Chapter 275: You Really Are That Bitch Kaguya’s Backup Plan
The rain curtain had not stopped, and the killing intent rose again.
Jigen held a Chakra Black Rod, his figure turning into a streak of black lightning, charging fiercely once more toward Menma, who stood on the high tower’s wall.
The two clashed again, fiercely colliding between the towering high towers and ruins of Rain Village in a pure taijutsu showdown that erupted with a heart-palpitating roar.
Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!
The sound of black rods clashing was like the rhythm of death, sparks scattering in the rain curtain.
Jigen’s onslaught was like a storm, each strike containing the power to tear steel, attempting to suppress Menma with absolute force.
Menma, however, was like a reef in raging waves, wielding his black rod airtight, resolving Jigen’s fierce attacks one by one with precise and efficient movements, as if he had already calculated every one of his opponent’s strikes.
In the intense close-quarters combat, cold light flickered in Jigen’s eyes as he unleashed his eerie ability once more.
Daikokuten and Sukuna Hikona!
Countless Chakra Black Rods shrunk to the extreme, like invisible dust, were silently scattered by him into the airspace around Menma, then instantly enlarged, stabbing toward Menma from all directions and treacherous angles!
These black rods appeared without warning, enough to turn any ninja into a porcupine.
However, the invisible barrier force field around Menma activated once again.
All the suddenly enlarging black rods experienced an extremely brief lag the instant they touched the barrier force field!
Though it might only be a fraction of a second, for a ninja of Menma’s level, it was more than enough!
His body made inconceivable dodges through the gaps in the dense black rods, or used his black rod to parry attacks he couldn’t fully evade.
The Chakra Black Rods shot by Jigen grazed his clothing hem and hair tips, embedding into the walls and ground behind him with dull “thud thud thud” sounds, yet never truly touching his body.
‘Damn it! This barrier again!’ Jigen frowned, seething inwardly; the opponent’s tenacity far exceeded his expectations.
Through his sensing, he gauged that this barrier was similar to the earlier jutsu that couldn’t be absorbed by his wedges.
Menma, meanwhile, was also seeking an opportunity for a fatal strike.
He knew conventional ninjutsu would be absorbed by Jigen’s “wedges”; only the “Spiral Ring” from another world could deal effective damage to him.
While fending off Jigen’s fierce attacks, Menma continuously pulled specially made kunai from his ninja tool pouch, tossing them casually toward Jigen. After Jigen dodged them, these kunai scattered across various corners of the battlefield.
The handles of these kunai were all engraved with the Flying Thunder God Technique, silently spreading across this ruin like seeds.
After several rounds of intense clash, Menma seized a moment when Jigen’s old force was spent and new force not yet born; his figure suddenly blurred!
Flying Thunder God Technique!
In the next instant, he appeared like a ghost behind Jigen’s side.
Exactly at the location where one of the earlier kunai had landed!
A fist coated in powerful chakra smashed mercilessly and without flourish toward Jigen’s temple!
“What?!” Alarms blared in Jigen’s mind; in his haste, he could only tilt his head, taking the punch on his shoulder!
Bang!
Amid the heavy muffled sound, Jigen’s entire body was sent flying sideways by this immense force, tumbling several times in the air before barely stabilizing his form.
He felt half his body go numb, with waves of sharp pain from his shoulder blade.
However, just as Jigen’s body was still mid-air and Menma prepared to press the advantage, an unexpected change occurred again!
Jigen’s figure vanished without warning under everyone’s gaze!
No smoke, no afterimage, not even a trace of chakra fluctuation left behind, as if he had never existed!
The people on the ground—whether it was Jiraiya, who had barely stood with the help of the two toad sages Fukasaku and Shima, his aura withered; or Deva Path Pain, who had broken free from the black rod restraints, his face grim; or Obito, Konan, and Black Zetsu—were all deeply shocked by this eerie scene!
“Dis… disappeared?!” Konan furrowed her brows; her sensing had completely lost the target.
“What’s going on?! No spatial fluctuations at all… not like space-time ninjutsu…” The single eye under Obito’s mask was filled with shock and doubt. He possessed the Kamui Sharingan and was most sensitive to spatial anomalies, but Jigen’s disappearance utterly exceeded his understanding.
