Seeing the strands of hair flying towards him, the Reaper felt a sense of despair. The gap in power was simply too great. In just a few moments, he had already been disciplined more times than he could count.
Although Neji had long anticipated this situation, his heart was still unsettled.
He even felt that Kaguya had already surpassed the Six Paths level. Both the evil god and the Reaper had put immense pressure on him, but before Kaguya, they were as helpless as newborn infants.
However, just as Kaguya's hair was about to pierce the Reaper's chest, it suddenly fell limply. She clutched her stomach. Although she didn't cry out in pain, her delicate face furrowed slightly, and beads of sweat dripped from her forehead.
She was already somewhat weak during her pregnancy. After using most of her strength to find Neji's way home, she continued to fight the Reaper.
Using so much power was very detrimental to the fetus in her womb. Now, the aftereffects had kicked in, and the pain in her abdomen was almost unbearable, even for Kaguya.
Neji rushed forward, letting Kaguya lean into his embrace, using his Senjutsu to try and ease her pain.
The Reaper watched all this in a daze. The sudden turn of events left him bewildered. Seeing Kaguya, who was overcome with pain from her unborn child and extremely weak, he found himself in an internal struggle.
"Now is her weakest moment. I can definitely kill her now."
"But she's pregnant. It's wrong to involve others."
"That's her child, and it should be killed too. Besides, do you really think you can kill her by yourself? This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Once it's gone, it's gone for good."
"But..."
"But what? Think about your situation. You don't even know the meaning of survival. You don't even know who you are. Who will understand you if you understand others? Kill her, and you will be the only Goddess of Rabbits. You will find the meaning of your own existence!"
The Reaper clenched his fists tightly. He had finally succumbed to the temptation. If he missed this opportunity, he would never be able to kill Kaguya.
The fingernails on his right hand suddenly elongated, each one like a sharp bone spur. If he had to describe it, it felt like a "Nine Yin White Bone Claw." The next moment, his right hand plunged into space and reappeared before Kaguya.
Neji had always been wary of the Reaper. As the Reaper's hand emerged from the Yomotsu Hirasaka, Neji quickly grabbed it.
At the same time, Neji's other hand, with a backward motion, thrust the prepared Bone Ash into the Reaper's right hand.
"Hmm?"
Feeling his body continuously disintegrate, scattering like paper scraps, the Reaper looked at Neji in surprise. "You can actually hurt me? I really underestimated you. I didn't expect you to have mastered this skill."
Neji had no time to listen to what the Reaper was saying. After confirming that the Reaper was slowly turning into shredded paper, he immediately took Kaguya and fled into the distance.
Neji naturally didn't believe he had the ability to kill a god that even Kaguya couldn't kill. But as long as he could "die" temporarily, he would have time to take Kaguya away.
However, Neji had clearly overlooked one thing. The Reaper was different from the evil god. Although he was created in Kaguya's image and was far inferior to her, he wasn't someone who could be easily killed with just Bone Ash.
It was unclear what the Reaper had done, but the rate at which his body disintegrated clearly slowed down. The shredded pieces that had separated earlier returned to him, and everything was as it was at the beginning.
"I won't let you escape."
The Reaper pushed off with his feet, and the ground beneath him shattered. Neji felt a gust of wind, and the Reaper was already in front of him.
"What?!"
The Reaper's ease in shattering the Bone Ash surprised Neji. But there was no time to dwell on it. Seeing the whip-like leg lunging towards him, Neji covered his entire body with Chakra, shielded Kaguya behind him, and punched forward.
Bang!
Fist met foot, and the Reaper and Neji were locked in a stalemate. At this moment, the corners of the Reaper's mouth curled up into a terrifying, ferocious smile.
Neji sensed danger and tried to retreat, but all around him, countless stone spikes protruded, blocking all his escape routes.
This was the power of a god. Like Kaguya, they were one with nature. Without needing hand seals, the five Chakra natures would naturally revolve around them.
The Reaper pulled a dagger from his robe, which gleamed with an ominous cold light. It grew with the wind, unleashing astonishing blade energy.
"That is..."
Neji, with Kaguya on his back, landed far away. The dagger in front of him was the same weapon the Reaper had used to ambush him that day. Although he didn't know its purpose, he instinctively felt that its power was no less than the weapons left behind by the Sage of Six Paths, and perhaps even more potent.
Being hit by it would be a major problem.
"Wood Release: Wood Clone Jutsu!"
Neji quickly formed hand seals. Dozens of wood clones densely filled the space that had been sealed by the earth spikes. Since he didn't know the dagger's abilities yet, he decided to test it with the clones first.
"Go!"
Neji gave the order, and the dozens of clones used various techniques, swarming towards the Reaper. For a moment, the scene became chaotic, while Neji's true body, carrying Kaguya, had already flown out of the space.
"Hmph, useless. No matter how many there are, it won't change the fact that you are weak." The Reaper snorted coldly. He swung his dagger, and a chilling gleam instantly pierced a wood clone.
The wood clone, which normally had great resilience, immediately turned into wood chips after being pierced by the dagger. At the same time, Neji's soul trembled as if it were about to be ripped out.
"What? What's happening?"
"Neji~ His dagger is also formed from people's willpower. The god who controls life and death can use that dagger to strip away life."
As Neji expressed his surprise, Kaguya's weak voice came from behind him. Through her Rinne Sharingan, she had gleaned some information the moment the dagger grazed the wood clone.
"Is that so? Alright, don't use your ocular power. Rest well. I won't let anything happen to you." Neji continuously injected his Chakra into Kaguya, trying to calm the turmoil in her abdomen. However, this meant he couldn't fully utilize his own strength.
Already at a disadvantage against the Reaper, he was now even more unable to resist.
"This can't go on."
Feeling the tremors deep within his soul, Neji frowned. If this continued, his soul would eventually be extracted.
"I can only buy time. Once Kaguya recovers, we'll seal him in one go. In the meantime..."
After some deep thought, Neji spread his arms wide. All the wood clones received the command and scattered, encircling the Reaper.