"Kazuki, no need to feel embarrassed. I understand everything…"
Kaguya fought to suppress the grin threatening to break across her face, trying to maintain a semblance of lady-like restraint as she smiled sweetly at the visibly hesitant Kazuki.
"Don't explain anything. I really like this Soul Imprint."
Kazuki blinked.
What do you even understand?
Still, he didn't really mind—as long as Kaguya was happy, that was good enough.
After all, his imprint could be wiped away with a single gesture… but Kaguya's imprint couldn't be removed at all.
"…Actually, I kind of want your na on too."
Kaguya's cheeks slowly flushed red as she whispered to him, "Where do you think it should go?"
"It's already there—you just don't know it yet," Kazuki said with a chuckle. "I've hidden it… I'll show you when the ti cos."
Kaguya shot him a side-eye.
Her body—she knew it better than anyone.
But for so reason… her lower abdon did feel a little warm…
"Ahem—enough, Kaguya. Let's get back to the real matter at hand."
Kazuki cleared his throat, glancing at Kaguya, who was now flushed for reasons she didn't quite understand, and continued in a deep, serious voice: "The reason I dare to make contact with the power left behind by the Ōtsutsuki God… is precisely because of this imprint."
"With our souls interwoven, if the residual will within the Ōtsutsuki God's remains attempts to take over my body, you can use our imprint to override control and redirect my chakra into your own body."
"In that case, his consciousness would be left without a suitable vessel, unable to be revived."
"And for an Ōtsutsuki, the mont revival begins through consciousness reawakening, if no host can be found, then the countdown to death begins."
Kaguya nodded solemnly.
Though she had just been enjoying the sweet mont with Kazuki, she was still an Ōtsutsuki—she wasn't just so lovesick girl. It was clear that her man was talking about sothing of monuntal importance.
Seizing the power left behind by a being regarded as a god within their clan…
This was an unimaginably enormous deal—far more valuable than the chakra fruit from an entire planet.
This wasn't the ti for whispers of romance or clinging affectionately.
"Kazuki… I have to say, I agree with your logic," Kaguya said slowly, nodding as her voice softened.
"But there's one thing."
"Even if there's no host, a Kāma would still allow an Ōtsutsuki to survive for a ti… In other words, even if he can't take over your body, if there's any residual consciousness, he can still fight."
"We have to consider that—this is a god we're dealing with, after all."
She glanced at Kazuki, seeing the calm confidence in his expression, and her heart eased. She gently added: "Kazuki… I'm not doubting your plan. I just want to consider all possible outcos."
"You're absolutely right, Kaguya…"
Kazuki spoke softly. "Which is why I developed a technique specifically for this situation… Actually, I learned the foundation of it from the Nine-Tails in that alternate tiline."
"That little fox has quite the talent for creating ninjutsu. I was able to read its thoughts—and after I gave it a massive trove of ninjutsu resources, the Nine-Tails ca up with a prototype that truly caught my attention."
Kaguya looked puzzled but listened intently.
It's just a Tailed Beast. Could a technique developed by one really be of help to Kazuki?
Let alone sothing ant to deal with the Ōtsutsuki God?
"The little fox nad it 'Baryon Mode'… The principle is to induce chakra fission, generating a force similar to radiation,"
Kazuki explained in a low voice. "You could think of it as a special form of the Eight Gates. In the end, it burns away the user's life—but what makes this technique unique is its ability to rapidly erode the enemy's life force."
"If I'm the one activating it, I'm confident that I can radiate a reincarnated-level Ōtsutsuki to the brink of death in re monts."
"So here's the plan—"
"I'll prepare my body in advance. Before attempting to seize the power left by the Ōtsutsuki God, I'll activate the combustion state of Heavy Particle Mode, turning myself into a trap to lure out the remnants of his will."
"At the sa ti, you'll protect my chakra and soul within your body, preventing the Ōtsutsuki God's consciousness from hijacking and forcibly halting the technique."
Kazuki continued steadily, "In this way, my body will appear to be the perfect vessel—but in reality, it will serve as a furnace designed to annihilate the consciousness of the Ōtsutsuki God."
"And once that will is destroyed, that's when you'll seize the opportunity to absorb his power—and then use the Soul Imprint to bring back to life."
To Kaguya, it all sounded like incomprehensible theory—words she could hear, but couldn't quite grasp.
This man… he had truly thought everything through.
From the bottom of his heart—he was determined to kill a god! Not just to oppose the Ōtsutsuki clan, but to take it a step further and refine the power of a god itself!
"N-No… Kazuki, this is still too dangerous…"
After imagining the whole scenario for a mont, Kaguya shut her eyes tightly in pain. "I'm scared, Kazuki… I know you've already accounted for everything, but just the thought of facing soone with the life force of my own clan, while also bearing your life on my shoulders…"
"It terrifies that sothing might go wrong."
"You know , Kazuki… I really don't have confidence in myself. Even after all you've taught , I still get shaken by a few of Isshiki's words… I'm so afraid that because of a single mistake on my part, I might lose you forever!"
Kazuki listened silently to her murmuring, but deep down, he couldn't help but smile.
This mindset—it ant she held him in the highest regard.
