523 Naruto the Flame-Flame Fruit

"You bastard, what the hell are you?" Deepa couldn't help asking.

"Just an ordinary old father. Now say it again—dance till you die!" Kiyosuke reached out and grabbed Deepa's arm, then twisted. Deepa's body hardened, blocking the attack and keeping his arm from snapping.

"Looks like your body's pretty special. Modified, huh?" With a raised brow, he examined Deepa with interest. This guy's body had definitely been altered—there was no ninjutsu in the Shinobi World capable of producing this effect.

Deepa said, "You noticed? After my body was modified, I can condense the carbon I inhale into ultra-dense cubes and polish them. I can release them, and I can harden my whole body at will. You'll never break my defense."

"No wonder it's so tough." Kiyosuke finally understood. This power was tricky—he hated fighting opponents as hard as a turtle shell, and now here was another one.

"Annoying. If it's carbon…" He raised a finger and aimed at Deepa.

"Oh?"

Seeing a tiny speck of red light appear at Kiyosuke's fingertip, Deepa showed scorn.

"Fire Release is useless on me. Save your—"

A thread-thin line of flame shot from Kiyosuke's fingertip and pierced straight through Deepa's hardened arm.

"Impossible?!" Deepa stared in shock at the scorched wound. "My body is ultra-hard carbon—how could you break it?!"

Kiyosuke dug a finger in his ear and said,

"Carbon? Is that supposed to be tough? It's not diamond. Your body definitely isn't anywhere near that level. It's probably just a bit harder than alloyed steel. Sure, normal Fire Release or Lightning Release won't pierce it. But concentrate the firepower into a single point and nothing's impossible."

Piercing a surface by compressing firepower into a tiny point—armed with overwhelming heat and penetration—puncturing Deepa's body wasn't difficult at all. Dumb thing.

"So, one last time—hell's dance floor is open. Dance till you die!"

A crimson glow flared across Kiyosuke's fingertips. Deepa no longer dared to stay still. Forced back under Kiyosuke's pressure, he staggered around wildly—pathetic, ridiculous, like a clown. But there was nothing he could do. He couldn't get close; and even if he managed to, he couldn't hit him. He couldn't escape either. A complete death loop.

"Damn it!"

"You think you're so great?! You think you can toy with me like this?!"

His only answer was an even hotter blaze punching through his thigh. Gritting through the searing pain, Deepa continued to dance under Kiyosuke's command.

"Hideous dancing."

Kiyosuke shook his head.

"You're not even qualified to be here."

Flames gathered around him, forming long whips of fire that wrapped around Deepa's body. No matter how many carbon cubes he produced, he couldn't break free. The binding made him extremely uncomfortable.

Kiyosuke said, "Forget it. Don't struggle—that's not something you can escape. You're dead."

"Stop! How could I possibly die?! You're the one who's going to die!"

His body began to change. Thick smoke surged from him, and when it cleared, he wore a suit of armor—half black, half white—with only a pair of eyes exposed.

"This is my strongest form—you're finished!"

Swish!

"My eyes! My eyes!" Deepa rolled on the ground screaming in agony. Kiyosuke sighed.

"You left only your eyes exposed. Weren't you basically telling me where to hit? Seriously, are you stupid?"

Stepping on Deepa like he was a dented tin can, Kiyosuke placed his palm against him. The Kāma in his palm activated, its markings spreading toward his right eye.

"Let me run a little experiment on you."

His palm pressed firmly onto Deepa. In an instant, Deepa's chakra was sucked out through the Kāma and poured into Kiyosuke's body.

"This sensation… it's just like the Preta Path. And I can even choose to convert or store it?"

Inside him, Deepa's chakra split—part of it transformed into pure chakra and merged into Kiyosuke, while the rest was stored away.

"So that means I can use Takami Musubinokami?"

Could Momoshiki's Kāma let him use Momoshiki's abilities from when he was still alive? Interesting. Looks like this Kāma wasn't completely useless after all.

Originally, Momoshiki used this technique through the Rinnegan in his palm. Now the Kāma had replaced it, allowing Kiyosuke to use the same ability.

In his mind, Momoshiki raged. "You thief! That's my ability, you lowly creature! Thief!"

Kiyosuke clicked his tongue, ignoring Deepa's screams under his hand.

"It's mine now. You're living rent-free in my body—you think that's allowed? Don't joke with me. Rent here is expensive. Damn it, this Kāma is great for boosting my physical ability, but its chakra boost sucks."

Under the Kāma state, the vessel's physical traits and ninjutsu power were strengthened—but the chakra increase was too small.

Well, for Kiyosuke.

"Your chakra is just ridiculously huge! What kind of monster are you?!" Even Momoshiki couldn't help complaining. This human didn't feel human at all—absurdly strong.

"Just a human."

Deepa's carbonized body crunched to pieces under Kiyosuke's foot. Kiyosuke clenched his fist.

"A hardening ability, huh? Interesting. Hey, Momoshiki—how far can Takami Musubinokami enhance this technique?"

After absorbing Deepa's ability, he could release it with Momoshiki's Takami Musubinokami—but just like Momoshiki, he could only use it once after absorbing.

"Hmph! Obviously it'll be stronger than that low-tier creature's version!" Momoshiki snapped, refusing to speak further. He regretted everything—he should've chosen that blond pineapple-headed kid instead.

How had he been blind enough to pick this guy as his vessel?

If he'd known, he would've left a second Kāma behind earlier. Now he could only wait for this guy to get seriously injured so he could take over his body—but would he ever even get seriously injured?

He'd heard Urashiki got wiped out not long ago. Were there even any more Ōtsutsuki on Earth?

Unless more of their clan arrived—and they'd need many. A one-on-one fight wouldn't work. These lower-tier creatures weren't pushovers.

His power was considered elite even among the Ōtsutsuki, especially now that he had fused with Kinshiki's chakra. And he still lost. These lower creatures had their merits.

To win against them with certainty, no one should come to this planet unless they possessed overwhelming power. At least not while these people still lived.