Ōtsutsuki Isshiki withdrew his gaze, his mind racing.
Continuing to fight was a dead end. His remaining lifespan would not last through this battle of attrition.
Isshiki had no desire to waste what little life he had left here.
He still had countless things to do.
But escaping his current predicament was easier said than done.
Naraku was every bit as fast as he was, if not faster.
And on the ground, Naruto and Sasuke were watching like hawks.
The moment he showed any intention of retreating, they would only pursue him harder.
If his opponent had been someone unskilled in Space-Time Ninjutsu, Isshiki would not have been so worried.
If he truly wanted to leave, he could simply open a Space-Time Portal and depart.
But that would not work now.
Isshiki still clearly remembered the scene from earlier, when Momoshiki Otsutsuki and Kinshiki Otsutsuki had opened a Space-Time Portal to withdraw, only to be stopped by Shihōin Naraku.
Space-time had frozen completely, leaving Momoshiki and Kinshiki at Naraku's mercy.
Had he not appeared to help, Momoshiki and Kinshiki might already have died at Naraku's hands.
With such a glaring lesson before him, Isshiki did not dare open a Space-Time Portal in front of Naraku.
That would be courting death.
Just as Isshiki's mind raced, all five people on the battlefield sensed something at almost the same instant.
Naraku raised an eyebrow slightly. The tip of his pitch-black blade shifted a little, and his gaze left Isshiki for an instant as he glanced southeast.
In a brief opening between clashes with Momoshiki, Naruto Uzumaki abruptly pulled back several meters. Golden chakra surged around him as he swept his gaze in the same direction, his expression changing slightly.
Sasuke Uchiha's blade traced an arc through the air. After forcing Momoshiki back,