Caught off guard, Momoshiki Otsutsuki raised his long red staff to meet the descending Kurikara.
But before he could make his move, the staff had already broken apart.
In fact, Kurikara had already severed the staff a moment earlier. It had simply happened too quickly for Momoshiki to react.
Shhk!
One of Momoshiki's arms flew into the sky!
Bang!
His eyes nearly splitting with rage, Momoshiki watched his own arm turn to ash in midair, leaving not a speck of dust behind.
"Argh-!"
A wail rang out, and the searing pain made Momoshiki tremble uncontrollably.
Shihōin Naraku took the opportunity to look back at the Konoha ninja. "Get away from the battlefield immediately. This isn't a fight you can take part in."
"Yes!"
"Understood."
Yōsuke Yamashiro immediately led his subordinates toward the edge of the battlefield.
"Aaaargh..."
Before the smoke had cleared, the pain of losing his arm stirred the most primal savagery deep within Momoshiki's bloodline.
He clenched the broken half of the staff in his remaining hand, his knuckles cracking.
His face, which had been slightly pale from exhaustion, now took on a sickly flush from rage and agony.
"Divine Pursuit!!!"
Already driven into a frenzy, Momoshiki suddenly roared in fury. His entire body became a bolt of purple lightning that violently tore through the air and hurtled straight at Shihōin Naraku.
He was simply too fast.
So fast that his slipstream swept up every plant, stone, and grain of sand within a hundred meters, burning them to ash in midair. Even the air had no time to howl, leaving only a straight, searing purple trail.
Naraku's body had only just leaned slightly forward from severing Momoshiki's arm, and his center of gravity had yet to fully settle.
He could sense the six presences fleeing for their lives