CHAPTER 18: Kaguya and Isshiki
"…"
With thunderstorms and lightning striking all over the area, the newly arrived being, Isshiki, together with the other two standing behind him, Delta and Boro, stood with a passive glare towards everyone present in their field of vision.
"…Otsutsuki…"
"…Isshiki…"
Naruto and Sasuke muttered as they looked towards the mohawk-haired monk.
"No matter how I tried sensing him… he seems like human to me." Naruto said with a low voice.
"Indeed. He doesn't have the presence similar to the Otsutsukis that we have fought thus far." Sasuke responded. "However… the mark on his chin… my Rinnegan can tell that the mark on his chin was of similar property to that of the mark on Shin Uchiha before he was consumed by the Mazou and morphed into Kaguya."
"And those other two behind him…" Naruto looked towards Delta and Boro. "…I can easily tell that they are also formidable beings…"
"Kaguya… then Momoshiki and Kinshiki, now this person calling himself as Otsutsuki Isshiki with another pair of powerful beings behind him…" Sakura said in wary. "How come things went from fighting Moryo to this kind of situation!?"
"Naruto, Sakura, once again… I'll remind you… don't ever let your guard down. Don't try to initiate anything… focus on what's in front of you… and ignore anything else." Sasuke said in a commanding, sharp tone.
"Yeah…"
"Understood, Sasuke-kun!"
On the other hand, Isshiki simply ignored Team Seven, and simply glared at Kaguya.
"Speechless, aren't we?" Isshiki said with a small hint of a taunting smile towards the Rabbit Goddess. "Your plan was perfect, Kaguya, except for one thing…"
"…you didn't ensure that I won't survive… your betrayal…"
"…" Kaguya narrowed her eyes dangerously. "…I am sure that I have left you to die… How did you survive… Isshiki?"
"I survived by making this monk named Jigen as my vessel," Isshiki replied, this time, with a hint of anger. "One flaw about your plan on betraying me was that you didn't ensure that there'll be no sentient beings within the tens of kilometers near us. It just happened that this monk was lying on the ground, unconscious, a few hundred meters away from the place and time where you did your actions against me, Kaguya…"
"…" Kaguya understood what Jigen just said. "So you used one of your eyes' ability, the Sukinahikona, to survive within that monk's body… despite it not being a proper, compatible vessel for you…"
"I'm glad you are quite quick on the uptake," Isshiki replied with a small sigh. "This past millennium, ever since you betray me, I did nothing aside from doing everything that I can to recover myself and tune Jigen's body as an appropriate vessel."
"And even with all that, that vessel of yours right now ended up as a subpar wielder of your Kāma." Kaguya simply replied without letting her guard down. "So that simply means that even if you use your Kāma right here, right now, you will not be able to use your full power…"
"That's right. All thanks to you… Kaguya." Isshiki rebutted with a serious glare. "But that doesn't mean that I don't have enough power capable of defeating you right now. In fact, I've been waiting this entire time while you weaved this so-called Shinobi History as a mere story for your own revival, and all that I have to do is to make an extension of it… making it as part of my own story of me still ended up using you as a sacrifice for the Shinju."
"I see… of course… you knew of everything that happened after what I did against you…"
"That's right. After using half of my body as a sacrifice for the Juubi to make it bloom into Shinju, you enslaved this world under Infinite Tsukuyomi. Then, used a human of this world to conceive those two half-breeds, Hagoromo and Hamura, with their genetics more of an Otsutsuki than the inferior you used for their conception. But instead of living as an Otsutsuki, they decided to live the way of an inferior's life and ended up betraying you, just like what you did to me. The irony, is it?"
"…!" Kaguya narrowed her eyes while gritting her teeth against Isshiki.
"Without other Otsutsukis for you to use as a sacrifice, you used yourself to merge with the Shinju, recreating the Juubi, in order to gain back the Chakra you distributed from your half-breed sons. But they ended up defeating and sealing the Juubi, together with you."
"But on the last minute before your defeat, you did leave behind a materialization of your will, your Kāma, gave it sentience with the sole purpose of working in the shadows to try reviving you again …the one called as Black Zetsu… as this world was being populated by inferiors who gained the ability to use the power of the Otsutsukis, the capability to use Chakra…"
"…Hou… so that's the reason why these inferiors can use Chakra, huh…" Momoshiki muttered that only Kinshiki could hear. "A rabbit in heat can't help but breed more rabbits, after all, oh Rabbit Goddess…"
"…" Kinshiki, on the other hand, remained quiet behind Momoshiki.
Momoshiki then made the miniature Juubi on his right hand disappear, then, together with Kinshiki, landed on the ground at a good distance from Isshiki and also from Kaguya as they also listened to Isshiki and Kaguya's conversation. While it wasn't their nature to eavesdrop, the two Otsutsukis decided to back down for a while since they were already involved in this event and with the secrets of this world that Kaguya was hiding from them being their sole purpose of interest.
However, they did so while keeping their attention from any possible movements that Naruto and Sasuke might suddenly initiate.
On the other hand…
"Since Kaguya's revival, we now have a lot of intel regarding the Otsutsukis based on everything that we've heard since then…" Sasuke said as his Mangekyou Sharingan and Rinnegan were glaring towards the Otsutsukis without letting his guard down. "All that we have to do is to arrange all the intel, take these to Orochimaru, and with the current test subjects he currently had in hand, create a more logical assumption against the threats we have at hand."
