"You have been asking quite a few questions. Now it is your turn to answer some of mine."
"What questions?" Hagoromo Otsutsuki asked with a furrowed brow.
"I want to know all the information about the Otsutsuki clan. Tell me everything you know, and then I will answer your questions."
Ryun's question clearly caught Hagoromo off guard. He pondered for a moment before shaking his head and replying.
"Although I bear the Otsutsuki name, I know very little about this clan. I only know they come from beyond the heavens, view all living beings as mere cultivation fields. They are a wicked existence, just like Mother."
Hagoromo Otsutsuki was essentially a native of this world. The intelligence he possessed about the Otsutsuki clan might not even be as much as what Ryun knew.
According to Black Zetsu's memories, during the time before Kaguya Otsutsuki was sealed, she had not revealed much specific information about the Otsutsuki clan to Hagoromo.
Hamura Otsutsuki, having seen parts of Kaguya's memories and staying with her on the moon for a long time, might have known more. Unfortunately, he was already dead.
Hagoromo's answer left Ryun very dissatisfied.
"Where is their home planet? How many are there in total? How many Six Paths level powerhouses do they have? What is the clan leader's strength? Who is the strongest among them? You do not know any of this?"
These words made Hagoromo pause again. After a long moment, he ultimately shook his head.
"They are too far away from the Shinobi World. For the hundreds of years I existed, we have always coexisted peacefully. I had almost forgotten about them until you mentioned it."
Hagoromo believed that as long as they did not provoke the Shinobi World, he need not worry, and he had no desire to proactively provoke those beings.
"Complacent in times of peace, forgetting potential dangers. I overestimated your magnanimity and foresight."
This was the second time Ryun had spoken disrespectfully to him. However, Hagoromo merely gave him a cold glance and said sternly.
"I founded the Ninshu, passed on chakra to the people. Is that not enough? I have been dead for a thousand years. Any future crises of this world should be handled by the people of later generations."
"Heh." Ryun suddenly laughed.
"What are you laughing at?"
"You know you are already dead, and you are unwilling to bear responsibility anymore. So why appear now? Why give chakra to those two and have them deal with me?" As Ryun spoke, his expression darkened.
"You, like Mother, and Uchiha Madara. You all covet the Ten-Tails and the chakra of shinobi. Is there any problem with me having Naruto and Sasuke stop you? I will not stand by and watch you destroy the Shinobi World!" The Sage of Six Paths declared righteously.
"You just said crises of later generations should be handled by later generations. Now you say you won't stand by and watch me destroy the Shinobi World."
Ryun sneered and continued his mockery. "Does the Ten-Tails belong to you? Does the Shinobi World belong to you? Don't you feel ashamed spouting such high-sounding words?"
His intention in bringing up the Otsutsuki clan was to convey to the Sage that his goal in taking the Ten-Tails was to deal with potential external enemies in the future.
But whether the other party failed to grasp this point, believed the so-called external enemies did not exist, or simply did not trust Ryun, his resolute attitude made it clear he would not let Ryun succeed. At this point, there was nothing left to say.
"You insolent brat. You have been disrespectful repeatedly. Do you truly believe no one can discipline you?"
Hagoromo Otsutsuki slammed his Sage Staff heavily on the ground. His aura erupted explosively, a powerful, invisible pressure instantly crushing down upon Ryun. The very heavens and earth changed color under the influence of his presence.
Ryun directly ignored the effects of the other's aura and said disdainfully, "Aren't you just afraid I will control this world? Afraid your two useless sons might never have a chance to rise again? A thousand years of reincarnation, being the protagonists for a millennium. Isn't it time for a change now?"
Upon hearing this, Hagoromo Otsutsuki's face changed dramatically. He never expected Ryun to know the secret of the reincarnations. Stunned and horrified, he instinctively looked at Ryun.
"Eternal Night."
A trail of crimson tears of blood quietly flowed from Ryun's left eye.
The moment he saw this, Hagoromo Otsutsuki knew the fight had already begun.
But as a black sun appeared, not a single trace of light remained in the world before him. Extreme darkness assaulted him, and his vision completely vanished.
The moment 'Eternal Night' successfully activated, Ryun's entire left eye dimmed. A sensation of pain spread, and in the next moment, his left eye quietly closed.
Ryun instinctively covered his painful eye, his expression showing discomfort.
However, when he saw the Sage of Six Paths opposite him, forced to close both eyes, his face filled with panic, Ryun couldn't help but laugh.
"Damn it! What have you done?" Hagoromo Otsutsuki was both shocked and furious.
If Ryun's ocular jutsu merely blocked vision, he wouldn't have panicked. But the fatal part was he found he couldn't use his Rinnegan ocular jutsus at all. Even the ocular power within was completely sealed.
"What have I done?"
As Ryun spoke, his whole body shunshined forward, his speed incredible.
Hagoromo Otsutsuki didn't hesitate to raise his Sage Staff to block the incoming Truth-Seeking Black Sword.
Clang!
A clear metallic collision sound reached Hagoromo's ears clearly. Even without his eyes, he still possessed Sage perception. In the next moment, he pushed back with force, repelling Ryun, and swung his staff fiercely towards Ryun's head.
But when his attack hit Ryun, it was as if he struck air.
Hagoromo couldn't use ocular jutsus, but Ryun's right eye intangibility could still be used.
As Hagoromo looked on in shock, Ryun seized the opportunity and precisely thrust his Truth-Seeking Black Sword into the arm holding the staff.
With a dull thud, the Sage Staff fell to the ground.
This Truth-Seeking Black Sword was formed from Sage Power, Rinnegan ocular power, and Ten-Tails power. The moment the black sword pierced Hagoromo Otsutsuki, it was equivalent to crippling his arm. The terrifying foreign power even affected the chakra within his body through his arm, causing a fatal flaw in his subsequent defense.
After over a dozen exchanges of taijutsu, the moment Ryun punched through Hagoromo Otsutsuki's heart, the latter also desperately managed to slap Ryun's abdomen.
He knew Ryun's body would materialize when attacking, so the undefended heart weakness was intentionally exposed.
His hand was imbued with the chakra of the nine Tailed Beasts. Hagoromo Otsutsuki attempted to use this as a trigger, coordinating from inside and outside to forcibly pull the nine Tailed Beasts out of Ryun's body, causing massive backlash to this Ten-Tails Jinchuriki.
But he underestimated Ryun's abilities. In the path of fuinjutsu, Ryun had progressed very far. If his Jinchuriki seal could be broken so easily with one palm, wouldn't nearly twenty years of diligent research into fuinjutsu be meaningless?
If this palm had struck Uchiha Madara or Obito, it might have easily separated the nine Tailed Beasts. Unfortunately, Ryun always acted prudently and cautiously. The seal he used to imprison the Ten-Tails was not only impregnable, but he had even forcibly erased the consciousnesses of the nine Tailed Beasts.
Even if the Sage of Six Paths had actually broken the seal with his palm, he still couldn't have ensnared Ryun, because the nine Tailed Beasts no longer had consciousness to actively cooperate.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
📖 Like the story? Read 120 chapters ahead!
🔗 patreon.com/atomelectron
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━