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"Uh… I'm starting to think I shouldn't be here. How about—how about I just head back to the Summoning Realm?"
"Maybe you could, y'know… find someone else?"
The White Monkey King's voice was drenched in awkwardness, his eyes nervously darting toward Isshiki in the distance.
"It's the middle of the night—where the hell am I supposed to find 'someone else'??"
Manji was speechless.
He should've known the old ape had been drunk off his ass last night.
And honestly—this was partially his own fault. He'd been wearing rose-tinted glasses about the ancient era of the shinobi world, assuming that the older something was, the more powerful it had to be. He'd put way too much faith in ancestral wisdom…
And he blamed himself even more for not bringing the White Monkey King a couple of peanuts to snack on with his drinks. If the ape had just had some bar food to soak up the booze, he never would've gotten that hammered…
Manji gripped the White Monkey King tightly. "Too late to back out now—the arrow's on the string and it has to fly!"
"Just tell me this—can Isshiki actually break through your defenses or not?"
Manji's voice was dead serious.
The White Monkey King scratched his head. "No way he can break my defense. I've got a Diamond Body—completely indestructible."
Manji's mind raced, and he immediately assigned the White Monkey King a role:
Low offense, high defense. A walking tank.
"Alright—White Monkey King, you're going in whether you like it or not!"
"Relax—we're not trying to fight a war of attrition here. All we need to do is back up Kaguya's ambush. One clean hit is all it takes—and we're golden!"
"And if it goes sideways… I'm running."
Manji's tone left zero room for negotiation.
The White Monkey King gritted his teeth—then steeled himself. "Fine! I'm in! Let's roll the dice!"
.....
At that very moment—
Kaguya began her slow, deliberate approach toward the Ten-Tails.
Isshiki Ōtsutsuki watched with a blank, emotionless expression. Not a shred of caution in his posture.
And why would there be? He didn't believe for a second that Kaguya had the nerve to try anything.
On top of that, Isshiki had always looked down on the natives of this planet. In his mind, on this world, he was invincible. Period.
"NOW!"
Manji gave the silent command.
In the next instant—the forest erupted with the chorus of countless toads!
"Ribbit~ Ribbit~ Ribbit~ Ribbit~"
The entire bamboo forest reverberated with the piercing, disorienting sound of Toad Chanting!
"What the—??"
Isshiki's expression twisted violently as he slammed both hands over his ears.
"THIS IS IT!"
Manji—staff in hand—exploded forward!
The Toad Chanting could only temporarily disrupt Isshiki. It wouldn't actually damage him—just interfere with his focus.
But for an ambush? That split second of interference was more than enough.
Every ounce of Sage power erupted at once!
Manji closed the distance in what might as well have been a teleport—appeared directly in front of Isshiki—and swung the staff straight at his face with everything he had!
CRACK!
Caught completely off guard, Isshiki took the hit clean and staggered—dazed and disoriented!
PRESS THE ADVANTAGE!!!
Manji's expression hardened into stone.
He reared back—aimed at Isshiki's face—and unleashed two more devastating swings in rapid succession!
BAM! BAM!
"Guh—! Guh—! Guh—!"
"ENOUGH!!!"
Isshiki's face contorted with rage. He threw up one hand and caught the staff mid-swing.
The impact felt like striking solid steel—the weapon couldn't move another inch.
A thin trail of blood dripped from Isshiki's nose. His eyes—frigid and murderous—locked onto Manji.
"…A native of this planet?"
"Since when do 'insects' have the audacity to attack an Ōtsutsuki?"
The fury in his voice was volcanic.
Manji's gut clenched. "This is bad!"
'Damn it... the Monkey King played me! Three clean shots to the face and I couldn't even knock Isshiki close to the Ten-Tails!'
"You're dead."
Isshiki lunged—his hand shooting forward with lightning speed!
A strike like that would've been completely invisible to anyone at Kage level. They wouldn't have even processed it before it connected.
But Manji—who had perfected Sage Mode over countless years—possessed a unique ability.
Killing intent perception.
WHOOSH———!!!
Manji dropped into a crouch at the last possible instant, dodging by a hair's breadth!
"Hm??"
A flicker of surprise crossed Isshiki's face—before his other hand shot downward like a vice!