"You're saying that, but these threats were already right in front of us," Naruto replied, also not removing his attention from the powerful beings facing off in few distances away from them. "Right now, we don't have any idea how things will turn out from here on out. Dealing with Kaguya already is quite arduous enough. If these guys suddenly decided to fight together, I don't know how we will fare against them head-on."
"But that's the thing," Sakura spoke as she stood behind her two teammates. "Kaguya had a visible conflict with Momoshiki and Kinshiki. And this guy, a human with Otsutsuki's presence who called himself as Isshiki, also seemed to have a bad history with Kaguya as well based on the flow of their current conversation. So those two others, the big guy and the blonde female standing behind Isshiki, will probably also be against Kaguya."
"While Kaguya fully intended to treat and use the entire Shinobi World as a mere power source for whatever reason she had similar to those other Otsutsukis based on all the current intel we had so far, she still intended on antagonizing against them. For me, it seemed like she knew of something about this world, that's why she ended up choosing to betray her own clan and use this planet for her own purpose." Sasuke added.
"Now that you have said it…" Naruto replied. "…we can easily confirm that this world was already intended to be used by the Otsutsukis. Yet Kaguya betrayed her clan just like what you have said, for whatever purpose she had. With that, she ended up conceiving the old man of the Six Paths, Hagoromo Otsutsuki, and the Sage of the Moon, Hamura Otsutsuki…"
"…that simply means that… regardless of her reasons… If Kaguya didn't end up betraying her clan during that time… then this world… would have already been…"
"…!"
"…!"
Naruto and Sasuke then sensed an overwhelming killing intent, and by instinct, the two of them began blocking the multiple incoming black receivers that were fired by Momoshiki from his right palm using their respective weapons.
After successfully blocking tens of black receivers that ended up scattered on the ground…
"Isshiki-sama…" Kinshiki spoke respectfully towards the Kāma-imbued monk. "I believe that you already knew that these inferiors were products of Kaguya's betrayal of the clan. And with them now knowing a lot of things regarding us, I believe that there is a serious need to dispose of them right now."
"…" Jigen/Isshiki simply looked towards Kinshiki with a neutral expression.
"That's why if you'll allow me, I'll personally defeat them and hand over the Rinnegan and the seedling's power existing within them for your own use."
Jigen/Isshiki then shifted his attention towards the two successors of the Six Paths.
"Uzumaki Naruto, the Jinchuuriki of the Bijuus, and Uchiha Sasuke wielder of an evolved Rinnegan…" Jigen/Isshiki muttered. "Despite possessing mere fragments of Kaguya's power, you were able to cultivate that power, allowing the two of you to gain the capabilities to fight head-on against the Otsutsukis…"
Naruto and Sasuke then prepared their fighting stance, while Sakura slightly backed down.
"That alone is enough proof that the two of you were compatible vessels for Kāma's installation. That's why it would be a waste to dispose of the two of you once we were able to retrieve the Otsutsuki's power existing within you…"
"Kāma…" Sasuke rebutted. "From everything that I have heard and observed, from that mark on Shin and the one that was also embedded on your chin… It is a mark that will make a compatible person become a vessel of an Otsutsuki… Just like from Shin to Kaguya, and you, from this monk you named Jigen to that of yours, Isshiki Otsutsuki."
"Similar to Orochimaru's Cursed Seal…" Sakura muttered upon hearing Sasuke's words.
"It seemed like Orochimaru… might have already known about the relationship with his Cursed Seals and this Kāma thing and didn't tell us anything about it beforehand…" Naruto also muttered upon realization. "…or Orochimaru simply came up with a similar method of chasing immortality after years of extensive heinous experiments despite him not knowing this kind of seal from the Otsutsukis."
"…" Jigen/Isshiki looked towards Naruto and Sasuke indifferently.
"Either way, you Otsutsukis keep on saying that both I and Naruto are compatible for your so-called Kāma Seal due to the power we currently have. You merely view us as nothing but inferiors, just like how Kaguya thought of us as mere fragments of her power. However…" Sasuke said as he tightened his grip on his sword.
"…we are Shinobi. We were no mere fragments of anyone's power, nor a vessel whom you can use as you please. We forged our path and reached this point of our history by continuously persevering from hardships, surpassing our limits, and believing that everyone in this world is capable of understanding one another." Naruto followed-up. "We don't care how powerful you guys are. If you continue treating us Shinobi as nothing but such, then we'll respond against you with our full might."
Naruto, then further released his overwhelming Chakra while still in his Ashura Bijuu Sage Mode. Sasuke also responded, by also emitting Chakra from his sword clad with Indra Susanoo and still active Lightning Armor Chakra Mode. The two's power began shaking the area, making the Otsutsukis glare towards them.
"Very well then…" Isshiki closed his eyes… "Boro, Delta, take care of those two."
"I thought you'll never ask, Jigen-sama."
"As you wish, Jigen-sama."
Delta transformed her legs into a mechanical part similar to that of a jet booster, while also mutating her arm into a large, monstrous hand. She then grabbed Boro using the monstrous hand, then threw him towards Naruto and Sasuke's direction. She then also took flight, then boosted her speed with her makeshift jet booster, dashing towards the Uzumaki and the Uchiha.
Naruto and Sasuke didn't even attempt to dodge the incoming two hostiles as Delta and Boro attempted to attack the two of them.
