(T/N: There is now a p.atreon for this work, and any new work I add will be dropped there first. check it out for an early release of up to 30 chapters edited smoothly. https://www.p.atreon.com/INeedRest)
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Konoha.
At this moment, Ōtsutsuki Kaguya was learning the art of flower arrangement with Ino.
At first, Ino had been terrified of the ancestor of the ninja world, but after a few days of interaction, her fears subsided. It was the same for the other girls.
It turned out that if Chakra wasn't mentioned in the subject, Kaguya was surprisingly talkative and eager to learn new things.
Just like today, when Ino hesitantly asked if Kaguya would like to visit her flower shop, Kaguya immediately agreed and began learning the delicate art like a curious child.
"Very impressive, Kaguya-sama," Ino marveled.
"It's amazing that you can create something so beautiful on your first try."
Ino's praise wasn't flattery; it was the truth.
Kaguya seemed to have an instinctive understanding of nature's beauty. Even her subconscious choices left Ino, a seasoned florist, feeling humbled.
Kaguya's cold lips curled slightly as if she was about to speak of herself proudly, but she suddenly looked up to the northwest.
"Ōtsutsuki... Isshiki!" she muttered.
She could feel his chakra, and she knew what that meant.
Ino looked at her in confusion.
"Kaguya-sama, what's going on?" she heard her mutter that, and she knew that the Otsutsuki were supposed to be aliens, but even when looking where Kaguya was looking she couldn't detect anything.
Kaguya didn't answer.
She instinctively prepared to use her teleportation technique but hesitated. Through her perception, she realized that Colt was already fighting Isshiki.
Furthermore, without the Divine Tree's power, she couldn't face Isshiki herself.
All her hopes now rested on Colt who had promised he could deal with such a situation.
Kaguya's brows furrowed, her pale eyes filled with worry.
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"You have two days, you say? I don't need that much. Five minutes is more than enough," Colt declared.
"[Tengai Shinsei!]"
With a single gesture toward the sky, several colossal meteorites hurtled down, casting enormous shadows over the battlefield, and threatening to obliterate everything in their path.
"Is that all?" Isshiki snorted, unimpressed. With his golden eyes glowing ominously, the meteorites vanished into thin air.
Colt chuckled.
"Just testing a theory." He sheathed Kaminari and faced Isshiki barehanded.
He had used the meteorites to gauge Isshiki's ocular powers and now understood that they weren't just similar to his own— they were identical.
"Testing what? Your own demise?" Isshiki snarled, his body tensed like a predator ready to strike.
Colt's Sharingan morphed rapidly, evolving into the nine-tomoe [Rinnesharingan].
His vision sharpened, capturing even the smallest of details as Isshiki lunged at him, his speed like a blur.
Ishii had vanished.
He had shrunk himself, and Colt matched his size.
Bang!
The two collided with such force that a shockwave erupted, tearing through the landscape and sending winds howling in every direction.
"How… How do you know my Sukunahikona?" Isshiki's confident facade cracked, his eyes wide with disbelief.
Colt grinned.
"Why is that so strange? I awakened this ability back when I unlocked my [Mangekyō Sharingan]."
Isshiki's expression darkened.
Mangekyō Sharingan? He had only ever heard of it as a low-level power used by those with diluted bloodlines.
Yet, here was Colt wielding his secret technique with ease.
"Once I plant my [Karma] in you, I'll be the only one with this ability!" Isshiki raged, increasing his power.
Their battle intensified.
The two combatants constantly fluctuated in size, engaging in brutal physical exchanges.
Each blow sent tremors through the earth, toppling mountains and splitting the sky.
For the first time, Isshiki felt truly threatened.
He prided himself on his physical prowess, but Colt's strength was pushing him back.
Colt seized Isshiki's fist, closed in, and delivered a series of devastating elbows to Isshiki's abdomen.
"Gah!" Isshiki's eyes bulged from the pain as blood leaked from his orifices.
"[Eight Gates: Gate of Wonder, Release!]" Colt yelled as Chakra surged through his body, pushing his strength to new heights.
Isshiki became a helpless ragdoll in the onslaught, pummeled relentlessly.
When he finally found an opportunity, two massive black and red cubes descended from the sky toward Colt.
Isshiki tried to turn the tide with them.
"You dare use my technique against me? Take this!"
Colt wasn't fazed.
He activated his [Sukunahikona], shrinking the cubes down to the size of dice before sealing them away.
These black and red cubes were formidable tools designed to suppress Chakra, but in Colt's hands, they were powerless.
"Y-You!" Isshiki's body was shaking from rage and that led to his injuries leaking even more blood.
"Don't be angry," Colt teased, striking him again.
"Wouldn't want you to die from rage before I'm done."
Even as Colt battered Isshiki, he healed his opponent with his [Medical Ninjutsu], prolonging the fight for his own amusement.
Perhaps this was the true power of the system—the so-called Healer's Benevolence.
Isshiki, humiliated, roared and activated his space-time jutsu to escape, but before he could vanish, a rift opened beside him, pulling him back.
"Hehe," Colt smirked.
He had healed both Kaguya and Ishiki enough times to acquire the same technique.
"You Ōtsutsuki are pretty good at space-time ninjutsu, but that's not exclusive to just you anymore" he quipped as he unfurled his light wings, activating the second stage of the [Sage Mode].
Crack! Crack!
In a matter of moments, Colt shattered Isshiki's limbs with a terrifying blow.
Looking down at the now trembling Isshiki, Colt's smile turned wicked.
'Tsk, these Ōtsutsukis act all high and mighty, but look at them now…'
He grabbed Isshiki by the head.
"Alright, fun time's over. It's time to send you on your way."
Ishiki, a that moment, and for the first time in his life, felt true fear.