"Mom..." Black Zetsu's trembling voice twisted through the air. His viscous body instantly liquefied, shooting toward Kaguya's sleeve like an arrow of ink loosed from a bow.
Countless years of lurking, countless failed schemes—the calculations of all those Indra and Asura reincarnations who had been used as pawns turned into pure excitement at this moment.
A millennium-long plan had finally succeeded.
Black Zetsu curled up inside her sleeve, feeling his mother's warmth through the fabric, as though he had returned to being the child born from Kaguya's cuff a thousand years ago.
Kaguya, freed from her seal, remained expressionless and cold, as if she possessed no emotions at all.
She kept murmuring the names "Hagoromo" and "Hamura," then suddenly lowered her gaze upon the three people on the ground.
In an instant.
Countless strands of silver hair hardened and lengthened as if alive, transforming into a deadly silver downpour that blanketed the sky and poured down upon the three below.
"This woman's strength really is terrifying." Asuka bit his thumb and flashed in front of the other two. At the same time, he formed hand seals and pressed both hands to the ground. "Summoning Technique: Shukaku!"
Bang!
White smoke rose into the air, and a shrill voice came from within it. "Yaha, Lord Shukaku was practically suffocating to death in Ryūchi Cave. Has the Infinite Tsukuyomi finally ended?"
Before the words had even faded, Shukaku burst out of the smoke.
The moment he looked up, he saw that the Blood Moon overhead had not vanished. There was even an extra woman there—a woman he absolutely did not want to see.
"Old man's mother."
Shukaku's pupils shrank to pinpoints. He leaped onto Asuka's shoulder and clutched him tightly, rare gravity in his voice. "Even in my nightmares, I've never dreamed of