When the Demon King stopped playing around, how were the heroes supposed to cope?
Naruto and Sasuke swallowed hard.
Fortunately, Maishiki had already been sealed with Six Paths: Chibaku Tensei. Otherwise, this wouldn't be a two-on-two battle.
It would be three against two.
The immense pressure caused the Karma seals within Naruto and Sasuke to accelerate their transformation.
Their bodies trembled.
Their chakra surged.
Then, from their foreheads, small horns slowly began to emerge.
Unlike the horns of some Ōtsutsuki, theirs didn't grow from the center of their foreheads. One curved toward one side, while the other pointed in the opposite direction.
They were unmistakable symbols of the Ōtsutsuki bloodline.
"Oh dear~ They've actually completed the [Karma] transformation."
Reishiki smiled.
"But it's all in vain."
Shiki chuckled.
"We already know Momoshiki's ability to absorb ninjutsu, Isshiki's ability to shrink anything—including himself—and the strengths and weaknesses of both of them."
Naruto and Sasuke's expressions became serious.
Now that their Karma transformations were complete, they could clearly feel the changes.
Their physical abilities had increased dramatically.
Their chakra had become denser.
Their bodies had been strengthened by the power of the Ōtsutsuki.
And they could access many of the abilities inherited through Karma.
They were incredibly powerful.
But there was one problem.
Their opponents already knew those abilities.
Momoshiki and Isshiki had fought in this world before. Their techniques weren't mysteries to these three members of the main clan.
If Naruto and Sasuke relied too heavily on abilities inherited from their predecessors, their opponents would naturally know how to counter them.
Therefore...
They had to rely on themselves.
Their own abilities.
Their own combat experience.
And the terrifying physical strength granted by their Ōtsutsuki transformations.
No words were necessary.
The brothers understood each other perfectly.
Naruto clenched his fist.
He stepped forward.
And at that exact moment—
BOOM!
Shiki disappeared.
Naruto's pupils contracted.
Before he could react, Shiki appeared directly in front of him.
His leg swung upward.
THUD!
The kick slammed directly into Naruto's abdomen.
Naruto's body bent like a bow.
"Ugh!"
His stomach churned violently, and he was sent flying backward, vomiting stomach acid from the force of the impact.
What terrifying speed!
Shiki didn't stop.
He immediately pursued.
At their level, movement was already beyond the comprehension of ordinary shinobi. To those watching from a distance, their bodies were little more than streaks of light flashing through the battlefield.
Sasuke saw Naruto being sent flying.
His body instinctively moved.
He was about to rush to his brother's aid—
But someone appeared directly in front of him.
Reishiki.
The two locked eyes.
"Kid."
Reishiki smiled.
"Your opponent is me~"
"Damn it."
Black lightning crackled around Sasuke's right hand.
His Karma originated from Isshiki, and with it came an enormous enhancement to his physical abilities and combat instincts.
Combined with Sasuke's own mastery of taijutsu...
He attacked.
BOOM!
His fist collided with Reishiki's.
The resulting shockwave spread outward.
Sasuke's eyes narrowed.
He hadn't gained the upper hand.
Not even close.
Meanwhile, Naruto's situation was considerably worse.
Shiki completely overwhelmed him.
Yet Naruto quickly noticed something strange.
This man's fighting style...
It was extremely similar to Hidan's.
There was almost no defense.
Only offense.
"Attack is the best defense!"
Naruto gritted his teeth.
The two collided again.
Shiki's fist smashed into Naruto's face.
At almost the same moment, Naruto's fist—wrapped in dense Tailed Beast chakra—punched directly through Shiki's body.
Blood splattered.
Naruto's expression didn't relax.
He already had a bad feeling about this man.
Even an ordinary Ōtsutsuki possessed an absurd level of vitality.
Someone like this wouldn't die simply because his body had been pierced.
As expected...
Shiki didn't even flinch.
There was no pain.
No panic.
Not even a change in expression.
Naruto's instincts suddenly screamed.
Something was wrong.
He looked at the arm that had pierced Shiki's body.
The Tailed Beast chakra covering his arm was...
