"Mother, you're wrong."
As Jiraiya's appearance began to shift, his form morphed into a long-bearded, horned man, and his purple Rinnegan gleamed.
"The Sage of Six Paths!?" Hashirama and Tobirama exclaimed in unison, shocked by his true identity.
Tobirama narrowed his eyes, his voice cold. "Sage of Six Paths, why attack the Fifth Hokage of Konoha?"
"Because, like my mother, he is a threat to the ninja world. I am tasked with protecting and correcting its course, and to do so, I must seal them both."
Hagoromo spoke calmly, then added, "Tobirama, it seems both you and Ashura's reincarnation have made your choices."
The Senju brothers remained unfazed. Having spent time in Konoha, Tobirama had grown to believe in the village's unity and the control held over the Five Great Nations. His once unfulfilled vision was now being realized through Konoha's leadership. As for Hagoromo's notions, they were too abstract for Tobirama to care about.
However, the fact that this ancient figure had taken over a Konoha shinobi's body and attacked the village's Fifth Hokage was unacceptable to him.
"The future of the ninja world belongs to the living, Sage. As a dead man from a thousand years ago, your attack on Konoha's Hokage will not be tolerated!" Tobirama declared. He quickly formed seals and unleashed a powerful Water Release jutsu.
"Water Release: Water Severing Wave!"
A highly compressed stream of water, strong enough to cut through steel, shot toward Hagoromo. However, the attack became useless upon hitting the Truth-Seeking Balls surrounding him.
"That black sphere nullifies ninjutsu, brother!" Tobirama warned.
Hashirama immediately clasped his hands together, entering Sage Mode. While Hagoromo's presence as the Sage of Six Paths was undeniable, Hashirama couldn't condone his actions.
"Sage Art: Wood Style Barrier!"
"Sage Art: Gate of the Bright Gods!"
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Thick wooden walls sprang up around the village, shielding it from further harm. At the same time, massive torii gates descended from the sky, imbued with Sage chakra and sealing power, crashing down on Hagoromo's head.
Despite the impressive techniques, Hagoromo merely raised his staff and shattered the gates with ease. Floating into the air, he calmly said, "Ashura's reincarnation, your Sage techniques may affect the Truth-Seeking Balls, but I also excel in Sage techniques. Therefore, none of your ninjutsu will work on me."
Bang! Bang! Bang!
In the midst of battle, Tsunade jumped into the sky, but her target wasn't Hagoromo—it was the massive sphere sealing Yoichi.
Hagoromo's brows furrowed. The seal wasn't yet complete, and Yoichi's consciousness and body were still partially connected. If the outer shell of the Chibaku Tensei were shattered, there was a chance that Yoichi could be freed.
Whoosh!
A Truth-Seeking Ball shot toward Tsunade, exploding into a brilliant white light upon nearing her.
Boom!
A deafening explosion followed, the force even more devastating than a Tailed Beast Bomb. Hashirama quickly used his Wood Release to shield the village and the people from the blast.
The explosion lasted for several minutes, leaving a massive crater hundreds of meters deep outside Konoha's front gates. Even Hashirama's Sage techniques had been obliterated, and the village's protective barrier was in tatters. Fortunately, the village itself had been spared.
"Tsunade!" Hashirama and Tobirama shouted in unison, but before they could search for her, her voice called out from behind them.
"Grandfather, Second Grandpa, I'm fine."
Turning around, they found Tsunade standing beside Kaguya. She was slightly injured, but her wounds were healing rapidly.
Ignoring her own condition, Tsunade focused on the sealed sphere in the sky. "The fact that he's so desperate to seal Yoichi means he's worried. We need to find a way to break the seal."
Tobirama agreed. "Ninjutsu and Sage techniques don't seem effective. We'll have to rely on taijutsu."
Surveying the area, he realized that only a handful of people were capable of participating in this fight. Even those who had mastered Sage techniques weren't strong enough to make a difference. It was only through his Flying Thunder God Technique that he could even stay involved.
"We need to move the battlefield—either get Hagoromo away from the seal or move the seal itself," Hashirama said. "If we let him stay near it, we won't be able to free Yoichi, and the village will be in danger."
Kaguya, who had remained silent, suddenly spoke up. "He is my son, and I must be the one to deal with him."
With those words, Kaguya's Nine Tomoe Rinnegan spun as she activated Heaven's Subjugation.
