Chapter 245:
A spatial tunnel opened at the top floor of the underwater great prison.
"Sasuke, be careful…"
Naruto, who happened to step out alongside Sasuke, bumped right into Mitsuki. The moment was awkward, but fortunately, no one else was present besides the three of them.
"Mitsuki, long time no see."
Naruto was the first to break the ice and greeted Mitsuki.
"Mm."
Mitsuki simply nodded, seeming a bit withdrawn.
"How have you been lately, Mitsuki?"
"I've been alright." Mitsuki looked at Naruto and Sasuke and continued, "You're here to rescue those villagers, aren't you?"
"Yeah." When the topic turned to the villagers, the smile on Naruto's face faded. "Mitsuki, where are the villagers being held?"
"Down below. You can take the elevator to reach them. But down there, they're fully guarded by S.H.I.E.L.D.'s scientific ninja tools. Unfortunately, I don't control those tools. So if you want to save the villagers, you'll have to take care of them first."
"Got it. Thanks, Mitsuki," Naruto said to him.
"Also, to avoid blowing my cover within S.H.I.E.L.D., we'll need to stage a fight."
As Mitsuki finished speaking, four crimson, conical kagune tails extended from his back and shot toward Naruto and Sasuke. However, both of them dodged effortlessly using Body Flicker, and cracks began to form in the ground where the kagune tails struck.
"If that's how it has to be, then so be it."
Having dodged, Naruto looked at Mitsuki with a confident smile and instantly entered Sage Fox Mode.
In a flash, he appeared right in front of Mitsuki.
But the single-eyed, crimson-gazed Mitsuki seemed to anticipate this. He spun around, using the movement of his kagune to swat Naruto away.
Just then, Sasuke followed up with an attack, his Kusanagi Sword crackling with lightning as he slashed vertically at Mitsuki—but Mitsuki evaded with a nimble backflip.
At that moment, Naruto had also climbed back to his feet.
"Looks like I'll need to get serious…" Naruto clasped his hands into a seal. "Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
Ten shadow clones appeared beside Naruto.
"Shadow clones, huh…"
The ten clones charged directly at Mitsuki.
Using his elbows, knees, fists—every part of his body—Mitsuki struck down each charging clone one by one, turning them into puffs of white smoke.
Right after that, Sasuke lunged forward with the Kusanagi Sword again, engaging Mitsuki in close combat.
After exchanging blows, Sasuke saw an opening as both sides momentarily paused their attacks. He suddenly activated his Rinnegan ability.
"Amenotejikara!"
Sasuke swapped places with Naruto.
"Rasengan!"
Catching Mitsuki off guard, Naruto's sudden appearance forced Mitsuki to retreat awkwardly. His four kagune tails quickly moved to shield him from the attack.
"Big Ball Rasengan!"
Naruto's Rasengan grew in size, but still couldn't break through the kagune defense.
"Super Big Ball Rasengan!"
The Rasengan expanded even more, pushing Mitsuki back step by step under its force.
…
As Mitsuki collapsed to the ground unconscious, Naruto adjusted his breathing and said to Sasuke, "Let's go, Sasuke."
"…Wait, Naruto."
Sasuke suddenly called out, eyes fixed on the motionless Mitsuki.
"What is it, Sasuke?"
Just as Naruto spoke, Mitsuki suddenly rose to his feet in one fluid motion. Two horns sprouted from his head, and strange markings appeared across his face.
"That's… the Ōtsutsuki clan's Kāma form!"
Naruto stared at Mitsuki, whose body had begun to change.
"He's lost control! Naruto, be careful—"
Before Sasuke could finish, Mitsuki vanished from sight. He reappeared next to Naruto and punched him in the gut, sending him flying.
"Damn it!"
Sasuke reacted immediately, slashing at Mitsuki with the Kusanagi Sword—but the blade was caught by Mitsuki's kagune, and in the next instant, Mitsuki landed a kick squarely into Sasuke's stomach, knocking him into the just-recovered Naruto and sending both of them sprawling.
Standing still, Mitsuki habitually cracked his knuckles.
"You okay, Naruto?"
"Yeah, Sasuke, my body's tough," Naruto said, patting his chest.
"…Not just faster, but stronger too. He may even have gained the ability to absorb ninjutsu. Naruto, what do we do now?" Sasuke analyzed while staring at Mitsuki.
"Looks like taijutsu is our only option…"
Naruto and Sasuke exchanged glances and simultaneously charged at Mitsuki.
"Rasengan!"
Naruto launched a Rasengan, and Mitsuki raised his patterned right hand to absorb the technique.
"So he really can absorb it… but…"
Naruto continued feeding chakra into the Rasengan to maintain it, while casting a glance at Sasuke.
The two of them had fought enough Ōtsutsuki to know their weakness—during ninjutsu absorption, their movements were limited.
However, Mitsuki wasn't a typical Ōtsutsuki. He was also a ghoul.
Taking advantage of Mitsuki's brief vulnerability, Sasuke moved in—but his attack was still blocked by Mitsuki's kagune.
"Naruto!"
Hearing Sasuke's warning, Naruto and Sasuke quickly pulled back.
"Sasuke, we can't drag this out. You go rescue the villagers and get them back to the other dimension. I'll hold off the rampaging Mitsuki."
Naruto spoke firmly.
"Naruto…"
"Don't worry, Sasuke. I'm a Jinchūriki. I can take a beating and still stand."
Naruto reassured him.
Sasuke looked at Naruto for a moment, then nodded and turned toward the elevator.
"Your opponent is me!"
As Mitsuki moved to stop Sasuke, Naruto struck first, grabbing Mitsuki with a claw of the Nine Tails to hold him back.
Watching Sasuke disappear into the elevator, Mitsuki turned back to Naruto and instantly appeared before his face.
"This time, I won't let you succeed!"
Naruto crossed his arms to block the blow—he managed to stop it, but was still sent staggering back.
"Hurry up, Sasuke…"
Naruto gave a wry smile, feeling the pain spreading through his arms that had just absorbed Mitsuki's strike.
Even with the durability of a Jinchūriki, Naruto was starting to feel the strain from Mitsuki's attacks.