Chapter 272 – Losing Is the Real Betrayal!
"Alright… now you're not running anywhere."
While the heavens above burned with divine battle,
on the ground, Gen had already finished what he came to do.
The frenzied White Kāma host was pinned to the earth—
his limbs skewered by obsidian rods forged from Yin–Yang Release.
No matter how violently he screamed or struggled, he couldn't break free.
Against a sane opponent, it might've been troublesome.
But against a raving brute with power but no mind—
Gen had no trouble at all.
"So the Kāma backlash damaged his soul, huh…"
Ignoring the roaring shockwaves that whipped around him,
Gen's silver hair billowed in the storm, his cloak fluttering with each gust.
Yet he stood unmoved—calm, analytical—fingers brushing his chin as he thought aloud.
"I'll need my main body here to extract and stabilize what's left.
Only then can I study this properly."
"...Is it over?"
The voice came softly—unsteady.
Mei Terumi stumbled toward him, her steps faltering.
She gazed at the man pinned to the ground, disbelief clouding her beautiful face.
"That easily? You… took him down that easily?"
The monster had slaughtered dozens of Mist ANBU on his own.
Even Akatsuki's undead fighters struggled against him.
And yet—Gen subdued him as if swatting away a fly.
The Mist-nin behind her were equally stunned.
They knew Gen was strong—
many had seen his overwhelming might during the Chūnin Exams.
But this… this was something else entirely.
"Yeah," Gen smiled faintly, eyes drifting toward the distant Akatsuki.
"I told you—I'd protect you all. So rest easy."
"Protect…"
Mei murmured, momentarily speechless.
Before she could respond, Gen's expression shifted—eyes narrowing sharply.
In the next instant, he grabbed her wrist—
space itself warped around them in a shimmer of silver light.
---
On the other side of the battlefield, the Mist Trio froze where they stood.
Even though two of them were Edo Tensei and technically immortal,
none dared to move.
They simply watched as Gen dispatched the raging monster
with effortless precision—and a single blow.
"Even if the three of us attacked together," Kisame rasped with a grim smile,
"we wouldn't last a minute."
"Even though two of us can't die?"
"Doesn't matter," Raiga muttered. "If he doesn't kill us, those two up there will."
They all turned toward the horizon—
where two white-robed figures danced amid the moonlight,
their chakra clashing with godlike intensity.
The First and Second Hokage—reanimated, unstoppable.
"How are we supposed to fight that?"
The three of them exhaled in defeat.
"Feels like the Edo Tensei division's about to get a few new recruits," Kisame joked.
"Not a bad idea," Jūzō smirked. "You should join us, Kisame—
then you can stop worrying about dying."
"Yeah," Raiga added darkly. "We're the Seven Ninja Swordsmen.
Shouldn't we stick together… even in death?"
Kisame went silent.
A bead of cold sweat rolled down his temple as he slowly stepped back.
They're joking… right?
---
Then—
Boom!
A surge of power exploded across the sky.
All three froze, eyes darting upward.
Their expressions drained of color.
---
Meanwhile, Tobirama and Hashirama Senju were locked in combat
with Uchiha Obito and Orochimaru's resurrected subordinates.
Having regained near-peak strength, the Senju brothers unleashed their full might.
And Obito—despite his composure—was clearly rattled.
These two were supposed to be relics of the past,
yet their coordination and ferocity were terrifying.
"This guy's stronger than expected," Hashirama muttered grimly.
Tobirama's gaze sharpened.
"He's using Yin–Yang Release… just like Gen."
Obito cursed under his breath.
"Damn undead pests… and they know all my tricks!"
Every move he made, they countered instantly.
He couldn't break through.
And what frustrated him more—
"Gen defeated that 'Evolved One' so easily.
So why can't I even handle two reanimations!?"
---
Elsewhere, Kimimaro's squad was being crushed by Tobirama's speed.
In the blink of an eye, all four of Orochimaru's elite guards were down.
Even Kimimaro, usually calm and poised, felt shaken.
"Let's… get out of here," Suigetsu muttered, swallowing hard.
"We delivered the intel. No point dying for nothing."
But Kimimaro didn't move.
His pale eyes—sharpened by the Byakugan—locked on Gen.
"So fast… how did he get this strong?"
His chest tightened.
Once, that boy had humiliated Orochimaru—humiliated him.
Ever since, Kimimaro had trained relentlessly to catch up.
Yet now the distance between them only grew.
"I can't give up," he whispered.
"For Lord Orochimaru… I will surpass him."
He raised a bone blade, blood dripping from his palm—
just as the heavens themselves erupted once more.
---
A blinding explosion tore across the sky.
