With the disappearance of the Nine-Tails, dense thunderclouds gathered above the previously open skies of the Lunar Palace from nowhere.
What unfolded before Ruri was nothing less than a true apocalyptic catastrophe.
Heaven shattered. Earth split. Tempests raged wildly.
Countless bolts of lightning descended from the sky, striking viciously around the Lunar Palace. Any single strike blasted craters hundreds of meters wide across the moon's surface. Deafening booms and the violent reshaping of the terrain echoed outward.
Rumble...
The very land around the Lunar Palace began to convulse. The sudden manifestation of this cosmic phenomenon made the surrounding pressure seem to increase dozens of times over. Ruri abruptly found that even lifting a finger had become difficult, as though her body had been frozen in place.
Towering columns of turbulent air formed tornadoes that linked heaven and earth. Lightning flickered within them, weaving vast networks of crackling energy. High energy brought extreme heat, and that heat caused parts of the lunar surface to begin melting.
Amid such cataclysmic signs, the Ten-Tails, standing upon two legs, truly resembled a god of destruction at the end of days.
"ROAR!!!!"
With a single bellow, surging shockwaves erupted from the Ten-Tails' colossal body, sweeping outward like a tangible wall of force.
Mountain ranges were flattened in an instant. Even small satellites and drifting meteors far beyond the immediate vicinity shattered into fragments when struck by the shockwave.
Raging winds and thunderclouds blanketed the sky, plunging heaven and earth into darkness. The light of the stars themselves seemed eclipsed by the phenomenon triggered by the Ten-Tails' transformation.
BOOM—
Fierce. Tyrannical. Capable of tearing apart heaven and earth.
Where the shockwave passed, it seemed as though the sky itself might split open.
And yet—this was merely the Ten-Tails celebrating the revival of its consciousness.
Just playful movements.
But even in play, under the Ten-Tails' unrestrained display of power, the already fragile space of this region seemed torn open, as though a massive rift had been punched through reality. Torrents of chaotic energy poured out, hanging inverted across the sky. The earth sank in the southeast, the heavens tilted in the northwest.
"So this is the power of the Ten-Tails?!"
Under such overwhelming pressure, Ruri's instincts screamed in warning. She teleported into the distance, her expression grave as she gazed at the Ten-Tails roaring beneath thunder and tornadoes.
Strong.
Absurdly strong.
The Ten-Tails was not the strongest existence Ruri had encountered since following Satsuki. In terms of raw level, it was likely comparable to the Demon God King Goetia. Above it still stood beings such as the Enlightened One—Śākyamuni.
Yet the sheer tyranny, the destructive dominance, the sense of annihilation and extinction radiating from it did not fall far short of the compassion-bearing Enlightened One.
"But now I suddenly understand why my host is so obsessed with challenging the strongest beings of every world."
Surrounded by swirling demonic aura that resisted the unconscious shockwaves emitted by the Ten-Tails, Ruri felt an inexplicable stirring in his heart.
It was difficult to describe.
Like a flame igniting deep within his chest.
A moment before, his heart had been empty. Now, that single thought filled his entire mind.
As the ancestor of this body once used by Satsuki, Ruri addressed Kaguya with respect.
"Lady Kaguya, I would like to challenge the Ten-Tails. May I?"
"Hm?"
Before Kaguya could respond, Black Zetsu burst into laughter from within her sleeve.
"Challenge the Ten-Tails in its current state?" Having witnessed the Ten-Tails' heavenly might, Black Zetsu's confidence swelled. The disdain in his gaze toward Ruri was undisguised. "Even if the master of the Lunar Palace herself were to come, she would not be its match!"
Those words were little more than bravado. The Ten-Tails was undeniably powerful, but against Satsuki, who possessed Ōtsutsuki blood, it would hardly be able to stir up much trouble. Moreover, Satsuki's true strength had never been fully displayed before them.
Still, considering that Black Zetsu had once been sealed by Satsuki within the Dead Line Boundary, a bit of resentment was understandable.
"Silence, Zetsu."
Kaguya rebuked him lightly, flicking her wrist and drawing Black Zetsu back into her sleeve.
Her vision far surpassed his. Through the Rinne Sharingan, she could perceive things far beyond Black Zetsu's comprehension. Precisely because of this, she knew that this younger clanswoman of hers was anything but simple.
"Is this a task assigned to you by Satsuki?" she asked.
Ruri shook her head.
