Chapter 186: Naruto and Sasuke VS Jigen
Naruto and Sasuke trembled slightly as they stood off against Jigen.
Because Jigen had entered his Kāma form, which granted him the ability to absorb chakra, Naruto and Sasuke were forced to rely solely on taijutsu in their battle.
"Damn it... His strength is insane."
Naruto grimaced in pain as he blocked Jigen's side kick with his arm. At that moment, Jigen twisted his arm around and grabbed Naruto's arm, and suddenly a black rod appeared and stabbed into it, disrupting Naruto's chakra flow.
On the side, Sasuke slashed downward at Jigen with the Kusanagi Sword, forcing him to release Naruto.
"You alright, Naruto?" Sasuke asked, eyes locked on Jigen.
"Yeah." Naruto nodded, then used his other hand to yank out the black rod from his arm. Once his disrupted chakra stabilized, his injury quickly healed thanks to the Nine Tails' incredible regenerative powers. "Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
Five Sage Fox Mode Naruto clones appeared and charged toward the now distant Jigen. But just as their fists were about to land, the enemy suddenly vanished.
"He's in the air!" Sasuke warned, spotting Jigen suspended in midair. "That was Body Flicker Jutsu... Even with my eyes, all I could see was an afterimage..."
From high above, Jigen extended his right hand toward the Naruto clones below, and in a flash, black rods pierced into their bodies.
"What?!" Naruto, watching from Sasuke's side, cried out in shock. "How did those black rods suddenly appear?!"
"I see..." Sasuke nodded. "Naruto, I think his ability allows him to shrink matter. Just now, he must've thrown those black rods at your clones while they were minuscule—too small to see with the naked eye. They returned to normal size the moment they struck."
"So that's why I saw what I did..."
Naruto's expression darkened. After all, unlike Sasuke's Sharingan or the Byakugan, he didn't possess eyes capable of tracking such microscopic changes. Against Jigen's kind of attack, there was really no way to guard against it. Up until now, Naruto had always relied on the Nine Tails' absurd healing ability and fought in a reckless, trade-blow-for-blow manner.
Given his nature, Naruto would usually tank small-scale attacks like these head-on. But doing so here would play right into Jigen's hands.
"But something's odd, Naruto." Sasuke watched as the five clones vanished in puffs of smoke. "He's the leader of Kara, yet he doesn't seem to have much combat experience..."
"Yeah." Naruto nodded again.
Naruto's intent in using shadow clones to probe Jigen's fighting style had been obvious, yet Jigen made no effort to conceal anything.
Was it really due to a lack of combat experience? Or was Jigen simply so powerful that he didn't care if his fighting techniques were exposed?
"...You're impressive, Sasuke," Jigen said, landing from midair with a look of admiration. "The dynamic vision of your Sharingan goes without saying, but what's more impressive is your cool-headed judgment—and the Rinnegan on top of that... Sasuke, you don't need to waste time playing house with that idiot Hokage. Why don't you join me?"
"Hey! Who are you calling an idiot?!" Naruto protested, clenching his fist.
"Hmph. Forget it, Jigen," Sasuke replied. "It's exactly because Naruto is an idiot that he needs me."
"What the heck, Sasuke?! You think that too?!"
"...So be it. Uchiha Sasuke, it looks like I'll have to kill you right here!" Jigen declared, extending his right hand toward the duo.
"Naruto! Dodge!" Sasuke warned, and the two leapt into the air.
In the spot where they'd just been standing, several black rods were now embedded in the ground.
"Thanks, Sasuke," Naruto said, clearly rattled.
"He's coming!" Sasuke shouted. Just as he spoke, Jigen appeared above them midair. "Naruto!"
Naruto twisted in midair to face him. "Massive Rasengan!"
A giant Rasengan formed in Naruto's right hand, knocking away the incoming black rods. But at the same time, Jigen absorbed the Rasengan and countered by slamming his fist into Naruto and Sasuke, sending both crashing to the ground in a cloud of dust.
They struggled to their feet.
"You okay, Sasuke?"
"Yeah. I've learned enough. Let's turn this around, Naruto."
"You two..." Jigen started to speak, only to watch in surprise as Naruto and Sasuke flanked him from both sides.
"Rasengan!"
"Chidori Stream!"
Jigen extended his left hand, absorbing Naruto's Rasengan, while creating a black rod in his right to block Sasuke's electrified Kusanagi Sword.
"Amenotejikara!"
With the Rinnegan's teleportation technique, Sasuke instantly swapped places with Naruto.
"What?!"
"Jigen, it really does seem like you lack combat experience," Naruto said as he circled around the black rod, Rasengan in hand.
"Not to mention, you clearly don't know much about us," Sasuke added, slashing downward with his Kusanagi Sword.
"Wait—he's gone!"
Naruto's Rasengan missed entirely.
In the distance, a black space-time portal opened, and Jigen stepped out.
"It's space-time ninjutsu. He used it to evade our attack," Sasuke explained.
Though he had avoided their joint strike, the look on Jigen's face was unmistakably one of lingering fear.
"As a member of the Ōtsutsuki Clan, blindly obsessing over power alone isn't enough... You two really did teach me a valuable lesson..." Jigen muttered, his eyes wary.
"In return, allow me to teach you something as well."
"This guy... He's growing horns..." Naruto said, eyes widening as Jigen's form began to transform. "Whatever it is, I've got a bad feeling about this."
"This is Kāma's second form. Since I'm up against both of you, I guess it's time I stop holding back."
"Hmph. You're not the only one with a trump card." Naruto looked at Sasuke beside him. "Sasuke!"
"Yeah."
In a flash, the massive forms of the Nine Tails and Susanoo emerged, cloaking Naruto and Sasuke.
"Oh? So this is what you call your true power? Very well. Let me see what it's worth."
Despite appearing minuscule compared to the towering Nine Tails and Susanoo, Jigen showed no fear. If anything, he seemed perfectly calm—almost smug—as he stood before them.