Chapter 229: The So-Called Rules?
"Isshiki?"
With a flicker of movement, Kitagawa Gen appeared silently before them.
His eyes locked onto the three figures, especially the monk-like man at their center.
Caution flickered in his gaze, but so too did a trace of excitement.
"So… you've shown up at this point?"
Gen had long suspected that acting so brazenly would eventually force certain "hidden players" out of the shadows.
This world wasn't a dead, immutable stage—it shifted whenever someone defied its rails.
Hadn't Sasuke abandoned all thought of defecting to Orochimaru after watching Orochimaru and Itachi get thoroughly crushed?
Of course, that was also because Gen himself had beaten Orochimaru so badly he no longer dared provoke Konoha.
"Isshiki's been hiding in the shinobi world all along. Before, he didn't dare make a move. But now that my power keeps erupting… he must have sensed it too. Which means—"
He studied the monk's appearance, and after a moment, a peculiar smile tugged at his lips.
"Otsutsuki Isshiki… or should I say, what's left of you?"
"..."
The faint smile on Isshiki's face instantly vanished. Strictly speaking, he was no longer Isshiki in the full sense.
"Never mind. Let's call you a clansman—for now."
Gen dismissed it with a shake of his head, his tone cooling.
"If you're kin, then why stand in my way?"
"You're too arrogant, Genshiki."
Isshiki's brows furrowed, though he drew a slow breath to steady himself.
His body was already in ruins—he needed a new vessel. The two survivors he had just rescued were perfect candidates.
One of them even carried blood close to Otsutsuki lineage. That didn't stop him from considering them prey.
At the very least, the elder still bore Otsutsuki blood. As long as his power could be implanted, he would survive.
He couldn't allow this "junior" to ruin his hunt.
"Arrogant?"
Gen tilted his head, almost curious.
"Funny. To me, you're the arrogant one. Looking like that, yet you dare block my blade?"
"That boy's bloodline has already reached the level of our kin," Isshiki pressed, unwilling to dwell on this argument.
"Killing one's own clan is a grave crime—you know this rule. And you should also know why we came here."
"To search for your fruit."
Gen nodded, though a deeper puzzlement stirred between his brows.
"But tell me—if this world was already consumed by the God Tree, why haven't you handed over the chakra fruit?"
"That's because—"
Isshiki finally relaxed a little, but Gen's next words froze him in place.
"Don't tell me… you ate it, Isshiki?"
A sharp breath escaped Isshiki. Impossible. What kind of blasphemous accusation was this?
"You're spouting nonsense!"
"Nonsense?"
Two black Truth-Seeking Orbs bloomed behind Gen, swelling with oppressive chakra that warped the very ground beneath them.
"Or are you saying… your guardian ate it instead?"
"..."
"So you ended up like this because your own guardian betrayed you?"
"..."
"Do you think I'd believe such a tale?"
"..."
"A far more plausible truth is that you denied your guardian the Kāma, feigned death, and used the Kāma to hide yourself. Quite the scheme."
"..."
Isshiki was shaken to the core. What in the hells was this lunatic even talking about?!
But there was no time to argue—Gen had already drawn his blade.
Buzz—
The razor-sharp edge gleamed, a suffocating force splitting even the space around it.
"Damn it…"
Cursing, Isshiki's body convulsed. Black Kāma markings spread instantly across his flesh, and a horn sprouted upon his brow.
He hadn't expected to be forced into this by a fellow Otsutsuki!
Yet even cornered, he was still Otsutsuki—still strong. He couldn't afford carelessness.
Without hesitation, he unleashed Isshiki's strongest form.
Clang!
The explosion of power was instantaneous. In less than a heartbeat, a black staff materialized in his grip, intercepting Gen's strike.
"Are you insane?" Isshiki's eyes blazed with disbelief.
"Do you even understand what you're doing?"
"Of course I do."
Gen's lips curled, not the least bit deterred. His blood surged with excitement.
Not only had he found a worthy opponent—he had found exquisite material.
"I'm purging a traitor. Otsutsuki Isshiki—I've heard your story. But I didn't expect you to be this ruthless."
"Ruthless?!"
Isshiki was reeling. Those weren't his sins—they belonged to Kaguya!
His black staff clashed again with Gen's blade, the impact splitting stone and blasting debris in every direction.
"Stop spouting nonsense. This benefits neither of us."
Pressing the staff against the blade, Isshiki's voice was frigid.