"Lady Satsuki only instructed me to observe each stage of the Ten-Tails' revival. Challenging it is merely my own impulse."
I see.
After a brief consideration, Kaguya nodded.
She, too, wished to better understand the strength of her colleagues within the Lunar Palace. In the future, they would all stand against the main family. Knowing one another's capabilities was no disadvantage.
Nevertheless, to prevent any unforeseen outcome, Kaguya subtly suppressed a portion of the Ten-Tails' power with her Rinne Sharingan.
Ruri exhaled slowly.
This was the first time she would challenge a powerful enemy without absolute certainty.
In past battles, she had always fully understood the gap between herself and her opponent, fighting only under conditions of assured victory—Sesshomaru, the Thunder Beast couple, Hoshikuma Dōji…
But the Ten-Tails standing between heaven and earth was an adversary she could not guarantee defeating.
And it was precisely this uncertainty—this violation of her usual logic—that made her feel closer to being truly human.
Rustle...
Eight enormous demonic fox tails unfurled from behind Ruri. Dark markings spread across her cheeks, and her forehead split open vertically as a third eye emerged.
Just as when Satsuki released her power to a certain extent, the immense demonic aura erupting from Ruri now expanded outward, battering the surrounding space and causing afterimages to ripple periodically around her body.
Even Kaguya could not ignore this surge of power. She invoked Amenominaka to divert a portion of the overflowing demonic energy into another dimension.
The eight colossal demonic tails coiled around Ruri, forming a tangible Tailed Beast Cloak.
But if that were all, it would merely be the Five-Tails True Form Mode she had once used.
Clearly, this time was different.
A faint silver radiance gleamed within her eyes. For an instant, a reincarnational force that transcended time flashed through her gaze.
With a single step forward, the apocalyptic landscape that had raged moments ago seemed to freeze.
Silence fell.
Pale silver light burst from her eyes, weaving together across her face and body. The air around her vibrated violently, sparks flickering into existence.
Black spiritual energy and blue lightning coiled like living entities, forming countless tendrils that sprouted from her flesh and the surrounding void, writhing like serpents in the sky.
The reincarnational power of Hagorome Gitsune.
The temporal authority of the Tree of Ages.
And the further evolution born from the fusion of her Nine-Tails' power with Yin-Yang Sage Arts.
This was the strongest conventional combat form she had developed short of her life-or-death trump card—
[Eight-Tails · Destruction Mode].
In this form, Ruri's demeanor shifted completely. The corners of her lips curved upward, revealing a chilling smile as she looked upon the Ten-Tails.
"Come," she said softly.
"Let us slaughter one another."
Proximity breeds influence. Even a system could not escape that truth.
Ruri had never imagined that one day she would wield such power—and that deep within her heart, she would actually relish slaughter.
In her drastically transformed state, Ruri stomped down with both feet. A volcanic surge of force erupted beneath her, and in the next instant she twisted midair. A colossal tail manifested behind her, tearing through clouds and sky as it smashed directly toward the Ten-Tails' massive torso.
BOOM!
When that enormous composite mass of intertwined energies tore across the sky, the air did not merely vibrate—it split open. Black fissures of fractured space-time spread outward in its wake.
With pure force and energy alone, Ruri in [Destruction Mode] could casually rupture space itself. A single strike was enough to shatter this world and annihilate the planet with ease.
"ROAR—!"
Having received Kaguya's command, the Ten-Tails was fully prepared for battle. Its colossal body blotted out the sky. Ruri's temporal manipulation alone was insufficient to restrain it. Each of its palms spanned over a hundred meters—large enough to seize a Tailed Beast with ease.
Faced with the sweeping demonic tail, the Ten-Tails responded in kind, swinging both arms forward.
BOOM!!
High above, two colossal beings collided head-on under unmatched force.
Creak—creak—creak—
In an instant, a shockwave rivaling a nuclear detonation radiated visibly from the point of impact. Space shattered like brittle glass, splintering and disintegrating into fragments.
"Now this is more like it!" Ruri laughed, exhilarated.
"ROOOOOAR—!" The Ten-Tails answered with an earth-shaking bellow.
Before them, heaven and earth crumbled. The void itself fractured.
Yet neither monster cared in the slightest.
After being blasted apart momentarily, they surged forward again—colliding a second time, a third time!
BOOM! BOOM!! BOOM!!!
