Chapter 397: The Angler?

"An outsider?!"

Ōtsutsuki Graywhite had lived through countless years and witnessed all manner of extraordinary things.

After his initial overwhelming shock, the cold rationality and innate arrogance of an Ōtsutsuki quickly regained the upper hand.

He abruptly recovered from the impact of the Three Corpses Technique, suppressing the lingering uncertainty in his heart. A cold, mocking curve appeared on his lips as his pale eyes once again filled with profound chill—and a trace of anger at having been offended.

His gaze, sharp as a surgeon's scalpel, locked firmly onto Hagoromo, the Sage of Six Paths. He was no longer merely examining his power; it was as though he intended to see through the very origins of Hagoromo's bloodline.

He spoke slowly and clearly, each word more piercing than any violent attack.

"I'm an outsider? Then what does that make you?"

He took half a step forward. Though the pressure of the Three Corpses Technique still hung heavily over him, the unique presence of an Ōtsutsuki began spreading from his body once more, standing in opposition to the triangular formation.

"Take a good look at yourself. Feel the power that allows you to stand before me."

"Even the thing flowing through your body—the power you call chakra—isn't it, at its root, something that came from outside this world?"

"It originated from the God Tree, from the system cultivated and planted by the Ōtsutsuki Clan."

"If the God Tree had never taken root here, if chakra had never begun to flow through this land, this so-called Shinobi World beneath your feet would still be nothing more than a primitive wilderness."

His gaze swept across the senjutsu radiance surrounding the Good Corpse before returning to Hagoromo's Rinnegan, his mockery growing sharper.

"And you—standing upon land transformed by this foreign power, wielding that same foreign power—still dare to call the true source of it all outsiders?"

"How laughable. How... tragically self-deceptive."

"You, Hagoromo."

Ōtsutsuki Graywhite's gaze settled on him, cold as an ancient abyss.

"From your power to the very foundation of your existence, you are proof of something foreign. You are merely an accident born from the discarded remnants of my clan—an accident that now dares to bite the hand that created it."

"What right do you have to represent this altered land and drive away one of its original cultivators?"

"That is none of your concern."

The Sage of Six Paths' voice contained not the slightest trace of emotion. Only a coldness capable of freezing all things remained.

Hagoromo no longer bothered to engage Graywhite in an argument over origins or bloodlines. When the will to protect had surpassed everything else, and when the other's very existence represented the greatest threat to this newborn world, words had become meaningless.

His cold Rinnegan locked onto Graywhite as the pressure around him suddenly descended, as though the weight of the entire sky had been compressed into that single space.

The moment his words fell—

His true power erupted!

Purple radiance shot into the heavens from Hagoromo's body. It was no ordinary chakra aura, but a transformed power born from the fusion of natural energy, the power of his Rinnegan, and his own immense vitality. It blazed behind him like a purple sun.

The Good Corpse and Evil Corpse at his sides unleashed their power at the same time. The three distinct yet fundamentally connected forces did not attack separately. Instead, with Hagoromo's original body as their core, they intertwined, resonated, and synchronized, forming a stable and terrifying triangular force field.

The air, the energy, even the tiniest specks of dust between heaven and earth—

All of it seemed to be completely pinned in place, falling into absolute stillness.

Space groaned beneath the unbearable pressure, as though it might shatter completely at any moment.

"It seems a battle is inevitable."

Faced with a terrifying presence capable of crushing an ordinary sage, Ōtsutsuki Graywhite showed no fear. Instead, a cold fighting spirit ignited in his eyes—the instinct of both a hunter and an investigator.

He gave a quiet laugh. There was no warmth in it, only intense interest in evaluating the strength of an intriguing specimen.

"Perfect. I would like to see exactly what kind of... interesting power Kaguya's bloodline has developed in this world after stealing the Fruit and lying dormant for a thousand years."

Chakra surged from Graywhite's body, rising to confront Hagoromo's purple radiance with an equally profound and boundless presence.

Slowly, he raised one hand.

Mysterious markings lit up across his palm as the hazy light surrounding him began to contract and condense violently, as though preparing an attack powerful enough to shake the heavens.

The battle was about to begin!

All across the Shinobi World, countless people held their breath, their hearts seeming to stop.

Before their eyes stood a crossroads upon which the world's fate might turn.

On one side was the Sage of Six Paths, founder of the Ninshū, wielding the astonishing Three Corpses Technique.

On the other stood a powerful Ōtsutsuki from beyond the heavens, one who regarded chakra as the private property of his clan.

Who was stronger?

Where would the world go from here?

But at the very instant when the tension reached its limit, when the two overwhelming powers were about to collide and annihilate one another—

Something unexpected happened!

It did not come from either of the two combatants.

It came from... somewhere higher.

Somewhere that seemed to transcend the very time and space of the battlefield.

Hummm...

A faint and almost imperceptible hum echoed out.

Yet at the same time, it rang directly within the depths of every living being's soul.

Then, high above the Sage of Six Paths and Ōtsutsuki Graywhite, ripples of silvery-white space suddenly spread across what should have been an empty sky.

They were not caused by an impact of energy. Rather, they resembled the ripples spreading across a still lake after being lightly touched by something unseen—layer upon layer, elegant and strange.

In an instant, they drew every eye on the battlefield upward and seized the attention of every observer in the Shinobi World.

Then, in the next moment, a sight appeared that seemed to freeze the very soul.

A... fishing line.

Thin and delicate, yet seemingly bearing the weight to pierce through countless worlds, it possessed a cold, muted sheen unlike either metal or jade.

It slowly emerged from the center of the silvery ripples.

Irresistibly.

Inevitably.

At its end hung an ancient-looking fishhook with a single barb, gleaming with an eerie, frigid light.

No energy storm accompanied the fishing line's appearance.

No space collapsed.

And yet its very existence felt like an absolute error—an alien object forcibly inserted into this world, carrying an indifferent and incomprehensible aura of rules that instinctively filled all who sensed it with terror.

"How is this possible?! The Angler has actually appeared!!!"

The moment Ōtsutsuki Graywhite recognized the fishing line and its hook, every expression on his face—arrogance, curiosity, cold confidence—completely collapsed!

An overwhelming terror, seemingly born from the deepest recesses of his bloodline, instantly consumed him. His pale eyes shrank to pinpoints, and even his voice twisted with uncontrollable fear.

He did not spare the Sage of Six Paths another glance.

He did not think of fighting.

He did not think of defending himself.

His body turned with unimaginable speed, transforming into a streak of pale light as he fled desperately toward the edge of the world!

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