I own neither Naruto nor One Piece…

CLANG!

CLANK!

CLASH!

Steel clashing against steel, and hard flesh striking flesh. That was the sound anyone would have heard if they were somehow able to get close enough to the clash without being torn apart into pieces from the shockwaves that reverberated across the valley.

The cacophony emanated across the vast landscape like fierce thunder strikes roaring across the sky, as loud and ear-shattering as the constant roars of lightning itself.

Around a large broken statue which was a shadow of its former glory surrounded by roaring waters and blazing flames, was a place that could only be described as a desolated wasteland as ash poured down furiously as if it had a deep grudge on the earth below.

This was the Valley of the End, the legendary landscape upon whose foundations the fate of the Shinobi world had been decided again and again. Located close to the border of the Land of Fire and the Land of Sound, it was a mighty landscape where legends had carved their tales into the tapestry of history that later dictated the course taken by mankind itself.

It was a place that had witnessed the infamous feud between Hashirama and Madara, a location that marked the beginning and the end of the tale of a young avenger who had walked the path of vengeance and his friend who had chased him through that arduous road to the very end through nothing but sheer grit and determination.

Upon the two broken statues that signified the symbol of comradeship between two titans, there stood two young men— eyes resolute and mouths twisted into the smallest of frowns that could barely be perceived even if one were to search for it.

CLANG!

A shockwave once again tore apart the landscape of earth and water that surrounded them, generated by a clash so quick that the speed of their movements transcended human imagination when the two men instantly traversed the vast space separating them in a single leap and met their otherworldly opponents in the middle of the valley.

Their weapons clanked and firmly locked against each other as both combatants held their places for a single long moment, neither of them allowing their opponent to overpower the other.

Another movement and a crater was created beneath their feet as the air they were floating upon trembled once again, releasing another shockwave that parted the lake beneath them and tore apart its underwater surface due to the sheer strength behind their blows. Sparks flew as their weapons ground against each other in another even clash before they both separated in practiced, flawless motion just as quickly and jumped back to their previous footholds, continuing the impasse.

The three combatants faced each other, fury and irritation apparent on each of their faces.

"Tch."

Grunted one of the two. The young man in question had a furious scowl on etched his usually calm and unemotional features. With raven black locks that seemed to defy gravity and long bangs that framed his unblemished face and concealed his left eye, his extremely handsome feathers were only accentuated by his pale, smooth skin that was regretfully marred by numerous scratches, fresh from the furious clashes currently unfolding.

The left sleeve of his shirt fluttered wildly in the cold wind, the fact that it was not housing an arm from the elbow down proudly displayed for all to see as his remaining hand clutched his majestic sword, the Sword of Kusanagi, in a reverse grip— ready to block or parry should the enemy strike.

Yet, his most striking feature was neither his mesmerizing beauty nor his disturbingly loose sleeve, pointedly fluttering due to the lack of an arm.

If asked all fortunate enough to behold the scene would answer that the most mesmerizing feature of this boy was none other than that single unyielding eye that glowed with a kaleidoscope of ethereal red that peered into a man's soul.

This was Sasuke Uchiha…

The brother of the infamous Itachi Uchiha by blood and of the famous Naruto Uzumaki by bond.

A veteran of the fourth shinobi world war and ultimately an important figure who played a crucial role in defeating the Goddess Kaguya who sought to put the whole world into eternal sleep under her fearsome jutsu. The wielder of two legendary doujutsu— the exalted Rinnegan, which oddly enough had not yet been activated, and the infamous Mangekyou Sharingan that glowed a haunting blood red.

"I barely have enough chakra to keep the Mangekyou activated, let alone use the Rinnegan. It seems that our opponents are strong, much more than I initially thought." The ninja told the man beside him, a rare gleam of frustration visible in the lone eye for all to see.

"Yeah, he is a troublesome bunch. These are not the worst odds we've overcome but defeating him would be far from easy." Naruto Uzumaki, the future Hokage and Sasuke's only friend responded with a determined look on his face.

"Troublesome?" Sasuke whispered, shaking his head. "Perhaps you should spend less time with that Nara."

The long quest to investigate the true origins of the Otsutsuki which he had embarked upon as soon as he'd mastered his legendary dojutsu had forced Sasuke to repeatedly use his Rinnegan's Yomotsu Hirasaka for the last two weeks, an act that took most of his chakra reserves and left his rather astounding energy pool almost empty.

