Shinobi were sharp by nature.
That was beyond doubt.
Hikaru was an especially sharp shinobi. Urashiki's earlier response to his counterattack had already made him feel something was off.
At the time, Hikaru had not dared to think too deeply in that direction.
After all, in his mind, the Ōtsutsuki were beings close to gods.
They had used the God Tree to destroy countless living planets. Logically speaking, they should not be the kind of people Hikaru suspected them to be.
They should not be a group with little real combat experience who relied purely on overwhelming power to crush their enemies.
But after what had just happened, Hikaru had no choice but to consider that possibility.
And once he started thinking in that direction, he immediately realized something.
That possibility was damn high.
In the original story, putting aside everyone else, Kaguya Ōtsutsuki's performance alone had been a disaster.
The so-called progenitor of chakra, facing Naruto and Sasuke, who only possessed the core powers of Indra and Asura, had been forced to flee from place to place.
She had even listened to Black Zetsu's ridiculous commands.
To put it bluntly, throughout the entire battle, she had been suppressed by Naruto and Sasuke's tactics and combat experience.
Aside from her, Toneri Ōtsutsuki was an even more practical example.
His individual strength was extremely powerful, yet he had still been beaten down by Naruto after Naruto's external power-ups had already been taken back.
Of course, Toneri's case was understandable.
He had grown up without eyes, and on the moon, he had almost no chances to fight.
It was only natural that a boy with no real combat experience would be taught a lesson by Naruto, who had fought his way up step by step like a proper shinobi.
Aside from Toneri, who could still be considered reasonable, Hikaru felt there was another abnormal case he had subconsciously ignored before.
Momoshiki Ōtsutsuki.
The first Ōtsutsuki powerhouse to arrive in the shinobi world in the original story.
Hikaru had previously wondered whether Momoshiki, the man who lowered the overall impression of the Ōtsutsuki, had something wrong with him.
He had even considered whether the writer had deliberately lowered Momoshiki's intelligence just to make the main characters look stronger, leading to that tragic ending.
But after this clash with Urashiki, Hikaru suddenly felt another possibility.
Maybe Momoshiki's combat experience was simply too weak.
Against average enemies, it did not matter.
But once he encountered opponents like Naruto, Sasuke, or Hikaru himself, the weakness of having too little real combat experience was completely exposed.
Thinking of this, Hikaru suddenly felt speechless.
He truly had not expected these Ōtsutsuki to be like this.
Of course, he understood that with their level of power, they could crush almost any opponent directly.
But perhaps it was precisely because their power was so overwhelming that they had lost the patience to refine their combat skills.
They were used to overpowering enemies with raw strength alone.
"So this guy wasn't acting. He really is bad at fighting."
After figuring out the key point, Hikaru's expression became extremely strange.
A faint trace of disdain appeared in his heart.
But after that disdain came deep envy.
They had power so strong they could control it at will.
They did not even need to polish their fighting skills to sweep across most worlds.
Anyone would be jealous of that.
Even Hikaru, who had his own cheat, could not compare to this.
At least Hikaru's power had been built step by step through his own training, then gained through a mix of effort and luck.
But these Ōtsutsuki relied almost entirely on birth.
From the moment they were born, they possessed power that others could not obtain even after exhausting their entire lives.
Of course, not every Ōtsutsuki was like this.
Hikaru believed there were surely some Ōtsutsuki who had climbed upward one step at a time, sharpening themselves against one enemy after another.
That was why, even if he looked down on this opponent somewhat, he still had to remain extremely cautious.
Even against someone who relied purely on power, Hikaru had to stay alert.
After all, even if a pig obtained the power of a god, it was still a god.
"But if that is the situation, then my chances of defeating him just increased greatly."
At that moment, Hikaru's gaze changed slightly.
It was not as if he had thought he had no chance before.
After all, he possessed senjutsu, Yin-Yang Release, and other powers.
If used properly, he could absolutely launch a sneak attack at the most critical moment.
Having seen the original story, Hikaru knew very well that even the Ōtsutsuki could not endure these powers unharmed.
They would suffer all the same.
But now, his confidence had grown even stronger.
Even if Urashiki's power surpassed his, lacking real combat experience meant Hikaru could respond with far more composure.
It also meant Hikaru could seize more opportunities and find a way to launch a fatal strike.
With that thought, Hikaru did not hesitate.
He mobilized the Jōgan chakra he had already gathered.
In the next instant, his body blurred.
Blue chakra covered him from head to toe, making him look strangely unreal.
Urashiki, who had been slammed into by Hikaru earlier, had also come back to his senses.
