The sudden loss of its five senses threw the Ten-Tails into severe rigidity. Even the colossal hands that had spanned across space to crush down were forcibly halted right in front of Ruri.
The single eye on Ruri's forehead radiated a demonic glow like the eye of Candle Nine Yin. Its aura was vast and majestic, almost audible in its intensity. Not only were the Ten-Tails' five senses suppressed, but even the surrounding space twisted and wailed beneath the pressure of that ocular power. It was as though even natural energy had been forcibly solidified and frozen—its Brownian motion prohibited at the atomic level.
Ruri's [Veil of Light and Shadow] did not possess the overwhelming grandeur of Satsuki's version, but in [Destruction Mode], that ocular power became like an omnipresent and omnipotent domain, freezing the stretch of space before her.
However, such absolute control could not be sustained for long with Ruri's current strength—let alone when the target was the Ten-Tails.
After only a few breaths, the Ten-Tails forcibly broke free from the suppression of [Veil of Light and Shadow] through the power of Kaguya's Rinne Sharingan. Its offensive momentum did not diminish in the slightest as it continued pressing down toward Ruri.
The scene resembled an entire heaven and earth crushing down upon a single ant.
But Ruri had already gained the time she needed.
All eight tails flared outward, forcibly blocking the Ten-Tails' descending palm strike. At the same time, her hands had long since formed seals before her chest. Countless eyes opened across the eight enormous demonic tails. This time, they did not need to scan left or right. In a single instant, every one of them locked onto the distant, towering Ten-Tails.
"Let me see what you're truly capable of."
As those words fell, the space around the Ten-Tails began to rumble thunderously.
Countless narrow demonic vortices manifested around its colossal body, absorbing all the phenomena of Tenpenchii occurring in its vicinity. Tempests, thunder, earthquakes—all the abnormalities born of the Ten-Tails vanished, leaving only violet light flickering endlessly within the vortices.
Overwhelming demonic radiance surged skyward from the vortices and merged beneath the Ten-Tails, forming a colossal vortex unlike anything before. Within it, innumerable eyes emerged. Under the gaze of those countless eyes, the space around the Ten-Tails grew incomparably stagnant. Even the immense power within its body was forcefully suppressed.
Kaguya, watching from the side, likewise sensed the suppressive force of the demonic vortex acting upon the Ten-Tails. The Rinne Sharingan on her forehead flashed once more.
"That alone will not be enough to suppress the Ten-Tails!"
As if to validate her words, the Ten-Tails—despite being constrained by the demonic vortex—let out a furious roar. Its massive jaws opened wide, releasing countless thick chakra chains from its mouth. These chains possessed sealing properties and could restrain the tremendous power contained within the surrounding vortex.
The enormous chains pierced downward into the demonic vortex, shattering it apart. A large portion extended forward, binding Ruri's eight massive tails together.
"It can still move under that level of suppression?"
The situation shifted abruptly. Ruri instantly felt her own power being counter-suppressed. Her plan to unleash the Power of the Fallen Heaven died before it could even take shape.
Fortunately, Ruri's strength was not derived purely from the Nine-Tails. Otherwise, bound by those chains, she would have already lost her combat capability and been forced to concede.
Bang~ Bang~ Bang~ Bang~
Drawing upon Hagorome Gitsune's power, Ruri transformed her eight massive tails into arcs of violet blade-light midair. Crossing and slashing in chaotic patterns, the flashing violet blades severed every chain binding them.
However, the initiative of the battlefield had already fallen into the Ten-Tails' hands.
Its enormous mouth was fully open.
In that instant, all things seemed to lose their color.
Boundless power converged toward the Ten-Tails' jaws. The entire world—including the lunar surface upon which they fought—was dyed by that heaven-piercing force. Beneath its radiance, everything seemed on the verge of merging into one.
Thunder roared within its mouth. The air, violently twisted by pure energy, generated lightning through high-speed friction. The crackling arcs carried incomparable light and heat as they tore across the sky. Within such terrifying might, a Tailed Beast Bomb took shape—
—and was fired directly at Ruri.
The sky shattered.
The earth shattered.
Space shattered.
A crimson torrent rivaling an orbital cannon surged forward like a flood of annihilation. Ruri only had time to wrap her eight tails tightly around herself before the boundless, destruction-laden assault descended upon her. The apocalyptic strike swept clean everything along its orbital path, blasting straight through her demonic tails.
BOOM!
For a moment, an unimaginably vast destructive roar soared into the heavens. Surrounding space rippled outward in concentric waves like water disturbed by a stone. Endless lightning and fire surged and burst with each expanding wave, blazing with scorching brilliance that filled every direction.
