"Stop running your mouth."
With a furious roar, the enemy thrust both hands forward, condensing an immense energy sphere nearly ten meters wide.
"Die!"
The blazing sphere shot toward Kaito like a meteor.
But Kaito only sneered."You think you're worthy of killing me?"
In an instant, his Susanoo erupted into its third stage, a towering armored figure blazing with chakra. The blade in its hand swung down, cleaving the massive energy ball clean in two.
The collision unleashed a chaotic burst of wild energy. A vacuum shockwave cracked the air, and a moment later, a yellow mushroom cloud of sand rose from the battlefield like a desert-borne explosion.
The sandstorm obscured everything—sight, sound, even chakra flow. But deep within the storm, a pair of white eyes opened.
"Fire Style: Majestic Destroyer Flame!"
A golden sea of fire burst forth, flooding the battlefield. Its heat was so intense that grains of sand fused into falling sheets of glass. The inferno surged for over a hundred meters... until it suddenly collapsed inward, compressing into a fireball the size of a fist.
Then, with a simple sweep of a cyan staff, the enemy dispersed the fireball like a candle flame.
Kaito's eyes narrowed."Even Susanoo is useless against him... and he can shrink jutsu itself."
He dismissed his Susanoo.
In the next breath, chakra of all five elements wrapped around his body—this time infused with Sage Energy.
Then he vanished.
Kaito charged forward, closing the distance instantly. He knew full well that his opponent possessed the Byakugan, which could easily see through visual obstructions.
But even the Byakugan couldn't account for true speed.
CLANG!
The screech of metal echoed as Kaito's blade struck Isshiki head-on.
CLANG! CLANG!
Blow after blow followed, swords clashing at lightning speed.
In mere seconds, they had exchanged dozens of strikes. Isshiki tried to morph his weapon into surprise forms mid-combat, but Kaito's phantom-like movements made it impossible to land a hit.
Using his technique, Shenrin (神臨 – "God's Presence"), and the power of Sage-Enhanced Taijutsu, Kaito's speed surpassed even what the Otsutsuki had anticipated.
Despite Isshiki's efforts to keep up, Kaito's strikes grew faster, sharper, and more precise. One slash tore across his chest, leaving a deep, bone-cutting wound.
"Urgh—!"
Isshiki grunted, pain flashing across his face. He quickly shrank himself to escape the follow-up barrage, but Kaito was already waiting.
A spinning kick connected squarely with the miniature Isshiki, sending him flying.
Kaito watched with a smirk as Isshiki crashed into the sand and slowly reformed at full size, breathing hard but glaring with fury.
"Hah... I thought you, Otsutsuki, were supposed to be gods. All I see is a glorified punching bag."
Isshiki's eye twitched, pride cracking.
"You... you dare mock me, you lowly human?!"
But before he could finish, a sword pierced clean through his back and out of his chest.
"Wh–what...?"
He turned his head in disbelief."How did you teleport? I suppressed your space-time jutsu!"
Kaito stood behind him, calm and cold."You've weakened my spatial abilities, true.""But stopping them completely? You're not there yet."
He leaned in slightly, voice sharp."That's your clan's weakness.""You Otsutsuki are so arrogant, so obsessed with domination, you never think you can be outmaneuvered."
"You let your emotions take control. You stop paying attention. You assume victory."
"That's when I strike."
It was Kaito's strategy from the start: provoke emotion, break his composure, and then use God's Presence to deliver a fatal blow.
And this time?
One strike. One kill.
"You bastard!"
Isshiki turned sharply, eyes blazing with fury. He'd been outplayed—and he knew it.
But Kaito's tone remained cold."Don't look at me like that. You're the one who let pride blind you."
He stepped forward, voice calm but cutting."And with me here, your so-called divine status as an Otsutsuki ends today."
Without hesitation, Kaito gripped his sword—now crackling with Sage-enhanced chakra—and slashed downward. The blade tore through Isshiki's body with devastating force, nearly cleaving him in two. His left shoulder was the only part barely keeping his halves together, and his heart had already been destroyed.
Anyone else would have been dead instantly.
But Kaito knew the truth: Otsutsuki don't die like ordinary beings.They survive through possession, revival, parasitic regeneration—even after catastrophic injury. A thousand years ago, they'd escaped death the same way.
But not this time.
Not here. Not now.
They were deep in the desert, and within Kaito's perception range—spanning several kilometers—there wasn't a single other soul nearby.
