"Natsuro, I entrust my mother to you once more, please seal her again." The Sage of Six Paths solemnly entrusted everything to Natsuro.
"Leave it to me." Natsuro clenched his fist, nodding as he felt the surging power coursing through his body.
Although Natsuro never intended to rely on the Sage's power, now that he had it, it undeniably served as an added layer of security.
From here on out, no matter what happened, it would likely be his final battle!
Seventeen years had passed since he came to this world. Natsuro grinned, revealing a strange smile.
The person who had burdened him with pressure since childhood, Kaguya Ōtsutsuki, he had finally reached the point where he could stand before her.
So then… let him take one step further!
Natsuro took a deep breath and withdrew from that chaotic world, returning to his physical body.
He looked at the God Tree in front of him and the sphere off to the side, from which protruded nine Tailed Beast heads. These heads were still thrashing, as if trying to break free from the sphere.
At the very front of the sphere was a form that resembled a rabbit. Its forehead bore a Rinne Sharingan with nine tomoe, clearly the core of it all.
Even Kaguya, it seemed, couldn't suppress the power of an entire world in an instant.
Next, Natsuro turned his attention inward, especially to the power of the Sage of Six Paths.
In terms of Yin Release, he noticed that his own Yin Release, when combined from his dual souls, might even slightly surpass that of the Sage's.
However, considering the Sage had retained such immense Yin energy for over a thousand years, it was clear that his peak strength must have been even more formidable…
"The more I learn, the more I wonder… how did Naruto and Sasuke actually win in the original series?" Natsuro muttered.
After all, no matter how you looked at it, Naruto and Sasuke only received a portion of the Sage's power. Could their strength really surpass the Sage himself?
Even when the Sage sealed Kaguya, he did so with the help of his brother. Was Hamura Ōtsutsuki just there for decoration?
Natsuro couldn't help but want to complain. Maybe it was because Kaguya had been sealed for so long that she hadn't recovered her full strength?
Or perhaps, since Naruto and Sasuke bore the chakra of her two sons, she hesitated and ended up playing herself?
Regardless, he felt that, if compared to Six Paths Naruto and Sasuke, he might still have an edge… maybe?
After pondering a bit, Natsuro calmed himself. There was no point in overthinking it. Kaguya's true strength could only be determined in battle.
He then shifted focus to the Sage's Yang Release, representing the essence of life itself.
Even after a thousand years, the Sage's Yang Release still far surpassed his own. He couldn't help but once again marvel at the Sage's immense power.
However, just because he didn't intend to use the Sage's power didn't mean he couldn't gain something from it. For instance… the essence of life.
What's more, he possessed an advantage even the Sage of Six Paths lacked, he had absorbed chakra from all living things in the world.
That meant Natsuro had felt the energy of all life.
Even if each lifeform had varying degrees of vitality—some weak, some strong—the sheer quantity and diversity of life made their accumulated essence, in Natsuro's eyes, even more precious than the Sage's Yang Release.
Now, with the Sage's top-level Yang Release, and his own understanding from the God Tree of all living beings' life force, Natsuro was itching to go into seclusion and cultivate immediately.
If given the time, he was confident that he could finally break through in terms of physical development.
Unfortunately, this world would not give him that time.
Because the sphere was already dissolving, revealing a being with pale white skin, long blue-white hair that extended past her body, a beautiful and delicate face, two horns on her head, a white robe with black tomoe markings, Byakugan eyes, and a blood-red Rinne Sharingan with nine tomoe on her forehead.
He opened his eyes and looked toward this figure, feeling the vast chakra within her body. His eyes burned with a fiery intensity.
At last, he had come face to face with the final enemy Kaguya...
At that moment, Kaguya slowly opened her eyes, revealing the Byakugan. She looked down at Natsuro, momentarily showing a hint of confusion.
From his body, she seemed to sense a familiar energy.
"Are you… Hagoromo and Hamura? No… just someone who inherited their power?" Kaguya quickly regained her composure, activating her Byakugan and peering into Natsuro's chakra, particularly the energy in his palms.
"Yes, you're right. I did inherit their power, Kaguya Ōtsutsuki." Natsuro stared directly at her.
He could sense that Kaguya's chakra reserves far exceeded that of Six Paths Madara. Even though she simply floated in the air, the overwhelming pressure of her chakra was suffocating.
"You wield this power only to trample upon it. It's meaningless." Kaguya said calmly, as if disregarding Natsuro entirely. She turned her gaze to the land below.
"This land, this earth is my precious nursery. I cannot allow you to continue to desecrate it. Let us end this now."
"Just what I wanted." Natsuro nodded in agreement.
He glanced toward the broken continent. His previous battle with Six Paths Madara had already caused this level of destruction.
If he went all out against Kaguya…
Then there might be no need for Kaguya to destroy the world. Their battle alone could bring total annihilation.
So rather than fight here, it would be better to battle inside Kaguya's personal dimension.
"Hmm?" Kaguya looked a little surprised. She hadn't even used her ability yet, yet her opponent seemed to already grasp her intention.
Still, it didn't matter. The blood-red Rinne Sharingan on her forehead flashed—
In the next moment, Natsuro realized the space around him had shifted. He was now suspended above a field of molten lava, the air around him sweltering.
