203 - The Horn of True Power
Outside Kiri, just as Jigen returned from a spatial rift, a fierce whip kick infused with powerful senjutsu chakra struck directly at his neck.
Boom—
Caught off guard by the sudden attack, he only had time to barely raise his arm to shield one side of his neck. His entire body was then blasted away like a cannonball under the tremendous force.
He crashed through countless trees and boulders.
In the rolling dust, Tsunade's figure followed closely, launching another kick from above toward the downed him.
Buzz—
A spatial rift flickered and vanished. Jigen reappeared atop the tall wall of Kiri.
Wiping away the blood at the corner of his mouth, he looked toward Hikari, who was already entangled in battle with Izuna, Ōnoki, and the Third Raikage.
Izuna, in his half-body Susanoo form, was launching relentless frontal attacks.
The Third Raikage's figure cut through the air with powerful arcs of lightning, exploiting the openings between Izuna's strikes to attack Hikari's blind spots.
Ōnoki floated in midair, constantly changing position, aiming long-range Dust Release attacks at Hikari, forcing her to divide her attention to track his movements.
Jigen took a deep breath. The doubt he had about Hikari due to the ambush quickly faded.
Izuna's strength had already surpassed that of most Kage-level fighters; the power of his Susanoo was unquestionable.
The Third Raikage's Hell Stab and Ōnoki's Dust Release were threats even he would need to take seriously in a direct confrontation. Even if Hikari was called the strongest weapon, being held back by the cooperation of these three was not unusual.
His gaze shifted toward Tsunade, who walked out of the dust cloud. Her flawless Sage Mode, powerful physique, and resilient chakra pathways, even though she was a woman, the vessel would evolve as the Kāma was unlocked. Once his genes eroded and took control of her body, he could eventually return to his perfect form!
And with her relationship to Kei, his resurrection would come with virtually no risk.
Pity that guy is too perceptive. Jigen raised his right hand, and a black chakra rod nearly a meter long appeared in his grasp.
With a single step, he advanced instead of retreating and launched an attack at Tsunade.
Bang—!
The monstrous strength of her senjutsu-powered punch collided with the chakra black rod.
She changed her fist to a palm mid-strike, gripped the black rod in his hand, sidestepped, and dodged the incoming kick. Her arm cracked through the air, transforming into a vicious whip strike aimed at Jigen's temple.
In close-quarters taijutsu—who had she ever feared?
…Well, maybe Kei. But he didn't count!
Buzz—
A strange smile curved on Jigen's lips. Without hesitation, he let go of the black rod gripped by Tsunade. Senjutsu chakra wasn't afraid of the black rod's direct attacks. But what if the rod pierced the body and disrupted the chakra flow from the inside?
Ignoring the whip strike coming at his temple, he flicked his right hand. Dozens of black rods, thinner than a strand of hair, shot toward Tsunade from all angles.
Whoosh—
With a flash of space-time fluctuation, Tsunade vanished from where she had stood.
The next instant, in the spot she had just been, more than a dozen two-foot-long black rods appeared seemingly out of thin air, flying tens of meters before piercing into the ground.
Thanks to the ultra-dimensional abilities brought by [Multiversal Voyager], Kei had developed a new application of the Flying Thunder God Technique.
As long as he had marked a location, even without being present, he could pull people or objects marked directly to that spot.
And below Tsunade's lower back, on both the left and right sides, were two Flying Thunder God marks, complete with anti-tampering protections. As long as Jigen didn't exceed Kei's reaction speed, there was no way he could harm Tsunade right in front of him.
Tsunade brushed aside Kei's arm wrapped around her waist. This bastard... At a time like this, and he's still sneakily scratching my abs?!
"To him, Jigen's body is nothing more than a vessel. When those black rods hit you, his Kāma will attempt to imprint itself into your body." Kei withdrew his arm, eyes locked on Jigen, directly revealing the existence of the Kāma.
Seeing that Jigen merely shot him a cold glance again, he instantly knew: this guy was likely still hiding other plans and schemes.