Even Ruri could not suppress a muffled groan after taking the blow head-on.
Yet her body did not retreat a single step.
She stood firm against the colossal orbital blast, forcing the Tailed Beast Bomb to disperse into multiple streams that scattered outward after colliding with her.
"This—this is what real battle feels like!"
Bathed within the Tailed Beast Bomb, Ruri's heart burned hotter than ever. Her defensive power far exceeded that of an ordinary Tailed Beast, and she wore the kimono crafted for her by Satsuki. Even the Eight-Tails could briefly endure a direct strike from the Ten-Tails' Tailed Beast Bomb with its physical body—Ruri could certainly do the same.
And she could do far more than that.
Crack!
Her eight tails suddenly knotted together, twisting and spiraling into a spring-like structure midair. Then they snapped forward violently, batting the incoming orbital blast aside.
At the same time, an ear-grating hum accompanied by the sound of space fracturing echoed forth.
For a moment, time seemed frozen.
Within the annihilating torrent of the orbital blast, several self-rotating spheres of deep violet appeared in Ruri's hands. Inside each semi-transparent spiral orb, four differently colored cores spun at extreme speed.
But this was not the end.
Ruri raised the spheres high above her head. In an instant, the Fallen Heaven Orb expanded a hundredfold, swelling into a massive sphere comparable in size to the Ten-Tails' own body.
At that moment, winds howled wildly. All currents of air were repelled outward by the chaotic spiraling force. Even the vast and magnificent orbital cannon unleashed by the Ten-Tails was instantly twisted off course by that immense rotational distortion, spinning past Ruri's side and shooting straight into the cosmos—shattering a swath of distant meteors beyond the stars.
"You'd better accept this grand gift properly, Ten-Tails!"
In the next instant, Ruri hurled the enormous sphere above her head toward the Ten-Tails.
—"Supernova · Fallen Heaven Orb!"
The moment the colossal [Supernova · Fallen Heaven Orb] appeared, it disrupted the flow of the entire surrounding space. For a time, even Kaguya's attempt to deploy [Yomotsu Hirasaka] to overturn space-time was interfered with by the extreme torrent of chaotic energy and could not properly unfold.
The Fallen Heaven Orb bore down head-on, three or four distinct energies spiraling within it and radiating dazzling brilliance.
Wherever it passed, space was silently divided into two clearly separated halves by Yin-Yang Sage Arts—then annihilated into nothingness.
Compared to the Ten-Tails' Tailed Beast Bomb, this massive Fallen Heaven Orb possessed far greater destructive force. It not only contained Yin-Yang Sage Arts powerful enough to rival the Truth-Seeking Orbs, but also fused reincarnation and space-time power within it. It struck directly against the Ten-Tails' body, completely engulfing that vast and terrifying figure!
Boom!
Boom!!
Boom—!!!
The internal balance of the Supernova · Fallen Heaven Orb collapsed. Several forces clashed violently within it, colliding and tearing against one another before erupting into waves of explosions, each fiercer than the last.
The dim lunar surface was instantly illuminated by a white-hot sphere of light spanning over ten thousand meters. Its brilliance was so overwhelming that even Kaguya Ōtsutsuki—who had already deployed [Eighty Gods Vacuum Attack] for self-defense—could not look at it directly.
Countless radiant star-like fragments shot outward from the explosive white sphere, scattering in all directions like a rain of light.
Even Satsuki, far away on Earth within Katori Shrine, sensed it at the same moment and lifted her gaze toward a certain point in the deep blue starry sky.
"The battle is even more intense than I expected. It seems the Ten-Tails' power is far greater than in the original story."
That was only natural. In the original Naruto narrative, the ones commanding the Ten-Tails had been Obito Uchiha and Madara Uchiha.
Now, however, the one directing the Ten-Tails God Tree was Kaguya Ōtsutsuki. Though Kaguya might not surpass Obito and Madara in practical combat experience, in terms of controlling the Ten-Tails and drawing out its full might, she was undoubtedly far superior.
...
On the moon, the blinding white light persisted for a full minute before gradually fading, revealing a massive black sphere that occasionally sparked with embers along its surface.
"To think the Lunar Palace holds such a terrifying existence…" Black Zetsu cautiously poked his head out from Kaguya's sleeve, staring blankly toward the Ten-Tails. "Was that really just a spar?"
Kaguya slowly lowered her gaze. Upon her forehead, the Rinne Sharingan flashed once more with violet light.
The enormous black sphere instantly disintegrated and vanished, revealing the Ten-Tails' true body within.
