Chapter 347: Eating Alone
Brilliant rays flickered, bursting into seven-colored radiance—unexpectedly beautiful.
While Uchiha Dali was still in a daze, the replicas of Ōtsutsuki Kyōshiki vanished one after another.
Before he could figure out what had happened, the more than one hundred replicas had dwindled to just seven or eight, and those few were stepping one by one into that mysterious rainbow-colored ring of light.
When the last replica entered, he turned his head to Dali and said, "Hurry up and follow, or there won't be a share left for you."
With that, he disappeared as well.
"Is this some kind of teleportation array of his?"
"A space–time ninjutsu that surpasses everything else…"
Shocked but without hesitation, Uchiha Dali immediately followed.
The instant he stepped into the mysterious rainbow teleportation array, he suddenly felt as though he had entered a state of faster-than-light travel.
Not merely at the threshold of surpassing light speed—this was on a level far, far beyond it.
The first thing Uchiha Dali thought of was the scene when Whis, the attendant angel of the God of Destruction, used his spatial traversal ability to carry them across billions of light-years from distant galaxies all the way to Earth.
This was somewhat similar.
But clearly, the space–time distance they needed to cross now was not nearly so vast.
So the journey did not last long.
Before Uchiha Dali could even enjoy the dazzling streams of light flashing past him, they had already arrived in another starry sky.
Ahead, a figure was fleeing at astonishing speed.
"As expected… faster than both the Super Flying Thunder God and Yomotsu Hirasaka…"
"I didn't expect that guy to be hiding such an ability. But why didn't he use it before? Could it be that his true body alone can't activate it?"
Though shaken, Uchiha Dali had a faint guess.
He remembered very clearly—Ōtsutsuki Kyōshiki only used this technique after splitting into more than a hundred replicas.
And it was only through the cooperation of those replicas that the superluminal space–time channel had been opened.
That seemed to confirm his speculation: one person alone could never achieve such a thing.
Having reasoned this out, Dali quickly refocused and instinctively raised his eyes to the fleeing figure ahead.
"That guy… is he Ōtsutsuki Àoshiki?"
He asked curiously.
"That's right!"
"Though it isn't his true body!"
Kyōshiki replied, then charged forward, his one hundred-plus replicas surging behind him.
Not one to miss out on the spoils, Uchiha Dali decisively used Flying Thunder God to follow at once.
Perhaps knowing that escape was now impossible, Àoshiki's replica stopped running.
He looked at Uchiha Dali and the mass of "Ōtsutsuki Kyōshiki" and his eyes gleamed with cold ferocity.
"Long time no see, my dear younger brother."
Though tense and wary, Àoshiki's replica did not appear panicked. Instead, he immediately locked onto Kyōshiki's true body among the crowd and offered his greeting.
"Hmph. You should already know why we're here, Àoshiki. Enough nonsense. Are you going to submit willingly, or must I make you?"
Kyōshiki had no sense of brotherhood—his cold words were a final ultimatum.
Hearing this, Àoshiki's expression instantly turned dark and icy.
"So… you mean to betray me together with an outsider, Kyōshiki?"
As he spoke, his gaze flicked toward Uchiha Dali.
Dali stood to the side, watching with interest, saying nothing.
He wanted to see just how messy things would get between these brothers.
Kyōshiki sneered. "Betrayal? If anyone should say that, it's me! You were the one who struck at me first back then!"
"Don't be so agitated. You and I are brothers of the same bloodline. Didn't our eldest brother, Shibai, also absorb the power of our second and third brothers before finally evolving into the realm of a god?"
"So why shouldn't we follow his example and merge our strength as one?"
As he spoke, Àoshiki stretched out his hand.
Uchiha Dali was dumbfounded.
He hadn't expected there to be such history between them.
The most powerful of the Ōtsutsuki in legend—Ōtsutsuki Shibai—had in fact absorbed the chakra of his own brothers, committing fratricide, and through that grew strong enough to transcend the limits of the flesh and ascend to a higher dimension?
"As expected… these islanders really do have twisted minds at their core…"
Dali grumbled inwardly.
But then again, since this was his firsthand experience, it really had nothing to do with those people.
So he stayed silent, just listening.
Kyōshiki sneered, "Of course we can merge. But the body must be mine to control, and the consciousness as well!"
"So… are you willing to hand over your power to me, dear brother Àoshiki?"
Àoshiki's face instantly hardened. I was planning to take your power for myself, and you ask me this?!
There was no way he would agree.
Kyōshiki clearly expected as much. Without waiting for Àoshiki's answer, he moved at once.
"Then I'll just take it myself!"
Hundreds of replicas surged at once, launching a mass assault on Àoshiki's replica.
One against more than a hundred.
With such overwhelming disparity—whether between ordinary people or powerful beings—if their strength was anywhere close, the result was obvious.
Within moments, Àoshiki's replica was beaten so badly he couldn't fight back, utterly crushed, left doubting reality itself.
Through it all, Uchiha Dali just watched from the sidelines, never lifting a hand.
Not that he had the chance to.
Soon, the battle was over.
Right before Dali's eyes, Kyōshiki began forcibly absorbing the energy of Àoshiki's replica without so much as a word of notice.
This behavior made Uchiha Dali deeply uncomfortable.
At the same time, he clearly realized that Kyōshiki had never truly intended to cooperate with him.
Such greed and selfishness, eating alone without sharing—this said it all.
But distaste aside, Dali wasn't about to let the benefits slip by. Without a word, he flickered forward and activated his Devour and Refine technique.
And in that moment, an even wilder thought flashed through his mind.