Otsutsuki Momoshiki and Otsutsuki Kinshiki, these two had a relationship somewhat similar to Isshiki and Kaguya in the past.
One was the master.
The other was the servant.
But unlike Kaguya, Kinshiki was utterly loyal to Momoshiki, having served by his side for thousands of years without wavering.
As for why these two suddenly came all this way…
It was inseparable from Toneri, who chased the sun.
Isshiki and Kaguya had come to the ninja world to carry out a mission and had not returned to this day, which had already aroused suspicion within the Otsutsuki clan.
It's just that everyone was busy and had no time to bother with the two of them.
However, Ryosuke's battle with Toneri on the moon caught Momoshiki's attention. He sensed that something was off in the ninja world.
"Isshiki, always with that stiff face, fancying himself clever."
"And Kaguya, an exceptionally rare idiot of a woman."
Momoshiki didn't know what exactly had happened in the ninja world, but he decided to take a look. If something really had gone wrong on Isshiki and Kaguya's side…
That would be wonderful.
Momoshiki would just swoop in and reap the benefits.
As for the God Tree, who cares who planted it?
He didn't mind eating one more God Tree fruit.
So Momoshiki and Kinshiki arrived first at Kaguya's ice space to see if they could find any clues, and that was when they ran into Sakamoto's team, who were there on an exploration mission.
Nakajima Daishi's smile froze. He took half a step back.
"This is… an Otsutsuki?!"
'Are you kidding me?!'
The issue of Otsutsuki Isshiki was still hanging over the research institute and hadn't been resolved yet, and now more had come, two of them.
As a researcher, Nakajima Daishi knew very well how powerful beings like the Otsutsuki were. He was one of the participants in the "Kill Isshiki: Sun Plan."
This was an opponent even Ryosuke couldn't kill.
Even now, Ryosuke still hadn't received a system notification saying he had "defeated" Otsutsuki Isshiki.
Because according to the system's judgment, Isshiki hadn't lost, he still had combat power and was merely being temporarily suppressed.
It was like two warriors locked in a blade struggle, one pressing the other down slightly… could that be called a loss?
It was just that Ryosuke and Isshiki's struggle had dragged on for a very long time.
Back to the two Otsutsuki in front of them.
'Ryosuke one-on-one can suppress Isshiki, but what about one-on-two?'
'If Ryosuke gets tied down by these two Otsutsuki, his suppression of Isshiki will inevitably become unstable. If Otsutsuki Isshiki breaks free of the Ripple seal, completes his reincarnation, and escapes…'
'That'll be one-on-three!'
'Even Ryosuke wouldn't be able to withstand an assault from three Otsutsuki members without preparation and without senjutsu chakra.'
This was true despair.
In an instant, Nakajima Daishi grasped the key point, "We must get the news out immediately!"
Let Ryosuke, no, let everyone, prepare for battle in advance. Only then would there be a chance to survive this crisis.
He shot his companions a look.
'Run!'
'Run now!'
As long as they escaped, they could set up a simple spatial gate and return to the ninja world.
Someone had just taken one step...
BOOM!
An axe blazing with crimson light flew over and smashed three companions into a bloody pulp.
Otsutsuki Kinshiki raised his hand, and the axe formed of crimson light returned to his grasp.
This was Kinshiki's signature weapon, which could change into various forms depending on the battlefield situation.
Seeing half of his team die in an instant, Sakamoto's eyes went bloodshot.
"F*ck your mother."
He drew his ninja blade and charged at Otsutsuki Kinshiki, shouting to Nakajima Daishi and the other survivors, "You go first! I'll hold them off!"
Hearing that, even the usually stone-faced Kinshiki laughed. He kicked out, shattering Sakamoto's abdominal cavity.
Sakamoto was sent flying, tumbling down along the ice mountain, and soon vanished from sight.
As the master, Momoshiki had no desire whatsoever to converse with lower lifeforms. He waved his hand, signaling Kinshiki to deal with it, then turned and prepared to fly toward Kaguya's ice palace.
At that moment...
"Lord Otsutsuki! I've finally been waiting for you!"
Nakajima Daishi dropped to his knees with a thud and shouted, "The ninja world has suffered under Ryosuke for far too long! It's just a pity that Lord Toneri and Lord Isshiki were both trapped and harmed by Ryosuke's schemes."
"Now that the two of you have arrived, justice has returned, and the ninja world will finally know peace!"
