left fist slammed into her face!
"Bang!"
Kaguya shot downward—
"Now, Madara!"
"Bang!"
A Limbo clone struck her back, sending her flying again!
Akira followed with a kick—
Limbo clones continued the barrage—
She was thrown violently back and forth!
Why… does this feel wrong? Am I overthinking it?
"Whoosh!"
She deployed a Truth-Seeking barrier—
"Crack!"
Behind her—
Kamui tore open a hole!
Same tactic again? You think I'll fall for it twice!?
Ash Bones erupted from her back—
"Pierce!"
They impaled the attacker—
But—
Not Madara's real body.
A Limbo clone.
"Crack!"
The barrier was destroyed!
Akira was already upon her!
"Crack!"
Without hesitation, Kaguya tore off his right arm—
Then swung her hand like a blade—
Aiming for his neck!
"Buzz!"
Akira's eye trembled—
—Time Reversal: Continuity!
With the delay from his passive barrier—
Before the blade reached his throat—
Time had already begun rewinding!
"Slice!"
His severed head reattached—
Instantly.
Absurd.
Physical motion has inertia.
So does the release of ocular power.
Even if his head was cut off—
Time Reversal didn't stop immediately.
There was a delay—just 0.01 seconds.
But that was enough.
Enough to pull him back from death.
"What!?"
Kaguya froze in shock—
And in that instant—
Akira's restored hand shot out—
"Snap!"
Breaking something.
A chill ran down her spine.
She finally realized—
The source of that unease.
Her trembling hand rose—
To confirm—
It wasn't her right horn—
But her left—
That had been broken.
Her mind went blank.
My left horn… was already broken earlier… but now… it's broken again?
Was it… restored without me noticing!?
Impossible.
She would have felt it.
"Ah…!"
A sudden pain in her neck—
Her mind collapsed into chaos.
They crashed to the ground.
Fear.
A deep, suffocating fear.
What is happening? What did he do to me!? Genjutsu? When!?
With my mental strength… how could I be trapped!?
Then—
That presence again.
That warmth.
He embraced her once more.
As if reading her thoughts—
He whispered gently:
"Don't be afraid, Kaguya. No matter what happens, I'll stand by your side."
"Trust me. Everything I've done… is so you can move past your past."
"Try it. Give yourself another choice. Give me one too."
"No matter when… no matter where… I will—"
"Enough!!!"
"Crack!!!"
Ash Bones burst through his body again—
—Midobane Enhanced Divine Illumination!
…
"Akira… how did you manage to trap someone like Kaguya in Izanami?"
"I used my six-tomoe Rinnegan to cast Izanami, ensuring a strong foundation. Then I enhanced it at the input stage with Midobane."
"But that wasn't enough."
"I used Severance in reverse—strengthening the causal link between us inside Izanami. That reinforced it from the output side."
"Even then, I needed over twenty physical contacts—five times the original requirement—to establish the loop."
"And most importantly…"
"I severed the consequence of blindness."
"Though there is a price."
"My right eye's power is temporarily exhausted at the moment Izanami activates."
"…First time since I awakened it."
His six tomoe had vanished.
They would recover with rest.
Izanami.
A genjutsu once used by Edo Itachi.
It records physical sensations—
Links them into an inescapable loop—
A fate-bound illusion.
The only escape—
Is to abandon one's deepest obsession.
Akira elevated it beyond its original limits—
With Rinnegan, Midobane, and Severance—
A technique reborn.
Kaguya stood still.
Eyes empty.
Truth-Seeking Orbs floated behind her.
Before her—
Akira gently rested his hand on her head.
His gaze calm. Deep.
"Kaguya… I'll be waiting for you at the end of the loop."
"When you arrive…"
"We won't be enemies anymore."
"But comrades."
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