Rorin stared at his target. The man's small braid swayed, and he wore a white haori. Beneath his left eye was a Roman numeral "IV" tattoo.
Could it be a mistake? Maybe he just looks similar? Rorin wondered, then contacted the system.
"System, are you sure that person is the owner of the Byakugan?"
[Reply to host: Yes, it's him.]
A bead of cold sweat formed on Rorin's temple. He hadn't expected that in searching for the Byakugan, he would run into Jigen—no, rather, Ōtsutsuki Isshiki.
Ōtsutsuki Isshiki was a partner who had come to Earth with Ōtsutsuki Kaguya in ancient times to plant the Divine Tree. Originally, Isshiki had planned to sacrifice the lower-ranked Kaguya to the Ten-Tails, but at the critical moment, Kaguya suddenly turned on him, catching him off guard and severely injuring him.
Kaguya offered the injured Isshiki to the Ten-Tails, but after half his body was devoured, Isshiki used a secret technique to escape. On the brink of death, he encountered Jigen and survived by parasitizing his body.
"I didn't expect such a coincidence—meeting someone who's been alive even longer than Black Zetsu. But why is he in the Land of Water?" Rorin muttered to himself.
Meanwhile, sensing someone watching him, Isshiki walked toward Rorin's hiding place and quickly arrived before him.
"...Who are you?" Isshiki asked coldly.
Rorin immediately retreated, widening the distance between them. "Just a passerby."
Isshiki carefully examined Rorin's appearance. When he saw the two red marks on Rorin's forehead, he was reminded of Ōtsutsuki Kaguya, and his brows furrowed slightly.
Without another word, Isshiki slowly raised his right hand. In an instant, five black rods appeared in front of Rorin and shot toward him, about to pierce his body.
Rorin used Flying Thunder God to evade the attack, and bone spikes began protruding from his body.
Seeing the bone spikes, Isshiki grew even more certain.
"As expected, a descendant of that wretched woman," he said coldly.
Only then did Rorin understand why Isshiki had attacked him so suddenly—he had associated him with Kaguya.
"Since I'm already here, let's fight," Rorin said softly. A white bone armor formed around his body. With a stomp, his figure blurred as he rushed toward Isshiki.
"Overestimating yourself!" Isshiki scoffed.
Rorin appeared in front of him, his right fist swinging toward Isshiki's vital points with fierce force.
Isshiki merely raised his right hand slightly and blocked the attack with one hand. Seeing it was ineffective, Rorin didn't hesitate. He kicked toward Isshiki with his left leg, then spun counterclockwise.
Shikotsumyaku · Dance of the Larch!
Bone spikes extended rapidly, slicing through Isshiki's clothing. Isshiki frowned.
Isshiki retaliated with a brutal kick to Rorin, sending him sliding backward nearly ten meters before coming to a stop.
After steadying himself, Rorin stared at Isshiki seriously, analyzing silently, "He's really troublesome. But logically, he shouldn't be able to use his full power. If that's the case, I still have a chance."
From Rorin's understanding, Jigen's body couldn't withstand Isshiki's original power, so everything remained uncertain.
Rorin slowly raised his head and entered Sage Mode. His white bone armor turned black.
Shikotsumyaku · Dance of the Seedling Fern!
In an instant, the ground trembled as a forest of bones erupted upward, stabbing toward Isshiki.
Isshiki simply rose into the air, looking down at the bone forest, completely unmoved.
Rorin vanished, weaving through the bone forest, then reappeared before Isshiki. A spiraling bone spear formed in his right hand, thrusting viciously toward him.
Clang!
Isshiki held a black rod and swung it forward, colliding with the bone spear and sending sparks flying.
Rorin continued appearing from different bones, manipulating his spear and launching relentless thrusts at Isshiki.
Isshiki dodged nimbly, while also controlling black rods to fly toward Rorin, attempting to pin him and immobilize him.
After fighting for a while, Isshiki showed impatience.
"That's enough."
As Rorin appeared again, Isshiki activated a space-time ninjutsu. A black hole appeared, pulling both of them inside and transporting them into another dimension.
Isshiki floated in the air, looking down coldly.
Rorin looked around, then smiled faintly. "Finally, we're here."
He had deliberately entangled Isshiki earlier just to make him bring him into this dimension, where he could fight freely—after all, they had been in the Land of Water before.
Rorin looked up at Isshiki and quietly released the restrictions on his chakra.
Eight Gates · Gate of View, open!
Isshiki seemed uninterested.
"Enough. I'm tired of playing. Time to say goodbye—you can stay trapped here."
As his words fell, Isshiki opened another black hole, preparing to leave.
Lightning gathered in Rorin's right hand. His figure flashed, bone wings flaring behind him as he charged forward.
Blue Bird!
Isshiki was startled. He hadn't expected Rorin to be able to fly. Because of the attack's extreme speed, he had to dodge to the left—failing to escape through the black hole.
Rorin stabilized himself in the air and smiled slightly at Isshiki.
"Round two begins!"
Eight Gates · Gate of Wonder, open!
Rising Dragon!
A fierce dragon-shaped hurricane roared toward Isshiki. His brows furrowed slightly—this attack felt different from before.
As the wind dragon was about to collide with him, Isshiki controlled black rods to intercept it, but they were knocked away and scattered to the ground.
The wind dragon ultimately engulfed Isshiki, slicing his body with violent winds, drawing blood.
After a while, the wind dragon dissipated. Isshiki's figure reappeared, breathing heavily—only to see Rorin appear again, a white energy sphere forming in his right hand.
Sage Art · Spirit Bomb!
The Spirit Bomb struck Isshiki directly, sending him crashing downward.
Boom! Boom!
Isshiki slammed into the ground as dust billowed. The Spirit Bomb exploded, its blast spreading outward and shattering the surrounding mountains.
When the smoke cleared, Isshiki staggered to his feet—only to realize his body was beginning to disintegrate, much to his shock.
"Damn it... looks like I have no choice!" Isshiki said angrily.