Isshiki's heart pounded in fear. He had not expected Uchiha Chiga to wield a time-based ocular ability, one that completely countered his powers. The thought of retreat gnawed at him. If that Power struck him again, he wouldn't even leave behind a trace.
A black portal shimmered into existence behind him. Slowly, he stepped back toward it, his mind already bent on escape.
But Chiga's eyes flashed violet, and in an instant, their positions swapped.
Isshiki staggered in shock, finding himself exactly where Chiga had been standing. Before he could react, twelve Truth-Seeking Orbs surrounded him, floating ominously like beads of pure destruction.
"Not good," Isshiki muttered, panic rising. He instinctively tried to use his ocular jutsu to shrink them, but Chiga gave him no time. ɴᴇᴡ ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀʀᴇ ᴘᴜʙʟɪsʜᴇᴅ ᴏɴ 𝕟𝕠𝕧𝕖𝕝⟡𝕗𝕚𝕣𝕥⟡𝕟𝕖𝕥
Chiga's body transformed into lightning. He appeared directly before Isshiki and drove a finger mercilessly toward his right eye.
Isshiki, distracted by the looming orbs, could not dodge in time.
A blood-curdling scream tore from his throat as he clutched his face, collapsing to his knees.
Chiga opened his palm, revealing a golden eyeball glistening with blood. The sight made Isshiki tremble with fury.
"You bastard… How dare you—"
Before his words could finish, the twelve Truth-Seeking Orbs shifted, connecting into a chain that coiled around his body like black prayer beads. The more Isshiki resisted, the tighter the bonds constricted.
Chiga lifted his hand, and Isshiki's restrained body floated into the air.
"Still struggling? Good," Chiga said with a faint smile. "That will make this even better."
Isshiki roared, "Let me go! What do you want from me!?"
"You'll know soon enough."
Black smoke rose from Chiga's body, twisting into the form of a massive beast. Under Isshiki's terrified gaze, a blood-red eye glared at him from within the darkness.
"Ten-Tails!?" Isshiki's voice shook with disbelief.
The juvenile Ten-Tails stared hungrily, its maw opening in anticipation. Its gaze was filled with greed, like a predator eyeing prey it had long desired.
Isshiki struggled with all his might, but weakened and missing his right eye, his strength was not enough to break the orbs' hold. Slowly, he was dragged toward the Ten-Tails' mouth.
"No! Not this!" Isshiki's voice cracked with terror.
The beast wasted no time. With one enormous bite, it swallowed him whole.
Even inside, Isshiki's vitality was so tenacious that his screams echoed like muffled thunder. The Ten-Tails chewed endlessly, but still he clung to life.
Chiga sighed with irritation. "Persistent to the very end."
He struck the Ten-Tails' stomach with a sharp kick. The beast howled, then swallowed Isshiki completely. His screams ceased, silence returning at last.
The Ten-Tails roared, its body shuddering as it absorbed Isshiki's essence. Its swollen frame began to shrink, its power condensing. When the transformation settled, its gaze fell on the golden eyeball in Chiga's hand.
Chiga smirked and tossed the eye lightly. The Ten-Tails followed it with the eagerness of a loyal hound. At last, he threw it, and the beast devoured the orb with a single gulp, its face glowing with satisfaction.
With that, it dissolved once more into black smoke, merging back into Chiga's body.
His eyes snapped open as pillars of black light erupted around him. For a moment, it seemed he might detonate from within, but instead a pitch-black shield enveloped his body, then shattered like fragile glass.
Chiga stood unmoving, eyes closed. When they opened, golden beams flared outward, lighting the scorched battlefield.
He gasped quietly as new power surged within him. His Rinnegan dimmed, and when he examined his vision, he realized it now stretched across a full three hundred and sixty degrees — without blind spots. Not only that, he could see as far as hundreds of kilometers away, and in full color.
"This… Byakugan? No. Something beyond."
He conjured a water mirror and studied his reflection. His once-dark pupils had turned white, but unlike the Hyūga clan's eyes, they glowed faintly blue, sparkling like twin gemstones.
The Ten-Tails' gift after consuming Isshiki had elevated him to new heights. His ocular powers had grown sharper, and the energy for interdimensional travel had been replenished. He could now open a portal back to the Pirate world— or to any realm he chose — whenever he wished.
"Ōtsutsuki truly are walking treasures," he mused. "And Isshiki was only the beginning."
Chiga tilted his head skyward. He remembered the Moon, and the massive Tenseigan sealed upon it. If he could absorb its power, perhaps his eyes would evolve even further, beyond Byakugan, beyond Rinnegan.
A faint grin curved his lips.
Without hesitation, his body surged upward, piercing the sky as he raced toward space.
On a distant white planet, atop an ancient altar, a figure sat motionless. Blue flames floated around him like stars.
Suddenly, one flame sputtered and died. The figure's brows furrowed.
"Isshiki… slain? Impossible. And yet… Kaguya still lives." His voice carried an ancient weariness.
"If I had known, I never would have entrusted him with those Ten-Tails."
The flames flickered in response, as though listening.
"No matter. They must not be lost."
He lifted his hand, summoning three silhouettes. Without opening his eyes, he spoke.
"Momoshiki, Kinshiki, Urashiki. Seek out Kaguya. Alive or dead, it matters not. Retrieve the Ten-Tails that Isshiki carried. Do not fail me."
The three bowed in unison.