The scene shifted, and Tsunade, Hashirama, and the others found themselves in an entirely different world—a scorching desert as far as the eye could see, with the Chibaku Tensei and Hagoromo floating in the sky.
"Where are we?" Tsunade asked, bewildered.
"This is my realm," Kaguya replied coldly. "Let me handle Hagoromo."
Without waiting for a response, Kaguya soared into the sky to confront her son. Though she was alone, Kaguya didn't let her guard down.
This desert dimension was the best option. The gravity realm and the primordial space were too risky, and the others wouldn't be able to survive there. Out of the remaining spaces, the desert was the safest for her plan.
Her hatred for Hagoromo and Hamura burned fiercely. They had inherited her power, only to betray her and stand against her in defense of the ninja world. Everything she had done had been to prepare for the inevitable return of the Ōtsutsuki clan!
"This is our chance, Tsunade. You can walk on air, and I've marked you with my Flying Thunder God seal. I'll bring the First Hokage along. Once you reach the sealed boulder, I'll teleport us there," Tobirama instructed, marking both Tsunade and Hashirama with his seal.
"Damn it! I should have trained more. If I'd mastered more of the Gene Primordial Energy, I could've destroyed that bastard!" Tsunade cursed, frustrated by her lack of training since returning to the village. She had focused too much on research and not enough on her World-Destroying Strength technique, which she had only mastered at the first level.
With the plan set, Tobirama, Hashirama, and Tsunade began their coordinated efforts.
As Kaguya and Hagoromo clashed in the sky, their god-like battle shook the very fabric of space.
...
Meanwhile, outside Konoha, after the explosion, Sakumo noticed that all traces of the First and Second Hokage had vanished, along with the sealed boulder in the sky. He immediately activated his sensory jutsu.
"Fourth Hokage!" Rumi approached Sakumo, concern evident in her voice. "What just happened? Where is Yoichi-sensei? I felt his chakra, but it suddenly disappeared."
Having only recently recovered from the Infinite Tsukuyomi, Rimi hadn't rushed to greet Yoichi earlier, trusting in his strength. But the sudden explosion and the disappearance of his chakra alarmed her.
Before Sakumo could respond, Minato Uzumaki, Kushina, Mikoto, and Yugito all arrived. Sakumo felt a headache coming on but explained the situation to them.
"What?! Yoichi-sensei has been sealed?" Rumi exclaimed, her voice trembling with anger. "Fourth Hokage, where are Yoichi-sensei and the enemy now?"
Mina added, "Kushina and I are both skilled in sealing techniques. Maybe we can break the seal on Yoichi."
Sakumo quickly intervened, "Hold on. I don't know where they are. They were just outside the village, but their chakra signatures suddenly vanished. I think they used a space-time ninjutsu."
"Indeed, they did," Yoichi's Kamui clone appeared beside them, explaining, "Kushina, Yugito, I need some tailed beast chakra. To reach the other dimension, we'll need a large amount of chakra to open the portal."
"You are…?" Mikoto asked, confused. The man before them looked exactly like Yoichi, with the same chakra signature as her husband.
"I'm a clone of the original. Now, hurry and give me the chakra."
Understanding the urgency, Kushina and Yugito stepped forward, channeling their tailed beast chakra into the Kamui clone.
Crossing from the ninja world to Kaguya's dimension required a tremendous amount of chakra. Even just traveling between the six dimensions within Heaven's Subjugation could drain several Kage-level shinobi. Reaching that realm from the ninja world was far more demanding.
The chakra Yoichi had given his Kamui clone had been mostly depleted in his battle with Kaguya, leaving it insufficient for another jump.
After receiving a considerable amount of tailed beast chakra, the Kamui clone finally said, "That's enough."
With that, he vanished into the Kamui dimension, preparing to locate the entrance to Kaguya's realm.
"He'll save Yoichi, right?" Mina asked.
Mikoto replied, "Mina, he is Yoichi."
"Not quite. The chakra feels the same, but that's not the real Yoichi."
Inside Heaven's Subjugation, the Kamui clone materialized, scanning the battlefield and locating the sealed Chibaku Tensei that contained Yoichi.
The others noticed his arrival, and after seeing his resemblance to Yoichi, Tsunade and the rest realized he was an ally.
Only Hagoromo frowned. Recognizing the clone as Yoichi's, he wasn't overly concerned. The chakra levels were nowhere near the original's, so it posed no threat.
'As long as I maintain the seal and deal with Mother, everything will fall into place,' Hagoromo thought, formulating his next move. If he could just drain a bit more of Kaguya's chakra, he'd have the perfect opportunity to finish them both.