"I advise you to stand down. You're breaking the rules."
"I know exactly what I'm doing. I told you—I'm purging a traitor."
Gen shook his head lightly, then lashed out with a sudden kick.
But Isshiki had anticipated him. Almost instantly, he raised his arm to block, while his other fist lashed forward, chakra surging violently toward Gen's face.
Smack—
But Gen caught the strike with one hand, his kick trapped at the same time.
They locked in deadlock, muscles trembling, neither giving ground.
And Gen spoke again, calm and cutting:
"Besides, do you really count as kin anymore? You're nothing more than a reincarnate who couldn't withstand Otsutsuki power."
"You—!"
Isshiki's face darkened further. This wasn't arrogance—it was madness.
"I didn't do those things. That was all—"
"Kaguya's work? The guardian devouring the master?"
Gen sighed, gaze cold and mouth curling into a smile.
"Tell me, who in their right mind would believe that story? Especially when it comes from Otsutsuki Isshiki."
BOOM—
Gen's chakra suddenly erupted, a violent surge blasting Isshiki backward. Without pause, he lunged forward once more.
"Damn it—!"
Isshiki cursed, torn between pride and frustration. Should he be glad that his name carried such infamy, or lament that the very same reputation now made him the prime suspect?
Yet he couldn't refute Gen's accusations. Who would believe his side of the story if he tried to explain?
"Wait!"
Dodging another swing of Gen's blade, Isshiki's expression shifted as a thought struck him.
"You've been in the shinobi world for some time. Haven't you heard the old legends?"
"Legends? You mean the tale of the Rabbit Goddess?"
Gen's strikes did not relent, though at those words he hesitated for the briefest instant.
"Who's to say those stories weren't fabricated by you?"
"..."
Isshiki felt utterly cornered, his voice dropping low as he forced his power to rise.
"You're breaking the rules! You don't even understand the truth!"
"Rules, huh?"
A faint smile crept across Gen's face. In Isshiki's eyes, that smile was colder than steel.
"Senior… you never followed the rules yourself. Why preach them to me?"
"Besides, I should be thanking you. Because—"
Buzz—!
Gen vanished, reappearing before Isshiki in a flash. His Truth-Seeking Orb blade cleaved downward, distorting the very air around them.
"Your actions enlightened me. I realized something—"
"Rules only exist for those too weak to live without them. But as an Otsutsuki, my path is clear."
"My goal is to reach the very end of the rules!"
---
While Gen and Isshiki clashed, chaos raged within Konoha.
The battle of the Uchiha had reached a fever pitch.
Three colossal Susanoo warriors loomed over the battlefield, their overwhelming presence leaving even the veteran Leaf shinobi stunned.
"What in the world is that?!"
"Those chakra giants… how can such things exist?"
"Don't tell me—this is the true power of the Uchiha!"
They had never seen Susanoo before, but they could feel its crushing might.
Sasuke's expression twisted strangely. From the corner of his eye, he stole a glance at Fugaku.
"Father has the Mangekyō Sharingan too? Then why, back then—"
The thought tangled in his mind. In the end, Sasuke shoved it aside, saving the question for later. Perhaps… perhaps it was Obito's doing.
I can't let Sasuke think too much!
Fugaku, despite looking less than human, noticed the way Sasuke stared. Urgency welled inside him. Sasuke's condition was better than he had ever dared hope. That alone meant the dead like him should not drag Sasuke down further. Their role now was to carve out better conditions for his future.
Perhaps that was the true reason they had been revived by Edo Tensei—especially if the caster was the future Fifth Hokage. A test, perhaps.
Boom!
Without hesitation, Fugaku charged harder than Sasuke, striking fiercer than Sasuke!
"Father—!"
Itachi faltered. Facing two Susanoo at once, he was barely holding out. Were it not for Edo Tensei's immortality, he would already have fallen.
Was it seeing his parents again that unsettled his mind? Or the sluggish haze of Edo control?
He stared at his father, who hammered him relentlessly, without a single word of explanation.
Why? Why wouldn't his father speak? Was it because of Edo Tensei's grip?
Just as that question burned hottest in his heart, Fugaku's voice finally cut through.
"Itachi. There's nothing left for us to say."
"..."
"Have you never once regretted what you did that night?"
"..."
Itachi's eyes went wide. This… this was not the answer he had yearned for!
And at that very moment—
A tidal wave of chakra, vast and terrifying, surged from the distance, sweeping over everything in its path.