Sasuke wordlessly cursed his fortune or lack thereof— he'd thought he would be able to rest for the time being and hopefully gather enough chakra to conjure a portal straight back home after a few days of respite. But alas, his abysmal luck was so bad, that his pursuers— which he even never knew he had, an oversight that would never happen again should he survive— located the place where he was resting and instantly pounced upon him as if they were rabid dogs as soon as they laid their eyes upon him.

Which led to his current predicament.

"I need at least a minute of rest to activate and use the Rinnegan once again," He concluded with certainty, knowing exactly how much energy he had remaining and how much time it would take to replenish it. He clutched his aching left eye and closed it in hopes of speeding up his chakra recovery and the Rinnegan's cooldown process.

He looked ahead to see the lone figure of his enemy calmly standing there as if assessing every move and action of theirs. The ninja's pursuer who had chased him across numerous dimensions and had even followed Sasuke back to his home sported a deathly-pale complexion he had only seen before in those of the Otsutsuki clan.

Calm and delicate features graced his face, with wide white eyes framed by elegant round eyebrows cut square in a manner reminiscent of the fashion that was once prevalent in old noble clans. The hereditary doujutsu which most recognized as the hereditary power of the Hyuuga Clan and the mark of the Rabbit Goddess herself, the Byakugan, stared at both of them blankly.

How this man managed to match his every move while donning a kimono and a pair of geta sandals was beyond Sasuke. His flawless taijutsu honed through the experience of a thousand battles and more was extremely deadly, as was his unknown ninjutsu which could match most of his his own. But the most notable of all was the pair of glowing Rinnegan comfortably placed in both his palms.

In contrast to his own dojutsu or any variation of the Rinnegan that Sasuke had seen before, his pursuer's was blood red in colour. It reminded him of Danzo that ghastly white appendage of his which was once embedded with the eyes of his kin, only serving to further escalate his growing ire.

But if there was anything the Uchiha learned during his time as a shinobi, then it was to never underestimate an opponent. Sasuke had stayed true to that rule in almost every fight he had been in, and it secured him the win each time. Each shinobi knew that underestimating an enemy and lowering your guard was the gateway to your own demise.

Hell, Naruto beside him was the living testament to the fact.

"We need to be careful," The Uchiha quietly spoke, glancing at his partner beside him while scanning his enemy for any sudden moves at the same time. "The foe cannot be underestimated this time, Naruto."

The black-haired avenger glared at his pursuer, irritation punctuated in every syllable as he spoke to his friend. What had he done to set this Otsutsuki upon him out of nowhere and earn his ire and enmity?

He genuinely did not know but as far as he was concerned, this was an Otsutsuki and all Otsutsuki not named Hagoromo had not exactly been good guys… or women.

"Who are you and what do you want?" asked Naruto who stayed true to his nature and chose verbal truce before all else, once again extending a hand of diplomacy even to the most underserving but loath as he might, Sasuke honestly could not find it within himself to blame his only friend for it. "Why are you here?"

The white-haired enigma silently moved his head to the side, only eager to continue the staring contest between the two and never breaking his calm and collected persona, as if contemplating whether or not should he answer the human's question. He resembled a proud emperor looking down upon slaves not worth his attention.

The Uchiha clicked his tongue at his arrogance and could only wait for him to answer, all the while taking advantage of the momentary pause for chakra recovery.

Suddenly, the white being who had pursued him through countless dimensions to his home world smirked which somehow made Sasuke only more uneasy— not because the smirk did not at all suit his delicate features but because he had seen that same smirk upon his previous adversaries countless times, namely Madara and Kaguya.

It also served to warn the ninja that things would not go swimmingly for him from here on and that had never been a good sign.

Then he spoke, his voice cold and his words even colder.

"A dead human should not ask questions." He started with a surprisingly deep voice in contrast to his soft facial features. "But for lasting this long against me, I allow you the honour of knowing my name."

The Otsutsuki paused, before inclining his head towards him ever so slightly with the same cold emotionless mask still plastered on his fragile-looking face. "Momoshiki Otsutsuki. Remember it, intruder."

Before Sasuke could even think of anything, the being known as Momoshiki spoke again. "As for what I want, your intrusion into our seedbeds is intolerable and I believe a punishment is in order. Surrender now and your death shall be swift and painless. I shall even graciously reward you for your courage, human, by turning you and this world of yours into a chakra fruit fit for my personal consumption. That way, you shall continue to exist on as part of my venerable being and your powers shall serve my glorious cause."

