Otsutsuki Momoshiki, Otsutsuki Urashiki, and Otsutsuki Kinshiki instantly knew something was wrong the moment their boots touched the ground.
The environment was utterly repulsive. Dark brown, wrinkled, and violently pitted terrain stretched out endlessly in every direction. Every step felt like wading through thick, sticky tar.
Momoshiki stomped his foot against the squishy ground, his pale face twisting in absolute disgust. "What the hell is this filth? It's repulsive."
Urashiki floated slightly above the muck, his Rinnegan gleaming. "Let's just obliterate this trap and hunt down whoever dared to ambush us."
Far across the ocean, the blinding electromagnetic pillar fired by Mufasa pierced the heavens. It was so intense it was clearly visible even thousands of miles away.
Momoshiki sneered, locking his cold eyes on the distant beacon. "If they have the nerve to launch a sneak attack against the Otsutsuki clan, I will personally teach them the meaning of despair."
"Let's move," Momoshiki ordered.
The trio effortlessly levitated, preparing to fly straight toward the Demon Desert.
But their 'food' was leaving.
The colossal mass of flesh beneath them didn't possess a brain or any true subjective consciousness. Instead, it operated on a pure, cellular hive-mind.
It only knew two basic commands: absorb and divide.
If any normal human or shinobi saw Momoshiki, Urashiki, and Kinshiki, they would have run the other way. Between their pale skin, ghostly eyes, and strange horn protrusions, they looked like terrifying monsters.
But the mountain of meat didn't care about appearances. To its ravenous cells, the three Otsutsuki were simply massive, walking batteries of pure chakra.
As the trio took to the sky, the flesh refused to let its meal escape.
Squelch. Squelch.
A dozen massive, grotesque tendrils violently erupted from the ground, whipping through the air to entangle them.
Momoshiki merely sneered, not even bothering to dodge. "A low-level beast. To provoke a god is to court your own death."
"Kinshiki," Momoshiki commanded lazily.
The towering behemoth stepped forward. Kinshiki possessed overwhelming physical strength and the terrifying ability to manifest his raw chakra into glowing red weaponry.
Standing over two meters tall, his massive frame was draped in white robes, a single hard horn curving upward from the left side of his skull. Without a word, Kinshiki casually drew a massive, glowing red Odachi from the chakra ring floating behind his back.
With a single, devastating horizontal slash, Kinshiki severed every incoming fleshy tendril.
But that only kicked the hornet's nest.
Countless more tendrils violently burst from the pulsating ground, thrashing like vengeful spirits dragging sinners into hell.
"How utterly boring," Momoshiki sighed. "This is nothing but low-level trash."
Kinshiki swung his Odachi again in a blinding flurry, slicing the horrific appendages to pieces. The severed chunks of meat rained down onto the squishy ground, instantly melting and being reabsorbed into the main body.
The beast quickly realized its prey was exceptionally strong. It adapted.
Even thicker tendrils shot upward, but this time, countless jagged eyes ripped open along the flesh. The eyes gleamed with chaotic chakra as they unleashed a terrifying barrage.
Fireballs, water bullets, rock spikes, tornadoes, and lightning strikes—a chaotic storm of stolen ninjutsu blasted toward the trio.
Momoshiki's pale expression shifted slightly, though it was more out of annoyance than fear. "The vermin of this world are truly pathetic, relying on such crude, mindless toys."
"True power belongs solely to the individual," Momoshiki mocked. "These parlor tricks are a complete waste of energy."
He casually raised his right hand, opening the crimson Rinnegan embedded in his palm.
Absorb.
The eye glowed ominously, acting as a massive vortex. It effortlessly sucked every single fireball, lightning bolt, and water blast directly into his palm, devouring the energy.
Then, Momoshiki raised his left hand.
The Rinnegan on that palm flared to life, violently amplifying the stolen chakra before firing it right back.
The fireballs expanded into miniature suns; the water bullets became crushing tidal waves. A rainbow of catastrophically enhanced ninjutsu rained back down upon the flesh monster.
The bombardment was relentless, striking the creature like an apocalyptic meteor shower.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Deafening explosions tore across the landscape, instantly blowing the colossal meat blanket to pieces.
The shattered remnants of the flesh monster fell completely still, seemingly stunned into submission.
Urashiki glanced toward the horizon. "That electric pillar in the distance is starting to weaken. Our ambusher might be trying to run. Let's exterminate them first."
