Jigen staggered out of the rubble. His gaze was dark and heavy, and his entire demeanor had changed completely.
He could no longer be called Jigen. It was far more accurate to call him Otsutsuki Isshiki.
The moment the second stage of Karma activated, Isshiki's consciousness had completely taken over Jigen's body. Right now, it was Isshiki himself fighting Natsuhiko.
Even so, Isshiki's expression was grim. He had not expected Kaguya's vessel to be this strong.
Natsuhiko had not used much power. The intensity of his chakra was roughly on par with Isshiki's own, yet his methods were far more dangerous.
That spatial-piercing attack had been truly chilling. If Isshiki had not forced the second stage of Karma open and unleashed more power, Jigen's body would have already collapsed, and Isshiki himself would have been forced into automatic revival.
Natsuhiko had not been entirely wrong. Isshiki did have a way to save himself.
What Natsuhiko had not guessed was that the method was not active—it was passive.
If Jigen died, Karma would fully activate on its own and allow Otsutsuki Isshiki to descend completely into this world.
However, this was the last thing Jigen wanted. The body was simply too weak. Even if Isshiki revived in it, he would not have long to live.
As someone whose lifespan was nearly infinite, Isshiki could not accept dying—especially not at the hands of his greatest enemy.
"Buzz!"
A spatial rift resembling a black hole suddenly appeared in front of him. In the next instant, Natsuhiko stepped through.
Isshiki showed no surprise. For an Otsutsuki, this level of spatial ability was nothing unusual.
"It seems your control over space has improved quite a bit over these years."
Still, the way Natsuhiko applied it had left a strong impression. Concentrating power into a single point, hiding it within space itself, and using spatial force to maximize lethality was rare and extremely effective.
Isshiki could do something similar, but achieving it so quickly and precisely was far from simple.
He soon seemed to realize something. His gaze locked onto Natsuhiko's constantly flickering deep blue eyes.
"Is it the power of your eyes? The mutation in your eyes granted you stronger spatial abilities. That power comes from your eyes, correct?"
"Sharp. But this is as far as it goes."
Natsuhiko looked at him with cold indifference and slowly shook his head. The chakra inside his body surged violently.
"I've already seen through your condition. There's only one outcome left for you. You should know that very well."
"Hmph. Still so arrogant."
Isshiki snorted disdainfully. Another black rod appeared in his hand. The violent chakra around him instantly reduced nearby stone fragments to dust.
"Your abilities are strange, but this level is far from enough against me. Neither of us has gone all out yet. I want to see whether these years of being sealed have given you any real growth… or if you're still the same useless sneak attacker you were before!"
The moment his words fell, his figure vanished like a ghost and reappeared behind Natsuhiko.
Natsuhiko could tell the man had traveled directly through space.
The instant he appeared, Isshiki's left hand shot toward Natsuhiko's neck while the black rod in his right hand, glowing with terrifying chakra, stabbed straight at his abdomen.
Everything happened so fast that the attack felt like it had already become reality the moment it was conceived.
But Natsuhiko was no longer the same person he had been. Even when he first rose to prominence, he had been a shinobi skilled at manipulating space. After his Jōgan evolved to the second stage five years ago, his understanding and control of space had grown even stronger.
The attack was troublesome, but it did not frighten him.
Natsuhiko's chakra shifted slightly. In that instant, Isshiki's hand clamped around the back of his neck.
A terrifying suction force erupted from Isshiki's palm. Chakra began pouring out of Natsuhiko's body.
"Your spatial manipulation has improved, but you're still far behind me."
Isshiki's tone had grown even colder. The changes in his body were becoming more pronounced.
The horn on his forehead stood out sharply. The black markings on his face had grown denser. His chakra had become more condensed, proof that he was forcibly controlling and wielding this power through Jigen's body.
No matter how long he could sustain it, he had already reached the point where he could use the power effectively. And because this power originally belonged to him, his mastery over it was flawless.
Spatial abilities were something he had always been exceptionally skilled at. Even now, he wielded them with terrifying precision and without the slightest hesitation.
"It seems your fate has already been decided."
"Is that so?"
Just as Natsuhiko's body was being rapidly drained and withering in Isshiki's grip, a calm voice suddenly rang out behind him.
Isshiki's brow furrowed. The "Natsuhiko" in his hand burst into smoke with a soft "poof," revealing a wooden figure.
"A Wood Clone?"
Isshiki remembered. Indra and Ashura had clashed in the shinobi world for countless years. Even after death, their power continued to reincarnate and oppose each other. As someone who had lived for over a thousand years—most of it in hiding—he still knew many things others had forgotten.
"Correct. It was a Wood Clone."
Natsuhiko answered calmly from behind him. He had already formed hand seals, and violent chakra surged around his body.
