Ashura watched Uchiha Tensei, who remained completely motionless, and couldn't help but frown.
Given the overwhelming aura that monster possessed, there was no way it should be standing there doing nothing.
Could it all just be for show?
After the members of the Ninja Sect continued their assault for nearly five minutes, the power the Ten-Tails had been accumulating finally reached its limit.
"ROAR!!!"
The Ten-Tails suddenly unleashed a furious roar.
A terrifying wave of energy exploded outward.
The Wood Release restraints and Earth Release prison surrounding it were shattered instantly.
"Not good!"
"That monster was gathering power the whole time!"
"Everyone, retreat immediately!"
Realizing what had happened, Ashura's expression changed dramatically.
The reason the Ten-Tails hadn't counterattacked wasn't because it couldn't.
It had been charging an attack.
"You've all been attacking for quite a while."
Uchiha Tensei looked down at the Ninja Sect members and revealed a cold smile.
"Allow me to return the favor."
"Burn with heartfire and crush all enemies."
"Ten-Tails…"
"Cataclysm!"
"ROAR! ROAR! ROAR!!!"
The Ten-Tails unleashed a series of earth-shaking roars.
A terrifying force erupted in every direction.
Massive tornadoes rose from the ground.
The earth cracked apart in expanding circles.
Countless stones were ripped into the air.
Lightning danced wildly across the battlefield.
Sandstorms filled the sky.
The entire world seemed to be collapsing.
The Cataclysm lasted for nearly a full minute.
It was because of this technique that later generations would give Uchiha Tensei's Ten-Tails names such as Daitara-bocchi, Tatara, and Amenomehitotsu-no-Kami.
When the attack finally subsided and the dust slowly settled, the battlefield had become a wasteland.
"This… damn you, Uchiha Tensei!"
Looking at the devastated landscape and the countless corpses scattered across it, Ashura's teeth ground together audibly.
More than two thousand members of the Ninja Sect had died from that single attack.
Many of them hadn't even managed to scream.
Among the dead was one of Ashura's weaker sons.
"Uchiha Tensei!"
"You killed my son!"
"If I don't kill you today, then I swear I am not a man!"
Holding his son's lifeless body, Ashura roared toward the sky.
Although he had many children, each of them was still his flesh and blood.
How could he not be enraged?
The incident involving Shōkai might have been a misunderstanding.
But this time, the hatred was real.
Even Uchiha Tensei was slightly surprised.
To be honest, Cataclysm was a large-scale attack.
Its destructive range was enormous, but its individual killing power wasn't particularly concentrated.
The death of Ashura's son was mostly bad luck.
It also indirectly proved that the fourth generation of the Ōtsutsuki bloodline was far weaker than their predecessors.
"If you choose to challenge me, you should be prepared to die."
"No one forced you to come here."
"You volunteered."
"To put it bluntly, if you die, that's your own responsibility."
Uchiha Tensei spoke indifferently.
Whether it had been an accident or not, he felt no obligation to show mercy to his enemies.
"How dare you speak so casually!"
"You're courting death!"
After laying his son's body down, Ashura immediately shot into the sky and charged toward the Ten-Tails.
"Time Stop."
Uchiha Tensei casually waved one hand.
The world froze.
Ashura's body instantly stopped in midair.
Then Uchiha Tensei clapped his hands together.
The Ten-Tails disappeared in a cloud of smoke and returned to him.
Slowly descending to the ground, Uchiha Tensei's Nine-Tomoe Rinnegan spun rapidly.
At the same time, the Rinne Sharingan on his forehead opened.
A gigantic phantom time wheel, hundreds of meters across, slowly materialized in the sky.
"Ultimate Time Control."
"Freeze Time."
The massive wheel rotated slowly.
In an instant, every member of the Ninja Sect froze in place.
Tens of thousands of people were immobilized.
Not a single person could move.
Walking calmly toward Ashura, Uchiha Tensei spoke slowly.
"Do you understand the difference between us now?"
"If I wanted to kill you, none of you would even have the chance to resist."
"The gap between us is simply too large."
Unable to move, Ashura could still turn his head.
Looking at the frozen battlefield, he felt an unprecedented shock.
"What kind of power is this?"
"This is the Dōjutsu of my Rinnegan."
"The only time-based Dōjutsu in existence."
"As long as I activate it, I can control time itself."
Uchiha Tensei pointed toward the enormous wheel floating above them.
"If I rotate that wheel right now, every one of you will disappear completely."
"There won't even be a corpse left behind."
"The power to control time…"
Ashura's eyes widened.
"So such a monstrous Dōjutsu truly exists."
"It seems I didn't lose unfairly."
He slowly closed his eyes.
"Come then, Uchiha Tensei."
"If you don't kill me today, then one day I will kill you and avenge my son."
"Very well."
"Then I shall grant your wish."
As he spoke, Uchiha Tensei extended a hand toward Ashura.
Accepting his fate, Ashura waited silently for death.
Countless runic symbols suddenly spread across his body.
A beam of light descended from the time wheel and enveloped him.
In the next instant, the power of the Nine Tailed Beasts was completely sealed away.
"…"
Ashura blinked.
Then he looked at Uchiha Tensei in confusion.
"You didn't kill me?"
"I don't really feel like killing anyone today."
Uchiha Tensei shrugged.
"Besides, Indra is currently waiting for you in front of your father's mausoleum."
"Of course, if you still wish to avenge your son, you're welcome to come find me."
"I, Uchiha Tensei, will be waiting."
With those words, he released Mandala from the Kamui Dimension.
Then, together with Garuda, he vanished from the battlefield.
The reason Uchiha Tensei had sealed the Tailed Beasts instead of killing Ashura was simple.
It was all for Indra.
An Ashura empowered by all Nine Tailed Beasts was simply too powerful.
Indra would never be able to defeat him.
By sealing away the Tailed Beasts, the balance between the brothers could be restored.
As for extracting them completely, that wasn't possible.
Unlike a Ten-Tails Jinchūriki, Ashura was directly acting as the container for the Nine Tailed Beasts.
Removing them would immediately kill him.
As Uchiha Tensei disappeared, the frozen world resumed movement.
The effects of Time Stop vanished.
Suddenly deprived of the Tailed Beasts' power, Ashura's legs weakened.
Just as he was about to collapse, Mandala rushed forward and caught him.
"Second Brother, are you alright?"
"I'm fine."
Ashura steadied himself.
"Gather everyone and continue south immediately."
Having learned from Uchiha Tensei that Indra was indeed heading toward the mausoleum, Ashura became increasingly anxious.
An invincible opponent like Uchiha Tensei was already troublesome enough.
He absolutely couldn't allow Indra to gain even more power.
After all, the mausoleum had been built by their father.
There could truly be something inside capable of increasing Indra's strength.
He had to stop him.
"But Second Brother, your condition…"
Mandala looked concerned.
"I'm fine."
"My chakra is just a little unstable after losing the Tailed Beasts."
"We must stop Indra before it's too late."
"Alright."
Mandala nodded helplessly.
Soon afterward, the battered Ninja Sect resumed its journey south.
Meanwhile, Uchiha Tensei continued following the crescent-shaped marks left behind by Indra.
Beside him walked a thoroughly confused Garuda.
"Tian Qi, what exactly happened earlier?"
Ever since suddenly losing awareness during the battle, she had been completely baffled.
Because time itself had been frozen, she had experienced none of what had happened.
"It went something like this…"
As they traveled onward, Uchiha Tensei patiently explained everything to her.
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