In the core of the battlefield, the partially weakened Ōtsutsuki Isshiki was being toyed with repeatedly by Momoshiki.
Once a glorious figure, the current Isshiki was nothing more than a wreck — a former god whose divine power had been lost, whose body hadn't even fully recovered.
The only abilities he could now wield were the chakra black rods, the weapons pre-stored in the Daikokuten, and the technique Sukunahikona.
These abilities had long been familiar to Momoshiki, who had seen them listed among the external operations of the Ōtsutsuki clan even before he arrived in the shinobi world.
Moreover, as a top-tier member of the younger generation of the Ōtsutsuki clan, Momoshiki held a near-certain status as the next cultivable god.
His power had already surpassed veterans like Kinshiki, lacking only in raw physical strength.
So when facing the heavily injured Isshiki, he was completely at ease. Not only did he refrain from using his true strength, but he even treated Isshiki as a mere whetstone to sharpen his own taijutsu, suppressing him from all directions.
Isshiki attempted to ambush him with a black rod, only for it to be absorbed effortlessly by Momoshiki's crimson Rinnegan in both hands.
Even the vast array of weapons stored in Daikokuten proved useless, instead being rebounded by Momoshiki using Takamimusubinokami with amplified force, forcing Isshiki to dodge in disgrace.
Even Sukunahikona had little effect on Momoshiki.
After all, every member of the Ōtsutsuki clan possessed powerful sensory abilities. Momoshiki, as a prioritized elite, even had four eyes.
Isshiki had no chance of launching a surprise attack.
Even when he lost the will to fight and tried to shrink his body and flee, Momoshiki froze time with his Rinnegan before he could escape.
"It's over!"
Isshiki was struck with dread. Just as he shrank his body, he was frozen in place, captured by Momoshiki like a toy in his grasp.
Crimson light blazed from Momoshiki's palms. The immobilized Isshiki was directly transmuted into a pill with bare hands.
This traitor, once a god, was now to become a mere component of power for the elite youth of the Ōtsutsuki clan.
And by consuming the pill, Momoshiki could even acquire Isshiki's divine technique — Sukunahikona!
This was a complete and utter theft of Isshiki's power. Even if Isshiki attempted to reincarnate through his Kāma seal, he would return only as a blank-slate Ōtsutsuki — destined to be dragged back to Takamagahara to face the clan's judgment!
...
"We're all from the shinobi world! Let's move together!"
At that moment, one of the test subjects drained by Urashiki — with Isshiki's Kāma — suddenly awakened. His seal began to thaw.
Cornered, Isshiki was forced to forcibly revive himself. Even though it meant he could no longer reclaim his Ōtsutsuki body, survival was the only path left.
At the same time, he cried out to the high-ranking shinobi who had just arrived, pleading for aid — hoping they would interrupt the alchemical refining process.
Although most of the powerhouses present had planned to sit back and let the two Ōtsutsuki tear each other apart — ideally wiping out both the Kara organization and the alien invaders at once — the current situation showed the alien Ōtsutsuki clearly held the upper hand.
If this continued, with Isshiki defeated, the shinobi world would be left helpless, ripe for the taking.
The elite shinobi present had all once held high posts — even former Kage. They understood all too well.
A being like Momoshiki, descending upon the world, wasn't here just to hunt Isshiki. His ultimate goal was no doubt to transform the world into a resource planet — or outright colonize it.
They had reason to believe this — several great nations had already done the same elsewhere.
So what would a far more powerful Ōtsutsuki — someone who could wipe out a nation alone — do?
The Ōtsutsuki were not shinobi. They were aliens. They weren't bound by missions, money, or even the ideology of the shinobi way...
If they allowed Isshiki to be completely erased here, then who among them could stop Momoshiki and the others?
Naruto and Sasuke?
Hardly. Outside of Konoha, few would believe so. The current shinobi world, though seemingly at peace, was fragmented. Every village nursed its own ambitions.