It was like how so doctors refuse to operate on their own loved ones—not due to lack of skill, but because of the imnse emotional pressure. It becos impossible to treat the task with a calm, detached mind, so they entrust it to soone reliable.
Kaguya took a deep breath and looked at Kazuki with unwavering resolve.
"I believe in you, Kazuki… so let learn this Baryon Mode! My man will never lose to the Ōtsutsuki God!"
"With you by my side—even if I burn my body down to ash—I believe you'll bring back to life from those very ashes…"
But Kazuki simply shook his head firmly.
"Don't even think about it, Kaguya… I will never allow my woman to beco just a tool for to obtain power. No matter the reason, I absolutely won't do sothing like that."
"I'll do it, Kaguya. I trust you."
Kaguya took delight in hearing Kazuki's refusal—it ward her heart—but even so, she insisted more firmly, "No, Kazuki. This really isn't the sa! You've already done more than enough for —it's my own mindset that hasn't been strong enough…"
"I want to do this, Kazuki! I really do!"
But the more determined Kaguya beca, the more unyielding Kazuki was in return.
No matter what she said—no matter how she tried to explain that this wasn't so form of self-sacrifice—Kazuki kept the sa look on his face: Say whatever you want, I'm not listening.
Kaguya's heart lted with sweetness.
If it were any other man, she thought, faced with the temptation of the Ōtsutsuki God's power, he might feign modesty once or twice—but actually refuse a woman offering herself up for his sake?
Impossible!
And yet, along with the sweetness ca a wave of anxiety.
Kazuki loved her this deeply—and she loved him just as fiercely—and now, the thought that she might be the one wielding the knife in a plan that involved Kazuki's life, their shared fate, and their opponent being the Ōtsutsuki God himself…
Her mind went completely blank. Even her hands began to tremble uncontrollably. She was starting to lose her composure.
"Alright, listen to , Kaguya."
Kazuki sighed softly and gently patted her head. "Baryon Mode may have originated from the Nine-Tails, but it requires extrely precise control over chakra…"
"You won't be able to learn it in a short amount of ti."
He tapped her forehead lightly. "With how dense you are, if I don't teach you personally, it'll be nearly impossible for you to master it."
"Then try teaching ! I promise I'll get it this ti!" Kaguya puffed up her cheeks and glared at him, her face adorably scrunched in frustration.
"This is for you! How could that be the sa as before?"
Kazuki shrugged. "Well, I'm not teaching you. So…"
"If you're not going to teach , then I'm not going to agree!" Kaguya turned her head away with a huff, clearly waiting for him to cave in.
But this ti, Kazuki didn't say another word.
He just slowly and firmly shook his head—signaling that on this matter of principle, he would not yield.
In that mont, Kaguya ca to understand what people ant by a blessed dilemma…
She trusted Kazuki with all her heart—enough to risk everything for him.
But it was precisely because he loved her that he refused to let her take that risk.
If Kazuki didn't love her this deeply, Kaguya wouldn't have offered to beco the filter in the first place.
And so, this logical loop had reached a deadlock.
A heavy silence fell over them.
Then suddenly, a thought stirred in Kaguya's mind. Her eyes twitched mischievously as she rembered the Soul Imprint. Tapping into the link between them, she silently and stealthily began scanning Kazuki's mories using "Baryon Mode" as her keyword…
Fortunately, after brushing past a few of Kazuki's inner thoughts about how much he loved her, she quickly located his analysis on Baryon Mode without wasting too much ti.
'I can't keep looking! Peeking into Kazuki's mories like this is already way out of line!'
Kaguya forcibly suppressed the urge to dive deeper into his thoughts and hurriedly withdrew from the link.
Kazuki, anwhile, smiled gently.
Everything she saw… was what he had intended her to see.
The real mories? There was no way she could access them—after all, the so-called Soul Imprint had always been one-directional from the start.
To Kazuki, Kaguya secretly studying Baryon Mode was like Obito sneaking around learning a life-forbidden jutsu just to bring back Black Zetsu…
A little foolish—but undeniably endearing.
"Alright, Kazuki, enough with all this depressing stuff!"
Kaguya suddenly chirped. "Why don't we go take a look at that leftover husk? Maybe it's not as dangerous as we imagined."
Like a mischievous little fox that had just dipped into a honey jar, she playfully nudged Kazuki's firm chest. "Maybe you won't even need that guy's power. You might be able to beat the Ōtsutsuki reinforcents all on your own!"
Kazuki glanced at her helplessly and gave her head a light tap.
"You… your optimism knows no bounds."
Kaguya stuck out her tongue playfully. "Co on~ You have to look on the bright side sotis!"
In truth, Kaguya just wanted to stall for ti—ti to master Baryon Mode in secret, so that when the day ca, she could give Kazuki a massive surprise!
The planetary will and the Ōtsutsuki God… I've already got a solution for one of them, Kazuki thought to himself. But what about the other?
As it stood, there was only one other person still linked to him through a Soul Imprint…
A native of the Shinobi World, a close companion, and the very first Jinchūriki—
Senju Tobirama.
'…Tobirama,' Kazuki murmured inwardly, his voice soft with emotion. 'It's ti we et again.'
'I need your help.'
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