Sasuke simply projected a Susanoo Arm without decreasing the power of his Susanoo: Asshuku's power, grabbed the incoming fist from Boro, then in a flash, slashed the hulking Otsutsuki follower with his sword in half, diagonally, then ignited the bisected body with a lightning stream that fried the slashed body.
Naruto, on the other hand, simply stepped forward at the exact moment that Delta was about to land her monstrous hand on Naruto, thus missing her intended trajectory at the last second, and with another massive step that shook the ground, gave Delta a powerful elbow right on the female fighter's left cheek.
'Don't even dare think that your mere henchmen will be enough against us.'
Naruto and Sasuke spoke with the same line of thought.
In that instance, Naruto and Sasuke, with just their mere speed, flashed and appeared on both sides of Jigen/Isshiki. The two of them then attempted to attack the mohawk monk, but Momoshiki and Kinshiki interfered by blocking their attacks before they landed.
"Not so fast, inferior," Momoshiki said with a smirk as he blocked Naruto's punch.
"…" Kinshiki also were fighting in dominance against Sasuke.
"…"
"…"
Naruto and Sasuke merely glared towards the two Otsutsukis who blocked them.
"…!"
"…!"
"Rinbo: Hengoku!"
"Senpou: Kawazu Kumite!"
The two Otsutsukis were sent flying sideways due to the sudden attack from the two Shinobi that was invisible to their naked eyes. And without wasting even a second, Naruto and Sasuke proceeded to target Jigen/Isshiki.
"…!?"
"…!?"
The Uzumaki and the Uchiha found themselves being pierced by multiple black receivers after Jigen/Isshiki stretched his arms, each of them aimed against them respectively.
'What?! Where did these things come from?!' Naruto said after feeling his flesh being suddenly pierced out of nowhere.
'It was as if… these things suddenly sprouted within our bodies!' Sasuke also muttered, feeling the same pain as Naruto due to the black receivers.
And before they could comprehend, Naruto was suddenly attacked by Momoshiki while Sasuke ended up being thrown away by Kinshiki, pinning the two of them on the ground at a considerable distance.
"Sasuke-kun! Naruto!" Sakura yelled in worry for her teammates.
And before Naruto and Sasuke could recollect themselves, Delta once again attacked Naruto with a massive scythe created from her make-shifted leg while Sasuke was aimed to be attacked by an overhead slam by Boro.
Since he's still feeling the pain from Isshiki's black receiver due to some mysterious ability, Naruto ended up projecting two Chakra Arms to catch the incoming scythe at the right moment in a praying-like motion.
However, the very moment he caught the female's makeshift scythe, Delta fired multiple rockets from her back, homing towards the blonde Shinobi. However, the homing rockets were met by the manipulated Gudou Dama midway.
'Her abilities, namely the weaponizing parts of her body, were similar to Sasuke's former teammate, Juugo, and also one of Nagato's Six Paths of Pain, the Asura Path.'
Taking advantage of the distraction, Delta shattered the makeshift scythe, allowing her to move freely, surprising Naruto. And by shapeshifting her right leg into a massive blunt, sturdy weapon with a shapeshifted booster on the ankle part, Delta gave Naruto a powerful side-swing kick. The attack sent Naruto skidding backwards.
"And this… is for attacking my beautiful face earlier…" Delta's eyes glowed all of a sudden, even before Naruto could stop himself from skidding backwards. She then fired a potent beam from her eye, capable of vaporizing anything it came in contact with...
"…!" With his danger senses flaring all over his instincts, and with his limited movement capability due to him still being pierced by the black receivers, Naruto ended up creating two Kage Bunshins, with one of the clones attempting to use itself as a meat shield from the incoming attack.
The eye beam from Delta pierced the first Shadow Clone easily despite the current level of its durability. And this prompted the 2nd Shadow Clone to grab the original Naruto and threw him away out from the path Delta's eye beam. And with the original Naruto being thrown by his clone in a considerable distance, the said Shadow Clone was also pierced and destroyed by Delta's eye beam.
On the other hand, Boro began attacking Sasuke relentlessly, with Sasuke's only means to defend himself was his projected Susanoo's left and right limb while leaping backwards every now and then. He can't move nimbly as he used to due to his body being pierced by multiple black receivers, and he must also keep an eye on any possible sudden attacks from the other Otsutsukis that's why he can't just randomly use his Rinnegan abilities and only intended to use them once he felt cornered as means to defend and escape a predicament.
'Despite being slashed in half and electrocuted by my lightning jutsu earlier, he was able to completely regenerate himself…'
"…" and with a properly timed maneuver, Sasuke's projected Susanoo limb was able to grab Boro's right arm after a lounging attack, then he attempted to slam the Otsutsuki follower down to the ground. But Boro was able to maneuver himself and landed on his feet, creating a massive crater beneath him. But before Boro realized it…
"Shannarooo!"
Sakura ended up punching Boro right in his face, shattering the entire head of the hulking bearded man. The female member of Team Seven then stood right in front of Sasuke with a fighting stance, as Sasuke began removing, albeit painfully, the black receivers that were currently piercing his body.
"Let me heal you, Sasuke-kun!"
"I can still fight. Focus on the enemy, Sakura."
And much to their surprise, Boro stood up with its completely blown head due to Sakura's punch now completely regenerated.
"That's some impressive physical strength… little girl…" Boro said as he slammed both his hand to the ground. "Youton: Rakuseiha (Lava Release: Planet-Branding Blast)!"
And from the ground, a burst of massive amounts of acid-like substance came running down against them.
