"The mortal who surprised you—his name is Might Duy. He was my family's guardian."

Kazuki looked at Might Duy's charred body lying on the ground and spoke softly: "The technique that burned himself out is called the Formation of the Eight Gates Released. I'm well-versed in it too."

"Tell me, if I were to activate this move—what level of Ōtsutsuki do you think I could handle?"

Kaguya whipped around, instinctively grabbed Kazuki's arm, and said in a trembling voice: "You can use it too?"

Kazuki gave a gentle nod and smiled.

"Of course. In fact, I developed this move in preparation to fight the Sage of Six Paths…"

"After all, to stand against a god while still being a mortal, one must be ready to burn everything."

Kaguya's expression instantly turned complex.

She suddenly felt lucky she had been weak—just fighting Kazuki in his normal state had ended with her being strung up in defeat before the battle had even gotten intense.

If she had been stronger… and forced Kazuki into a corner, wouldn't she have ended up being the one kicked by Night Guy?

To Kaguya, Might Duy in his normal state was a forgettable mortal—like grass or insects in nature, entirely insignificant.

And yet—

When he opened the Gate of Death, Might Duy had destroyed her lifelong enemy and deepest fear in the most violent way imaginable!

That man named Isshiki… was now just half a head barely surviving in the shinobi world…

So what kind of terrifying power would Kazuki, someone far stronger than Duy, unleash if he chose to burn himself?!

If Kazuki used Night Guy… Kaguya feared he might kick her—and the moon along with her—into dust.

"If it's you… Kazuki, even the elite warriors of the Ōtsutsuki Clan probably wouldn't be able to defeat you once you open the Gate of Death."

Kaguya spoke solemnly: "But… Kazuki, your life is far too precious. Don't burn yourself recklessly! This technique has many flaws, and many Ōtsutsuki eye techniques are extremely troublesome. Not all enemies can be overcome with brute strength…"

"Isshiki… if he were at his peak, even with the help of other ninja assisting Might Duy, he could've still avoided that battle when the Gate of Death was just being opened…"

"If I were in my Ten Tails Jinchūriki form, I could have used Amenominaka to forcibly teleport Might Duy into a different dimension, then escaped into another one myself—cutting him off completely from his target."

In her effort to persuade Kazuki not to act rashly, Kaguya's little brain was working at full speed—her intelligence finally seizing the high ground in her mind!

Kazuki gave her an impressed look and nodded in agreement.

"I know, Kaguya… I just wanted to tell you that I still have a trump card to defeat powerful enemies, so there's no need for you to worry too much…"

"Even if I open the Gate of Death, it won't put my life in danger—though I will suffer some degree of backlash."

"I-I'm not worried… I know you can handle it, Kazuki…"

Kaguya's heart skipped a beat for some unknown reason. She turned her head slightly, clenched her fist, and said softly: "I'll fight them seriously. I won't embarrass you!"

Kazuki smiled but didn't expose Kaguya's mixed feelings.

Who had been constantly urging him to abandon the people of the ninja world, to retreat somewhere quiet and train in seclusion until he became invincible?

It was none other than this Rabbit Goddess.

Although Kaguya hadn't meant ill, her way of thinking clearly showed lingering fear toward the Ōtsutsuki and a deep apprehension toward her clan.

But once Kazuki revealed that he too had mastered the Eight Gates Released Formation—and that even opening the Gate of Death wouldn't endanger his life—Kaguya visibly relaxed.

This showed that—

In Kaguya's mind, Kazuki in his Gate of Death state was already strong enough that the Ōtsutsuki reinforcements were no longer something to be overly concerned about.

"Many of the Ōtsutsuki dōjutsu are extremely troublesome…"

Kazuki mulled over Kaguya's warning and engraved it into his memory.

Just like the Mangekyō Sharingan techniques of the Uchiha clan—Shisui's Kotoamatsukami, Obito's Kamui…

Certain special ocular techniques held terrifying power—peerless among equals or even lethal upon first sight. They could never be taken lightly.

Just like how Isshiki had ambushed and instantly killed Uchiha Madara, Senju Tobirama, and the others.

Had it been an open confrontation, with Madara and the rest ready and facing him directly, they never would have ended up in such a miserable state, utterly crushed in the first exchange.

But the problem was—

Real battles are rarely like contests of brute force between generals. Most of the time, they are ambushes or sudden encounters.

If one doesn't know Isshiki's ability—and given how shinobi are high-offense, low-defense, and have little room for error—it's easy to fall into the same fate as Madara and the others when ambushed.

