Crack.
The Silver Scale let out a strained wail in Xiao's palm.
That icy gaze spanning endless space was forcibly severed by the Tenseigan's tyrannical Attraction. The frigid white mist suddenly dispersed, turning into fine ice crystals that struck the rough wooden floor with soft rustling sounds.
Xiao slowly loosened his fingers.
The scale in his palm had not shattered, but the faint blue starlight on its surface had dimmed, like a dead snake stripped of its fangs, reverting to a cold, lifeless object. A purplish bruise remained on his palm, a mark left by the extreme cold trying to invade his flesh. Golden Yang Release Chakra quickly surged over it, devouring the deathly purple-black color until his skin returned to its warm tone.
"More perceptive than I expected." Xiao looked at the scale in his palm, starlight swirling like a vortex deep within his azure eyes.
That brief mental confrontation had allowed him to grasp the Ancient White Serpent's nature. It lacked the lofty, godlike bearing of the Ōtsutsuki Clan. There was only primal greed, pure enough to devour everything. It was an ancient beast that had lived for tens of millions of years, blending chakra and natural energy into something grotesquely mutated.
It was powerful. But precisely because of that chaos and greed, it was easier to deal with than those emotionless Lunar Overseers.
Hinata, wrapped in an oversized black robe, sat up from the bed. Her bare feet stepped onto the frost-covered floor, yet she felt no cold at all. Stellar Chakra within her continuously provided her with warmth.
She walked behind Xiao, picked up the black trench coat draped over the chair, and gently placed it over his shoulders. Her fingers slid down from the collar, smoothing out the wrinkles left by last night's battle little