Chapter 315: "Leave Ōtsutsuki Genshiki to Us!"
Kitagawa Gen's voice echoed across the battlefield, loud and unrestrained.
"Ōtsutsuki Nagato? Ōtsutsuki Obito?"
The declaration froze the war in place.
Madara—who had just arrived—stopped mid-stride.
His expression twisted into something between shock and disbelief.
Hashirama, right behind him, was equally stunned.
"What… what does that even mean? Why would their names become—?"
"That's because they've been possessed by the Ōtsutsuki."
Before Hashirama could finish, Tobirama's cold voice cut in.
Only then did the two realize that Gen and his group were standing not far away.
"Possessed…?"
Madara no longer had the patience to argue with Tobirama.
He had far too many questions—and this was not the moment for infighting.
"What exactly happened to them?
Is this… that so-called 'evolution'?"
The moment he said the word, Madara's gaze instinctively drifted to Kitagawa Gen—
the true pioneer of "evolution."
"Tch. You're hopeless," Tobirama snorted.
"Gen is nothing like them. Their situation is far more complicated.
Their consciousnesses have been overwritten—
their bodies completely taken over."
Taken over—
The words made Madara's expression sharpen.
This was far more dangerous than he'd imagined.
"That's right. Things aren't looking good for them."
Gen chuckled lightly.
Unlike Obito and Nagato, he was no mere "vessel."
He was an Ōtsutsuki himself.
"Ōtsutsuki…"
Obito trembled.
His fists curled tight as a chilling realization stirred in him.
"You…
Back in the Land of Earth…
You already knew?
You saw everything from the start?!"
"Of course I did."
Gen nodded leisurely, voice calm as if chatting over tea.
"And I saw your hunger too.
Your body—reshaped into an Ōtsutsuki's vessel.
I imagine your time with Isshiki-senpai must've been quite… eventful."
"Isshiki…"
The name made Obito's face turn ashen.
He had heard it again and again—
the mastermind behind this "Godhood Path"…
the one who indirectly created the monster known as Ōtsutsuki Genshiki.
Obito's entire body went cold at the thought of what was really inside him.
"…"
Momoshiki, occupying Nagato's body, no longer spared Obito a glance.
His full attention was on Gen.
His posture was tense—like a beast ready to pounce.
Gen, however, simply shook his head.
"No need to panic.
I have no interest in you—
or rather, in any of you right now."
"No… interest…?"
Momoshiki froze, stunned.
A moment later, humiliation burned through him like acid.
"You bastard—!"
"Right now, you're not even 'Momoshiki-senpai.'
You're just Ōtsutsuki Nagato."
Gen's smile didn't waver.
"If you truly had full control, how did Nagato manage to seize a moment—
to release the Ten-Tails
and attempt to become its jinchūriki in order to shake you off?
This half-baked state you're in—
you are not even qualified
to become a single step of my 'Path to Godhood.'"
Gen's gaze slipped past him—
And landed directly on the Ten-Tails.
Momoshiki wasn't even worth looking at.
"The people of this world…
Their strength varies, but their will…
is astonishingly resilient.
A thousand years of war forged something formidable."
"And so, I want to see it for myself.
To see whether I will be facing
Isshiki-senpai, Momoshiki-senpai, and Urashiki-senpai again—
Or…"
Gen's eyes gleamed.
"…Ōtsutsuki Obito,
Ōtsutsuki Nagato,
or perhaps even
Ōtsutsuki Kimimaro."
His words rolled across the battlefield like thunder.
Many shinobi froze—faces numb, expressions strange.
A thousand years of war forged the will to resist the invasion of the Ōtsutsuki?
Could they truly become Ōtsutsuki themselves?
Obito's expression warped—
Kimimaro's fists tightened—
Nagato's struggling will surged even stronger.
"Genshiki…
That lunatic…"
In the shared subconscious plane, Isshiki and Urashiki felt their scalps tingle.
Urashiki, especially—having witnessed the world's changes and Momoshiki's predicament—
felt a cold dread rising in his chest.
Isshiki, who had "played dead" in this world for more than a thousand years, knew better than anyone how terrifyingly powerful these people could become when fighting for something they wished to protect—
And how monstrous their will could be.
For Genshiki to say those words now…
He was practically shoving them toward self-destruction.