"Without your Byakugan, you can't even see through something this simple. That's a little disappointing. Even if you still had the Byakugan, you probably wouldn't have noticed. After all, I mixed Yin-Yang Release into it. Are you ready for what comes next?"
Since Otsutsuki Isshiki had not fully revived, the body he currently inhabited naturally lacked the Byakugan. For the Otsutsuki clan, the Byakugan was indispensable. In high-level battles, its absence was a massive handicap. They had long grown accustomed to relying on it, and their usage far surpassed anything the Hyūga clan could achieve.
Natsuhiko was also correct about the Yin-Yang Release infusion. Even the Byakugan would not have instantly seen through it.
What Natsuhiko did not know was that in the original timeline, the fully revived version of the man before him had once been completely fooled by a smoke bomb and a Shadow Clone. For an Otsutsuki, that would have been almost unbelievable.
Isshiki let out a cold snort. The Wood Clone in his hand crumbled into splinters. A flash of anger crossed his eyes.
He had been played like this once before, and it had cost him dearly. To be tricked by the same person again was intolerable.
He spread his hands. Vast chakra erupted from his body. In the next moment, Natsuhiko felt an extreme threat.
Two tiny black spikes infused with Yin-Yang Release shot toward him at incredible speed.
To Natsuhiko's Jōgan, their size appeared normal, but in reality they were so small they were nearly invisible to the naked eye.
"Size manipulation?"
Natsuhiko raised an eyebrow. His eyes shifted slightly, and the space in front of him twisted. The black spikes were redirected before they could reach him and flew straight back toward Isshiki.
Natsuhiko did not consider that enough. He poured more chakra into his eyes. The space around them grew even more distorted yet strangely ordered.
He was attempting to seize control of this small patch of space through his own power.
Isshiki was too dangerous. Natsuhiko had seen black rods like these before—Obito and Nagato could both use them—but Isshiki combined them with spatial travel and the ability to shrink objects. If one of those rods reached him and suddenly enlarged, defense would become nearly impossible.
Even though Natsuhiko could see both the normal and shrunken sizes with his eyes, coordinating his position and reactions in real time would be extremely troublesome.
Instead, he chose to alter the flow of space itself to protect the area around him. That was the most practical solution.
He had no desire to be stabbed by something like that. Even if it wouldn't kill him, he absolutely did not want to experience it. If one of those rods struck his heart, even he would be finished.
When facing unfamiliar or difficult combat, he would rather pay some cost than gamble with his life.
At that moment, overwhelming spatial pressure began crushing down on Isshiki from all directions.
Isshiki's brows furrowed under the terrifying pressure. Moving became difficult, and the black spikes he had released could no longer reach Natsuhiko.
The oppression was suffocating. Even with the second stage of Karma active, Isshiki struggled to adapt.
He let out a low grunt and forced more chakra through his body. Despite the pressure, he began to move.
Strange black rods flashed into existence from every direction, seemingly aimed at Natsuhiko, yet they twisted and stopped in midair as though absorbed by invisible black holes. No matter how hard they strained forward, they could not touch him.
Isshiki's chakra grew even more intense. He suddenly raised both hands, and an invisible shockwave spread outward.
The space around Natsuhiko became disordered. Tiny black holes appeared at the tips of the black rods, allowing their sharp ends to reach just in front of Natsuhiko's body.
This was an invisible contest for control over space. Within this confined area, both sides fought desperately to claim absolute dominance.
"Not bad."
Natsuhiko's lips curved slightly. Azure chakra now covered his entire body.
"Your control over space is quite good… but that's all it is. If this is the extent of your ability, then I'm going to be disappointed."
He spoke slowly. With every word, the chakra erupting from his body grew even more exaggerated.
When he finished speaking, the rules within the space changed once again under an indescribable force.
The black rods suddenly twisted violently and, in the next instant, all disappeared from around Natsuhiko.
Isshiki's expression changed. The result of that distortion was the appearance of several tiny black holes around him. The very black rods he had created shot back through those holes, straight toward him.
"Such powerful chakra. Such powerful spatial control. Has this bastard really pushed space manipulation this far in a thousand years?"
Isshiki could clearly feel that the rules of the space around them had been slightly altered. To put it bluntly, this patch of space had been completely seized by Natsuhiko the moment his chakra erupted.
Such high-level, precise control was beyond anything Isshiki had expected.
He was certain that in his current state, he had no chance against this kind of effortless spatial dominance.
"And the spatial pressure is only getting stronger. This guy is nothing but trouble. He can slightly manipulate the rules inside the space. The only way to deal with him is to break his control over this specific area first. In that case…"
Isshiki's black rod suddenly glowed with red light.
