"Let's move," Naruto said flatly, golden eyes narrowing as he motioned for Orochimaru to follow.
The sannin's lips curved, tongue flicking across his teeth. "Of course, Naruto-kun."
Together, they advanced deeper into the hollow core of the moon. Pale light spilled across the stone corridors, walls carved with patterns that shimmered faintly with chakra. The silence broke when dozens of figures emerged—sleek, humanoid constructs of steel and stone, gliding through the air with unnatural grace.
Orochimaru's pupils dilated. "How fascinating. Puppets… yet no strings? Free movement?" His smile widened, genuine awe twisting into hunger. "This surpasses even Sasori's artistry."
"They're controlled by the Tenseigan's power," Naruto explained calmly. "That's why they can fly and move without chakra threads."
"Mm. As expected of you, Naruto-kun… you always peel back the layers of every secret." Orochimaru's voice was tinged with envy, but also satisfaction—he had chosen the right ally.
Above them, in the palace at the heart of the moon, Toneri Ōtsutsuki's closed lids twitched. Through the Tenseigan's all-seeing perception, he viewed the intruders clearly. Though his eyes were empty, the Tenseigan gave him vision sharper than sight. His voice carried coldly through the leading puppet.
"You dare trespass upon the domain of the Ōtsutsuki. Prepare to be annihilated."
Orochimaru chuckled, low and serpentine. "Self-righteous, arrogant… I do enjoy their type."
Naruto ignored the words. He slammed his palms together. "Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
A concussive roar filled the cavern. Smoke burst outward, and when it cleared, the battlefield swarmed with hundreds of Narutos. The clones surged forward, colliding with the puppet army in an explosion of steel and chakra.
Blades clashed. Metal screeched. Yet the fight was laughably one-sided. Naruto's clones tore through them, fists smashing through reinforced carapaces, Rasengan drilling straight into their cores. In less than a minute, the last puppet collapsed into fragments, scattering across the lunar stone.
Orochimaru licked his lips, disappointed. "So fragile… and yet, the control system fascinates me."
Above, Toneri stiffened. Through the Tenseigan, he had expected his creations to overwhelm these intruders with ease. Instead, his puppets had been crushed like toys.
"So be it," Toneri murmured. "If puppets are not enough, I will descend myself."
He drew upon the Tenseigan's reservoir, its chakra flooding his body. His frame lifted from the palace floor, rising into the air as luminous power cloaked him.
Naruto paused mid-stride, his gaze tilting upward. "He's coming."
Orochimaru glanced sideways. "You sensed him?"
"Hard not to. That chakra is like a lighthouse in the dark." Naruto's expression hardened. "Ōtsutsuki Toneri."
In moments, Toneri appeared before them, descending in a wash of pale light. His face was youthful, aristocratic, but his empty sockets glimmered faintly with the radiance of the Tenseigan's sight.
"No matter how you crawled into this sanctum," he said coldly, "you will not leave alive."
Naruto stepped forward, one hand raised to halt Orochimaru. "This one's mine."
Orochimaru inclined his head, withdrawing without complaint. He knew his own limits—and he was far more interested in observing than interfering.
Toneri raised his hands. A tidal force erupted outward, a blast of repulsion that shattered stone and crushed air.
Shinra Tensei, Naruto realized instantly.
Golden light surged around him as he clasped his hands. His body ignited in a brilliant cloak, the markings of the Nine-Tails' chakra spreading across his frame. The familiar warmth of the fox's power filled him—only now, perfectly tempered, perfectly controlled.
The repulsive force slammed into him, but the fox's chakra head flared into being, jaws snapping shut around the wave. The shock dispersed to either side, tearing apart pillars and walls, but Naruto stood untouched in the glow of the Nine-Tails Chakra Mode.
Orochimaru shielded himself from the backlash, eyes narrowing with delight. "So this is it… Naruto-kun has completely mastered the Nine-Tails. Flawless."
Toneri's mouth twisted. "Impressive, for a mortal without true eyes."
Naruto smirked faintly. "Funny, coming from someone borrowing sight."
Toneri's teeth ground together. He extended his palms, summoning a sphere of brilliant azure chakra. The orb pulsed ominously—Naruto could feel the way it sought to drain him, to strip chakra away.
Naruto's answer was immediate. He poured power into his cloak, the Nine-Tails' form expanding around him until a towering golden fox filled the cavern. The complete Kyūbi, radiant and whole, with both Yin and Yang united, stood in all its might.
Toneri faltered for the briefest moment, awe flickering across his face. "Such… power. Impossible. That chakra exists only in the Tenseigan itself."
The fox's mouth opened. A dense, black sphere condensed, rings of energy spiraling into it. The Super Tailed Beast Ball dwarfed even the fox's head, a miniature sun of annihilation.
"Let's end this quickly," Naruto muttered from within the avatar.
The fox loosed the blast.
The orb screamed through the chamber, obliterating everything in its path. Toneri's hands blurred. He slammed his palms to the ground. "Summoning Jutsu: Ancestor Stone Statue!"
The earth shook. A colossal humanoid figure burst upward, nearly matching the Nine-Tails in size. Its stony form absorbed the impact of the Super Tailed Beast Ball. The explosion swallowed the battlefield in light and sound.
When the smoke cleared, the statue still stood, cracks running through its body—but already, it was knitting itself back together.
Naruto's lips curled. "Troublesome."
From the sidelines, Orochimaru chuckled. "Magnificent… this dwarfs even the legends of Hashirama and Madara. Truly, Naruto-kun is a creature of destiny."
The fox roared, launching a barrage of Tailed Beast Balls, pounding the regenerating statue with relentless force. Each blast shattered stone, only for the fragments to reassemble. For now, it was pinned down.
Meanwhile, Naruto created a clone and broke from the fox's body. Golden flames still clung to him, but his own chakra flared further, red and violet threads weaving into the gold. His body hummed with another rhythm—nature energy infused with the Dragon Vein's timeless flow.
Nine-Tails Chakra Mode fused with Dragon Vein Sage Mode.
The air around him distorted, saturated with power close to the realm of the Sage of Six Paths.
He blurred forward, fist already cocked.
Toneri barely had time to react before Naruto's punch smashed into his face. The Ōtsutsuki heir flew back, crashing into the wall three hundred meters away. Blood streamed down his cheek, spattering the stone.
Toneri staggered upright. The wounds sealed instantly, Tenseigan chakra mending him. His lips peeled back in a snarl. "You dare—!"
But Naruto was already moving again, closing the distance with terrifying speed. Toneri raised his hands, chakra threads lashing out to bind, but Naruto tore through them, his aura overwhelming.
Each exchange drove Toneri further on the defensive. His arrogance faltered, disbelief creeping into his eyes as the intruder from the lower world pressed him harder and harder.
And yet, the glow of the Tenseigan behind him pulsed, answering his desperation. Its power would not abandon him so easily.
The clash between man and moon heir had only just begun.
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