And after Momoshiki, Urashiki, and Isshiki, any Ōtsutsuki operatives sent next would be unknown to Kazuki. The advantage of foreknowledge would be lost…

Kazuki couldn't count on the entire Ōtsutsuki clan being reckless—arrogantly showing up in the ninja world again and again after previous members had perished here—revealing their abilities so casually.

Because of that—

Kazuki needed to make more preparations. He had to make full use of every resource within the shinobi world to raise his combat power.

A more stable approach would be to use the pressure from the Ōtsutsuki to gather everyone's hopes—those of the Sage of Six Paths, Ōtsutsuki Hamura, and others—and focus them all on Kazuki, squeezing every last drop of potential from this planet to earn Gaia's recognition.

In doing so, combined with the Gate of Death as his trump card, Kazuki could ensure that his power level would remain one or two tiers above any future reinforcements—ensuring they arrive disorganized, each falling like dominoes—defeated one at a time without ever regrouping.

Moreover—

He had to find a way to control Momoshiki and Urashiki, making them call for reinforcements under his manipulation—thus gaining more intelligence about when they'd arrive, how strong they were, and what kind of dōjutsu they possessed…

At this moment—

The entire battlefield was deathly silent.

The two strongest fighters, Uchiha Madara and Uchiha Obito, had been specifically targeted by Isshiki. Their bodies were riddled with black rods. It was already a miracle they were still alive—much less able to fight.

Especially Obito.

After being hooked by Urashiki with a glowing red fishing line, he had been thrown into a black box. A gas resembling dry ice poured out, freezing Uchiha Obito entirely.

And half of Isshiki's head, with Urashiki's help, had already been implanted into Obito's chest—just like Hashirama's face embedded in Madara's body.

The Kāma seal—bearing the genetic information of the Ōtsutsuki—was now savagely growing inside Obito's body.

Senju Tobirama let out a heavy breath. Just a moment ago, he had been preparing to fight Uchiha Izuna side by side—yet now, they were suddenly facing two more enemies?

Not only were Madara and Obito out of commission, but even Uchiha Izuna was in poor condition. Shisui and Yashiro had already exhausted their ocular power and lost their final line of defense…

Only Senju Tobirama still had some combat capability—thanks to his own modified version of Orochimaru's Tobirama-style Body Replacement Technique, and also due to Kazuki's earlier reinforcement of his physical body.

But even so—how could he alone possibly stand against these three enemies, who clearly belonged to the same clan as Isshiki?

In the entire shinobi world—

There had only ever been one Might Duy, who could open the Eight Gates Released Formation and, as a mere mortal, slay gods—his youth burning like blood.

Senju Tobirama knew better than anyone:

There would never be a second Might Duy.

That guardian may well have been part of a long-term strategy Kazuki had laid down ages ago—a secret weapon, left as the final safeguard for the Sage of Six Paths' seal…

"Hold on a moment, Senior Momoshiki?"

Urashiki yawned lazily, casting a glance at Isshiki, who was still in the process of assimilating Uchiha Obito, and called out in a strangely exaggerated tone: "Looks like Senior Isshiki's injuries are really serious… Even with my help, it seems difficult to implant the Kāma seal into this new vessel."

"Let's wait until we've confirmed that Senior Isshiki survives before opening the coffin, yeah? There might be complications… Could affect his chances of survival."

Urashiki's mocking voice suddenly grew a bit more serious: "The mortals in this timeline are… strange. Better if I go open that coffin with you, Senior Momoshiki!"

He waved his fishing rod and the small black box in his hand.

"As long as we go together, nothing will go wrong!"

Might Duy's Night Guy had left a deep impression on both Urashiki and Momoshiki.

That was a real, honest-to-goodness kick that had actually killed an Ōtsutsuki.

After taking that blow, Isshiki had been just a breath away from death. Even triggering his Kāma—an instinctual response—had gone incredibly poorly.

From Urashiki's point of view—

Even though Isshiki was at death's door, with Obito fully sealed by the fishing rod and black box treasure tools, the speed at which Isshiki was assimilating the vessel still felt way too slow…

But honestly, it wasn't entirely Isshiki's fault.

Inside Uchiha Obito's body, Black Zetsu was going wild—desperately using what little power it had to resist Isshiki's invasion on every level it could, all in order to protect the one it loved.

As Kaguya's third-born, Black Zetsu knew very well just how terrifying the power of the Kāma seal was.

Once Uchiha Obito became Isshiki's vessel, his life would be completely and utterly consumed.

And as a lifeform infused with Kaguya's chakra, it would undoubtedly be discovered by Isshiki during the process—and then mercilessly wiped out.

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