236 Naruto: Snatching the Mangekyō

Jigen's expression was grim, his icy aura seeping into the air around him. His piercing gaze locked onto Akira.

"Under normal circumstances, you shouldn't know about this. So how do you know?"

"Why don't you take a guess? Or maybe I'm just the only one who knows!" Akira replied with his usual smug grin.

Jigen's heart sank at those words, his mind racing to piece things together.

'The fact that I'm alive... the only one who could possibly know is Kaguya. But even that's just a remote possibility. From her perspective, I should be dead, no question about it. But if this guy knows my identity, then it means Kaguya must have realized I'm still alive...'

Jigen's thoughts whirled with conjecture.

"Kaguya? Wasn't she sealed away by her two sons? Could it be that she told them everything?" Jigen narrowed his eyes. The situation was spiraling beyond his control.

The only reason Jigen had moved so boldly within the ninja world was because Ōtsutsuki Kaguya was sealed, and her two sons, Hagoromo and Hamura, were long dead.

In essence, there was no one left in this world capable of opposing him or posing any real threat.

And yet now, unease settled in his chest, as if he'd unwittingly stepped into a trap.

When it came to Hagoromo and Hamura, Jigen was especially cautious. The two of them were terrifyingly powerful—Kaguya's direct descendants, born after she consumed the Chakra Fruit of the God Tree.

They had inherited a portion of the God Tree's power at birth, and through their later training, they had become extraordinarily formidable.

Even Jigen had to tread carefully around them. They were no ordinary Ōtsutsuki.

Glancing briefly at Nagato, Jigen made up his mind.

Trap or no trap, he had to act.

He needed to uncover the identity of his enemy. If it turned out to be Kaguya or her two sons, he would need to proceed with utmost caution and prepare thoroughly.

And if it really was Hagoromo or Hamura, Jigen would have to confront the possibility that they were still alive somewhere in the ninja world.

As an Ōtsutsuki, he was all too familiar with their clan's capabilities.

He had to get to the bottom of this!

Even if it was a trap, he had no fear. With his mastery of space-time abilities and proper precautions, no one could stop him if he decided to retreat.

Fixing his gaze on Akira, Jigen's voice was cold.

"None of this matters. All I need to do is defeat you, and I'll know everything I want to know."

"Oh? A loser under Ōtsutsuki Kaguya's heel dares to talk big? You don't seem to be in the best shape, though. This vessel of yours doesn't seem to be a great fit, does it?" Akira taunted, completely unfazed.

With Kamui at his disposal, Akira had no fear of Jigen.

Even if Jigen fully resurrected Ōtsutsuki Isshiki in his current body, Akira remained confident.

Jigen's cold mask faltered at Akira's words, his eyes narrowing as killing intent surged from him.

That a mere native of this world could know so much about him was deeply unsettling.

Jigen had originally been a simple monk. It was only because of the Kāma that he had survived since ancient times.

(T/N: Kāma is a seal that serves as a compressed backup of an Ōtsutsuki clan member's biological data that they can embed in the body of a compatible recipient known as a vessel. Over time, the Kāma will gradually overwrite the vessel's genetic profile until they transform into a perfect Ōtsutsuki.)

Kāma was a unique ability of the Ōtsutsuki Clan—a means of digitizing one's essence, imprinting it onto a suitable vessel, and achieving resurrection.

As long as the Kāma remained, the Ōtsutsuki were effectively immortal.

However, finding a suitable vessel for the Kāma was no easy task. Few could withstand the burden of housing an Ōtsutsuki.

Even Isshiki, after all this time, had never found a truly perfect vessel, forcing him to inhabit Jigen's body.

"This form is more than enough to deal with you," Jigen stated icily.

As he spoke, crimson patterns began to crawl across his body. Within moments, they spread over his entire frame, glowing like embers before cooling into jet-black lines.

He stretched out his hand, and a towering black staff materialized in his grasp.

Whoosh!

With a single leap, Jigen hurtled through the air, his black staff swinging downward with such force that the very atmosphere seemed to distort.

"That slow? Are you underestimating my Sharingan?" Akira smirked, reaching out with a hand.

Behind him, a Truth-Seeking Orb shot forward like a cannonball, colliding with Jigen's staff.

Clang!

The sharp metallic ring reverberated as the impact forced Jigen back dozens of meters, his feet skidding across the air.

Before Jigen could regain his balance, Akira closed the distance, wielding a staff of his own forged from a Truth-Seeking Orb.

With a deafening blow, Akira swung his staff, the very sky trembling as if he was dragging it down upon Jigen.

Boom!

The resounding crash shook the heavens. Jigen plummeted like a meteor, smashing into the ground below.

The impact splintered the roots of the God Tree, reducing the already fractured terrain to a chaotic mess of deep cracks.

"Tch. As expected, you're no pushover..." Jigen muttered, half-crouched within the massive crater, unscathed.

As Isshiki's Kāma, much of Isshiki's data had already been unlocked within him. While his vessel lacked the aptitude to fully unleash Isshiki's power, ordinary attacks were utterly ineffective.

Where other ninja might sacrifice defense for strength, the Ōtsutsuki enjoyed unparalleled power and durability—a gap that was insurmountable.

"Is this level of power really worth your concern?" Nagato floated closer, eyeing Jigen with thinly veiled disdain.

He admitted that Jigen's initial presence had startled him—his very aura suggested immense power, as did Akira's warning.

But after witnessing the fight, Nagato concluded that Jigen was nothing special. His strength paled in comparison to heavyweights like Tsunade, Fugaku, or Shisui.

Glancing at Nagato, Akira's lips curled into a sly smile.

"If he's so weak, why don't you take care of him for me?"

"Why would I help you deal with your enemy?" Nagato scoffed.

"My enemy?" Akira raised an eyebrow, his smile turning cryptic. "Do you think he'll be your ally instead?"

"What are you implying, Hokage?" Nagato's expression darkened. There was clearly more to Akira's words.

"The man down there," Akira said gravely, "is an Ōtsutsuki. The enemy of every living being on this planet. That's all you need to know."

Nagato's face hardened. "By your logic, the Sage of Six Paths was our enemy too?"

Akira shook his head. "Hagoromo was different. He wasn't our enemy."

"Close enough," Jigen interrupted, rising from the crater.

A faint red glow shimmered above his forehead, and a long, spiraling horn emerged.

Without absorbing the Ten Tails' chakra, Jigen had finally entered his second Kāma state.

Eyeing Akira and Nagato above, Jigen's gaze turned icy.

"The Ten Tails, huh? Perfect. I'll be taking it back today."