Although he possessed Toki-Mayumi—which was the ability of his left eye—meaning he had absolutely no reason to fear the two of them joining forces, the problem was that Toneri's father had no way of knowing he possessed such a capability.
And this could absolutely not be due to the opponent harboring good intentions or staying his hand.
The only explanation was that the opponent himself was facing massive restrictions!
Perhaps it was some kind of shackle rendering him unable to move freely, or perhaps...
He had fundamentally not truly awakened that legendary Tenseigan belonging to himself!
One had to know that even for someone with a bloodline reversion like Toneri, awakening the Tenseigan still required a pure Byakugan.
Therefore, Toneri's father basically had zero hope of awakening the Tenseigan.
That giant golden Tenseigan was probably just a source of power that he was incapable of fully mastering?
With his thoughts reaching this point, a sharp light flashed across Takuno's eyes.
If this hypothesis held true, then if things remained at a standstill, the one with the advantage would be him!
Because the opponent... that father of Toneri who was forcibly borrowing the power of the golden Tenseigan, would inevitably have to endure a backlash far exceeding his own limits.
The ultimate result, likely without him even needing to personally lift a finger, would be the opponent walking toward self-collapse from the inside out under the impact of a power he could not master!
Although this was still merely a bold deduction based on a few scattered clues, Takuno's intuition told him with absolute clarity:
This, in all probability, was the truth!
Since it was so, the taut strings of Takuno's heart relaxed by a fraction, and he was no longer anxious for quick success.
However...
The desire to investigate and seek power deep within his heart burned even more fiercely.
The golden Tenseigan—just what kind of power did that legendary ocular potency encompass?
This thought drove him strongly; as expected, he still needed to first settle this obstructive stone statue before his eyes!
Then, the most critical question at this moment lay in:
How could he find an effective means to hold back this Ōtsutsuki stone statue that could not be killed and possessed terrifying power, while ensuring his own freedom of action and avoiding being dead-locked and entangled by this colossal entity?
The Ōtsutsuki stone statue acted like a prehistoric behemoth driven by pure destructive will, every heavy footstep shaking the earth, its gaze locked dead onto Takuno.
No matter how he utilized Spatial Reversion to perform evasions, that massive stone body could always carry a momentum of crushing everything to pursue and strike closely behind; giant fists broke through the air, every single swing intended solely to thoroughly pulverize him.
Takuno furrowed his brow, and under his control, the purple-golden Dragon God let out a dragon chant, its massive and majestic body fluidly coiling around the perimeter of the stone statue, at times spewing a scalding energy breath, at times tearing with sharp claws and sweeping with its dragon tail.
Every attack encompassed the power to collapse mountains and shatter rocks, violently crashing against the stone statue's body, shattered stones breaking off and flying in all directions like a shower of rain!
However, those fractured rock pieces failed to even touch the ground before being drawn and reorganized by a bizarre force at a visibly noticeable speed, instantly recovering to their original state.
The attacks of the Dragon God, which were sufficient to break monuments and split stone, failed to leave behind a single trace.
Even more heart-palpitating was that the Dragon God attempted to entangle with its body to block the stone statue's steps, only to be easily shaken off by the opponent's absolute, purest brutish strength.
Takuno knew that even for the Susanoo executed by himself, it would not necessarily be able to steadily overpower this Ōtsutsuki stone statue in a pure contest of strength; victory or defeat would be decided within a hair's breadth.
Therefore, letting the Dragon God formed by the Kujaku Myōhō block the Ōtsutsuki stone statue was indeed putting it in a slightly difficult position.
"Truly... a troublesome regeneration capability!" Takuno cursed in a low voice, the malice between his brows rising abruptly.
Without a shred of hesitation, the three crimson tomoe within both of his eyes suddenly spun at high speed!
In an instant, a pair of Mangekyō Sharingan replaced the original form; in the deepest part of the pupils, the phantom image of an Ouroboros rotated slowly, radiating a heart-palpitating aura.
Boom!
Ink-black chakra akin to a physical substance—the Yin Release power that constituted the foundation of Susanoo—abruptly erupted outward from within his body.
But this time, Takuno's purpose was by no means to construct a giant-like Susanoo!
His thoughts shifted like lightning, and that wild ink-black chakra, under the driving force of his will, turned into a surging black torrent, flowing stormily toward the roaring purple-golden Dragon God in the sky!
This was a bold attempt!
He was forcibly "weaving" the indestructible defense and attack characteristics of Susanoo onto the massive energy body of the Dragon God through chakra form transformation!
This process required multi-tasking: he had to simultaneously maintain the physical entity of the Dragon God from dissipating, while precisely sculpting the Yin Nature chakra into a ferocious armor structure that fit every single scale of the Dragon God.
"Uh... ah!"
A violent headache pierced into his mind like steel needles; Takuno let out a muffled groan, both of his pupils enduring an unimaginable pressure as deep red tears of blood wound down uncontrollably along the corners of his eyes.
The fine control of the energy far exceeded his prior estimations.
However, the rotation of the Ouroboros within the Mangekyō became increasingly urgent; though the difficulty was a bit beyond expectations, it... could succeed!
