Previously, Kaguya hadn't paid much attention to Natsuro's chakra consumption. But now…She saw that the power of the Sage of Six Paths in his palm hadn't diminished in the slightest, and she couldn't help but cry out in shock, "You haven't even used the power Hagoromo gave you!?"
"Why would I?" Natsuro shot back, staring straight at her. "I thought you'd be strong enough to force me to use the Sage of Six Paths' power, but it looks like that won't be necessary."
"Arrogant!"For the first time since the battle began, Kaguya was truly angered.
The blood-red Rinne Sharingan on her forehead flared wide.
"Amenominaka!"
As her voice echoed, Natsuro didn't resist the spatial shift. But the next moment, he staggered and nearly collapsed.
An overwhelming gravity pressed down, not enough to crush him, but so sudden and intense that it completely disrupted his movements.
He could feel his injuries straining under the pressure. Even his healing had noticeably slowed under this supergravity.
Worse still, in this world, his swift release techniques were rendered unusable. This dimension effectively neutralized several of his key abilities.
But it wasn't just Natsuro, even Kaguya who usually floated in midair, was forced to the ground under the gravity.
Though her body handled it better than Natsuro's, even she couldn't maintain flight under such extreme pressure.
Seeing him trembling under the strain, Kaguya smiled. Clearly, this world's effects impacted him far more than her.
She extended her hand, and in her palm formed a gray rod-like object.
"Kekkei Mōra: All-Killing Ash Bones!"
The gray bone overcame the oppressive gravity and shot toward Natsuro.
A surge of danger flooded him. He could feel it, he didn't even need to be pierced. Just a touch from this bone, and he would be completely erased…
It was similar to the Truth-Seeking Orbs' Shinra Banshō, but…
He glanced at the struggling orbs behind him, floating with difficulty. Using them to teleport with Flying Thunder God was impossible under this gravity.
Taking a deep breath, Natsuro watched the Ash Bone approach. Its speed was low, likely due to the gravity, and its aim was a bit off.
He noticed Kaguya had carefully aimed it before firing, so the trajectory shift had to be the result of this dimension's gravitational pull.
But that didn't make it any less dangerous. Even a slight graze from this attack could mean death.
He smirked bitterly. Taking those earlier hits from the Eighty Gods Vacuum Attack had clearly left lasting damage, and now it was catching up to him.
Even so, he forced his battered body to dodge the Ash Bone.
But the awkward evasion, combined with the unfamiliar gravity, sent him crashing to the ground, unable to get up right away.
"Tch. So the gravity messes with the aim," Black Zetsu muttered, having noticed.
"But that was enough to recalibrate. The next shot will hit," Kaguya said coldly, as another Ash Bone formed between her palms.
"Heh… I really didn't want to use this…"Natsuro slowly rose to his feet. The wound on his forehead, which had been healing, cracked open again under the pressure.
Blood ran down into his eyes, tinting his vision red.Yet no fear showed in his expression, only a calm, determined resolve, as though everything was still under his control.
"Even if you try using Hagoromo's power now, you won't survive the Ash Bones!" Kaguya snapped, launching two more bones at him.
"...Heh."Natsuro let out a quiet laugh and began to mutter words under his breath — words he had never spoken before.Given his current state, he could only activate it one step at a time.
"Eight Gates Released Formation: First Gate ~ The Gate of Opening — Open!"
In an instant, he felt his control over his body transform.
He had always been capable of withstanding this gravity, the issue had been adjusting to it. Now, with the mental limiters lifted, he bypassed the adaptation process entirely.
As the two Ash Bones closed in, he shifted his body with ease and dodged them effortlessly, almost too effortlessly.
"W-What… is that?" Black Zetsu widened his eyes. He'd heard rumors of this technique, but never thought anyone would actually use it.
Natsuro ignored the astonishment. He continued:
"Eight Gates: Second Gate ~ Gate of Healing — Open!"
"Third Gate ~ Gate of Life — Open!"
As the words fell, Natsuro's skin was flushed red with coursing blood, and wild, green chakra flared around him like a raging storm.
"What is this?!" Kaguya was baffled. Her Byakugan could see that Natsuro's chakra hadn't increased, so why had it become so turbulent?
"Mother, he's insane! Stop him, now!" Black Zetsu shouted as Natsuro opened the sixth gate, the Gate of View.
Natsuro could feel searing pain running through his body, but he ignored it, pushing onward:
"Seventh Gate ~ Gate of Wonder — OPEN!!"
With a roar, the green chakra surrounding him erupted into blue steam, sweat evaporating from the extreme internal pressure.
At that moment, even Kaguya felt a chill run through her. She sensed it, real danger.
Before, she had always been in control. She initiated every attack, while Natsuro merely defended or dodged.
But now… it was different.
With this strange jutsu called Eight Gates, Natsuro wasn't just defending, he was ready to strike back.
He wasn't just resisting anymore, he could threaten her life.
Fear flickered in her heart. Cautiously, she summoned another Ash Bone, not to kill him, but to test the extent of his transformation.
Black Zetsu, watching Natsuro now fully in the Seventh Gate, felt his anxiety spike.