Every soul on the battlefield froze.
"What… is that?"
High above—
Ōtsutsuki Genshiki extended a single finger.
At the other end of that gesture,
the other Ōtsutsuki—the one already defeated and fleeing—
was struck by a surge of overwhelming energy.
Boom—
BOOM—
BOOM—
The shockwave split the heavens.
The ground beneath the Land of Water convulsed like a living thing.
Mountains crumbled.
The sea roared.
A vast chasm ripped through the land,
stretching from the hills to the distant ocean.
Blood rained from the sky.
Urashiki's bisected body fell in two directions—
his crimson lifeblood soaking into the earth.
"That… what was that?"
Inside Obito's consciousness, Isshiki Ōtsutsuki stared, dumbfounded.
"How… how did Genshiki do that?"
Even Ōtsutsuki Urashiki himself couldn't comprehend how he had lost.
One moment he was standing proud, the next—
his body was cleaved in two.
It all happened too fast for his mind to grasp.
And yet… deep inside, there was a strange, bitter comfort.
Because this was exactly how he had defeated others.
---
"What… what is this…?"
Urashiki's voice trembled as he plummeted toward the ground.
He couldn't understand what had happened,
but he could feel the cold touch of death creeping ever closer.
His severed upper body tumbled through the air,
blood trailing in long, crimson ribbons.
Through the haze of pain, his pale eyes caught sight of that figure in the heavens—
Genshiki, suspended midair, calmly opening the Yomotsu Hirasaka.
With a flick of his wrist, he reclaimed Urashiki's dismembered lower half—
as if collecting a prize.
"He won't let me live…"
Urashiki's pupils trembled.
He could sense it—the unrelenting killing intent radiating from Genshiki's form.
His life force was slipping away, second by second.
He had only one choice left.
Gritting his teeth, his Byakugan flared violently,
scanning the land below for a desperate escape route.
Then, roaring, he hurled himself toward the earth.
BOOM—!
The impact shook the heavens.
The ground shattered beneath him, rocks bursting outward in waves,
dust rising to swallow the world in choking gray.
But before the cloud could even settle—
a golden light tore through it like dawn breaking through storm clouds.
---
"Kh… khh!"
Urashiki coughed blood, his breath ragged.
His vision blurred.
His body was failing—his chakra flickering like a dying flame.
"Pathetic."
The calm, detached voice cut through the roar of destruction.
Genshiki landed lightly before him, his eyes cold and sharp.
He looked down upon the fallen god and shook his head.
"Why struggle against what's already decided?
Wouldn't it be better to become part of me—
to share in my glory?"
"You… lunatic…"
Urashiki's words slurred as blood bubbled at his lips,
but his gaze burned with undimmed hatred.
"Genshiki… You dare strike your own kind…
No—Isshiki was the first, wasn't he?
You're both monsters… both deserve to die…
Hunted down, slaughtered by your own clan!"
"Loneliness…"
Gen murmured softly, almost mournfully, shaking his head.
A hint of sorrow—and conviction—flickered across his face.
"Isshiki taught me something, you see.
Rules are nothing but chains—
prisons that bind us from reaching the truth."
He raised his hand.
Golden chakra surged like a storm, swirling into his palm.
The dying god convulsed,
his lifeforce and chakra being devoured, drained into Gen's growing core.
"Those who stand at the pinnacle," Gen said quietly,
"are destined to be alone.
But within that loneliness—lies true freedom."
"Madman…"
Urashiki's voice grew faint.
His limbs trembled.
The life was leaving him.
"From the moment you betrayed our kin…
your fate was sealed.
You're nothing but a traitor!"
Gen smiled faintly, eyes half-lidded.
"You're mistaken."
He tightened his grip, the chakra sphere pulsing brighter.
"The victor forges destiny.
The defeated—that's who history calls a traitor."
He leaned closer, whispering the words like a verdict.
"I haven't lost.
I create fate.
Those who cannot shape it… are merely its prey."
---
The radiant core in Gen's hand condensed,
the swirling energy fusing into a perfect golden sphere—pulsing with godlike power.
His expression hardened, the faint smile fading into solemn reverence.
"Thank you, senior," he murmured.
"Your sacrifice will not be forgotten.
On the Path to Godhood, we shall meet again—
beyond the limits of the sky."
He raised the sphere high,
and the heavens themselves seemed to bow to its light.
"For I… will transcend the heavens."
---
[Side Quest Completed: "Before Me, There Are No Equals."]
[Objective: Defeat all enemies. Prove that no "Era of Eyes" or "Era of Seals" matters. For now begins the Age of the Ōtsutsuki!]
[Calculating mission rewards…]