'Momoshiki?' The name oddly felt familiar to the former avenger and brought along unwanted feelings of nostalgia and dread— had he read it in one of those stone tablets that he had unraveled in one of Kaguya's dimensions?

Sasuke was snapped from his musings when he saw Momoshiki get into a ready position, probably to behind his clash against him once again. He heard Naruto curse softly beside him and promptly raised his weapon in preparation for the clash that was about to happen.

It happened quickly and suddenly, just as Sasuke knew it would happen.

It was over in the hundredth fraction of a single second, an unparalleled feat of speed that Sasuke had only ever seen before in men who could walk amongst gods and not be found wanting in which Momoshiki simply the distance that separated them using nothing but sheer speed alone, appearing in front of them in a blur of speed that his Sharingan could barely keep track of.

Another shockwave shook the earth below them, as Sasuke instantly blocked the palm headed towards his face and felt his bones creak in protest as veins underneath his skin threatened to burst under the pressure. 'The Gentle Fist or at least a variation of it.' Sasuke concluded grimly, deducing as such from the way that the seemingly simple palm strike of the Otsutsuki had directly bypassed the natural defenses of his diamond-hard skin.

Momoshiki was not deterred when he saw his strike being blocked effortlessly without a result to show for it and spun around in a circle in an attempt to kick Sasuke who had already leaned backward to dodge his rather predictable attack.

He could not be blamed for targeting Sasuke first, for he was made well acquainted with his power during his discrete chase and obviously viewed him as a greater threat when compared to Naruto who had only just arrived in response to his backup signal. In hindsight, he should have focused more on the blond beside him.

Yes… he probably should have.

"Yonton: Rasengan!"

But even when taken by surprise from his unguarded side by an opponent he had completely disregarded just a moment ago, Momoshiki— in a rare display of reactive instinct that even Sasuke would be hard-pressed to replicate— managed to raise his other arm to cast an unknown jutsu that summoned forth a spear of darkness from his palm meant to cut through the blazing sphere of magma before it could touch his stomach.

Then the sphere of scorching death reached his spear.

Momoshiki immediately gritted his teeth as the burning sphere of dense chakra created by a mere human clashed with his attack without breaking before it actually began to push back his spear and disintegrate everything it touched!

The spiraling ball of chakra that spun around in countless circles of fire and death was not just created for show...it was actually grinding through his attack!

Constant friction and boundless heat were carving through the core of his attack down until it was weakened enough for the Rasengan to break through!

With the ever-present threat of Sasuke in mind, Momoshiki had no choice but to maintain his position in hopes that his dark attack would weaken the sphere as well and create an opportunity for him to capitalize on.

As he predicted, the spear of darkness soon broke against the power of the Rasengan.

But his hopes were dashed without mercy as he soon found that the tiny sphere was not any weaker by the time it reached him. The attack was self-perpetuating?

Damn it.

Momoshiki could do nothing but curse in his mind and accept his fate— when it finally hit his stomach, it felt as if someone had placed a grinder on it.

The agonizing grinding and the ruthless turning of the waves of the blazing hot chakra were scorching and tearing through his precious skin mortals would otherwise beg to touch!

But finally, finally, the compressed energy exploded and sent him flying backward at speeds that broke the sound barrier many times over. Momoshiki was almost grateful that the explosion had happened, for at this point he would have done anything to get away from that agonizing sensation which spoke more about the true nature of the attack than any words could have.

But then again, it had all happened because he was caught off guard.

And now that he knew...

Sasuke cursed silently, his sharp eyes which perceived the world in all its perfection instinctively understanding that their opponent would not be taken by surprise after this. Then again, surprise had largely beein irrelevant in the most of their fight for none of the opponents they had fought had ever had to nerve to take them lightly— Kaguya perhaps was the only exception but even she had been forced to acknowledge their strength.

'Taju Kage Bunshin no Jutsu'

One turned into a thousand, as Naruto staying true to his unpredictable nature refused to let go of the initiative and immediately capitalized on the opening his initial attack had created.

'Five seconds to go…' Thought the Uchiha impatiently, as he carefully counted the remaining time which stood between the ninja and his supreme doujutsu. He had gathered enough chakra to use Rinnegan now, but its ocular abilities were not fully prepared yet and waiting for the Rinnegan to be charged once again was quickly growing annoying.

And then the sky itself was filled with orange as all thousand copies of Naruto jumped straight towards the Otsutsuki with as much strength as they could, glowing with warmth and sunshine as they all simultaneously enshrouded themselves in a cloak of heavy golden chakra created from the power that Hagoromo had blessed them with.