Dissolving.
"!"
Naruto immediately pulled his arm free and flung the chakra away.
The moment the solidified chakra landed on the ground, Naruto finally understood.
Blood.
Shiki's blood was highly corrosive.
The Tailed Beast chakra on the ground rapidly melted away.
Then the corrosion continued.
Even the earth beneath it began to dissolve.
Naruto's eyes widened.
"This is a little like Amaterasu..."
But the thought had barely appeared when he realized how wrong he was.
Very wrong.
Shiki raised his hand.
Drops of blood flew from his body.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
The droplets shot toward Naruto like a storm of crimson bullets.
Naruto's expression changed.
He immediately dodged.
Every drop of blood that passed him left a trail of destruction behind it.
Rock.
Trees.
The ground.
Everything it touched was rapidly corroded.
If this were merely a corrosive attack, Naruto could simply focus on avoiding it.
But then Shiki did something that made Naruto's expression turn ugly.
The blood flowing from Shiki's wounds gradually gathered around his body.
It wrapped around him.
Layer after layer.
Soon, his entire body was covered in a strange black-and-red armor made entirely from his own blood.
Shiki smiled.
"This isn't ninjutsu."
He raised his hand.
"It's a divine technique that directly alters the nature of my blood."
His eyes narrowed.
"Your [High Emperor's Spirit Lord] is useless against it."
Shiki's smile became colder.
"How pathetic."
He took a step forward.
"Being targeted by me already means your death has been decided."
Corrosion of all things.
A power symbolizing death itself.
At first glance, its effect resembled Amaterasu.
But now...
Naruto had to admit it.
Amaterasu was completely outclassed.
Naruto spread his hand.
A miniature storm of chakra rapidly formed within his palm.
"Rasenshuriken!"
He hurled it.
WHOOSH!
The Rasenshuriken tore through the air.
Shiki didn't dodge.
Instead, he charged straight toward it.
BOOM!
The Rasenshuriken collided with the blood armor.
For a brief moment, the technique resisted.
Then—
CRACK!
The corrosive blood armor broke through the Rasenshuriken.
In only a few seconds, the terrifying technique that could shred almost anything was completely neutralized.
Naruto's pupils contracted.
Overwhelmed.
He was being completely suppressed.
And Sasuke's situation wasn't much better.
Unlike Naruto, who had at least discovered the nature of his opponent's divine technique, Sasuke still had no idea what Reishiki's ability was.
He had been relying almost entirely on taijutsu.
But against an enemy of this level...
Taijutsu alone wasn't enough.
Sweat trickled down Sasuke's face.
For the first time in a long while, an intense feeling of powerlessness spread through his body.
Their battle was already beyond the imagination of ordinary shinobi.
To many, the combatants were practically gods.
Yet Sasuke felt...
Weak.
Very weak.
He gritted his teeth.
"I..."
His hands trembled slightly.
"Am I really this weak?"
He hated that feeling.
The feeling of being unable to protect the people he cared about.
The feeling of constantly standing behind his sister and relying on her to solve everything.
But then—
Sasuke's eyes hardened.
No.
Being weak didn't mean being a coward.
He still had the will to fight.
His Rinnegan suddenly flashed.
"Amenotejikara!"
Space distorted.
Sasuke vanished.
Reishiki's eyes narrowed.
In the next instant, Sasuke appeared behind him.
"Chidori!"
Lightning exploded from Sasuke's hand.
He thrust it directly into Reishiki's waist.
BOOM!
The impact sent Reishiki flying nearly ten meters.
Sasuke landed heavily.
His breathing became rough.
His strength was rapidly draining.
His body was exhausted.
But he remained standing.
His head hung low.
For a moment, silence surrounded him.
Then Sasuke slowly clenched his fist.
"I really am a weakling..."
His voice was quiet.
But the next moment, he raised his head.
His eyes were filled with determination.
"But I'm not a coward."
Sasuke slowly raised his hand.
One finger.
Then another.
And finally—
His middle finger.
He pointed it directly at Reishiki.
A provocative smile appeared on his face.
"Come at me!!!"
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