By then, the spatial fissure known as the Gate of the Underworld had shrunk to less than 20 centimeters wide—no more than a thin, pitch-black line hanging eerily in midair. It pulsed faintly, like the last heartbeat of a dying beast, suspended between worlds.
Even so, Adramelech inside clearly wasn't ready to give up.
Imu could feel the clash of forces on a spatial level.
Adramelech was trying to hold the Gate of the Underworld open, resisting the pressure from the Spatial Ability (Op-Op Fruit), attempting to stop the black rift from shrinking further.
But evidently, Adramelech's spatial control wasn't on par with Imu's.
Thus, the fissure of the Gate of the Underworld continued to shrink, visibly, little by little.
Realizing this, Adramelech abruptly abandoned its grip on the gate and transformed into a bolt of black lightning, shooting straight into the Shinobi World.
Once it eliminated the pests outside, it could reopen the Gate of the Underworld at any time!
But—
That bolt of evil black lightning had barely appeared in the Shinobi World for half a second and was about to strike down the golden giant blocking its path when—
With a sharp swish, the golden giant vanished.
In its place came a blade of fire cleaving down from above.
The blazing flames shimmered in dazzling hues of gold and crimson, erupting from a long blade with a golden edge and a dark red sheath.
Wielding that sword was a long-haired man in white robes, his golden eyes sharp as a hawk's.
It was Imu.
And the blade in his hand—Seika.
"Get back, Adramelech!"
[BOOOOM————]
In an instant, the black lightning twisted into a massive, inky-black demonic claw.
But just as it took form, it was struck head-on by the fiery blade.
In a flash, billowing black mist and blazing gold-crimson flames erupted in opposite directions, until they were stopped by the Four Red Yang Formation in the distance.
Had it not been for that formation, the clash would have engulfed the entire Land of Swamps—and possibly far beyond.
A vast expanse of magma and scorched, cracked earth was all that remained before the eyes of countless onlookers.
Yet none of their gazes were focused on that.
They were all staring at the sky.
The pitch-black rift that had poured out countless demons—
Gone.
The Gate of the Underworld had vanished!
At the same time, the golden giant had disappeared as well!
As for Imu… in truth, none of them had seen him from start to finish.
The entire sequence had unfolded far too quickly. Even those with the piercing insight of the Three-Tomoe Sharingan could only catch a blurred afterimage of Kashii as he teleported.
And by the time Imu appeared, his figure was already engulfed in blinding flames.
Then came that earth-shaking explosion—an overwhelming detonation of energy.
So... was it over?
Ōnoki, Jiraiya, Oven, Onigumo, Doberman, and many other powerful figures from both worlds asked themselves the same question in their hearts.
It all seemed to have ended far too suddenly.
They had been fully prepared to fight to the death against a devil from the second layer of the Underworld.
And now? It looked like… they wouldn't have to?
Meanwhile—
High above the clouds, Imu once again appeared in the upper atmosphere, with two Giant God Warriors standing silently behind him, their massive forms silhouetted against the setting sun.
"How do you know my name?"
"I've memorized your scent, human!!"
Imu replayed those lingering words still echoing in his mind. His lips curved into a faint smirk as he let out a cold chuckle.
"No need to rush. Sooner or later, we'll settle things. For now, just focus on recovering… Adramelech."
That slash just now hadn't just contained the solar flames of Seika—
It had also carried the swordsmanship of someone at the level of a Sword Saint, the might of Colorless Haki, the strength of top-tier physical arts, and the spatial penetration granted by the Op-Op Fruit.
He had even laced it with a trace of the death god's power—energy belonging to the ruler of the Underworld.
Put simply—
That strike had completely erased the arm Adramelech extended into this world.
Not just severed—it was annihilated.
It wasn't the kind of wound that could regenerate at will.
The death god's power wrapped around the wound would cause Adramelech no small amount of pain… unless he found a big shot to help him recover.
Uh…
Imu fell silent for a moment.
Because chances were high Adramelech would go running to Lucifero for help.
Tch. Whatever. Let it be.
At that moment, Imu suddenly looked up, gazing intently at the night sky above, where starlight had just begun to bloom.
Then, with Kashii and Oimo behind him, he vanished without a trace.
...
"..."
"..."
Silence reigned within the main hall of the Shinobi Sect in the Pure Land of the Shinobi World.
From the virtual light screen, the sharp gaze of Imu's projection bore down upon them.
