On the battlefield of the Fourth Great Shinobi War, Naruto and Sasuke exchanged puzzled glances.
After Black Zetsu stabbed Madara Uchiha in the back and brought Kaguya forth, the two had already prepared themselves for a fierce battle against her, intending to fulfill the mission entrusted to them by the Sage of Six Paths.
But now, Kaguya had mysteriously disappeared. They couldn't sense her chakra at all.
This left them unsure of what to do next. Should they first deal with the troublesome God Tree vines around them, or go search for traces of Kaguya?
The Sage of Six Paths, still in his soul form, felt equally frustrated.
When he sensed the Ten-Tails' resurrection and someone becoming its jinchūriki, he had returned from the Pure Land, hoping to use Naruto and Sasuke to once again seal his mother. But now, Kaguya had vanished without a trace.
Could it be that Kaguya knew he still existed, and so purposely hid herself in the starting sphere dimension?
But without recovering the chakra within Naruto and Sasuke, she couldn't return to her peak state...
Elsewhere, this entire situation was also being monitored by Jigen, known in his mortal form as Isshiki Ōtsutsuki. After being ambushed by Kaguya, he had been silently observing everything in the shinobi world, waiting for a chance to retaliate.
Now that the Ten-Tails had been revived, he lay in hiding near the battlefield, hoping to steal some of the chakra for himself. To Isshiki, both Kaguya and the Naruto-Sasuke duo were enemies he needed to defeat. Watching them exhaust each other would be the best outcome. However, just moments ago, he sensed a vast and mysterious chakra clashing with Kaguya.
Could it be that, aside from Kaguya and her descendants, the shinobi world was hiding another Ōtsutsuki, or even a native deity?
Could this be his opportunity?
Under the watchful gaze of many, Byakuya and Kaguya stepped out from the starting sphere dimension.
The two walked almost shoulder to shoulder and appeared directly before Naruto and Sasuke. Seeing this, both were deeply confused.
Naruto couldn't help but ask, "Byakuya, weren't you ambushed by Obito and killed?!"
Byakuya gave a dismissive smirk and replied indifferently, "The one who first obtained the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path and the nine Tailed Beasts was me. The one who completed the tailed beast collection was also me. Why would a failure like Obito be capable of defeating me?"
Hearing this, Naruto and Sasuke's expressions changed slightly. They then cautiously asked, "So... are you our friend or our enemy now? Did you join Black Zetsu and Kaguya?"
Byakuya gently shook his head.
"I am not Kaguya's subordinate. On the contrary, I persuaded her to join the Akatsuki. Kaguya is now one of our comrades. She will no longer act against you."
Naruto glanced doubtfully at Byakuya and Black Zetsu.
He had long realized that the "old man" in the kunai pendant who had accompanied him for so many years was Black Zetsu.
But Black Zetsu had deceived him; he now found it difficult to trust anyone again.
Noticing Naruto's expression, Byakuya began explaining, "Just now, I spoke with Kaguya for a long time in the starting sphere space. I discovered that all of this may simply be a misunderstanding between Kaguya and the Sage of Six Paths. The two of them never truly sat down to talk.
After reasoning with her and moving her emotionally, Kaguya finally agreed to have a proper conversation with the Sage. But whether that happens or not now depends on your side's willingness."
Though he addressed Naruto and Sasuke, Byakuya was actually speaking to the Sage of Six Paths, who he knew was nearby. He understood that Naruto and Sasuke's powers came from him, and the Sage had been avoiding meeting his mother all this time.
Upon hearing Byakuya's words, Naruto and Sasuke, both of whom had previously been beaten down by Byakuya, immediately realized what had happened and looked toward Kaguya with newfound sympathy.
Given what they knew about Byakuya, it was likely his "reasoning" had involved some... physical persuasion.
In other words, while they had been dawdling around, Byakuya had already defeated Kaguya and made his decision. He wasn't asking for their opinions, he was notifying them. Still, they didn't know what to do next.
As they hesitated, a figure stepped out from the void. It was none other than the Sage of Six Paths, manifesting in his soul form.
Upon seeing him, Kaguya was momentarily stunned. She reached out her hand, as if unsure what to say.
Naruto and Sasuke both turned toward the Sage with confusion and reproach.
