"Uchiha Ryūjin, you're not keeping your word?"
Pinned to the ground by a black rod formed from the Truth Seeking Orbs, Black Zetsu could only glare at Uchiha Ryūjin, his voice filled with resentment and fury.
"No. My agreement with you was only to release Kaguya, nothing more." Ryūjin walked toward him step by step. "It never included sparing you."
"I shouldn't have trusted you, Uchiha Ryūjin. You've already reached the Six Paths level, yet you're still this treacherous!"
Zetsu continued to shout, unwilling to accept his fate, but no matter how he struggled, he could not break free from the black rod.
"Relax. After I deal with you, I will still release Kaguya. Whether you believe it or not doesn't matter anymore."
Ryūjin stopped wasting time. He raised a finger and pointed it at Zetsu's head.
The power of Yin-Yang Release activated instantly.
"Ah!"
Zetsu let out a sharp scream that was cut short almost immediately. The black mass on the ground lost all signs of life.
The consciousness born from Yin-Yang Release was completely erased.
Black Zetsu was dead.
Zetsu possessed methods that could threaten someone at the Six Paths level, along with a will that had endured for thousands of years. Ryūjin had no intention of leaving behind such a risk.
Leaving him alive would only invite trouble later. That was not something Ryūjin tolerated.
Still, just as he said, killing Zetsu did not mean breaking his promise. Kaguya would still be released.
Obito stared at the lifeless remains on the ground, his expression blank. His thoughts were in chaos.
Zetsu had manipulated him from the beginning, and Obito hated him for it. But now that Zetsu was gone, he felt a strange emptiness.
Confusion crept into his mind, followed by a quiet sense of panic.
What now? What was left for him?
Ryūjin did not spare him a glance.
With a thought, space around him began to ripple. A dark portal opened in front of him.
Yomotsu Hirasaka.
A Kekkei Mora technique that surpassed both Kekkei Genkai and Kekkei Tōta. Only those who had reached the Six Paths level and awakened the Rinne Sharingan could use it.
The moment Ryūjin stepped into that level, the ability came naturally to him.
Not every member of the Ōtsutsuki clan possessed it, but Ryūjin had absorbed the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path along with the Ten-Tails, effectively taking in the God Tree itself.
And the God Tree was Kaguya's embodiment.
That was why Ryūjin now held abilities that originally belonged only to her, including Yomotsu Hirasaka and Amenominaka.
Without hesitation, he stepped into the portal. It closed behind him, leaving Obito alone in silence.
In the next moment, far beyond Earth, near the moon, space split open again.
Ryūjin stepped out, floating in the void.
His eyes shifted to the Tenseigan. A golden chakra blade formed instantly in his hand.
He swung it once.
A flash of light cut through space.
Boom!
The moon trembled violently.
A massive crack spread across its surface, splitting it cleanly into two halves.
Inside a grand palace on the moon, Ōtsutsuki Toneri abruptly stood up, his face filled with shock.
"What… what just happened?"
Even without eyes, he could feel it. A terrifying force had erupted, one so overwhelming it made it hard to breathe.
Compared to it, the Tenseigan felt insignificant.
"Who… is that?"
Toneri's voice trembled.
The ninja world should not have someone like this. If such a person existed, how could the world ever be destroyed?
He could not help but recall the figure who had appeared years ago, the one who also wielded the Tenseigan and defeated his father with ease.
And now, someone even more terrifying had appeared.
The ninja world had become far more dangerous than he ever imagined.
At that moment, a figure flew out from the fractured moon.
A woman in white robes, her long hair flowing down like a waterfall, stopped in front of Ryūjin.
Ōtsutsuki Kaguya.
Even without the Ten-Tails' chakra, she still possessed immense power, firmly at the Six Paths level.
She studied Ryūjin carefully from head to toe before speaking.
"How strange. Your chakra feels the same as mine."
Ryūjin gave a small shrug. "Maybe it's just fate."
"Were you sent by the main family?" she asked, her gaze sharpening.
"I'm not an Ōtsutsuki. My name is Uchiha Ryūjin."
Kaguya's confusion deepened. "Then how do you possess our power?"
"We can talk about that later," Ryūjin replied. "I have questions for you too."
After a brief pause, Kaguya nodded. "Alright."
The two of them flew back to Earth.
Ryūjin chose Konoha as their destination. Before long, they arrived at the village gates.
Kaguya looked around, sensing the chakra of countless people. "Why do so many humans have chakra? What happened while I was sealed?"
"A thousand years ago, your son spread chakra to the world," Ryūjin answered.
Kaguya frowned slightly. "A foolish decision."
Dividing chakra weakened them. How would they deal with the main family?
But then she glanced at Ryūjin.
The chakra within him was vast, far beyond ordinary standards, even by the main family's measure.
With someone like him present, immediate threats did not concern her.
Still, one question lingered in her mind.
The planet should only produce one chakra fruit, and she had already consumed it. So how had Ryūjin reached this level?
"Come on," Ryūjin said. "You've been sealed for a long time. You must be hungry. We'll talk while we eat."
They entered the village together.
"Hokage-sama!"
"Hokage-sama!"
Villagers greeted Ryūjin enthusiastically along the way, though many cast curious glances at Kaguya.
Her presence was unlike anything they had seen before.
Ryūjin brought her to Ichiraku Ramen.
"Teuchi, two bowls of ramen," he said casually as he sat down.
"The usual, Hokage-sama?" Teuchi asked with a smile.
"The usual."
"Right away."
As Teuchi got to work, Ryūjin began explaining the changes in the ninja world over the past thousand years.
After listening, Kaguya asked, "The chakra humans have now is insignificant. You're not interested in it, are you?"
Ryūjin looked at her. "You're not planning to take it back either, right?"
Kaguya gave a dismissive look. "I wouldn't lower myself to that."
Without the need to create White Zetsu as a defense against the main family, such measures were unnecessary now.
Soon, the ramen was served.
The two ate while continuing their conversation, the atmosphere surprisingly natural.
"Uchiha Ryūjin," Kaguya said after a while, "you still haven't answered my question. How did you obtain this power?"
Ryūjin gave a faint smile. "You already figured it out."
Kaguya fell silent.
The answer was obvious. Given the circumstances of this world, there were only a few possible paths to such power.
She had already sensed that the Ten-Tails' chakra was gone.
The conclusion was simple.
As for taking it back, she dismissed the thought. Ryūjin was stronger than her current self.
"Then why did you save me?" she asked instead.
"I made a deal with Zetsu," Ryūjin replied. "The one you created with Yin-Yang Release."
"He actually succeeded?" Kaguya seemed genuinely surprised.
Zetsu had been a last resort, created without much hope. He had no real combat ability.
Yet somehow, he had managed to bring her back.
"Where is he?" she asked.
"He was a threat, so I erased him."
Kaguya did not react much.
To Zetsu, she had been everything. But to her, Zetsu had only been a tool.
If he was gone, then he was gone.
After finishing their meal, Ryūjin took her around Konoha.
As they walked through the village, they exchanged information. Ryūjin asked about the Ōtsutsuki clan, and Kaguya answered without holding back.
For both of them, the Ōtsutsuki main family was an enemy.
And that was reason enough to cooperate.
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