If one had to name Hagoromo's strongest mode, it would undoubtedly be the triple stack of Sage Mode, Electromaster, and the Mystic Eyes of Death Perception. And the strongest move he could bring out would, without question, have to be unleashed on the basis of those three combined.
However, when using abilities that belonged to different systems, every additional module loaded onto himself brought a corresponding burden—especially when he was also using an extraordinary causality weapon.
The calculation ability required for Electromaster, the mental burden brought by the Mystic Eyes of Death Perception, and Sage Mode on top of that would undoubtedly overload Hagoromo…
Therefore, most of the time, Hagoromo preferred to solve problems with ninjutsu and Electromaster. Unless he had no choice but to use the Mystic Eyes, he would not bring out that weapon.
After all, situations where ninjutsu alone could not kill or defeat an opponent were rare. And if even ninjutsu plus Electromaster could not kill them, then such cases could practically be counted on one hand.
To give an example, when Hagoromo used the Mystic Eyes, it was like swinging heavy equipment in the form of a forty-meter-long blade. When he used Electromaster, it was like playing around with a kitchen knife. The former could cut through anything, but swinging it was far too exhausting. The kitchen knife was the opposite. It was exceptionally flexible, and Hagoromo could use it with incredible skill.
So, under the premise that either ten consecutive slashes with a kitchen knife or one swing of the long blade could solve a certain problem, he preferred to grab the kitchen knife and hack wildly around his opponent rather than pursue a one-strike decapitation through a heavier method.
This involved usage habits, convenience, and personal preference.
Even while fighting the Sage of Six Paths' consciousness, he had only been warming up the Mystic Eyes, intending to use them for the final blow… The Mystic Eyes of Death Perception had been placed last in his priority list, even though solving certain problems with ninjutsu and his abilities made the process much more troublesome.
But the battle between the two could not possibly proceed entirely according to Hagoromo's expectations. He had not expected that before his Railgun barrage could even begin, the Sage of Six Paths would activate his ultimate move without another word… The Sage used the legendary strongest sealing technique: Six Paths: Chibaku Tensei.
The current battlefield between the two of them was a mental space. But in a certain sense, being sealed inside this kind of mental space would make escape even harder than being stuffed inside the moon.
As for why the Sage of Six Paths had suddenly gotten "worked up," the reason was actually very simple and very firm. He had realized that Hagoromo was using an unknown power, and this power was undoubtedly destructive to the entire shinobi power system.
No one understood this matter more clearly than the Sage himself. Everyone was supposed to just keep building up chakra, yet here Hagoromo came, casually bringing out an ability that could surpass most shinobi without using chakra at all…
In the Sage of Six Paths' eyes, Hagoromo's alien abilities were an invasion of the shinobi world's system.
After having been dead for so many years, what did the Sage of Six Paths care about most?
The world system he had created. Preventing Kaguya's resurrection was, in a certain sense, also merely protecting that system.
So toward an anomaly like Hagoromo, his reaction was… in short, seal him first and ask questions later. That was why he had pressed both hands onto Hagoromo's shoulders.
At this moment, seawater poured down like waterfalls from the enormous sphere suspended in midair. Vast amounts of mud and rock were still being crushed toward the very center of the sphere under the effect of gravity. From time to time, one could hear the grating sound caused by the density increasing sharply in an instant and squeezing the air.
This Chibaku Tensei, which had stuffed Hagoromo into its very center, naturally could not possibly be on the scale of the moon. The current Sage of Six Paths no longer had that kind of power. But it seemed more than enough to deal with Hagoromo.
After all, no matter how powerful the combat strength Hagoromo could unleash in an instant was, in terms of the absolute energy contained within his body, he could never surpass the Rabbit Goddess. And judging from the combat power Hagoromo had just displayed, the Sage of Six Paths believed that a seal of this scale was already foolproof.
However, the Sage still underestimated Hagoromo's "abnormal abilities," because he possessed more than one such abnormality.
When it came to resolving Chibaku Tensei, Hagoromo actually had quite a few methods available. Whether sealing techniques, ninjutsu, or even switching to different chakra modes, all of them might allow him to break free from this blockade. But before that, the more important issue was how to break through the consciousness separation caused by the Yin-Yang Release seal.