To the Momoshiki in the sky who had not yet recovered from the devasting blow of the Rasengan and barely even had the time to widen his eyes, the puny human who had suddenly revealed an unexpected strength capable of harming him away had suddenly multiplied in number and jumped straight towards him with speeds that vastly surpassed his own...

But the distance between them and his own considerable speed gave him more than enough time to react, the dojutsu that sat upon his palms glowed with a sinister light and countless swords of light radiating with a power far beyond the strength of a Kage were conjured around him.

Momoshiki raised his pale hand and paused for a moment even as Naruto's cerulean eyes widened, and then he simply brought down his pale outstretched hand as if slashing the air apart with an invisible dagger.

The spears of light were launched at Naruto and his barrage of thousand clones who simply smirked in response and began an elegant dance of death as their forms blurred, leaving trials of shimmering gold and afterimages even the Byakugan could not dispel. It was a perfect dance, each move flowing seamlessly to the next even as spears of light formed in the air by their thousands and were hurled forward by unseen hands.

Though it felt akin to watching a whirlwind, there was no chaos in the movements, no disorder in any step. Every move had a purpose and every action a goal, not a single motion was wasted.

The Otsutsuki could only watch as two of the copies went behind the original and then flung the powerful blond towards him even as another orb of power took form in his hands but before the original even reached him, the other clone once again threw its brother his way with all of its strength before dispersing itself with a loud pop.

Was he trying to use the clone as a distraction?

Momoshiki refused to fall for it!

He elegantly dodged and removed himself away from the path of the clone that was thrown towards him as a projectile faster than any bullet could hope to be and refocused his efforts on the incoming original. He formed another spear of darkness that sucked in all light from its surroundings and charged the incoming blond with his spear raised.

Once again, the Rasengan met the might of the spear of darkness in a clash that temporarily pushed back both the combatants and released a shockwave that once again devasted the surroundings around them.

Momoshiki dodged the powerful arm that attempted to grab him and flew upwards, smirking as he revelled in the fact that he now held the upper hand.

Mortals had no right to stand in the heavens alongside the true gods. Astoundingly strong though the blond may be but even with all his power, in the end, his opponent was just a human who was naught but helpless when suspended in the sky without any foothold with which he could maneuverer freely

Bijuu- Rasengan!

He then spat out blood as he felt something smash into his back with tremendous force!

The clone.

The clone was not the distraction...

The blond had used himself as a distraction!

"Take this, you bastard!" Naruto grinned as he saw his clone smash the dense orb of power into the back of the Otsutsuki who let out a soundless scream laced with untold agony and boundless rage as he felt his divine flesh begin to give way once again as the spiraling attack ground its way through his perfect body.

Then the explosion happened.

Momoshiki felt the force of the scorching explosion that burned his back sending him flying towards the ground at speeds that no Kage could ever hope to match as gravity which he once thought of as an ally so suddenly turned against him.

But his eyes widened and he could do naught but curse in rage as he found a raven-haired man whose menacing eyes glowed red in the darkness waiting for him.

Sasuke coldly raised his single hand without an expression on his face and the very air around him hummed as raw power reverberated through his body. It began with a single blue spark that instantly engulfed his hand in an aura formed of the heavenly tribulation of lightning which shrieked with the chirpings of a thousand birds.

But Momoshiki was not so weak that a single attack— no matter how strong— would render him helpless and rob him of his common sense. Before he could enter the range of the avenger, the Otsutsuki spread his arms and gracefully used them to balance himself as he began changing his course back toward the sky using his powers.

But even the heavens refused him shelter, as Naruto began his descent from the sky above as that dammed orb of power once again spun into shape atop his palm. Momoshiki growled, not even finding the time to voice his frustrations before he was forced to move yet again.

He could have avoided one of them but not the other.

So instead he intercepted them.

It was one of the most remarkable examples of Taijutsu Sasuke had ever seen. He spun in place, counter-clockwise, allowing the Naruto and his Rasengan to fly through where his left shoulder would have been as he turned before he used his momentum to reach out with his other hand in an attempt to strike at the exposed side of the blond with an open palm that glowed ominously with chakra.

Unfortunately for him, Sasuke had already predicted all this with his Sharingan which could divine the future.

The golden form of Naruto switched place with him at the very last second, just as the lethal attack of Momoshiki was about to land on him.

"Wha—?!"

Sasuke was prepared to block the palm strike of the Otsutsuki from the very beginning, unlike his friend Naruto whose previous position and speed did not allow him the use of such manoeuvres.

