After sending Madara flying with a single blow, Seiryū took a step and arrived at the other battlefield nearby. Thanks to the Yin Nine-Tails' warning, Naruto had remained relatively cautious while fighting Madara. Sasuke, on the other hand, had been far too confident.
His Perfect Susanoo had been smashed apart by the Isshiki of this timeline in only a couple of attacks. If Sasuke had not awakened the Space-Time Dōjutsu Amenotejikara, he probably would have been defeated already. At this point, Sasuke was beginning to question everything he knew about his own strength.
"Ho... how can he be this strong!?"
He had clearly awakened the Rinnegan, and not just an ordinary one, but a tomoe Rinnegan that was obviously far more powerful. So why did he still seem so weak?
"He's a Six Paths-level powerhouse only a step away from Kekkei Mōra. How is someone like you, who has only just approached the Six Paths level, supposed to fight him head-on?" Seiryū looked at Sasuke's shaken expression and clicked his tongue.
The moment Sasuke gained new power, his confidence had soared again, only for reality to immediately knock him back down. This seemed to happen to him surprisingly often. The Sasuke standing here was still far less composed than the older Sasuke Seiryū knew. In the end, he was still young.
"Six Paths level... Kekkei Mōra level..." Sasuke muttered, clearly unfamiliar with either term.
Seiryū had no intention of explaining everything right now. "All you need to know is that he's stronger than you at the moment."
His gaze then shifted toward Isshiki, whose right hand had already pierced straight through his counterpart from this timeline, and Seiryū frowned slightly. "You really are ruthless. You can even attack another version of yourself without hesitation."
Madara's interference had delayed Seiryū by only a second, but that single second had been enough for Isshiki to successfully ambush his counterpart.
"Any Chakra that can strengthen me is useful, even if it belongs to another version of myself."
Isshiki's expression remained cold. His personality was ruthless enough that even another version of himself from a different space-time meant nothing to him.
'Hum!'
A strange vibration filled the air as the Isshiki of this timeline was compressed into a Chakra pill.
This ability had originally represented the absolute control higher-ranking members of the Ōtsutsuki Clan held over those beneath them. However, Kekkei Mōra stood above the Six Paths level, and combined with Isshiki's perfect understanding of his own Chakra, it allowed him to do the same thing to another version of himself.
'Crunch!'
Isshiki swallowed the Chakra pill in only a few bites, and the Chakra emanating from his body immediately rose by a tremendous amount.
Chakra compatibility mattered greatly when absorbing another person's power. Naturally, nothing could be more compatible than Chakra originating from another version of oneself. Isshiki absorbed every trace of it without the slightest rejection.
'Boom!'
Terrifying Chakra erupted from his body, creating a violent hurricane around him. As the Chakra pill was absorbed, Isshiki's appearance also began to change. The curved horn on his head became thicker and more pronounced, covered in dense black markings. His pale skin gradually turned red, while similar black patterns spread across his face.
It was similar to the transformations Momoshiki and Urashiki underwent after absorbing additional Chakra. Members of the Ōtsutsuki Clan could temporarily alter their bodies by taking in an external source of power.
This was a transformed state.
It would not last permanently and would disappear once the absorbed Chakra was exhausted, but while it remained active, an Ōtsutsuki could unleash even greater strength.
"Hehehe... Hahaha! As expected of a Chakra pill created from my own Chakra. To think it could increase my strength this much and push me even further beyond Kekkei Mōra!"
Isshiki laughed wildly as he felt the power surging through him. He had become noticeably stronger than he had been only moments earlier.
Who could possibly stop him now?
"This has become a little troublesome..."
Feeling the change in Isshiki's Chakra, Seiryū frowned slightly.
Isshiki had already been extremely powerful. Seiryū could suppress him, but actually killing him was another matter entirely. Now that Isshiki had strengthened himself even further, even Seiryū could feel a certain amount of pressure.
After slowly exhaling, Seiryū turned toward Sasuke and gave him a very "kind" smile. "Hey, Uchiha brat. I don't particularly want to do this, but if I'm going to deal with that guy, how about lending me your Rinnegan for a while?"
Sasuke stared at him. "?"
"Don't worry. It won't hurt much. Just endure it for a moment and it'll be over."
Seiryū's smile became increasingly sinister, making him look more like a villain than a Sage.
He had never relied on a Dōjutsu Kekkei Genkai before, but Sasuke's tomoe Rinnegan was undeniably powerful and could be useful right now.
More importantly, Seiryū was still carrying a Ten-Tails.
The Rinnegan was exceptionally effective at controlling the Ten-Tails and could allow its Chakra to be absorbed into the user's own body.
"Hmph. If you want my eye, you'll have to see whether you have the ability to take it."
Sasuke's expression immediately turned cold. He did not trust Seiryū enough to simply hand over his Rinnegan, especially after hearing something like that.
However, before Sasuke could even finish speaking, his voice abruptly stopped.
Several Sealing Jutsu he had never seen before appeared around him and completely restrained his body. Even the flow of Chakra through his pathways was sealed.
Sasuke could only watch in horror as Seiryū's fingers moved closer and closer to his eye.
For some reason, he suddenly remembered the psychological trauma Itachi had once inflicted on him.
In front of Sage Seiryū, he had absolutely no ability to resist.
"I'm a Medical-nin, so removing an eye is extremely simple for me. Don't panic. I'm only borrowing it, and I'll return it when I'm finished."
Seiryū continued smiling "kindly."
His movements were extremely fast. In one smooth motion, he removed Sasuke's left tomoe Rinnegan. With his other hand, Seiryū removed his own left eye and immediately placed Sasuke's Rinnegan into the empty socket.
The tomoe Rinnegan rotated once, and Seiryū's vision instantly became clear.
Normally, transplanting a Rinnegan into someone other than its original owner created severe rejection and placed an enormous burden on the new user. However, Seiryū had already reached the Six Paths level, and his Yang Power was more than enough to suppress both problems.
At his current level, almost any eye could be transplanted and used immediately.
"To be honest, this is much more convenient than my ordinary eye."
Seiryū looked at Sasuke, who was staring at him with a mixture of fury and horror, then patted him on the shoulder reassuringly. "Don't look at me like that. I already said I'll give it back. I'm not so desperate that I'd steal your eye permanently."
He then turned toward the Ten-Tails and smiled even more brightly.
"Now then, let me see what it feels like to become the Ten-Tails Jinchūriki."
The Ten-Tails had already been suppressed by Seiryū's Bakudō and Sealing Jutsu and compressed until it was less than a meter in size.
Seiryū's newly transplanted Rinnegan focused on it, and powerful Genjutsu immediately suppressed the beast's consciousness. He then extended his right hand as the tomoe Rinnegan's pupil power erupted.
The Ten-Tails' body liquefied and began flowing directly into Seiryū.
The Rinnegan had overwhelming control over Tailed Beasts, and the Ten-Tails was ultimately still a Tailed Beast. Under the power of the Rinnegan, it had no ability to resist.
As the Ten-Tails was completely absorbed into his body, Seiryū became a Ten-Tails Jinchūriki!
(To be continued.)