"Heh, how ignorant. You don't even have the most basic ability to gauge your opponent. Fighting you would simply be a waste of my time."
Isamu let out a cold laugh and waved his hand. A figure identical to himself split from his body.
This wasn't an ordinary Shadow Clone.
It was a true clone made of flesh and blood.
Seeing another Uchiha Tensei suddenly appear, Mandala froze for a moment before his face twisted with rage.
"Uchiha Tensei, what do you mean by this? Are you insulting me by sending a clone to fight me?!"
Isamu looked at him with undisguised contempt.
"Insult you? You're not worthy of that."
"Someone at your level is only qualified to fight my clone."
In the past, Isamu would have gladly fought an expert like Mandala. However, with two top-tier powerhouses currently battling nearby, he had completely lost interest in someone of Mandala's caliber.
Rather than wasting time here, he would rather observe the battle between Indra and Ashura while eliminating a few members of the Ninja Sect. After all, opportunities to witness a clash between such experts were incredibly rare.
One represented the pinnacle of the Sage's Body and Yang Power.
The other represented the pinnacle of the Sage's Eyes and Yin Power.
Isamu was extremely interested in their methods and applications.
"Damn it! Don't look down on me!"
Fury instantly erupted within Mandala.
"Take this!"
He charged forward.
At the same time, Isamu's clone stepped up to meet him.
The two immediately engaged in close combat, exchanging powerful blows.
Seeing Mandala successfully occupied by his clone, Isamu smiled faintly and turned to leave.
Just as he was preparing to join the battlefield below—
"Wait!"
A furious roar came from behind.
Seeing Isamu about to leave, Mandala became increasingly anxious.
He had promised Ashura he would stall Uchiha Tensei, but now the situation had completely reversed.
He was the one being held back.
The irony nearly made him cough up blood.
Just as Isamu was about to head toward the battlefield, another figure appeared before him.
"Tian Qi, you should stay here."
"This is a battle between my two brothers. It's better if you don't interfere."
It was Garuda.
The playful smile she usually wore was gone.
In its place was an unusually serious expression.
"Garuda? I see now."
At first, Isamu was confused.
But he quickly understood.
Her real purpose in coming here wasn't to stop Indra or Ashura.
It was to stop him.
"I'm sorry, Tian Qi."
"Although I can't persuade Big Brother Indra, I still hope you won't get involved."
"Your participation will only make things worse."
"Just stay here and watch."
She spread her arms, blocking his path.
This was an internal Ōtsutsuki family conflict.
She didn't want outsiders interfering.
"Good! That's right, Garuda! Stop him!"
Not far away, Mandala immediately cheered.
As long as Garuda could hold Isamu back, the siblings would have completed their task.
"Garuda, if you do this, the conflict between Indra and Ashura will never truly end."
"Besides, I'm not planning to interfere in their fight."
"I only wanted to help the people fighting ten against one."
"Stopping me even for that—aren't you being a little too biased toward Ashura?"
Isamu looked at the twenty-something-year-old Garuda with interest.
He didn't believe she would intentionally favor one brother over the other.
Hearing his words, Garuda hesitated.
Five hundred versus five thousand.
Everyone on Indra's side was effectively fighting ten opponents.
Blocking Isamu now did seem suspiciously close to helping Ashura.
However, just as she wavered, her gaze shifted toward the battlefield.
Her expression instantly hardened.
In the distance, Ay was rampaging through the battlefield.
Lightning Release Chakra exploded from his body as he slaughtered Ninja Sect members without restraint.
Bolts of lightning tore through the battlefield.
Hundreds of enemies were required just to block a single attack from him.
Despite being outnumbered ten to one, Indra's forces showed no signs of being overwhelmed.
Instead, they were steadily pushing the enemy back.
"Hmph!"
Garuda snorted.
"I almost fell for that."
"Tian Qi, you'd better stay here honestly."
Following her gaze, Isamu noticed Ay's performance.
Immediately, he cursed inwardly.
Ay, you idiot.
Why are you showing off so much?
She was already wavering, and now you're making things worse.
Still, despite his complaints, Isamu couldn't help admiring him.
Looking at Ay, he saw a shadow of Uchiha Zhan.
That fearless, indomitable fighting spirit.
It was exactly the kind of warrior he respected most.
"Fine."
"I'll give you face this time."
Although he wanted to test the power of the Tenseigan, Isamu ultimately decided to compromise.
After all, Garuda had personally stepped forward.
But this would only happen once.
If she blocked him again in the future, he wouldn't care whether she was a goddess or not.
Besides, Ay didn't really need his help.
His primary objective today was observation and learning.
Being forced to sit out wasn't necessarily a bad thing.
It gave him the perfect opportunity to watch the battle between Indra and Ashura.
After all, he had never witnessed a battle between Six Paths-level experts before.
Seeing Isamu casually find a large rock and sit down, Garuda was genuinely surprised.
She knew how stubborn he was.
In that regard, he was almost identical to Indra.
For someone like him to compromise so easily was completely unexpected.
She had already prepared herself for a fight.
"I'm sorry, Tian Qi."
"You know I…"
Garuda walked over and sat beside him, still trying to apologize.
Isamu raised a hand to stop her.
"You don't need to apologize."
"This was never my war to begin with."
"I only wanted to help because Indra took me in."
"I don't actually want to interfere in their conflict."
"You can rest assured about that."
"Thank you, Tian Qi."
Only now did Garuda understand.
Since Isamu was living within Indra's territory, helping Indra was only natural.
The fact that he was willing to step back now was simply because he was giving her face.
A faint blush appeared on her cheeks.
"Thank you…"
she repeated softly.
Looking at her shy expression, Isamu suddenly felt speechless.
This girl was becoming flustered around him far too easily.
There was no way he couldn't notice her feelings anymore.
Unfortunately—
He was already a married man.
And Garuda was a woman from more than a thousand years ago.
There was absolutely no possibility between them.
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