Chapter 303 – Ōtsutsuki Genshiki, You Damn Bastard!
"What exactly are you doing here?"
High above the clouds, Kaguya's voice carried through the void, filled with suspicion.
Gen hovered in midair, his gaze locked on the sealed dimensional rift before him — within it, a massive Ten-Tails slumbered.
Kaguya couldn't see what he saw, but the tension in her voice betrayed her unease.
"The whole shinobi world is already in chaos," she said. "Those three could break free any moment. And you're just standing here doing nothing?"
Gen chuckled softly, turning his hand slightly. Wisps of dark chakra swirled lazily between his fingers.
"Don't worry," he said calmly. "My God tree clone is keeping them entertained. Nothing they do can escape my eyes."
He flexed his hand, the chakra pulsing like black firelight.
"I can't push them too hard yet. They still have a Ten-Tails of their own, remember? And besides…"
"Isshiki has a few things worth taking for myself."
"Isshiki?"
Kaguya's expression shifted instantly — she understood his intent.
This man planned to loot Isshiki's hidden realm, to strip him bare and leave him with nothing.
Morally questionable? Absolutely.
But morality was a foreign word to the Ōtsutsuki.
They lived by nothing but the "law of the clan" — and Gen had shattered that law long ago.
He had already driven the entire clan insane.
For him, the word rule was just another kind of lie.
Even Kaguya, once a goddess, found herself both wary and exasperated by him.
"Fine," she sighed. "You never cared about rules anyway. But even if you want to take it, it won't be easy. Isshiki's dimension is heavily sealed."
Gen smiled faintly.
"Oh, I know. But you're forgetting something."
"I've already extracted a fragment of his Karma Seal."
The black chakra in his palm pulsed violently, folding and bending space around him like rippling glass.
"I have to admit, these 'Karma' marks are fascinating things," he mused.
"They don't just let one revive — they carry information. Memories. Power."
Kaguya narrowed her eyes.
"You mean… you can read them?"
"Not just that." His smirk deepened.
"They're pure energy — perfect for feeding the God Tree, or myself."
Kaguya fell silent.
Watching him tear through dimensions so casually was enough to make even her uneasy.
Even now, he seemed calm, composed, even gentle—
but she knew better.
She remembered the carnage he'd once unleashed when pushed too far.
A storm in human form, born of Ōtsutsuki blood and Hagoromo's philosophy twisted beyond recognition.
"Please," she murmured under her breath,
"don't ever turn that madness on me…"
Because if she ever fell into his hands, not even Hagoromo himself could save her.
---
"It's open."
Gen's quiet words snapped her out of her thoughts.
Before them, the air itself began to shatter — layer by layer — until space folded like shards of fractured glass.
From within the rift poured an overwhelming pressure, thick as molten metal.
Then came the roar.
ROOOAAAR—!
A sound so deep and violent it seemed to shake reality itself.
The dimensional walls quivered, light distorting wildly — and yet, somehow, the chaos didn't leak beyond the rift.
"Hah. Trying to keep this hidden from the rest of the world?"
Gen tilted his head, his tone half amused, half disdainful.
Kaguya's eyes went wide.
"You… actually found it? That's Isshiki's Ten-Tails?!"
"Not quite."
A slow grin curved across Gen's lips.
"You'll have to change the name now."
In one smooth motion, he stepped forward—
and vanished into the rift.
The space sealed behind him with a thunderous snap.
Inside, darkness stretched in every direction, heavy and oppressive.
Gen hovered above the vast, barren plane, looking down upon the monster below.
It was enormous, its body gleaming like polished stone, a single Rinnegan eye staring up at him.
Unlike the grotesque, tree-like statue of the Gedo Mazo, this creature was disturbingly alive.
Its form was perfect, symmetrical—almost elegant.
But its chakra… its chakra could drown worlds.
The beast shifted uneasily, its gaze locked on him, raw killing intent radiating from its form.
Gen looked down at it and smiled faintly.
"From now on," he said quietly,
"you're not Isshiki's Ten-Tails anymore."
"You're mine."
---
The Ten-Tails roared again, its voice splitting the void.
It rose to its full height, muscles trembling, the ground beneath it shattering from the sheer force of its chakra.
And then, it swung.
A colossal fist — the size of mountains — hurtled toward Gen, tearing through the air like a hurricane.
The entire realm trembled.
"Tch."
Gen's smirk didn't fade.
"So this is how you greet your new master?"
A low hum escaped Gen's throat.
In the next instant, a blinding golden light erupted from his hand — radiant and absolute, like a newborn sun tearing through the dim void.
It wasn't just light — it was a blade.
An edge of pure divinity.
The sword cleaved downward, its brilliance cutting through the darkness and striking the Ten-Tails squarely across its massive form.
ROAAAR—!
The monster howled in agony, its body convulsing under the force of the blow.
A deep, jagged wound split its chest open, sending streams of chakra bursting into the air like molten flame.
The beast staggered, its colossal tails thrashing wildly in a desperate attempt to regain balance.
With a thunderous crash, it fell onto the ashen ground of its sealed realm, carving deep scars into the earth beneath it.
Its single Rinnegan trembled — and for the first time, something close to fear flickered within it.
It glanced down. One of its massive arms had been severed clean.
Gen hovered in the air above, his expression unreadable.
"Strange, isn't it?" he mused.
"The other Tailed Beasts can develop consciousness, even individuality. Yet the Ten-Tails…"
His eyes narrowed, voice turning cold.
"It's nothing but instinct. A beast that only knows to destroy. Why is that?"