That collision had left him dazed.
He had no idea what Hikaru's movement just now had meant.
But now he no longer cared about that.
Because he saw the change in Hikaru's state, and his expression shifted slightly.
He realized that this was the very power that had drawn him here in the first place.
"So it was you!"
For the first time, Urashiki's tone changed slightly.
He truly had not expected to run into this big fish by chance.
"No wonder your level is somewhat beyond my expectations. I should have realized it earlier.
"But your power is quite special. It is activated through your eyes. No wonder I could not find you."
"What do you mean?"
Hikaru's expression became somewhat strange.
From the way Urashiki spoke, it seemed he had sensed the power of Hikaru's eyes and followed it to the shinobi world.
This news genuinely surprised Hikaru.
He had always thought the leakage of the Tenseigan's power had drawn these people here.
But now, after hearing this, it seemed the one who had led the enemy here was actually Hikaru himself.
That made his expression extremely odd.
"Why do you think I crossed such a great distance to reach this place?"
By now, Urashiki's injuries had mostly healed.
In the next moment, a terrifying aura surged from his body.
Red chakra wrapped around him as he held his fishing rod and looked at Hikaru indifferently.
"It was because I sensed your chakra. A chakra that belongs to the Ōtsutsuki, yet is completely unfamiliar.
"I am becoming more and more curious about you.
"And I am also growing curious about your eyes."
At this point, Urashiki paused slightly.
Then, in the next instant, his figure vanished at high speed.
He appeared directly in front of Hikaru.
A vast power, like a raging ocean wave, crashed toward Hikaru.
"So thank me. I will study you properly!"
…
Urashiki launched the first attack.
That alone proved he had finally started treating Hikaru as an opponent.
The red chakra surged toward Hikaru wildly.
Hikaru's reaction was extremely fast.
He twisted his body, and the broken ninja sword in his hand cut through the air toward Urashiki with a sharp flash.
This time, both of them were nearly serious.
The instant the blade collided with the fishing rod, the ninja sword in Hikaru's hand finally shattered.
Boom!
At the same moment, amid an ear-piercing roar, the ground trembled. A vast cloud of dust rose into the air, and Hikaru was forced back a step.
Urashiki's strength was truly not something Hikaru could compare with easily.
But the instant he stepped back, his gaze sharpened slightly.
His body bent forward naturally.
In the next moment, streaks of red chakra light flew over his scalp.
Those red chakra blades looked like curved knives.
Even without touching them, Hikaru could sense how sharp they were.
"Amenohabakiryū: Meteor!"
At some point, Urashiki had flown into the sky.
He swung the fishing rod in his hand fiercely, and the red chakra blades shot out from it.
When those blades struck the ground, each one produced a thunderous explosion.
Hikaru's reaction speed was frightening.
He quickly dodged the incoming blades.
But after countless blades missed him and landed on the ground, roaring explosions bloomed beside his ears.
From a distance, a crimson half-dome of light suddenly appeared, followed by a violent gale.
"That much power?"
Hikaru had already retreated even farther.
His goal was to draw Urashiki away.
Even with Hashirama helping defend Konoha, Hikaru could not be certain that Hashirama could block every attack.
He looked toward the distance.
The next moment, Hikaru began forming seals rapidly.
All the chakra inside his body fused together at that instant.
"Yin-Yang Release: Stone Dragon!"
Surging chakra swept outward.
Several massive black stone dragons immediately appeared in midair.
Reinforced by Yin-Yang Release, senjutsu, and even the power of the tailed beasts, the stone dragons unleashed their full might.
They roared as they charged toward Urashiki.
Facing these attacks, Urashiki sneered coldly.
He flicked the fishing rod in his hand, and a red chakra thread shot out with the hook at terrifying speed.
In an instant, several of Hikaru's stone dragons were caught by the hook.
The moment they were hooked, Urashiki rapidly absorbed them.
If he had only absorbed them, Hikaru would not have thought too much of it.
But very quickly, Hikaru realized that Urashiki was similar to Momoshiki.
He actually released the techniques he had absorbed from Hikaru and sent them charging back toward him.
Hikaru was a little surprised by this, but he remained extremely calm.
After all, he had seen Momoshiki's fighting style before.
These strange Ōtsutsuki abilities no longer felt that shocking to him.
"Yin-Yang Release: Wood Formation Wall!"
Hikaru brought his hands together.
The chakra inside him erupted once more.
In an instant, a row of towering wooden walls burst from the ground.
Urashiki, on the other hand, remained far calmer.