He subconsciously glanced at the kunai scattered everywhere on the ground, engraved with the Flying Thunder God Technique, and said in a low voice: “That black-haired boy’s body flicker… no, not body flicker… it’s… Flying Thunder God?”
Obito was somewhat uncertain. His Mangekyo Sharingan could sense spatial fluctuations, and the opponent’s move did carry space-time ninjutsu traits, but… the Flying Thunder God Technique had been lost with the death of the Fourth Hokage!
Deva Path Pain remained silent, his pair of Rinnegan eyes fixed on the airspace where Jigen had vanished, the ripples in his pupils slowly turning, as if capturing some extremely faint trace, yet his expression grew even more grave.
He had just broken free from those black rods sealing his chakra, at considerable cost, and now witnessing such an eerie ability deepened his dread.
“Cough cough…” Jiraiya clutched his still sharply painful chest, gasping arduously with the support of the two toad sages, staring at this situation far beyond expectations, his mind in chaos.
“The Sage of Six Paths’ Rinnegan was already terrifying enough, and now two mysterious powerhouses who can easily kill Pain have appeared…” He was now certain that black-haired boy was the “Shura” who had repeatedly attacked Konoha.
Then, the one who could fight “Shura” to a standstill, even wielding even stranger abilities, what was his origin?
The Great Toad Sage’s prophecy hadn’t mentioned this…
The Ninja World’s waters were far deeper than he imagined!
At this moment, Menma cautiously gripped Chakra Black Rods crosswise in front of him with both hands, his left eye’s Mangekyo Sharingan spinning wildly, his right eye’s pure white Byakugan seeing all, trying to find Jigen’s trail.
However, Jigen himself possessed the Otsutsuki clan’s unique chakra shielding, plus Sukuna Hikona’s extreme miniaturization; the combination made him fully integrate into the microscopic world. Even Menma’s dojutsu couldn’t pinpoint him for the moment.
‘Trouble…’ Menma’s brows locked, thinking to himself.
‘Should I activate the Flying Thunder God mark on him now and forcibly locate him? But that’s the trump card to pinpoint his other dimension lair…’
As he hesitated, his peripheral vision caught Deva Path Pain seemingly noticing something, that pair of Rinnegan eyes locked dead on a certain direction!
‘Right!’ A flash of insight struck Menma’s mind, recalling certain information.
‘In Boruto, Sasuke seemed to use his Rinnegan to capture Jigen’s trail after miniaturization! Looks like it requires at least Rinnegan-level insight!’
With this thought, a confident arc hooked at the corner of Menma’s mouth.
He didn’t have Rinnegan, but he had other trump cards!
He suddenly fully activated his right eye’s Byakugan!
Invisible eye power pierced spatial barriers, instantly linking with the Giant Tenseigan deep inside the moon, formed from countless Byakugan fused together!
Hum——!
A vast, sea-like pure eye power surged into his Byakugan along the link!
Borrowing the Giant Tenseigan’s power to discern the essence of all things and even interfere with space, the originally blurry microscopic world became crystal clear in his eyes!
He “saw” it!
In that seemingly empty rain curtain, a point shrunk to the extreme like dust, yet emitting unique energy fluctuations, was silently moving!
“Found you!” A fierce glint flashed in Menma’s eyes as his right hand instantly condensed a “Small Spiraling Ring” containing ominous Dark Chakra, charging unhesitatingly toward that point’s position!
“That’s…?!” Jiraiya stared at the energy ball resembling a Rasengan in form but emitting a completely different chakra nature inside, utterly stunned.
“It looks so much like a Rasengan? But the feel… totally different!”
Jigen, in his miniaturized state seeking a chance to counterattack, suddenly felt a fatal sense of crisis lock onto him!
He was horrified; how could the opponent see through him in Sukuna Hikona state?!
He immediately tried to dodge,
But at that moment, Menma’s figure vanished into thin air again!
Flying Thunder God Technique!
The next instant, Menma appeared directly in front of the miniaturized Jigen, and that Small Spiraling Ring teleported synchronously, striking the miniaturized Jigen at the exact moment he appeared!
Boom——！！！
Dark purple Dark Chakra exploded, the violent blast sweeping the battlefield once more!
Annihilating everything in that area into the most basic particles!
A disheveled figure was forcibly expelled at the explosion’s edge—it was Jigen, forced out of his miniaturized state!