Although Jigen was still an ordinary human, his body was now under Otsutsuki Isshiki's control. As the battle intensified, it was becoming difficult to tell whether Jigen was still the one fighting or whether Isshiki had completely erased his will.
Isshiki had always viewed Natsuhiko as Kaguya's "vessel." In his eyes, Natsuhiko was essentially Kaguya herself. He would not allow even the slightest carelessness.
A thousand years ago, a moment of carelessness had led to his current miserable state.
Even if humans were creatures that repeated the same mistakes, Isshiki had the motivation of deep hatred. He would not fall into that same mindset again.
Facing the black rods rushing toward him and the crushing spatial pressure, he took a deep breath.
In the next moment, red chakra flared along his black rod. Ignoring the rods coming at him, he swung his own rod forward with full force—not at Natsuhiko, but directly at the space in front of him.
"Buzz!"
A dull, heavy sound exploded beside both their ears. The silent yet piercing noise felt like it could crush their souls.
It was as if an iron rod had struck directly against their skulls—muffled, oppressive, and painful.
That single strike caused the space around Natsuhiko to become even more chaotic. The black rods were swallowed into the spatial turbulence.
With a second strike, the space around them shattered like glass.
Extreme disorder and chaos flooded the entire area. Neither of them could maintain control over the space anymore.
"This guy…"
Natsuhiko had not expected Isshiki to destroy the current space so directly. The destruction was extremely dangerous for both of them.
Fighting inside such chaotic space carried the risk of being pulled into another dimension with even the slightest mistake.
This man was a complete madman. Natsuhiko had never seen such reckless behavior before, and the worst part was that he had no way to stop it. While he was busy controlling space, he had no spare attention to counter this kind of violent method.
He had not thought Isshiki would act so crudely, almost as if he were willing to perish together.
Still, Natsuhiko remained calm. His eyes possessed the power to manipulate space. He refused to believe he could not eventually find his own way out, just as Obito once had.
"You can't control space anymore, can you?"
Isshiki seemed completely unconcerned about their current situation. Small wounds had appeared on his body, clearly caused by spatial fragments. Natsuhiko had also sustained a few minor injuries. Under such violent methods, even he had been unable to escape unscathed.
"In this kind of chaotic space, I don't know how much I can do. But I know your situation doesn't look very optimistic either."
Natsuhiko stared coldly at Isshiki, his gaze particularly focused on the strange iron plate on the man's abdomen.
Although their fight had not looked especially intense on the surface, its true strength was unimaginable.
During this high-level clash of chakra, Natsuhiko had noticed the problem with Isshiki's body. Cracks had already appeared on the iron plate covering his abdomen.
Natsuhiko did not know what the plate signified, but he could clearly sense how terrible Isshiki's physical condition had become.
At this rate, the body would be completely spent within a few minutes.
The worse the body became, the more obvious the cracks on the iron plate grew. It was clearly serving as some kind of warning device.
"Even if things are bad, dealing with you is still no problem. This spatial chaos will last at least ten minutes or more. I admit you gave me a huge surprise. But without the help of spatial power, can you survive these ten minutes?"
Isshiki shook his head indifferently, as though he did not care what happened to this body at all.
He slightly raised his head. Violent chakra surged once more. In Natsuhiko's eyes, the silhouette of Otsutsuki Isshiki behind him grew even clearer.
"I admit that if this continues, this body will die, and I'll be forced to accept revival through it. Finding a suitable body during the short revival period won't be easy. I might even have to sleep for another thousand years. But at least you'll be dead. Because without you, nothing else matters to me."
Isshiki's words were filled with bitter hatred. With every sentence, more cracks spread across the iron plate on his abdomen.
It was clear he had made up his mind. He intended to fight Natsuhiko to the death, no matter the cost.
Natsuhiko had gained another important piece of information. This man was exactly as he had suspected.
Although Isshiki's revival would be troublesome for Natsuhiko, the man's own situation seemed even worse.
"But how long is this 'short revival period'? A few hours? A few days? Or even months?"
This information was extremely important to Natsuhiko. The length of the revival window would have a massive impact on his plans.
Still, with this new knowledge, Natsuhiko felt even more confident about defeating the man.
If he truly could not win, he would simply drag the fight out until the space recovered, leave a mark on Isshiki, and escape. He refused to believe that even if he could not defeat this Otsutsuki right now, he could not deal with whatever successor received the Karma later.
In the worst case, he could simply wait until Isshiki's lifespan ran out and then kill the successor. Would that not count as eliminating Otsutsuki Isshiki?
That was only the last resort, however. If possible, Natsuhiko still preferred to end the battle here and now.
This opponent was far more troublesome than he had imagined, but they had already come this far. There was no turning back.