Kaguya's voice echoed faintly in the void.
"I couldn't tell you," she admitted, frowning slightly.
"To us Ōtsutsuki, the Ten-Tails were never more than tools — pets, if you like. Dangerous, yes, but necessary."
"Tools that could one day devour their masters," Gen said softly.
Kaguya didn't answer.
It was true. Every Ten-Tails was both a weapon and a curse — terrifying, yet indispensable.
"Still," she said at last, "can you actually handle it?"
Gen gave a soft chuckle, eyes glinting.
"You underestimate me, Kaguya."
Before she could reply, the Ten-Tails roared again.
Dark chakra condensed into a sphere — red and black, pulsing violently.
The air itself quaked as the orb expanded, glowing with a power that could obliterate everything it touched.
"A Tailed Beast Bomb, huh?"
Gen looked up calmly, lips curling into a thin, mocking smile.
"Funny. My God Tree can use that trick too. I know exactly how strong it is… and it's wasted on me."
He raised his hand.
Golden light flooded his body, the sword in his grip elongating until it pierced the heavens.
Within seconds, the blade had grown over a kilometer long, humming with divine resonance.
"If you insist on being rude," he said,
"then I won't hold back either. I'm sure my God Tree will enjoy your flavor."
He swung the sword.
Sage Art — Golden Wheel: Rebirth Explosion!
---
The Ten-Tails bellowed in defiance and launched its Tailed Beast Bomb.
The two forces met in midair.
For a heartbeat, there was silence.
Then—
BOOOOOOM!
Light devoured everything.
The sealed realm trembled violently as the golden blade and black sphere collided, tearing rifts through the fabric of space.
Mountains shattered.
The sky cracked open.
Black holes folded upon one another as if the entire dimension were collapsing in on itself.
And through it all, Gen stood untouched — floating amidst chaos, calm as a god.
The Ten-Tails, however, had been flung backward, its hide lacerated and steaming.
Even so, the beast refused to die. Its chakra flared again, wild and primal.
"Stubborn thing," Gen muttered.
Kaguya's voice returned, quiet and tense.
"This one's stronger than I expected. Perhaps you should summon your own Ten-Tails to fight it."
Gen shook his head.
"No need. Summoning mine isn't the point. I need to send this one into my domain instead."
He gave the massive golden sword a small flick of his wrist — and it vanished into dust.
"You're stopping?" Kaguya asked, frowning.
Gen didn't answer at first. His gaze had shifted—
past the Ten-Tails, into the depths of the space itself.
"There…" he whispered. "That energy…"
His eyes narrowed as his senses extended deeper, past the crumbling folds of reality, until they brushed against something ancient — something vast.
It wasn't alive, yet it pulsed faintly with vitality.
It was both dead and eternal.
And within that silence… was a power that even Gen could fear.
"The remains of Ōtsutsuki Shibai," he murmured.
A slow grin spread across his face.
"So that's where you were hiding. Perfect… this is exactly what I came for."
"The fuel for my 'Path to Godhood.'"
Kaguya frowned.
"What are you talking about? Are you not going to finish the Ten-Tails first?"
"Oh, I'll deal with it," Gen said lightly.
"But tell me something first, Kaguya — do you know of Shibai Ōtsutsuki?"
Her eyes widened.
"You know that name? He was said to have transcended even godhood itself — to become a concept, not a being! You—"
Gen's lips curled.
"Then perhaps you'll get to meet him soon."
He looked back down at the roaring Ten-Tails. His expression hardened, voice dropping to a chilling whisper.
"But first… you'll serve as nourishment for my God Tree."
The air warped.
Time twisted.
Golden light exploded around him, scattering across the void like divine rain.
The Ten-Tails screamed, its body shattering under the storm of radiance.
Limb by limb, it was torn apart — its flesh reduced to energy, its Rinnegan dimming in terror.
"B-Beast…" Gen's voice thundered.
"Know your place."
---
"Ahhh! Damn it!"
Far away — in the physical world — Isshiki Ōtsutsuki suddenly roared in fury.
His chakra spiked wildly, shaking the entire dimension.
Even Momoshiki and Urashiki stared at him, startled.
"What the hell's gotten into you?" Momoshiki asked sharply.
"Yeah," Urashiki added. "You're acting like a madman."
"It's him!" Isshiki spat through clenched teeth, eyes blazing.
"That damned Genshiki — he broke into my Tenkū no Mikado space! That bastard shattered my barrier!"
"What?!" Momoshiki froze.
"Impossible. The Heavenly Dominion was forged from Kekkei Mōra itself! Even Genshiki doesn't possess—"
He stopped mid-sentence, realization dawning.
Urashiki's eyes went wide as well.
They all knew the truth — Genshiki hadn't yet formed his own Kekkei Mōra.
At least, not the last time they'd seen him.
To evolve one required countless years and an unfathomable number of God fruit.
No one, not even among the Ōtsutsuki, had ever achieved it so quickly.
And yet—
"He has," Isshiki whispered hoarsely.
"That damned bastard has already surpassed the threshold."
Momoshiki and Urashiki exchanged a long, heavy look.
Then, slowly, they both lifted their gazes toward the heavens.
Through that endless void, beyond time and distance,
they looked toward their ancestral world —
toward the Ōtsutsuki homeland.
And for the first time, all three of them shared the same thought:
"The 'Path to Godhood'… works better than we ever imagined."
"Those old fools in the clan… they knew. They've done this before."
Their eyes glowed with a strange light —
not fear, but hunger.
---