"!!!" Tsunade froze for a moment when she heard that, then turned to glare at Jigen with a look full of disgust.
His body was covered in black carved markings.
A grown man… actually wanted to take over her body?
Disgusting!
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[Name: Jigen (Ōtsutsuki Isshiki)]
[Career: Parasite]
[Active Traits:
{Gold: Bloodline of the Root King, Black Eyes},
{Purple: Byakugan, Primordial Mage},
{Blue: Combat Savagery, Delirious Fantasies, Collector},
{Green: Seed Cultivator},
{White: Arrogance},
{Gray: Clinging to Life, Brutality, Full of Scars}]
---
Kei scanned through the interface displaying Jigen's traits.
If he remembered correctly, Kaguya's bloodline trait was the gold-tier [Bloodline of the Lunar Princess].
And in mythologies passed down on Earth, among the divine clans that ruled over Takamagahara, the heavenly realm, Amaterasu's lineage held the highest position as rulers of heaven, while Tsukuyomi's lunar domain represented the second most revered celestial authority.
As for Kaguya, her name echoed the legendary Princess Kaguya from the Tale of the Bamboo Cutter who was a celestial being exiled to Earth. In the oldest texts, she was described as daughter of a lunar deity who married into the celestial court, her descendants forming a separate branch that walked between worlds. Despite their divine heritage, they served as messengers and harbingers rather than rulers.
If both Isshiki and Kaguya had comparably noble bloodlines, why such disparity in their roles? Isshiki as a God Tree fruit harvester, while Kaguya was designated as a mere sacrifice?
In Shippuden, Kaguya had been revered as a goddess by humanity, yet Momoshiki had dismissed her as nothing more than a servant. Like the moon itself, glorious when viewed from Earth but merely reflecting the sun's light when seen from the heavens, her status seemed entirely dependent on perspective.
Seems like there's a lot more to this story… Kei muttered in his heart but didn't get caught up in the details of their bloodlines.
Judging by traits alone, Jigen absolutely outclassed Tsunade.
But because his vessel's body was already nearing its limit, he couldn't bring out his full power.
And with Sage Mode's natural energy amplification and suppression effect on him, Tsunade currently had a huge advantage, which was why she was beating him down earlier.
Because Jigen knew her fighting style well, he'd tried to use the illusion of his own death to trick her, hoping to implant the Kāma into her during the chaos.
Too bad Kei's sudden appearance once again ruined his plan.
Despite failure after failure, Jigen didn't even flinch, he must've shifted his target to Kushina now?
"Can we just kill him already? Even a corpse can still be used for research!" Tsunade hated people who relied on tricks and schemes, but she absolutely loathed anyone who tried to lay a hand on her body! As long as Jigen lived, she felt like her chest wouldn't even flow properly.
"Yeah, good idea." Kei chuckled softly. He didn't care for those shady mind games, and he especially couldn't stand it when someone targeted the people around him.
Boom—!
Behind Jigen, the Third Raikage, in coordination with Izuna, landed a punch on Hikari's half-body Susanoo.
Hikari flipped through the air, grabbing one of the black rods Jigen had thrown earlier, and dodged an attack from Ōnoki.
With a few rapid movements, she quickly closed the distance to Jigen's side and asked in a low voice:
"Looks like your plan failed."
"Any well-constructed plan always has multiple continge—"
Squelch—
Before Jigen could finish his sentence, a black rod pierced through his heart.
A stream of bloody tears slid from the corner of Hikari's eye, and the flames of Amaterasu surged up and engulfed him completely.
"Traitors… ALL OF YOU deserve to die!!"
From the top of his head, the distinct Ōtsutsuki horn sprouted. Ignoring the still-burning Amaterasu flames, he suddenly turned to glare fiercely in Hikari's direction!
"I never said I was on your side." Hikari smiled.
Kei raised his hand—and with a simple tug, used the Flying Thunder God mark on her to instantly pull her to his side.
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Story completed at Chapter 298!