Drip...
Drip...
The sound of dripping water echoed through the cave. Zou Hyuga slowly opened his eyes, his head aching slightly, and habitually assessed his situation.
He was in an underground cave. The water pooled around him smelled of salt and dampness, suggesting he was not far from the ocean.
There were no dangerous creatures or ninja nearby. For now, he was safe...
As he assessed his surroundings, Zou Hyuga touched his head and found that something on it seemed pointed. He took out his broken sword.
In its reflection, Zou Hyuga saw what looked like a white, bamboo-shoot-shaped horn protruding from his forehead.
"Isn't this an Otsutsuki horn?"
Startled, Zou Hyuga began to recall the earlier battle.
To defend against the Truth-Seeking Orbs Toneri had formed, as well as the Golden Wheel Reincarnation Explosion capable of splitting the moon, he had activated his Karma state.
In that state, he had been exceptionally calm, making the most appropriate choices and judgments.
He had defeated Otsutsuki Toneri, yet just as he was about to deliver the finishing blow, he had suddenly fled to the seabed and hidden deep underground.
Why had I left?
Was I afraid that killing Toneri would leave me unable to reach the moon and obtain the Otsutsuki's Tenseigan?
For the Tenseigan, I might indeed have done that.
But it seemed that a gaze had been what ultimately made him abandon the fight.
That gaze had filled him with an intense sense of danger. Even if he used every trump card he had, he would not be able to win.
Its owner's strength was undoubtedly several dimensions beyond his own.
That was not the kind of threat Black Zetsu, Nagato, or Obito could pose to him.
Obito was, at most, evenly matched with him. Nagato only held a