As Kaguya resumed her attack, a new pattern briefly flickered in Kazuki's eyes.
[Dōjutsu: Subi Chii]: A technique that consumes ocular power to foresee one possible future. The accuracy fluctuates based on related factors and the time span predicted.
Kazuki foresaw Kaguya's techniques clearly—not predicting the distant future, but glimpsing the immediate possibilities of her next attacks.
Those attack patterns flashed vividly in his mind.
Having mastered taijutsu from all over the shinobi world, Kazuki combined his foresight with extensive battle experience, allowing him to compensate for his physical disadvantage against Kaguya.
Kaguya, whose attacks were swift as lightning, was shocked.
It was as if Kazuki could read her every thought, effortlessly dodging all her killing blows!
And every time he dodged, Kazuki's palm would glow with a Four Symbols Seal, stamping it onto Kaguya's body!
The longer the close-quarters battle dragged on, the more seals Kazuki managed to brand onto her.
From one, to ten, to a hundred—
Eventually, the Four Symbols Seals across Kaguya's body merged into a dense network.
Combined with the constant chakra drain from both internal and external sources, even the progenitor of chakra began to falter!
Kaguya's face filled with urgency.
Why couldn't she land a hit?!
How could she fail to land even a single strike?!
It was only now that Kaguya finally realized:
Whether her All-Killing Ash Bones were at full strength or weakened—
Kazuki didn't care.
Because no matter what she did, she couldn't hit him at all!
Kaguya's movements gradually slowed, and in that moment, heavy dark-golden chains appeared in Kazuki's hands, binding Kaguya's limbs.
Under this further sealing, Kaguya's chakra was suppressed even more.
Taking advantage of her sluggishness, Kazuki swiftly formed a hand seal and, at that instant, fully absorbed the power the ocean had bestowed upon him—
Sage Art: Inorganic Reincarnation Technique!
Space within Kazuki's body trembled violently. Natural energy condensed into tangible chains that sealed Kaguya's limbs, combined with the Adamantine Sealing Chains and the dense network of Four Symbols Seals.
Finally, the Rabbit Goddess was successfully sealed!
Suspended in midair at the center of Kazuki's inner world, Kaguya was immobilized in a spread-eagle posture.
It had been a truly exhilarating battle!
If not for Kaguya's poor combat technique, her being caught off guard by Kazuki's Wakatsuki, and her extremely weakened state—
If not for Kazuki having the ocean as his battlefield, with nearly limitless reserves of natural energy—
If not for Kazuki possessing so many ocular techniques—
It would have been impossible to seal Ōtsutsuki Kaguya head-on!
But there were no 'ifs' in battle...
Kazuki let out a long breath, sat cross-legged on the ground, and quietly observed the terrified Kaguya.
Her posture, suspended and restrained like that, was unbearably shameful for the Rabbit Goddess.
Yet, gratifyingly, Kaguya still resisted—
Even after being sealed, Ōtsutsuki Kaguya struggled against the chakra-draining effects of the various techniques binding her.
And her efforts were not in vain.
Kazuki could clearly feel that the chakra absorbed by his various techniques had decreased considerably.
Kaguya glared fiercely at Kazuki, still arguing stubbornly, "Don't think you'll get any more chakra from me!"
But when fighting Kazuki—
Controlling emotional fluctuations was the most critical skill.
Naturally ruining a winning hand, getting beaten up due to her own stupidity, and being utterly shaken by Kazuki's overwhelming strength...
Kaguya had lost at the most crucial moment.
[From the target Otsutsuki Kaguya, you have obtained the partial purification of Otsutsuki Kaguya's bloodline!]
As Kazuki's bloodline grew purer—
The slight fatigue in his eyes from the battle vanished in an instant, and his chakra deepened to an even higher level.
Ōtsutsuki Kaguya stared at Kazuki in utter disbelief.
She had—
She had already tried her absolute best to protect her chakra...
Yet without even realizing it, her chakra had continued slipping away, while Kazuki's strength visibly surged before her eyes.
"Sage of Six Paths..."
Kazuki rose slowly, his Rinnegan eyes calm and unfathomable.
"Stop bluffing—it only makes your weakness more obvious."
Kaguya felt so aggrieved she could almost cry.
She wasn't bluffing!
She truly hadn't sensed that her chakra was still being drawn away by Kazuki...
Sensing the unbreakable firmness of Kazuki's seals, Kaguya couldn't help but recall her days imprisoned on the moon.
Back then, though she had been sealed, at least she could still move.
Unlike now—utterly immobilized, unable to resist Kazuki's gaze...
What made her even more miserable was—
Had she not been so impatient, Kazuki—with all his power—could have been the perfect ally to fight against the Sage of Six Paths alongside her!
