Otsutsuki Isshiki floated in outer space, quietly watching the slowly rotating planet below.
The strength of his physical body was indeed on a completely different level. Trying to kill Isshiki through external injuries like piercing the heart was practically impossible.
In this regard, Isshiki was very similar to Ryosuke.
You basically couldn't kill them.
The only way was to rely on endless attacks to wear down their life force.
In the original story, even when Naruto entered Baryon Mode, burning the Nine-Tails' life, he only managed to suppress Isshiki and continuously drain what little life force Isshiki had left.
In the end, Isshiki's death was less a case of being beaten to death by Baryon Mode Naruto, and more a case of being exhausted to death.
Today was the same.
After being swallowed by the black hole, Isshiki used Sukunahikona to shrink himself, minimizing the extent of his injuries as much as possible.
Just before the black hole shrank again, about to become smaller than the Planck length and slip into the quantum realm to be swallowed by quantum tides, Isshiki used space-time teleportation to escape.
But it was only an escape.
After taking a cavalry spin kick, genetic contamination, and the tearing force of black hole gravity… Isshiki hovered in space, quietly gazing down at the ninja world, waiting for the countdown of his life to end.
Yes, he had given up.
There was already no chance left. He couldn't possibly hope that a suitable reincarnation vessel he hadn't found in a thousand years would suddenly appear in the final few minutes of his life, right?
"That would be too… absurd…"
Isshiki said, his speech gradually slowing as he stared blankly toward the distant moon.
On the moon, several people were each using Fire Release. Streams of flame formed words on the lunar surface. Read together, they said, "Come here, I can save you."
It didn't say who the "I" was that would do the saving.
Nor did it say who the "you" was that would be saved.
But for some inexplicable reason, Isshiki felt that this was speaking directly to him.
This was the White Snake Sage's method.
They were trapped on the moon, three hundred and eighty thousand kilometers away, unable to return to the ninja world. The only possible way was through a "space-time teleportation" ability.
And not ninja-world-level space-time ninjutsu, but interstellar, cosmic-level teleportation.
The only ones capable of that were Isshiki, Kinshiki, and Hamura's teleportation technique.
Kinshiki was dead.
Hamura's teleportation gate had been unilaterally shut down by the research institute.
That left only one answer, Otsutsuki Isshiki.
Using the ability of the "Way of the Present," the White Snake Sage could determine Isshiki's approximate location.
But Isshiki was still tens of thousands of kilometers away from the moon.
They had no way to contact him directly.
Thus, this scene came to be.
"It really is… absurd."
Isshiki muttered softly as he opened a space-time gate and stepped inside.
———
The exchange was brief and efficient.
"…You implant the Karma into Madara's body. Using his body, the two of you resurrect through symbiosis," the White Snake Sage said, handing over a cigarette.
Isshiki said, "I don't smoke."
The White Snake Sage shook its head. "Right before death, whether you smoke or not, you'll want one."
"It makes your body feel a bit warmer, like you're not dying quite so fast."
"I have experience with this."
Isshiki fell silent for half a second, then still took the cigarette, lit it, took a deep drag, and said, "He won't work."
"He does have a powerful body, but… it's not suitable for me."
Isshiki had two criteria when choosing a body.
Either extremely compatible or extremely powerful.
The former was Kawaki from the original story.
The latter was Ryosuke.
If scored numerically, Jigen's body was a 5.
Kawaki was an 80.
Ryosuke was a 100.
"As for this Mr. Madara's body, it's somewhere between compatibility and raw power. The overall score is around 40. If he were alive, maybe 50. But it's still 10 points short of the passing line needed to accept Karma."
Isshiki's tone carried a bit more calm resignation.
His life was like this cigarette, about to burn out.
At that moment...
Chi!
The White Snake Sage's tail pierced into its own chest, dug out a small snake heart, and held it out in front of Isshiki.
"I'll make up the final 10 points."
So-called physical compatibility was like a race car driver controlling a race car. Every driver has their own habits, and Isshiki was an extremely picky driver.
But if you want to adjust a car's performance, aside from the car itself being excellent, there was another way, the pit crew.