His haori was even more tattered, blood trickled from his mouth again, his eyes filled with mingled shock and fury.
Just as he stabilized, a circular spatial portal with black-red edges like a vortex instantly opened behind him!
“Want to escape?!” Menma’s eyes lit up at the other dimension’s appearance, his figure flickering as he moved to intercept.
Jigen retreated faster, backflipping into the portal; it swiftly closed and vanished, leaving only a faint trace of other dimension fluctuation in the air.
“Disappeared again… what was that jutsu?” Konan watched the eerie spatial door vanish, clenching her fists, paper sheets fluttering uneasily around her.
Deva Path Pain’s Rinnegan and Menma’s Byakugan linked to the Giant Tenseigan simultaneously scanned the entire battlefield, yet found no trace of Jigen.
This time, he had truly left this space completely.
The Akatsuki members’ gazes involuntarily focused once more on the only one remaining in the field: Menma.
Menma was sensing the Flying Thunder God mark on Jigen.
The atmosphere instantly became subtle and tense.
Obito’s single eye narrowed slightly; the more he looked, the more this black-haired boy gave him an inexplicable sense of familiarity—especially that eye combination and that composed demeanor…
Konan and Deva Path Pain remained highly vigilant; with the precedent of Asura Path Pain being instantly killed, they dared not be careless.
Nagato, hidden behind the scenes, had suffered massive chakra and mental consumption from losing two Pain bodies in succession, even gasping slightly.
A sense of powerlessness and anger surged in his heart.
‘Could I… really have to summon the Outer Path Demonic Statue here?’ The thought had just arisen when he recalled that defeat in the Land of Stars.
He hadn’t even seen “Shura’s” true body before being struck miserably by a terrifying chakra beam from the sky, and that powerful Uchiha Hikari…
If he hadn’t reacted quickly, he might not have returned.
The boy before him seemed even more unfathomable than that Uchiha Hikari.
………………
While the Rain Village battlefield fell into brief silence due to Jigen’s disappearance.
Deep in some other-dimensional space unreachable by ordinary people, space rippled like water.
A vortex portal with ominous black-red flickering edges abruptly appeared in the void.
Immediately after, a rather disheveled figure tumbled out from within—it was Jigen, who had just forcibly withdrawn from the battlefield.
“Cough… cough cough!” He couldn’t help coughing violently upon appearing, a large mouthful of dark red blood spraying from his mouth.
The haori on him, originally pristine white symbolizing elegance and power, was now in tatters, covered in scorch marks from the explosion and tears from force, edges charred and curled, appearing exceptionally wretched.
Jigen’s originally cold and arrogant face now couldn’t hide a trace of pallor and exhaustion.
For the first time, those eyes accustomed to a millennium of winds and clouds reflected incredulous shock and fury.
That boy calling himself “Otsutsuki Rakushiki” not only had an eerie ability his wedges couldn’t absorb, but could even see through his Sukuna Hikona state concealment, forcing him to use his final means to escape!
Jigen slowly raised his head, gazing at this other dimension belonging solely to him.
At the space’s center was a massive, ancient altar.
The altar was built from some unknown stone, in a primitive, barbaric style filled with an alien aura not of this world.
Engraved on the altar’s ring-shaped walls were peculiar giant symbols and marks, each representing an Otsutsuki clan member’s existence.
Looking upward, at the wall’s highest point, two of the largest, most prominent marks were one above the other: the top one belonged to him, Otsutsuki Isshiki; below him, the name he loathed to the bone.
Kaguya Otsutsuki.
Beneath the altar’s central pot-lid-like cover was a bottomless giant circular void.
Below the void was not pure darkness, but faintly emanated a heart-palpitating, unimaginably vast chakra fluctuation, and an primal, brutal aura filled with destructive desire.
Jigen floated, drifting to the void’s edge.
He looked down, and through that invisible seal barrier, he could clearly see the shocking sight below.
A colossal one-eyed giant beast, bound in the abyss by countless thick Chakra Black Rods.
Its massive pale body, ten huge tails twitching unconsciously behind, its single remaining giant eye tightly closed, as if in eternal slumber.
It was the Ten-Tails!
However, Jigen had no time to toy with this pet now.
His gaze fell to his abdomen.
