Clang-
The two enormous chakra warrior gods swung their blades, crashing into each other...
The force of the impact spread outward at once. Even the shock wave alone toppled swaths of the surrounding towers.
Although the people of Rōran had received the Queen's order to evacuate immediately half an hour earlier, they clearly hadn't been able to leave that quickly. The city was still in chaos!
A figure floated inside the gem on the crimson Susanoo's forehead, wearing An Lushan's regent robes. But his face had become that of an older Akaseki. Even more striking were the concentric rings in his eyes, glowing a pale violet...
They were none other than the legendary Rinnegan!
Future Akaseki stood with his arms folded, looking at the dark red Susanoo before him as he demanded in a low voice, "Hikari, are you going to stop me too?"
"The older you get, the more self-centered you become. I'm not going out of my way to stop you. You're simply getting in my way," Hikari said calmly.
"Is that so? I thought it would take much longer for our relationship to reach this point," Future Akaseki said wistfully-clearly seeing straight through Hikari's prickly front.
Hikari: ...
"Can time really make someone this full of himself?" Hikari's expression darkened.
"I'm sorry," Future Akaseki suddenly said.
"Are you asking for mercy now?" Hikari asked, puzzled.
"I'm sorry you had to wake up in an era like this. Perhaps it would have been better if you'd awakened someday in the future, when the Shinobi World was truly at peace..." Future Akaseki's voice was filled with helplessness, then hardened with resolve. "Now... let me put this mistake right!"
Hearing the determination in his voice, as though he intended to seal her away again until that "future," Hikari only grew