Watching the two figures gradually shrink into black dots in the distance, Zou Hyuga pursued them for a while before finally returning to where he had started.
Without the suppression of the Tenseigan chakra, his Byakugan gradually returned to normal, allowing him to survey his surroundings again.
Zou Hyuga had not deactivated Sage Mode. He focused all his attention on the specks of light scattered across the ground. They were all chakra that had been stolen from him.
Had Toneri not fallen unconscious at the crucial moment, the outcome of the battle would have been reversed.
His physical condition was nowhere near as good as he made it look. Even setting aside that final black sphere, which he suspected was a Truth-Seeking Orb, he had lost over eighty percent of his chakra alone.
He had simply never felt so weak.
He activated the black markings and gathered up the emerald green specks of light. Although this chakra could no longer return to his body, he absolutely could not let anyone else discover it.
The commotion caused by his battle with the Lunar Ōtsutsuki had already exceeded his initial expectations.
He could easily imagine that the village's ANBU, having noticed the disturbance, would certainly rush to the site.
After catching his breath, Zou Hyuga leaped to higher ground and planned his escape route. By his estimate, there would not be many ANBU coming to investigate.
But when Zou Hyuga concealed himself and saw the mass of ninja approaching, he was stunned.
He had deliberately chosen to fight dozens of kilometers away from the village, yet the scene before him could easily have been described as the entire village turning out in force.
Fortunately, the Hyuga were Konoha's best scouts. After encountering the Hyuga ninja in charge, Zou Hyuga had no trouble