When the last silver mote representing Ōtsutsuki Urashiki was greedily chewed up and swallowed by that ferocious soul beast, Hyuga Xiao's consciousness was violently torn from the chaotic Temporal Abyss and slammed back into his body in the real world.
Bzzzz—!
A violent buzzing rose from deep within his brain, as if countless steel needles were piercing it.
It was the agonizing pain of soul and flesh recalibrating after returning from a high-dimensional mental battlefield to reality.
Hyuga Xiao let out a muffled groan. His body swayed uncontrollably, and his face was as pale as paper. His chakra was nearly exhausted; maintaining the massive gravitational field while fighting on the level of souls had drained him to the limit.
Yet his azure eyes showed not the slightest trace of fatigue. Instead, they burned with the almost pathological satisfaction and excitement of a predator after a full meal.
He had succeeded.
Not only had he protected what belonged to him, he had also devoured that lofty Ōtsutsuki remnant soul, skin and bones alike, turning it into the most precious nourishment in his arsenal.
His gaze instantly pierced the air blurred by gravitational distortion and locked firmly onto the center of the formation.
There, Kurenai Yuhi, bound by chakra chains, was undergoing the final and most breathtaking transformation.
In the real world, the immense energy brought by that bloody feast of souls was pouring madly into her body through the Humanity Anchor connecting them, like a flood bursting through a broken dam!
Pop! Pop!
A series of faint yet distinct cracking sounds came from Kurenai Yuhi's eye sockets.
It was not the sound of flesh rupturing, but a higher form of "qualitative change"!
Her originally resolute crimson eyes had completely vanished. In their place were two magnificent yet terrifying jewels beyond description.