"In truth, you have no right to choose between survival and destruction. However, I am merciful, so I will grant you that choice. All you need to do is tell me who helped you modify the [Karma] and where they are now."
Ōtsutsuki Reishiki spoke with undisguised arrogance.
It wasn't just him. In the eyes of the Ōtsutsuki clan, the natives of other worlds were nothing more than insignificant ants. When they were in a good mood, they might toy with them for amusement. But when they were displeased, the lives of these so-called ants meant absolutely nothing.
After all, the Ōtsutsuki's method of cultivating Divine Trees and harvesting chakra fruits was fundamentally destructive to the worlds they visited. The process severely damaged the world's natural foundation and consumed a tremendous amount of its vitality.
At this moment, however, Naruto and Sasuke—despite being crushed beneath an inhuman level of gravity—were far from helpless.
Sasuke's left Rinnegan suddenly trembled.
Amenotejikara!
The space around him distorted.
In an instant, Sasuke swapped positions with Maishiki, who was floating in mid-air while controlling the terrifying gravitational force.
Maishiki's expression changed.
The moment she appeared where Sasuke had been, the fifty-fold gravity immediately slammed into her from behind.
BOOM!
Her body was forced downward.
"The Rinnegan's ability?!"
Both Reishiki and Shiki showed expressions of surprise.
Sasuke didn't give them time to react.
Amenotejikara activated once again!
This time, Sasuke didn't swap himself with another target.
Instead, he swapped the positions of Maishiki and Naruto.
Maishiki, who had just escaped the gravitational pressure, suddenly appeared beside Naruto.
The fifty-fold gravity immediately descended upon her again.
"AH!"
Maishiki's expression became hideous.
This brat dared to trick her!
Sasuke's Amenotejikara was far more versatile than it appeared. It wasn't limited to exchanging his position with another person. He could also manipulate the positions of two separate targets.
The ability itself had no conventional cooldown, making it extremely troublesome to deal with.
Its greatest drawback was the enormous amount of ocular power it consumed.
And Sasuke was already beginning to feel the strain.
His Rinnegan slowly closed.
His Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan remained open.
Then he moved.
Whoosh!
Sasuke shot toward Maishiki.
Naruto reacted at the same time, turning around and extending his palm.
The two brothers moved almost perfectly in sync.
Their hands touched Maishiki.
Two beams of light erupted from their bodies.
One white.
One black.
The power of Six Paths surged violently.
"[Six Paths: Chibaku Tensei]!"
The ultimate sealing technique was unleashed.
A terrifying gravitational force erupted around Maishiki.
The ground cracked.
Massive chunks of rock were torn from the earth and dragged toward her from every direction.
Maishiki's expression changed dramatically.
"What?!"
She struggled desperately, but the gravitational force continued to increase.
Kaguya had once been caught off guard by this technique.
Maishiki was no different.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Boulders crashed into her body one after another.
Within moments, Maishiki was completely buried beneath countless layers of rock.
The enormous mass continued expanding until it transformed into a small asteroid floating slowly into the sky.
Silence.
Naruto and Sasuke stared upward.
One down.
The two brothers simultaneously released a breath of relief.
After their previous battles against the Ōtsutsuki, they hadn't simply stood around doing nothing. With Chinatsu's guidance, both of them had studied the principles behind Six Paths: Chibaku Tensei and learned how to perform the technique themselves.
With enough time to recover, they could use it again.
However...
The enemy wasn't stupid.
Naruto and Sasuke slowly turned toward the remaining two Ōtsutsuki.
Reishiki and Shiki stared at the newly formed asteroid.
There was surprise in their eyes.
But there was no panic.
"This sealing technique..." Reishiki narrowed his eyes. "Interesting."
His gaze shifted toward Naruto and Sasuke.
"Was this also created by the person who modified your [Karma]?"
A faint smile appeared on his face.
"Very interesting."
Shiki stepped forward.
"Maishiki... leave her to me."
He descended from the sky and landed on the ground.
His appearance was somewhat unconventional, even by Ōtsutsuki standards. Yet that strange appearance only made his presence more intimidating.
Naruto and Sasuke stared at him carefully.
The second opponent.
Shiki.
If they had to fight all three Ōtsutsuki simultaneously, they had little confidence in winning.
But one-on-one...
Their chances were much better.
They only needed to stall.
Test their abilities.
Gather information.
And wait for Six Paths: Chibaku Tensei to become available again.
It was exactly like the stories Chinatsu had told them countless times.
The hero versus the Demon King.
Even if the Demon King was powerful enough to crush the hero with a single slap, the Demon King would often send his subordinates to fight the hero one after another.
First the weakest.
Then the second weakest.
Then the third.
Until finally, after the hero had reached his maximum level, he would stand before the Demon King and defeat him in a glorious one-on-one battle.
At this thought, Naruto suddenly remembered something.
"Question!"
Chinatsu had once squinted at them and raised one finger.
"What was the biggest reason the Demon King ultimately lost?"
Naruto and Sasuke had exchanged glances at the time.
They weren't stupid.
They knew exactly what Chinatsu wanted them to understand.
If the Demon King hadn't been arrogant enough to send his subordinates one after another...
If he had simply gone directly to the beginner's village and crushed the hero before he had the chance to grow...
How could the hero possibly have won?
Even if the Demon King didn't want to personally intervene, couldn't he have simply sent his second-strongest subordinate?
A Level 1 hero.
A Level 2 monster.
Wouldn't that have been enough?
That was simply common sense.
Of course, there were stories about cautious heroes and villains who actually possessed brains, but those were exceptions.
At this moment, Naruto and Sasuke exchanged another glance.
They both understood.
Their opponent was different.
They couldn't rely on the enemy's stupidity.
The two brothers took a deep breath and steadied their minds.
They had already eliminated one enemy.
Two remained.
Their goal now was simple.
Survive.
Gather information.
And buy enough time for their Six Paths: Chibaku Tensei to recover.
As Naruto and Sasuke prepared themselves, Shiki stood before them with a sinister smile.
His expression was practically that of a classic villain preparing to attack the heroes.
He bent his knees.
He was about to move.
But suddenly—
Reishiki appeared beside him.
He placed one hand on Shiki's shoulder.
"Wait."
Shiki paused.
Reishiki looked at Naruto and Sasuke with an indifferent expression.
"There is no need to deal with them one at a time."
His voice was calm.
"Although they're nothing more than ants, precisely because they're ants, they should be crushed beneath our feet."
"There's no reason to slowly step on them one by one."
Shiki's expression changed slightly.
His previous excitement disappeared.
"Whatever you say."
Reishiki nodded.
"Hahaha..."
He laughed.
"After dealing with these two brats, we still need to rescue Maishiki and find the person who modified their [Karma]."
He looked toward the asteroid floating in the sky.
"It seems we'll be quite busy from now on."
Naruto's forehead immediately became covered in cold sweat.
Sasuke's expression also became extremely serious.
The Demon King...
Was no longer acting recklessly.
The situation had suddenly become much more troublesome.
Naruto clenched his fists.
Sasuke slowly raised his head.
The two brothers stood side by side.
Neither of them retreated.
But for the first time since the battle began, they truly felt the pressure.
The enemy had learned from their first move.
And now...
The real battle was about to begin.