Otsutsuki Kōshiki's gaze swept back and forth over Uchiha Akira several times, trying to find even the slightest flaw on that unruly face.
There was none. That face held no emotion at all, as calm as a bottomless lake.
"I never saw you during the hundreds of years I slept.
Could it be that you're some rising star who emerged only in these past few centuries?"
At that thought, his gaze grew even more fearful.
In just a few centuries, he had gone from a mortal to the God of Ōtsutsuki, traversing a path Kōshiki himself had failed to complete in thousands of years, while casually slaughtering more than half the Otsutsuki Clan along the way.
Uchiha Itachi and Hyuga Neji exchanged a glance.
Itachi's lips twitched, and the corner of Neji's eye twitched as well.
Another one whose pupils were shaking.
They had seen it plenty of times. Every Otsutsuki wore that expression upon seeing Uchiha Akira. Raishiki had been the same, Kushiki had been the same, and now it was Otsutsuki Kōshiki's turn.
"A rising star?"
Uchiha Akira raised an eyebrow.
"No. I'm merely an ordinary Uchiha. And your path of evolution ends here!"
"What kind of joke is that?!"
Otsutsuki Kōshiki curled his lip, fury burning in his eyes.
"Though I haven't ascended to the realm of the God of Ōtsutsuki, I'm only half a step away!"
"Even if I'm not your match, I'm still beyond comparison to anyone else."
In his eyes, he was just one final step away.
The gap between him and Uchiha Akira could not possibly be that large.
Uchiha Akira calmly shook his head.
"If you have not reached this realm, you will never understand its terror."
"Stop boasting here!"
Otsutsuki Kōshiki sneered.
He stomped his foot, and the entire altar exploded.