"Boom!"
Naruto and Sasuke were violently knocked back, spraying a mist of blood from their mouths. They fell to the ground like kites with broken strings, the impact cracking the ground, sending rocks flying and clouds of dust swirling.
"Kaguya is unbelievably strong. Is she even human?" Sasuke struggled to rise from the ground, his eyes fixed intently on Kaguya. He coughed several times, blood seeping through his fingers.
He thought that with the power of the Sage of the Six Paths and the gift of the Rinnegan, he should be able to stand against Kaguya. Yet, since they last saw her, her strength had grown even more formidable—no, not just formidable, terrifying and despair-inducing.
Can they really win? Sasuke felt a moment of doubt.
"Sasuke, are you going to back down?"
Sasuke shuddered and quickly turned to see that the voice belonged to Naruto.
Naruto wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, clenched his fists, and with a determined expression, said, "I won't give up easily."
As if spurred by Naruto's words, Sasuke's anxiety vanished. If Naruto wouldn't give up or back down, then neither would he.
"Hmph, you think I'd lose to you, dead last?" Sasuke snorted, raising an eyebrow and flashing a confident smile, his earlier doubt swept away.
"Then let's go."
"Right!"
Both of them smirked, exchanged a glance, and launched themselves toward Kaguya like arrows shot from a bow.
"Wind Style: Rasenshuriken!"
"Blaze Style: Kagutsuchi!"
A rapidly spinning shuriken appeared in Naruto's right hand, while a mass of black flames appeared in Sasuke's left hand.
"Naruto, I'll support you this time," Sasuke said, his hair wildly tossed by the fierce wind.
"Alright, no problem," Naruto replied with a grin.
As they ran, their hands met, and the Rasenshuriken and Kagutsuchi fused together, forming a black Rasenshuriken that screamed through the air toward Kaguya.
"Scorch Style: Halo Hurricane Jet Black Arrow Style Zero."
The black Wind Style: Rasenshuriken shot forward like a streak of black lightning, tearing through the sky with a piercing whine, reaching Kaguya in an instant.
Kaguya was unfazed. Such an attack might seem impressive, and it might work on others, but for her, it was insignificant.
She gently raised her pale arm and aimed at the incoming black Rasenshuriken. A black Truth-Seeking Ball appeared in her palm, instantly expanding to more than ten times its original size. The dark sphere emitted a menacing aura.
"Mini Expanded Truth-Seeking Ball."
With a slight motion of her hand, the Truth-Seeking Ball shot out with a bang, breaking the sound barrier and colliding directly with the incoming black shuriken.
A deafening explosion rocked the air, the shockwave mingled with a towering blast of wind and dust.
Before the dust had even settled, countless figures suddenly appeared behind Kaguya, filling the sky—Naruto's signature Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu.
"Sage Art: Rasengan!"
Naruto's clones, each wielding a rapidly spinning Rasengan, shouted as they charged toward Kaguya like a swarm of locusts, the sound of their movements slicing through the air.
"All-Killing Ash Bones."
Kaguya stretched out her pale arm and shot out countless bone spikes from her palm, aiming at Naruto's shadow clones. Although the clones were numerous, Kaguya's bone spikes were equally plentiful. Under the fierce storm-like attack of the bone spikes, Naruto's clones disappeared one by one in puffs of white smoke.
Did they think they could defeat her with such an attack?
Suddenly, Kaguya's eyes narrowed as she sensed something. Her creamy arm swung like lightning, and a bone spike shot out like a white bolt of lightning.
In the sky, Naruto with the Truth-Seeking Ball was instantly pierced by the bone spike.
His face was filled with shock, and a trace of disbelief lingered in his expression as his body began to crumble under the All-Killing Ash Bones' energy, with large chunks of his body falling away.
In the air, the shadow clones also vanished in bursts of white smoke with a "puff, puff" sound.
It seems that was the real Naruto.
Kaguya glanced coldly, losing interest, and prepared to search for Sasuke.
"You fell for it!"
At that moment, two figures appeared behind her—a blond-haired boy with whiskers on his cheeks and a dark blue-haired boy. They were Naruto and Sasuke.
The one before wasn't the real Naruto but a shadow clone with the Truth-Seeking Ball. Since clones usually don't have Truth-Seeking Balls, this was meant to confuse Kaguya. It seemed Naruto's plan had succeeded.
Naruto transformed into the massive Nine-Tails, from which six arms extended, and chakra gathered wildly in the palms, forming a super-sized yellow and black shuriken in no time.
Meanwhile, Uchiha Sasuke transformed into a robust, fully-armored Susanoo, with enormous chakra condensing into a bow and arrow. As he pulled the bowstring with his right arm, an arrow crackling with lightning appeared, aimed at Kaguya ahead.
"Six Paths: Ultra-Big Ball Rasenshuriken."
"Indra's Arrow."
"Boom!"
A brilliant flash of light appeared on the horizon, tearing through the sky and turning the whole world white. Then a deafening explosion thundered across the sky.
A massive mushroom cloud rose into the air, and searing winds mingled with a powerful shockwave surged out, leveling everything in its path, reducing forests to scorched earth, flattening mountains, and evaporating rivers. The clouds in the sky were swept away, revealing a clear blue sky.
In an instant, thick smoke rolled, and flames roared into the sky.
"What..."
"What is this..."
On the other side of the battlefield, Hashirama Senju's pupils contracted, and a look of disbelief spread across his face. He could feel the terrifying power of the explosion, exceeding anything he had imagined.
On the other side, Madara Uchiha was also solemn. Despite his pride and countless battles alongside Hashirama, he had never felt such immense power, not even when he became the Ten-Tails Madara.
What is this...
"It's Mother," Black Zetsu Loli said, approaching with clear eyes gazing at the mushroom cloud on the horizon. "She's encountered the reincarnations of Indra and Asura."
"You mean…" Hashirama's eyes narrowed, already beginning to suspect.
"That's right, they're fighting," Black Zetsu Loli said calmly. "Just like you two are also reincarnations of Indra and Asura."
"Why are you telling us this?" Madara asked, eyes fixed on Black Zetsu Loli, his gaze piercing. "What is your goal?"
"Those two can't defeat Mother," Black Zetsu Loli sighed softly. "If this continues, this world will end."