Ōtsutsuki Urashima knelt on the ground, reverently bowing before the massive divine statue.
The grand temple was deathly silent. Every pair of eyes among the gathered clan members was locked on the statue, hoping the legendary ancestor would grant them protection and obliterate their invading enemies.
While the Ōtsutsuki clan waited in solemn silence, the shinobi army of the Divine Nation had already arrived at their doorstep.
Attacking from ten directions, the shinobi forces had carried out a brutal purge, sweeping through the Ōtsutsuki stronghold. Now, only this colossal temple remained.
If they could slaughter all remaining Ōtsutsuki within, the war would finally come to an end.
"Madara, just a little more—we're about to win!"
Senju Hashirama manipulated his True Several Thousand Hands technique, preparing to deliver the final blow to the remaining Ōtsutsuki, but Uchiha Madara reached out and stopped him.
"Not so fast. The legendary Ōtsutsuki can't be this weak. I suspect they still have something hidden up their sleeve."
Hashirama blinked. "You're talking about... the so-called Ōtsutsuki god?"
"You really believe such a being exists?"
With arms crossed, Madara said flatly, "Who knows? But if it does exist, this is the perfect time for me to test its strength."
Ever since attaining the power of the Kekkei Mōra, his strength felt bottomless. And now that he finally had the chance for a satisfying battle, he wasn't going to let it end prematurely.
...
As the two exchanged words, the other squads arrived at the temple one after another.
No one made a rash move.
Although the battle had gone surprisingly smoothly so far, none of them believed the remaining Ōtsutsuki would just huddle together and wait to be killed.
They were bound to have a trump card.
"Staying in a stalemate like this isn't a solution. There's no reason to disrupt our momentum over a vague, possibly imaginary deity."
After some thought, Shikamaru gestured toward the shinobi behind him.
A hundred shinobi stepped forward from the ranks.
"Probe their defenses. Stay sharp. If anything feels off, retreat immediately."
"Yes!"
The hundred-man unit surged toward the temple.
Seeing this, the other squads also dispatched their own units, each sending around a hundred shinobi to join the assault.
Outside the temple, the Ōtsutsuki clan fought with everything they had. But their numbers were too few, and most had nearly exhausted their chakra. Within moments, they were cut down by the Divine Nation's shinobi.
"Hahahahaha! This is the day you Ōtsutsuki bastards die!"
"Instead of making a last stand, you're actually praying to some phony god? Pathetic. You deserve your fate."
"Ōtsutsuki my ass! I'll drink to your corpses tonight!"
The shinobi of the Divine Nation grew more ruthless with each kill, quickly closing in on the heart of the temple.
Faced with the imminent collapse of their last stronghold, the remaining Ōtsutsuki turned desperately to Urashima.
"Clan Leader Urashima, what now? Will the Ancestor really come to our aid?"
"We're out of time! You didn't lie to us, did you?!"
Under the barrage of questions, Urashima's expression turned grim.
He had already done everything he could. All that remained now was to wait.
Staring at the silent statue, Urashima rose to his feet and shouted,
"Anyone who still has the strength—follow me! We fight to the end!"
"Yes, sir!"
Nearly a thousand Ōtsutsuki warriors responded in unison and charged toward the invading shinobi.
In response, the Divine Nation immediately reinforced their forces, deploying an additional four thousand shinobi.
Outnumbered five to one, facing highly trained soldiers, the Ōtsutsuki counterattack was swiftly crushed.
"Hahahaha! Die!"
The battlefield descended into madness. Both sides were soaked in blood and locked in a killing frenzy.
The remaining Ōtsutsuki froze in despair. The enemy's twisted faces were now clear before their eyes.
"Is this it...? Are we really going to perish here?"
"I don't want to die..."
"To fall at the hands of these inferior creatures... I can't accept it!"
...
Just as despair settled in, a strange, unseen force rippled through the temple.
In the very next instant, nearly a thousand Divine Nation shinobi at the frontlines were reduced to a mist of blood.
Crack!
Crack!
Crack!
...
The crisp sound echoed across the battlefield. The hundred chakra fruits placed on the altar vanished in a flash.
For a moment, everyone was stunned—until the faces of the Ōtsutsuki clan lit up with uncontainable joy.
"It's the Ancestor! The Ancestor has awakened!"
"We're saved! These bastards are going to pay!"
"Just one move, and He turned thousands into blood mist! That's our Ancestor for you!"
"Hahahaha! This is the true might of the Ōtsutsuki clan! Who dares challenge us?! Who can destroy us?!"
The temple was filled with excited shouts. Every Ōtsutsuki wore the expression of someone who had narrowly escaped death.
On the other side, however, the Divine Nation shinobi had gone pale.
So the legend was true—the god of the Ōtsutsuki really did exist.
And with a single strike, it had wiped out nearly a thousand shinobi at the Six Paths level...
This was bad.
"Retreat!" Shikamaru shouted.
The remaining four thousand shinobi immediately pulled back from the temple's range.
They stared ahead, deeply shaken.
If they had been just a little further in... they would've ended up just like their comrades—nothing but blood and mist.
"I didn't sense anything... How did it attack?"
Hashirama murmured, stunned.
So many had died in the blink of an eye, and yet he still had no idea what had struck them.
"Tch. Just some coward hiding in the shadows..." Madara snorted.
But before he could finish his sentence, a wave of gasps erupted from within the temple.
The Ōtsutsuki clan had dropped to their knees, worshiping fervently.
An indescribable pressure began to descend on everyone present, a fear that seemed to rise straight from their souls.
All eyes slowly turned upward.
High above, a colossal godly figure stared down at the world below.
The sky—vast as it was—could barely contain the upper half of its body.
"So that's Ōtsutsuki Shibai..." Madara's eyes blazed with excitement.
Thousands of his Susanoo avatars launched into the air.
Even if it's a god... so what?
I'll crush your so-called hope with my own hands!
"Madara!" Hashirama shouted, trying to stop him—but it was too late.
In a flash, Madara shot up tens of thousands of meters, raising his blade against Ōtsutsuki Shibai's towering form.
His massive sword, carrying terrifying power, slashed forward—distorting the very fabric of space, which howled in protest.
At last, the god stirred.
Shibai's lips parted slightly.
And a thunderous voice echoed through the heavens:
"Insolence!"
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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