Toneri Otsutsuki, brimming with confidence, watched the massive golden blade of Shinji's Susanoo descend. For the first time, panic flashed in his eyes.
Instinctively, he unleashed a repulsive force in a desperate attempt to push back Shinji's complete-form Susanoo.
However, his hastily summoned force was no match for the full might of Susanoo's slashing strike. It only slightly slowed the golden blade, buying him a mere breath or two to dodge.
With a flicker, Toneri narrowly evaded the falling blade, his eyes still tinged with shock and doubt.
He turned to glare at Shinji, his fury intensifying!
Boom!
Before he could counterattack, a earth-shaking roar erupted behind him!
Whirling around, Toneri saw that nearly a quarter of the Otsutsuki branch family's ancestral castle, passed down through generations, had been cleaved apart by Shinji's Susanoo blade!
In an instant, all he could see were collapsing halls and crumbling walls!
Thanks to the giant Tenseigan, the Otsutsuki castle was supposed to be impregnable. After all, in their plan to destroy the world, they intended to use the giant Tenseigan's power to crash the Moon into the ninja world, annihilating all life on its surface.
They were confident their castle could survive such a cataclysmic impact, a testament to the strength of the giant Tenseigan's protective barrier.
Unfortunately, this battle was taking place inside the barrier. Without its protection, the castle's mere enchantments were laughably inadequate against Shinji's complete-form Susanoo.
"Damn you!"
Witnessing the damage to his family's castle, Toneri's face contorted with rage.
Seizing the moment, Shinji unhesitatingly urged Susanoo to deliver another slash—not at Toneri, but at the Otsutsuki castle once more.
"You dare!"
Furious and frantic, Toneri couldn't afford to hold back. He unleashed his full repulsive force, simultaneously deactivating the protective barrier and hurling Shinji's Susanoo far from the castle.
With the barrier gone, Shinji and his Susanoo were flung clear, far beyond the castle's perimeter.
A smirk tugged at Shinji's lips.
Having gauged how much Toneri valued the castle, he had devised this method to escape the barrier.
Of course, his actions weren't just for himself but also to help Neji, who was similarly trapped inside, to break free.
In that brief moment when the barrier was down, Neji seized the chance to escape, his figure swiftly vanishing into the forest. However, the lingering Tenseigan chakra on him was too conspicuous, and this distance wasn't enough to evade Toneri's pursuit.
As Shinji and Neji—whether passively or actively—exited the barrier's range, the deactivated barrier reactivated.
Toneri, floating in the air, passed through the barrier to confront Shinji's Susanoo, glaring venomously as he began forming hand signs.
Boom!
In an instant, the ground trembled, and a colossal stone statue, rivaling Shinji's Susanoo in size, rose from the earth, its hands seizing Susanoo's arms.
Shinji was slightly startled. "The statue of Hamura Otsutsuki?!"
In the distance, Neji, sprinting through the forest, occasionally glanced back, his face filled with horror.
Behind him, the two titans—Susanoo and the ancestral statue—engaged in the most primal, direct, and brutal combat!
Trading blows, each strike shook the earth, evoking awe and a surge of adrenaline in any onlooker!
"Why did it come to this?"
Neji averted his gaze, a growing sense of dread welling within him.
This entire incident was his fault. His failure to control the "biological exoskeleton" had alerted the Otsutsuki branch family, leading to this chaos.
The thought that his mistake had endangered both himself and the Leader, and might even hasten the Otsutsuki's world-ending calamity, filled him with overwhelming regret and guilt!
Boom!
At that moment, a deafening crash rang out behind him!
Neji whipped around, shocked to see the ancestral statue cleaved in half at the waist by the Leader's Susanoo!
"That's…"
For Neji, who had been summoned by the soul of Hamura Otsutsuki, the statue resembling Hamura held a profound significance beyond what others could comprehend.
Seeing it collapse in ruins stirred a complex mix of emotions within him!
In the moment Neji was stunned, Shinji, now free of the statue, urged Susanoo to soar above Neji, grabbing him in its hand without a word and flying toward the illusory passage.
Neji, clutched by Susanoo, glanced back to see Toneri, livid with rage, in hot pursuit!
Turning back, Neji shouted to Shinji, positioned in Susanoo's diamond-shaped head, "My lord, I'm so sorry…"
Shinji cut him off. "No time for that—escape first!"
Destroying the Otsutsuki castle and shattering the ancestral statue made it seem like Shinji held the upper hand, but only he knew his true situation.
Compared to Toneri, backed by the giant Tenseigan with its near-infinite chakra, Shinji's chakra was rapidly depleting in this prolonged battle. He could still hold on for now, but if it became a stalemate, he would inevitably lose!
In the chase, neither side held back.
The journey from the Otsutsuki castle to the illusory passage, which would've taken one or two days on foot, took them just one or two hours.
Reaching the passage, Shinji didn't engage Toneri. He deactivated Susanoo, grabbed Neji, and leaped into the passage.
Toneri followed closely, flashing in after them.
Soon, Shinji and Neji reached the veil.
Karin, who had been guarding the spot, saw their hurried demeanor and knew something had gone wrong. She immediately unleashed her Adamantine Sealing Chains, opening a breach in the veil created by the giant Tenseigan.
Seeing Karin on the other side, seamlessly opening the breach, Shinji, still running, said, "We're charging through!"
"Yes!"
Neji nodded.
Toneri, hot on their heels, saw a breach in the sealing barrier created by the giant Tenseigan and his pupils constricted. "How is this possible!?"
Realizing this was how Shinji and Neji had infiltrated the Moon, he didn't slow down. Reaching out, he clenched his fist, channeling the giant Tenseigan's power to try closing the breach, trapping Shinji and Neji on this side of the veil.