Watching Isshiki flee further and further away, Naruto didn't seem anxious.
Run, run.
Can anything be faster than 'light'?
Not the seemingly laser-fast but ultimately limited speed of Kizaru, but true 'what you see is where you are'.
As the light blue stream in Naruto's Jogan flickered, the space originally filled with various objects began to gradually become clear.
The next moment, Naruto's figure directly vanished.
One thousandth of a second?
Or one ten-thousandth of a second?
Naruto's figure instantly crossed the space with only a hairline gap, closing the distance between him and Isshiki by a huge margin in a single step.
But this wasn't the end.
He repeated the process, finding the next 'foothold' almost without any pause.
Thus, Naruto's figure flickered among the countless debris like a movie image with a poor signal contact.
Sometimes, when the interval was short enough, he could even appear in multiple places 'simultaneously'.
Isshiki's speed wasn't slow, but it was far from enough compared to this.
The moment his figure appeared in Naruto's sight, Naruto was already beside him.
Isshiki, still trying to erase the newly appeared marks on his body, knew he couldn't avoid it now.
With rich combat experience, he could only choose to attack before Naruto did, disregarding the power gap between them, delivering a fatal hand blade aimed at Naruto's head.
But Naruto now seemed even stronger than before, and with Isshiki attacking hastily, his hand blade only passed through an afterimage, achieving nothing.
Naruto's counterattack was both fast and fierce!
The black longsword, drawn at some unknown time, had already completed its 'slash' and was slowly being turned back into a Truth-Seeking Ball by Naruto.
—There was no helping it. Though Isshiki kept suffering defeats in front of him, the guy's physical strength was genuinely, undeniably, absurdly high.
By Naruto's estimate, even with Haki Enhancement, none of the Four Emperors could surpass this guy in physical strength.
…Including Big Mom and Kaido.
His earlier barrage of punches, even if landed on Kaido's dragon body, would have broken several bones, but Isshiki was fine.
This was certainly due to the Otsutsuki Clan's naturally strong physique, but also benefited from Isshiki's own power tendency.
Compared to Kaguya or Momoshiki, who were closer to 'wizards', Isshiki's combat style clearly leaned toward 'warrior'.
Even now, not at his peak, Isshiki could still withstand Naruto's beating in Otsutsuki form without even bleeding, forcing Naruto to use his 'not particularly skilled' swordsmanship.
—Actually, this was Naruto falling into a misconception.
His previous opponents were almost all 'ordinary people'. Even if they ate Devil Fruits and enhanced their physiques, they were still at the level of 'mortal bodies'.
Decapitation meant death. Inability to breathe meant death. Destruction of the heart meant death. Excessive blood loss meant death.
Even if none of that happened, just passing a few decades or centuries would kill them.
But Otsutsuki were different.
Strictly speaking, these guys had no 'lifespan limit', and their physical recovery speed was terrifyingly fast.
Isshiki wasn't uninjured by Naruto… he just healed the wounds the moment they were inflicted.
As long as their Chakra wasn't depleted, an Otsutsuki's combat ability wouldn't decrease due to fatigue or other reasons.
They were truly a pure combat race.
Even if their entire physical body was instantly destroyed, as long as the 'data information' wasn't completely erased, they could always be reborn.
The body, for an Otsutsuki, wasn't indispensable… rather, it was more like a replaceable piece of equipment.
Because of this, even though his body was cut in two by Naruto's sword, Isshiki still showed no signs of dying.
Wasn't he also cut in two by Kaguya back then? Didn't he survive?
Of course, he wouldn't die, but the pain was real.
'Damn it!'
Isshiki ground his teeth, looking at Naruto before him, his mind frantically turning over various thoughts, trying to find a path to survival.
His figure shrank again, as if still unwilling to give up, diving downward.
To be honest, there was a reason Isshiki was fighting so miserably.
Just as Naruto had judged, this guy's abilities were all focused on close combat.
Energy manipulation and shaping weren't his strengths.
But the special power he possessed allowed him to completely ignore enemy's Ninjutsu or energy attacks.
Whether it was Kaguya's Expansive Truth-Seeking Ball or Momoshiki's Deep Crimson Spiral, they were useless against Sukunahikona.
Conversely, Isshiki could use his strong close-combat strength to counterattack and kill them both.
But unfortunately, the monster before him was someone equally proficient in… no, someone who had reached the pinnacle in close combat.
The opponent didn't use any Ninjutsu at all, engaging in hand-to-hand combat the whole time.
And whether in speed, strength, or even durability, Isshiki was completely outmatched by Naruto.
Thus, from start to finish, he had been dominated by Naruto.
'How to break this deadlock?'
'Could it be that I will die here today?'
The fear of death from a thousand years ago resurfaced in his heart.
Isshiki clenched his teeth tightly, blood vessels beginning to appear on the surface of his eyeballs.
"I will survive… I will survive… I am the one who will eventually become the Otsutsuki God…"
He began muttering to himself like a man possessed, his eyes growing increasingly crazy.
A bold idea appeared in Isshiki's mind.
He would survive.
No matter the cost!
Just at that moment, Naruto silently appeared beside Isshiki again, like a ghost.
Several chains were beginning to extend from his palm.
Naruto didn't intend to completely kill him here… he still needed more information about the Otsutsuki Clan.
But coincidentally, he knew a little girl who could help him.
'I wondered how that girl Pudding was doing now? The last news I heard about Big Mom's territory was that she and Kaido were about to go to war.'
Clatter, clatter…
The chains spread toward Isshiki but were infinitely shrunk in mid-air, even their length shortened.
"…Almost forgot you still have this move."
Slapping his forehead, Naruto decided to first render the other unable to resist.
Isshiki, having used Sukunahikona to shrink the chains, didn't counterattack, still flying headlong in another direction without looking back.
"Really, still not giving up?"
Naruto flashed above Isshiki again, saying this while throwing a fierce punch downward.
Like a small fly hit by a swatter, Isshiki's figure crashed through the ground with almost no resistance.
"Hmm?"
As if 'seeing' some incredible scene, Naruto suddenly raised an eyebrow, looking down at the huge crater 'plowed' by Isshiki's impact.
In that bottomless black hole, besides Isshiki's somewhat weakened presence, there was another presence Naruto was very familiar with.
"That's… a Tailed Beast?"
It wasn't Naruto who spoke, but Kurama.
He was all too familiar with this same-origin presence.
The moment he sensed it, Kurama awoke from his slumber, using Naruto's vision to see below.
"You sense it too?"
Naruto said to Kurama, while slowly beginning to descend.
"Ah, yes. That chaotic, intertwined massive Chakra…"
Kurama murmured.
"Just like Kaguya back then, after swallowing several of you."
Naruto finished his sentence.
Though he hadn't clearly seen the scene below, both of them had drawn a conclusion from that presence.
In this different space, there was another Tailed Beast.
The Ten-Tails.
"So this is your trump card, Isshiki…"
The next moment, chaotic and mixed purple-black energy fiercely gushed out from underground, and a huge crimson Rinnegan lit up in the darkness.