Ninjutsu was useless. That meant they only had Taijutsu left. Genjutsu didn't work on Otsutsuki at all.
As Urashiki rushed toward him after absorbing the Tailed Beast Bomb, Kurama didn't hesitate—he threw a punch.
The two vastly different-sized opponents struck at the same time. Kurama's fist was bigger than Urashiki's whole body, but somehow, Urashiki's tiny fist completely stopped Kurama's punch. The impact sent waves of sand flying in all directions like a storm sweeping the land.
Kurama's face twisted. "Oh, come on!"
Kurama pulled back his aching fist, turned around, and shot up into the sky. He controlled the Truth-Seeking Orbs to attack, but Urashiki dodged them with ease.
"Man, that's tough." Kurama shook his hand and looked at Urashiki in disbelief. "Even tougher than the pancakes Kanao makes."
Naruto landed beside Kurama. "Have you ever seen a pancake tougher than Urashiki's body? And… who's Kanao?"
"A Warrior of Light… but that doesn't matter." Kurama waved dismissively, then said slowly, "What matters is that this situation is getting tricky."
Even though Urashiki lost the abilities of his blue and red Rinnegan in his Sage Crane Mode—meaning he could no longer use instant movement, time reversal, or Yomotsu Hirasaka—his Taijutsu, chakra, and physical abilities had all been pushed to their limits.
To put it simply, he was like Might Guy with the Seventh Gate open.
And this "Might Guy" had the Rinnegan, making his power level skyrocket.
"Decoy attacks? That's my specialty!" Naruto lifted his chin proudly.
"Won't work. That guy has the Byakugan." Kurama controlled the Truth-Seeking Orbs, constantly chasing Urashiki. But since they had a limited range, it didn't take long before he slipped away.
"The Byakugan, huh…" Naruto frowned.
Against the Byakugan, transformation, substitution, and decoy tactics were meaningless. As long as Urashiki wasn't an idiot, he wouldn't fall for them.
"Heh heh~" Urashiki's laughter was now completely distorted. He looked like a wild beast in a frenzy. He pointed at Naruto and Kurama. "Heavenly Beads: Purple Sphere—Jade Box!"
Purple light erupted again, this time far stronger than before. Each beam of light was massive, larger than even Kurama's entire body.
Naruto controlled the Truth-Seeking Orbs to form a shield in front of him, while Kurama gathered a massive Tailed Beast Bomb in his mouth and fired it to counter.
A violent explosion lit up the sky, turning everything red.
If this had happened on the ground, the entire Hidden Leaf Village would've been wiped out.
Even in the sky, the shockwaves still reached the earth. The ground trembled under the immense force, and even the distant Roran started collapsing.
Since Roran was made up of towering buildings, the sheer power of the explosion was too much. The structures finally gave way, crumbling as the ground split apart.
Shikaku watched calmly, seemingly unaffected. "I think I understand now."
Kushina, on the other hand, looked anxious, her eyes fixed on Naruto dodging in the sky. "Shikaku, isn't it ready yet?"
"Almost." Shikaku closed his eyes, reviewing the strategy in his mind. Then, he turned to Yamanaka Inoichi. "But there's one problem. Inoichi, help me confirm whether Urashiki can use Dragon Vein chakra without limits."
"Got it." Inoichi didn't hesitate. He closed his eyes, formed a hand seal, and sent his mental energy through the battlefield's chakra flow, reaching the four fighters in the sky. "This is Yamanaka Inoichi. Can you hear me?"
Kurama, Naruto, Sasuke, and Minato—each engaged in battle—paused for a brief moment and exchanged glances.
They nodded.
Hearing their response, Inoichi continued. "Shikaku has finalized the plan, but there's one issue. Urashiki has resonated with the Dragon Vein. Does that mean he can use its chakra without limits?"
"Impossible!" Naruto immediately responded. "The Dragon Vein's chakra comes from the Sage of Six Paths. If he doesn't allow it, then not even Urashiki can control it!"
Inoichi frowned. "Then why can Urashiki resonate with it?"
"Uh…" Naruto was momentarily speechless.
Kurama sighed before explaining, "Because the Dragon Vein itself is Otsutsuki power."
"Even though it holds more of the Sage's chakra, Naruto, have you forgotten the Sage of Six Paths' real name? Otsutsuki Hagoromo. He was originally from the Otsutsuki clan. It's just that he—"
The power compared to a pure Otsutsuki also includes Ten Tails chakra and natural energy, so as long as Urashiki wants to, he can use the Dragon Vein to some extent.
That's a fact.
"If Urashiki can control the Dragon Vein so easily, why go through all the trouble of attacking Roran?" Inoichi didn't understand.
"Because of the price," Kurama said with a smirk. "Alchemy—no, I mean, power follows the law of equivalent exchange. If Urashiki wants to use Ten Tails chakra and natural energy, which he never originally had, he has to pay an equal amount of chakra in return."
"So right now, even though he's using the Dragon Vein's chakra to break Naruto's future seal and has become insanely powerful, look at him—does he still seem normal to you?"
An Otsutsuki's second phase can never recover (Note: fan theory), meaning that even if Urashiki survives this battle, he will be permanently stuck as a battle-crazed maniac. That's the cost of forcibly using the Dragon Vein's chakra and consuming two Rinnegan.
"In theory, he can use the Dragon Vein's chakra without limits, but only in theory. The Sage of Six Paths' power isn't that easy to control. If Urashiki exceeds his limit, the Dragon Vein will assimilate him, and he'll become just another part of its endless flow."
Kurama's tone turned eerie.
From the moment the Sage of Six Paths expelled chakra to form the Dragon Vein until now, do you think Centipede was the only one who ever tried to take it? Don't be ridiculous. The truth is, everyone who tried before is dead.
Those who succeeded were eventually consumed by the Dragon Vein. Those who failed were killed by its guardians. (Note: fan theory)
This isn't something an ordinary person can handle.
Inoichi repeated Kurama's words to Shikaku word for word. Shikaku was silent for a moment after listening. Then, after a long pause, he finally looked up. His exhausted face was now filled with cold determination.
He gazed at Urashiki in the sky and spoke slowly, "Inoichi, repeat everything I say to them. The battle… is about to reach its end."
For about a minute, Shikaku laid out his plan without interruption. It was as if the entire world had gone silent, except for his voice and the relentless explosions echoing from the sky.
After a while, Kurama took a deep breath, dodged Urashiki's attack, and muttered, "You guys are ruthless with your tactics."
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