Chapter 349: The Dragon Vein, Time and Space Travel
No matter what the Sage of Six Paths intended to do, stopping him was the priority.
Hagoromo Gengetsu found a brief moment to unleash a shockwave at the Sage of Six Paths.
With his understanding of chakra forms, he was well aware that most ninjutsu could neither kill nor restrain such an entity. However, abilities involving space, gravity, or repulsion could disrupt the stability of a chakra form, causing it to become unstable.
What happened next, however, surprised Hagoromo Gengetsu.
The Sage of Six Paths utilized Yin-Yang Release to temporarily regain a physical body, choosing to confront the shockwave head-on.
Then—boom!
The Sage of Six Paths, carrying the shockwave, was sent flying backward, crashing into the nearby ruins.
Before anyone could react, the Sage of Six Paths, lying in the ruins, quickly shifted his gaze to the black sealing array that had been hidden beneath a thick layer of dust, now fully revealed due to the commotion. With a resolute look, he formed a hand seal, charging straight into the array, completely destroying it.
Since explaining the abilities of Kaguya Ōtsutsuki, the Sage of Six Paths had remained silent. He watched as Naruto and the others struggled against Hagoromo Gengetsu. He also noticed his mother's constant evasion, showing how much her mindset had shifted.
The Sage of Six Paths had come to terms with reality.
If things continued this way, the winner of this millennium-old battle between Six Paths-level beings would not be him, nor his mother, but rather his descendant, who had taken on his name and used it as a surname.
At the Six Paths level, the Sage of Six Paths knew that Hagoromo Gengetsu wouldn't spare him or anyone else just because of their familial connection. If even a mother and her biological son could betray each other, how could a distant descendant, with diluted blood ties, be expected to show mercy?
To prevent such a future, the Sage of Six Paths had to make a difficult decision, one that was far from ideal but was the only option left.
"This is the only way to resolve the problems of my world. I'm sorry, unknown world."
As the Sage of Six Paths spoke, a brilliant light suddenly erupted from the shattered black sealing array. In the last moments, the Sage of Six Paths reverted to his chakra form and rushed to Kaguya's side, returning his chakra to his mother as promised.
"Hagoromo…" Kaguya crossed her arms in front of her chest, about to say something.
From within the ruins, the light emanating from the black sealing array soared into the sky, rapidly expanding in all directions.
The speed of the light was unparalleled, and its expansion was just as swift. Even at the Six Paths level, there was no time to avoid it.
"This is…"
In an instant, Hagoromo Gengetsu realized what was happening. His pupils contracted sharply as he quickly activated the Yomotsu Hirasaka. His speed was incredible, but it still couldn't match the speed of the approaching light.
Not only was he affected, but Kaguya was too.
Only Naruto and Toneri Ōtsutsuki, who had been at the edge of the area and were desperately fleeing, had any chance of escaping.
The moment the Sage of Six Paths destroyed the sealing array, he used the chakra he had left in Toneri to warn both of them to flee immediately. Seeing that the light from the sealing array was limited in range, and that Naruto and Toneri could escape at the last moment, the Sage of Six Paths breathed a sigh of relief.
As the actual ruler of the Earth for thousands of years, the Sage of Six Paths knew every detail of the planet. He was aware of the sudden appearance of the Dragon Vein on the planet during his slumber. Although the Dragon Vein's chakra wasn't much in his eyes, its unique spatial-temporal properties caught his attention. Even as a being of the Six Paths, he held great respect for space-time.
To avoid unnecessary trouble, the Sage of Six Paths didn't delve too deeply into the Dragon Vein, leaving it dormant beneath the desert of the Land of Wind. But now, he forcibly awakened it, opening the gate of space-time, using half of his chakra as the price to banish Hagoromo Gengetsu and his mother from this world.
Though this action was somewhat unethical for the other world, it was indeed the best choice for the current world. In that instant, as he saw Hagoromo Gengetsu and his mother's fate sealed, the Sage of Six Paths was about to show relief.
Splat!
A hand suddenly pierced through Toneri Ōtsutsuki's heart.
"Toneri!!" Naruto froze in shock.
"I…"
Toneri could not finish his sentence. A powerful suction force erupted from the palm that had pierced his body. Behind that hand, behind the black portal, stood Hagoromo Gengetsu, already engulfed in the light and knowing he couldn't escape. Coldly, he said, "Did you think you could light the fireworks and then just walk away?"
Hagoromo Gengetsu hadn't expected that the Sage of Six Paths would trick him at the last moment. But being tricked was one thing; the fact that the Sage of Six Paths tried to wash his hands of the situation was something Hagoromo Gengetsu couldn't tolerate.
Before the Dragon Vein could fully explode, Hagoromo Gengetsu used Yomotsu Hirasaka to deliver a backstab to Toneri Ōtsutsuki, and then unleashed a powerful suction from his palm to extract the Sage of Six Paths' chakra from Toneri's body.
If he was going down, so was the one who started all this.
What's more, since Hagoromo Gengetsu knew the Sage of Six Paths had triggered the Dragon Vein and understood what was about to happen, he couldn't allow the Sage of Six Paths to escape. If the Sage managed to stabilize the Dragon Vein again, things would get complicated.
So, he decided, "You're coming with me!"
Hagoromo Gengetsu extracted the Sage of Six Paths' chakra completely.
"No!" The Sage of Six Paths' face turned pale as he tried to resist, but Hagoromo Gengetsu's swift actions left him no chance. The Sage was pulled out of Toneri's body, full of frustration.
With the Sage of Six Paths' chakra gone, Toneri, now fallen from the Six Paths level, collapsed, blood pouring from his chest, and soon he stopped breathing.
"Toneri!!" Naruto had a chance to escape the range of the Dragon Vein's influence, but instead, he ran back to Toneri, holding him tightly in an attempt to save his life.
But Naruto forgot one thing. Without the Sage of Six Paths' chakra, he, too, had lost his Six Paths power and could no longer use Yin-Yang Release.
"Don't mention it," Hagoromo Gengetsu said, having eliminated Naruto's rival. Then, he was completely engulfed by the light, disappearing from the ninja world along with Kaguya and the Sage of Six Paths in his grasp.
"What do you mean 'don't mention it'? Bastard! Explain yourself!" Naruto shouted furiously at the spot where Hagoromo Gengetsu had vanished, holding Toneri in his arms.
But before he could do anything more, in the next moment, due to his pause, Naruto too was engulfed by the light, disappearing in a mix of anger, pain, confusion, and disbelief.
The light from the Dragon Vein's explosion came as quickly as it went. When everything returned to normal, the once trembling desert finally calmed down, leaving behind nothing but a vast, scarred land and a still-warm corpse to prove what had just transpired.