Isshiki was the first to erupt into action.
Straight black markings spread across his entire body.
The gentle, composed aura he had before underwent a complete transformation, becoming as cold and indifferent as a god looking down on all living beings from on high, and as aggressively predatory as an apex hunter.
Otsutsuki Isshiki had been residing within Jigen's body for a thousand years. Even if he was dissatisfied with this body, the conditions were what they were, the situation was what it was, Isshiki had to find ways to increase his strength regardless.
And so, this current form came into being, "Karma: Stage One"
In a human form, he was beginning to unleash Otsutsuki Isshiki's true power.
"Do you really think that just because I haven't joined the war or made a move against you, it means I'm afraid of you?!"
"Ryosuke! Don't get so full of yourself!"
Isshiki locked his gaze onto Ryosuke.
"If I wanted to kill you, right now I would..."
Time stopped.
Ryosuke shoved the dining table aside. The splattering steak, the spilled red wine, and Star Platinum appeared in front of Isshiki.
"Just as expected of an old loner who was betrayed by his companions and then lived alone for a thousand years."
Ryosuke stared at Otsutsuki Isshiki.
"You really do talk too much."
Star Platinum took a deep breath.
"Ora ora ora ora!"
Star Platinum was exerting force, and Ryosuke naturally wasn't going to stand idle.
He spread his palm.
Strands of golden ripples gathered in front of Ryosuke, forming thick, dazzling ripple crystals one after another.
Buzz!!!
The time-frozen world trembled slightly.
The ripple crystals continued to churn, condense, and compress. As this process went on, the stopped-time space around them was gradually dyed a pale gold, with the ripple crystals at the center.
"Hoo~"
Ryosuke let out a soft breath.
This was the fourth stage of Ripple Breathing.
The ripples had broken free from plasma states like lightning and fire, completed their ascension and solidification, and become true crystals that existed in the world.
Aside from the usual ripple abilities such as power amplification and life healing, the most crucial new ability gained after crystallization was, Resonance.
Through continuous compression and refinement, the crystals could resonate with the surrounding world, tightly linking together, and thus unleash various divine techniques,
Such as summoning flames, ice, and raging winds.
Or like the former White Snake Sage, causing localized earth-shaking tremors and overturning yin and yang.
Of course, for Ryosuke at his current level, techniques of this tier merely enriched his tactical arsenal to a certain extent. When facing truly powerful enemies, their significance was limited.
Considering that his opponent was a pure-blooded member of the Otsutsuki clan…
Ryosuke decided to give him the respect he deserved.
He clenched the ripple crystal that had been condensed to its limit in midair into his palm.
Almost instantly, a trace of "dislocation" appeared in this time-stopped world.
Ryosuke stepped forward. The ground beneath his feet cracked, and the fractures spread outward.
If time had not been stopped, everything within several hundred meters would have instantly turned into a field of broken rubble.
Using the force transmitted back from the earth, Ryosuke threw a punch in an extremely "slow" manner.
The spatial dislocation became more and more obvious, as if all things in the world were being pulled and stretched.
An indescribable elasticity was produced in the pulling process, with all anchors of force converging on Ryosuke's fist.
Ryosuke's punch was slow and laborious. Using resonance with the world to pull space in reverse was something that could only be done while time was stopped.
Under normal circumstances, an enemy would never give Ryosuke the chance to charge up like this.
Only when the time stop ended did Ryosuke's fist land on Otsutsuki Isshiki's chest at the very last moment.
BOOM!!!
The power of Star Platinum's barrage erupted.
'So fast!'
Isshiki felt as if his back had been run over by a road roller hundreds of times. Even with this body that had been strengthened by "Karma" for a thousand years, his internal organs felt as though mountains were collapsing and the earth was shaking, and a mouthful of old blood was about to spray out.
But that was only Star Platinum's assault.
What about Ryosuke's?
Isshiki felt his vision twist. It seemed as though space itself was being pulled and distorted, yet upon closer inspection everything appeared normal.
Normalcy and dislocation, two completely opposite sensations, caused a brief moment of disorientation for Isshiki.
Otsutsuki Isshiki subconsciously followed the strands of pulling imagery, and in the end saw Ryosuke's fist that had just landed on his chest.
His hair stood on end.
But Isshiki immediately sensed that something was wrong.
'So light?'
The very next moment that thought arose, all the stretched space instantly collapsed and bombarded downward.
Layer upon layer of spatial elasticity, like meteors falling from the heavens, smashed heavily into Isshiki's chest.
This was...
"Spatial Slingshot."
BOOM!
BOOM!!
BOOM!!!
Isshiki was pinned to the ground, coughing up mouthful after mouthful of blood.
Suddenly, his figure vanished. When he reappeared, he was already more than a hundred meters away.
The look in Isshiki's eyes as he gazed at Ryosuke no longer held even a trace of arrogance, only lingering fear and disbelief.
Among the many members of the Otsutsuki clan, Toneri was obsessed, Kaguya was foolish, Momoshiki was arrogant, Kinshiki was dull, and Urashiki was despicable.
Perhaps because of his experience of being betrayed by Kaguya, Isshiki was truly the most rational and cautious of all the Otsutsuki.
He knew very well that with Ryosuke's ability to appear in his home without anyone noticing, if Ryosuke had said nothing and used "Spatial Slingshot" to launch a sneak attack before Isshiki activated "Karma," Isshiki might not have died, but the body he had used for a thousand years would definitely have been lost.
In that case, Isshiki would have been left with only one path, to forcibly reincarnate, carrying only three to five days of remaining life, and gamble once.
Gamble that he could seize Ryosuke's body.
That was a gamble with his life.
Whether others would be willing to do that, Isshiki didn't know, but he certainly wasn't.
Isshiki breathed slightly heavily and wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth.
He had conducted quite a bit of investigation on Ryosuke.
Isshiki understood that Ryosuke's choice to expose himself early wasn't because Ryosuke had forgotten about sneak attacks, nor because he was so arrogant as to believe he could suppress Isshiki.
Rather, Ryosuke knew full well that doing so would cause him to lose his advantage, and yet he still wanted to talk to Isshiki face to face.
'This is Ryosuke's way of doing things.'
If anything, Otsutsuki Isshiki had to be thankful that over the past thousand years he hadn't done anything too excessive, otherwise, Ryosuke would have immediately regarded him as an enemy.
Isshiki took a deep breath, gaining a deeper understanding of Ryosuke.
"Cough, cough."
He spat out a mouthful of blood, mixed with fragments of his internal organs.
Under the bombardment of the "Spatial Slingshot," Isshiki was already seriously injured.
From a rational standpoint, he should have left.
For a thousand years, Isshiki had always been a rational person, more precisely, someone who survived by extreme caution.
But…
Ryosuke walked out from the ruins and met Otsutsuki Isshiki's gaze.
Calm. Indifferent.
Isshiki's eyelids twitched slightly.
If he left now… wouldn't that mean he was afraid of a mere mortal?
"Ryosuke..."
Isshiki lightly tapped his brow.
His skull wriggled, and in the blink of an eye, a horn grew out.
He stared coldly at the approaching Ryosuke.
"You'll regret not killing me just now."