Sakura rushed through space, clenching her fist to strike. Time slowed - she saw Kaguya's eyes widen as she realized the inevitability of the attack. The chakra concentrated in her fist pulsed, ready to be released. The air around her hand shook from the powerful concentration of energy.
"It's now or never!"
The blow struck the target. The goddess's horn cracked, and her head snapped back. The deafening sound of the blow echoed through space. At the same instant, Naruto and Sasuke, acting with perfect synchronization, rushed at her from both sides. They moved so fast that their figures blurred in the air. The palms of Rikudo's power markers touched Kaguya's shoulders, emitting a dim glow of ancient power.
"Got it!" - flashed through Sakura's mind.
But something was wrong. The seal wasn't activating. Naruto and Sasuke continued to hold the goddess, but nothing was happening. The marks on their palms slowly faded, losing their power. A cold grin appeared on Kaguya's face.
- Foolish children," her voice was full of contempt. - Did you think I was going to let this technique seal me in again?
Time stopped. Naruto's eyes met Sasuke's, both of them aware of the same realization: their main trump card hadn't worked. The space around them began to distort, reacting to Kaguya's growing strength.
- Retreat! - Shouted Sasuke.
Naruto instantly created a dozen shadow clones that rushed at Kaguya. Sasuke activated the Rinnegan, the space around him curved, and the next moment they were next to Kakashi, watching the sealing attempt from a short distance away.
Naruto's clones attacked Kaguya from all sides, but she destroyed them one by one with precise, measured movements. Explosions of chakra filled the air. This gave the team a few seconds to regroup.
- What happened? - Kakashi asked, not taking his eyes off the goddess destroying another clone.
- She did something to the seal," Sasuke gritted his teeth. - I think she found a way to block Rikudo's technique.
Kakashi felt the last remnants of Obito's chakra disappear along with the sharingan. His eye closed, leaving him with a feeling of helplessness. He clenched his fists, realizing that he wouldn't be able to help his students to their fullest potential now. Naruto's clones continued to hold Kaguya back, but they were becoming fewer and fewer with each passing second.
- Without the seal, all we have left is direct confrontation," Kakashi shifted his gaze to Sasuke. - Your level of taijutsu...
- Yeah," Sasuke cut him short, "if we can wear her down physically...
Naruto clenched his fists:
- We need to corner her. I'll create more clones to create a distraction, and the two of us--
- Put her in a vise," Sasuke finished. - She won't be able to deflect blows from both sides indefinitely.
Sakura stepped forward:
- I've got your back if, uh.
- No," Sasuke replied sharply. - Stay with Kakashi. If anything goes wrong, you'll be our backup.
There was a harsh truth in those words that no one dared to say out loud. Kakashi, the powerless Obito, and Sakura, for all her strength, were now nothing more than spectators in the battle of the gods. Their intervention would only mean meaningless sacrifices - pawns trying to get in the way of the queen. Sasuke understood that. Sakura understood it, too, though every cell in her body screamed the urge to rush to her aid. A shadow flashed in Kakashi's eyes, a silent admission of his own powerlessness. A few minutes ago he had been an equal in this battle, but now, with his sharingan power gone, he was a mere mortal forced to watch the titans fight.
The last Naruto clone dissipated in a cloud of smoke. Kaguya turned toward them, her white eyes glowing with cold fury.
Naruto and Sasuke looked at each other. Naruto and Sasuke looked at each other without words or gestures - years of fighting side by side had taught them to understand each other with half a glance. Naruto and Sasuke looked at each other without a word or gesture - years of fighting side by side had taught them to understand each other with half a glance.
Kakashi tensed as he watched the events unfold. He saw his former students launch another attack. Naruto was the first to rush forward, delivering a series of quick blows to Kaguya's body. The goddess fought off the attacks, but was forced to retreat under the pressure. Sasuke, using his partner's distraction, came in from the side, his fist whistling through the air a millimeter from her head.
- Hold the perimeter! - Sasuke shouted, and Naruto instantly created shadow clones that surrounded the goddess in a tight ring.
Kaguya sped up. Her movements became sharper, more precise. She dodged the blows as if anticipating them, but she didn't counterattack. Naruto and Sasuke continued to press, their bodies moving with a synchronicity honed by years of training. When one attacked the upper level, the other would strike at her legs. If Kaguya dodged Sasuke's strike, she was immediately hit by a series of punches from Naruto.
Sasuke activated his Sharingan, analyzing his opponent's every move. Something about her defense seemed wrong - too many open areas, too obvious gaps in the defense. But there was no time to ponder. Naruto delivered a crushing blow to the solar plexus, and for a split second, Kaguya lost her balance.
They attacked at the same time. Naruto from above, aiming for the neck, Sasuke from below, aiming for the knee. The blows reached their target. The goddess flew a few meters away, but landed on her feet. A slight smile appeared on her face.