He made no attempt to defend himself.
Or rather, he simply could not be bothered to defend.
After redirecting Hikaru's stone dragons, he stood calmly in place.
But madness clearly filled his eyes.
Boom!
A heaven-shaking roar exploded.
That terrifying destructive force changed the color of the sky in an instant, leaving a gray reflection above.
Meanwhile, Hikaru's stone dragons slammed fiercely into Urashiki.
The vast earth roared under that force.
The ground was crushed down by several feet, and countless fragments shot outward.
Hikaru stood silently behind his wooden wall, his gaze somewhat strange.
The Jōgan had the same long-distance observation ability as the Byakugan.
Naturally, he had been watching every move Urashiki made.
But as he observed, he was stunned to discover that Urashiki had actually remained standing in place, unmoving.
He had simply watched Hikaru's stone dragons crash toward him.
Hikaru did not know whether this man was tired of living or simply too stubborn.
But after only a moment, Hikaru noticed that something was wrong.
Through the Jōgan, Hikaru saw Urashiki's blue Rinnegan releasing a strange power.
As that power spread, Hikaru suddenly noticed Urashiki appearing in the distance.
Meanwhile, the Urashiki standing before the stone dragons moved in another direction.
Hikaru was stunned.
Because he realized that the moving Urashiki had become illusory, while the Urashiki appearing farther away had become real.
That special power became extremely chaotic in that instant.
First it paused.
Then it rapidly reversed.
It repeated again and again, creating an enormous sense of unreality.
It also allowed Hikaru to see more and more illusory figures.
"What exactly is this?"
Hikaru frowned.
The scene before him truly exceeded his understanding.
But for some reason, Hikaru seemed to be able to guess part of it.
He just did not want his guess to be correct.
Because if it was correct, then the opponent he had to deal with was far too troublesome.
"Yin-Yang Release, chakra absorption, and the ability to reflect techniques.
"On top of that, he has a pair of blue Rinnegan with unknown abilities, and very likely possesses the power of time.
"This man's upper limit is terrifyingly high."
Facing an enemy like this, especially one who held the power of time, Hikaru could not help feeling a trace of despair.
How was he supposed to fight something like this?
The illusory figures he had seen just now were clearly Urashiki repeatedly testing different outcomes.
Only after he found the best and most suitable angle to evade did he calmly reappear.
Hikaru sighed softly.
He knew he was truly in trouble this time.
How could he possibly kill this kind of enemy?
"Hm?"
Just as Hikaru felt at a loss, he suddenly noticed something interesting.
He realized that Urashiki's time power did not seem as exaggerated as he had imagined.
…
The power of time had always been terrifying.
Especially the kind that allowed one to reverse their own time.
That kind of method filled Hikaru with an indescribable dread.
But now, Hikaru noticed a few details.
A dense layer of Yang Release power was spreading across Urashiki's body.
Along with that Yang Release, faint white smoke rose from him.
Clearly, this was the process of healing injuries.
And through careful observation with the Jōgan, Hikaru discovered that Urashiki had actually been hurt by his power.
"Did I injure him?"
Hikaru silently waited for the energy flood to dissipate while quietly observing Urashiki's condition.
"If I injured him, then it means his time technique is not as powerful as it looked!"
Time techniques were terrifying, but their strength depended on how they were used.
In simple terms, it depended on the user.
Hikaru could not deny that Urashiki's use of time was impressive.
But he now understood that this time technique seemed to affect external time only.
More accurately, it affected external time and did not reverse the state of Urashiki's own body.
If everything could be reversed, then Urashiki would have no need to consume chakra to heal his body.
This discovery made Hikaru's eyes light up slightly.
Because it might produce an unexpected effect.
"He cannot use time to reverse physical injuries, but he can twist external time.
"That means when he uses time to test different outcomes, he may be exposed to the same attack more than once."
Once Hikaru thought of this, a plan formed in his mind.
When the energy flood finally faded, Hikaru immediately began forming seals.
The wooden wall in front of him had already been destroyed by the stone dragons.
He had to move quickly.
"Yin-Yang Release: Flowering Tree World!"
The instant Hikaru completed the technique, the earth shook violently.
Countless giant trees burst from the ground, rising high enough to block out the sky.
At the same time, Urashiki crossed space and arrived.
The red chakra fishhook in his hand shot out a fishing line that rapidly wound toward Hikaru.
Having already learned that this thing could absorb chakra, Hikaru naturally would not allow it to touch him.
He twisted his body slightly and evaded the attack.
Then his body floated upward.
