(Thanks to Fenghe Qingkong for the gift of love-powered support. Thank you, thank you, thank you.)
Bzzzz—!!!
Bzz—!
Whoosh—!
Two piercing sounds rang out at once. Two figures struck within a thousandth of a second!
Two Six Paths Level divine weapons faced each other across the distance!
The next instant, they slammed together!
There were no flashy techniques, only a collision of speed, strength, and will pushed to their limits. In a single instant, the two exchanged over ten thousand blows!
Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang—!!!
The clash of divine weapons rang out without end, shaking heaven and earth!
The two figures streaked across the sky like beams of light, crossing and grappling as the Six Paths Sword and the Sword of Amenonuhoko hammered against each other!
Every collision unleashed a blinding shock wave of energy. Their power threatened to tear the entire sky apart!
"Hah—!"
"Hah—!"
Their shouts shook the clouds as a storm of Chakra swept in every direction!
Below, Indra and Asura stared up at the battle, eyes wide with disbelief.
Even with all they knew, they could barely comprehend the fight before them. Neither combatant used a vast, world-destroying technique, yet the sheer force of their battle was terrifying!
Susanoo would have been a plastic bag before them.
The Thousand-Handed Buddha would have been a speed bump.
Ten thousand meters above the ground, violent air currents churned under the force of the battle. Manji and Hagoromo's gazes met countless times in flashes of motion.
Hagoromo's thoughts were in turmoil. After living for so long, he understood the limits of life on this planet. He knew the ceiling of power in this world.
But Manji had shattered everything he thought he knew!
"Teacher! What are you? No living being on this planet should be able to reach your level!"
Hagoromo gripped the Sword of Amenonuhoko tightly as he asked in shock.
He had lived for centuries and seen countless powerful people, but never anyone as absurd as Manji.
Living that long was one thing. His strength was monstrous too.
"Heh. Do you think a little brat like you can shake the power I've cultivated over thousands of years?"
Manji remained unruffled, a faint smile on his lips.
His swings with the Six Paths Sword looked slow, yet they caught every one of Hagoromo's crushing blows with perfect precision.
Manji scoffed inwardly.
I'm an Outer Realm Heavenly Demon. How could any living being on this planet compare with the foundation I've built through cultivation?
We're not even on the same plane of existence!
Their battle grew fiercer, the fighting climbing ever higher until it reached ten thousand meters above the ground!
Both understood without a word that they could not let a battle of this magnitude engulf the mortals and other living beings below. Together, they carried the fight far above the earth.
Meanwhile, on the distant moon, Ōtsutsuki Hamura and his disciples and descendants watched the earth-shaking battle on Earth.
"Whoa! Great-grandfather! What's happening on Earth? Those energy fluctuations are terrifying!"
A white-haired old man stared at the disturbances on Earth's surface, his expression grave.
Ōtsutsuki Hamura, now frail and unsteady on his feet, leaned on his cane as he watched the fluctuations on Earth.
A flicker of surprise crossed his clouded eyes.
Hamura nevertheless waved a calm hand and said steadily:
"Don't worry. Sage Manji and my elder brother Hagoromo are on Earth. With the two of them protecting it, there's nothing to fear!"
With that, Hamura clasped his hands behind his back and slowly walked away, leaving his disciples and descendants looking at one another.
"As you say."
They scratched their heads but finally relaxed. Each went their own way without another word.
"Haaaaah—!!!!"
A shout shook the heavens as the Six Paths Sword and the Sword of Amenonuhoko collided again!
Violet-gold and dark divine light crashed against each other, grinding fine cracks into space itself!
At that instant, Manji's pupils contracted. A flash of genuine shock crossed his mind.
The Sword of Amenonuhoko and the Six Paths Sword responded directly to their wielders' hearts and carried their wills. The stronger that will, the more terrifying the weapon's power!
And in that clash, Manji had clearly sensed the will within Hagoromo: heavy as ancient bedrock and utterly unbreakable. It was a boundless love that embraced all things and sought to protect every living being!
Hagoromo truly was a man of boundless love!
A legendary king of love.
"Hagoromo, you really do love the world..." Manji murmured, moved despite himself.
Across from him, veins bulged along Hagoromo's arms as he braced the Sword of Amenonuhoko against the crushing force of the Six Paths Sword. Holding on grew harder by the moment.
"Teacher, your power truly is unfathomable."
Hagoromo spoke through clenched teeth.
Manji looked as composed as ever, but inwardly he marveled. Ōtsutsuki Hagoromo really is a force to be reckoned with, even now.
He's already passed some of his power to Asura, and age has taken him far from his peak. Yet he can still withstand my attacks!
I need to end this quickly.
If the fight dragged on, it might affect the world below. Manji held nothing back. Senjutsu Chakra erupted around him.
"Sage Art: Multi Shadow Clone Technique!"
Manji's figure split into five!
Five identical figures surrounded Hagoromo, trapping him in their midst!
"Sage Art: Five Immortal Art Barrage!"
The five figures shouted together, each drawing on one of five great immortal powers: those of Mount Myōboku, Ryūchi Cave, Shikkotsu Forest, Yata, and Enma!
Five utterly different, world-destroying immortal arts!
Fueled by centuries of accumulated Senjutsu power, they hurtled toward Hagoromo!
How terrifying was the Senjutsu power Manji had amassed over hundreds of years?
Unleashed all at once, it came close to reducing everything to the primal elements and annihilating all things!
Hagoromo's expression changed drastically as the five-colored torrent of Senjutsu surged toward him!
That boundless Senjutsu energy could grind everything with physical form to ash!
"Rinnegan absorption!"
Hagoromo knew that forcibly absorbing Senjutsu energy would make the Senjutsu Chakra run wild and blow his body apart. But to protect every living being below, he had no other choice!
At the same time,
the Truth-Seeking Orbs floating behind Hagoromo shot forward. Black Yin-Yang Release Chakra spread like a curtain across the sky, instantly forming an unbreakable barrier!
It sealed off the entire battlefield. Not a trace of the blast would escape to harm the lives below!
Then, at Hagoromo's command, the last remaining Truth-Seeking Orb began to swell!
"Expanding Truth-Seeking Orb!"
There it was!
His mother Kaguya had once used that move but had been stopped. Now Hagoromo had recreated it.
Even if Hagoromo could not reach his mother Kaguya's level.
This should gravely wound Master, even if it doesn't kill him. Then I'll have no choice but to leave things to Asura... How helpless. Master's blockade is too strong. I can't contact Hamura on the moon at all...
A tear rolled from Hagoromo's eye.
"An Expanding Truth-Seeking Orb?"
The moment Manji saw it, he understood what Hagoromo intended.
Boom!!!
A tremendous explosion turned the entire night bright as day!
For an instant, heaven and earth fell silent!
The Anbu said Hagoromo had won.
The Super Kage said Manji had won.
And the author said: Time for me to let my hand do the winning.
Before you continue