He knew the limits of the Eight Gates technique, no one should open more than seven. Opening the Eighth meant certain death.
But… considering Natsuro's earlier madness… could he really?
In the next moment, Black Zetsu's eyes widened as he saw it, the corner of Natsuro's lips curled into a smile.
No… NO—!
"He's a madman! A complete and utter MADMAN!!" Black Zetsu screamed.
Natsuro saw Kaguya fire another Ash Bone at him, and smiled at her and Black Zetsu.
Then came a voice that thundered in their hearts, resolute and terrifying...
"EIGHT GATES RELEASED FORMATION: EIGHTH GATE ~ GATE OF DEATH... OPEN!!!"
With that deafening roar, a tempest surged through the supergravity world, where no wind should exist.
The source? Natsuro, having opened all eight gates.
His veins bulged grotesquely beneath his skin, ready to burst.
The blue chakra aura around him now turned blood-red, steam generated not from sweat, but from evaporating blood.
Even the blood from his wounds was now evaporating before it could drip, sealed by the pressure of his own energy.
This… was the final gate of the Eight Gates.
The power known as the Eight Gates Released Formation, an ultimate technique that could only be unleashed by sacrificing all of one's life force.
At this moment, Natsuro stood within the hypergravity dimension. Even though the intense gravity of this space hadn't changed at all, he inexplicably felt a sense of lightness.
He realized that not only could he now run freely, but he could even briefly walk through the air, within the hypergravity realm.
If this were a normal space, then even without the ability to fly, Natsuro would be able to break through the sky and battle in the air as if it were solid ground.
This... was the power of the Eight Gates Released Formation.
He looked at the Ash Bone hurtling toward him and smiled. What once had been a deadly threat now seemed unbearably slow, and then...
He threw a punch.
In the next instant, the All-Killing Ash Bone, which could erase anything it touched, was obliterated by the sheer force of his strike.
"How is that possible?!" Black Zetsu was once again shocked. Even if Natsuro had opened all Eight Gates, he shouldn't be able to clash with an Ash Bone and remain unharmed.
That was far beyond what any physical body could endure.
"No… the Ash Bone didn't touch him," Kaguya said quietly, seeing the truth with her Byakugan.
Indeed, Natsuro had only punched in the direction of the Ash Bone, but his fist never made contact.What actually struck the Ash Bone… was the air pressure from his punch.
Then, Natsuro stomped hard on the ground, and vanished from sight, even under the crushing gravity of this world.
"Mother, run! That's the Eight Gates technique, after opening all eight, the user dies once the effect ends! All we have to do is survive until then, and we win!" Black Zetsu shouted, actually using the word "run" without hesitation.
But Kaguya wasn't angry. Cold sweat was already pouring down her back. She felt it, Natsuro's power had now surpassed the very limits of this realm's gravity.
All the restrictions of this world… now weighed on her alone.
She didn't need Black Zetsu's urging. A black portal opened beside her, an exit via Yomotsu Hirasaka, and she began to retreat into it.
But in that moment, her eyes widened.
Natsuro's figure appeared right in front of her.
In that instant, he had followed her through the portal she opened with Yomotsu Hirasaka, and then...
BOOM!!
Natsuro showed no mercy. He unleashed a brutal punch before she could react, and it connected squarely with her body.
"Gah!"
Even with her body enhanced by the God Tree's fruit, Kaguya felt her bones shatter under the force of the blow. Blood sprayed uncontrollably from her mouth.
Her body shot through the air like a cannonball and slammed into the ground of the Genesis Dimension.
The impact shook the entire space, the earth cracked and shattered, forming a massive crater.
The power of that single punch... was simply terrifying.
And yet, it wasn't surprising.
Natsuro hovered in the sky above the Genesis Dimension, his chakra still locked onto Kaguya.If she tried to use Amenominaka or Yomotsu Hirasaka again, he'd follow instantly.
But now, Kaguya was in no shape to fight. After that punch, she was dazed and overwhelmed, filled with fear and disbelief.
"Don't blame me for not holding back." Natsuro wasn't about to let this opportunity go. He clenched his fist and threw it downward.
"Evening Elephant!!"
With his punch, a terrifying air cannon smashed into the crater below. And Natsuro didn't stop there.
He threw punch after punch, each air cannon tearing through the space, blasting the ground again and again.
Under the sheer force of the technique, the earth trembled and cracked, yet no dust rose.
The compressed shockwaves left no chance for anything to even lift off the ground.
BOOM!!
Natsuro took a deep breath. His fists clenched tighter. This was... the final blow.
At fifth speed, the previous four air cannons had already obliterated everything in their path.This final strike would be completely unhindered.
"Fifth Speed: Evening Elephant!!"
In the next instant, Natsuro launched his final punch, a blow so powerful it seemed to swallow the entire dimension.
Air — no, space itself, was compressed and crushed, surging downward at impossible speed.
BOOOOOOM!!!
The punch struck from above, and…
The entire realm… fell into absolute silence.
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Next Chapter: Natsuro and Kaguya's Final Clash