Outside the borders of Kirigakure, Jigen had just emerged from a spatial rift when a vicious whip kick, infused with powerful Sage chakra, slammed straight toward his neck!
Boom—!
Caught off guard, he barely managed to raise his left arm to shield the side of his neck.
Even so, the force of the blow launched him like a cannonball, sending him crashing diagonally through the forest.
Trees and boulders were flattened in his wake.
Through the rising dust and shattered stone, Tsunade's figure charged after him. She came crashing down with another brutal Pain Heaven Kick, aimed squarely at the prone Jigen!
Buzz—
A ripple of space flashed—and vanished.
Jigen's figure reappeared atop the high walls of Kirigakure.
Wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth, he looked toward Uchiha Hikari, who was now pinned down by Uchiha Izuna, Ōnoki, and the Third Raikage A.
Izuna, partially armored in his Susanoo, was unleashing a relentless frontal assault.
In the gaps between Izuna's attacks, the Third Raikage darted through the battlefield like a bolt of lightning, striking at Hikari's blind spots.
Ōnoki, that old fossil, floated overhead, constantly shifting position and locking on with Dust Release from long range—forcing Hikari to split his attention and monitor him as well.
Jigen drew a deep breath. The suspicion he'd felt toward Hikari after the surprise attack dissipated.
Uchiha Izuna's power had already surpassed that of most Kage-level shinobi, and the might of his Susanoo needed no further proof.
The Third Raikage's Hell Stab and Ōnoki's Dust Release—Jigen himself would have to be extremely cautious if facing either of them.
Even if Uchiha Hikari was hailed as the strongest weapon, being held at bay by the three of them working in concert was no surprise at all.
Jigen's gaze shifted back to Tsunade, emerging from the cloud of dust.
A flawless Sage Mode. Unmatched physical strength. Chakra pathways as tough as steel.
She might be a woman, but "the Vessel" would change with the loosening of the "Karma" seal. Once his genetic essence fully corrupted and overtook her body, he would eventually return to his perfect form.
And given this woman's relationship with Yamanaka Shinno, once he was revived, there'd be almost no risk at all.
"What a shame. That guy's just too sharp."
Raising his right hand, Jigen summoned a pitch-black chakra rod nearly six feet long.
Instead of retreating, he lunged toward Tsunade, initiating the attack!
Smash—!
The monstrous strength of her Sage-enhanced fist collided with the chakra rod.
Tsunade twisted her fist into a palm and gripped the rod tightly. With a swift step, she dodged his incoming kick.
Then came her left arm—whipping through the air with a sound like thunder—slashing toward Jigen's temple in a vicious arc!
Close-quarters taijutsu? She feared no one!
(Well... not counting a certain beast who could open all Seven Gates and fight her in Sage Mode.)
Buzz—
Jigen's lips curved into a sinister smile.
He let go of the rod without hesitation. Even though Sage chakra was resistant to the rods' chakra-disrupting effect—if one pierced her, it could still disrupt her chakra flow from within.
He ignored the whip-like strike heading for his temple.
Instead, he flicked his right wrist, and countless black rods—each one thinner than a hair thanks to the compression effect of the "Sukunahikona" dojutsu—shot out toward Tsunade's body!
Whoosh—!
In an instant, she vanished in a ripple of space.
A moment later, more than a dozen two-foot-long black rods appeared seemingly out of nowhere, shooting forward with their leftover momentum before embedding themselves deep into the ground.
Thanks to the extraordinary spatial talents granted by the [Multiversal Traveler] trait, Yamanaka Shinno had already developed a new use for the Flying Thunder God Technique.
As long as he had a marked location, he didn't even need to be present—he could pull people or objects to him remotely.
And on Tsunade's lower back—on either side—were two Flying Thunder God marks, complete with anti-tamper seals.
Unless Jigen could react faster than Shinno, there was no way he could harm Tsunade right in front of him.
"If I get hurt, he dies."
Tsunade shoved away Shinno's hand from around her waist.
This bastard—seriously?! Even now, he was sneakily brushing his fingers across her abs?