Sasuke immediately used his Rinnegan's chakra absorption ability, absorbing the corrosive jutsu by their opposition.
However, due to him now absorbing the jutsu, the Uchiha was caught off-guard by another attack from Boro from behind together with some sort of black mist being emitted by the Otsutsuki follower's hulking body. Boro then aimed a massive punch against the Rinnegan-wielder. However, Sakura returned the gesture, as she punched the massive fist with her own chakra-enhanced punch, creating a mid-way collision that separated Sakura and Sasuke from Boro.
As Sasuke was now able to completely remove all the black receivers from his body, he and Sakura prepared to attack Boro simultaneously, intending to quickly defeat the guy and immediately aide Naruto since the blonde Shinobi was also having a hard time fighting against Delta due to the movement restriction being imposed by those receivers that were still piercing his body that can easily be removed by a Rinnegan user.
"…!"
"…!"
Sasuke and Sakura suddenly felt weakened as they suddenly fell to their knees. It was then that they noticed that the black mist that was emitted earlier by Boro didn't disperse, and it seemed like it was affecting them physically.
And before the two could even comprehend what just happened, the two of them were attempted to be tackled Boro, with Sasuke barely projecting a Susanoo ribcage at the last second to protect the two of them from the blunt damage that they were about to receive.
On the other hand… With Naruto and Sasuke being completely occupied by his followers…
"Isshiki-sama, it seems like those two that you brought here were also capable beings," Kinshiki muttered to the monk-like Otsutsuki.
"Delta and Boro… artificial humans of this world that were specifically engineered as biological weapons existing for the sole purpose of protecting me while I am in my current weakened state…" Jigen said with his usual stoic expression. "Their cells were cultivated to accept and adapt to the Otsutsuki cells that allowed them to gain such abilities and power. That's why they should be capable of fighting against Uzumaki Naruto and Uchiha Sasuke by at least this much."
"However, since they were mere artificial beings, they were not compatible with my Karma..."
"So at the end of the day, you did have the same concept of giving the inferiors of this planet some form of power from the Otsutsuki just like what Kaguya have intended to do…" Momoshiki said towards Jigen/Isshiki with a serious expression.
"I only did so because I don't have much of a choice due to Kaguya's betrayal." Jigen/Isshiki said as he glared once again towards Kaguya. "And besides, they are engineered to accept the Otsutsuki's power and designed to become my pawn. That was an entirely different issue from what this woman did. A lot of inferiors of this planet gained the capability of using Chakra due to them being her descendant. She breaded them. She intended to make these inferiors stand in the same realm as us. And that itself… is unforgivable!"
"…!" Kaguya then prepared to fight back. She can feel the overwhelming anger being emitted by Isshiki against her.
"So… what now? With the Juubi's power existing within this inferior you named as Uzumaki Naruto, how do you intend to use Kaguya if you don't have your own seedling?" Momoshiki once again asked. "Wouldn't it be better to concede this planet to us since we already have a prepared Juubi on hand, and let me use that woman as my own sacrifice to create my own Shinju on this planet?"
"…" Isshiki gave Momoshiki a side-glance.
"You don't have to worry though. I'll give you the Juubi, the seedling, that will be created after I consumed the Chakra Fruit of this planet so you can use it on some other planets, Isshiki." Momoshiki gave a small, arrogant smirk towards Jigen/Isshiki.
"It seemed like you're forgetting your own place, Momoshiki." Isshiki then purposely released his discontent from Momoshiki's word. "Someone like you, who has a much lower hierarchy than me, have the audacity to state your intent of stealing my very own domain, and telling so right in front of me?!"
"The way I can see you right now, you're nothing more than mere a shadow of your former self," Momoshiki replied, still with the same tone. "Using an incompatible vessel as a desperate measure to survive Kaguya's betrayal… I doubt you can even use even half of your full strength right now."
"And despite that, I have all the power I need to destroy anyone who will even intend to hinder my path. Even if it is an Otsutsuki." Isshiki retorted. "All that I can say right now, is to stop whatever you intend to do on my domain. I have a purpose for Kaguya that's why I have revived her the way she was right now. And that includes planting and creating an entirely new Shinju with her as a sacrifice. So I don't need your Juubi to take care of Kaguya."
"I see. So you still have another Juubi at your own disposal. My bad." Momoshiki seemed to back down a little. "If you'd already told me beforehand, then I wouldn't have suggested something like that earlier."
"…"
"…"
Momoshiki and Jigen/Isshiki then glared towards each other. The tension was thick between them, as if one wrong move can make the two powerful Otsutsukis clash against each other.
After a few seconds, Isshiki returned his glare towards Kaguya. The Rabbit Goddess, on the other hand, already had created two All-Killing Ash Bones on both her palms. She was prepared to retaliate on whatever attack Jigen might perform against her.
"I have one question, Isshiki." Kaguya asked as her Byakugan activates. "Despite your weakened state, you still knew of my Kāma materialization into Black Zetsu in hopes that he can use the humans of this world for my revival. And he did so successfully a few years ago. But I ended up being defeated and sealed by Uzumaki Naruto and Uchiha Sasuke… together with Black Zetsu."
"…so there should be no longer any means for me to revive since Black Zetsu, my Kāma materialization, was also sealed together with me during my last incarnation. How were you able to revive me on this current incarnation?"
"…" Isshiki gave an indifferent expression towards Kaguya. And with a glow from his golden right eye with an asterisk design, multiple black receivers suddenly pierced Kaguya even before Kaguya could react similarly to what happened earlier with Naruto and Sasuke, making the Chakra Goddess cough in blood and writhe in pain.