Momoshiki had already lost interest in the ruined pile of meat. "Agreed. Let's go."
The three gods shot through the sky, rocketing toward the Demon Desert.
Down below, the charred chunks of flesh began to furiously squirm.
It didn't feel anger, but it recognized that three massive sources of energy had just escaped its hunting grounds. Losing that much food was absolutely unacceptable.
The creature rapidly pulled its mass together, violently diving into the sea to track them down.
To increase its speed, the monstrosity instinctively cast multiple ninjutsu on itself. Wind Release propelled it forward, Earth Release dramatically reduced its density, and Water Release formed a hydrodynamic shield around its body.
Despite its continental size, the combination of elemental jutsu allowed the flesh monster to relentlessly tail the three Otsutsuki through the ocean depths.
Meanwhile, on the coastline bordering the Land of Water and the Land of Wind, the massive Sunagakure air fortress hovered quietly in the sky.
The floating citadel housed the village's non-combatants—the elderly, women, children, and artisans. The 5th and 6th Divisions were stationed outside to guard them.
Atop the fortress observation deck, Hayato, the captain of the 5th Division, stood chatting with Kaedehara Manyo and Sakyo.
"I wonder how Lord Mufasa's battle is going?" Hayato muttered, leaning against the cold metal railing.
Sakyo smirked, casually cracking his knuckles. "It'll be fine. If things go south, I'll just jump in and clobber them with my Kun fist."
The others chuckled, the tension momentarily breaking. Sakyo always knew how to lighten the mood.
Suddenly, Kaedehara Manyo's smile vanished. His brow furrowed deeply as he stared out over the vast, churning ocean.
"Is something wrong, Manyo?" Hayato asked, noticing the sudden, dark shift in his demeanor.
Manyo closed his eyes, listening intently to the ocean breeze. "The wind... my friend, the wind, has brought me a warning."
He slowly raised a finger, pointing out toward the dark horizon. "Four distinct terrors are rapidly approaching from that direction."
Manyo opened his eyes, a bead of cold sweat running down his face. "I'm afraid we are in serious trouble."
...
Kaedehara Manyo's expression hardened, his usual laid-back demeanor vanishing. The sudden shift commanded the immediate attention of everyone on the observation deck.
Sakyo fidgeted, his anxiety spiking. "Then what's our move? What do we do now?"
"We need to activate the air fortress immediately," Hayato ordered, his voice cutting through the rising panic. "We have to evade whatever is coming our way."
Manyo gave a curt nod. "Agreed. And it must be done quickly."
Hayato didn't waste another second. "Everyone, get back to your stations!" he bellowed over the howling wind.
"We need to push the fortress's power output to the absolute maximum and initiate evasive maneuvers!" Hayato commanded, pointing across the deck. "The 5th Division will take control of the fortress's navigation. The 6th Division, we need you to maintain order among the civilians."
Down in the lower decks, 5th Division engineers Setsuna F. Seiei and Zimi sprinted into the main power room. Sunagakure's massive air fortress was still undergoing heavy retrofitting, and the propulsion systems were far from finished.
"Initiating electrical core charge!" Setsuna F. Seiei yelled, violently throwing the heavy main breaker switch upward.
Blinding blue plasma flooded into the central power engine. The energy surged through the kinetic pipelines, feeding directly into the massive vector thrusters mounted along the hull.
The thrusters roared to life, violently venting exhaust as the control room manually adjusted their pitch to push the fortress inland. Yet, even with hundreds of heavy engines firing in unison, the colossal stone fortress only drifted forward with agonizing sluggishness.
Mufasa's original blueprints had called for the entire stone structure to be gutted and replaced with a cutting-edge, ultra-light alloy. Unfortunately, time had completely run out before the upgrades could be completed.
Both Mufasa and the citizens of Sunagakure had assumed the air fortress was safely stationed far enough inland to avoid the coastal crossfire. None of them could have predicted that the Otsutsuki would bypass the main battlefield entirely and attack from the ocean.
It was a catastrophic miscalculation.
Setsuna F. Seiei stared at the glowing charging displays, his hands trembling slightly as the progress bars crawled upward. Machines couldn't be rushed by sheer willpower; they were bound by their programmed startup sequences.
The sky fortress continued its agonizingly slow drift through the clouds. It would take precious, terrifying minutes before the engines hit full power.
