Meanwhile, Naomi, whom Karin was thinking about, was now huddled in the seawater, not daring to move.
Caesar's tragic state before death was still vivid in her mind.
She had also accidentally glanced at the direction of Jashin earlier.
Just that glance filled Naomi's mind with various chaotic noises.
Her originally clear consciousness became muddled again… her body began to slither according to snake instinct.
Just as she might have descended into madness like Caesar, the necklace pendant on her neck suddenly emitted a faint light.
More accurately, it was a fragment of [Pure Gold], no larger than a grain of sand, embedded in the metal pendant.
This tiny piece of Pure Gold was probably the last remaining piece in the world besides the chunk on Master Lantern's head.
It came from Olga's ring.
That very ring kept Olga a child for two hundred years.
After removing this fragment to let Olga grow up healthily, Olga gave it to Karin as a gift.
But Karin's target was the large piece of Pure Gold stored by Acier, so she casually gave this fragment to Naomi.
When receiving the fragment, Naomi's loyalty to Karin immediately rose several levels.
Don't underestimate this tiny Pure Gold… it was enough to extend lifespan.
Of course, what moved Naomi most was that it could keep her youthful for centuries.
What could move a woman more than youth?
Naturally, considering Pure Gold's conspicuousness, Naomi chose to wrap most of it in other metals, leaving only one side in contact with her.
Unexpectedly, this tiny piece of Pure Gold now saved Naomi's life.
The whispers from Jashin seemed to want Naomi's body to melt rapidly like Orochimaru's, but Pure Gold continuously emitted light, forcibly keeping Naomi as she was.
Perhaps the reason Naomi could retain her sanity, becoming what Caesar called a 'heteromorphism', was also inseparable from that small piece of Pure Gold.
...
On Karin's side, after the large number of children escaped, Jashin finally seemed to 'realize' why it couldn't leave.
Thus, the creature turned its abstract, sludge-like head toward Karin.
The golden light stimulated the black sludge on its 'face', causing it to curl back like stimulated octopus tentacles.
—If that could even be called a face.
After the cargo ship left Punk Hazard, Karin also relaxed her restraint on the creature, no longer consuming more mental energy to create chains.
Therefore, the remaining chains decreased at a visible rate.
"The hindering people are gone... Now I can properly deal with you..."
Saying this, Karin vigorously shook her head, trying to shake out the whispers about Jashin from her mind.
Unfortunately, it was utterly futile.
But the good news was that besides making her dizzy and filled with distracting thoughts, these whispers couldn't cause further changes to her body.
The large amount of Pure Gold even allowed Karin's body to remain in the Garuda state continuously… she couldn't cancel it actively herself, let alone these external things.
"You noisy bastard making constant noise, shut up!"
Playing the whisper game in front of her?
Great Virtue: Thunder Cry!
A terrifying sonic boom spread outward from Karin in a fan-shaped area.
In just a few seconds, it swept over everything around.
Glass, stone slabs, even steel, all underwent violent deformation under the substantial sound waves.
Even before absorbing Pure Gold, Karin could use Thunder Cry to detonate the lightning summoned by Mars's Itsumade form.
In her current state, its power increased several times over.
This also owed to Karin's foresight… otherwise, just this large-range sonic attack would be enough to wipe out those children along with the CP0 trio.
After the sound waves, the ground looked as if plowed by some spherical object.
The ships at the dock that hadn't left shattered under the terrifying sonic impact; even the seawater was lifted, only crashing back ashore a few seconds later.
"..."
Jashin's 'hehe' sounds also stopped, and the whispers flooding Karin's mind paused briefly for a few seconds.
'Effective.'
But immediately after, the creature seemed to trigger another set of action mechanisms, its figure abruptly closing in on Karin.
Sizzle!
Wind blades that could easily cut through a large ship were utterly useless against the sludge-like creature.
Even the indestructible sharp metallic feathers were equally ineffective.
Jashin seemed completely unharmed by physical means.
The huge black humanoid figure bowed like a ninety-degree bend, arms and head dripping various black, sticky substances.
Karin wanted to dodge, but the black figure seemed 'bound' to her… no matter where she moved, it maintained a fixed distance.
Even Karin's attempts to immobilize it with chains became ineffective.
Moreover, this distance continuously decreased under the shadow's actions… some of the tentacle-like black sludge had already touched Karin's body.
'How could this be?'
Karin seemed unable to understand why moves that worked just now were useless.
She couldn't help but feel a trace of panic.
'If I die here, I'll never see Naruto-san again, right?'
...
There was another person more anxious than Karin.
That was Otsutsuki Momoshiki, trapped within her spirit.
Of course, actually, a few minutes ago, he wasn't like this.
"Hmm? What's this?"
Momoshiki, bound by Purifying Lock, seemed used to this immobile life. Just as he prepared to rest, he suddenly discovered an 'alien object' in Karin's mental space.
It was a black, tentacle-like substance.
'Seriously, what did this lower life form stuff into its brain again?'
Momoshiki thought angrily.
After the other fused with that golden, shiny thing, this space turned from his preferred deep red to a blinding gold, forcing him to adapt for a long time.
Now this thing appeared...
Although unsure what the tentacles were, Momoshiki's 'higher being' instinct warned him it was dangerous.
Connecting his consciousness to the chains binding him, Momoshiki looked outside through Karin's body.
—Yes, he could always observe the outside, somewhat similar to Kurama.
But he wouldn't easily do anything to influence Karin... even if he could break free from his shackles.
Not because he was tamed, but because every time he tried to cause trouble, the result was being caught by Karin and bound in even more humiliating ways.
Who knows where she learned such things!
It made it hard to maintain his dignity as a higher being.
In contrast, ordinary restraints like now were best.
Though lacking freedom, at least dignity was preserved.
But when he 'looked' outside, he found Karin as if soul-less, standing dazedly in place, letting the black sludge that looked like nothing good approach her.
The sludge monster's tentacles had already penetrated Karin's body, approaching her spiritual realm.
The tiny tentacles appearing in this space were manifestations of that thing.
"Hey! Woman!"
"Lower life form!"
"Single loser!"
…
No matter what Momoshiki shouted, Karin remained deaf, still in a daze.
"This stupid lower life form! So easily controlled!?"
Though unclear about Jashin's nature, as a member of the Otsutsuki Clan who roamed the stars, Momoshiki had encountered many life forms not existing in the Ninja World.
He had also encountered non-physical entities like Jashin.
'Should I let this foolish woman die, then possess and revive according to the original plan?'
This thought was rejected before it fully formed.
If it were when he first implanted the Kama, Momoshiki could have done that.
But after Karin nearly exhausted her life force and died, forcing him to take over the body and fuse with it, that method became impossible.
Now, Momoshiki and Karin shared life and death.
If Karin died, he would die too.
Physically.
Watching the increasing black tentacles, Momoshiki's eye twitched. Finally, as if giving up, he suddenly shouted.
"Bastard! You owe me one this time!"
Shouting, he reached out, grasping the chains binding him.
The next moment, Karin in the real world abruptly opened her eyes. The golden light in her eye sockets vanished, replaced by two yellow Rinnegan!