"You might try something nasty again, so I better pin you in place as a precaution." Isshiki then began approaching Kaguya while Momoshiki and Kinshiki simply watched from behind. "To answer your question, despite my weakened state back then, I am keeping track of Black Zetsu's activities for these past centuries, including his failures of using Ashura and Indra's past reincarnations on awakening the Rinnegan…"
"However, when Uchiha Madara was able to awaken the Rinnegan, I made a serious effort to capture Black Zetsu, extract a good amount of your Kāma from him, then released him but not before tampering with his memory regarding our contact. And with Black Zetsu continued to manipulate this world, making your revival get closer and closer to fruition, I cultivated the fragment of your Kāma that I acquired from him as my back-up plan should Black Zetsu still fail to revive you."
"And as expected, you were once again defeated by your own descendants during your previous incarnation. And now with no other means of reviving you, I then devised my own plan of using your Kāma that I cultivated to resurrect you, resulting in your current incarnation."
"I see… So that's the reason why I am less of myself during my previous incarnation. Not only you tampered Black Zetsu's memories of you capturing him and extracting a fragment of my Kāma, you also made his sentience more dominant, ending with me becoming almost just a mere puppet of him during that time." Kaguya attempted to move and even use her space-time jutsus, but she failed due to the restraining properties of Isshiki's black receivers.
"…so at the end of the day, regardless of whatever I did, I am destined to be no more than a mere sacrifice to execute the Otsutsuki will…"
"That's right. I am glad that you somehow finally accepted your own fate." Isshiki then extended his right arm slowly, aiming to grab Kaguya's neck. "The reason why you conceived two half-breeds, Hagoromo and Hamura, was not only for them to create descendants that will gain the capability of using Chakra, but also to use either one of them as your Kāma wielder, while the other one being the sacrifice to cultivate the Juubi into a God Tree if a need should ever come…"
"…" Kaguya continued trying her best to escape from Isshiki, but it seemed like Isshiki's black receivers were too powerful for her in her current state for her to be able to do something against it since Isshiki's attention was fully focused on restraining him using the said makeshift black weapons.
"…but as I have mentioned earlier, they also ended up betraying you, leaving you no choice but to allow your own self to be consumed by this planet's Shinju so you can retrieve the power you distributed on them. And even after everything you've done… here you are, once again, not capable of doing anything…"
"…so all that I need right now, is to get a hold of you… summon my own Juubi, then use you as a sacrifice to recreate the God Tree on this world… without the need to reclaim the Rinnegan from Uchiha Sasuke and the Bijuus from Uzumaki Naruto. And once I am done with you, I'll also have those two be consumed by my own God Tree…"
"…and with you being the sacrifice to make the Shinju bloom, and those two descendants of yours being nourishment for the Shinju, I believe that the new Shinju will create a very potent Chakra Fruit, far more potent than anything that I have consumed before…"
"…that's why Kaguya…"
"…lament on your own weakness…"
"…and the futility of everything you've done…"
"…" Kaguya simply gritted her teeth as Isshiki's right hand got closer and closer to her neck.
She can't do anything… She ended up not capable of doing anything…
In the end, despite fighting against her fate, she still ended up being unable to do anything against Isshiki…
Kaguya then deactivated her Byakugan… then lowered her head.
Resistance is futile… all that she can do right now… was to accept her fate…
…of her being a mere sacrifice to the Isshiki's Juubi… for the new Shinju's cultivation…
And the death of this planet… her very own beloved nursery…
…
"…!"
Two Gudou Dama suddenly appeared on both sides of Isshiki at the very last moment before he can grab Kaguya's neck, and in a fraction of a second, one of the Gudou Dama swapped places with Sasuke, still on his Lightning Armor Chakra Mode and his sword still clad with Susanoo: Asshuku, while Naruto who's still on his Ashura Bijuu Sage Mode used Hiraishin using the other Gudou Dama as his target.
"RASENRINGU (Spiraling Ring)!"
"CHIDORIGATANA (Thousand Birds Katana)!"
Naruto, despite still being pierced by the same black receivers from earlier, and Sasuke, who's weakened by Boro's black mist with still unknown properties, performed powerful jutsus at the same time in their attempt to attack Isshiki once again.
However, Isshiki simply absorbed the jutsus before impact, making the two Ninjutsus unable to inflict damage against him. And with a single graceful movement, Isshiki ended up grabbing Naruto and Sasuke by their necks with both his hands, tightly gripping them to the point of nearly choking them to death.
"…Despite being weakened… you two still dared to attack me…" Isshiki said with a monotonous voice. "Why?"
"We have… heard everything…" Naruto replied, trying his best to speak despite being choked. He then grabbed Isshiki's wrist which was choking him, gripping it hard in his attempt to weaken the choke against him. "…you intend… to use Kaguya… for this God Tree thing…"
"And once you ended up getting a hold of her… everything will be over…" Sasuke also spoke despite being in the same predicament as Naruto currently was.
"…" Isshiki narrowed his eyes. "It seemed like Boro and Delta weren't doing their job properly."
"Yeah... You said it." Naruto said with a smirk. "And besides… Kaguya might be our enemy… but if not because of her… this world won't have any power to fight back against the likes of you Otsutsukis… due to her giving the old man of the Six Paths the capability to distribute Chakra on this world…"
"That's why… it is not us saving Kaguya… but us simply returning the favor to her for giving us the capability to fight back against arrogant freaks like you!"
