"Sensei, maybe… we should use the Will of Fire to bring everyone together…"

Sarutobi Hiruzen, seeing Tobirama's softened expression, felt relieved and leaned in to continue, "Where the leaves dance, the fire will burn… Kazuki's whole life has been one of service to the shinobi world… Maybe that's the key to awakening him?"

Tobirama's face instantly darkened to its lowest depths.

The moment Hiruzen uttered those three words—'Will of Fire'—Uchiha Izuna nearly burst out laughing.

This really was the most 'Will of Fire' moment in history…

The last person who kept preaching about it—Shimura Danzo, that assistant Hokage— had his very soul incinerated by Tobirama himself, in an act of 'cleaning house'.

"Monkey. This is the last time I'll say this."

Tobirama's Mangekyō, gleaming blood-red, locked onto Hiruzen as he scolded in a low, icy tone: "The Will of Fire—fine, chant it in the village, in the academy, that's fine. But don't bring that out here, do you understand?"

"All that talk of will on the lips, and nothing but business in the heart. If it can't stand up to real scrutiny, then don't put it on display!"

"I'm telling you—because of the garbage you spread, if I hadn't intervened, Kazuki wouldn't have even needed the Ōtsutsuki chakra to fall into corruption. Your damn so-called 'Will of Fire' would've been enough to drive him over the edge!"

"Alright, alright… I got it…"

Sarutobi Hiruzen lowered his head in embarrassment, secretly deciding not to talk to this old man anymore. After spending so much time with Kazuki, Tobirama hadn't learned a single bit of emotional intelligence or moral character—only ended up with a pair of Mangekyō Sharingan and a smug appearance.

It was obvious now: one's own people were always the easiest to bully. All that seething rage? Now redirected squarely onto him. What rotten luck.

"What is this 'Will of Fire,' anyway?" the Sage of Six Paths asked with keen interest, his hearing impeccable. He looked toward Sarutobi Hiruzen, who had just offered such a critical piece of intel.

"Is it also related to the Child of Prophecy?"

"Not important—not important at all…" Senju Tobirama immediately waved his hands and covered Hiruzen's mouth before he could answer. Under the curious gazes of the other hidden villages, Tobirama took a deep breath and said firmly: "Sage of Six Paths, now that we've settled the general direction, it's time to get to the heart of the matter."

"How, exactly, are we supposed to unite and fight against Kazuki? I'll be blunt—every one of you will need a major power boost if we even want a chance to stand on the same battlefield as him."

Tobirama didn't mince words.

"Baseline requirement: everyone must learn Sage Arts! And Kazuki hasn't left us with much time. So, Sage of Six Paths, you'll need to figure something out—as long as it doesn't compromise your own combat ability."

He turned to Ōtsutsuki Hamura.

"You too. You're the Sage's younger brother, after all…"

The Sage of Six Paths and his brother exchanged glances—then nodded in unison.

Truthfully, neither of them were in any condition to fight directly. The most suitable course of action was indeed to pass their power onto others.

Though their combat skills were technically stronger than Kaguya's, it wasn't by much. After a thousand years without real combat experience, both of them were better suited to support roles.

"Leave the task of boosting your combat power to Hamura and me. We'll give it everything we've got."

The Sage of Six Paths scanned the room with a solemn gaze, finally settling his eyes on Senju Tobirama.

"Kid, I still hold a bit of a grudge over you slandering me earlier…"

"But you are the one with the sharpest tactical mind. And more importantly, you share a special bond with Kazuki."

"So I'm entrusting the battle strategy against Kazuki… to you."

Tobirama let out a cold snort, but when he saw the seriousness in the Sage's Rinnegan eyes, he hesitated for a moment—then extended his hand.

"Pleasure working with you. For the sake of the shinobi world."

"For the shinobi world. It's an honor," the Sage of Six Paths replied, grasping Tobirama's hand.

From that moment on, the alliance—and equal dialogue—between mortals and sages… officially began.

Meanwhile, in the dimensional space—

The severely wounded Momoshiki and Urashiki stared at Isshiki, who was now locked in a state of torment.

The three Ōtsutsuki fell into simultaneous silence.

Never had they been in such a wretched state…

What were they supposed to do now?

Urashiki and Momoshiki, whose hearts had been crushed by Kazuki, whose bodies had been shattered one punch at a time and sent plunging into the Dead Sea—

They were certain they had died in the Shinobi World.

All Kazuki needed to do was catch up and casually deliver a few finishing blows, and Urashiki and Momoshiki would have certainly died by his hand… ʀᴇᴀᴅ ʟᴀᴛᴇsᴛ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀᴛ Novᴇ(l)Fɪre .ɴᴇt

But the problem was—Kazuki didn't.

From beneath the sea, relying on their superior vision granted by the combination of the Rinnegan and Byakugan, Momoshiki and Urashiki were still able to see Kazuki clashing with the people of the Shinobi World…

They couldn't hear the specifics of the conversation, but the situation clearly appeared hostile.

Because of that, Kazuki didn't pursue Urashiki and Momoshiki any further, which gave the two of them a narrow chance to survive and escape. Clinging to life, they barely managed to open an interdimensional portal and rendezvoused with Isshiki—who had been previously sent here by Momoshiki.

