A towering wave surged toward Aoike at terrifying speed, like a ferocious beast baring its claws!
The enormous, violent wall of water swallowed Aoike's exhausted body in an instant.
Then wave after wave surged mercilessly forward, driving the current ahead of them and slamming Aoike against the hard rocks once more! The heavy impact made him furrow his brow, but he still did everything he could to steady his ragged breathing and racing heartbeat.
Just as Aoike struggled to regain his composure, thick serpents of lightning wound their way up through the rushing water and coiled tightly around him!
Seeing this, everyone nearby assumed Aoike had been badly injured. Lightning Style would leave him paralyzed, if not unconscious.
At that moment, the mysterious Mangekyō Sharingan hidden beneath Aoike's eyelids had only just settled back into calm after the upheaval.
The instant Aoike was struck by Lightning Style, all kinds of complicated, chaotic ninjutsu rained down on him from every direction, as though they meant to bury him forever...
"You were too arrogant for your own good. You died here without even using Susanoo," Otsutsuki Ikki mocked coldly.
The arrogance carved into the bones of the Ōtsutsuki Clan would not fade easily. He didn't believe Aoike could survive such an onslaught without Susanoo's protection.
Once the scorched earth ahead had been plowed over three times, leaving behind a crater, Otsutsuki Ikki stopped attacking.
If the successive battles hadn't drained so much of his chakra, he would have liked to unleash a few more rounds.
He waved for several clan members to check whether any bodies were still intact, then began organizing people to collect the eyes again.
Three men jumped into the crater and began searching carefully. The dust kicked up by the ninjutsu explosions hung above them, while broken rocks littered the ground underfoot.
They didn't fully relax until they spotted a mangled corpse not far away.
One of them pressed a hand to the burn on his shoulder. The shadow of death seemed to cling to it still. When he realized the devil really was dead, shame gave way to simmering rage.
Grinning through clenched teeth, he said, "Damn Earth trash. Once we've collected all the Byakugan..."
As he spoke, he kicked a severed limb on the ground.
"Bang."
Smoke drifted away, and the limb turned back into a dead branch. Cracks spread across the earth beneath their feet, and flashes of light from the explosion shone through the gaps in the dust.
"Something's wrong! Get back..."
Then—
Boom...!
A small mushroom cloud rose from the ground.
The shockwave made the robes of those outside the crater snap in the wind.
Cold sweat dripped from their wrists onto the ground as everyone stared at the center of the blast through their chakra eyes.
"Masaka...!"
"Is he still alive?!"
Hadn't that monster, the one who'd slain a hundred men, been exhausted and killed by their ninjutsu?
How was that possible...? How could anyone survive an attack that dense?
While everyone's attention was fixed on the blast's center, Otsutsuki Ikki suddenly felt the hairs on his body stand on end, as if something were pricking his back.
Almost by instinct, he unleashed a full-force strike behind him.
"Takemikazuchi: Return."
The Lightning Style Aoike had absorbed earlier shot toward Otsutsuki Ikki with even greater force.
But the jutsu, powerful enough to split mountains and shatter rocks, only held Otsutsuki Ikki back for an instant before collapsing and fading away.
Then Aoike's Chidori collided with Otsutsuki Ikki's fist.
Like magnets with opposing poles, the two rebounded away from each other at the moment of impact.
Aoike spun in midair and landed safely. The tremendous force acting on his feet carved two deep furrows into the ground.
At the same time, Otsutsuki Ikki stumbled backward several steps amid flying stones before finally managing to steady himself.
Aoike glanced at his right hand. It was bloody, swollen, and burning. From experience, he judged that the pain meant he had probably fractured a bone.
I really am no good at Earth Release. He sighed inwardly. If I'd been a little more subtle, Otsutsuki Ikki might be a corpse right now.
Otsutsuki Ikki casually bandaged the wound left by the Chidori and asked calmly, "Why are you still alive?"
"Just the Body Replacement Technique, an Explosive Tag, and Earth Release."
"What, didn't your teacher teach you that?" Aoike sneered as he walked forward to face Otsutsuki Ikki from a distance.
Though his words were sharp, Aoike had sensed during the earlier battle that the Ōtsutsuki on the moon had some impressive physical advantages.
Abundant chakra, strong bodies... They were generally a cut above ordinary people on Earth.
But their methods were limited and repetitive. Their tactics and instincts were outdated.
"Hmph! Why waste your breath on him, Clan Head? He's just a spent force now. If we all attack at once, how could we possibly lose?" A bald man with a fleshy face spoke up nearby.
Otsutsuki Ikki gave him a cold glance through his chakra eyes, and the man immediately backed down in fright.
Looking at the fighting force, now fewer than a thousand strong, Otsutsuki Ikki saw that only a dozen or so remained calm and collected. The rest had nothing left in their heads but fighting and killing.
He couldn't help feeling weary.
"You all fought well earlier. Now, then..." Aoike glanced around at the Otsutsuki Branch Family, who stood ready for battle. Beneath his cold gaze lay a hint of utter madness.
"Time for phase two."
He gave a low shout. "Susanoo!"
An immense surge of ocular power and chakra burst forth. First came a skeleton of bones, then muscles and sinews covered it.
A towering figure, over ten meters tall and radiating an intensely terrifying aura, now stood in the middle of the battlefield!
The sight brought everyone unprecedented shock and dread!
Hundreds of people standing before the colossal being looked utterly insignificant.
Though blood stained Aoike's eyes and continued to stream from them, the divine power that let him command the entire situation made him feel exhilarated beyond words!
Aoike slowly raised his right hand and gently wiped away the blood at the corner of his eye. With a seemingly humble and polite smile that concealed a mocking edge, he said, "Since you're all such formidable people, I'll stop holding back..." Before he had even finished speaking, his gaze fell on the bald man who had been shouting just moments ago...