Despite having endured Ruri's Supernova strike head-on, the Ten-Tails' exterior showed no obvious severe damage.
It was almost inconceivable.
"Truth-Seeking Orbs? But how could ordinary Truth-Seeking Orbs withstand Yin-Yang Sage Arts?"
Ruri's eyes widened. At the same time, an unprecedented wave of fatigue swept through her body.
Yet she had no intention of losing.
As heaven and earth roiled once more, massive demonic vortices began forming again behind her, clearly intending to resume battle with the Ten-Tails.
"The spar ends here."
In an instant, Kaguya stepped through [Yomotsu Hirasaka] and appeared before Ruri. Her pupil-less Byakugan swept over her calmly.
"To force me to use the Expansive Truth-Seeking Orb to protect the Ten-Tails—your strength has earned my acknowledgment."
Expansive Truth-Seeking Orb?
Only then did Ruri fully recover her senses. Realizing that this had never been a true life-and-death battle but merely a sparring match, she finally allowed her exhaustion to show.
"As expected of Lady Satsuki's ancestor… Your strength is indeed extraordinary," Ruri said sincerely. "A jet-black sphere that seals the power of all phenomena and summons chaos itself—worthy of a technique only attainable at the level of Kekkei Mōra. The Expansive Truth-Seeking Orb far surpasses ordinary Truth-Seeking Orbs."
The power contained within the Supernova · Fallen Heaven Orb had already exceeded conventional chakra as understood in the ninja world. It comprised not only Yin-Yang Release, but also sage arts refined from variant natural energy—demonic power.
Against such composite energy, ordinary Truth-Seeking Orbs could not possibly endure.
Yet the Expansive Truth-Seeking Orb deployed through Kaguya's Rinne Sharingan had clearly surpassed the limits of standard Truth-Seeking Orbs.
It could devour all Five Elements and Yin-Yang attributes at once, even ignoring natural energy altogether. Ruri could faintly sense within it a power capable of returning the world itself to nothingness.
"The Ten-Tails' power is indeed formidable. The data gathered this time is extremely valuable," Ruri thought to herself.
In the distance, the Ten-Tails—emerging from within the Expansive Truth-Seeking Orb—did not continue its assault. Though it had begun developing its own consciousness, it obeyed Kaguya's control absolutely and without condition.
Rather than a true living being, it was more like a colossal machine equipped with a certain level of artificial intelligence.
"ROAR—!"
After letting out a great bellow, the Ten-Tails closed its eyes. Enormous wooden pillars rose around it, sealing it within. Having completed its third-form transformation, though it had absorbed what was said to be inexhaustible Nine-Tails chakra, its battle with Ruri had clearly drained it significantly. With the fight concluded, it entered a maintenance state under Kaguya's direction.
The Ten-Tails possessed plant-like characteristics. It could absorb radiant light energy from the cosmos itself. Coupled with the Nine-Tails' regenerative ability, it would not take long before it recovered to the God Tree state once more.
"When the Ten-Tails awakens next time, it will be fully mature," Kaguya said. "If Satsuki wishes to cultivate her own Ten-Tails and bear a God Tree fruit, she must find a suitable planet from which to harvest energy."
"!"
Ruri's heart jolted before surging with delight.
"Lady Kaguya, does this mean you are willing to grant Lady Satsuki the technology of the Ten-Tails God Tree?"
Even Black Zetsu was stunned by Kaguya's apparent generosity.
This was the Ōtsutsuki clan's most guarded technology. Even within the main family, few possessed the qualifications to cultivate a Ten-Tails.
Only those Ōtsutsuki with the aptitude to awaken the Rinne Sharingan held the highest authority to catalyze the Ten-Tails' fruit-bearing process.
Kaguya nodded.
"Satsuki may be my junior, but her strength and potential are unfathomable. Even I cannot fully discern them. To her, the Ten-Tails is merely an enhancement—not a necessity."
Though her words were courteous, the value of the Ten-Tails was an unquestionable treasure. Ruri could not help but take it seriously.
She immediately transmitted this information through the sea of consciousness to Satsuki.
The instant the report concluded, Satsuki tore through space and appeared behind Ruri.
She went straight to the point.
After a brief moment of contemplation, she addressed Kaguya.
"So—you still want that original planet, don't you?"
"Yes."
Kaguya nodded without evasion.
Ruri might not have grasped the implication behind her words, but Satsuki understood instantly.
Put plainly, Kaguya wished to exchange the technology of the Ten-Tails for ownership of the Naruto world's shinobi planet.
"I understand."
After thinking for a moment, Satsuki spoke softly.
"I agree to this transaction."