Inside Kazuki's inner world—
After being completely overpowered by Kazuki, the Rabbit Goddess, overwhelmed by a multitude of emotions, finally broke down and cried.
Her sobs were full of grievance—blaming Kazuki, blaming her fate, and blaming herself.
Listening to her cries, Kazuki sighed softly, sat cross-legged nearby, and said in a low voice: "Cry if you want. But know that crying comes with a cost..."
"The more your heart trembles, the weaker your resistance against my techniques becomes.
The more chakra I'll be able to extract from you."
Hearing his words, Kaguya hurriedly stifled her sobs. "Hey, why would you remind me of that?"
But Kazuki gave no reply, simply closing his eyes in silence.
No matter how much Kaguya spoke to him afterward, Kazuki remained utterly unresponsive.
In that unfamiliar darkness, imprisoned, Kaguya could only feel that no matter how hard she struggled, she might never escape Kazuki's seal…
Unlike previous times, this seal had a guardian!
And that guardian—Kazuki—was someone she couldn't defeat!
She had no idea how much time had passed.
Eventually, Kaguya could no longer hold back.
Feeling like she had no future, she stopped caring about the chakra she was losing and simply vented her emotions—suddenly bursting into loud, helpless sobs as she whimpered: "I was wrong... I'm really not the Sage of Six Paths... I shouldn't have fought you..."
...
Meanwhile, during this 'friendly exchange' between Kazuki and Kaguya—
Senju Tobirama was busy in Kirigakure, coordinating with Kisame, Jinzaburo, and others, finalizing the arrangements regarding Kazuki's seal, and memorizing everyone's faces.
Then, moving at top speed, he rushed toward Konohagakure.
Just relying on the shinobi of Kirigakure wouldn't be nearly enough...
If they truly had to oppose the Sage of Six Paths, only Konoha would have the strength to stand a chance!
He had to return to his 'home village' and rally reinforcements to face this apocalyptic threat!
Tobirama's first destination was clear: he sought out his former student, Sarutobi Hiruzen—the current Third Hokage of Konoha.
Tobirama needed to reclaim the Hokage position and mobilize the entire village with maximum efficiency—to rescue Kazuki!
...
Nightfall.
Inside the Hokage Tower.
Worried that someone might approach him during the day to ask about Kazuki's whereabouts, Sarutobi Hiruzen slipped into his office under the cover of darkness.
Only at this hour—
Would no one bother coming to the Hokage Tower?
They would all be gathered at the Sarutobi Clan compound instead…
It was, essentially, a game of hide and seek.
But when Sarutobi Hiruzen pushed open the door to his office, his heart almost leapt out of his chest!
Senju Tobirama was sitting atop the office desk, his Sharingan glowing blood-red in the dark, silently staring at him.
"Se-Sensei…"
Sarutobi Hiruzen clenched his fists tightly.
Memories of Kazuki teaching Asuma, spreading the Will of Fire, leading the Uchiha Clan to integrate into Konoha—flashed through his mind.
An overwhelming sense of absurdity swept over him.
Although he had already been mentally prepared for this encounter—
Now that he was truly facing it...
Even his Will of Fire wavered slightly.
"Sensei… Please, I beg you... Please spare Shisui. I promised Kazuki I would!"
Sarutobi Hiruzen mustered all his courage to plead.
Senju Tobirama nodded, but then frowned slightly.
What was this monkey talking about?
Spare Shisui?
He should have said protect him!
Was the old monkey getting senile?!
'Sensei has taken over Kazuki's body, even mutating it to resemble himself...' Hiruzen thought bitterly to himself: 'In the notes Sensei left behind, it was recorded that Uchiha Madara once obtained his younger brother's Mangekyō Sharingan. By doing so, he unlocked an unending source of ocular power, awakening the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan...'
'If Shisui learns that Kazuki has been possessed—betrayed by the Will of Fire he's always believed in—the shock would surely awaken his own Mangekyō Sharingan!'
'Kazuki was such an outstanding inheritor of the Will of Fire... Does Sensei really intend to go this far? Or am I misunderstanding him...?'
Holding onto this fragile hope, Hiruzen looked up and met Tobirama's gaze.
He had still been clinging to a sliver of fantasy.
But when he saw that familiar Kazuki-like power gleaming in Tobirama's eyes—
A bitter smile crept onto Hiruzen's face, and he muttered inwardly, 'I should've known... Only you could pull this off, Sensei...'
'I was too naïve to even imagine that Tobirama-sensei would ever show mercy to a Uchiha...'
It wasn't that Hiruzen had misjudged the situation.
Rather, Tobirama had indeed inherited Kazuki's ocular power—because his very soul had been stained and reshaped by Kazuki's influence, molding him into something resembling a Uchiha.
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