But Isshiki's current state wasn't much better than theirs…

Logically speaking, even though Isshiki was gravely injured, he had at least found a relatively suitable vessel—one that had even been prepared by Momoshiki and Urashiki…

Even if his full power couldn't be released, Isshiki should have already taken control of Uchiha Obito's body.

But he hadn't.

Even though Kāma's black markings covered Uchiha Obito's entire body, that vessel would still break free from Isshiki's control from time to time—either attempting to attack Momoshiki and Urashiki, or strangling his own throat, roaring angrily:

"Now that I possess Kazuki's power, there's no way a despicable parasite like you could ever take over me! Die!"

This left the Ōtsutsuki shocked…

A mere mortal—and even the combined efforts of three Ōtsutsuki couldn't possess him?

The root of the problem was that, after Kazuki locked eyes with Isshiki, he seemed to have transferred some of his chakra to Uchiha Obito…

And with just that one glance's worth of power, Uchiha Obito was already tenaciously resisting Isshiki's erosion—and even showed signs of turning the tables.

Just what level of existence was this Kazuki, anyway?

"Kāma's power can't completely erode this vessel. Uchiha Kazuki's chakra is already indistinguishable from that of an Ōtsutsuki. If you carefully sense the chakra inside me… it's practically the sum of all the Ōtsutsuki who have appeared before him."

During a moment when Uchiha Obito wasn't struggling, a thoroughly frustrated Isshiki spoke in a low, muffled voice: "You said Uchiha Kazuki used my Sukunahikona. Then that explains everything…"

"That bastard's dōjutsu is definitely tied to replication. Whether it's dōjutsu or bloodline, he must've used the time he was hidden in the coffin to silently target all of us as replication subjects."

"In other words… he's already a complete Ōtsutsuki. One who's fused with five Ōtsutsuki, no less…"

Urashiki and Momoshiki listened in silence, their expressions growing increasingly grim.

Just as they had feared…

Even more darkly ironic was that, just after Isshiki finished his analysis, his body once again twisted uncontrollably, and an enraged roar burst from his throat: "You dare call Kazuki a bastard? You invaders are the real bastards!"

Urashiki and Momoshiki drew in a deep breath.

Was this really Isshiki possessing Uchiha Obito? Why did it feel more like Uchiha Obito was the one possessing Isshiki…?

After another round of struggling, Isshiki finally managed to suppress Uchiha Obito again.

"Based on what you said—Uchiha Kazuki drained the natural energy of the ocean in an instant, then turned and opposed the mortals of the Shinobi World—this all points to him shifting toward becoming an Ōtsutsuki."

Clutching his chest, the black markings on his body growing even darker, Isshiki continued while still wrestling against Uchiha Obito's resistance: "The Ōtsutsuki bloodline naturally instills in all living beings a craving for power!"

"Uchiha Kazuki, now possessing chakra identical to ours, could never remain shackled by the so-called dull emotions of mortals. Eventually, he will understand that the only meaning of this universe… is to continue evolving, until one becomes an eternal lifeform."

"I've figured it all out… Uchiha Kazuki accidentally sealed Kaguya. But Kaguya had never fully controlled that body, and so, during the fight with the two of you, her shaken mind was taken over in turn—by Uchiha Kazuki!"

"That's how a mortal like him came to obtain Kaguya's power. And with a dōjutsu that allows him to replicate bloodlines and abilities, he immediately began to take the Ōtsutsuki as targets. Otherwise, it would be utterly impossible for a mortal's dōjutsu to absorb Ōtsutsuki power…"

Isshiki let out a slow breath and shook his head with a bitter smile: "After that, including Kaguya, Uchiha Kazuki replicated the bloodlines of five Ōtsutsuki in total with his dōjutsu… If anything counts as ascending in one step, this is it."

"Not just my Sukunahikona—even your Takamimusubinokami, Kinshiki's Furious Smelting, and Urashiki's Time Rewind… he's very likely already copied them all."

Momoshiki and Urashiki silently nodded, their expressions heavy.

They agreed with Isshiki's analysis.

But behind that agreement… was their wariness, fear, and involuntary envy of Kazuki.

Uchiha Kazuki had a remarkable dōjutsu. But even with such a power, if not for extraordinary opportunities, it would have amounted to no more than copying a few Kekkei Genkai and jutsu from mortals—nothing too overwhelming.

No matter how many mortal abilities he copied, in the end, against the Ōtsutsuki, he'd still end up as little more than a joke.

But Kazuki ended up dragging the easiest-to-handle Ōtsutsuki—Kaguya—into his own body!

As a result, that originally unstable replication dōjutsu, once infused with Kaguya's base traits, instantly became a wildly unreasonable weapon of mass destruction. He even stole Isshiki's lifeline dōjutsu, and gained five layers of overlapping bloodlines…

According to what Momoshiki and Urashiki said, Kazuki's display of instantly draining the natural energy from the ocean was far superior to the Divine Tree—or rather, the Ten Tails—that Isshiki and Kaguya had previously cultivated!

Where was the fairness in that?

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