"Did I somehow make everyone angry? One after another."
Seiryū looked at Isshiki, who had just made his move, and clicked his tongue. However, he was not surprised.
Those hiding nearby could not escape Seiryū's perception.
"You must be the Isshiki that Sasuke mentioned, right?"
Of course, Sasuke did not actually know about Isshiki's existence.
However, blaming someone else for his information was something Seiryū was quite skilled at. This was hardly his first time doing it.
Hearing this, Isshiki narrowed his eyes.
"Visitors from another space-time really are troublesome. They even revealed my existence?"
"It seems the version of me from that other space-time failed."
Judging from Seiryū's words, his counterpart in the other space-time had most likely failed.
But Urashiki had never mentioned anything about that.
Could Urashiki have been hiding something?
Isshiki immediately became a little more wary of him.
"I'm not entirely sure about that. He didn't explain much. I only know that you exist."
Seiryū revealed Isshiki's identity.
"Another member of the Ōtsutsuki Clan who was ambushed by Kaguya and somehow survived for a thousand years."
"Come to think of it, you were Kaguya's superior, weren't you?"
"You certainly know quite a lot."
Isshiki's tone remained calm.
"That foolish woman dared to betray the Ōtsutsuki Clan. Her fate was sealed from that moment, and so was the fate of this planet."
"You sound awfully confident, but your strength seems rather unimpressive. Aren't you afraid people will laugh at you for making such grand claims with that level of strength?"
"Because I am Isshiki Ōtsutsuki."
It was only a single sentence, yet it perfectly conveyed Isshiki's confidence.
The only reason he had ended up in his current situation was because Kaguya had ambushed him.
It was not because he lacked strength.
As long as he found a suitable "vessel" and completed his "reincarnation," he would be invincible in the shinobi world.
Even if Kaguya were "resurrected," Isshiki was absolutely confident that he could defeat her.
Unlike certain other members of the Ōtsutsuki Clan who lacked proper combat experience, Isshiki understood how important fighting skill was.
Over the past thousand years, he had witnessed countless battles and had long since learned how to use his power efficiently.
He could bring out his strength to its fullest!
Seiryū was indeed powerful.
In his current state, he had even been capable of defeating an incomplete Kekkei Mōra-level opponent like Urashiki.
But Isshiki was certain Seiryū would not be his match after his perfect "reincarnation."
Seiryū's current power was only temporary.
His fundamental existence had not undergone a true qualitative transformation!
"Madara was very confident. Urashiki was also very confident. In the end, they both lost to me. Are you planning to be next?"
Seiryū raised an eyebrow and smiled meaningfully.
"Your target should be Madara. You want to use his body as the 'vessel' for your reincarnation, don't you?"
'Swish!'
Before he even finished speaking, Seiryū moved.
An extended Chakra blade swept across Madara, who had already lost the ability to resist, and severed his head.
Although a Six Paths-level existence possessed tremendous vitality, decapitation could still kill them.
They were not truly immortal!
"Hadō #63: Raikōhō!"
Seiryū immediately fired Raikōhō, destroying Madara's head along with the Rinnegan.
He was not trying to desecrate Madara's corpse.
He simply wanted to eliminate every possibility.
Orochimaru wanted the Rinnegan.
Isshiki wanted Madara's body.
Seiryū had no intention of allowing either of them to get what they wanted!
If his enemies wanted something, Seiryū would destroy it first!
"Damn it!"
Isshiki had not expected Seiryū to act so decisively.
Everything happened in an instant, leaving him no time to react.
The descendant of Kaguya who could have served as a suitable "vessel" had been killed.
Isshiki's expression immediately darkened.
'Hum.'
However, the instant Madara died, a strange Dōjutsu fluctuation suddenly appeared.
It was as though reality itself had been rewritten.
As though Madara's death had never happened.
Madara, whose head had just been severed, suddenly returned to life.
And he did not reappear in his original position.
Instead, he appeared some distance away from Seiryū.