He stared at Isshiki's broken form, now collapsed on the sand.
"There's no host nearby to carry your will.""This time, you die for real."
Isshiki growled, blood trickling from his mouth as he struggled to raise his head.
"I am a noble of the Otsutsuki clan... how could I fall to a primitive like you!"
Kaito gave him a cruel smirk."You're not just going to die at the hands of this 'primitive'—you're going to be dissected by my researchers.""I've always been curious about the secrets your kind is hiding."
He raised his sword and, without delay, hurled it at Isshiki's head.
Thud.
The blade stabbed into the sand.
Isshiki had shrunk his body just in time and slipped away again.
Kaito sighed."Still clinging to life?"
He stared at the grain-sized form squirming across the sand, though his mind remained sharp and alert.
Despite his calm exterior, Kaito was fully aware of the risk. Someone like Isshiki, unknown, adaptable, and desperate, could attempt a final, suicidal counterattack.
He never once lowered his guard.
Especially since Isshiki had yet to unleash the full power of the Ten Tails.
And just as he anticipated—
"Still so cautious... You bastard."
Isshiki returned to full size, face twisted in a mix of rage and respect. He glared at Kaito, his voice hoarse.
"You manipulated me... made me lose control.""To think you'd use my own emotions against me. What a terrifying skill..."
Kaito rolled his eyes."Cut the speech. If you have a trump card, use it. Or you won't get another chance."
Isshiki growled."Tch. That wasn't even 30% of my power."
His voice dropped into a darker tone."Since I can't outsmart you... I'll crush you."
Then it began.
From where he stood, a veil of darkness spread outward, growing rapidly until it enveloped nearly a kilometer in radius. Kaito immediately retreated before the curtain could touch him.
He scowled."Just as I thought."
Isshiki looked visibly frustrated as Kaito evaded the trap.
Had Kaito taken even a single step closer, he would've been dragged into a different dimension, sealed away for later dissection. But he had been too careful.
"Tch... it can't be helped."
Isshiki exhaled. He had no choice now.
His eyes narrowed, and from the dark veil behind him, a massive, beastly form stirred.
An enormous eye slowly opened crimson red, rippling with a combined Rinnegan and Sharingan glow.
Kaito instantly felt the crushing pressure in the air.
As the darkness faded, the monster was revealed:a complete Ten Tails, monstrous and divine, towering over the battlefield.
Isshiki stood atop its head, connected by a massive black pipe inserted into his back.
The surge of vitality restored him, and he rose to his feet once again, whole.
"Originally, I planned to seal you and deal with you later."
"But now... I'll kill you and be done with it."
Isshiki placed a hand on the beast beneath him.
This Ten-Tails wasn't ordinary; it was the most gifted specimen the Otsutsuki had ever bred. Once matured into a Divine Tree and after consuming enough planetary life, it would ascend to unimaginable heights.
Isshiki had long avoided summoning it.
Why?
Because if it were injured in this form... the setback would be irreversible.
But this was life or death.
He stared down at Kaito with murderous intent."If anything happens to this Ten Tails... I'll destroy your entire planet.""Your loved ones... your people... I'll kill them one by one."
He wasn't worried this time.
Even in its immature state, this Ten-Tails rivaled his peak strength. Kaito simply wasn't there yet.
Kaito stared silently at the beast before him.He could feel it—this creature's chakra dwarfed his own.
Then it began.
The Ten Tails opened its gaping mouth, and energy of all five elements—and even Yin-Yang chakra—began to swirl within.
A Tailed Beast Bomb—but not like the others.This one was refined, perfected, a true Six Paths-level attack.
And this time, Kaito couldn't dodge.Isshiki had locked space itself. No teleportation. No escape.
Kaito inhaled deeply, then spoke calmly:"System. Is there any way to increase my power... immediately?"
[Affirmative. The host can devour the remaining Four-Tails' chakra, completing the Ten-Tails fusion. This will temporarily elevate you to a pseudo-Six Paths state. However, your body will suffer permanent internal damage, requiring at least five years to recover.]
Kaito didn't hesitate.
"Do it. Five years? I'll survive it."
He retrieved the sealed chakra core of the Four-Tails and began the fusion process. In seconds, the energy surged through him—ravenous, overwhelming, divine.
Isshiki's expression twisted in shock.
He could feel it.The chakra erupting from Kaito now was equal to his own Ten Tails.
"What the hell is he doing...?!"