To match a god with a mortal body.
For some reason, watching the battle between Otsutsuki Isshiki and the duo of Uchiha Sasuke and the Seventh Hokage, this phrase suddenly surfaced in Naruto's mind. Of course, the "mortal body" he was referring to wasn't Uchiha Sasuke or the Seventh Hokage, but Otsutsuki Isshiki.
RUMBLE!
The Susanoo and the materialized Kurama took a light step forward, and the earth trembled uncontrollably. Otsutsuki Isshiki's human-like form, simultaneously facing these two behemoths comparable to mountains, appearing like gods or demons, seemed so insignificant.
"Does this mean you're finally going all out?" Otsutsuki Isshiki tilted his head up, looking at the two figures standing within the colossal constructs. "Very good. Allow me to bear witness."
RUMBLE~
The Perfect Susanoo's right hand made a gripping motion, and an materialized tachi, capable of cleaving mountains and sundering peaks, appeared in its grasp. The movement of the tachi stirred up a powerful gust of wind.
Otsutsuki Isshiki flew into the air. Just as the tachi was about to strike him, Sukunahikona activated, and his form shrank to the size of a finger. Using the blade of the tachi as a springboard, his speed suddenly increased, bursting through rings of air pressure. As the tachi swept past, the finger-sized figure leaped up.
ROAR!
Kurama, controlled by the Seventh Hokage, appeared at the end of Isshiki's line of sight, a terrifying Tailed Beast Bomb already forming in its mouth, then unleashed.
Otsutsuki Isshiki flew sideways through the air, narrowly dodging the attack.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!!
The two colossal figures attacked relentlessly, blasting one giant crater after another into the earth, carving one bottomless abyss after another. The materialized Kurama's nine tails lashed out, golden light filling the sky. But just like before, Isshiki dodged each attack by a hair's breadth.
Whoosh!
Gazing at the energy sphere rapidly approaching, Otsutsuki Isshiki materialized a Yin-Yang Release black receiver and swung it, leaving a visible distortion in the air. Like hitting a golf ball, he swatted the energy sphere away.
BOOM!
The off-target energy sphere landed on a small mountain, instantly obliterating it.
"Gulp..." Beside the Seventh Hokage, Boruto watched all this, stunned, cold sweat uncontrollably trickling down his forehead. If this battle were taking place in Konoha instead of Otsutsuki Momoshiki's alternate dimension, the consequences would be unimaginable.
Otsutsuki Isshiki paused in mid-air for an instant. Uchiha Sasuke seized the opportunity. With the precise targeting of his Mangekyo Sharingan, the Susanoo's tachi appeared above the enemy.
BOOM!
After a deafening crash, the world seemed to return to tranquility. But before the two could even breathe a sigh of relief, Otsutsuki Isshiki's calm voice drifted from the dissipating smoke.
"It seems the Uchiha clan's legendary Susanoo isn't all that fast either."
Focusing their gazes, they saw Otsutsuki Isshiki standing on the back of the tachi's blade, quietly looking at them. Despite the insurmountable difference in their physical sizes, at this moment, on a spiritual level, he had successfully looked down upon them.
"I thought you two would have made some progress since our last battle... Heroes of the shinobi world? Mere jumping clowns." Before his voice had even faded, his figure vanished from the spot.
At the brow of the towering Susanoo, directly in front of the crystal block where Uchiha Sasuke was, Otsutsuki Isshiki's figure abruptly appeared.
A flying kick in mid-air!
BOOM!
The Susanoo's defenses shattered as if made of paper.
In the distance, Naruto saw this, his brow furrowed tightly, his eyes filled with gravity. This wasn't some flimsy paper construct; this was the defense of the Susanoo, hailed as a "divine power"...
"Pfft~" Uchiha Sasuke spat out blood, his figure sent flying out of the Susanoo, crashing heavily to the ground. He struggled to prop himself up.
Tch! Tch!
Several Yin-Yang Release black receivers suddenly materialized, piercing his body and pinning him firmly to the earth.
Otsutsuki Isshiki lightly stepped on the not-yet-fully-dissipated Susanoo and flew at high speed towards Sasuke on the ground.
"Ugh~" Blood gushed uncontrollably from his mouth. Uchiha Sasuke locked his gaze on the rapidly approaching enemy. "Amenotejikara!"
The two instantly swapped positions.
The golden Kurama now appeared above Otsutsuki Isshiki, attacking with both hands and tails.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
A series of heavy blows made the ground shake unceasingly.
Whoosh!
From within the smoke, Otsutsuki Isshiki's figure shot upwards.
"What?" The Seventh Hokage's expression changed. He manipulated his chakra to strengthen the defense around Kurama's head. But the previous scene repeated itself.
BOOM!
Crossing his arms in front of him, the Seventh Hokage's figure was sent flying into the air.
"What?" Boruto's face paled. Without the Seventh Hokage to sustain it, Kurama rapidly dissipated, and Boruto's figure fell uncontrollably towards the ground.
But, puzzlingly, Otsutsuki Isshiki merely glanced at him before continuing his assault on the Seventh Hokage in mid-air.
In the distance, Naruto saw this, a flicker of doubt in his eyes. The markings signifying Sage Mode spread from his arm across his entire body.
The Seventh Hokage, airborne, stabilized his form. A Great Ball Rasengan materialized in his right hand, positioned between himself and Isshiki.
"It seems you still haven't learned your lesson." Otsutsuki Isshiki thrust out his right hand, about to absorb the chakra sphere before him.
Shwoop!
The Seventh Hokage's figure vanished, replaced by Uchiha Sasuke. His Kusanagi sword, imbued with Lightning Release chakra, slashed towards Isshiki's neck.
"Yes!" Seeing Isshiki unable to defend in time, a flicker of joy flashed in the Seventh Hokage's eyes.
However...
Clang!
The sound of metal striking metal echoed from Isshiki's neck. Using Sukunahikona, Otsutsuki Isshiki had enlarged several Yin-Yang Release black receivers between his neck and the blade, successfully deflecting the fatal blow.
Thwack!
A sweeping kick. Uchiha Sasuke was once again sent flying towards the ground, crashing into a deep pit.
Otsutsuki Isshiki landed beside him, tightly gripping a black receiver, and thrust it towards Sasuke's heart.
"Shadow Clone Technique!" Uzumaki Boruto suddenly appeared, a large number of shadow clones attacking Isshiki, while he himself, carrying the nearly incapacitated Uchiha Sasuke, ran towards the distance.
With a sweep of his staff, all the shadow clones dispersed into smoke.
Otsutsuki Isshiki turned his head to look at the boy obstructing him. "Uzumaki Boruto, are you that eager to die?"
"You can't kill me. You know that very well, don't you?" Uzumaki Boruto stood defiantly before Otsutsuki Isshiki.
Hearing this, both the Seventh Hokage and Uchiha Sasuke were startled.
"I remember that guy named Boro saying that my existence 'made your urgent plans less rushed'."
"...Have you misunderstood something?" Otsutsuki Isshiki's eyes narrowed slightly.
Hearing his words, Naruto, who was about to make a move, suddenly froze.
"Perhaps I've misunderstood something, but I have a feeling that if I die, it will definitely cause you a lot of trouble," Boruto said casually.
"'Plan'? Is it that 'God Tree' Amado mentioned?" Uchiha Sasuke's eyes flickered.
Amado? That Kara member who sought refuge in Konoha? Naruto's mind also stirred. It seemed that middle-aged man knew far more than he had imagined.