Deceiving

A series of explosions erupted between the Tailed Beast Ball and the barrage of punches. A brilliant light flared up, with shockwaves rolling and dust filling the air. Amidst the dust, a red figure was sent flying and crashed heavily into a distant hill, smashing it to pieces. It was the Nine-Tails-transformed Naruto, who had just been struck by Kaguya's Eighty Gods Vacuum Attack.

Kaguya's eyelashes fluttered slightly as she panted gently. The Nine-Tails was indeed formidable, far surpassing the other Tailed Beasts she had encountered. Even though the Nine-Tails was not yet in its complete form, it already possessed power comparable to the other Tailed Beasts.

But to Kaguya, it still wasn't enough.

In the distance, a mass of red chakra erupted from the pile of rocks, shooting skyward and pulverizing the surrounding stones. The Nine-Tails-transformed Naruto climbed out of the rubble, the chakra around him even more intense than before.

Just then, a surge of blue chakra emanated from Naruto's body, wrapping around him like ropes. This was the necklace he wore, a gift from Tsunade containing the chakra of the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju, capable of suppressing the Nine-Tails.

However, before the necklace could fully take effect, the Nine-Tails-transformed Naruto broke free of the blue chakra ropes, ripping the necklace from his chest. With a powerful grip, he crushed it into pieces. The blue ropes gradually faded into the air, and without the necklace's restraint, the red chakra around Naruto erupted once more, his tails increasing to six.

With a roar, the Nine-Tails-transformed Naruto dropped to all fours and charged at Kaguya like a whirlwind.

"So fast!"

The Nine-Tails-transformed Naruto moved with incredible speed, breaking the sound barrier in an instant. Without her Tenseigan, Kaguya would have had a hard time tracking his movements.

The sheer speed generated massive waves, like a tsunami surging towards Kaguya. But she wasn't focused on the waves; instead, she turned her attention to the right.

"Here!"

As Kaguya extended her arm, the Nine-Tails-transformed Naruto was already upon her. She unleashed a burst of repulsive force from her palm, shattering the surrounding water.

Surprisingly, the Nine-Tails-transformed Naruto was not blown away. Instead, he inched closer to Kaguya, extending his crimson claws towards her.

Kaguya had no choice but to abandon her repulsive force and leap backward, narrowly avoiding the fierce attack.

She finally understood why the big bosses with the Rinnegan rarely used the Shinra Tensei technique in later stages; it was practically ineffective. It couldn't inflict significant damage on opponents and, at best, could only push them away. Against stronger foes, it might even backfire and send the user flying.

Just when everyone thought Kaguya would engage in a prolonged battle with the Nine-Tails, she suddenly leapt away, distancing herself from the fight. She scratched her head and, with an apologetic smile towards Nagato, who was watching from the side, said, "Sorry, it seems I can't win. I'll leave it to you, boss. I trust you."

With those words, the space in front of Kaguya distorted and twisted, tearing open a dark rift. Waving goodbye, she jumped into the void, which then closed behind her, disappearing without a trace.

Everyone was momentarily stunned, seemingly unable to understand what had just happened—Kaguya had actually run away.

As soon as Kaguya disappeared, the Nine-Tails-transformed Naruto roared and locked eyes with Nagato.

Meanwhile, Kaguya was in a different dimension, covering her mouth and giggling.

Yes, she did it on purpose—stabbing Jiraiya to make Naruto go berserk. She didn't want the Nine-Tails and Jiraiya to fall into Nagato's hands, as that would make Nagato's side too strong and significantly weaken the power of the various ninja villages. This wouldn't fit Kaguya's balance plan.

However, she couldn't openly turn against Nagato, so she used this method, though her acting was quite poor.

As for this space, it was an ability of the Tenseigan. The Tenseigan also had the ability to manipulate space, but since her Tenseigan wasn't fully awakened, this technique consumed a lot of chakra and created a very small space, about the size of her room. Nonetheless, it was sufficient for evading enemy attacks.

After a long wait in the space, Kaguya sensed that the battle outside should be almost over. She reached out and slashed the air, creating a space rift, and stepped out.

The moment she emerged, Kaguya was stunned by the scene before her—it looked like the aftermath of a nuclear explosion.

The ground was ravaged, filled with massive craters, as if it had been plowed over, with over a meter of earth stripped away. The once tall buildings were now rubble, with only some smoldering ruins left.

Nearby, a rock was pushed aside, revealing wooden structures underneath—it appeared to be Yamato's Wood-Style: Wood Locking Wall. From the pile of rocks emerged two people, Kakashi and Yamato, struggling to carry an unconscious Jiraiya.

Sensing Kaguya's gaze, Yamato abruptly turned around, holding a kunai towards her, looking serious.

"There's no need," Kakashi walked up from behind and pressed down Yamato's arm holding the kunai, saying to Kaguya, "You didn't intend to kill Jiraiya, did you?"

"Ah," Yamato looked at Kakashi in surprise, not understanding what he meant.

"You attacked a spot slightly off from Jiraiya's heart," Kakashi said, his eyes fixed on Kaguya, "With your ability, such an error is impossible, right?" With his Sharingan, Kakashi could naturally detect the oddity.

"Maybe," Kaguya said noncommittally, taking a few steps forward and looking around, "Where's Nagato? And where did Naruto go?"

"Naruto went to find Nagato's real body. We're staying here to watch over Jiraiya," Kakashi sighed, "If we went, we'd probably just be burdens."

"You mean he's conscious," Kaguya's eyes widened in surprise, "He broke free from the Nine-Tails transformation?"

"Yes," Yamato nodded, "I don't know what happened. He was about to be devoured by the Nine-Tails, but at the crucial moment, he suddenly broke free from the transformation."

Being able to break free from the Nine-Tails' control at the last moment couldn't just be luck. Kaguya's expression changed, and she thought of someone, revealing a look of realization—that person being Naruto's father, the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze.