"Hagoromo! What are you hesitating for?!" Funan shouted. "Take this lunatic down already! You get the Pure Land, I'll take the shinobi world!"
Damn it!
Hagoromo cursed furiously in his mind.
That bastard! With just one sentence, he'd struck right at Kaguya's weakest spot.
And the division of spoils... sounded way too fair.
How could she not believe it?
Gritting his teeth, Hagoromo finally lunged—not at Kaguya, but straight at Funan. "Uchiha Funan—prepare to die!"
Funan blinked, then immediately shouted back, "You dare betray me, Sage?! Fine—just wait and see!"
And so, the three of them clashed once more.
Only—
Even with Kaguya and Hagoromo supposedly working together against Funan, they still couldn't gain the upper hand.
Because Kaguya didn't trust Hagoromo.
And Hagoromo was worried Kaguya might actually go along with Funan's plan—only to stab him in the back and kill him outright.
The result?
Funan was the only one fully committed to the battle. The other two were holding back, only using half their strength at most.
And so the chaotic three-way battle began.
The entire Pure Land erupted into smoke and destruction.
Before long—
Both Hagoromo and Kaguya began to feel the pain.
Because Funan was subtly, deliberately guiding their attacks—redirecting them toward each other.
"Uchiha Funan!"
After nearly getting hit multiple times, Hagoromo finally lost his patience. Gripping his shakujo tightly, he growled, "Mother—don't fall for his tricks. Let's eliminate Funan first!"
"Exactly!" Funan shouted. "Come on, take me down first! You two are mother and son—what am I? Just an outsider! Go ahead, attack me already!"
"Shut your damn mouth!"
For once, the Sage of Six Paths lost all composure, nearly shouting in fury.
Would Kaguya ever believe him now?
Absolutely not.
Who, after being sealed away for thousands of years, would look at the person responsible and say: "Oh, my sweet son, I trust you completely!"
Only a fool would buy that.
Hagoromo's breathing grew heavier and more erratic.
Suddenly—
He paused. "Funan, why is it that you…"
He had just realized—every time, somehow, Funan managed to maneuver the two of them into clashing against each other.
That wasn't normal.
Unless—
Uchiha Funan's power was above theirs.
Only then could he maintain such control over the battlefield.
"Mother, enough of this nonsense," Hagoromo said, his voice low and steady. "We need to join forces against Uchiha Funan. His strength is immense. If we get careless, he might seal or even kill us. Right now, we have to prioritize the bigger picture."
"Fine!" Kaguya agreed crisply. "You go first, I'll follow right behind."
Hagoromo's expression darkened. He said nothing.
Turn his back to Kaguya? He'd have to be insane.
There was no doubt in his mind—if he exposed his back, she'd strike him down without hesitation.
[Clink, clink, clink—]
The sage's shakujo staff trembled, its metal rings chiming crisply.
A crushing pressure filled the air.
"Oh? Now you're getting serious?" Funan narrowed his eyes, instinctively drifting closer to Kaguya.
That small movement was all it took—
Kaguya instantly launched a frenzied barrage of attacks.
But she wasn't aiming at Funan.
She was aiming at Hagoromo.
Trying to interrupt his technique before it could land.
"Mother!"
Hagoromo was about to explode from sheer rage.
If she didn't want to help, fine—but now she was actively sabotaging him?!
What he didn't realize—or maybe never considered—was this: if Funan had been able to teleport Kaguya into the Pure Land in an instant, wasn't it also possible he had a way to momentarily restrain her?
And if she were locked down for even a split second, that would be enough time for Hagoromo's ultimate technique to strike her head-on.
There was no way Kaguya would ever allow that to happen.
She couldn't let him finish preparing such an attack.
So Hagoromo was forced to stop.
Face grim, the Sage rejoined the chaotic melee between the three.
Why had things turned out like this?
Even Hagoromo himself couldn't make sense of it anymore.
The plan had been simple.
Let Uchiha Funan empower his mother.
Then, once Funan invaded the Pure Land, the two of them—Hagoromo and Kaguya—would team up to trap him.
That way, not only would they secure the shinobi world, but they would also gain access to the mysterious power-up method Funan had used.
After sealing Funan, mother and son could settle their own score.
Hagoromo had plenty of confidence in himself.
Even if his mother had grown stronger with Funan's help—so what?
Had he wasted these thousands of years in the Pure Land for nothing?
No.
No matter how much her power had increased, he had more than enough ways to deal with her.
But all of that…
All of it had been seen through by Uchiha Funan.