Manji triggered his instincts again—flash-stepped around to Isshiki's back in a single fluid motion!
Now Isshiki was genuinely caught off guard. 'This native's reaction speed is impressive. On par with Momoshiki or Kinshiki from the other Ōtsutsuki pair.'
"Not bad for a native brat—but your body's fragile."
Isshiki's voice was cold and contemptuous.
In the same breath that Manji appeared behind him, he was already swinging the staff with full force. "Maybe—but my staff hits plenty hard!"
BOOM! CRACK!
A thunderous impact—right on the back of Isshiki's skull!
"YOU BASTARD!!!"
Isshiki stumbled forward—then whipped around with savage fury, his leg arcing in a devastating reverse roundhouse kick!
Manji's pupils constricted!
Before he could even react—the kick buried itself in his abdomen!
This single blow—tore straight through him.
The raw, monstrous force tore clean through Manji's midsection. Bones shattered like glass.
"GAHH—!"
Manji spat a violent spray of blood, clutching the staff as his body was launched backward like a ragdoll.
The instant before he hit the ground, the White Monkey King released his staff transformation and caught Manji in both arms—shielding him from the secondary impact.
"Manji! MANJI!"
The White Monkey King stared at the wound in horror. A hit like this… there was almost no surviving it…
"Hmph."
Isshiki didn't even bother looking at them. One full-power kick to the gut—guaranteed death.
His priority now was eliminating those insufferable toads.
Isshiki slammed his palms together—
Fwip! Fwip! Fwip!
Dozens of black rods materialized in the air above!
Kaguya stood frozen in shock.
It wasn't that she didn't want to act—
She couldn't act fast enough.
The exchange between Manji and Isshiki had been blindingly fast—the entire fight was over in less than two seconds.
Without activating her Byakugan, all Kaguya could see were two blurred afterimages.
One flash—and both fighters had already traded their final blows.
She never expected this native warrior to actually go blow-for-blow with Isshiki—even catching him off guard. His reaction speed was arguably faster than her own.
Thanks to the Toad Chanting suppression talisman Manji had given her beforehand, Kaguya herself was completely unaffected by the sonic genjutsu.
"Now's my chance!"
Kaguya activated her Byakugan in a blaze of white—and in the gap while Isshiki was focused on controlling the black rods—she struck with everything she had!
"ISSHIKI—DIE!!!"
Kaguya launched herself forward—both palms thrusting outward with devastating force!
She slammed Isshiki straight toward the Ten-Tails!
"KAGUYA?? YOU—!!!!"
Isshiki's face warped between shock and fury—he never imagined Kaguya would betray him!
.....
Meanwhile—
"Manji! Manji—are you okay??"
The White Monkey King stared at the carnage of Manji's body, his eyes glistening with unshed tears.
Guilt and regret churned inside him like a storm.
'If only I really could've fought Isshiki for three days and three nights… Manji wouldn't be this badly hurt…'
"Cough... Do I look okay to you?"
Manji glanced down at himself. His entire midsection was essentially gone—nearly kicked clean in half. His stomach had been obliterated. Bones snapped like twigs.
He cursed internally. Good lord!
'This guy hits like an absolute monster... One kick—and he punted a hole straight through me!'
'Almost saw my life flash before my eyes there…'
But—in fairness—it made sense.
Isshiki could probably shatter a Perfect Susano'o with a single kick.
Manji had only survived thanks to decades of Sage Art body conditioning. Anyone else would've been reduced to a fine red mist.
To prevent the Genjutsu Toads from being slaughtered, Manji immediately dismissed the summoning.
"…Manji—let me get you out of here. We're done—back to the Summoning Realm. We'll heal you there!"
The White Monkey King's voice cracked, tears finally spilling down his face.
Manji managed a bitter, pained grin.
For the Chakra Fruit—he had to push through!
"Don't cry. Reach into my coat—pull out a Toad Sage Talisman—and stick it on my face."
Manji's voice was gentle despite the agony.
"Got it!"
The White Monkey King wiped his eyes, dug into Manji's coat, and slapped the Toad Sage Talisman onto his face without a second's delay.
The very next instant—a blinding golden radiance erupted!
Manji's body began regenerating with impossible speed—and within a single second, he was completely restored.
Not even a scar remained.
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