It was only now that the other people in the great hall noticed the sudden, dramatic change.
Konan's pupils abruptly constricted, and everyone else's faces were filled with shock and suspicion.
They hadn't even perceived how 'Shadow' moved behind Nagato, nor did they detect any sign of an impending attack.
It was as if that hand had appeared there by simply crossing space.
However, what terrified them more was the realization that they couldn't move!
Unbeknownst to them, the normal shadows beneath their feet had become viscous, wrapping around their ankles. A cold aura sealed their Chakra and bodies.
They were left standing rigidly in place, unable to raise even a single finger. Only the shock and fury reflected in their trembling pupils betrayed the overwhelming turmoil in their hearts.
Nagato was in the same state.
"Do you remember?"
A cold voice, like a poisonous snake flicking its tongue, sounded right against the back of Nagato's ear.
'Shadow' stepped out of the shadow behind him, the arm that had pierced his chest remaining utterly steady.
"I once told you."
'Shadow's' tone carried a condescending pity: "You, Nagato, are merely a pathetic vessel carrying the power of others."
"It was my arrival, my gift of 'choice' to you, that altered your tragically predetermined fate."
"But, it seems you have forgotten."
'Shadow's' tone suddenly became playfully frivolous: "Whose are these 'Eyes of God' you rely on?"
"No, you remember. You just refuse to think about it, unwilling to admit your weakness. You need these eyes that don't belong to you."
"But then again, in the face of endless greed and inflated ambition, everyone willingly tears off the hypocritical facade used to decorate their inner self, don't they?"
"With beauty before them, fidelity is cast aside; with power in hand, duty is forgotten. There are too many temptations in this world that can easily rip away the last shred of human decency."
"When people stand truly naked, what is the most honest nature revealed? Take a guess."
'Shadow' leaned his face close to Nagato's shoulder, the shadow of his hood nearly touching the cheek. He spoke two words in a volume only the two of them could hear:
"Fear."
The moment the word fell, 'Shadow' extended his other hand. His five fingers, like hooks, clamped onto the trembling Rinnegan and exerted slight pressure...
Puff!
The muffled sound of flesh and blood being forcibly ripped and peeled away echoed clearly in the dead silent space, truly terrifying.
'Shadow' dug out one of Nagato's Rinnegan. The empty socket of the right eye was left a bloody void, from which blood flowed.
Without hesitation, 'Shadow' reached for Nagato's remaining left eye, clearly intending to take both of these "Eyes of God"...
However, just as his fingertips were about to touch the second Rinnegan.
Boom!!
A deafening roar suddenly came from the upper side.
The hard rock wall was instantly pierced and shattered by a terrifying force as if it were paper, and debris poured down.
A black shadow, moving faster than the limit of visual capture, tearing through the air with a shriek, shot out from the break in the rock wall.
Its target was clearly Nagato and 'Shadow' behind him.
It was a sharp, pitch-black rod, causing Nagato's trembling pupils to shrink.
How is that possible?!
'Shadow's' attack abruptly paused, and he withdrew his hand without hesitation.
Pssh!
There was another muffled sound of flesh being pierced.
The black rod passed through Nagato's abdomen without resistance. 'Shadow's' figure retreated rapidly like a phantom, narrowly avoiding the sharp edge of the black rod, and merged into the shadow.
The black rod grazed the edge of 'Shadow's' shadow, finally sinking deep into the rock wall far behind with a metallic clang, vibrating and humming slightly.
'Shadow's' figure re-materialized a few meters away, still standing on one of the Gedō Mazō's fingers.
He looked up toward the gap blasted open by the black rod.
A figure was seen passing through the gap and descending into the dim space. His robes fluttered, his expression utterly blank, containing only the indifference of one looking down at ants.
—Isshiki Ōtsutsuki.
His gaze merely swept across the Gedō Mazō's massive and hideous body without the slightest ripple of emotion.
This empty shell of the Ten-Tails, drained of energy, was worthless to him.
After all, he possessed a more potent, growing Ten-Tails infant, whose malleability and future potential far surpassed this defective product.
In fact, he had little interest in Nagato's Rinnegan either.
It was merely a defective product with impure bloodline.
However...
When Isshiki Ōtsutsuki's gaze landed on 'Shadow,' his eyes narrowed slightly, and his brow furrowed subtly.
"Whose creation are you?" he asked.
'Shadow's' body was essentially similar to Black Zetsu, and also to the Tailed Beasts.
Yin Release represents spiritual power; Yin Release Techniques can create form out of the unseen.
Yang Release represents physical power; Yang Release Techniques can inject life into form.
The combination of the two is Yin-Yang Release, the technique of creating life.
Kaguya Ōtsutsuki and the Sage of Six Paths created Black Zetsu and the Tailed Beasts in this manner.
However, Ninjutsu was a concept entirely pioneered by the Sage of Six Paths. The Ōtsutsuki Clan had no understanding of Ninjutsu.
With their innate bloodline and Rinnegan, Ninjutsu was meaningless to them.
They relied more on their naturally possessed Dōjutsu (eye techniques) and power, directly utilizing the great power within their bloodline, much like the later, crudely powerful Kaguya Ōtsutsuki.
In terms of the application of "techniques," they were far inferior to the Sage of Six Paths, and even less skilled than most ninjas. They also disdained studying such things.
The Isshiki Ōtsutsuki now was not the same one from the original work who would actively study scientific ninja tools.
However, while Isshiki Ōtsutsuki didn't understand Yin-Yang Release or the principles of "techniques," this didn't mean he couldn't perceive its essence.