Naruto and Sasuke were too famous, too uncontrollable — and from Konoha. Supporting them didn't serve anyone else's interests.
But if they could rescue Isshiki now, then perhaps they could recruit him — using the life-saving favor and a promise to help restore his strength as leverage — bringing him into their own fold.
It could serve as a counterbalance against Konoha.
As for Neji, who had driven off Urashiki — yes, his strength was formidable.
But he wasn't a shinobi. His cultivation in the Breathing Art of the Sage Path was inherently incompatible with ninjutsu. Betting on him would be tantamount to inviting ruin for the major powers whose foundations lay in ninjutsu.
Such a shift would be even worse than an Ōtsutsuki colonization!
At least under Ōtsutsuki rule, they could maintain their elevated status above commoners through their secret ninjutsu arts — the only change would be a new overlord bearing the name Ōtsutsuki.
But if they embraced the Breathing Art of the Sage Path, they would be abandoning all they'd built — treating centuries of ninjutsu heritage as nothing, starting over from scratch, shoulder to shoulder with ordinary people digging in fields or fishing in streams.
The rigid, decaying system of shinobi villages would be trampled beneath the wheels of history.
These elite parasites, whose entire status and livelihood were tied to the shinobi village structure, would lose everything — their positions, their prestige, even their lives.
That was a fate worse than Ōtsutsuki rule — and one they would not accept.
Fortunately, the samurai troops from the Land of Iron — trained in the Breathing Art and led by the old Sword Saint and Mifune — arrived just in time, halting those who had intended to take down Neji first.
Still, some could not resist the chance to win over Isshiki — and launched an attack on Momoshiki.
Countless ninja tools and jutsu flew through the air.
Yet Ōtsutsuki Momoshiki remained utterly contemptuous.
"To think these natives squabble over loot before the battle even begins..."
Their attacks were equally chaotic and disorganized.
Pathetic. A bunch of half-evolved monkeys.
Did they really think that just because they had chakra, they could challenge the Ōtsutsuki?
Shinra Tensei!
With one hand, Momoshiki unleashed Shinra Tensei, instantly repelling all attacks.
With the other, he continued to emit red flames, using 〖Chakra Edible Creation〗 to refine Isshiki's power.
Unlike Kinshiki — who was Momoshiki's most loyal old servant, and would die without complaint even if his death served no purpose — Isshiki was different.
He had once held the pride of a god. He had been one of the elite Ōtsutsuki, even daring to covet the power of the Ōtsutsuki god.
He was a pure-blooded, ambitious schemer.
So before Momoshiki could fully erase Isshiki's will, transforming him into a pill would still require considerable effort.
The 〖Chakra Edible Creation〗 process could not be interrupted!
...
But the previously repelled shinobi surged forward once more.
Shinra Tensei, after all, was a defensive jutsu. It wasn't particularly lethal.
So Momoshiki created a Black Receiver and shaped it into a half-body shield, wrapping both his left hand — which was still refining Isshiki — and the partially pillified Isshiki within.
His remaining right hand began constructing energy-based lifeforms!
A blazing phoenix and a horde of serpent-bodied, dragon-headed energy beasts materialized, immediately launching attacks on the shinobi around them. They unleashed condensed chakra beams of terrifying power.
Each strike matched the level of a Kage's attack — but was faster, more precise, and harder to dodge.
This was a combat style unique to the Ōtsutsuki clan — not like the crude techniques of shinobi, who relied on bloodline blessings to barely wield chakra.
In the sky, a massive bird formed of Fire Release spiraled above, raining down a storm of fire and impact blasts like falling meteors.
The path to Momoshiki was now blocked by giant serpents with impenetrable bodies — a single sweep of their tails triggered destructive shockwaves like crumbling mountains.
----------------
Fanfic is finished on Patreon (324 chapters in total.)
Patreon(.)com/Jixo (for only $4.50, read this entire fanfic)