This was Izanagi!
"Hmm?"
Seiryū froze for a moment.
During their earlier battle, Madara had only used Susanoo and had not displayed any other Sharingan Dōjutsu.
Clearly, he could not use them while acting as the Ten-Tails Jinchūriki.
The Rinnegan itself should not possess Izanagi either.
Madara did not have another Sharingan on his body.
And even if he did, with his Chakra sealed, he should not have been able to activate it.
Orochimaru!
Seiryū immediately understood.
Orochimaru must have used some method to apply Izanagi's effect to Madara!
"Bakudō."
With that thought, Seiryū immediately attacked again, using Bakudō to seal the space around Madara.
He would not allow Orochimaru to take Madara away.
But just as Seiryū was about to continue, a black cube silently appeared above his head.
The cube seemed impossibly heavy.
As it descended, even the air beneath it was compressed and seemed to become sluggish.
'Boom!'
How fast were Seiryū's reactions?
He immediately turned and punched upward, blasting the black cube away.
Then he threw another punch toward a nearby position.
His fist collided directly with Isshiki's incoming fist!
'Boom!'
A deafening explosion erupted.
Isshiki was sent flying backward even faster than he had approached.
However, as he flew backward, a faint golden light flashed from Isshiki's left eye.
His figure suddenly disappeared.
'Swish, swish, swish!'
At the same time, countless hair-thin black rods shot toward Seiryū.
They instantly returned to their original size, threatening to impale him from every direction!
These were Isshiki's Dōjutsu, Sukunahikona and Daikokuten!
Sukunahikona allowed Isshiki to instantly shrink himself or any nonliving object, then restore them to their original size just as quickly.
Daikokuten was a Space-Time Dōjutsu connected to a dimension where time did not flow, allowing Isshiki to store shrunken objects there.
Together, the two Dōjutsu became even more dangerous!
"An attack like this can't escape my perception."
Seiryū naturally sensed the incoming rods.
He shifted aside and effortlessly avoided them.
'Hum!'
However, a spatial fluctuation suddenly appeared.
Isshiki, who had disappeared moments earlier, materialized directly beside Seiryū.
He threw a heavy punch toward him, carrying tremendous force!
"Dankū!"
Seiryū casually raised a hand and created a Dankū barrier, blocking Isshiki's punch.
"Sneak attacks are a bad habit."
Seiryū casually used Bakudō to lock down the surrounding space, preventing Space-Time Ninjutsu from functioning.
A cold smile appeared on his face.
Then he punched directly at Isshiki.
The air shook violently.
The force behind the punch erupted with overwhelming power!
"Cough!"
With the surrounding space sealed, Isshiki could no longer use his Space-Time Dōjutsu to escape.
He took Seiryū's punch head-on and immediately coughed up blood as he was blasted away.
"Just one strike."
Watching from a distance and experiencing Seiryū's strength personally were completely different things.
Isshiki had never expected Seiryū's physical power to be this terrifying.
That single punch had nearly shattered his current body.
His heart was filled with shock.
"You were willing to sacrifice the sight of one eye just to save Madara?"
Seiryū looked toward Orochimaru and curled his lips.
"You really care about that Rinnegan. But how many eyes do you have left?"
"That is none of your concern."
Orochimaru's left eye remained tightly closed.
He ran his tongue across his lips and smiled sinisterly.
"The Rinnegan is something I intend to obtain. I won't let you destroy it so easily."
The Rinnegan was directly connected to Orochimaru's "dream."
No matter the cost, he would try to obtain it!
"Summoning: Edo Tensei!"
As Orochimaru activated Edo Tensei, coffins appeared one after another amid clouds of white smoke.
Then the coffin lids opened.
One renowned powerhouse after another from throughout the shinobi world's history stepped out.
(To be continued.)
◇◇◇
◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 200 Power Stones.
◇ You can read the ahead chapter on Pat if you're interested: p-atreon.c-om/Blownleaves (Just remove the hyphen to access normally.)