In the next moment, he shot forward like lightning, directly reaching Urashiki.
A Tailed Beast Ball had already formed in his hand.
The dark sphere contained energy that was both varied and perfectly unified.
Clearly, Hikaru had fused all of his chakra into it.
He thrust the Tailed Beast Ball forward.
But the instant it was about to strike Urashiki, Hikaru saw the man in front of him disappear.
Behind him, a powerful chakra burst forth quietly.
"Dodged again? What an annoying bastard."
Hikaru cursed inwardly.
He did not know whether he had actually hit.
According to his own senses, he should have struck Urashiki.
But because the time power had shifted the result, Hikaru truly could not determine how much damage he had caused.
However, Hikaru would not focus too much on that.
His real method was not this attack.
He turned quickly.
Hikaru instantly activated Kurama's power.
His arm had transformed into Kurama's head.
In the next moment, Kurama launched the Tailed Beast Ball from his hand.
"Amenohabakiryū: Jewel Box!"
Just as the Tailed Beast Ball shot toward Urashiki, Urashiki's attack arrived as well.
A massive purple chakra sphere condensed in his palm and blasted toward Hikaru.
The chakra sphere looked similar to a Tailed Beast Ball, but its structure and the combination of Yin-Yang Release inside it were completely different.
Even so, there was no denying that it possessed terrifying power.
The instant the two spheres collided, the world went silent.
At the center of the clash, a beam of blinding light appeared.
That piercing light stole everyone's vision.
Afterward, circles of invisible air currents, visible to the naked eye like ocean waves, spread madly in every direction.
The earth shook violently.
Dust filled the sky.
The towering trees Hikaru had created were almost cut in half.
If Hikaru had not immediately supplied more chakra and forced them to regrow, the Wood Release technique would have been completely ruined.
As that energy continued spreading, the burning crimson barrier outside Konoha became violently distorted.
Countless cracks began crawling across it.
At that moment, the barrier looked as if it might collapse at any time.
Seeing this, Hashirama immediately gritted his teeth and rushed out.
But the moment he left the barrier, countless bloody marks appeared across his body.
Even he would be injured by that terrifying energy wave.
If an ordinary person touched it, they would have died instantly.
"Sage Art: Quintuple Rashomon!"
Hashirama rapidly healed himself while entering Sage Mode.
At the same time, he brought his hands together and unleashed his technique.
In an instant, five enormous iron gates with demonic faces rose from the ground.
But the first gate was shattered by the shockwave in only a moment.
Soon after, the second gate followed.
Hashirama did not remain idle.
After sensing that the shockwave had been weakened considerably, he brought his hands together once more.
"Sage Art: Wood Release: Hōbi Technique!"
Vast chakra surged through his body.
Under his control, a wooden shield shaped like a fanged demon face slowly rose, blocking the front of Konoha.
Only after the shield appeared did Hashirama finally release a slight breath.
He knew exactly how risky his action had been.
In normal battle, he would have used defensive ninjutsu in advance.
But directly facing this shockwave and energy flood without cover like this was no different from throwing himself into death.
Still, just as he had said, he was willing to risk his life for Konoha.
He had said so, and he had acted accordingly.
Hashirama lifted his head and looked deeply into the distance.
His task was to protect Konoha's safety.
The enemy would have to be left to Hikaru.
"You had better win, kid…"
…
When the seemingly endless energy flood finally faded, the entire world seemed to have changed.
At the center of the battlefield, the strange forest still remained.
Outside that forest, however, all that was left was a hellish scene.
The once-dense forest had vanished.
The mountain peaks that had stood far in the distance had been flattened.
Countless cracks of unknown depth spread everywhere, as though stretching to the ends of the earth and reaching the sea.
Perhaps because those long, narrow cracks were far too deep, groundwater had already begun seeping out and pouring into them.
At that moment, only deathly silence remained in the area.
Only Konoha, still wrapped in a damaged red barrier and protected by a battered wooden shield, proved that anything had survived.
And above that strange forest, two figures continuously crossing paths showed that living beings still existed here.
Boom!
A red and blue streak of light collided.
In the next instant, they separated quickly.
But very soon, they closed in on each other again.
The sound of air being torn apart kept ringing through the sky.
When the aftereffects of their colliding techniques finally ended, Hikaru, who had been locking onto Urashiki the entire time, decided to act.
In his eyes, he saw many illusory versions of Urashiki using different methods to evade the aftermath.
From his initial carelessness to repeatedly trying different techniques, Hikaru knew his attacks were working.
Unfortunately, the earlier energy flood had destroyed his Flowering Tree World.