- Damn it," Sasuke exhaled, realizing the trap too late.
The air around them thickened and filled with thousands of fine threads of chakra. Each thread glowed with a bluish light, turning the space into a deadly web. Naruto felt the first cut on his cheek - a thin line of blood streaked across his skin. A moment later, the chakra blades came down in a flurry.
They cut everything - skin, muscle, clothing. Deep cuts covered every inch of his body. Blood flooded his eyes, making it hard to see. Sasuke tried to activate Susanoa, but the blades pierced even that defense, leaving deep furrows in the violet energy sheath.
Naruto created a protective sheath of Kurama's chakra, but it couldn't stop the endless stream of cutting threads. The blades were cutting through even the air in his lungs.
And then came pain of a different kind. Kaguya's mental attack hit the mind like a hammer on an anvil. Fireworks of agony exploded in both shinobi's heads. The picture in front of their eyes swam, the sounds blended into a continuous hum. Naruto felt his knees buckle. Nearby, Sasuke collapsed to one knee, blood dripping from his nose.
- Did you really think you could compete with me? - Kaguya's voice sounded distant, breaking through the pain.
Behind their backs, a portal opened, a black hole in space, trapping light. Chakrolaps materialized out of thin air - massive, glowing constructs of pure energy. The first paw struck Naruto in the back, the second grabbed Sasuke's shoulder. Claws of chakra dug into the scarred flesh.
Naruto tried to grasp the ground, but his fingers, slippery with blood, could find no footing. He saw Sakura rush toward them, her face contorted with horror. The chakrolaps tore them back with monstrous force.
- Naruto! Sasuke! - Sakura's scream cut through the air, but it was too late.
The darkness of the portal engulfed them. The last thing Naruto felt was the taste of blood in his mouth and the coldness of the void pulling him into the unknown. His fingers instinctively reached for Sasuke's, trying to cling to his friend in this maelstrom of darkness. Even now, on the edge between worlds, the two were true to their nature - one reaching for the light of friendship and connection, the other withdrawn, ready to face any danger alone.
They were like night and day - Naruto, who had grown up alone but never lost faith in people, and Sasuke, who had lost everything and closed his heart to the world. One drew strength from his bonds with others, the other from the power of his own hatred. And now, as reality disintegrated around them, that fundamental difference was especially apparent. In the last moment before consciousness left them, Naruto thought of those he had left behind - Sakura, Kakashi, his friends from Konoha. Sasuke, on the other hand, was focused on a single thought - surviving to complete his journey of revenge.
The portal collapsed, leaving behind nothing but emptiness and the echo of Sakura's scream. None of them knew that fate was preparing them for a challenge that would change them forever-a world where their strength and beliefs would clash with completely different laws and truths.
Meanwhile, in a dimension beyond the known worlds, two figures watched the battle unfold through a tear in the fabric of reality. Crimson lightning occasionally pierced the endless darkness, illuminating shards of mirrors floating in the void, reflecting a thousand different worlds.
They were like two opposites, frozen in an eternal dance of power and submission. The first figure radiated ancient, primordial evil, the very thing that is born in the darkest corners of the soul, that feeds on fears and despair, that tempts and breaks. His every movement, his every gesture seemed to mock the very notion of morality and virtue. In his presence, space itself seemed to distort, as if reality could not bear the weight of his existence.
The second figure, wrapped in a cloak, was the embodiment of cold calculation and restrained strength. Her movements were the story of the many losses and betrayals that had turned a once living heart into a tool of manipulation. She held herself upright, with the dignity of a puppet, aware of the strings she was being pulled by, but unable-or unwilling-to break them.
- Don't miscalculate, my dear. - The first figure spoke threateningly, and the words echoed through the thousands of deals made and fates broken.
The second figure raised a hand, a gesture filled with the grace and power of ancient knowledge. Kaguya's portal began to warp, obeying an invisible force. In this simple movement, the history of countless experiments and broken laws of nature was read.
- The portal coordinates have been changed perfectly," she replied coldly, watching Naruto and Sasuke disappear into warped space, not where Kaguya had planned. Her voice was tired, the tiredness of a creature who had played games with the matter of the universe for too long.
- Excellent, you did well, as always. - The other man said, and there was a smile in those words that had a grave coldness to it. It was the smile of a creature accustomed to getting what it wanted, no matter the cost.
The woman's silhouette trembled slightly, a barely perceptible movement that betrayed the remnants of humanity in what had long since ceased to be merely human:
- I just held up my end of the bargain.
The rift in space slowly closed, leaving them in total darkness. Only a faint purple glow continued to pulse like the heartbeat of evil itself, marking the beginning of a game whose rules were known only to these two mysterious figures, creatures whose true nature could make even the most powerful gods shudder.