MTLNOVEL Chapter 102: Chapter 102: The Uchiha and the Senju
Chapter 102: The Uchiha and the Senju
The Kāma mark, meant to overwrite Kagami's body, was instead absorbed into an eerie void, vanishing without a trace.
By the time Ōtsutsuki Isshiki realized what was happening and tried to retreat, it was too late.
The colossal Black Moon Dragon Vein, channeled into the Six Paths Stone Monument, unleashed an unparalleled sealing force.
"You...! What the hell have you done, you bastard!?"
With his remaining strength, Isshiki swung a powerful fist at Kagami's face, smashing his cheekbone and leaving his features almost unrecognizable.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
The heavy blows echoed in the desolate space, but Kagami seemed entirely unfazed. Black seals began to crawl up Isshiki's body like sentient chains, binding him tighter with every passing second.
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Inside the Mental Domain
Six pitch-black stakes pinned Sukuna's four arms and legs to the ground.
He gazed coldly at the slowly opening Seal Gate, a smirk tugging at the corner of his lips.
"Another one of your schemes, Kagami?"
Sukuna silently observed, memorizing every detail of the battle and mentally dissecting its components.
If Sukuna were to intervene now with his full power, he might cause Kagami some trouble.
But after years of being bound alongside Kagami, Sukuna had learned patience. He would wait for the perfect opportunity to strike.
Besides, with Isshiki being dragged into this domain, Sukuna might have a chance to witness and harness a level of power far beyond his own.
The immense pressure exuded by Isshiki's fully resurrected form was tantalizing, almost irresistible.
---
Blood dripped steadily from Kagami's Mangekyō Sharingan, which had far surpassed their limits during this battle.
Isshiki's body grew increasingly pale and lifeless, his tone becoming desperate.
"What is that thing!?"
"Damned fool! That can't possibly exist in this world!"
In Isshiki's vision, a gaping maw appeared within Kagami's mental domain, stretching wide to swallow him whole.
His instincts screamed at him—once consumed by that abomination, there would be no coming back.
Fear overtook him, shattering his composure and destroying any semblance of strategy.
---
From the very beginning, Kagami had been targeting Isshiki's mental state.
Through words, calculated provocation, and relentless combat, he forced Isshiki to shed his weaker shell, "Jigen," and enter his fully resurrected form.
This form was undoubtedly invincible in direct combat, but it also made Isshiki vulnerable to Kagami's ultimate gambit.
Had Isshiki kept his composure and immediately destroyed the Six Paths Stone Monument, he might have been able to escape this domain.
But fear clouded his judgment.
It wasn't death itself that terrified Isshiki—it was the incomprehensible existence beyond the Seal Gate.
---
Within the Mental Domain
Kagami dragged Isshiki step by step toward the gate.
"Let go of me! You wretched lower lifeform!"
Isshiki thrashed wildly, his blows landing with immense force, but they lacked direction or precision.
Despite his struggles, black tendrils from the Seal Gate wrapped around him like living chains, dragging him closer to his doom.
"Release me!! Do you know who I am!?"
"I am Isshiki Ōtsutsuki!!"
Kagami's gaze remained cold and unwavering. He watched silently as Isshiki's form was swallowed by the Eternal Box of Bliss.
A second later, the box began to shake violently, as if a monstrous beast was raging within.
With a flick of his wrist, Kagami summoned the Dragon Vein, encasing the box in layers of energy.
The tremors subsided slightly.
Next, he summoned the Six Paths Stone Monument, pressing it down atop the box.
Finally, black spears rained down from the sky, pinning the box in place like an otherworldly cage.
Only then did the domain fall silent.
Kagami turned away, sealing the Gate behind him with a final motion.
Exhaling deeply, he collapsed into a sitting position on his side of the mental space.
---
In his corner, Sukuna snapped one of the black stakes binding him.
With most of Kagami's energy focused on sealing Isshiki, the restraints on Sukuna had weakened considerably.
"Quite the beast you've caged there…" Sukuna muttered, glancing at the multi-layered seals containing Isshiki.
If Kagami were to release the seals now, Isshiki would undoubtedly emerge and tear Sukuna apart.
Kagami smirked, his face pale but resolute.
"This guy will keep us both busy for a long time."
"A feast worthy of the name, wouldn't you say, Sukuna?"
---
Had Kagami allowed Isshiki to consume Sukuna and then drained Isshiki in turn, he could have accelerated his rise to power, perhaps even reaching the level of the Sage of Six Paths.
But Kagami despised such methods.
Ōtsutsuki genetics were a curse, a taint that could corrupt even the most powerful of bloodlines. Kagami feared that adopting such traits would push his Sharingan toward the evolution of the Rinnegan—a path that ultimately led to stagnation.
Instead of reverting to an ancestral state, Kagami sought to carve a new path—one where he became the progenitor of his own destiny.
For this, Sukuna was invaluable—a filter to process Isshiki's power, ensuring Kagami gained only its purest form.
As he recovered, Kagami brushed his hand over his right eye, encasing it in a gray-black covering.
"Don't use my seal like some eye patch, you bastard!" Sukuna growled from his corner.
---
In the Real World
The black sphere began to shrink, its energy folding inward until it vanished into Kagami's body.
Suspended in midair, Kagami exuded an aura that was both ethereal and ominous.
Looking out, he saw the same scene his shadow clone had relayed earlier.
Hashirama Senju was battling Toneri Ōtsutsuki, pinning him down with countless Gates of the Great God.
Each time Toneri shattered a red torii gate, another would fall in its place, overwhelming him through sheer persistence.
---
Toneri's once-vivid golden chakra had dimmed to near-invisibility.
His connection to the Tenseigan had been severed, leaving him with no path to victory.
Though battered and bruised, Toneri had somehow managed to survive—but barely.
Two Ōtsutsuki had fallen, each defeated by one of the two great clans of the Leaf.
---
Standing atop the wooden dragon, Hashirama turned and smiled warmly at Kagami.
"Kagami, my boy, do you have time for a chat?"
End of Chapter
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