The moment he arrived, he immediately drove a wedge between them.
And the worst part?
It had worked.
That's how delicate the relationship between Hagoromo and Kaguya truly was.
The three-way brawl continued.
"Hagoromo! Come on—kill me already!"
"What are you waiting for? Come stab me!"
"As long as I'm alive, who in the shinobi world can possibly stand up to you? Your mother? She doesn't stand a chance. Hamura? He's even worse—hiding up on the moon like a coward."
The more he said, the colder Kaguya's gaze toward Hagoromo became.
Did she believe Funan?
No.
But would she dare to take that gamble?
Absolutely not.
If she lost that bet, she'd never get another chance.
"Hmph."
Suddenly, Hagoromo let out a cold snort and slammed both palms onto the ground.
"Summoning Technique!"
Funan paused for a beat, then immediately shouted, "Hagoromo! Summon Naruto and Sasuke—have them join you in killing me!"
"Damn it!"
Hagoromo nearly spat blood on the spot.
[Bang!]
With a burst of smoke, Naruto and Sasuke appeared.
Both of them looked completely bewildered. They glanced at Funan, then at Hagoromo, utterly confused.
"Hurry!" Funan shouted. "Come over here and kill me!"
What?
Naruto and Sasuke were stunned.
"You two—" Hagoromo's expression shifted. "You've already broken free?"
Broken free?
Now Naruto and Sasuke looked even more confused.
"Didn't you hear the command?!" Funan barked, growing more exasperated by the second. "Attack me—now!"
"Uh… okay, okay!"
Almost instinctively, the two launched an attack toward Funan.
That bastard Funan subtly guided their approach… straight toward Kaguya.
Kaguya noticed instantly.
Her reaction was violent and immediate.
Without a second thought, she began attacking wildly—lashing out at everyone, no matter who they were.
Especially Hagoromo.
"You've gotta be @#￥% kidding me!"
Hagoromo was on the verge of swearing out loud. Gritting his teeth, he growled, "Mother, can't you see this is Uchiha Funan's scheme? You're the Rabbit Goddess, for heaven's sake!"
"Then step up," Kaguya said calmly. "If you go first, I'll believe you."
"I will—but don't attack me!"
"Fine."
"…"
Hagoromo's expression darkened. He began calculating.
Even though Naruto and Sasuke had technically received an 'order' to attack Funan, there was no way they'd really go for the kill.
Their fighting looked more like an awkward performance.
And yet, step by step, they inched closer to Kaguya and Hagoromo.
Which meant—
Every time they got near, Kaguya and Hagoromo were forced to fend them off with increasingly wild attacks.
Eventually, Hagoromo had enough.
Gritting his teeth, he launched himself toward Kaguya with full force and began to attack in earnest.
Screw it—I'll take care of Mother first!
In just a few exchanges, he had her on the defensive, forced to retreat again and again.
However—
The headache soon arrived.
Uchiha Funan!
That bastard—he actually butted in.
The two of them joined forces… to attack Kaguya!
Are you freaking kidding me?!
The Sage was internally cursing up a storm.
And now, his mother would likely grow even more resentful, completely misinterpreting the situation. Who knew what she might do next?
Sure enough—
Realizing she was being ganged up on, Kaguya's eyes blazed with fury. With a sharp shout, she unleashed an even more powerful barrage.
"Since you've already made your decision, Hagoromo," Funan said coolly, "then stop hesitating. The scheming is over—time for a frontal assault."
Screw you!
The Sage's face darkened.
When facing Uchiha Funan, Kaguya would rather retreat.
But when it came to him—
She fought like she meant to kill him.
The Sage stopped wasting words and charged in again.
What was the point of talking now? Just fight.
In a flash, Kaguya was already wounded.
"AAAHHH!!!"
Enraged by her injury, Kaguya lashed out even more fiercely.
Her attacks became overwhelmingly brutal.
What truly frustrated Hagoromo… was Uchiha Funan.
Had I known it would turn out like this, what the hell was I hesitating for?
Hagoromo was shouting and cursing crazily in his heart.
[Boom!]
At that moment, Funan hurled a Truth-Seeking Orb—
It struck Kaguya and sent her staggering backward.
Then, with an annoyed expression, Funan turned to Naruto and Sasuke.
"Still attacking me? Can't you see what's going on here? Are you blind? Focus on her first!"
"Oh—right, right!"
Naruto quickly nodded.
Both he and Sasuke were bona fide Six Paths–level combatants.
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