"You damned bastard!"
Momoshiki finally snapped.
Nagato's soul was resisting harder and harder inside his body, and the pressure was becoming intolerable.
Fury twisted Momoshiki's borrowed face as he lunged straight toward Gen—
BANG!
He didn't even get close.
He was blasted away instantly, skidding across the battlefield.
Gen's voice drifted lazily behind him:
"With your current state you dare charge at me?
Should I call that admirable courage—or absolute stupidity?"
"Or is it that you can't tell the difference between recklessness and bravery?"
Leaving that insult hanging in the air, Gen didn't even spare Momoshiki another glance.
He continued walking toward the Ten-Tails, his tone airy, almost absent-minded.
"A thousand years wouldn't bring you within reach of me, Momoshiki-senpai."
"You—!"
Momoshiki raged, but he had no time to act.
Nagato's fierce resistance was becoming unbearable—
Even Black Zetsu, who had been immobilized moments earlier, could wiggle again.
---
"Genshiki's target is the Ten-Tails."
Tobirama's low voice sounded beside Gen's clone.
"We can't let him succeed. And… I have a plan."
"A plan?"
Gen raised a brow. Even he was wondering how to clean up this increasingly chaotic situation.
If Tobirama—the man whose brain was sharper than most blades—had an idea, Gen didn't mind listening.
"We handle Ōtsutsuki Genshiki.
We'll delay him."
Tobirama's eyes hardened.
"And you—
You kill the three possessed ones."
"...?"
Gen blinked.
That was the plan?
But a heartbeat later, he understood—
and so did Minato, Madara, and even Hashirama.
"Hmm.
That could work…"
Madara exhaled sharply.
The battlefield had already devolved into utter disorder.
Even he understood that facing a threat capable of erasing the world required a temporary shift in priorities.
"Let the Ōtsutsuki fight each other, is that what you're suggesting?" Minato murmured.
His gaze drifted toward Obito—complicated, hollow—with a glint of acceptance.
"It's reasonable.
Compared to Genshiki, Obito and the others are much easier opponents."
"Exactly.
Ōtsutsuki Genshiki is too dangerous."
Hashirama inhaled deeply.
"Gen, even if you fought him once already, I doubt he was using his full strength.
This time, you might have a chance—
But I'd prefer if you didn't risk yourself right away."
"So…"
"We take the first battle," Tobirama declared, voice cold as steel.
"We test his limits.
We gather information.
We buy time."
"And after we weaken him," Madara added, chakra surging like a storm,
"you can finish what must be done.
Besides—
He and I have unfinished business."
The four legends—
Madara, Hashirama, Tobirama, Minato—
activated their full power simultaneously.
In the next moment, they shot toward the sky—toward the descending god.
"A goddess's kin… a god…"
Of the four, only Madara had directly suffered Genshiki's wrath.
For the others, even witnessing him from afar had been enough to chill their souls.
Against such a being, the outcome of a battle was obvious.
But still—
for their world,
for the people behind them,
for time—
they charged anyway.
---
Gen—both clone and true body suspended in the sky—felt his mind go blank.
"Wait—
Did I just become the final boss!?"
He knew his Ōtsutsuki identity painted him as an ultimate villain…
But having THREE Hokage charging him—
PLUS the man who almost became Hokage (Madara)?!
"What is this—some kind of raid boss encounter!?"
Gen could only stand there speechless.
But the four had already surrounded him.
"Ōtsutsuki Genshiki," Tobirama growled.
"We can't let you continue."
"This world cannot be left to your whims," Minato added softly but firmly.
Hashirama's voice followed, deep and resolute:
"Forgive us, but this ends here."
And finally—Madara:
"A so-called god?
Always hiding behind a mask?
This time—
I'll tear it off myself and see what's underneath!"
Gen stared at them.
"…"
If you actually saw it, some of you might faint…
he thought silently.
Still—Tobirama's strategy had merit.
And helping Kaguya by stirring up the Ōtsutsuki hornet's nest wasn't a bad side benefit, either.
So—
"Well, since you're all so confident…"
Gen slowly descended from the sky.
His eyes sharpened.
"I'll give you your chance."
"But let me offer one small reminder—"
His voice echoed across the battlefield, calm and lethal:
"No matter how hard an ant struggles…"
"…it will never bring down an elephant."