"Yin–Yang Release: Rainbow Flame Array!"
A tide of multicolored fire erupted, not burning so much as devouring everything in its path. It was proof of Yin–Yang Release's supremacy over the five basic elements.
Kenya raised his left hand. "Bakudō #81. Dankū!"
A vast transparent wall snapped into existence, intercepting the flames.
One side was the pinnacle of chakra, the other a power foreign to this world. And in the end, ninjutsu clashes always came down to the same thing—raw strength.
The forces pressed against each other, locked in deadlock.
Suddenly, a crimson beam lanced toward Kenya's throat. Kyōka Suigetsu's blade flashed, intercepting it with a hiss.
"…Troublesome." Kenya's eyes shifted. "So your perception pierced through?"
The branch patriarch narrowed his eyes.
"Father," Toneri said sharply, "it may be because I was born blind that I can resist his illusion. His trick—Kyōka Suigetsu—it works through sight."
The patriarch's gaze hardened. "Then mark his real body. I refuse to fall for that illusion again!"
"No, Father. What you see now—this is his true form."
"Good. Then take this—Yin–Yang Release: Profound Art – Celestial Wave of Fate!"
From the void, countless cyan chakra spheres appeared, each thrumming with killing power. A heartbeat later, they fell like a storm. Every orb carried the might of an A-rank jutsu. A deluge worthy of being called a "profound art."
Kenya's smile curved faintly. "Commentary during combat… perhaps I really have inherited Aizen's bad habits."
The orbs rained down. Explosions tore the lunar city apart, leveling what little remained after Kenya's last strike.
But Kenya was no longer there.
He reappeared silently before Toneri, the boy a head shorter than him.
The patriarch spun, panic flashing in his eyes. What!? I didn't see him move!
Even Toneri had given no warning. Meaning—it wasn't illusion. It was simply speed beyond their comprehension.
Kenya's voice lowered, smooth as silk. "Perhaps, born blind, you see more clearly than others. But have you considered this? Even in the dark… you may already be within Kyōka Suigetsu's world."
The words coiled in Toneri's chest like a curse, impossible to shake.
"Sheren! Be careful!"
The patriarch lunged, staff blazing with Yin–Yang chakra.
Kenya didn't flinch. His finger rose to Toneri's chest.
"Hadō #4. Byakurai."
A thin white bolt pierced straight through.
Puff—
The boy convulsed, blood spraying. For Kenya, ending a peak jōnin-level opponent was effortless.
[Current Template Character: Lord of the Hōgyoku – Aizen Sōsuke]
Unlock Rate: 70.06%
Kenya's eyes gleamed. "Direct blood of Hamura… destined to awaken the Tenseigan. No wonder."
Normally, even killing a jōnin at his peak barely raised the fusion rate by 0.2%. Yet Toneri's death alone pushed it up by more than a full percentage. Proof of his value.
Toneri's soul rose from the wound—and the Hōgyoku in Kenya's chest pulsed with sudden brilliance, as if hungering for it. Without his command, it devoured the essence whole.
Kenya's brows lifted. "So eager? This is the first time… Is it because of Ōtsutsuki blood?"
"Sheren!!!"
The branch patriarch howled, eyes bloodshot. His staff unleashed a tsunami of Yin–Yang chakra, crashing forward.
Kenya remained still. Cyan flames erupted from his body, swallowing the wave whole. Seconds later, the assault dissipated, leaving him untouched.
The Ōtsutsuki around them froze in horror.
"T-That was Yin–Yang Release! Ancient chakra passed down since Hamura's era! How… how could an incomplete descendant of Indra wield it!?"
Kenya exhaled calmly, fingers brushing the front of his shihakushō. The fabric tore away, revealing his chest.
In its center, embedded in his sternum, the Hōgyoku pulsed with light.
"This… is the first stage of fusion?" His lips curved. "Hamura's blood calling to Indra's… but not complete. Not yet."
The patriarch staggered back a step without realizing it. That step alone admitted defeat.
"Yang Release: Devouring Flame Spiral!"
Golden fire surged into a hurricane, engulfing Kenya completely. For ten seconds, it blazed with apocalyptic heat.
On the eleventh, a radiant beam of light tore through the flames, devouring them instead.
At its heart was the Hōgyoku, shining with terrifying brilliance.
The patriarch's face drained of color. "…That thing… it's protecting him of its own will!?"