"Which one will you choose next?"
Momoshiki stared at the finger pointed at the spot between his brows. The red patterns of his Rinnegan spun at maximum speed deep within his pupils as his brain raced through every possibility.
That last strike had produced no chakra fluctuations, no warning signs of a ninjutsu being unleashed, no form of energy he could recognize. Kinshiki had simply been sent flying.
"Lord Momoshiki." Urashiki's voice came from behind him, cold and soft. "His attacks aren't chakra."
"I know." Momoshiki's teeth ground audibly.
Of course he knew. His Rinnegan could absorb ninjutsu in any chakra form. This was the innate ability the Ōtsutsuki Clan took the greatest pride in, but it required his opponent to be using chakra-based power.
Yet from beginning to end, the black-clad youth before him had not emitted a single chakra fluctuation.
"What power are you using, exactly?" Momoshiki kept his voice very low, his red pupils locked on Shengu Xuan.
"You want to know?" Shengu Xuan slipped his hand back into his pocket and tilted his head at him, looking as though he found the question rather boring. "Sure. I don't mind showing you."
He raised his right hand, and the fiery glow of the Chicken Talisman lit up his palm. Dark gold runes spun into shape at his fingertips, their heat clearly perceptible even in the vacuum.
The instant Momoshiki's Rinnegan saw that glow, it instinctively activated its absorption ability. Its red patterns spun at full speed, trying to drag that energy into his palm.
Nothing happened.
Momoshiki's Rinnegan spun uselessly a few times, producing an intangible sense of grinding resistance, like gears failing to catch a chain. His right palm lay open toward Shengu Xuan, its absorption power fully unleashed, but those dark gold flame patterns did