That was the most important point distinguishing this technique from Chibaku Tensei in the ordinary sense, and it was also the key to why it could seal even an existence like Kaguya.
And in order to recover his ability to act from within Yin-Yang Release, under the premise that he could not receive any outside help, what was the best method Hagoromo could use—perhaps even the only method?
That was to cheat.
Or rather… to open his eyes.
"This should…"
The power of Chibaku Tensei was still increasing, but the Sage of Six Paths did not have time to finish his thought.
A pitch-black longsword swept across the surface of Chibaku Tensei, leaving an afterimage behind. There was no doubt that a small half of that weapon's extended length had already pierced out from within the newborn satellite. But this time, there was none of the buzzing sound of iron sand—only the clean, sharp draw of a sword.
This was Hagoromo's draw slash. Under a move as swift as iaijutsu, the newborn satellite floating in midair was carved with an extremely standard circular cut at a slanted angle. The afterimage created by the sword's speed and light looked as though a black ring of Saturn had been added around the outside of Chibaku Tensei.
Then came the second slash, and the third.
One split into two, two became four… Chibaku Tensei was divided apart as easily as tofu.
However, while the gravity at the center still maintained it, although the seal had already been cut open, it had not yet shattered.
So Hagoromo had one more strike.
From the very center of Chibaku Tensei came a muffled thunderclap, like a long dragon's roar. Immediately afterward, the piercing cries of countless birds rang out.
That lightning instantly burst out from the gaps created by the sword strikes and, in the blink of an eye, spread across the entire surface of the sphere… At that moment, the earthen sphere became a thunder sphere radiating blinding light.
With an explosive roar, the lightning-transformed Chibaku Tensei burst apart in an instant like a brilliant firework!
Mud and rock fell under restored gravity, while the shattered, flake-like fragments of lightning drifted upward into the sky, like blossoms of rising flame.
Falling stones smashed into the water surface, throwing up splashes of various sizes. Hagoromo's figure also appeared once more. He descended from midair, then began walking at an unhurried, unbothered pace through the mud and stone scattered across the water surface. Or rather… splashes of water adorned his path.
"Sage Mode has weakened…"
The Sage of Six Paths looked again at Hagoromo, who had reappeared before his eyes. The fact that the other party had actually escaped from Chibaku Tensei was beyond his expectations.
Because this was something even Kaguya had been unable to do.
Of course, it was only natural that his Sage Mode state had weakened. Blowing apart Chibaku Tensei in one move definitely required the consumption of enormous energy.
"At the same time, that abnormal, powerful 'Lightning Release' state has been released."
Electrical arcs still flickered over Hagoromo's body, but this was already normal Lightning Release. It was different from what he had just used.
"Did that last strike exhaust all of his ability?"
"No… he switched to a state that places an even heavier burden on the body, so he can no longer maintain that mode at the same time?"
The Sage of Six Paths finally fixed his gaze on Hagoromo's eyes.
What he said was exactly right. At this moment, Hagoromo had unloaded Electromaster and replaced it with the Mystic Eyes of Death Perception. Next, he would fight using Sage Mode together with the Mystic Eyes.
"Correct. If I use all three abilities together, I have to bear a certain amount of risk. There's no need for me to do that now, because next, I'll be entering a domain where contact is forbidden."
Hagoromo responded.
Against this remnant of a remnant of the Sage of Six Paths, he did not intend to use his full state… Or rather, at this moment, he had no way to use his full state anymore. Being squeezed by Chibaku Tensei had not been for nothing. He had almost been crushed flat. If one had to describe Hagoromo's current level of pain, then it would be…
An excruciating, bone-deep agony.
However, removing Electromaster and stacking only the Mystic Eyes with Sage Mode should still be enough against the Sage of Six Paths, right?
In the end, escaping from Chibaku Tensei had only been an opportunity. In order to deal with the "strongest," Hagoromo still had no choice but to draw his forty-meter-long blade.
"Because… contact means erasure."
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