Chapter 311: Battling the Elder with the Tenseigan
Haneda looked up, locking eyes with the approaching figure, whose calm presence exuded an aura of overwhelming dread.
Like the other Otsutsuki, the elder wore simple, monk-like robes. Wrinkles adorned his forehead and eyelids, betraying his advanced age.
But the radiant glow of his eyes overshadowed his decrepit appearance.
It was the Tenseigan, Haneda was certain.
Only the Tenseigan could emit such immense chakra and powerful ocular energy.
"Descendant of Indra, I am curious—what drove you to risk everything and come here?"
The elder raised his six-paths staff, but he didn't attack immediately. Instead, he began speaking, his tone probing and deliberate.
With Itachi and Shisui watching from a distance, Haneda stepped forward and replied with righteous resolve:
"For lasting peace, for the happiness of the ninja world, and to put an end to your foolish, misguided ambitions!"
"You know of our plan?"
The elder was momentarily surprised, speculating that Haneda and his team must have learned of their intentions through the Hyuga.
He began probing further, but Haneda said nothing, his silence seemingly confirming the elder's suspicions.
"The world created by the Sage of Six Paths is flawed! I will fulfill the will of our ancestors and destroy the Earth!"
The elder raised his six-paths staff, which radiated a surge of powerful chakra, manifesting as a massive thunder serpent that lunged toward Haneda and Kakashi with its jaws wide open.
"Get ready to act—I'll support you," Kakashi said, quickly laying down Flying Raijin markings across the area.
Haneda, meanwhile, activated his Lightning Chakra Mode, diverting the thunder serpent's trajectory.
Boom!
The serpent missed, crashing into a nearby structure, which exploded into rubble in an instant.
Haneda smirked. Taking advantage of the elder's underestimation of him, he used a flicker step to appear behind the elder, blade drawn to strike at his neck.
But before the blade could land, a black, liquid-like substance coiled around his weapon.
Haneda teleported back to Kakashi using Flying Raijin, freeing himself from the substance's grasp.
His sword, Dawn, was more than a mere weapon to him; it held personal significance, and he wasn't about to let it get damaged.
"Spatial jutsu?!"
The elder's eyes gleamed with surprise. Realizing the intruders were no ordinary foes, he decided to fight in earnest, initiating a connection with the giant Tenseigan.
From a distance, golden light shimmered. The elder's form began to glow as he entered the Tenseigan Chakra Mode, his body enveloped in vibrant green chakra.
The surge of chakra sent shockwaves rippling across the area.
Kakashi's brows furrowed. The sheer intensity of the elder's chakra surpassed even Haneda's.
Moreover, Kakashi sensed the giant Tenseigan channeling a constant flow of chakra to the elder, empowering him further.
"Haneda, are we stalling or fighting?" Kakashi asked, his tone serious.
If they were stalling, he could work with Haneda to use Flying Raijin's agility to avoid attacks while giving Itachi and Shisui time to complete their mission.
But if they were fighting, he would need to find an opening during Haneda's battle to strike with precision, using their coordinated techniques to catch the elder off guard.
If it were up to Kakashi, he would have preferred the former—stalling. The elder's chakra was monstrous, and he didn't want Haneda to take unnecessary risks.
Haneda, however, met Kakashi's gaze with fiery determination.
There was no need for words—his intent was clear.
Fight.
A flash of green light suddenly streaked toward Kakashi, circling behind him in an instant.
It was the elder. He seized Kakashi by the neck, his piercing gaze directed at Haneda.
"Descendant of Indra, you should never have come here, let alone killed my kin!"
"You've sealed your fate! I'll personally…"
Before the elder could finish his sentence, Kakashi's form dissolved into smoke, revealing a wooden log in his place.
In that split second, Haneda and Kakashi simultaneously teleported to the elder's sides using Flying Raijin.
"Sage Art: Dust Release: Rasengan!"
"Purple Lightning: Chidori!"
From Haneda's left came a faint white glow, pulsating with the power to annihilate all matter. From Kakashi's right came the piercing screech of Chidori, crackling with lethal electricity.
A flash of shock crossed the elder's face. He had been fooled by such a simple substitution technique!
The chakra from Haneda and Kakashi was far more potent than he had anticipated.
Though the elder lacked recent combat experience due to his prolonged isolation on the Moon, his heightened reflexes and immense power remained intact.
He transformed one of the Truth-Seeking Orbs behind him into a protective barrier, creating a 360-degree defense.
At the Six Paths level, ordinary ninja techniques could not breach the Truth-Seeking Orbs' invulnerability.
However, a sudden surge of ocular power erupted from Kakashi. The surrounding space distorted as a powerful force pulled the Truth-Seeking Orb on the elder's right side into the Kamui dimension.
Alarmed, the elder turned his attention to Kakashi, his eyes narrowing at the sight of Kakashi's blood-red Sharingan and the purple lightning in his hand.
"This level of power… is insufficient to harm me!"
The elder scoffed, his Tenseigan Chakra Mode providing an additional layer of defense.
Even though Purple Lightning represented the pinnacle of lightning-style chakra transformation, it posed no significant threat to him.
Confident in his superiority, the elder prepared to counterattack, focusing his attention on Haneda's next move.
Haneda's blade radiated with Sage Chakra, exuding a dangerous aura that even the elder could not ignore.
Suddenly, the scene before the elder's eyes shifted. Instead of Kakashi and his purple lightning, he was met with blinding white light and Haneda's smirking face.
"Consider this a greeting."
"Sage Art: Dust Release: Rasengan!"
The Rasengan detonated, unleashing the Dust Release's devastating power, reducing everything within its radius to atomic particles.
Boom!!!
The resulting explosion echoed across the battlefield, its shockwaves obliterating a nearby building.
If Deidara had been present, he would have proclaimed this destruction as the pinnacle of art.
The force of the blast within the Truth-Seeking Orb's protective barrier was far greater than what had leaked outside.
Haneda and Kakashi stood on opposite sides of the aftermath, watching intently.
Haneda smirked, his tone calm:
"Our teamwork is flawless, Kakashi."
"He was too arrogant, too complacent," Kakashi replied.
As the dust settled, the elder emerged from the dispersing Truth-Seeking Orb. His appearance was disheveled, and the vibrant green aura of his Tenseigan Chakra Mode had dimmed considerably.
However, the giant Tenseigan in the distance continued to channel energy into him, gradually restoring his strength.
"You… you are the reincarnation of Indra!" the elder hissed, his voice laced with venom as he glared at Haneda's Mangekyo Sharingan.
During the earlier exchange, he had sensed a power far beyond that of an ordinary ninja.
Such strength could only belong to the reincarnation of the Sage's son, Indra.
"You're mistaken. The reincarnations of Indra and Asura this generation are others entirely," Haneda replied coolly.
"Impossible! No mere descendant of Indra could possess the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan or such immense chakra!" the elder roared.
"Everything I've achieved is the result of my own effort," Haneda declared, his tone unwavering.
As his Sage Chakra replenished, Haneda wasted no time preparing for his next move.
Kakashi, sensing Haneda's intent, teleported them both beneath the elder using Flying Raijin.
The wooden log from earlier, marked with Kakashi's Flying Raijin seal, remained intact beneath the Truth-Seeking Orb's previous position.
Caught off guard by the sudden maneuver, the elder instinctively ascended into the air—but it was too late.
Haneda, now cloaked in his Susanoo and in Sage Mode, soared after him, ready to deliver the next blow.
...