Magma surged and boiled below.
High in the sky, shadows cshed and danced. Shigen's bck sword carved arcs of pressure in the air, forcing Naruto into a frantic retreat, dodging one sharp swing after another of the Truth-Seeking Bde.
"Sage Art: Tailed Beast Bomb!"
A bck-purple sphere exploded into being in Naruto's hands—but it was split cleanly in two by Shigen's dark bde before it could be unched.
Worse—
That ssh nearly cleaved Naruto in half.
"He doesn't fight like a blind man at all…"
Naruto broke into a cold sweat as the sword barely missed, forcing him back into mid-air.
This battlefield…
Was abysmal.
The river of magma below left Naruto no choice but to fight aloft. But he'd only just started learning to hover with his Six Paths power, and he was nowhere near Shigen's aerial agility.
"This won't work at all…"
Kakashi clung to a kunai stabbed into the cliff, watching the csh between Naruto and Shigen with a grim face.
"Naruto losing is only a matter of time…"
"And things are even worse over there…"
Obito's voice sounded beside him. He too held onto a bck rod embedded in the cliff, his gaze fixed on Sasuke and Kaguya.
"Sasuke's completely outmatched…"
A two-versus-two fight…
Had devolved into two hopeless one-on-ones.
Whether Naruto against Shigen or Sasuke against Kaguya—neither was a match for their opponent.
Sasuke, unable to fly, relied on his Full-Body Susanoo empowered by the Yin power of the Six Paths. He hurled purple chakra bdes from afar, hoping to pin Kaguya down.
But—
Kaguya wasn't fazed in the slightest.
She caught one of the massive arrows with her bare hand, liquefying it into purple chakra before hurling a bone-white spike back at Sasuke.
"A single bone spike?"
Sasuke didn't think much of it. His Susanoo's defense should have been more than enough.
Then—impact!
The bone spike embedded into Susanoo's chest—
And the entire structure began to crumble and petrify!
Sasuke's expression changed instantly. He used his Rinnegan's repulsion to halt himself mid-air.
"Sasuke!"
Kakashi immediately noticed the danger. His Mangekyō Sharingan glowed, attempting to pull Sasuke into Kamui's pocket dimension—
But he was too slow!
Fortunately, Sasuke quickly realized what he needed to do. His eyes scanned the cliffs, then—
Whish!
A shuriken flew toward a protruding ledge. The instant it struck, Sasuke used Amenotejikara to swap pces with it, clinging tightly to the rocky outcrop to survive.
But this—
Rendered him unable to continue fighting Kaguya effectively.
"..."
Kakashi finally rexed a little, though his face was full of frustration.
"We're each down to one eye. We can't help. Not unless we bring our Kamui eyes back together…"
Obito's voice was calm and resolute.
"Only by combining the two Mangekyō Sharingan can we absorb attacks fast enough. And using a single Mangekyō repeatedly burns it out fast…"
"I still have Hashirama's cells. I can spam Kamui without worrying about backsh. And right now, it's the only way we can contribute."
Kakashi nodded slightly, then said something unexpected:
"We can go to Kamui space to do the transpnt… but unlike st time, there's no one to perform the operation now." 1
"We can go to Kamui space to do the transpnt… but unlike st time, there's no one to perform the operation now."
Obito's expression faltered. Kakashi's words reminded him of Rin—how their friend had once helped them swap eyes. Her absence was still a wound.
"We don't need Rin."
Obito's body started distorting as he activated Kamui.
"With Hashirama's healing, I'll recover fast. We can't waste time anymore…"
"Got it."
"I know now that Infinite Tsukuyomi was a lie."
"I'm a dead man anyway. The moment the Ten Tails was ripped from me, I started dying. Now I just want to do something—so when I meet Rin in the Pure Land, I won't be ashamed."
Kakashi followed him into Kamui space to carry out the eye transpnt.
Meanwhile—
The battlefield suddenly changed.
Just as Sasuke was at a loss against Kaguya, Naruto found an unexpected opening!
"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
Dozens of Naruto clones burst out, surrounding Shigen on all sides. As a few were cut down, one clone managed to seize Shigen and suplex him toward the magma below!
"!!!"
Shigen plummeted straight toward the va!
The next instant—
He reached out, palm igniting with Earth Release chakra, and a field of stone erupted from the magma, spreading rapidly.
It formed—
A solid ptform.
Ironically—
This erased Kaguya's advantage. Her whole point of this magma realm was to force her enemies into aerial combat. 1
This erased Kaguya's advantage. Her whole point of this magma realm was to force her enemies into aerial combat.
Now, Sasuke could stand.
He leapt onto the ptform, bde drawn, eyes locked on Shigen.
"Want to switch?"
Naruto floated beside Sasuke, assuming he got the message.
"I'll take Kaguya, you deal with Shigen—but I'll say this now, he's really strong—"
"You're not Kaguya's match either."
Sasuke cut him off.
"We mustn't split up. They'll pick us off."
Kaguya nded beside Shigen.
"Them together is dangerous…"
Bck Zetsu, suddenly pying strategist, whispered,
"Either one of them could use the Six Paths' sealing jutsu. It might only seal one person—but whichever of you gets sealed, the other will rule the ninja world…"
Shigen didn't care about ruling.
"I'll be the main attacker."
Shigen spun his bck sword, volunteering himself.
"This world's future lies in Lady Kaguya's eternal peace. If I'm sealed, so be it…"
"Shigen, you really are…"
Bck Zetsu's smile turned devilish.
"Don't worry. Mother and I will not waste your ideals."
"Besides…"
"Mother will support you."
Its voice dripped with manipution.
"You, Shigen, are the one who made her return possible. It's only right that you see your dream come true—to watch as Mother rules this world…"
While Bck Zetsu spoke sweetly to Shigen—
Kaguya's gaze was ice cold as she gnced at him.
No matter the outcome—
She would be the final victor.
If Shigen was sealed, she'd never risk being sealed again. If he helped her win, she'd simply take everything for herself. 1
If Shigen was sealed, she'd never risk being sealed again. If he helped her win, she'd simply take everything for herself.
