Chapter 9: Ash Bones! Ash Bones!
Seeing Isshiki turn and chase after the direction Kiyoshi had fled, Genji disregarded the various conjectures that had just sprung up in his mind and laboriously pulled out the black rods that had been inserted into his body.
Each black rod that was pulled out brought with it a large amount of blood. Genji grew weaker and weaker, the flame of his life threatening to extinguish at any moment.
Genji endured the pain and once again mustered the remaining twenty or thirty percent of his Chakra, staggering towards Kiyoshi's direction.
On the other side, Kiyoshi, who had been caught up with, was forced to engage in battle with Isshiki.
Kiyoshi, who had no combat experience, could only start with a ranged attack to probe.
Kiyoshi used the Prince's Gambit.
"Shikotsumyaku: Ten Finger Drilling Bullets!"
Kiyoshi pointed his ten fingers at Isshiki, the Chakra within his body, which had reached the Jōnin level, rapidly gathering at his fingertips. Bone bullets shot towards Isshiki wave after wave, the dense, high-speed bone bullets hitting Isshiki's body and the nearby ground, creating a huge cloud of dust.
Seeing that the attack was effective, a smile involuntarily appeared on Kiyoshi's face.
As expected, something unexpected happened. According to the law of "smoke without injury," when the dust settled, Kiyoshi saw Isshiki, whose clothes weren't even torn and whose expression was blank. Kiyoshi's pupils constricted, and a sense of fear arose in his heart, causing him to subconsciously take half a step back.
Compared to other children his age, in the ninja world—a cannibalistic world where one could step onto the battlefield as young as five or six—despite having a resilient heart, Kiyoshi, who had never experienced any fighting during this time, was as naive as an infant.
"Give up struggling, mortal! This god is named Isshiki Otsutsuki, the god of this planet! Obediently become one with this god and become the vessel for this god's resurrection!" Looking at Kiyoshi's fearful expression, a satisfied look appeared on Isshiki's face. He had finally regained the attitude a god should have towards mortals, and he slowly walked towards Kiyoshi with an arrogant look.
"Now I can sleep soundly." Isshiki thought as he walked, his steps slow, but each step he took landed precisely on the beat of Kiyoshi's heart.
"Damn it, move! I can't just die here like this!" Cold sweat covered his face, his expression filled with unwillingness, Kiyoshi roared in his heart.
Genji, who was rushing over from a distance, saw this scene, his eyes widening in fury. Enduring the pain all over his body, he accelerated once again.
"Puchi!" Just as Isshiki was about to approach Kiyoshi, Kiyoshi finally mustered all his strength to break free from his fear. He picked up the bone blade that Genji had given him, which he kept close to his body, and forcefully stabbed it into his thigh. Fresh blood immediately gushed out.
Using the pain to break free from his fear, Kiyoshi finally moved. He stomped hard on the ground with his still-intact leg and retreated rapidly backward.
"Oh? Not bad, mortal." Isshiki smiled disdainfully, his face showing the arrogance of a cat toying with a mouse. With a casual wave of his hand, a huge wave of Chakra slammed into Kiyoshi.
Although the physique awakened by the Shikotsumyaku had the effect of self-healing injuries, the awakening time was ultimately too short. Coupled with the vast difference in strength between the current Isshiki and Kiyoshi, Kiyoshi, who didn't have time to dodge, was hit by the Chakra wave and sent flying heavily, landing on the ground like a broken doll.
Isshiki's eyes looked at Kiyoshi, who was 趴 on the ground. Several black rods appeared and pierced Kiyoshi's body.
"Ah!" Kiyoshi, who had never fought anyone in either his previous or current life, couldn't help but scream loudly. The huge gap in strength left Kiyoshi with no power to resist, and he was instantly severely injured.
Genji grew increasingly anxious. Looking at his severely injured and miserable son, his heart ached.
Isshiki walked up to Kiyoshi, reached out his right hand, and lifted Kiyoshi, who had lost his fighting power. "Karma" was activated, and black tattoos rapidly covered Kiyoshi's body.
Isshiki increased his Chakra output, and the "Karma" that had just been carved quickly entered an unfreezing state.
Isshiki's previous disdainful indulgence and playfulness ultimately bought time for Genji to arrive. Just as Isshiki was preparing to continue his efforts to further and completely unfreeze the "Karma," Genji, exerting all his remaining strength, finally reached Kiyoshi and fiercely kicked Isshiki away with his last bit of strength.
Genji, already exhausted, could no longer suppress his riddled body. Another large mouthful of blood spurted out. He supported himself on the ground with his hands, kneeling down on one knee. His aura suddenly dropped, and only ten or twenty percent of the bloodline within his body remained burning.
Isshiki, who had been kicked away by the surprise attack, stood up and straightened his clothes, which had become slightly wrinkled due to the earlier childish fight. Isshiki stepped towards Kiyoshi again. At this time, both Genji and Kiyoshi had lost all power to resist in Isshiki Otsutsuki's eyes.
Kiyoshi, lying on the ground unable to move, was like a lamb waiting to be slaughtered, waiting for Isshiki to unfreeze the "Karma" he had just carved and finally complete his reincarnation.
Genji, who was almost collapsing on the ground, stood between Isshiki and Kiyoshi. Isshiki disdainfully raised his foot and kicked towards Genji.
