Tenseigan

The branch family's ancestral grounds... The Tenseigan was housed in an underground cavern, its size less than half of what it was in the original story.

To thoroughly defeat the main family, the branch family had siphoned off a portion of power from the Tenseigan, which had been condensed using secret arts.

Having failed to successfully obtain the main family's eyes, the smaller, stripped-away Tenseigan was destroyed by Aoike.

Thus, this "malnourished" synthetic Tenseigan came to be.

Under the group's plan, almost all paths leading here had been blown up, leaving only one empty main thoroughfare.

Everyone knew that conventional methods would be useless, and the family secret art, in which they placed their high hopes, was their trump card.

Everyone stared fixedly at that single entrance and exit.

The Otsutsuki had paid a heavy price for their arrogance, and that price had turned into a cost that dragged them toward the abyss.

Two hungry beasts met on a narrow path between survival and ideals;

The winner takes all, the loser eats dust!

Toneri, positioned at the rear, felt cold sweat beading on his palms; the atmosphere was so quiet that even the sound of swallowing could be heard.

The lunar rock overhead emitted a teeth-gritting tremor, and the roar of the giant objects colliding hammered against everyone's hearts.

A dozen seconds later, Aoike rubbed his slightly swollen and aching eye sockets and dispersed his Susanoo.

"This turtle shell is really tough." Aoike kicked a pebble aside, his brows furrowed.

Just a moment ago, he had tried to use his Byakugan to see what the situation was like below, but he couldn't see through it at all; even his Susanoo couldn't pry it open.

In the original story, Toneri had split the moon with a single strike once he possessed the Tenseigan. Now that a large one was hiding inside, Aoike was naturally very wary.

He could potentially blast through this defense with an all-out strike, but the weakness and recovery time following such a powerful move would give the enemy an opportunity to strike back.

That would be like unveiling the enemy's cannon—ready to send him to the heavens.

But the battle had reached its final moment, and giving up now was not realistic.

He broke into the lair alone, his footsteps never faltering.

The silver-white skeletal form of the Susanoo shielded Aoike.

Dust flew along the way, and relying on his powerful defense, Aoike wanted to pierce through their formation at the fastest possible speed.

The branch family members manipulating the Tenseigan in the cavern realized this as well. Under their control, the Tenseigan erupted with powerful repulsive force, acting like an invisible giant hand that forcibly restrained the advancing skeleton.

"This Tenseigan really has some strength!"

The hexagonal lotus in his Mangekyo spun wildly. Just as the muscles of the Susanoo began to grow, Aoike suddenly felt the pressure ease.

He looked at the few small fries who were panting heavily and forcibly manipulating the Tenseigan, and chuckled.

"Too bad the users aren't up to much."

In his heart, however, he was secretly rejoicing that he had severely damaged the main force of the Otsutsuki branch family. If Otsutsuki Ikki and the others were the ones driving the Tenseigan, Aoike would have turned and run without a second thought.

The gap between them was like the difference between the Flying Thunder God of the Fourth Hokage's guard and the Flying Thunder God of the Fourth Hokage himself.

Perhaps they were "used to it," as no one spoke up to refute Aoike, only baring their hatred toward him with twisted expressions and hollow eye sockets.

After a few rounds, Aoike wore a look of confusion; he had already figured out the pattern.

As soon as he activated his Susanoo and approached, he was repelled.

The closer he got, the higher the level of the Susanoo, and the greater the force of the counterattack he encountered; it was like a spring, never taking the initiative.

The Tenseigan hadn't even used powerful skills like the Tensei Blast.

Were they stalling?

Aoike stood outside the attack range. Since forcing his way in with Susanoo was ineffective, he would change his tactics.

The people maintaining the Tenseigan in the distance saw that Aoike had stopped charging over with his Susanoo and breathed a sigh of relief.

Although the Tenseigan, aggregated through secret arts, did not fear ninjutsu attacks from those without Hamura's bloodline, the previous punch from the Susanoo, which was comparable to a natural disaster, had left an indelible psychological shadow on everyone.

From here on, as long as they stalled for time until that technique was completed, even the strongest opponent would undoubtedly die.

"Shadow Clone Technique."

Five identical Aoikes appeared.

"Fire Style!"

"Great Flame Technique."

"Wind Style: Great Breakthrough."

The wind aided the fire, and in the blink of an eye, the flames were right before them.

"Earth Style: Earth Wall."

Layer upon layer of earth walls rose from the ground, blocking all of Aoike's attacks.

"Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique."

Everyone subconsciously hid behind the ruined earth walls, letting the sky-filling shuriken fall.

The five shadow clones surged forward, and the branch family members intercepted Aoike with the goal of stalling him.

The Shadow Clones merely shifted their positions constantly, keeping those surrounding them in pursuit.

The footprints of the Shadow Clones covered the entire field, yet they failed to break through the core defense.

The four Aoikes on the field vanished into puffs of smoke with a bang, and one of them, appearing to be the true body, leaped into the air.

"Susanoo!"

A silvery-white skeletal frame manifested, its hands forming hammers that slammed down toward the Tenseigan.

"Have you lost your mind?" The Otsutsuki manipulating the Tenseigan below curled his lips as he watched Aoike reveal his true form.

A torrential force of repulsion surged toward the silvery-white skeleton.

The scene of the skeleton being sent flying, as expected, did not occur; instead, it dissipated into a cloud of white smoke...

Clearly, this was a Transformation Jutsu performed by a Shadow Clone.

Where, then, was the real Aoike?

"Chidori!"

The restless buzzing sound echoed across the entire field. Aoike, who had long been hiding within the shuriken, seized the opportunity and used Chidori to end the life of the one named Otsutsuki Toneri.

As the arm flickering with lightning pierced through Toneri's chest, everything seemed to have been pressed on pause.

Looking at Toneri, who was only a few years older than himself, Aoike felt no ripples in his heart.

War was just like this; the moment one became an enemy, it was either you die or I die.

The only difference between Aoike and Toneri was that he had successfully achieved his goal, while Toneri had failed.

"Heavenly Controller of Fate."

The tyrannical ocular power instantly refined the dying Otsutsuki Toneri.

Ashes scattered.

Plunder, deconstruction...

He felt the cells throughout his entire body boiling; he was truly worthy of being a clansman recognized by Urashiki.

The purity was higher than everyone on the moon combined! Aoike narrowed his eyes in satisfaction.

Ninety-nine percent.