Splintered wood fragments and blazing sparks erupted outward, accompanied by piercing sonic shrieks that tore at the eardrums.
"It can actually break the Ten-Tails' outer shell?"
Kaguya's eyes widened slightly. In all prior technical evaluations of the Ten-Tails, there had never been a case where its exterior was directly shattered.
This unprecedented pain drove the Ten-Tails into fury.
In its rage, it slammed a massive hand into the ground. Tremendous force rippled across the lunar surface. Withering branches born of Wood Release burst forth and surged toward Ruri in the distance.
Rumble—
A massive earthquake erupted instantly.
Across nearly a hundred kilometers of lunar terrain, the ground trembled violently under that single strike.
At the same time, pillars of dust and debris blasted skyward. The savage tornadoes swirling through the cloud layers roared outward like tidal waves, crashing toward Ruri's massive tails.
"So this is the power known as [Heaven and Earth Cataclysm]?"
Ruri bared her teeth in a grin. Her eight enormous tails lashed out, scattering the incoming tornadoes and smashing aside the Ten-Tails' sweeping limb. At the same time, her hands formed a seal before her chest.
Behind her, a vast demonic vortex materialized—large enough to distort gravity itself.
Violet lightning and a power so immense that even legendary great yōkai would recoil erupted from the vortex. In the next moment, it flared with blinding radiance. A destructive beam a thousand meters in diameter roared forth, blasting toward the forest of wooden constructs summoned by the Ten-Tails.
BOOM BOOM BOOM—
The annihilating force twisted space itself, ionizing clouds and atmosphere along its trajectory. Layer upon layer of wooden stakes were pulverized instantly upon contact, reduced to splinters as though fed into a cosmic grinder.
The beam did not slow.
It surged straight toward the Ten-Tails' true body.
"ROAR—!"
Facing the incoming torrent of destruction, the Ten-Tails bellowed. Its enormous Rinne Sharingan blazed crimson.
A vast black spatial gateway opened before it—space woven freely by divine authority awakened through the progenitor's eye.
This was the Kekkei Mōra ability—Yomotsu Hirasaka.
Kaguya could wield it through the Rinne Sharingan, and under her guidance, so could the Ten-Tails.
The devastating beam plunged directly into Yomotsu Hirasaka and was instantly redirected to another dimension, leaving the Ten-Tails unharmed.
"As expected of the so-called ultimate Tailed Beast—such effortless control over spatial power. But—"
Suddenly, another demonic vortex opened behind the Ten-Tails.
The redirected beam erupted from it once more, roaring toward the Ten-Tails' back.
"You're not the only one who can manipulate space-time."
With access to the Akashic Records, Ruri's capacity for learning had reached fantastical heights. In Destruction Mode, she could draw upon the Sacred Tree of Ages to twist time and space, dragging the redirected energy back into this very continuum.
HUM—
A blazing, star-bright beam split the heavens, illuminating the night as though the cosmos itself had been torn apart. It slammed violently into the Ten-Tails' back.
BOOM!!!
The stars were swallowed in blinding light. A colossal mushroom cloud erupted, radiating unimaginable energy into the void.
The raging winds and thunder summoned by the Ten-Tails were obliterated instantly by the explosion. The roaring detonation shattered the frozen silence imposed by Ruri's temporal power.
Even the distant Lunar Palace was engulfed in the glow of destruction.
And yet—
"ROAR—!"
A gigantic hand suddenly burst from a spatial rift behind Ruri, sweeping down toward her demonic vortex. The timing was flawless—striking at the very moment the explosion peaked. Simultaneously, Amenominaka fixed the surrounding space, denying her any chance to escape through spatial manipulation.
"So—you redirected my attack onto yourself, then shifted your true body away with Amenominaka?"
In a single instant, Ruri understood the Ten-Tails' countermeasure. She also realized the surrounding space had been locked.
In spatial mastery, she could not yet rival the Ten-Tails under Kaguya's command.
But she possessed another power.
She snapped her head around. The third eye upon her forehead blazed with silver radiance, locking onto the Ten-Tails emerging from the rift.
In that instant, the space within her gaze seemed to freeze.
The descending colossal hand slowed dramatically, as though encountering immeasurable resistance.
All of the Ten-Tails' senses were stripped away in a heartbeat. Even the crimson Rinne Sharingan upon its brow dimmed.
This was the technique she had learned from Satsuki—
Judgment of the Ten Kings · Veil of Light and Shadow.