Chapter 372: Kaguya vs. Hyuga Fuji
Not only Kitsuchi, but every ninja who witnessed this scene had the same thought.
Hyuga Fuji must never be made an enemy!
However, Kaguya did not share that sentiment.
High above in the howling winds, gales roared like wild beasts, and violent currents surged in all directions. After a fierce clash, Hyuga Fuji and Kaguya reappeared, staring coldly at each other across the void, as if time had frozen in that instant.
"Isshiki, you've recovered well, but without obtaining the Chakra Fruit, there is an absolute gap between you and me. Moreover, the entire shinobi world is under Infinite Tsukuyomi, serving as my chakra source. You have no chance of winning, Isshiki!"
As she spoke, Kaguya's expression grew colder, regaining a measure of composure.
That's right—there was nothing to fear. So what if it was Isshiki? She was the one who had eaten the fruit; she was the one who held the advantage in time, place, and power.
Hearing this, Hyuga Fuji remained remarkably calm. "You're also not in your prime. The effects of your fragmentation are even greater than I expected."
While their levels differed, in terms of combat ability, the gap was not as insurmountable as it seemed.
Kaguya had been defeated by the Sage of Six Paths and his brother, and even in the final battle, Naruto had fought her largely on his own. Clearly, her actual combat strength was not overwhelmingly superior to that of Six Paths-level opponents.
After all, Kaguya was not particularly skilled in combat; her fighting style relied on sheer power. And with the influence of divine techniques, part of her strength had quite literally "grown wings and flown away."
In their earlier exchanges, by leveraging his battle experience and various space-time techniques, Hyuga Fuji had managed to hold his ground.
The only real problem was figuring out how to separate the Ten-Tails...
Narrowing his eyes slightly, Hyuga Fuji formed a hand seal. "Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
Instantly, a surge of chakra rippled through the air. In a burst of white smoke, his figure split into dozens of identical clones, each indistinguishable from the original in both chakra and aura.
"A ninja's technique? Someone like you actually learned something like this?"
Kaguya's Byakugan veins bulged as she attempted to locate the real Hyuga Fuji, but to her surprise, she couldn't find him.
He had managed to deceive her Byakugan? The creator of this technique must have been quite capable.
"Mother, this is the Shadow Clone Jutsu. The Byakugan likely can't discern the real one, but his true body carries Truth-Seeking Orbs."
Black Zetsu, hidden within Kaguya's sleeve, reminded her while also gazing at Hyuga Fuji in bewilderment.
He couldn't understand it. He really couldn't.
Isshiki? The man before him—wasn't this his second brother?
More importantly, Hyuga Fuji didn't even refute the claim. Instead, he used an ocular technique that Black Zetsu had never seen before. Could he really be an Ōtsutsuki?
Pondering this, Black Zetsu suggested,
"Mother, why not transfer him to the Genesis Ball Dimension and deal with him there?"
"No. Though I don't want this nursery to suffer more damage, Isshiki's understanding of space is on par with mine. He also has his own personal dimension. Forcing a transfer would waste chakra for no gain."
Hearing Black Zetsu's warning, Kaguya gently shook her head. She fell silent, cautiously observing Hyuga Fuji before launching another fierce assault.
Just as Hyuga Fuji had said, her recent division had significantly impacted her strength. The loss of power was one issue, but more crucially, she could no longer use the divine technique she had acquired from Shibai—losing a key trump card.
Otherwise, if she still had "Omnipotence", this battle wouldn't be so difficult.
"Yomotsu Hirasaka!"
Kaguya's figure suddenly appeared behind Hyuga Fuji's true body, about to launch an attack—only for her vision to lose track of him. Instead, she found herself surrounded by clones.
Sukunahikona!
Recognizing Hyuga Fuji's ocular technique, Kaguya immediately adjusted her strategy, defending against the clones while using her Byakugan to scan for the real one.
For an ordinary Hyuga clan member, finding a miniaturized Hyuga Fuji would be an impossible dream. But for her, it was only a matter of time.
"There!"
The moment she located him, Kaguya condensed her chakra, sending a barrage of chakra blasts toward him.
Eighty Gods Vacuum Fists!
"Sukunahikona!"
But before the attacks could land, Hyuga Fuji activated his eye technique once more, shrinking the tangible chakra blasts so that they narrowly missed him.
'That technique again…'
Kaguya's expression darkened.
Isshiki didn't have many ocular techniques, but in battle, they were more practical than many Rinnegan abilities.
If he hadn't been caught off guard last time, she wouldn't have been able to deal him a serious injury.
After all, that was a technique even Ōtsutsuki Shibai had retained.
In the next instant, Hyuga Fuji appeared at Kaguya's side, returning to normal size. The nine Truth-Seeking Orbs orbiting him responded to his call, rapidly converging into his palm.
"Golden Wheel Reincarnation Explosion!"
"Eighty Gods Vacuum Fists!"
A golden sword clashed violently with an enormous chakra fist, unleashing a thunderous explosion.
In an instant, dazzling light and a massive shockwave erupted from the point of impact, spreading in all directions. The surrounding air seemed to be torn apart, space itself trembled, and the ground shattered into fragments, sending debris flying.
Amid the ensuing storm, Kaguya's Moon Eye flared with power, attempting to teleport behind Hyuga Fuji.
But before she could do so, another space-time passage overlapped with Yomotsu Hirasaka. The moment she stepped forward, instead of appearing behind Hyuga Fuji, she found herself on the shattered surface of the moon.
Hyuga Fuji followed closely, striking with his sword—splitting the already-broken moon into four equal pieces.
Just as the blade was about to pierce Kaguya, her figure blurred and vanished, reappearing deep within a vast forest in the shinobi world. Her hair transformed into thousands of razor-sharp blades, piercing through the space behind her.
"Flying Thunder God!"
The golden sword reverted to Truth-Seeking Orbs, forming a black barrier that blocked the incoming hair strikes. Meanwhile, one of Hyuga Fuji's clones appeared above Kaguya and threw a devastating punch.
Boom!
The blow struck her cheek, sending Kaguya hurtling backward through the sky. Her expression darkened as her hair once again lashed out, piercing through Hyuga Fuji's clone.
Unlike conventional teleportation, Hyuga Fuji's movement had been instant, directly transferring his clone right in front of her—leaving no time to react. Even her Jōgan's ability to perceive space-time fluctuations had been useless.
'Tenseigan… Hamura's power… and ninja techniques, untraceable clones, teleportation without a charge-up… Isshiki has truly not been idle all these years.'
Kaguya warily assessed Hyuga Fuji, strategizing how to defeat him.
This was not the Isshiki of old. His mastery of space-time had fundamentally evolved, and combined with Daikokuten and Sukunahikona, his combat tactics had become dangerously flexible.
And strangely enough, though he had never fought her evolved form before, Isshiki seemed eerily familiar with all of her abilities. Finding an opening in his defenses would be exceedingly difficult.
Fortunately, she still had her own advantages.
"It's useless. I am immortal!"
Kaguya gazed at Hyuga Fuji and calmly advised,
"If we continue fighting, it will only be a battle of chakra reserves. Unlike Hagoromo, you lack the Rinnegan and the sealing techniques to trap me. But I have the entire shinobi world as my chakra source. In the end, I will win.
Leave this world!
This is my nursery!"
(End of Chapter)