Chapter 269: I, Ōtsutsuki Isshiki, Am a Descendant of Kaguya
"Dust Release: Detachment of the Primitive World!"
A blinding white light shot forth, shattering one of Susano'o's arms.
Madara raised his eyes and saw Onoki flying down from the sky, landing in front of the Iwagakure ninjas.
With just one glance, Madara casually deactivated his Susano'o and shifted his gaze to another direction, paying no attention to Onoki's arrival.
Compared to the other ninja nearby, Onoki held no interest for Madara.
Onoki frowned and followed Madara's gaze, narrowing his eyes.
From behind the ruins of a building, a figure emerged.
Jigen?
Onoki's frown deepened. "Why are you here?"
"Leave. I'll handle this," Jigen said calmly. "You're no match for him."
"…Are you sure?"
Onoki had never been able to fully grasp Jigen's strength. While Jigen appeared to focus on technical abilities, his earlier detection of the second meteor suggested that his power was at least on par with Onoki's.
But Jigen versus Uchiha Madara?
Knowing the extent of Madara's power, Onoki had little faith in Jigen's chances.
"Leave it to me," Jigen said in a low tone. "Defeating an Edo Tensei resurrected individual is less important than protecting the jinchuriki, isn't it?"
After a moment's hesitation, Onoki gave Jigen a long, scrutinizing look before leading the confused Iwagakure ninjas away.
Once they were gone, and only Jigen and Madara remained, Madara smirked. "Well, I didn't expect this. In just two short years, this world has gained so many interesting strong people. What's your name?"
"Jigen."
"Uchiha Madara."
Madara smiled faintly, a hint of bloodlust in his grin.
"Let's see if you truly have the ability to stop me."
The battlefield's smoke had yet to dissipate, and the air was thick with the tension of a fresh battle. Madara and Jigen faced each other, each sensing the overwhelming strength radiating from the other.
In an instant, Madara's figure vanished, rushing toward Jigen at a speed almost imperceptible to the naked eye.
Jigen, prepared, quickly tracked Madara's movements. He sidestepped the attack and countered with a swift palm strike aimed at Madara's ribs.
Madara, equally reactive, blocked the strike with his arm, his Sharingan darting as it analyzed Jigen's movements. Madara suddenly exerted force, pushing Jigen back before launching a ferocious counterattack.
The taijutsu exchange between Jigen and Madara escalated rapidly, becoming a blur of lightning-fast attacks and defenses. The ground beneath them cracked under the sheer intensity of their blows, and the air reverberated with the sound of clashing fists and feet.
Gradually, Jigen realized he was at a disadvantage. He sighed inwardly.
It seems I'll have to abandon my search for a better vessel.
I can't let Kaguya Ōtsutsuki revive while I'm still in this weakened state.
If he couldn't defeat Madara now, his plans would fail entirely. Instead, it was better to revive himself in Jigen's body and later use the Ten-Tails to restore his full power.
After all, he'd been searching for a perfect vessel for a millennium without success. Jigen's body wasn't ideal, but it would suffice.
Resolved, Isshiki unleashed a surge of chakra, forcing Madara back. His appearance began to change.
Under Madara's intrigued gaze, Isshiki's head sprouted a long, curved horn resembling a crown, extending from his forehead to the back of his head. His right eye turned black, and his left eye transformed into the Byakugan.
"Byakugan?" Madara asked, pausing his attack. He studied Isshiki's white eye, his gaze narrowing. "You're from the Ōtsutsuki clan?"
The Byakugan was known to belong only to the Hyuga clan or the Ōtsutsuki of the moon. However, the fact that Isshiki had previously hidden his Byakugan suggested he wasn't a member of the Hyuga.
"Correct," Isshiki admitted without hesitation.
He was, after all, an Ōtsutsuki. What problem was there in acknowledging it? If the people of the ninja world misunderstood which Ōtsutsuki he belonged to, that wasn't his concern.
Earlier, he had mentioned to Onoki that he could decipher the Hyuga clan's historical texts—this was deliberate groundwork for this very moment.
The ability to read those records required the Byakugan, which indirectly revealed his identity.
Although the moon's Ōtsutsuki clan had supposedly been wiped out by Hyuga Fuji, leaving only Ōtsutsuki Toneri, Toneri was an enemy to all nations. No one would trust him, nor would Toneri expose Isshiki's identity.
Isshiki had already prepared a convincing narrative to make the nations believe him.
The moon's Ōtsutsuki clan was divided into the Main House and the Branch House.
He, Ōtsutsuki Isshiki, was a member of the Main House!
Long ago, the Branch House created the Tenseigan and overpowered the Main House. Some Main House members had fled to the ninja world to survive.
Now that the Branch House was destroyed and the giant Tenseigan had vanished, Isshiki, a surviving descendant of the Main House, no longer needed to remain hidden. His return and his strength were entirely reasonable.
Even the advanced technology he introduced—artificial suns, space-time portals, and false skies—could be justified as remnants of the Main House's heritage.
However, acknowledging this identity came with one discomforting implication:
He was a descendant of Ōtsutsuki Hamura, which meant he was also a descendant of Kaguya.
As Isshiki had expected, Uchiha Madara readily accepted his claim of being an Ōtsutsuki descendant. Only someone from the Ōtsutsuki clan could remain so unknown in the ninja world while possessing enough power to fight him.
As for Obito's claims that the moon's Ōtsutsuki had been wiped out, Madara didn't care.
Perhaps another branch of the Ōtsutsuki clan existed. Perhaps some Main House members had survived. The possibilities were endless, and Madara was uninterested in exploring them.
What mattered was that the upcoming battle would be far more entertaining!
The two locked eyes and disappeared simultaneously.
When they reappeared, their fists collided with each other's faces.
Bang!
With a muffled thud, both were forced backward.
Madara decided to stop holding back. He immediately activated his Susano'o, summoning a massive blue giant that loomed over the battlefield once more.
Madara controlled the Susano'o to swing its massive sword at Jigen.
Jigen, noticing the attack, used his space manipulation ability to teleport inside Susano'o and launched a ferocious strike.
Madara reacted quickly, exiting Susano'o and controlling its massive blade to counterattack, aiming directly inside the construct. Jigen evaded once more with his space manipulation.
The intensity of their battle increased. Madara activated his Rinnegan and began to laugh uncontrollably.
"It's been so long… So long since I've enjoyed myself like this. Not since Hashirama's death. Hahaha!"
(End of chapter)