"Old man, didn't you say you were dead and couldn't appear in the shinobi world?"
The Sage looked slightly awkward and replied, "My power is indeed almost depleted... but appearing like this is still possible. I just don't know how long I can maintain it."
He then looked toward Kaguya and Byakuya, saying, "Since you've managed to persuade Mother, Byakuya, I'll take this chance to speak with her. I only hope I can convince her to leave the shinobi world alone."
At that, Byakuya gave a knowing smile and replied, "Sage of Six Paths, you've always believed Kaguya was a nightmare bent on harvesting chakra from this world. Have you ever considered she might have had her reasons?"
"Mother had her reasons?"
The Sage blinked and looked at Kaguya, baffled.
She had never mentioned any of this to him. From the moment he was born, his mother had been the sole divine figure of the shinobi world, one who could decide the fate of all beings and had only ever sought to gather all chakra to herself.
Byakuya said nothing more, instead gesturing for Kaguya to speak.
Kaguya took a deep breath and said, "Hagoromo, you look even older and more mature than I do now... Let me tell you about the crisis we face."
She then explained everything about the Ōtsutsuki main family. The Sage of Six Paths fell into deep thought.
He finally understood why his brother Hamura had chosen to stay on the moon with their mother. Kaguya had been silently guarding the shinobi world all this time, bearing the pressure from the main family alone.
After a moment of silence, the Sage bowed slightly and said, "Mother, I admit I acted rashly back then. I apologize. But you also should have told me and Hamura the truth from the start."
Kaguya mumbled awkwardly, "I thought you weren't strong enough back then. But when you were, it was already too late... you had sealed me. I didn't have a choice..."
At this moment, Kaguya resembled a young, inexperienced mother, fumbling through an explanation.
The Sage sighed softly. His mother seemed still naive and confused, not understanding the power of unity even after all these years.
Thankfully, Byakuya had managed to bring her back to the right path. Otherwise, the power he had saved for a millennium might have been wasted here.
Perhaps from now on, managing his mother would have to fall to Byakuya. After all, Byakuya had somehow arrived in the shinobi world with power comparable to both himself and Kaguya.
Just as the Sage was about to speak, Byakuya beat him to it, offering cheerfully, "Hagoromo-sama, since Kaguya has already joined the Akatsuki, would you be interested in joining as well?"
'Why would I join the Akatsuki?' The Sage found it strange, but still accepted Byakuya's invitation and joined the Akatsuki.
Byakuya immediately received new rewards.
[Ōtsutsuki Hagoromo (Sage of Six Paths) has joined the Akatsuki. You have obtained: Six Paths Sage Mode, Six Paths: Chibaku Tensei, Ten-Tails Chakra (Minor).]
After clicking to claim the reward, Byakuya's strength surged once again.
If Kaguya had still posed a threat to him just a short while ago, now even Kaguya Ōtsutsuki could no longer endanger him, his chakra had surpassed that of the Ten-Tails, reaching an entirely new level.
After briefly digesting the power, Byakuya's gaze shifted into the distance. He had sensed an extremely well-hidden chakra signature.
Both the Sage of Six Paths and Kaguya noticed Byakuya's expression and asked in confusion, "Byakuya, did you sense something off? Why that look on your face?"
Byakuya nodded and replied, "Just now, I had a feeling that we were being watched. And I think I know who it is."
"Who is it?" the Sage and Kaguya asked with suspicion.
Their sensory abilities spanned nearly half the ninja world. How could they have missed anything?
Byakuya said slowly, "Do you remember the Isshiki Ōtsutsuki whom Kaguya once ambushed? I don't think he died, he's still lurking in the shadows, watching us…"
Before he even finished speaking, Byakuya shot off into the distance, leaving only an afterimage behind.
"Kaguya-sama, Hagoromo-dono, Isshiki Ōtsutsuki seems to be trying to escape, follow me, quickly!"
Hearing this, Kaguya and the Sage of Six Paths exchanged a glance, locked onto Byakuya's chakra, and immediately tore through space to pursue.
All three, Byakuya, Kaguya, and the Sage, were of Ōtsutsuki tier. They swiftly crossed space and arrived in a hidden dimension near the ninja world.
At that moment, in the strange dimension, Jigen (the mortal vessel of Isshiki) looked grim as he faced the three.
