"Namikaze Kirito… I will admit this much."
The Sage of Six Paths slowly raised his head.
"To reach this level in such a short time… your talent is beyond ordinary reason."
His expression twisted.
"But before the will of a higher dimension, before the law that governs this world… you are still nothing more than an insect."
Madness flickered across the Sage's face.
That alone was wrong.
No matter how far Hagoromo had fallen, the Sage of Six Paths should never have worn such an expression.
And because of that, Kirito's guess became even clearer.
The thing speaking through him was not truly Hagoromo anymore.
It was the will that had been hiding behind him.
A remnant connected to Shibai Ōtsutsuki.
Kirito's eyes narrowed slightly, but the smile on his face did not fade.
"What a grand way to talk."
He took one step forward.
"Even if I really am an insect compared to the sky… with that body you're using now, do you honestly think you can erase me?"
The Sage's expression suddenly went cold.
"So you noticed."
Kirito said nothing.
The Sage's body was only a vessel.
No matter how high the will behind him stood, it had already forced itself into a living form by using Hagoromo's chakra and remnant consciousness.
And the moment it did that, it could no longer interfere with the world freely through its true body.
Life had limitations.
Even a god could not escape them after stepping into a vessel.
It was like Kaguya creating a gravity dimension.
The space belonged to her, yet the moment she entered it, she still had to bear its gravity.
Rules were rules.
Even the one who created them could be bound by them.
"You are correct," the Sage said coldly. "With this body alone, I cannot kill you through ordinary means."
His fingers tightened around the black staff.
"But Namikaze Kirito… I can still show you something worthy of fear."
The black staff rose.
The next instant, a terrifying light gathered at its tip.
It was pure white.
There was no heat, no explosion, no killing intent in the normal sense.
Yet the moment it appeared, the entire space seemed to fall silent.
Destruction and creation existed inside that light at the same time.
It did not feel like chakra.
It felt like a command.
A command issued directly to the world itself.
"This is the little authority I can still draw out while trapped in this vessel."
The Sage's voice became colder and colder.
"Erasure."
The white light pulsed softly.
"It does not burn. It does not cut. It does not crush."
"It simply removes."
"Everything that belongs to this world can be erased by it."
His madness returned little by little.
"If necessary, I can even restart this world from the beginning. So feel honored, Namikaze Kirito. Few beings are worth using this power on."
Kirito only watched him calmly.
The Sage's smile became distorted.
"After you disappear, I will return to the higher sky. And when that time comes, even if the true will moves again, it will be too late."
He raised the staff.
"Because your death will happen through this vessel."
"The interference will be hidden."
"And no one will notice."
The white sphere shot forward.
It flew straight toward Kirito.
Kirito did not move.
The moment that power appeared, he had already understood it.
The Sage was not lying.
That light truly carried a trace of the world's authority.
No normal force could block it.
Ninjutsu, chakra, physical strength, even space itself—none of them would matter.
But Kirito's preparation had already been completed.
So there was nothing to fear.
The white sphere closed in.
The Sage stared at him, his eyes narrowing.
Why?
Why was there no fear?
The light was already in front of him.
Yet Namikaze Kirito still wore that same calm, indifferent smile.
Did he not understand?
He was about to disappear.
How could anyone remain calm before death?
But before the Sage could understand it—
A figure suddenly rose from the ground.
Long white hair fluttered.
Wide sleeves opened.
Kaguya Ōtsutsuki stepped in front of Kirito and spread her arms.
The white sphere struck her.
And then—
Nothing happened.
No explosion.
No scream.
No destruction.
The white light shattered silently, fading away like a bubble.
Kirito laughed.
Of course.
This world had already written one rule into Kaguya.
She could not truly die.
She could only be sealed.
So how could a power born from that same world erase her?
The Sage's face twisted violently.
"Mother…"
For a brief moment, Hagoromo's own voice seemed to surface.
But it was crushed almost immediately.
"No… Kaguya Ōtsutsuki!"
His voice became filled with hatred.
"Why are you still alive?! How dare you stand in the way of my will?!"
Kirito looked at him with amusement.
"So this is the great will of a higher dimension?"
He stepped past Kaguya, then reached back and naturally took her cold hand, pulling her behind him.
"You threw out one bubble, failed, and now you can only stand there screaming."
Kaguya froze slightly.
That simple movement made her feel strange again.
Her heart had been unsettled ever since Kirito first defeated her.
She did not understand the feeling.
But looking at his back now, she felt an unfamiliar sense of calm.
As if standing behind him was safer than standing anywhere else in the world.
The Sage, however, had no such peace.
His eyes locked onto Kaguya with resentment.
It was her.
Again, it was this woman.
She had ruined everything.
And now, the last trace of authority he could force through this vessel had been wasted.
With Hagoromo's current body, he might not even be able to defeat Kaguya anymore.
As for Namikaze Kirito?
That was even more impossible.
Kirito glanced at him and smiled faintly.
"What's wrong?"
His voice was light.
"Is the higher-dimensional will finished already?"
"Shut up!"
The Sage roared, pointing the black staff at him.
"If not for that woman, you would have been erased from this world!"
A black flash crossed the space.
Kirito disappeared.
The Sage's pupils shrank.
Before he could react, Kirito was already standing behind him.
In Kirito's hand was a severed arm.
The arm was still gripping the black staff.
The Sage looked down in disbelief.
"My… arm?"
His body should have regenerated.
No matter how severe the injury, this vessel was built from an immortal existence.
But the wound where his arm had been cut was covered in black mist.
That darkness clung to the severed flesh like a curse, completely blocking regeneration.
Kirito casually tossed the arm aside.
"Next is the left arm."
His voice was calm, almost gentle.
"After that, the legs."
He looked at the Sage's back with a faint smile.
"Don't worry. I won't kill you right away."
"After all…"
His eyes sharpened.
"Capturing a remnant of Shibai's will sounds far more interesting than simply destroying it."
If the Sage had been calm, he would have realized Kirito was deliberately provoking him.
But his plan had collapsed.
The authority he forced into this vessel had failed.
And now, even the body carrying him had been wounded beyond recovery.
Kirito's words became the final push.
A will that had looked down from a higher dimension was now being treated like a collectible.
Like prey.
Like an object.
The Sage's face contorted.
"How dare you…"
His voice trembled with rage.
"How dare a creature inside this world look down on me…!"
Kirito turned slightly, his expression unchanged.
"You came down here using someone else's body."
The black mist around his hand deepened.
"You lost the moment you stopped watching from above."
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