In the blink of an eye, taking advantage of Isshiki's carelessness, Genji used his last strength to desperately hug the leg Isshiki had kicked over.
"Heh, how can an insect compete with a god!" Isshiki completely ignored Genji's last struggle. He bent down slightly, raised his hand, and was about to grab Genji's hair to throw him away.
Genji turned his head with force and looked at his son, his eyes filled with endless love, attachment, and reluctance.
"Let's die together! You self-proclaimed god, feel the fury of a so-called insect!" All the remaining bloodline within Genji's body burned up. All the remaining Chakra and life force within his body gathered together, and a gray bone spur rapidly appeared in his right palm. He forcefully stabbed it into Isshiki's thigh at point-blank range.
"Shikotsumyaku: Ash Bones Technique! This is the last strike of the ninja named Kaguya Genji!"
"It's Kaguya's All-Killing Ash Bones!" Isshiki, who had been looking calm, couldn't help but be shocked when he saw the gray bone spur in Genji's hand. The lofty god finally revealed fear.
Back then, he had been ambushed by Kaguya using the All-Killing Ash Bones. Even at his peak, he had completely lost his fighting power after being hit by this move and had ended up being eaten by a rampaging Ten-Tails after desperately fleeing.
Now, Isshiki, who had not yet recovered and was still seriously injured, simply could not withstand the annihilating power of this move. He might die.
Panicked, Isshiki hurriedly wanted to erupt his Chakra and move away from Genji. But Isshiki's arrogant actions earlier had given Genji the opportunity to get close and fight desperately. It was too late to think about moving away now. The gray bone spur had already touched Isshiki.
"Ugh!" Isshiki let out an ugly whimper.
Although Genji's Ash Bones Technique had an annihilating effect that meant instant death upon contact, there was ultimately a huge gap between mortals and gods. This strike could not directly kill Isshiki.
However, for Isshiki, who was already seriously injured and had forcefully reincarnated, such a fatal injury finally brought his life close to its end.
Ignoring Genji, who was covered in cracks but looked at Isshiki with a terrified expression because he hadn't been annihilated, Isshiki forced himself to take his last breath and came to Kiyoshi again.
He forcefully lifted Kiyoshi up, circulated his Chakra, wanting to completely unfreeze the "Karma" at the last moment of his life and thus complete his reincarnation once more.
"Bang!"
At this moment, Kiyoshi, who was being held in Isshiki's hand, turned into a puff of white smoke and dissipated with the wind.
"Hehehe!" On the other side, Kiyoshi's figure appeared, barely supporting himself on the ground with one hand, kneeling diagonally. Although his mouth was full of constantly overflowing blood, his face was full of relief after surviving a disaster.
It turned out that the one Isshiki was holding in his hand was Kiyoshi's Shadow Clone.
The small video clips he had seen in his previous life played a big role. Taking advantage of the fact that Isshiki's attention was completely focused on Genji's Ash Bones Technique, Kiyoshi endured the severe pain and took the opportunity to successfully use the only ninjutsu he remembered from his previous life: the Shadow Clone Technique created by the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju. His real body secretly hid aside.
It could be said that Kiyoshi's life should not have ended there. Thanks to Kiyoshi's extraordinary talent, after awakening his past life's memories, he quickly learned the Shadow Clone Technique, a ninjutsu that runs throughout the entire Naruto series.
Looking at his empty hands, Isshiki's body began to gradually break down amidst a face full of astonishment and unwillingness, his life reaching its end.
And Genji, who had used the Ash Bones Technique, also began to show cracks on his body, like broken porcelain.
A gust of wind blew past. Seeing his son Kiyoshi safe and sound, Genji's body also gently scattered with the wind, leaving only a pile of ashes on the ground.
"No!" Kiyoshi roared in pain, tears streaming down his face uncontrollably. His last relative had also passed away.
Kiyoshi's body was being suppressed by the black rods inserted into it, causing his self-healing ability to fail, making him unable to recover and in great pain. But the pain in his body, no matter how severe, could not compare to the pain in his heart.
The painful Kiyoshi clenched his fists and kept punching the ground. The pain of losing his loved one was like a sharp sword piercing his heart, and the pain continuously gnawed at his soul.
At this moment, Kiyoshi hated his weak self. He finally understood a truth. In this ninja world, power was ultimately respected. Dignity was earned by swords, blades, and ninja tools, and truth only existed within the range of ninjutsu.
The road to growth was always accompanied by bumps and pain. A cruel and drastic change allowed Kiyoshi, who had lived in a peaceful era in his previous life, to quickly adapt to this ninja world full of contradictions and also accelerated his growth.
Kiyoshi's voice had already begun to become hoarse. He raised his head, his originally delicate and charming face covered with dried tear stains, and his lively eyes had lost their light and become extremely dim.
After a long time, finally sorting out his heavy heart, Kiyoshi endured the pain and gritted his teeth, pulling out the several black rods inserted into his body. Chakra began to flow within his body again.
The enhanced physique after the awakening of the Shikotsumyaku bloodline took effect, and Kiyoshi's body rapidly recovered.
A quarter of an hour later, Kiyoshi's body had slightly recovered some mobility. He picked up a black rod beside him, used it as a crutch, and staggered away step by step.