In the next moment, an even denser ink-black chakra was frantically injected along that invisible mental chain between him and the Dragon God!
Buzz!
Accompanied by an energy hum that sounded as if even space were vibrating because of it, Takuno's tightly furrowed brow finally relaxed, the corner of his mouth curving into a wildly uninhibited smile carrying the scent of blood.
"It's done!"
"Susanoo: Majestic Attire: Dragon God!!"
The instant the words fell, an anomaly arose abruptly!
The massive Dragon God in the sky that had originally been shining with a noble purple-golden light had its entire body instantly covered by a deep, heavy ink-black armor that seemed capable of swallowing all lines of light!
Only that pair of dragon eyes turned into two rounds of piercing blood moons burning with an ominous red glow at this moment!
At this moment, the Dragon God had already donned a ferocious suit of armor born for ultimate combat!
The ink-black armor covered its entire body, its edges and angles sharp as knife-blades, with sharp bone spurs protruding from the joints.
Those four dragon claws that were originally incomparably sharp grew even longer, sharper ink-black hook-claws under the reinforcement of the black armor, flashing with a chilling light that seemed to tear through space.
"ROAR!!!"
A dragon roar far more wild than before went straight into the clouds!
This roar seemed to be declaring to that overbearing Ōtsutsuki stone statue.
The suffocating situation of being unilaterally suppressed just now was over!
In the next second, this ink-black Dragon God clad in Susanoo armor and transformed into an ultimate combat weapon launched a charge resolutely, carrying a piercing shriek that tore the air and an unmatched ferocious majesty!
Its target pointed straight at that Ōtsutsuki stone statue which had still been flaunting its military might just a moment ago!
The scale of the battlefield would be completely overturned at this very moment!
Takuno gazed at this majestically towering ink-black Dragon God before his eyes, a sharp light flashing across his eyes.
This was precisely the fruit of his bold attempt, fusing the Kujaku Myōhō with the strongest ocular art, Susanoo.
The effect brought by the combination far exceeded expectations.
The Susanoo that originally could only cover his own body was actually able to detach from the original body at this moment, transforming into this ink-black Dragon God possessing independent mobility to stand proudly upon the battlefield.
This was undoubtedly a massive breakthrough.
However, it still possessed a flaw.
The Kujaku Myōhō was unlike a Tailed Beast; it did not possess an independent consciousness.
Therefore, although the Dragon God could act, its every movement and every attack still required him to control his mind to guide it...
Although multi-tasking was not difficult for the current him, it did not mean this was not a flaw.
In the flash of flint and spark, a thought crossed his mind!
Takuno's hands formed a highly familiar seal.
"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
A figure identical to him appeared instantly at his side.
The shadow clone did not have a shred of hesitation; with a "swish" sound behind his back, a pair of wings constituted of pure chakra condensed instantly.
The wings vibrated, bringing along a gust of sharp wind; the shadow clone rose into the sky, flying toward that ink-black Dragon God hovering in mid-air.
This was precisely the solution born of Takuno's quick wit.
The shadow clone possessing an independent consciousness would take on the complex and precise combat control of the Dragon God.
Meanwhile, the main body acting as the source of power only needed to provide the chakra required for the Dragon God's combat.
In this manner, this "Majestic Attire: Dragon God" which fused the fluidity of the Kujaku Myōhō and the majesty of Susanoo finally had its flaw of relying on the controller's attention compensated for.
Now, except for the flaw where its range of activity was still strictly restricted within a certain distance of Takuno's main body, the practicality of this fusion ninjutsu had already obtained a qualitative leap.
Not only that, while maintaining the chakra output, a clear realization rose even more within Takuno's heart.
If his mastery over Susanoo could go a step further in the future, he could even project and bestow those two divine weapons of Susanoo together onto this Majestic Attire: Dragon God, causing its combat capability to rise once more.
Regrettably... Takuno shook his head secretly in his heart.
The current him could not yet achieve this point.
The Majestic Attire: Dragon God having obtained the precise control of the shadow clone was as if injected with a new soul, its ferocious majesty exploding!
Its massive body covered in the ink-black Susanoo armor wrapped itself in a sharp and unmatched momentum to accelerate abruptly, like a meteorite breaking through the dark night, plunging straight toward that Ōtsutsuki stone statue!
Boom!
Without any probing, the Majestic Attire: Dragon God opened its massive mouth wide, a stream of blazing and wild energy breath spewing out first, solidly crashing against the stone statue's chest!
The wild energy exploded instantly, the hard stone body fracturing in response to the sound, with countless shattered stones flying in all directions like a torrential rain!
However, that heart-palpitating scene staged itself once more.
Before the flying dust could settle, invisible energy surged rapidly; the fractured stone pieces acted as if drawn by an invisible hand, gathering at high speed at a visibly noticeable pace!
In merely a brief moment, that Ōtsutsuki stone statue had actually recovered to its original state, to the point where not even a single fracture line was left behind.
Even more infuriating was that this stone statue seemed to have once more completely ignored the Majestic Attire: Dragon God which had just dealt it a heavy trauma.
