The sensation of having chakra forcibly extracted was far from pleasant—at least, that's how Zixu felt. It was like someone was vacuuming his brain from the outside, an unbearable, invasive pressure gnawing at his core.
Though the energy within him wasn't pure chakra, it still contained enough for the Sacred Tree to latch onto. Naturally, he was affected.
But Chinano reacted fast. Her Tenseigan, glowing like blue crystals, locked onto the Sacred Tree. The terrifying suction force around Zixu and the others suddenly weakened—Chinano had begun absorbing the Sacred Tree's power in reverse.
Up in the sky, Kaguya noticed. Her crystal-white eyes fixed on Chinano, and every strand of her long, flowing hair sharpened like silver needles, aiming to pierce through Chinano defiance. Kaguya intended to reclaim chakra from the entire world. She couldn't allow Chinano to siphon any of it away.
Yet just as the silver hair lunged, a powerful repulsive force intercepted it. Zixu turned to glance at Chinano. His original plan had been to destroy the moon in hopes of halting the Infinite Tsukuyomi. But it had launched successfully regardless. The bright side? Chinano had gained new power.
Regrouping, Zixu transformed into a massive dragon, his long body marked with fresh and healing scars. He hadn't fully recovered from the last battle—but he didn't have time to rest.
"Inorganic Reincarnation!" he roared.
The move was reckless and bold. Zixu used the jutsu directly on Kaguya's hair. Her silver strands twisted unnaturally, and tiny serpents sprouted from them, baring sharp fangs at their host.
Kaguya raised a curious brow. With minimal effort, her unaffected hair pierced the rogue strands, severing the snake-like extensions with surgical precision.
Though she didn't say a word, Kaguya knew these people were her enemies. She had been asleep too long and lacked combat experience. Her strength alone would have to carry her through this.
Zixu realized he was on a clock. If Kaguya adapted to combat again, she'd become exponentially more dangerous. Ordinary ninjutsu was useless against her. Only senjutsu and taijutsu had any real effect.
Still, there was one more thing she wasn't immune to—the power of the Fruit. Zixu had noticed that Madara and Obito, after stripping away their chakra, had managed to leave visible wounds on Kaguya's body. That was the key.
He focused, channeling the Fruit's power within him. Rosinante returned to his original form, and strength surged back into Zixu's veins. With a sharp grin, he shifted back into human form.
While Chinano kept the Sacred Tree under pressure, Hatsuizumi made her move. Her insects were finally ready. As soon as they sensed the Sacred Tree, they pounced like ravenous beasts, gnawing at its roots with relentless hunger.
Hatsuizumi abandoned swarm tactics, returning to a more focused approach. She condensed moonlight insects in the palm of her hand. Though the moon had collapsed, plunging the world into darkness, the concentrated moonlight in her grasp illuminated the night once more.
She released it skyward.
A glowing orb of moonlight insects burst into the air, scattering crystalline light across the battlefield. Every speck of that light became a razor-sharp moon blade.
When the moonlight touched Zixu and his allies, it felt warm—gentle even. But when it bathed Kaguya and the Sacred Tree, it became a deadly weapon. The fungal mat spreading across the battlefield began to activate. In the darkness, it had fed on White Zetsu corpses, broken branches, and fallen insects, absorbing them into itself.
Now, the temperature began to rise. The air shimmered with heat. The fungal mat radiated terrifying energy, cracking the Sacred Tree's shell. Even the Statue, freshly released from the moon, started to roast under the intensifying heat.
Though the Sacred Tree was originally part of Kaguya, they now seemed to exist separately—as if Yin and Yang had split into distinct forms.
Heaven and earth seemed to boil.
Hatsuizumi continued doing what she did best—refining insects. But this time, she used the world itself as her furnace and all living things as her copper.
"Heh… Refining the sky, huh? Not bad…" she muttered, blood dripping from the corner of her mouth. The strain on her tiny frame was immense. She coughed violently, spitting more blood as the pressure threatened to crush her.
Karin stepped in.
Her powerful healing chakra, vast as a blue ocean, surged over Hatsuizumi, constantly restoring her breaking body. Destroyed, healed, destroyed again—the cycle continued rapidly.
But then Orochimaru's and Kaguya's backup plan kicked in.
Millions of White Zetsu, once hidden beneath the earth, now poured out from underground and the Sacred Tree itself. They wailed in unison, but it was futile. The World Worms devoured them by the hundreds. The fungal carpet refined the rest. Orochimaru, standing atop the Divine Tree, wore an expression darker than ever before.
With Hatsuizumi's support, Chinano burden lessened. A golden halo radiated around her, preventing the Sacred Tree from draining any more chakra. Ice crystallized over the tree's outer bark.
Kaguya attacked again.
A gray-black bone spike emerged from her palm, coated in an ominous aura. With a flick of her wrist, the spike shot toward Chinano—fast, silent, and deadly.
No one needed to explain what it was. Zixu and the others could feel it: this thing wasn't something they could block casually.
Chinano remained focused on controlling the halo. She couldn't react.
Hatsuizumi was too overwhelmed with pain to intervene.
Only Zixu moved.
Buzz.
The bone spike froze mid-air, vibrating violently as space itself warped from the force of its sudden stop. Zixu stood firm, eyes narrowed.
The battlefield was heating up. The Moon Blades intensified. Even Kaguya began to feel the threat.
She dropped from the sky.
A dark portal of light formed behind her.
"Space-time ability!" Zixu's eyes widened. He immediately tossed several small iron orbs to the others.
Just as he acted, Kaguya—halfway into the portal—emerged behind Hatsuizumi, bone spike in hand, ready to impale her.
The defense formed by a three-tailed beast was obliterated instantly. The spike tore through it like paper.
And then—it stopped.
A massive repulsive force erupted from Hatsuizumi location. It carved a trench several meters deep into the earth. Deathly silence followed, swallowing everything. The bone spike began to erode, blackness creeping along its surface.
The ultimate silence... was death itself.
Another black portal appeared beneath their feet. At the same time, one appeared behind Zixu and his allies.
Kaguya's plan was clear now.
She couldn't defeat them all at once.
So, she'd separate them.
And crush them one by one.
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
Check my Pâtreon for (40) advanced chapters
Pâtreon .com/Fanficlord03
Change (â) to (a)
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
Discord Link Here:
https://discord.gg/VvcakSux