"Uzumaki Naruto… Uchiha Sasuke…" Kaguya muttered absentmindedly upon hearing their words, surprised by the reasoning she just heard from her descendants…
"Big words coming from those of you inferiors…" Isshiki smirked, then slammed both Naruto and Sasuke's heads against each other.
"GAAHHH!"
"ACCKK!"
"Don't even attempt to use your Six Paths Sun and Crescent Seals against me… because Hagoromo designed those seals merely to be effective against Kaguya, with him being ignorant that there were other beings of a higher level of power than her…" Isshiki muttered coldly as he further tightened the grip on their necks…
-Scene Change-
"Uchiha Sasuke…!" Boro roared as he saw the Uchiha suddenly disappearing from his sight.
"That Uzumaki also was able to escape on the last second before I was able to kill him…" Delta then landed right beside Boro. She then looked towards Sakura who was left behind by Sasuke due to the urgent movement. "Very well, since Isshiki-sama was already dealing with them… why don't we just vaporize this weak woman on the spot?"
"Alright. Unlike those two, this girl doesn't have any trace of Otsutsuki powers. Let's just eliminate her for trying to defy the power of the Otsutsukis." Boro said angrily.
Delta then began charging her eye-beam as she grinned maliciously against Sakura, while Boro kneaded Chakra for his Lava Release jutsu.
"Sasuke-kun, Naruto…" Sakura, still on her knees due to her still being weakened by Boro's black mist, glared towards the two oppositions in front of her. "…don't mind me and do what you need to do!"
-Scene Change-
"…" Isshiki noticed the determination from both Naruto and Sasuke's eyes despite their current predicament. And that was more than enough for him to realize… 'their eyes still haven't given up… they intend to do something against me…'
"…" Naruto further tightened his grip on Isshiki's wrist.
"…" Sasuke also didn't remove his determined glare towards Isshiki…
"Heh… I don't have time to waste dealing with the likes of you... In that case, I'll give the right to finish these inferiors off to the two of you, Momoshiki, Kinshiki." Isshiki, still grabbing both Naruto and Sasuke by their necks, looked towards the two-said Otsutsukis. "Just make sure to extract the Juubis power and the Rinnegan from these two before killing them properly. I'll have to deal with Kaguya right now."
"Heh, now you're treating us as garbage collectors?" Momoshiki said with his usual smirk. "Very well then. But don't blame us if we ended up killing them and absorbing their Chakra for ourselves."
"Just do what I told you to do…" Isshiki replied threateningly as he simultaneously threw Naruto and Sasuke towards Momoshiki and Kinshiki.
"…!"
"…!"
The Uzumaki and the Uchiha maneuvered themselves mid-air after being thrown sharply by Isshiki despite still being weakened as Momoshiki and Kinshiki dashed towards them in their attempt to defeat the two of them…
"This the end of the line for you, inferiors!" Momoshiki roared with arrogance as he cast his jutsu… "KIJIGARI (Pheasant Hunter)!"
The veiled Otsutsuki then created a giant burning phoenix about the size and power as that of a Bijuu. And in command, the gigantic phoenix came dashing towards Naruto.
"Die… inferiors created from a failure of an Otsutsuki…" Kinshiki then projected multiple weapons using his potent Chakra… "AMANOHABAYA (Heavenly Feathered Arrows)!"
The multiple manifested weapons were then hurled towards Sasuke, each weapon possessing power rivaling that of Perfect Susanoo's sword slash…
"As if we'd give up… against the likes of you!" Naruto then created a Chakra Arms, then in a second… "BIJUU DAMA (Tailed Beast Bomb)!", cast and fired a Bijuu Dama using the said Chakra Arms for a head-on collision against the burning phoenix.
"CHIDORI NAGASHI (Thousand Bird Current)!" Sasuke then expelled a wide-area lightning jutsu in his own attempt to deflect or change the trajectories of the multiple weapons aimed against him.
The jutsus collided, creating a massive explosion mid-air, creating huge dust that completely enveloped their visions…
"…" Isshiki then once again was about to grab Kaguya, completely ignoring the ongoing battle just behind him…
However…
"Now, Kakashi-sensei…!" Naruto yelled with all his might.
"Kakashi…?!" Sasuke reacted with a surprised expression upon hearing the name of their former Team Seven Sensei…
"On it!" Kakashi then appeared right above Isshiki out of nowhere, greatly surprising the mohawk monk. "KAMUI RAIKIRI (Authority of the Gods: Lightning Blade)!"
"What?!" Isshiki was caught off guard by the sudden development, as he immediately stopped his attempt to grab Kaguya, then instead intended to counterattack Kakashi.
Kakashi, however, just simply used the intangibility property of his Kamui to let Jigen's counterattack phase thru him.
The very moment that Kakashi's phasing separated from Isshiki's body, he materialized himself, then aimed again his Kamui Raikiri against the mohawk monk.
But Jigen suddenly disappeared out of thin air. And in that small window of opportunity, he then dispelled his Kamui Raikiri, then immediately grabbed Kaguya's shoulder. He then performed Kamui to teleport himself and Kaguya away before Jigen could counterattack…
On the other hand…
As the Delta's eye-beam and Boro's Lava Release attack was about to hit the weakened Sakura, someone appeared beside her at the last second, lifted the medical ninja, and leaped away out of harm's way…
"…!" Boro was surprised due to the sudden development.
