Outside the battlefield in the otherworldly space.
Orochimaru was being controlled by Infinite Tsukuyomi, trapped in a genjutsu, while the Hashirama controlled by his talisman technique had already regained awareness...
Staring at the devastated battlefield before him, Hashirama's expression froze in shock and disbelief!
Soon, he noticed the blood-red moon in the sky, its surface reflecting the pattern of the Rinne Sharingan: "Has the shinobi world already fallen…"
Just as he grew confused and prepared to free the people trapped in cocoons, he noticed Madara's lower body not far away...
Earlier, when Black Zetsu drew out Kaguya's will, Madara's upper body swelled and was eventually swallowed by Kaguya, leaving his lower half discarded on the battlefield…
"That is…"
Extremely sensitive to chakra, Hashirama could feel the potent chakra emanating from that half of a body!
Just as his fingers touched Madara's remains, intending to examine it carefully, a blue-white chakra drifted out from within…
"Hu—"
The chakra gradually solidified, forming a human shape!
At the same time, beside Hashirama's ear, an ancient voice echoed!
"Asura's previous reincarnation, hmm~"
Hashirama stared doubtfully at the old man before him, holding a black staff: "Were you the one calling to me just now? You are…"
"Do you know what happened on this battlefield? Why the world turned into this? What's with all these Wood Release structures and cocoons? (꒪⌓꒪) "
Sage of Six Paths: "…"
"Do all Asura reincarnations ask this many questions… →_→"
"Fine, I'll answer them one by one. First, my name is Ōtsutsuki Hagoromo, known to the world as the Sage of Six Paths."
"As for what happened here… I'll summarize it briefly…"
Over the next few seconds, the Sage of Six Paths explained everything that had taken place on the battlefield.
After hearing it, Hashirama was still stunned: "So the ancestor of chakra, Ōtsutsuki Kaguya, has been revived? And you, the Sage of Six Paths, gave this generation's Indra and Asura reincarnations the powers of Yin and Yang so they could seal her?"
The Sage of Six Paths nodded: "Correct. Your brain works much better than that blond kid's! ❛‿˂̵✧"
Hashirama: "Then why did you suddenly appear here? (￢‸￢)?"
The Sage of Six Paths shook his head: "It wasn't intentional. You touched Madara's body just now, and that fulfilled the conditions needed for my manifestation… Because I'm merely a lingering trace of chakra left in this world, I require Indra and Asura to—"
"Stop, stop, enough already… --003d_--003d" Hashirama quickly interrupted, seeing how Hagoromo talked like he was giving a lecture.
"So right now Sasuke and Naruto are fighting Kaguya—where are they?"
Sage of Six Paths: "If they aren't in the present world anymore, then they were likely sent to an otherworldly space by my mother's Yomotsu Hirasaka… After all, I'm just a wisp of chakra, my sensing… isn't that clear…"
"Mother is not an easy foe to fight. I don't know if those two kids…"
Halfway through speaking, the Sage's expression suddenly changed: (๑ʘ̅ д ʘ̅๑)!!!
"Wait— I sense the Six Paths Yang Power! Σ(っ °Д °;)っ"
He pointed his pitch-black staff toward a cocoon hanging from the roots of the tree, saying to Hashirama: "Open that cocoon and look…"
Although confused, Hashirama still followed the instruction. After peeling the cocoon open, the person inside was—Uzumaki Naruto!
Sage of Six Paths: --003d͟͟͞͞(꒪ᗜ꒪ ‧̣̥̇)
"It's over…"
Hashirama: "Aren't you the Sage of Six Paths? Why say such discouraging things…"
Sage of Six Paths: ꒦ິ^꒦ິ
"You don't understand. My mother, who once consumed the chakra fruit, possesses a true divine body. No matter the injury, she recovers instantly—immortal and undying…"
"To defeat her, she must be sealed."
"But now Naruto, who holds the Yang Power, is still in the present world and caught in Infinite Tsukuyomi… And Sasuke, who holds the Yin Power, is most likely trapped inside the Yomotsu Hirasaka space. Without Yin and Yang together, the sealing technique cannot be performed… 〒_〒"
Hashirama: "Then doesn't that mean there's no hope? ∑(°Д°)"
Although the Sage's expression was bitter, he still nodded: "It's only a matter of time before Mother regains control over the world once more…"
...
Inside the molten lava dimension of Yomotsu Hirasaka.
Kaguya gazed in surprise toward the distant Shinju!
"To freeze the molten-lava dimension into an ice-snow realm in an instant… such terrifying chakra and control… Mother, someone like that cannot be allowed to live!" Black Zetsu whispered from inside Kaguya's sleeve.
Kaguya didn't need him to say it—she understood very well!
Her hair spread outward, and from its tips—
"Shu shu shu—!!"
Countless needle-thin hairs shot toward Shinju's position!!
Shinju glanced past Kaguya toward something behind her, then transformed his Truth-Seeking Orbs into a massive barrier, blocking the needles!
Then he clapped his hands, chanting: "Heavenly Transfer Technique!!"
"Shu!!"
Shinju's body instantly appeared behind Kaguya via the Heavenly Transfer Technique!
"Hum!"
His Mangekyō Sharingan opened, and the green-armored Susanoo raised the blade, hacking down toward Kaguya's head!!
"Whaa!!"
The enormous crimson blade dwarfed Kaguya's tiny form—it didn't just look like it would cut her, but pulverize her!!
But just as the blade was about to strike her, several gray bones sprouted from Kaguya's back!
They grew upward, crossing above her head—
Exactly where the enormous sword was falling!!
"CLANG!!!!!"
"Crack crack crack—!!"
The blade struck the gray bones, sending shockwaves outward, blowing Kaguya's hair back and shattering the surrounding ice into powder!!
The shockwave from that single clash was strong enough to rupture even the Edo Tensei bodies of Tobirama and the others in an instant!
As for Sasuke, he had sensed something wrong ahead of time, summoning Susanoo's ribcage armor just barely in time to block the shockwave!
But the price was that Susanoo's skeletal frame around him shattered completely!
Only now did Sasuke realize how vast the gap between him and Shinju truly was!!
If he transformed into a Thunder God, even his hair would fall off!
But Shinju—not only could he instantly activate Susano, he could also wield the Futsu no Mitama and clash head-on with the ancestor of chakra!!
Even more outrageous—the shockwave alone surpassed S-rank Wind Release techniques, strong enough to shatter his Susanoo armor…
Beside Sasuke, the Edo Tensei bodies of Tobirama and the others gradually regenerated.
Then, they all looked at each other—
Eyes filled with irrepressible shock, disbelief, and excitement!
Truly damn impressive!
At first they doubted whether Shinju could defeat the ancestor of chakra, but now those doubts were gone!!
On the other side.
Futsu no Mitama and the gray bones clashed, locked for about two seconds—
Then, the bones sprouting from Kaguya's back snapped!!
The blood-red Futsu no Mitama descended!!