Its empty eye sockets were still dead-locked onto Takuno's main body in the distance, and it kicked off its heavy steps once more, intending to bypass the obstruction before its eyes to go straight for the target!
"ROAR!"
The Majestic Attire: Dragon God let out a sky-shaking angry roar, that highly humanized rage almost about to break through the shackles of Susanoo.
The grappling technique (Susanoo) I just mastered—can I endure this grievance?
In the next moment, the claw of the Dragon God covered in the ink-black chakra coat reared up resolutely!
Upon the tips of the claws, the heart-palpitating ink-black Susanoo chakra condensed, radiating a sharp, chilling light that cut through space!
Tear!
This single claw not only encompassed the terrifying power to break mountains and split stone, but possessed even more of the indestructible characteristic of Susanoo!
The trajectory along which the giant claw swung down actually acted as if enveloping the entire space ahead within it, leaving no way to evade!
A chilling light flashed past, and that stone statue which had just restored itself did not even have time to make an effective reaction before its massive body was instantly cut neatly, torn into several segments of colossal remnants!
Stone shards fluttered, and giant chunks crashed down with a roar!
But that despair-inducing restoration power was still taking effect; the edges of the severed body glowed with a faint light, looking about to aggregate once more in a moment.
At this moment, the Majestic Attire: Dragon God did not stagnate either, flying and pouncing over swiftly; the giant dragon whipped its tail, swatting the body of the Ōtsutsuki stone statue straight out over several kilometers away.
At this moment, the existence controlling the stone statue was finally forced to recognize a piece of reality clearly.
Although this immortal stone statue could not be thoroughly destroyed, the ink-black giant beast before its eyes already possessed a power sufficient to thoroughly intercept it!
The speed, strength, and those sharp claws and teeth of the Majestic Attire: Dragon God to which the Susanoo power was added formed an impassable barrier.
If it insisted on advancing like before, it would only be ruthlessly cut apart and fiercely swatted away time and time again by the opponent, and its distance from the true target, Takuno, would only get further and further away!
To touch Takuno, this road-blocking ink-black ferocious beast had to be settled first!
The logic of the combat thoroughly overturned at this moment.
The gaze of the Ōtsutsuki stone statue which had originally been locked onto Takuno finally shifted away.
Its massive stone head slowly turned toward that ink-black figure radiating boundless majesty ahead: the Majestic Attire: Dragon God!
BOOM! BOOM!
In the next moment, two colossal objects nearly a hundred meters tall carried a determination to crush everything as they crashed and collided together with a roar!
Every single clash of fist and claw, every single impact of limb, burst forth with a dull, thunder-like roar!
Wild airwaves exploded outward in a ring, the already broken and ruined ground beneath their feet vibrating violently; new giant fissures spread frantically like a spiderweb, and shattered stones and dust were agitated to rush into mid-air!
Upon this piece of battlefield, only the roaring of destruction echoed, with no other living being remaining to witness this earth-shaking duel.
And right when the two colossal objects unfolded a life-and-death contest of strength and the fierce battle was at its height, Takuno's figure had already penetrated through the sky-blotting smoke and dust kicked up at the edge of the battlefield.
His goal was exceptionally clear, advancing at rapid speed toward the depths of the palace, heading for that powerful source of energy clearly perceived by the Mind's Eye of Kagura.
Deep within the palace, Takuno's steps finally stagnated.
He saw that hunched figure leaning against a massive stone base at the end.
With merely a single glance, that oncoming aura of decay was already thoroughly revealed.
That was an old man on the verge of death, his countenance withered like rotten wood, the deep crisscrossing wrinkles deeply branding the cruelty of time and the dissipation of life.
Enveloping his body was a visibly noticeable layer of deathly energy.
Even more heart-stopping was that a stream of powerful yet extremely uncoordinated golden energy—that majestic power belonging to the Tenseigan—was currently acting like a bone-burrowing maggot, forcibly occupying the interior of his aging frame.
This power was also continuously and ceaselessly gnawing away at his remaining, meager life.
Takuno understood clearly in his heart.
Clearly, it was precisely by relying on this forcibly infused power of the "golden Tenseigan" that this old man whose oil was spent and lamp was dry was able to drive that colossal object towering upon the Moon: the Ōtsutsuki stone statue.
"You... just who are you?" Toneri's father raised his head abruptly, the last sliver of sharpness and deep-seated rage exploding within his turbid eyes as they pinned themselves dead onto Takuno, his voice hoarse yet carrying an unquestionable interrogation.
"Stepping onto the Pure Land of the Moon, what is your intention?"
Takuno's expression was calm without a ripple, as if merely stating a piece of fact that could not be simpler.
"Who I am is of no consequence. Reaching this point, it is naturally for... the bloodline of the Ōtsutsuki."
"Wishful thinking!" The old man's angry roar carried a wheezing like a broken bellows, his body shaking violently due to agitation.
He understood all too well that what the opponent coveted could absolutely not be this remnant body of his that was about to return to dust.
Then, there remained only a single target: his son who was still in growth and possessed a reverted bloodline, Toneri!
Facing this angry roar, the corner of Takuno's mouth slowly curved into an arc.
"What you say... does not count."