Whether it was Ōtsutsuki Hamura or Ōtsutsuki Hagoromo, both sensed the condescending amusement hidden within that gaze.
Clearly, the other party had noticed that they were watching him.
It was truly inconceivable—after all, they were located in completely different realms: the human world and the Underworld.
Even the so-called sixth sense, in theory, shouldn't be able to function across such a divide between dimensions.
So how had he sensed that he was being observed?
"Is this one of Lord Imu's... avatars?" Hamura couldn't help but mutter to himself.
To be honest, just that single slash just now—he was certain that even his Silver Wheel Reincarnation Explosion wouldn't be enough to block it.
Perhaps, if he had a complete Tenseigan in his possession, he might stand a chance.
Because in his vision, combining his Tenseigan Chakra Mode with the power of a fully awakened Tenseigan should put him on par with his brother's Ten-Tails Jinchūriki form.
Unfortunately, his current Tenseigan was far from complete—and Ōtsutsuki Masato had already been taken away by the World Government.
Which meant he couldn't even summon it back.
In that regard, he and Hagoromo shared a similar plight.
The latter had been stripped of his Tailed Beasts—and his ability to transform into the Ten-Tails Jinchūriki form.
Both of them had, in essence, had their path to the Six Paths tier severed at the root.
Unless, one day, the World Government allowed them to proceed—returning both the Tenseigan and the nine Tailed Beasts.
Was this all just coincidence?
Or had someone orchestrated it from the shadows?
Slowly, Ōtsutsuki Hamura sank into contemplation over that question.
He hadn't thought much of it before—but the more he learned about Imu, the more it felt like he and his brother had been methodically outplayed.
Opposite him, Ōtsutsuki Hagoromo stared at the image of Imu that had just vanished from the screen, silently gauging the strength of that avatar based on the slash just now.
In terms of raw power, he felt it was about equal to one of his full-strength attacks.
That is to say, with his Complete Susanoo and Truth-Seeking Orbs, he could also force back that demonic claw that had reached through the Gate of the Underworld.
In fact, thanks to the annihilation properties of the Truth-Seeking Orbs, the claw would likely suffer even more severe damage than what Imu had inflicted—since those orbs erase the soul itself.
If one's soul-based attainments weren't sufficiently advanced, then no matter how powerful their physical body, regenerating a limb lost to such an attack would be near impossible.
What concerned Hagoromo was that even just an avatar of Imu possessed strength equal to his own—and far surpassed him in spatial techniques.
Which essentially confirmed it: the strength of the true body behind that avatar was far beyond imagination.
What had once been speculation… was now solidified by firsthand observation.
"Hamura," Hagoromo said at last, his tone grave, "it seems we truly cannot afford to provoke Lord Imu—or the World Government. From now on, let's comply with their demands as much as possible. As long as we can preserve the Shinobi World's autonomy… that will suffice."
Ōtsutsuki Hagoromo let out a long sigh, then spoke to his younger brother in a firm tone.
"So we're just going to let the Tenseigan and the Tailed Beasts go like that?"
Ōtsutsuki Hamura clenched his fists, clearly unwilling to accept it.
"Let it be," Hagoromo said. "If the opportunity arises in the future, we can submit a formal request—following their rules. Besides, the ones now standing in opposition to the Ōtsutsuki clan aren't us. It's the World Government."
"If the time comes and it becomes necessary, I imagine they'll return them to us of their own accord. And if it never becomes necessary... well, that just means the World Government can handle things without us. Isn't that fine, too?"
It was clear Hagoromo had come to terms with the situation.
Or perhaps he was choosing to see things optimistically—for his own sake, and for his brother's.
He'd always believed that neither confronting nor resolving problems was something achieved in a single day.
You had to look further ahead—extend your vision across a longer timeline. Change would come eventually.
As the Master of the Pure Land, he shared his lifespan with the Underworld itself.
And as long as he was around, Hamura didn't need to worry about the limitations of a soul's lifespan either.
Right now, they still didn't understand Imu—or the World Government—well enough. That understanding would require time, and prolonged contact.
No rush. Step by step.
As long as the God Tree itself wasn't touched—in other words, the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path—that was the bottom line.
Given Lord Imu's ability to foresee the ages, Hagoromo assumed he understood that perfectly.
Which was likely why the World Government had never once mentioned that particular matter to Hamura.
Hagoromo was satisfied with that—he believed Imu knew his boundaries.
But was that really the case?
After all... it seemed Hagoromo might not be the only one in the Shinobi World capable of summoning the Demonic Statue now.
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