"Reinforcements, huh…" Delta said as she deactivated her eye beams.
The two of them then looked towards the direction where Sakura and the person who helped her landed. And before they could even comprehend what happened, Naruto's tri-pronged kunai appeared right in front of Delta, while Sasuke also appeared at the same time right in front of Boro…
"Senpou: Kurama Wangeki (Sage Art: Kurama Arm Attack)!"
"Rikudo: Chidori (Six Paths: One Thousand Birds')!"
Two powerful attacks from Naruto and Sasuke struck both of Isshiki's followers at the same time, sending them flying violently until they hit the nearest mountain, with an impact that completely turned that entire mountain into rubbles…
Naruto and Sasuke then leaped towards the location where Sakura and her savior landed.
"Hinata…?!" Naruto immediately addressed the girl who saved Sakura. "What are you doing here!? Do you know how dangerous that stunt you just did?!"
"I'm sorry, Naruto…" Hinata looked towards Naruto, her activated Byakugan eyes directly looking towards her fiancée… "…but the Six Paths Chakra within me has been telling me that I'm needed here…"
"Regardless! This place is very dangerous! I'll have you sent back to Kon…"
"Naruto-kun!" Hinata spoke with a serious expression in front of Naruto. "I know the risks, but I want to fight together with you. I might be not as powerful as Sasuke-kun, or a medical ninja like Sakura-san, but I know I can help you."
"But…!"
"I know that you just wanted to protect me… but this time… as a woman who wanted to walk side-by-side with you, together, I also wanted to protect you too."
"…"
"That's why… believe in me… and let's fight together while protecting each other's back."
She finished her statement with a determined expression yet with a confident smile… a smile that was more than enough to break Naruto's overprotectiveness of her…
"Hinata…"
On the other hand…
"Are you alright, Sakura?" Sasuke immediately asked his fiancée…
"I'm fine… thanks to Hinata…" Sakura gave an appreciative smile towards the Hyuuga girl. "However… your wounds…"
"We have plenty of time to talk about it later…" Sasuke immediately interjected, then looked towards Hinata. "…please accept my sincerest gratitude for saving Sakura."
"Don't worry about it, Sasuke-kun." Hinata replied with a small smile. "I'm here as a back-up. I know that we are facing Otsutsukis, but rest assured that I won't get in your way."
"Good to know." Sasuke gave a small smirk towards the Hyuuga girl.
Sasuke then walked immediately went towards Naruto, then began immediately detaching the black receivers that were still piercing him.
On the other hand, Sakura immediately drew two vials from her medical pocket, then began applying Chakra to them, as if altering its formula. The very moment that Sasuke was able to remove all the black receivers from Naruto, Sakura gave Sasuke one of the vials, then with a nod, the two of them drank the vials simultaneously, removing the heavy feeling they felt after inhaling Boro's black mist earlier.
And as things unfolded, Kakashi appeared right behind Team Seven and Hinata, while gently dropping the weakened Kaguya down to the ground.
"Kakashi…" Sasuke looked towards their former Sensei, still in disbelief. After all, Kakashi once again had Obito's Mangekyou Sharingan on both his eyes while wearing a golden haori similar to that of Naruto's when he's using Kurama's Bijuu powers. "…I see… so that's what you did that allowed Kakashi to gain the power of his Mangekyou once again, Naruto…"
"Yeah… that's right. The Bunshin that sent Shion to Konoha gave Kakashi-sensei a buff with assistance from Sara and was teleported here using a properly timed Hiraishin that I embedded to Isshiki's wrist when he's choking us earlier, allowing him to perform a surprise attack and separate Kaguya and Isshiki from each other." Naruto replied seriously. His regenerative abilities kicked in, allowing him to heal the damages he received from the black receivers while Sakura and Sasuke now recovered after being weakened by Boro's black mist.
"Naruto shared fragments of his chakra with me just like what he did during the previous War, albeit a more potent one. However, due to the now unique properties of his own Chakra capable of revitalizing dormant Chakra within its user, the Chakra he shared with me temporarily revitalized the remnant of Obito's dormant Chakra within me." The Sixth Hokage said with his Mangekyou Sharingan active on both his eyes.
Kakashi then looked towards Kaguya who was now standing behind them in distance, with black receivers from Isshiki still piercing all over her body that greatly limit her movement.
"But still… why did you have me save Kaguya, Naruto?"
"She might be an enemy, but she was also an important piece for those Otsutsukis to the point of doing all those complicated shenanigans just to revive her for whatever they intend to do against her." Naruto replied. "And whatever that intent was, will definitely spell the end of this world. So we'll have to make sure that those Otsutsukis won't get ahold of her again while kicking their asses at the same time."
"Then why don't we just kill her right here." Sasuke muttered coldly. "After all, Kaguya won't be able to fight back given her current state."
"…" Kaguya simply looked back towards the Shinobi seriously.
"Sasuke… like what I have said earlier and according to everything that we've heard so far, if not because of the Chakra she distributed thru Hagoromo, we won't have any means to fight back against these Otsutsukis. Aside from the fact that she chose to attack Momoshiki and Kinshiki earlier instead of us." Naruto replied while looking directly towards Sasuke.
"She is an enemy of the Shinobi due to her intending to absorb our Chakra thru the Infinite Tsukuyomi… but she is not an enemy of this world… because she chose to protect this planet against the Otsutsukis, regardless of her intent, to the point of betraying her own clan."