As the race goes on, they constantly fine-tune the vehicle to ensure the driver's feel remains optimal.
"Swallow my heart. Every time your feet touch the ground, I'll be able to sense and adjust your shared body from the inside, and accelerate the release of Karma."
The White Snake Sage's gaze swept over Madara and Isshiki. "Last chance, you two. Are you in or not?"
Isshiki had no reason to refuse.
He reached out his hand.
Uchiha Madara did not move.
He was thinking.
No one urged him. After a full ten seconds of thought, Madara slowly exhaled and stared at Isshiki.
"I need a promise."
"Go ahead."
"After defeating Ryosuke, you must make all Otsutsuki leave the ninja world forever. No more aliens are allowed to invade this planet."
Isshiki nodded seriously. "No problem."
Hearing this answer, Madara no longer hesitated and firmly shook Isshiki's hand.
This was the path Madara chose.
Even if Ryosuke was truly powerful enough to kill Momoshiki, Kinshiki, Isshiki, and even Ten-Tails Jinchuriki Obito, who could guarantee that another batch of Otsutsuki wouldn't come in the future?
Could Ryosuke keep winning forever?
Ryosuke's ideology itself was like walking a tightrope. Add in the external pressure from the Otsutsuki clan, and it became even more dangerous.
It was better to plant one of their own among the Otsutsuki. With Isshiki as a connection, the ninja world could gain longer-lasting peace and also seize the opportunity to develop itself.
Grease the wheels above and below, quietly grow stronger.
The rules of the dark world had always been like this, unchanged no matter where you went.
———
Momoshiki devoured Kinshiki's corpse.
The weapons, Boshinsen, Shinchiku, and the power Kinshiki had cultivated for thousands of years, were extracted in the form of data discs and tossed into the ghost chamber.
Life energy vanished along with death.
In the end, Momoshiki only obtained part of Kinshiki's physical strength and space-time teleportation ability. The effect… was far from ideal. At best, it slightly compensated for Momoshiki's shortcomings.
Obito, acting as the "rat man," saw things clearly. At the current pace, Momoshiki being beaten to death was only a matter of time.
But what could he do?
"Give it to me!"
Momoshiki roared at Obito again. "Give me the Ten-Tails, give me your body! As long as I eat you, I can definitely kill Ryosuke! Otherwise, we'll all die together..."
Before he could finish, Star Platinum slammed a punch into Momoshiki's face.
Obito let out a cold laugh.
He would rather be beaten to death by Ryosuke than hand his fate over to an idiot like Momoshiki.
But… that being said, if he didn't do something soon, they really were going to be wiped out.
Suddenly, Obito heard the White Snake Sage's voice again, after a long time.
"…Do we really have to do this?"
"I understand."
Obito formed hand seals. His own life energy and chakra were drawn out. An extreme sense of weakness enveloped him, but he still completed the ninjutsu.
"Outer Path: Samsara of Heavenly Life Technique."
A small orb of soul light flew off into the distance.
The next second, a space-time gate opened. Uchiha Madara walked out, lightly clenching his fist as the Karma in his palm rapidly activated and thawed.
Black lines spread across his body.
Karma: Stage Two.
And it wasn't over yet.
Madara took a deep breath. A blue Susanoo appeared, towering between heaven and earth, carrying boundless pressure as it coldly stared at Ryosuke.
On the other side, Yakushi Kabuto also received the White Snake Sage's message.
"Don't worry about the battlefield anymore. Lead all the Edo Tensei army and launch a surprise attack…"
"Kyoto."
"You only have one job, kill people. Kill as many as possible. As long as Ryosuke is distracted even a little, it'll be enough."
Kabuto listened in shock.
"Th-this isn't good, is it?"
They certainly hadn't done many good deeds, but every person Kabuto had killed had a purpose. This kind of indiscriminate slaughter purely to affect the opponent, especially targeting civilians…
He couldn't do it.
Sensing Kabuto's refusal, the White Snake Sage fell silent for a moment.
"Then I'll do it. I'm not human. I'll bear this sin myself. You go rescue Hidan and Orochimaru."
"Success or failure… depends on this one move."