Chidori!

Rasengan!

Both the attacks struck Momoshiki at once, one from Sasuke who elegantly weaved out of the way just twisting his body in a circle to allow the attack to harmlessly pass through empty air, and the other from Naruto whose accumulated momentum was transferred into his bandaged arm.

"Do not underestimate us, you geezer!" Naruto shouted, even as another devastating shockwave tore through the heavens themselves while the pungent smell of charred flesh was mixed with the toxic scent of ozone.

But Sasuke was not done yet, numerous kunai popped into existence near his hands with a single twitch of his finger alongside a trivial trickle of chakra through the seal on the back of his hand, and with ease that could only be attained through decades of practice— he kicked a simple pebble and then with a single movement of his wrist launched the kunai in his hands through the air at speeds that shattered the sound barrier and broke human comprehension.

Momoshiki was too far away from the trajectory of his attacks, and the speed at which he was sent flying was so fast that no kunai could have ever hoped to catch up to him.

But much to his growing frustration, he was once again taken by surprise and left dumbfounded by mere humans as his position was instantly and ruthlessly switched with that of the pebble that Sasuke had just kicked and he was suddenly displaced, placed right in the path of the kunai which were enshrouded in chakra and were coming right at him in speeds at broke the barrier of sound many times over.

"Curse you, mortals! You humans will rue this day," Momoshiki snarled, his voice cold as he elegantly dodged the sharp kunai with the grace that only came with the ease of movement created through years of practice. Mere knives, no matter how fast, would never be able to even graze him.

But then, he suddenly found it much harder to move his body.

He looked down in surprise to find several small wires— astoundingly sharp and created from absurdly tough steel— wrapped around his person, connected to those knives he had just dodged. He growled in rage as he found that an exalted being like him had been tricked once more by the wily humans who had been fighting against him.

Sasuke's fingers twitched slightly, and the steel wires— which aside from a small flash were invisible even to his Sharingan eye— tightened around Momoshiki, digging deep into his pale flesh and drawing a thin trickle of blood.

"I would recommend surrendering while you have the chance. Our simple grievances can be settled through peaceful diplomacy and we are prepared to overlook your acts of aggression if you calm yourself before this escalates any further. " Sasuke spoke, genuinely hoping that the Otsutsuki would stop.

Momoshiki for his part, just bared his teeth at the demands of these puny mortals who by all rights should have been thanking his venerable self for even acknowledging them to such an extent. He just could not understand these humans before him at all. These mortals used the most unorthodox and strange ways of fighting he had ever seen throughout his entire life!

All of the supernatural beings he had met and fought throughout his long lifetime used different ways of fighting which could typically be categorized into recognizable types. To overthrow an opponent, one had to either use greater power, use greater speed, or have better technique. That was how many would defeat one another

But these humans fit into none of those categories. It simply was not done!

Sasuke, seeing that his opponent was not replying simply sighed in regret. If possible, even he would have preferred to use diplomacy just as Naruto had initially wanted.

Once again, his sparks burst into life around his hand as his dark chakra surged, and the scent of ozone spread through the air as the sky above darkened and the pressure upon his shoulders increased a hundredfold as the air itself grew heavy with power.

"If anything, I regret that what could have been settled through words came to this." Sasuke sighed and the heavens above roared in fury.

Kirin!

Then the world itself was engulfed by a blinding white…

The entire valley was devasted by the time the blank spots in his perfect vision faded away. The little water that was left in the air was instantly vapourised and the rocks around them seamlessly melted, the oxygen in the air converted into ozone by heat that for an instant matched the fury of an exploding star and left little for them to breathe.

Kirin had once been his ultimate move, meant to end the most significant fight of his life as his greatest trump card. It was the accumulation of his efforts and pains that he had undertaken for the sake of his revenge and as his powers had increased with time, its maximum potency had also followed suit alongside.

If one were to compare the Kirin he had used against Itachi with the Kirin he had used just now, then it would not surprise him even if the second one was revealed to be a thousand times stronger.

A radiant golden glow flashed across the corner of his eye and Sasuke felt the corner of his lips curling into a warm but rare smile as he relaxed momentarily. "Is it finally over, Sasuke?" Naruto asked, coming to a stop beside him as his golden cloak faded away.

"Bravo. Indeed, this went beyond what I had expected from mortals." A cold voice suddenly drawled, sending shivers racing across their spines as their eyes widened. "Truly an unprecedented surprise~"

It was their turn to be surprised and instinctively they both took a step backward, subconsciously bracing themselves by assuming their natural stances and fortifying their position.

