Sasuke appeared roughly five meters behind Naruto and to his side, his Kusanagi Sword angled toward the ground.
"I saw."
"He's in bad shape."
"Then let's finish this quickly." Naruto clenched his fists.
"I know," Sasuke cut him off. "You pressure him head-on. I'll cut in from the flank."
The three faced off in a triangular formation.
Momoshiki stood at one point, still breathing hard, his gaze wary and apprehensive.
Naruto and Sasuke stood at the other end. Their rapport needed no extra words; a single glance was enough to assign their tactics.
And in the sky far above this battlefield, pitch-black blade light collided once more with the shadow of a black rod.
The sounds of Shihōin Naraku and Ōtsutsuki Isshiki's deadly clash carried down from the distant heights.
An explosive bolt of black lightning split the clouds, its branching tips tearing at the edges of the sky like claws.
Shihōin Naraku's Kurikara collided with Ōtsutsuki Isshiki's Black Rod once again.
A ring of blinding white light flared at the point of impact. Compressed to its limit, the air suddenly burst outward with a deep hum.
The shock threw birds within a hundred li off balance, sending them tumbling down.
Isshiki's body paused almost imperceptibly under the recoil. An unhealed wound still marked his arm, and every exertion brought a surge of indescribable pain.
Gritting his teeth, he abruptly extended the Black Rod in his right hand, thrusting it straight between Naraku's brows like a black javelin.
The Black Rod whistled through the air.
Yet Naraku neither dodged nor retreated. Kurikara turned in his palm, shifting from a forward grip to a reverse grip.
He sank slightly, sweeping the blade's tip diagonally upward along the side of the Black Rod. The scrape of metal was so shrill it seemed