Isshiki Otsutsuki did not know what "checkmate" meant, nor did he know how exactly Rei Kaguya had found him.
But that did not stop him from realizing that he was once again standing at a critical juncture where he absolutely could not take a single wrong step.
So he immediately prepared to fully unseal his Karma while attempting to use words to buy time for his escape.
"Rei Kaguya… Did that trash Kaguya tell you of my existence?"
He did not ask how the other party could see through Jigen's shell and recognize his true identity at a glance, because that kind of thing did not matter at all.
What he cared about was the reason the other party could find him without him noticing in the slightest, and the Karma belonging to Kaguya Otsutsuki on the other party's body, which, no matter how he looked at it, felt completely unnecessary.
"Unfortunately, Ancestor Kaguya did not know that you survived."
Rei Kaguya lightly shook his head. Powerful ocular power and the composure of one confident in victory flowed through his Tenseigan.
"The ones who made me realize that another pure-blooded Otsutsuki besides Ancestor Kaguya still existed on this land called the shinobi world were two other Otsutsuki named Momoshiki and Urashiki."
Isshiki Otsutsuki's face darkened.
Although he had remained asleep for the vast majority of the time in order to avoid the pressure of Jigen and himself reaching the end of their lifespans before finding a suitable vessel for reincarnation, he had still paid proper attention to most of the major events that occurred in the shinobi world.
If Momoshiki and Urashiki, two fellow members of the Otsutsuki clan, had descended upon the shinobi world, then with their strength and personalities, they would never consider hiding their movements.
And as long as they acted in the shinobi world, whether by finding a way to capture Kaguya Otsutsuki or by gathering again the Ten-Tails' chakra that had been divided into the nine Tailed Beasts, there was no way he could fail to detect their vast and distinct chakra.
But the truth was, from beginning to end, apart from the disturbance several years ago when Kaguya Otsutsuki broke free from the moon, Isshiki Otsutsuki had never sensed the chakra of any other Otsutsuki clan member.
Not once.
Then where had Rei Kaguya learned the names Momoshiki and Urashiki?
From Kaguya?
What a joke.
There were so many powerful members of the Otsutsuki clan throughout the universe. With Kaguya's status as a lower-ranking warrior, how could she possibly guess which clansmen would be responsible for investigating the reason she had cut off the offering of the Chakra Fruit to the Otsutsuki clan's higher ranks?
Seeing that Isshiki Otsutsuki had been pinned in place by his statement in reverse, Rei Kaguya, who had been worried that the other party might abandon everything to cut off his tail and survive the instant they met, could not help letting out a small breath of relief.
He lightly snapped his fingers and smiled playfully at Isshiki Otsutsuki, whose frown was growing deeper and deeper.
"It seems there are many questions in your heart too, Isshiki… Do you want to make an intelligence trade with me? I will answer those doubts in your heart, and you will pay me with more information regarding the Otsutsuki clan. That way, both sides can obtain more information and resolve more doubts…"
"Do you think I am the disgrace of the Otsutsuki clan like Kaguya, someone who would abandon all bottom lines and pride merely to cling to life?"
Isshiki Otsutsuki raised Jigen's eyebrows and shouted sternly.
"Of course you would."
Almost at the instant Rei Kaguya's answer fell, an intense collision of ocular power unfolded between him and Isshiki Otsutsuki.
Mukū!
Yomotsu Hirasaka!
The Otsutsuki clan's space-time secret technique, used to tear open space and reset battlefield conditions unfavorable to oneself, crashed against an exclusive Dojutsu whose absolute characteristic was sealing space.
The collision of immense chakra formed violent spatial distortion. In an instant, the underground building complex where the two currently stood began to collapse, and the void collision between their chakra opened the curtain on the deathmatch between them.
Boom!
Amid a heaven-splitting, earth-shattering roar, two white figures crossed and rose at a speed far exceeding ordinary dynamic vision. Along the way, they smashed all the land within a ten-kilometer radius into collapse.
One side's chakra remained highly stable, always maintained at a terrifying level sufficient to shake heaven and earth.
The other side's chakra rose endlessly, attempting to shake off the enemy's pursuit through maximum eruption.
"Get lost!"
Along with Isshiki's shout, his deathly chakra abruptly climbed to its peak.
On the body of Jigen, whom he had parasitized, the unique markings and forehead horn of the Otsutsuki clan suddenly appeared.
As Isshiki fully decompressed the Karma, Rei Kaguya's figure was forced back for the first time in their exchange.
"Sage Art: Shadow Swap."
Isshiki Otsutsuki felt a chill and immediately responded with the Shinjutsu he possessed, Sukunahikona.
Countless tiny grains of sand around him suddenly expanded into enormous shields like city walls, blocking all the gray bone spears Rei Kaguya had projected through the shadows of scattered stones nearby.
Shhh—
The gray bone spears annihilated the defensive tools Isshiki had summoned into ash.
Looking at those gray bone spears, which had only barely failed to accurately strike his body, Isshiki Otsutsuki's expression became unprecedentedly grave.
That man, Rei Kaguya, had not only mastered Kaguya Otsutsuki's strongest offensive technique, All-Killing Ash Bones, but had also imitated those weak human shinobi on the ground and developed methods to launch attacks from even more tricky angles.
No.
Not only All-Killing Ash Bones.
He also possessed an ocular technique capable of absolutely freezing the surrounding space, leaving Isshiki unable to use space-time techniques deeper than Rei's to escape the battlefield.
Damn it.
He knew far too little about the other party's information.
If he had known the other party possessed this ability, he should never have entertained any thought of conversing with him or attempting to collect information from him.
When that subordinate had been kicked back by the other party, Isshiki should have directly activated Sukunahikona, shrunk Jigen's body infinitely, and controlled him to leave this place.
Unfortunately, he did not possess a Rinnegan ocular technique capable of turning back time like Urashiki.
One wrong decision this time meant that he was already destined to walk the path of defeat.
The Karma had already been decompressed.
Yet the vessel that could allow him to reincarnate was nowhere to be found.
Other than killing the relaxed Rei Kaguya before his lifespan ran out, there was actually no other choice that could improve his situation or mood.
No.
Wait…
Perhaps there was another choice?
Isshiki Otsutsuki's eyes turned sharp.
The white and golden cross-shaped pupils stared fixedly at Rei Kaguya's right hand, which was holding a gray bone blade formed from All-Killing Ash Bones and slowly lifting.
A look of realization appeared in Isshiki's eyes.
On the other party's arm, the Karma belonging to Kaguya Otsutsuki was likewise rapidly changing toward a fully decompressed state because of the massive consumption of chakra and its perception of Isshiki Otsutsuki's chakra.