"But then again you humans cannot be called completely mortal either." Momoshiki smirked, his pale eyes flashing as he wiped a smudge of dirt from his pristine clothes, "We gods stand beyond the reach of mortals whose impure chakra cannot ham an Otsutsuki unless imbued with matching divinity. With that golden form of yours and that Rinnegan, perhaps it would be more appropriate to consider you two impure members of the exalted Otsutsuki race rather than mere mortals."

"What do you mean, you geezer?" Naruto asked from beside him, voice cracking for a moment as he involuntarily remembered the times when he had been considered something inhumane by the villagers, "Super Sage-Gamps sure gave us his divine chakra, but the fact that we remain humans cannot be questioned. I refuse to accept otherwise."

"Do not listen to this drivel, Naruto." Sasuke frowned, and the crimson glow of his eyes turned even deeper, knowing that the words of his opponent had caught the interest of his blond friend. "You cannot trick us with your words."

Momoshiki elegantly raised his pale arm and the pair of Rinnegan that sat upon his palm glowed malevolently with power. The air grew dense with chakra as untold pressure bore down upon them, and gravity increased tenfold as it pushed them downwards.

"I must admit, at this very moment—you both are strong, stronger than even I could have ever imagined." Momoshiki admitted, "Perhaps underestimating you was indeed a mistake but from this moment onwards, I shall cast aside my arrogance and fight you both not as lesser humans but as fellow gods of the Otsutsuki Clan." He closed his eyes, before opening them again with resolute determination in his eyes. "Prepare yourselves."

Sasuke's eyes widened, and he barely had enough time to reach out and grab Naruto beside him to teleport away before once again, white engulfed the world as the heavens themselves roared…

The scent of ozone once again spread through the air, as lightning that for an instant burned hotter than the sun itself forced the very gaseous molecules to condense into scorching plasma and divided the very molecules of oxygen into its base components.

The desolate Valley of the End where legends had crashed to change history itself was once again devastated beyond remembrance as a dragon of heavenly thunder raged upon its depths and scorched the earth itself into molten slags of magma.

"That was your Kirin was it not, Sasuke?" Naruto asked as soon as they reappeared, dense golden chakra once again engulfing him as he activated his chakra cloak in preparation for the fight that was about to come. "Do you understand what it means? He can use our powers against us so we cannot attack him carelessly anymore."

"He can absorb jutsu in his right palm, and then release the same jutsu in his left palm, greatly amplifying its effects and firepower." Sasuke deduced, glaringly sharply at his smirking opponents as he recalled what the enemy had done moments ago. That single move of his had put all their chakra-based attacks out of the equation.

Then the pale Otsutsuki's smirk stretched wider, and Sasuke's eyes narrowed at that.

'He's planning something.' The dark-haired avenger instantly realized and raised his guard even further, anticipating even the slightest twitch of motion from his enemy using the Sharingan. He was tired, very tired. But he was not about to succumb to the exhaustion just yet, although it was probably marred on his face. But on the other hand, appearing to be tired could make the enemy drop his guard in most cases.

But regardless of whether he was tired or not, however, he was on a mission and he was not about to fall here.

'!'

Out of nowhere, Sasuke felt the presence of someone other than the Otsutsuki that was in front of him. The ninja instinctively looked at the ground and saw a shadow looming overhead, a shadow that was rapidly growing in size the more he looked at it.

'Above!' Sasuke mentally exclaimed, realizing what the shadow was.

With extreme speed, Sasuke jumped away to dodge what he thought was his impending doom. It turned out, he was right after all, as a just split-second after he had jumped away, a large, red rod seemingly made of pure concentrated chakra was swung with immense strength and blinding speed that would've been impossible to dodge even for the legendary Kage-level shinobi.

BOOM!

The massive rod impacted the ground where he was previously standing and resulted in an explosion of dust and rubble.

The resulting shockwave and some rubbles still hit him though, further flinging him outwards and disrupting his maneuverability and effort to straighten himself.

"Sasuke! Be careful, there are others besides him!" Naruto, who had been separated from his side due to the sudden attack exclaimed, charging forward in a blur that was intercepted mid-air by a white phantom in the form of another Otsutsuki whose body unlike his slender peers was bulged with bulky muscles that screamed of unsurpassable strength.

