409 Learning Ninjutsu in a Glance

Ōtsutsuki Momoshiki was stunned.

He saw dozens of blood-red dragon heads charging straight at him!

Wherever the dragon heads passed, space itself twisted and warped!

Before he could even react, the attacks slammed into him!

"Bang bang bang bang—!!"

No matter how powerful an Ōtsutsuki's physique was, it couldn't withstand this kind of assault!

Momoshiki spat out several mouthfuls of blood amid the barrage, his body clearly on the verge of collapse!

Luckily, Ōtsutsuki Kinshiki reacted fast enough, blocking several waves of attacks for him, then activating his dōjutsu and escaping with Momoshiki!

...

Kaguya's other dimension.

Momoshiki wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and let out a breath.

"Good thing you reacted quickly. Otherwise, the two of us today would've—"

"I never imagined a lower species could possess such power. No wonder our superiors ordered a thorough investigation—"

Before he could finish, Shinju's figure appeared behind him like a ghost.

"A thorough investigation? Go on. Explain it to me carefully."

Shinju asked curiously.

As he spoke, he glanced around as if sightseeing and realized he'd been here before—this was Kaguya's other dimension, where he'd obtained that scroll not long ago!

The space looked much the same as before, except that not far away stood an enormous, thick-trunked tree!

"That must be the Divine Tree."

Just as Momoshiki had said earlier, he had inherited Kaguya's mission—to continue planting Divine Trees in the shinobi world. Only now, the planting site had been moved into another dimension.

And the reason he'd been collecting tailed beast chakra these past days was to provide nourishment for the Divine Tree!

At this moment, Momoshiki was still completely dumbfounded: Σ( ° △ °|||)︴

"Y-you… how did you follow us here?!"

Shinju replied calmly, "When someone uses space–time ninjutsu, I can activate my dōjutsu and synchronize along with them. It costs a bit more chakra, sure—but chakra is the one thing I have in abundance. You have a Rinnegan too. Don't tell me you didn't know that?"

Momoshiki: "Hiss…"

That's not something every Rinnegan can do! (´⌒`｡)

Momoshiki stared at him in shock. "Y-you actually possess this kind of power… (´°Δ°`)"

He no longer knew how to describe his feelings.

Somehow, the red-haired man in front of him felt even more like an Ōtsutsuki than he did!

As a veteran Ōtsutsuki who had committed countless evils, Momoshiki quickly regained his composure. He stepped back, widening the distance between himself and Shinju.

He wasn't an idiot. After getting brutally beaten by Shinju's clone in close combat, he already knew he might not be Shinju's match…

"Damn it. Urashiki dragged me here, and now he won't even show himself…"

"Kinshiki!"

Suddenly, Momoshiki stretched out his hand and shouted.

"Whoosh!!"

Pulled by the Rinnegan in Momoshiki's palm, Kinshiki's body shot through the air at tremendous speed toward Momoshiki's position!!

Mid-flight, Kinshiki's eyes were resolute, as if he were fulfilling some sacred duty.

"Come, Momoshiki-sama! It seems the moment for you to devour my chakra has arrived! Just as my predecessors once bestowed their power upon me! Devour my chakra—don't hesitate!!

Momoshiki replied with a perfunctory expression, "Of course I won't hesitate. You exist solely to serve me."

As his words fell, Kinshiki's massive body transformed into a deep crimson fruit!

The fruit was about the size of an apple, radiating a terrifying chakra fluctuation!

Without a doubt, it contained all the chakra Kinshiki possessed, compressed into a single core!

"Splash!"

Momoshiki steadily caught the fruit and slowly raised it to his mouth!

Shinju at this moment: (≖╻≖;)

Th-this works too?!

Even if it's been compressed into a fruit, it still feels no different from eating a person!

Opposite him, Momoshiki crunched down and devoured the entire fruit, as if afraid someone might snatch it away!

During this time, Shinju had countless chances to stop him—but he didn't move.

The shinobi world knew far too little about the Ōtsutsuki!

Since it was clear these two weren't all that strong, Shinju decided to observe carefully instead.

After all, according to Momoshiki, the Ōtsutsuki were a clan—and there might be others with higher status and greater power arriving in the shinobi world later!

...

Opposite.

After completely consuming the fruit that Kinshiki had become, Momoshiki's body began to change!!

The small horn atop his head twisted and grew larger, becoming goat-like in shape—only far more exaggerated!

At the same time, pitch-black patterns spread across his face, covering his entire upper visage, making him grotesque and unsettling!

The next instant, under Shinju's gaze, Momoshiki opened his eyes!

His originally pure-white Byakugan turned gold!

At the same time, a slit of flesh slowly opened on his forehead—a vertical eye. Its pattern was identical to the Rinnegan, but its overall color was gold!

In addition, Shinju noticed that the Rinnegan in Momoshiki's palms—used to activate Takamimusubinokami—had also changed from red to gold!

"Scream, lower life-forms! This is the transmission of Ōtsutsuki power! A height you mere mortals will never reach! ୧⍢⃝୨"

With that, Momoshiki let out a thunderous roar. A violent shockwave burst outward, kicking up sand and dust from the ground and even blowing apart houses in the distance!

Amid the raging wind, Shinju stood firm and unmoving!

He was fully focused on studying Momoshiki's transformed state, his gaze like someone in a zoo staring at a scrawny tiger—curious, yet disappointed.

"Devouring chakra and then evolving… this form of Momoshiki is basically an evolution, isn't it?"

"It's just… kind of ugly."

Momoshiki opposite him: (ꐦ ಠ 皿 ಠ)

This guy really wasn't taking him seriously at all!!

"Whoosh!!"

Enraged, Momoshiki vanished from where he stood, moving so fast it was impossible to track with the naked eye. In the blink of an eye, he appeared behind Shinju!

Then, a red-glowing axe formed in Momoshiki's hand, and he swung it down toward Shinju's head!

At the very moment the axe fell, Shinju turned around— and threw a punch!!

"Bang!!!"

"Boom!!"

That single punch sent Momoshiki flying hundreds of meters away!

Afterward, Shinju fell into thought and muttered to himself,

"After evolving, he's gained the abilities of the one he devoured, and all his attributes have improved quite a bit… Evolve a few more times, and he might actually be able to pin me to the ground and grind me down. But right now, he's still not there yet."

In the distance, Momoshiki lay on the ground, white steam rising from his body as his injuries rapidly regenerated. The crater in his chest left by Shinju's punch slowly began to fill out again…

Soon, Momoshiki fully recovered. He stood up and looked toward Shinju.

Though he hated to admit it, this red-haired man was terrifyingly strong!

Did he have eyes on the back of his head? He'd actually predicted his position!

Opposite him, Shinju looked at Momoshiki with a playful expression.

"If this is all you've got, then your Divine Tree probably isn't getting planted after all. ┐(´-｀)┌"

Hearing this, Momoshiki was so furious his hair practically stood on end. His teeth ground loudly as, at last, he slammed both hands onto the ground with a sharp "Smack!"