Chapter 154: Against the chakra Goddess
Kaguya, awakened by Black Zetsu's cunning, floated in the air, her imposing silhouette bathed in an otherworldly light. Her impassive white eyes scanned the shinobis with a disconcerting coldness. A terrifying chakra emanated from her, making each breath difficult.
Kushina, breathless, supported herself on one knee. Her Baryon mode, used for hours, had drained almost all her vitality, though she wouldn't die, but she wouldn't be able to use it for at least a week. Naruto, still in his Rikudo form, furrowed his brows, perplexed by this unimaginable power.
"What in the world is that?" he asked, his voice filled with incredulity.
Sasuke and Itachi, still in their fused Susanoo, observed the enemy with caution.
"It's her... some kind of humanoid chakra mass?" Itachi murmured in a grave voice.
"If we don't stop her now, she'll absorb all the chakra in this world," added Sasuke, preparing his Raiton-imbued katana.
Sasuke and Itachi, in their fused Susanoo, attacked first. Their movements were synchronized, like a deadly dance. The Totsuka sword, surrounded by Amaterasu flames and electricity, sliced through the air towards Kaguya.
But before the attack could reach its target, a massive energy wave emanating from her Byakugan violently repelled them.
"You dare challenge me with such insignificant toys?" she said, her voice calm but filled with icy contempt.
The fused Susanoo was thrown back, struggling to stabilize itself in the sky. However, Kaguya gave them no respite.
Huge hands of pure chakra, glowing with blinding light, appeared around them. The hands struck the Susanoo from all sides with unimaginable violence, each creating a shockwave that even cracked the air.
"All this scattered chakra... should belong to me," she murmured, looking at the shinobis as if they were insects.
Seeing her allies in trouble, Kushina gathered the little strength she had left. Chakra chains emerged from her back, rushing towards Kaguya with blinding speed.
"You won't take anything... as long as I'm alive!" Kushina shouted, her voice breaking with rage and determination. Her fist, vibrating with raw energy, fell like a meteor. Mini-Bijūdama, condensed and explosive, erupted from her palm, imitating the form and intensity of a miniature Rasengan. The air itself seemed to tremble under the power of the attack.
The golden chains, an ancestral legacy of her clan, burst forth from Kushina's arms like snakes, hissing through the air. They wrapped around Kaguya's arm with relentless fury, gripping the goddess's flesh with Herculean force. For a brief moment, a flash of triumph illuminated Kushina's face. She had managed to catch her off guard. But it was a fleeting illusion.
With a gesture of terrifying nonchalance, Kaguya broke the chains as if they were made of wet paper. The brute force of her action propagated a shockwave that made the earth vibrate. Golden fragments scattered around her like confetti.
Kaguya reached out towards Kushina, nonchalantly, as if brushing away a bothersome fly. A relentless wave of sharp points, made of gray and lustrous hair, erupted from her palm. The points spread at an astonishing speed, a torrent of deadly needles. The wave engulfed Kushina in an implacable assault, lifting and violently propelling her backward. A piercing scream escaped her throat as her body was pierced by the myriad of points. Each limb was pierced one by one, leaving red and gaping wounds, the pain was such that she lost her Baryon mode. The ground behind her was stained with her blood, betraying the violence of the attack. Despair began to take hold of her heart.
"Mooommm!" Naruto cried out.
"An existence as insignificant as yours... return to the void," Kaguya said, sending Kushina into a glacial eternal desert through a spatial tear.
Kushina disappeared, imprisoned in an endless ice desert.
Sasuke and Itachi attempted a new combined attack. Their movements were precise and desperate, each blow aiming to exploit a non-existent weakness in Kaguya.
"Itachi, focus on her weak points with Amaterasu! I'll distract her!" Sasuke shouted.
Itachi nodded, using his Sharingan to target Kaguya's vital points. The black flames erupted, but Kaguya absorbed them with a simple wave of her hand, as if they were but a gentle breeze.
She raised her arm, and an immense gravitational wave sent the fused Susanoo crashing to the ground.
"Your efforts are pathetic," she declared.
Before Sasuke could react, Kaguya created a dimension of lava and brutally projected Itachi into it.
Naruto, seeing Sasuke waver, rushed to his side. But Kaguya was already upon them. With stunning speed, she appeared before Naruto, grabbing his throat with brutal force.
"A weakling like you dares to fight still? It's deplorable."
Sasuke tried to counter with a Chidori blade, but Kaguya blocked his attack with one hand and also grabbed his throat. Then she activated her Byakugan.
"You... both share the same fate," she said, her cold eyes shining with divine light.
Black Zetsu, still linked to Kaguya, wrapped around Naruto and Sasuke, slowly covering their bodies.
"My sons... You still want to stop me? And for that, I will let you witness the destruction of this world," Kaguya said with calm cruelty.
Naruto and Sasuke, exhausted and out of chakra, were powerless in the hands of the Otsutsuki. They didn't understand what she was talking about, but they knew it wasn't good.
As Kaguya dominated the scene, fissures appeared in the surrounding space. An unknown glow emerged, perhaps announcing a last hope...
The battle seemed over, and only the mysterious organization of KageYami could still change the course of events.
...