'Shit, I forgot about the others!' Sasuke cursed mentally. He was far too preoccupied with fighting the Otsutsuki before him that he had completely forgotten about his subordinates. Sasuke berated himself for his incautiousness, the fact that he overlooked his enemy's ally in a dire situation like this was something completely unacceptable by his standards.

Sasuke steadied himself mid-air and landed a distance away from the duo. When the dust cloud finally cleared, Sasuke saw the one who had escaped his notice and sneaked up on Naruto. He was a large, hulking being who currently towered over the shorter of the two. This Otsutsuki was tall and muscular, enough that Sasuke extrapolated that the newcomer easily dwarfed even Ai, the fourth Raikage, who was arguably one of the largest shinobi he had ever seen in the Elemental nations.

Sasuke once again berated himself for having forgotten the palpable opponent before his eyes drifted towards the other who had attacked him with his red rods.

Short white hair atop the pale skin that was characteristic of all Otsutsuki, alongside a pair of blue Rinnegan that radiated with potent chakra. Like Momoshiki, he too wore a lavender-white kimono over his elegantly slender torso. A disgustingly annoying smirk played on his lips as he narrowed his eyes at him.

"Heh, you really have gotten slow, Urashiki." The white-haired Rinnegan wielder casually mocked, commenting on the smirking man's failed attempt at a sneak attack. Oddly enough, the smaller of the two wasn't even close to being disappointed and his eerie grin only stretched further at his companion's words.

The human had just dodged a sneak attack from Urashiki, who was praised among the Otsutsuki clan for his speed and agility. Despite his small size, the Otsutsuki was actually one of the fastest fighters in the clan and to have dodged his blow, let alone a perfect sneak attack was extremely impressive by his standards. No one had ever dodged a blow from him, not until the dark-haired Uchiha.

"It is just as you say, Momoshiki-sama. These humans cannot be underestimated." Urashiki nodded and ran a pale hand through his white hair as he spun his red rod in an intricate motion before allowing it to rest on his shoulder. "I can see why you ordered me to retrieve that from the main clan, such a situation does indeed justify its usage. We should consider them a threat on par with a rouge Otsutsuki Clan member and deal with them accordingly."

There was an impasse as the three Otsutsuki faced a pair of men who had transcended the bounds of humanity, a moment of tense quietness accompanied by a sense of trepidation so sharp that it could have cut through the hearts of men and gods as easily as the Susanoo could carve mountains.

"Deal with us accordingly?" Naruto finally spoke, forever true to his brash nature as he cut through the apprehension without a single shred of hesitation and challenged the bold claim of his opponents with a small grin that tugged at his lips, "But to do that you would have to defeat us first, ya'know. Sure, you are far more powerful than any normal human could ever be but even then, none of you are a match for us."

Sasuke could feel the corners of his lips tugging into a small smirk at his friend's words as his Sharingan perfectly recorded the expressions of outrage and shock that spread across the pale faces of their opponents at the bold claims of his friend.

If there was one thing that Naruto had been good at from the very start then it would be annoying the hell out of others and Sasuke would freely admit that it felt good, to see someone at the receiving end of his Naruto's loose tongue that was capable of spewing words that were capable of getting under the skin of even the calmest of men without restrain.

"They certainly are impudent, Momoshiki-sama," Kinshiki growled as he stepped forward, his voice a heavy baritone that rumbled forth from his throat. "Shall I deal with them?"

"Calm down and restrain yourself, Kinshiki. Anger would only hinder us at this point, it is indeed true that none of us are any match for these humans. Loath as I am to accept it but defeating these mortals in a straight clash certainly seems to be beyond our capability for now." Momoshiki answered, turning towards Naruto as his eyes flashed with rage. "Then again, fighting is not the only way to end a battle, is it not?"

He paused, clearly trying his best to quell his growing thirst for blood as he took a deep breath to calm himself. Even gods had never dared to address him with such cheek. These humans would beg for death while screaming in pain and agony, this he vowed to himself.

He then turned towards the slenderer of his two pale companions who stood behind him, "Urashiki, have the others at the main clan completely prepared that?

"Yes, they have granted their approval. Though they were surprised to learn that you were prepared to go that far just to deal with mere mortals."

"They do not have the authority to pry into my personal ventures, it seems that I shall once again have to remind them of that." Momoshiki scoffed, never taking his eyes off the humans who dared oppose his celestial authority. "But before all else, I must first deal with these insolent pests."

"As you say, Momoshiki-sama."