"To him, Jigen's body is just a vessel. If those rods had struck you, the Karma seal would've been implanted inside you too."
Shinno withdrew his hand, his gaze locked on Jigen as he stated the truth behind the Karma.
Jigen didn't respond. He merely glanced at Shinno coldly once more, his expression flat and devoid of emotion.
That was all the confirmation Shinno needed—this guy clearly had more schemes in play.
"!!!"
Tsunade blinked, then scowled in disgust as she turned to look at Jigen's body, now covered in jet-black markings.
A grown man... trying to possess her body?
Disgusting!
...
Name: Jigen (Ōtsutsuki Isshiki)
Occupation: Parasite / Gardener
Traits: Royal Blood of the Sui-Root Clan (Gold), Black Eye (Gold), Byakugan (Purple), Tiny Monk (Purple), Killer Instinct (Blue), Mad Raving (Blue), Collector (Blue), Seed Nurturer (Green), Arrogance (White), Cling to Life (Gray), Brutality (Gray), Riddled with Scars (Gray)
...
Shinno swept his gaze across the trait interface.
If he remembered correctly, Kaguya Ōtsutsuki's bloodline trait was [Royal Blood of the Kagutsuki Clan]—also gold.
In myths from his previous life, the Sui-nin were a royal family just below the imperial gods of Takamagahara. The Kagutsuki were descended from a Sui-Root princess who married into the royal bloodline. Technically, they were royalty too.
(T/N: I don't know about such things. I didn't watch Boruto, and I didn't find anything on the wiki).
So if their bloodlines were equally noble, why was Isshiki the one harvesting chakra fruits... while Kaguya was only offered up as a sacrifice?
In Shippuden, Kaguya was called a princess—but Ōtsutsuki Momoshiki referred to her as a servant.
"Looks like there's a lot more going on beneath the surface here."
Shinno murmured internally but didn't linger on the bloodline politics.
Purely in terms of traits, Jigen far outclassed Tsunade.
But the "Vessel" body was on the verge of collapse.
In this "Karma: Phase One" state, Jigen couldn't unleash even a fraction of his true power.
And Tsunade's [Natural Sage Body] was a direct counter to him—that's why she'd been able to overpower him just now.
Knowing her fighting style all too well, he had tried to use his own fake death as bait to implant the Karma into her.
Too bad for him—Shinno's arrival once again foiled his plan.
Still, even after so many failures, Jigen wasn't panicking at all.
Which could only mean... he had set his sights on Kushina next?
"Can't we just kill him? Even a corpse can be studied."
Tsunade loathed schemers—and she especially loathed those who dared target her body.
If Jigen didn't die soon, she swore her lymph nodes were going to clog up from the stress!
"Yeah, sounds good to me."
Shinno chuckled softly. He wasn't a fan of shadowy manipulations either.
And he really didn't like people making moves on those close to him.
Boom—!
Behind Jigen, the Third Raikage A—working in perfect sync with Izuna—landed a thunderous punch on Hikari's half-formed Susanoo.
Uchiha Hikari twisted in mid-air, pulling one of the black rods that Jigen had just thrown, narrowly avoiding Ōnoki's Dust Release: Detachment of the Primitive World Technique.
He vanished and reappeared beside Jigen in a flash, murmuring under his breath:
"Looks like your plan failed."
"A mature plan always comes with multiple contingen—"
Squelch—
Before he could finish, a black rod pierced straight through his heart.
A line of blood-tears trailed from the corner of Hikari's eye as Amaterasu's black flames erupted, engulfing Jigen completely.
"Traitor! You all deserve to die!"
Above him, a distinctive Ōtsutsuki horn jutted from Jigen's forehead. Despite being wrapped in the unquenchable flames of Amaterasu, he turned violently toward Hikari.
"I never said I was on your side."
Uchiha Hikari smiled.
With a flick of his hand, Shinno activated the Flying Thunder God seal on Hikari's body—pulling her instantly to his side.
----------------
Pls Drop some Power Stones
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