Up on the main deck, the 6th Division quickly assembled into formation. They were the proud graduates of the Rider Academy, splitting themselves into the first and second generations of Kamen Riders.
The roster was stacked with familiar faces: Sakyo, Miyamoto Shino, Minakami Mei, Chris, Kannan, Bujiro, Yiren, Genshi Tetsuman, Yamato, Ai, Raido, Keiji, Kenzaki Kazuma, Nobuya Araki, Uchiha Yugi, Myokoin Geiz, and the Akihara twins, Ren and Uta.
Godai Yusuke, Michiki, Jin, Miyuki, and Katsuragi stepped forward to take command of their respective detachments.
"Shino, Mei," Godai Yusuke called out, flashing his trademark warm smile. "You two are with me. We need to calmly escort the civilians back to their quarters and keep them quiet."
With his bright personality, Yusuke had naturally become a favorite among the village elders and children. Shino, however, just scratched the back of his head and let out a heavy sigh.
"Man, I really thought being a majestic Rider meant fighting monsters," Shino grumbled. "Not helping old ladies cross the hallway and playing babysitter."
Yusuke chuckled, clapping a reassuring hand onto Shino's shoulder. "Every single citizen is a treasure we swore to protect. Don't underestimate the importance of keeping them safe."
Yusuke turned back to the other squad leaders. "I'll leave the exterior patrols to the rest of you."
Michiki waved him off with a dismissive smirk. "You talk too much, Yusuke. Just leave the perimeter to us; we'll make sure nothing breaches the hull."
The remaining four detachments scattered, rapidly taking up defensive positions along the fortress's outer walkways. Despite the looming threat, the Riders moved with precise, disciplined order.
Despite their swift response, the situation remained grim. Manyo's brow was knit so tightly it looked painful.
He was normally a calm, leisurely soul, but the oppressive chakra signatures closing in had him fully on edge. "Three of those four incoming targets are moving at incredible speeds. Can we push the engines any faster?"
Hayato let out a frustrated, helpless groan. "I want to move faster too, Manyo! But this thing is a literal flying mountain. It takes time to spool up!"
Manyo let out a soft, resigned sigh and slowly got to his feet.
Most samurai spent their entire lives chasing glory, desperate to carve a supreme reputation with the blade in their hands. But Manyo knew that giving into such bloodlust only led warriors astray, abandoning benevolence to leave behind a trail of endless hatred.
The gods endowed all living things with flesh and blood to protect them, not to have them slaughtered in pointless sword fights. The blade he carried wasn't meant to be a tool for murder; it was a sword meant to preserve life.
Throughout a samurai's entire existence, there was only one true path worth walking. That was Manyo's unshakeable conviction.
'Lord Mufasa entrusted me with the defense of this fortress,' Manyo thought, his grip tightening on his hilt. 'I will not let it fall.'
He smoothly drew his katana from its scabbard. The polished steel caught the dying sunlight, rippling like clear water.
The Anemo Vision pinned to his scarf pulsed with a faint, rhythmic glow, breathing in sync with the howling gales. Standing at the edge of the high platform, a faint, serene smile graced Manyo's lips.
A sudden, violent gust of wind swept across the deck, whipping his robes and loose hair wildly into the air.
"I will stall them," Manyo called out over his shoulder. "Everyone, stay on high alert!"
Borne aloft by the fierce updraft, Manyo drifted into the darkening sky like a weightless autumn leaf. Within seconds, his silhouette shrank to a tiny speck before completely vanishing into the thick cloud cover.
In the blink of an eye, he broke through the canopy of clouds, hovering high above the Earth as the freezing winds violently rattled his clothes.
The boundless, churning ocean stretched out infinitely below him. To the west, the setting sun bled across the horizon, dyeing the sky in bruised shades of violet and burning crimson.
The warm, orange-red light rippled beautifully across the cresting waves, painting a breathtaking, magnificent portrait of nature.
'What a beautiful world,' Manyo mused silently.
He tore his gaze away from the sunset, locking his eyes straight ahead. Three terrifyingly fast black silhouettes were tearing through the sky directly toward him.
Manyo took a deep breath and projected his voice, infusing his chakra into the very air around him. "Halt your advance! Sunagakure airspace lies ahead. Proceeding is extremely dangerous."
The gale-force winds caught his warning, violently amplifying his words until they echoed like thunder across the empty sky.
"Halt your advance! Sunagakure airspace lies ahead. Proceeding is extremely dangerous!"