Urashiki bowed his head, and took a step backward, seemingly cupping his hands in prayer as he closed his vibrant blue pair of Rinnegan eyes, and kneeled in subversion.

"Sasuke, be careful." Sasuke was surprised to see Naruto's cerulean eyes widen in what he perceived to be shock and subconsciously took a step backward, "They seem to have prepared some sort of trap. I sense something that should not exist, something that seems to be distorted…"

Suddenly, the empty air above Urashiki's hand rippled as power crashed down upon them in its entirety. Space itself was distorted as the abyss of nothingness twisted apart the very fabrics of reality itself.

This was neither chakra nor science, neither the divine chakra of the six-paths nor the lifeforce of the planet itself in the form of senjutsu. It was something more, something far greater…

"Consider it your honour, for your power even forced me to cast aside my pride and depend upon other means in order to personally educate you two." Momoshiki sneered, looking down upon them with the same arrogance as that of a god peering down from heaven to observe an ant. "Humans that are ignorant of the vastness of heaven must never provoke those who stand above them."

Naruto and Sasuke were frozen in space, bounded by the infinite coercion of space-time itself, as the void itself trembled and the very laws of the universe shook in agony and despair.

"Those of the Otsutsuki descent have eternal existence and the creation of the Karma has further distanced us from the throes of death. Mortals do not jest when they proclaim us immortal. Rouge members of our clan that must be put down are rare, and those with higher dojutsu such as the Rinnegan which grants powers over space-time are even rarer. But make no mistake, they certainly do exist, and conversely so do the means to counter them."

A pristine white diamond-shaped seal that radiated power shone brightly on his hand as pale white patterns depicting intricate runes of power spread through the arm of the Otsutsuki who had cast aside his pride as a god just to defeat two lowly humans.

Sasuke purple Rinnegan widened as a sharp agony cut through his eye, burning every single cell in his skull as untold anguish stabbed his burning eye with hot knives of molten steel. A slow trickle of blood dripped past his long lashes and trickled down his chin as the nerves around his Rinnegan pulsed again and again.

For reasons he did not yet know, his mind at that moment thought of a certain legend of his own Uchiha Clan, about a legendary jutsu that was capable of turning reality into imagination at the cost of a Sharingan and the one that existed as a counter to that certain jutsu through the same sacrifice.

Izanagi and Izanami…

Could it really be? Had the Otsutsuki really devised a technique on that level solely to counter the Otsutsuki who possessed the Rinnegan? Was Momoshiki truly so desperate that he would retort to using such techniques?

The pale Otsutsuki who had devoured entire worlds slowly, gently touched the void that had congregated above the palm of his retainer and smiled, his pale lips contorting into a macabre visage of rage and wrath.

"You have been a thorn in my side for long enough, user of the Rinnegan. Your tricks shall not elude my might anymore for I shall deal with you first."

The very space around him froze as an unseen force wrapped itself around the soul of Sasuke Uchiha as if the right hand of God itself were restricting his origins, locking himself in his place as his very body and soul trembled together in resonance.

Time itself had stopped moving and the authority of the very laws that governed the universe was challenged as the glow of the white diamond seal on Momoshiki's hand glowed with power, its radiance growing blinding as even the light of the sun above was suppressed by its glow and the shadows around them drew back in fear.

Sasuke found himself unable to move, unable to speak, and even unable to breathe as his Rinnegan pulsed again in untold agony.

Shinjutsu- Tenkengen!

His eyes which could see and comprehend the movement of every form of energy in the universe widened in horror, even as red blood trickled down from them without any signs of stopping because those eyes allowed him to actually see what Momoshiki had done, they allowed him to witness and understand the abomination which he had created.

He saw everything clearly in slow motion, mere seconds passing in what he perceived as days, helpless to move as he stood frozen in space.

He saw wow space-time itself screamed as reality itself wrapped around him resembling an event horizon of an eternal blackhole. Unable to do anything as an unseen force that could not be resisted pushed him towards the abyss that lay beyond the universe. Rendered helpless as he was pulled away towards a hole that shone with the blood of the universe.

Darkness slowly engulfed him and he could not even speak as helpless as he had been on that fateful night when his own brother had betrayed him, forced to watch in shame as the cerulean eyes of his only friend shone with tears that threatened to burst forth at any moment even as he leaped toward him in an attempt to drag him away.

The last thing he remembered hearing before the darkness of the abyss claimed him was launching his chakra at Momoshiki with all his might and the desperate cry of the man he considered a brother in all but blood.

"Sasuke!"

This is the prologue. Thanks for reading…