There, the cracks in the black wedge-shaped area had noticeably widened, like porcelain on the verge of shattering, edges flickering with unstable arcs, bringing waves of excruciating pain and weakness.
“This body… is still too fragile…” Jigen’s voice carried a faint hoarseness and reluctance.
Forcibly activating “state one,” then consecutively using Daikokuten and Sukuna Hikona for high-intensity combat—especially tanking that Small Spiraling Ring at the end—had inflicted far beyond expected strain on this vessel.
He couldn’t wait any longer.
Floating directly above the seal window for the Ten-Tails, Jigen extended his palm covered in black patterns, gently pressing it against the invisible seal barrier.
His expression was complex: thirst for power, and a trace of “regret” for this precious “fuel.”
“Sorry…” he murmured, his tone lacking much sincerity, more like a ritual declaration: “Now, I need to borrow your power.”
With his words, the black wedge mark in his palm suddenly glowed with deep light!
A powerful suction instantly generated!
Hum——！！！
The sealed Ten-Tails below seemed to sense something, its massive body twitching violently, that closed single eye opening!
A six-tomoe red Rinnegan!
“Roar!” The Ten-Tails roared unwillingly.
Its sea-like vast chakra was forcibly extracted from the seal, turning into a visible, turbid, violent dark red energy torrent, madly surging into Jigen’s palm, racing up his arm throughout his body!
With the massive energy influx, the black wedge patterns on Jigen’s body surface came alive, greedily devouring this power.
The injuries on him from the explosion and combat rapidly healed at visible speed under this pure, vast chakra nourishment; even his damaged haori began self-repairing.
The worrisome cracks on his abdomen were forcibly halted in their spread, edges slowly contracting and mending. Though not fully restored, they had at least stabilized.
Moments later, Jigen released his hand, stopping the absorption.
He slowly exhaled a turbid breath; his originally pale face regained some flush, the fatigue in his eyes swept away, replaced by an even deeper, more dangerous gleam.
Feeling the power refilled in his body—surpassing before—Jigen glanced down at the stabilized cracks on his abdomen.
“Enough…” he murmured expressionlessly.
“The game should end.”
…………
Rain Village.
Amid this subtle standoff of the three factions.
Hum！！！
In the battlefield skies, that familiar black-red edged vortex portal reappeared!
All eyes were instantly drawn!
Jigen’s figure emerged calmly and elegantly from the portal.
In stark contrast to his prior wretchedness, his haori was brand new, damages fully repaired, bloodstains gone, even his aura deeper and vaster than before!
He looked down condescendingly at Menma on the ground, those eyes restored to cold arrogance carrying a pity as if beholding an ant.
“Looks like it’s time for you, slightly sturdier bug, to truly witness… the power of a ‘deity.'”
Before his words finished, a far more terrifying, suffocating immense pressure than “state one” erupted from Jigen!
The sky’s rain curtain seemed pushed back by this momentum!
The black wedge patterns on his body surface began writhing like living things, growing deeper and more complex!
Above his left eye’s brow, a curved, bone-like black horn grew, extending along his skull’s contour rearward in a full circle, stopping above his right eye’s temple!
Wedge · State Two, activated!
Jigen’s current form had utterly transcended humanity!
That tsunami-like oppression made everyone present—including the two toad sages and Nagato, who deemed himself a god—feel trembling and insignificance!
The Akatsuki members’ faces all changed, shocked beyond measure.
‘Such a form change and power surge…’ Through Deva Path Pain’s view, Nagato with his Rinnegan sensed Jigen’s strength shift most acutely.
Menma, facing this overwhelming momentum, merely swung his Chakra Black Rod casually, as if loosening his wrist.
He raised his head, looking at the greatly transformed Jigen; not only was there no fear on his face, but a “as expected” expression, his tone laced with teasing:
“Now that’s more like it… you finally look a bit like your true self.”
He paused, clearly enunciating that name sealed for a millennium:
“Isshiki.”
The instant he heard this name, Jigen’s arrogance just resurfacing from power recovery froze, then turned to utter rage!
He raised his left hand covered in black patterns, index finger straight at Menma, his voice distorted by extreme anger:
“You bastard… you’re indeed that bitch Kaguya’s backup plan！！！”
Black Zetsu: ?！！！
