The artificial moon suspended inside the lunar interior emitted a gentle white glow. Surrounding it floated countless floating islands of various sizes. Under the moonlight, they resembled asteroids orbiting the moon, drawn into orderly motion by its gravity.
As one of the larger islands drifted close to the moon's surface, two tall figures stood side by side, casting elongated shadows under the nearby moonlight.
The instant the moonlight touched their faces, it was as if a referee had blown the whistle—two types of energy flared simultaneously from their bodies, adding brilliant color to the pale moon.
Boom!
Two elegant fists collided with imnse force, sending out shockwaves that rattled loose stones, producing a sharp clack clack sound.
A flurry of hand-to-hand strikes followed, intense and relentless, until Ōtsutsuki Byakuya flared her butterfly wings and fired several streaks of blue fla, forcing Ōtsutsuki Tsukihi to withdraw slightly.
The two won both took a step back, their beautiful faces now tinged with seriousness. Byakuya in particular felt a pang of despair—the pain in her fist, when scanned with her Byakugan, revealed that Tsukihi's body was perfectly intact and barely drained of chakra.
So there's still a gap between us.
But she couldn't afford to retreat. Byakuya recalled Gin's gentle smile, and that image seed to inject her with renewed strength. Her butterfly wings stirred again as she charged forward.
Forgive , Clan Leader—I have a reason I cannot back down.
BOOM!!!
Idealism t cruel reality. Byakuya, whose strength stemd from a secret jutsu, began to show signs of weakness after several rounds. Her chakra beca unstable, and her movents lost precision.
Tsukihi saw an opening.
With a swift blow to the chest, Byakuya was sent flying dozens of ters, crashing through several rocky protrusions before finally stopping.
Huff... Huff... Huff...
Panting heavily, Byakuya fell to one knee, wiping away the blood at the corner of her mouth. Her butterfly wings were flickering, the jutsu nearing its end.
Feeling the power ebbing from her body, her gaze turned resolute.
"One more ti!"
Burning through her long-sealed reserves, she forced herself upright. A powerful blue glow ignited around her, and her wings solidified again. With diminished but still determined wings, she charged once more, compressing her energy into a single devastating punch aid directly at Tsukihi's face.
"Did I hit her?"
Feeling the satisfying impact, joy briefly flickered across Byakuya's face. That blow should've rattled even the clan leader.
"Heh!"
A chilling laugh pierced her illusion of victory. The scorn in it was undeniable.
Alarm bells scread in her head. She tried to pull back—but her fist was locked in an unyielding grip. She looked and saw that her punch hadn't landed on Tsukihi's face, but had been caught effortlessly in her palm.
"Elder Byakuya, is this the strength you're so proud of?"
The once-manic Tsukihi now spoke calmly, a hint of lucidity in her white eyes. But that mocking tone cut deep.
Suddenly, sinister chakra surged from her palm into Byakuya's body, disrupting her internal flow and sealing several critical tenketsu.
Shrrrgh~
Byakuya convulsed, her wings dissolving. Her tall figure crumpled, tossed aside like trash by Tsukihi.
"How pitiful. But I should thank you—for bringing so close to the moon. That allowed to regain control of myself."
With a touch of pity in her gaze, Tsukihi looked down at the bloodied Byakuya amid the rubble.
"Elder Byakuya, was it worth it? Turning your sword against your own clan leader for a stranger from Earth?"
Walking slowly forward, Tsukihi knelt beside her and lifted her chin.
Though she had entered a berserk state earlier, her consciousness had never left her. The berserk state had rely been due to the rampaging power within her—one that cald near the moon, allowing her mind to reassert control.
Cough cough cough. "Worth or not… I simply did what I wanted to do."
Byakuya, though once terrified of Tsukihi, now held her gaze with calm resolve. In this mont, her true feelings overca all fear.
"But he's a despicable thief!"
Tsukihi, still irked by the betrayal of a long-ti follower, frowned.
"Gin-sama is not like that! There must be a misunderstanding!"
Byakuya, fueled by righteous fury at her beloved being called a thief, forced herself up and shouted in defiance.
Gentle as he is, how could Gin-sama be a thief? It must've been that XXX's doing!
"You're mad. Absolutely insane! You're thinking with your hormones!"
Tsukihi scoffed, shaking her head in disappointnt. With a sigh, she turned toward the edge of the floating island, scanning the moonlit sky for her castle.
"You stay here and reflect. Once I deal with that man, I'll co back for you."
"No!!"
The image of Gin dying flashed through Byakuya's mind. Desperation surged.
"Don't—hurt—Gin—sama!"
With each word, she rose shakily, blood flowing anew from every step.
Her trembling voice froze Tsukihi in place. She turned back with a frown.
"Elder Byakuya, you know how vast the gap between us is. Stop wasting your strength."
Her gaze wandered over Byakuya's changed figure, frowning again.
"You look way better slimd down. But... what's going on with that chest of yours?"
Byakuya blinked, montarily stunned. Looking down, she couldn't see her feet.
Cradling the imnse weight on her chest, a fierce fla lit within her.
Gin-sama, thank you… for this secret weapon.
"Clan Leader… this may be sudden, but please—spare Gin-sama."
Even while cradling her chest, a glimr of hope returned to her gaze. She pleaded softly.
"You didn't hit your head, did you? How can you still talk nonsense in this state?"
Tsukihi held back her sarcasm.
"I'm sorry, Gin-sama… This will be my final transformation."
Byakuya slowly raised her head. A blue glow enveloped her again.
"Again? You shouldn't have any chakra left…"
Tsukihi frowned. What could she still be hiding?
"Butterfly! Transformation! Technique!"
Byakuya's limp arms suddenly flared with light. Her butterfly wings spread again—this ti, unimaginably massive.
Tsukihi's jaw dropped as she noticed sothing odd—the mountains on Byakuya's chest were visibly shrinking.
In just monts, what had been twin Everests beca modest garden hills. In exchange, her wings unfurled to an absurd size.
"She's pushed the Butterfly Technique to this level?! What did she sacrifice?"
Still in the castle, Gin stared up at the unfolding wings in shock.
From his vantage point, massive blue wings had blossod in front of the artificial moon. Their flapping wind reached every corner of the moon's interior, filling all lifeforms with crushing pressure.
In the sea, the mighty king of the lunar ecosystem—the giant crab—curled up in fear, trembling in the trench.
"What… beautiful wings!"
Surviving mbers of the Ōtsutsuki clan looked up from their floating isles in awe, eyes filled with astonishnt.
"They're fighting again… Wait, that's the little one using Tenseigan power?"
Inside the spiritual realm, Ōtsutsuki Hamura opened his eyes from his massage, sensing the conflict—one side using the Tenseigan, the other... distinctly Ōtsutsuki.
"That idiot Hamura's descendants sure developed a bunch of flashy tricks."
In a corner, a shadowy black figure muttered as it gazed at the moon's radiant butterfly wings.
"Hmph! Flashy and useless. Not even half as good as ~"
(End of Chapter)
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