"Come here."
Kinshiki shot out of the rubble, crossed two hundred meters in three strides, and landed steadily beside Momoshiki.
Momoshiki hovered in midair, not yet having had time to wipe the dust and blood from his face. He looked down at the black-clad youth on the lunar surface, who gazed up at him with both hands in his pockets. The Rinnegan patterns in his red pupils turned twice, then stopped.
"Lord Momoshiki, your face..." Kinshiki's voice carried an anxiety it never had before.
"Shut up." Momoshiki raised a hand and wiped the blood from his face. The purplish-black blood on his fingertips formed tiny beads in zero gravity and drifted away. "Kinshiki, are you willing to do anything for me?"
Kinshiki's expression changed.
The change was not hesitation, but a heaviness that came when an anticipated fate finally arrived. He lowered his massive frame slightly, his voice muffled as though it came from somewhere very deep.
"Yes, Lord Momoshiki."
Momoshiki's lips twisted into an ugly curve. He knew Kinshiki understood what he was asking.
Below, on the lunar surface, Shengu Xuan spat out the grass stem in his mouth and replaced it with a fresh one. His chaos-colored eyes watched the two Otsutsuki whispering above, his expression like a customer waiting for an overdue food delivery.
"Have you finished discussing it?"
Momoshiki ignored him. His red pupils met Kinshiki's eyes, and he lowered his voice until only the two of them could hear.
"Kinshiki, with all your chakra and life essence added to mine, I can enter my complete form."
"I know." Kinshiki's answer was calm.
"In my complete form, my Rinnegan can evolve into the golden Rinnegan. It won't just absorb chakra. In theory, it can absorb every form of energy, including that... magic he mentioned."
"In theory,"