Momoshiki looked directly at Nakajima Daishi for the first time.
"Oh?"
Nakajima Daishi embellished his account of Ryosuke's battles with Toneri and Isshiki for Momoshiki, then concluded, "Ryosuke is extremely weak. His only strength lies in his many tricks. He stole the Otsutsuki's control over the world."
"If you ask me, there's no need for both lords to act together. Just one of you could easily behead Ryosuke."
"And it just so happens that today, all the powerful figures of the ninja world will be forced by Ryosuke's tyranny to gather in Kirigakure to celebrate. You could kill Ryosuke right at the ceremony and let the world witness the might of the Otsutsuki."
This was Nakajima Daishi's last-ditch plan.
Just because he was a researcher didn't mean he didn't understand human nature.
At a glance, Nakajima Daishi saw the hierarchical relationship between the two, as well as Momoshiki's personality, prouder than Isshiki, utterly viewing humans as insects.
With that kind of personality and power, there was no way he'd lie low in the ninja world for years like Isshiki.
The only possibility was this, the two in front of him had just arrived in the ninja world.
Nakajima Daishi swallowed.
"Since you look down on humans, then look down on them a little more."
As long as he could fool Momoshiki and create a chance for Ryosuke to fight one Otsutsuki one-on-one, this battle could still be fought.
Otherwise, one-on-two was truly impossible.
Thinking this, Nakajima Daishi maintained a devout expression.
Suddenly...
Slash! Slash!
Two heads were cut off, and the last two remaining companions were killed.
Of the seven-person team, only Nakajima Daishi remained kneeling on the ground. Everyone else lay in pools of blood.
"How many hours until the ceremony you mentioned?" Momoshiki asked.
Nakajima Daishi glanced at his watch.
"Nine hours."
"Good. Then lead the way."
Momoshiki stood with his hands behind his back and glanced at Nakajima Daishi.
"In nine hours, we'll go kill Ryo… forget it. No matter what his name is, I'll kill him with my own hands."
Nakajima Daishi's heart sank.
The plan to split them up had failed.
Fortunately, the two Otsutsuki truly believed Ryosuke was very weak… or perhaps, in their eyes, all beings in the ninja world were weak.
In any case…
He cast one last glance toward the foot of the snow mountain.
"It's up to you, Sakamoto."
———
Below the snow mountain, Sakamoto pinned himself to the ice with a kunai, a healing potion mixed with pearl jam clenched between his teeth, letting his intestines and organs slide downward along the ice.
He couldn't care about that anymore.
He had to get the message out.
Sakamoto bit his finger and slammed his palm onto the ice.
Due to interference from the other dimension, the summoning technique was extremely unstable. It took nearly five full minutes before it was barely completed.
With a puff, a small ninja mouse appeared.
Field operatives habitually signed contracts with ninja mice, making it easier to relay intelligence promptly to the intelligence department centered on Kamihara Hayato.
As soon as it appeared, the little ninja mouse began shivering from the cold, with thick snot running from its tiny nostrils.
"Quick… quickly go inform Kamihara Hayato…"
"Two Otsutsuki have arrived in the ninja world. The newcomers… mean no good!"
The little ninja mouse looked worriedly at Sakamoto.
But it was just a mouse, it couldn't heal, and with the spatial barriers of the other dimension, it was impossible for it to use reverse summoning to bring Sakamoto back.
In the end, it could only salute tearfully before vanishing with a puff.
"I'll leave it to you."
Sakamoto weakly closed his eyes.
The little ninja mouse traveled through the spacetime channel of the summoning technique, and just as it was about to reach the ninja world and arrive at Kirigakure, a spatial distortion appeared. Along with it, a hand covered in snake scales reached out and grabbed the ninja mouse.
"Oh?"
Kabuto Yakushi grinned, the corners of his mouth splitting all the way to his ears.
"Look what I found, a little mouse."
He tossed the ninja mouse behind him, where countless venomous snakes immediately swarmed over it and tore it apart.
Kabuto Yakushi had already completed Sage Transformation. One of his eyes had even turned into a Sharingan, the Kamui Sharingan that belonged to Obito.
And Obito…
He stepped out from beside Kabuto Yakushi. Both of his eyes had been replaced with Rinnegan, and four pitch-black Truth-Seeking Orbs floated behind him.
"Then… let's begin."
Madness shone in Obito's eyes.
"I've come to overturn your rule, Ryosuke!"