When he had seen Kaguya and the Sage speaking peacefully, a sense of doom had already taken root in his heart, his plan to play the predator to their prey had failed.
But he hadn't expected Byakuya to detect him. After all, this body of his wasn't much different from that of an ordinary shinobi.
Looking at Kaguya, who had once ambushed him, Isshiki slowly spoke, "Kaguya, I bet you didn't expect me to still be alive. Too bad this time I couldn't deceive you or find a suitable vessel. But I've already reported your betrayal to the main family. You can wait for them to come and wipe you out."
Before he even finished, Isshiki began releasing the Kāma seal. Although doing so would reduce his lifespan to only three days, if he didn't restore his Ōtsutsuki body now, he wouldn't even last three minutes.
The three exchanged a look, then launched a coordinated attack on Isshiki.
Isshiki's abilities were Daikokuten and Sukunahikona. Daikokuten allowed him to store objects in a timeless dimension and summon them at will, much like Kamui, while Sukunahikona let him shrink or enlarge non-living matter.
Facing the three, Isshiki didn't dare hold back. He immediately summoned the black cubes he had prepared in advance.
These cubes were extremely heavy, and when they fell from the sky, they smashed directly onto the bodies of the trio. Any normal Kage-level shinobi would have been immobilized.
But Byakuya, Kaguya, and the Sage weren't ordinary shinobi, they easily pushed aside the cubes and continued their assault.
Isshiki was powerful indeed; even against the combined onslaught, he barely managed to keep up.
Seeing this, Byakuya was somewhat speechless. The reason they couldn't take Isshiki down instantly wasn't because he was too strong, it was because Kaguya and the Sage were too green in battle. They had almost no combat experience and could only rely on brute force.
No wonder Kaguya was so afraid of the main family's warriors.
After observing Isshiki's combat patterns, when Isshiki shrank his body again, Byakuya shouted to Kaguya, "Kaguya! Switch the space to a gravity zone, now!"
Kaguya was briefly stunned but did as instructed, altering the space around them to one of intense gravity.
In this new environment of dozens of times the normal gravity, both Kaguya and the Sage were pinned down and could barely move. Isshiki was also forced to cancel Sukunahikona, returning to his normal size.
Seizing the opportunity, Byakuya calmly approached Isshiki and summoned Truth-Seeking Orbs.
The Truth-Seeking Orbs were one of the few things that could harm an Ōtsutsuki. Under their power, Isshiki's already-diminished life force began to drain, and his body soon began to dissolve into dust on the wind.
In the moment before death, Isshiki didn't surrender. Instead, he said, "You… you're not from the main branch. Are you interested in becoming an Ōtsutsuki god? I can tell you the secret to further evolution, if you're willing to accept my legacy."
Byakuya ignored him and continued erasing his life force.
He already knew Isshiki's secret: hidden somewhere in the ninja world was the corpse of the Ōtsutsuki god that Isshiki had discovered. Through this body, Isshiki had learned many divine arts. That was why, despite being alive, Isshiki hadn't contacted the main family for help.
He wanted the inheritance for himself.
Byakuya refused not because he didn't want the treasure, but because he had already sensed its location. When the time was right, he would lead his subordinates to seize the Ōtsutsuki god's legacy.
For now, he had been away from the ninja world for too long. It was time to return and dispel the Infinite Tsukuyomi.
Watching Isshiki's body crumble to dust, both the Sage and Kaguya finally breathed a sigh of relief. They had at last eliminated the final mastermind lurking deep within the ninja world.
Now, it was time to bring everything back on track. After exchanging glances, they tore through space and returned to the ninja world, still shrouded under the Infinite Tsukuyomi.
As they moved, they cast the Rinne Rebirth Technique to bring back those who had died in the war, while also working to dispel the Infinite Tsukuyomi.
Before long, nearly everyone had been freed from the illusion. Byakuya caught sight of Yahiko, Nagato, and Konan, and immediately teleported over.
The three also noticed him and patted him on the shoulder, saying, "Byakuya, I knew you could do it. You stopped Madara Uchiha and saved the entire ninja world."
Byakuya smiled and replied, "It wasn't just my doing. But now, we can finally start making the dream we spoke of back in that cave in the Land of Rain come true, step by step."