As Hagoromo pondered his strategy, he noticed a figure moving rapidly toward the Chibaku Tensei.
"What is he doing?"
Before he could react, Hagoromo felt the seal loosening. In a flash, Yoichi broke free from the Chibaku Tensei, streaking toward the Kamui clone. The two converged like magnets, their paths intersecting in mid-air.
Shing!
A brilliant white light flooded the desert space, so bright that Tsunade, Tobirama, and Hashirama had to shield their eyes.
When the light faded, a lone figure hovered in the sky.
"Six Paths Sage, Hagoromo… You probably don't even acknowledge the Ōtsutsuki name. If it weren't for my precautions, you would've succeeded," the newly fused Yoichi said, his voice calm yet menacing.
With a wave of his hand, he pulled Tsunade, Tobirama, and Hashirama to his side using his immense chakra.
"I'll handle the rest. You three should sit this one out. Once I'm done, we'll head back to Konoha."
Kaguya also floated down beside Yoichi, bowing slightly as she muttered, "I was trying to find a way to counter him…"
"It's not your fault. He's sneaky, hiding inside a Konoha ninja and masking his presence completely."
Yoichi waved off her concerns. Who would have guessed that Jiraiya would be the one to stab him? Even planetary-level defenses couldn't withstand someone who specialized in Six Paths sealing techniques.
And it wasn't just any seal—it was designed to separate the soul from the body. If Yoichi's spiritual power hadn't been strong enough, he would have been sealed permanently.
After sending Kaguya and the others away, Yoichi slowly approached Hagoromo, speaking with a slight grin. "Now that you've failed to seal me, are you feeling hopeless?"
"There will always be a savior for the ninja world," Hagoromo replied, raising his staff to prepare for a final battle. "Even if I don't succeed now, someone in the future will restore balance to this world."
"The savior of the future, huh? Let's think… Your hopes lie with the Pure Land, your true body, and the Toads of Mount Myōboku, right?"
Yoichi clapped his hands mockingly. "You've left your soul in the Pure Land to guide reincarnations, while the Toads train those reincarnations for you. Clever. But I won't let that stand. I'll start by wiping out Mount Myōboku. Even if they hide deep underground, I'll find every single one of those toads and exterminate them."
"And then I'll come for the Pure Land. Though there's no point in making threats. Just wait for me there!"
Boom!
Yoichi's chakra erupted like a tidal wave, his power amplified twofold by the fusion.
Crackle! Crackle!
Entering the fourth stage of his Thunder Destruction Chakra Mode, Yoichi's aura sent shockwaves through the desert, forcing Hagoromo to retreat.
The Potara Fusion was the perfect combination, and since Yoichi and his Kamui clone were essentially the same, the fusion was flawless.
"S-So strong…"
Even Hagoromo was stunned by the overwhelming pressure, struggling just to stay grounded.
"Unbelievable…"
Kaguya, watching from a distance, was equally shocked. Yoichi was far stronger than before. Even without his… unusual abilities, she wouldn't stand a chance against him.
Bam!
With a single, lightning-fast punch, Yoichi appeared in front of Hagoromo and drove his fist through the Sage's chest.
For a moment, time seemed to freeze. Then, with a deafening roar, the force of the punch rippled outward from Hagoromo's chest, creating a massive crater in the desert below.
"You won't have to wait long. I'll be coming for you soon," Yoichi said, as his fist remained lodged in Hagoromo's chest. His Rinnegan activated, unleashing the power of Yomi Numa.
Life and death energy spiraled around Hagoromo, and Yoichi began draining his chakra at an alarming rate.
"The ninja world… won't… fade…"
Before he could finish his sentence, Hagoromo's chakra was drained entirely by Yoichi's technique.
With Hagoromo's chakra gone, his appearance reverted to that of Jiraiya.
"You fool…"
Yoichi looked down at the lifeless Jiraiya, noting that the man had been used as a pawn. There was hardly any chakra left in him, but Yoichi managed to save him at the last moment.
He would give Jiraiya a choice: stand with the village, or side with the toads. If he chose Konoha, he'd lead the charge against Mount Myōboku. If not, he could live the rest of his life as a wandering hermit.
With Hagoromo defeated, Yoichi carried Jiraiya back to Kaguya, Tsunade, and the others.
"Half the problem is solved. Let's head back to Konoha."
(End of Chapter)
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