"This will be your grave!"
Floating in mid-air, Natsuro sensed the power of the space-time technique.
He could feel the dimensional shift. If he wanted to resist by invoking space-time jutsu of his own, he could've done it.
But there was no need.
Instead, Natsuro curiously looked around this new space.
So this was the legendary ability of Kaguya's Rinne Sharingan.... Amenominaka?
Interesting.
As Natsuro continued to feel the spatial energy, a smile crept onto his face.
Even though he was very far away, he could still sense the Flying Thunder God markers he had left behind.
This wasn't strange. While Amenominaka transferred someone to another space, these dimensions still existed within the same plane of reality.
Natsuro could even sense markers in different time-spaces, let alone ones from the same dimension.
So being able to detect them now was completely normal.
Just then, Umbreon sitting quietly on his shoulder twitched its head and licked Natsuro's cheek.
"Hot, huh?" Natsuro responded.
His body wouldn't be affected by standing above lava, but Umbreon clearly wasn't as resistant.
"Alright then, go back for now. I'll call you if I need you again. You've already done a great job."
He patted Umbreon on the head.
Natsuro now had a guess as to Umbreon's origin…But that answer would have to wait, until after he defeated Kaguya.
Umbreon nodded obediently, and its body vanished from the lava-filled space.
"This is?!" Ōtsutsuki Kaguya looked at the vanishing Umbreon, puzzled. What exactly was that little creature, and how was it able to escape her Heavenly Binding of the Middle Sky?
Initially, Kaguya thought it was just an ordinary creature. After all, her Byakugan had shown her that there wasn't even the slightest trace of chakra within Umbreon. So how exactly did it manage to do that?
At this moment, even Kaguya found herself feeling a bit curious about Umbreon.
Still, it didn't matter. Once she dealt with this last person, once he returned her chakra to her, she could go look for that little creature again. Though Umbreon's abilities were somewhat unusual, she didn't believe that such a weak being could hide from her under her very nose.
Meanwhile, Natsuro looked down at the boiling magma beneath him, a strange smile forming on his face. He asked, "Let me ask you something, are you sure you want to fight me in this space?"
"What's wrong with this space?" Kaguya replied. As she spoke, the hair behind her suddenly spread out, transforming into countless white needle-like projectiles that shot toward Natsuro.
"Kekkei Mora: Rabbit Hair Needles!"
Natsuro watched the Rabbit Hair Needles coming at him, seemingly making no move to dodge or block them. Then, as if he had been struck, he fell straight down toward the magma below.
"Hmph. Even with Hagoromo and Hamura's chakra, you're still this fragile? As I thought, you're nothing but a disgrace to their power," Kaguya said coldly, clearly displeased by the sight.
"Mother, don't underestimate him. He's not that easy to defeat!" Black Zetsu, hiding within Kaguya's sleeve, spoke up at that moment. He too was confused by what had just happened but still warned her.
Even so, despite Black Zetsu's words, Kaguya remained unconvinced. She watched Natsuro fall into the magma and felt that Black Zetsu was exaggerating.
In her eyes, all chakra belonged solely to her. Any mortal who had stolen that power, even if they now possessed it, could never wield it properly!
Black Zetsu stared at Natsuro, now engulfed in magma, his expression showing doubt and confusion. Why had he been struck so easily by the Rabbit Hair Needles and fallen?
Could it be… he gave up when faced with Mother's overwhelming strength?
That was the only explanation Black Zetsu could come up with.
However, Natsuro, who had fallen into the magma, had not actually been consumed by it. While a few Rabbit Hair Needles were indeed stuck in his body, none had struck any vital acupuncture points.
Though Natsuro didn't possess the Byakugan and couldn't see his chakra points directly, he was a highly skilled medical ninja. His understanding of the body's acupuncture points was top-tier.
Even without being able to see the exact locations, he knew which parts of his body didn't have any.
At that moment, Natsuro pulled Kaguya's hair out from his body. It still contained her chakra, this was the power of the Kekkei Mora!
The reason he had allowed himself to be struck by the Rabbit Hair Needles was exactly this: he no longer had the time to calmly train to master the Kekkei Mora, so he had chosen this extreme method to directly experience its power.
And by the looks of it, his gamble was paying off.
Unfortunately, he had only managed to acquire a few strands of her hair. Natsuro looked up at Kaguya above the magma. Even with his Six Paths-level strength, staying submerged in lava wasn't something he could withstand for long.
The only reason he was still fine down there was the fiery Susanoo-like armor surrounding his body.
That had been his first instinctive reaction upon realizing where the battle was taking place, because this space was simply… too perfectly suited to his abilities!
At this moment, a fiery red orb suddenly appeared in Natsuro's hand. Within the orb, a faint figure could be seen dancing joyfully in this extreme environment.
Natsuro smiled.
In the next instant, the orb burst with brilliant light.
"Sage Art ~ Blaze Release: Vermilion Bird!"
As Natsuro's voice fell, an invisible black hole seemed to open around his body, devouring the surrounding magma.
Kaguya, who had just been preparing to leave, suddenly froze mid-air. Because right then, from within the magma below, a massive crimson vortex began to form!
Kaguya watched in confusion. She could feel it, something terrifying was beginning to take shape in the heart of the magma.
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