Otherwise, Hikaru would now be considering an attempt to end the battle.
But this was not a serious issue.
Urashiki's arrogance, combined with his weak combat experience, gave Hikaru tremendous hope.
Especially after Hikaru saw through the fact that Urashiki's time reversal seemed to have an upper limit of only a few seconds.
That meant that during the formation of the energy flood, while searching for the best way to evade, Urashiki had effectively stayed within that time span for dozens of seconds.
To endure such force for dozens of seconds and still not die…
This man truly deserved to be called an Ōtsutsuki.
"But you will not be so lucky next time."
Hikaru admitted that his power was absolutely inferior to Urashiki's.
But his combat experience and fighting mindset were far beyond Urashiki's.
Perhaps because Urashiki's starting point was too high, he had grown used to crushing every obstacle with sheer power.
This had made his attitude toward battle careless from beginning to end.
And whenever trouble appeared during a fight, he did not think carefully.
He simply relied on power to recover and compensate.
With such a fatal weakness exposed, Hikaru felt his chances were growing larger and larger.
So he chose to take the initiative.
However, this time Hikaru did not forget one thing.
He made the Flowering Tree World truly bloom.
Facing Hikaru's assault, Urashiki could only grit his teeth and meet it head-on.
He truly had not expected this incomplete-blooded man, this person still evolving toward an Ōtsutsuki, to be so difficult to deal with.
This boy's taijutsu was extremely strange.
The techniques he mastered were not only diverse, but also powerful.
Most important of all were his eyes.
Those eyes had clearly inherited and evolved from the power of the Byakugan.
They also carried an obvious power that belonged only to the Ōtsutsuki.
And it seemed that this boy relied on those eyes, along with his strange techniques, to place such tremendous pressure on Urashiki.
But no matter how difficult or troublesome Hikaru was, Urashiki would not stop.
He had been completely drawn in by Hikaru's abilities.
He wanted to study Hikaru's body and those eyes carefully.
Natural energy was something he had always desired.
And Hikaru's eyes had given him great inspiration.
There was no way he would miss such a chance to obtain power that could bring him enormous improvement.
Buzz!
When Hikaru deceived Urashiki once again and successfully stabbed a kunai into Urashiki's chest, Urashiki disappeared as expected.
Illusion and reality intertwined.
Time seemed to bend.
Then Urashiki appeared in another position without warning.
"I have to admit, you are impressive."
Urashiki felt the pain in his body and could not help smiling.
"I have lived for so long, and this is the first time anyone has made me feel this uncomfortable.
"You should be proud of yourself, boy."
"Proud?"
Hikaru chuckled softly.
Then he continued calmly.
"How can I be proud when I have not killed you?"
"You are arrogant, boy."
Urashiki's smile slowly sank.
His tone grew colder.
"I do not know where your confidence comes from, or why you think you can kill me.
"I admit your taijutsu and techniques are powerful.
"But first, you have to be able to hit me.
"Every move you make has been avoided by me.
"I do not know why you are still so confident."
"Have you really avoided them?"
At that moment, Hikaru's smile became brighter.
Chakra stirred slightly inside him.
A black sphere appeared behind his body.
The instant that sphere emerged, Urashiki's expression darkened further.
He naturally knew what that black sphere was.
Truth-Seeking Orb.
A technique that even he did not possess.
Or rather, a technique he could not obtain.
Because people like him always lacked one crucial power.
That power did not need to be integrated into the Truth-Seeking Orb, but it was essential and irreplaceable.
Hikaru's words also gave Urashiki a bad feeling.
Could this boy have seen through his technique?
But very soon, Urashiki's expression recovered somewhat.
Even if it had been seen through, so what?
Could this boy truly break it?
The power of time was always the strangest and most terrifying force in the world.
Even within the Ōtsutsuki Clan, his power was extremely rare and extremely precious.
"Do you feel a little unwell?"
At that moment, Hikaru spoke again.
As he spoke slowly, he let the Truth-Seeking Orb transform into the shape of a ninja sword.
The instant the blade fell into his hand, the destructive Jōgan chakra surrounding him grew stronger again.
A faint aura of death had already begun circling Urashiki.
Urashiki froze slightly.
In the next moment, his expression changed.
Because he felt his body becoming numb.
His mind also seemed to grow dizzy.
But at that exact moment, Hikaru moved again.
Like a ghost, he appeared beside Urashiki.
The blade in his hand was covered in blue chakra.
In a flash, the sword cut through the sky.
Its extreme edge swept toward Urashiki.
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