—A creation, a being created by the "Yin-Yang Release Technique."
This was powerful strength that could only be mastered after consuming the God Tree's Fruit.
But how was this possible?
Isshiki Ōtsutsuki's expression became serious.
He had thought that the fellow clan member who planted the 'Kāma' was merely an ordinary member of the main family, or perhaps just a forgotten branch family member on this planet.
But now, the mysterious "creation" before him, and the creator it represented, had a power level that far exceeded his estimation.
"Did that woman Kaguya secretly leave behind an contingency plan before she was sealed?" Isshiki Ōtsutsuki's mind raced.
After all, as far as he knew, the only one on this planet who had consumed the God Tree's Fruit was Kaguya Ōtsutsuki.
However, before he could sort out his thoughts, "Shadow" spoke.
"Lord Isshiki."
'Shadow's' tone was appropriately polite, even harboring a hint of amusement: "I greet you on behalf of my Master."
"However, please do not misunderstand. I am not a creation of Kaguya Ōtsutsuki. That would be an insult to me."
Hearing the other party immediately state his name, Isshiki Ōtsutsuki's pupils abruptly narrowed.
The other party not only knew him but also explicitly denied any association with that woman?
Was it true or false?
"Stop playing games here!"
Isshiki Ōtsutsuki's tone suddenly turned cold: "Since you know me, you should be aware that the prohibition of senseless killing between clan members is an iron rule!"
"Tell me, who exactly is your Master? And what is your purpose for being here?"
'Shadow' shook his head, seemingly with a trace of pity: "It seems you have indeed forgotten very thoroughly, Lord Isshiki."
"I know you have another Ten-Tails infant and urgently need an Ōtsutsuki clan member to sacrifice and feed it, so let us be honest with each other."
"But regretfully, now is not the time for you to remember my Master's true name, and I will not allow anyone to obstruct my Master's predetermined plan, not even you."
Forgotten?
Forgotten what?
Looking at this creation who seemed so familiar with him, a strong sense of unease inexplicably welled up in Isshiki's heart.
This feeling hadn't surfaced in a very long time.
"Hmph, trickery and deception!"
All his unease transformed into anger. Isshiki Ōtsutsuki lost his patience.
His figure vanished from the spot like a phantom without warning.
In the next instant, he appeared right in front of "Shadow," and one hand reached directly for the shadow's neck.
However, 'Shadow's' figure leaned back, sinking into the shadow behind him.
Only a slightly mocking voice lingered clearly in Isshiki's ear.
"Farewell, Lord Isshiki," he said. "I eagerly await the moment my Master meets you again."
"I believe he will definitively kill you. You will not have another chance to cling to life."
As the voice faded, 'Shadow's' aura, along with the mass of shadow, completely vanished as if it had never existed.
Simultaneously, the shadow that had confined the Akatsuki members also quickly receded like a tide, dissolving without a trace.
"Ugh!"
The moment the restraint was lifted, Nagato let out an uncontrollable, painful grunt. His body went limp, and he dropped to one knee, clutching his empty right eye socket.
Konan's face changed drastically. She flew to Nagato's side, then looked at Isshiki Ōtsutsuki in the distance, her gaze full of caution.
The other Akatsuki members also regained their ability to move, staggering to stand, their expressions varied.
There was the shock of surviving a disaster, anger at 'Shadow's' betrayal, but mostly...
An undisguised apprehension and gravity as they looked at Isshiki Ōtsutsuki, who was radiating a terrifying aura due to his fury.
Jūzō Biwa, the most impatient among them, spoke with caution: "Hey! You..."
However, he had barely uttered two words.
Pssh! Pssh!
Dozens of sharp black spikes instantly shot out from beneath Jūzō Biwa's feet, moving faster than the limits of reaction!
These black spikes pierced through his feet, legs, abdomen, chest, and even his head, shattering his Kubikiribōchō (Executioner's Blade) alongside him!
Jūzō Biwa couldn't even let out a scream. His body was impaled and lifted by the dense black spikes like a broken doll, all life force completely extinguished.
Blood poured down the black spikes, quickly pooling into a blinding puddle of dark red on the ground.
A highly skilled S-rank rogue ninja was killed so inexplicably.
The whole process was so fast it made one's scalp tingle; the others hadn't even grasped what happened!
Isshiki Ōtsutsuki hadn't even moved a finger; it was as if he had casually crushed a noisy insect.
Although he possessed the inherent arrogance of the Ōtsutsuki Clan, he actually enjoyed displaying his grace.
In the original work, he wasn't angered even when his subordinate overturned his meal table.
Furthermore, after using his space-time Ninjutsu to break into Naruto's house, he even apologized to Naruto for not changing his slippers.
Under normal circumstances, he might have used gentle methods to subdue these people, employing both coercion and kindness, as he currently needed people to handle some trivial matters for him.
Unfortunately, that last remaining trace of grace had been completely replaced by rage due to 'Shadow's' actions and words.
In thousands of years, only that woman Kaguya had provoked him so greatly, and now there was another!
At the same time, he was unwilling to admit that the creation's words had filled him with a sense of dread and fear!
Too familiar!
That creation was too familiar with him!
If the creation belonged to Kaguya Ōtsutsuki, it would be understandable, but he knew absolutely nothing about that creation's aura!
He was intimately familiar with the powers of his fellow clan members.
He suspected his memory might have been tampered with.
Therefore...
"Submission?"
Isshiki Ōtsutsuki slightly tilted his head, sweeping his cold eyes over the remaining Akatsuki members who instantly froze.
"Or, death?"
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