"That's why this is just a means to return the favor. If she ended up still antagonizing us after all these, then we'll just do what we need to do." Naruto finished his statement as he glared towards Kaguya.
"…Uzumaki Naruto…" Kaguya then looked towards Naruto with a neutral expression. It was then that Kaguya suddenly saw the image of the fierce yet determined eyes of his son, Hagoromo Otsutski, from the past when the Sage of the Six Paths was trying to persuade her to stop using the humans as nourishment source for the Shinju… "Hagoromo…"
"Naruto-kun…" Hinata then looked towards Naruto with a small smile. Because she suddenly remembered one of the words from her ancestor, Hamura, during the Moon Mission.
'Mother used to be a kind person… she had the confidence of the people… and they looked up to her like a warm and caring Goddess. Both me and my brother still wonder how and why she did become like an oppressive tyrant who intended to rule the land with fear. Might be because… to much power made her lonely… that ended up corrupting her… with me and my brother not even trying to understand her true feelings…'
"Alright then," Kakashi answered Naruto on behalf of Sasuke's brooding.
"Fine. Remember, we're dealing with the Otsutsukis here… Naruto and I already have a grasp of their capabilities, aside from Isshiki Otsutsuki. So we'll be the ones to deal with them." Sasuke said as he once again accessed his Susanoo: Asshuku into his Kusanagi sword, while Naruto once again tapped into his Ashura Bijuu Sage Mode. "Sakura, Hinata, we'll have you deal with those two known as Boro and Delta. Kakashi, we'll have you back us up against the Otsutsukis."
"Hey, why are you acting like you're the Team Captain all of a sudden?!" Naruto complained comically.
"It's fine, Naruto." Kakashi gave an eye-smile. "We're dealing with the Otsutsukis, after all."
-Scene Change-
And from a distance… Momoshiki and Kinshiki landed on the ground while observing the newly regrouped team of Shinobi who snatched Kaguya away from Isshiki.
"Aside from the Rinnegan, and the other wielding the Juubi's power, here comes another one with fully matured Byakugan, and another one with an evolved Sharingan?!" Momoshiki narrowed his eyes. "Just what did Kaguya really intend to do for allowing such inferiors to acquire such powers from the Otsutsukis!?"
"I have the same wonder as you, Momoshiki-sama." Kinshiki spoke as well. "This might be the reason why both Kaguya and Isshiki, despite having different goals, were also not allowing us to do anything in this world…"
"That's right." Isshiki then reappeared right behind them after making himself disappear from Kakashi's earlier sudden attack. "Kaguya knew a lot of secrets from this world. That's why she chose to betray me and have this world all for herself. And I fully intend to squeeze everything out from her before having her fed to my own Juubi."
It was then that Boro and Delta also arrived right behind Isshiki after being struck by Naruto and Sasuke's previous attack, now nearly completely regenerated.
"Those two… I'll make sure that they'll pay for damaging me like this!" Delta muttered in anger.
"Those who stand against the Otsutsukis, are the enemies of gods!" Boro roared in rage.
"So what now… this time, will you allow us to help you destroy those inferiors who are attempting to step on the realm of the Otsutsukis?" Momoshiki said as he removed his veil, this time, preparing to go all out while Kinshiki drew another red-colored projected weapon from his potent Chakra.
"Very well. They are the last line of defense of this world against us, Otsutsukis. So we won't get anywhere unless we settle things against them once and for all…" Isshiki then activated Jigen's Kāma allowing several marking patterns to spread all over his body, allowing Jigen to acquire a large horn protruding from behind with its tip pointing to the right.
"…" Naruto then glared towards the opposing group. All of them are very powerful and formidable beings. Yet this is the one battle that they can't afford to lose… no matter what...
He then looked towards Hinata, who was now accessing the power that Hamura Otsutsuki passed down to her. The two of them then gave smiles to each other, solidifying their resolve against the predicament in front of them.
Uzumaki Naruto, Uchiha Sasuke, Haruno Sakura, Hatake Kakashi and Hyuuga Hinata…
Otsutsuki Momoshiki, Otsutsuki Kinshiki, Jigen/Otsutsuki Isshiki, Delta and Boro…
With Kaguya observing behind the two opposing forces…
"This world… is my nursery… and these Shinobi… are the products of my nursery…" Kaguya muttered in low voice. "I do intend to regain all the scattered Chakra from this planet… so that I can protect this very world… my very own nursery… against the Otsutsukis… and that will never, ever change…"
"However… while we do have our differences… these Shinobi intended to protect this world against the Otsutsukis…"
"I might be their enemy… but just this once… I and the people of this world have one common goal…"
"…and that is to protect this planet, this world…"
This… was more or less the same vision that she had when she came to this world… the real reason why she conceived Hagoromo and Hamura… before she ended up being obsessed with reclaiming the Chakra that her sons acquired thru her… and before her sons ended up not being able to accept her reasoning why she did so…
…Her, together with her sons, fighting together against the threat of the Otsutsukis for her to accomplish her goal on this planet…
"…that's why… I…" Kaguya then muttered, this time, enough for Naruto and Sasuke to hear. "…Uzumaki Naruto… Uchiha Sasuke… I have a one-time proposition…"
Author's Note:
Alright. Done. Another long chapter. My longest, in fact. I tried dividing this chapter into two, but oh well, come what may.
Please leave some reviews for additional motivation. I need those badly right now due to the current IRL circumstances I'm going through.
Thank you!