Thinking this far, Jigen had completely lost any will to fight. But trying to run away right under Carl's nose—when they were both Ōtsutsuki—was easier said than done.
Spatial abilities were absolute rarities in the ninja world, but within the Ōtsutsuki clan, they were practically commonplace.
Seeing Jigen floating there without moving for quite a while, Carl guessed his thoughts and laughed.
"Hey, you're not thinking of running away, are you?"
Having his intentions exposed, Jigen's expression didn't change. He said in a deep voice,
"Carl-sama, I was thinking… there doesn't seem to be any need for us to fight to the death, does there? If you want the chakra fruit, I can hand the Ten-Tails over to you. As for the Ten-Tails' nourishment…"
Jigen glanced at Lily below, then continued,
"You can also keep your guardian. There is another Ōtsutsuki within this space. The guardian I brought out back then—Ōtsutsuki Kaguya—is still alive."
After he finished speaking, Jigen failed to catch even the slightest ripple of emotion on Carl's face. Carl didn't seem surprised by this news at all and merely said calmly,
"Of course I know she's still alive. And I also know that your current condition is her doing."
"What!? Could it be… you've already been to the moon?"
"Heh. That's right. Ōtsutsuki Kaguya has already been released from her seal."
Hearing this, Jigen subconsciously clenched his fists. He truly wished he could seize Kaguya right now and personally throw her into the Ten-Tails' mouth.
But at present, he was powerless. Before finding a suitable "vessel" to complete true reincarnation, it was impossible for him to defeat Kaguya—unless he was willing to temporarily reincarnate at the cost of his body collapsing.
Taking several heavy breaths, Jigen raised his head and looked at Carl.
"So, what do you think of the method I proposed just now?"
Carl was about to answer—
At that moment, the space behind Jigen suddenly collapsed, and a gray, rod-like object shot out from it.
Jigen reacted instantly, twisting his body sharply to avoid the gray rod's piercing strike. The attack missed, and the collapsed space immediately began to close. Jigen flashed forward and thrust his hand inside.
The next second, a figure clad in a loose white robe was dragged out of another space by Jigen.
It was Kaguya.
Her white robe fluttered violently. Her long hair writhed like countless serpents, shooting toward Jigen. Jigen snorted coldly, exerted force with his arm, and directly flung Kaguya toward Carl.
Just as she was about to crash into Carl, Kaguya halted herself midair, then hurriedly flew away from him, clearly afraid of getting too close.
When Kaguya steadied herself, she, Carl, and Jigen formed a triangular standoff.
Jigen stared at Kaguya with killing intent and said coldly,
"Kaguya, you damned traitor. You actually dared to sneak-attack me?"
Kaguya frowned deeply. She showed utter disdain for Jigen's use of the word "traitor" and replied,
"You were the one who tried to take my life first. I merely fought back. How does that make me a traitor?"
"Bastard! You betrayed your duty as a guardian!"
"I won't acknowledge a duty that was forcibly imposed on me!"
Watching from the side, Carl couldn't help but comment,
"I'm telling you, enough with the fate and destiny talk already. You two should just fight it out. Whoever wins gets the final say."
Both Jigen and Kaguya froze for a moment.
At this time, Lily also flew up and stopped beside Carl. She first greeted Jigen, then turned to Carl and said,
"Let's take down Isshiki first. We have plenty of ways to make him reveal the Ten-Tails' location."
Jigen's expression changed instantly. From the looks of it, these two seemed to be on Kaguya's side. If the three of them joined forces, he really might die here today.
Kaguya, on the other hand, was full of joy. She looked at Carl with hopeful eyes.
Carl rubbed his forehead and said somewhat helplessly,
"A righteous three-on-one beatdown, huh? Isn't that a bit unreasonable?"
Lily raised an eyebrow. Before she could speak, Carl suddenly dashed out.
In the next instant, he appeared right in front of Jigen and slammed him into the ground with a single punch.
Carl then dove straight toward the ground, leaving behind one sentence,
"Are you not coming?"
Lily rolled her eyes, waved at the still-dazed Kaguya, and said,
"Let's go together."
As she spoke, a pair of enormous black wings spread from Lily's back. She transformed into a black meteor and shot downward toward Carl and Jigen, who were already fighting below. Seeing this, Kaguya no longer hesitated. Her robe fluttered, and with a sonic boom, she flashed downward as well.
Boom!!!
Amid the billowing smoke, Jigen's body flew like a kite with its string cut, tracing a perfect parabolic arc through the air before crashing heavily into the ground.
Jigen struggled to crawl up. His body was covered in blood, and his eyes were bloodshot, filled with hatred.
As the smoke dispersed, Carl stood ahead with one hand on his hip, Lily and Kaguya standing behind him to the left and right.
Kaguya had no intention of giving Jigen even a second to catch his breath. As her sleeves billowed, countless purple fist shadows poured down on him.
"Eighty Gods Vacuum Attack!"
Already battered and broken, Jigen could only grit his teeth and force his collapsing body to endure, desperately resisting Kaguya's onslaught. And this Kaguya was not the naive version who fought Naruto and Sasuke in the anime—possessing immense power yet using it clumsily.
As she unleashed the Eighty Gods Vacuum Attack, her long hair spread out behind her, firing white hair needles at Jigen like a torrential rain.
"Rabbit Hair Needle!"
Jigen was already at the end of his rope. The Eighty Gods Vacuum Attack alone had left him in utter disarray. Facing the Rabbit Hair Needle that followed, he could no longer hold on.
His entire body was pierced, sent flying backward, and nailed firmly into a distant rock wall.
Seeing Jigen's miserable state, a flash of satisfaction passed through Kaguya's eyes. But her movements didn't stop. Two gray bones slowly extended from her palms.
She intended to completely erase Jigen.
Seeing this, Carl shook his head and sighed,
"Women really are ruthless when they strike."
Lily curled her lips and shot back,
"Like you didn't beat him into that state just now. Otherwise, with his strength, he wouldn't have failed to block Kaguya's attack."
Carl gave an indifferent smile.
At that moment, Kaguya fired the bones from her palms.
All-Killing Ash Bones.
An absolute killing move. Once struck, even a Six Paths–level powerhouse would be reduced to nothing but dust.
Jigen knew this as well. Time seemed to slow at that instant. Watching the All-Killing Ash Bones about to pierce his body, his eyes suddenly widened.
One pitch-black eye instantly turned golden, ringed by triangular black patterns.
"Sukunahikona!"
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+85 chapters on p@treon/tambeerg