The Ōtsutsuki floated in the storm-wracked sky, white robes billowing around him like he owned the heavens. His voice didn't rise or falter; he spoke as if reciting the weather.
"Ōtsutsuki Kaguya attempted to devour the Divine Tree and claim eternal life. She failed."
For the first time, emotion flickered in his eyes — an ugly thrill.
"I spent ages seeking this place. Never found it… until one fool carrying our blood stumbled in and showed me the way."
He spread his arms, savoring the cold air.
"The moment I manifested here, I felt the Tree's power. As long as I devour you… I will ascend."
Six Truth-Seeking Orbs drifted out from behind him like black moons.
The godlike stare he leveled at Raizen burned with appetite.
"Rinnegan. Byakugan. Both in the flesh of a mortal. You are a concentrated fragment of the Divine Tree."
His tongue flicked across his lips.
"Once I consume you, my power will be perfect."
He vanished.
A black staff carved down toward Raizen's skull.
Raizen exhaled slowly.
"Eat me? Sure. If you can chew."
His pupils split into rings.
Rinnegan flared.
He didn't have room to hold back.
Not against something like this.
"Susanoo!"
Chakra roared upward, red and violent. Bones formed. Then armor.
Then the flaming blade of the Totsuka Sword materialized in Susanoo's grip, trembling with rage.
Raizen swung.
"Cut!"
The Totsuka Sword crashed down.
CLANG.
The Ōtsutsuki raised his staff with one hand.
Steel met yin–yang chakra.
The impossible happened:
He stopped the sword.
Then, without even looking, he flicked his fingers.
Six Truth-Seeking Orbs shot forward.
BOOM. BOOM. BOOM. BOOM. BOOM. BOOM—
Each impact rocked Susanoo's ribcage, cracks spiraling across its surface.
Raizen grit his teeth.
"…This is bad."
Truth-Seeking Orbs weren't just bombs — they were erasers.
Touch one unguarded and you weren't "wounded."
You were deleted.
The Ōtsutsuki smirked.
"Oh? Your armor didn't shatter? Interesting."
He gestured again.
The Orbs shifted formation, weaving into a killing pattern.
Raizen didn't let him complete it.
Susanoo reached for its waist, seized a massive shuriken, and hurled it.
The instant it touched the Truth-Seeking Orbs—
Space twisted.
The Orbs vanished.
A hairline of danger crept up the Ōtsutsuki's spine.
He dodged by pure instinct as the Orbs reappeared behind him, shooting forward like missiles.
He snapped his fingers.
They froze in midair, obediently drifting back behind him.
Raizen lunged forward, Totsuka Sword swinging again.
The Ōtsutsuki didn't even blink.
His Orbs slid in front of him, merging into a single black barrier.
The sword hit it.
Another metallic shriek.
No progress.
Then—
The barrier split apart into six sharp cones and launched toward Susanoo.
Raizen barely jerked to the side.
The cones missed him by inches, tearing the sky open behind him.
They hit the ground far below—
KRAKOOM.
Six craters appeared instantly, each one deeper than a Tailed Beast Bomb blast.
And the cones didn't stop.
They curved midair and came back up.
Raizen groaned.
"…You're really annoying."
He dodged again—
But this time the Ōtsutsuki raised his palm.
Gravitational pull.
Susanoo lurched forward helplessly, dragged straight toward the waiting black staff.
Raizen roared.
His Rinnegan ignited.
"Shinra Tensei!"
A shockwave erupted outward.
Gravity met repulsion in a colossal clash.
The sky shook.
Air snapped.
The Orbs were blown back.
Raizen used the gap to blast upward, breaking free and gaining distance.
The Ōtsutsuki drifted after him, utterly unfazed.
"Persistent little insect."
Six Orbs floated behind his shoulders again.
Raizen swallowed.
The Ōtsutsuki wasn't just using Truth-Seeking Orbs.
He'd mastered Rinnegan combat too.
This was getting worse.
"Kamui shuriken!"
Raizen whipped another space-warping shuriken.
It collided with an Orb, distorting it out of existence.
Raizen shot forward with the opening—
But the Ōtsutsuki's lips curled.
"I've studied your trick."
He tilted his head.
One Truth-Seeking Orb shot past his shoulder — not at Raizen, but toward where Raizen would be in 0.2 seconds.
Predictive.
Calculated.
The Orb screamed toward Raizen's face—
And the chapter ends with Raizen mid-charge, death inches away.