BOOM!
Code's roar was cut short. The hard floor beneath him cracked with countless fissures.
"I'm giving you a chance." Naruto gently lifted Code's head from the hard rock, bringing their eyes to the same level. "Don't you understand?"
"Hhhooo~" Code struggled to lift his eyelids, uttering a series of unintelligible mumbles.
BOOM!
Naruto slammed his head down again.
"Are you unwilling to accept this? After all this time, you still haven't managed to remove the limiter on your body." Naruto pulled his head up as if picking up trash. "If you're not a waste, then what are you?"
BOOM!
"Gulp..." Nara Shikamaru watched this scene, unable to help but swallow hard. He had only seen the final result of the battle between this man and Otsutsuki Isshiki; the details of the process had all been recounted by the Seventh Hokage and the others. He truly hadn't known this person was so brutal. Even though Code was an enemy, for some reason, Shikamaru even felt a little pity for him.
"Are you unwilling to accept this?" Naruto asked.
"Hhhooo~ Hhhooo~"
"Then I'll give you one more chance. Go, find a way to remove the limiter." Naruto flung Code in front of Amado.
"Wait!" Nara Shikamaru's expression changed. "What are you doing?"
"As you can see. Letting him remove the limiter."
"...Why?" Nara Shikamaru didn't continue to shout. He knew that for some people, the words of others were no different from the chirping of crickets.
Naruto didn't answer.
This guy... Code, his eyes bloodshot, observed the crimson world around him. He glanced back at the man who was continuing his conversation with Eida. Even he, as an enemy, couldn't fathom what this man was thinking. But given how things were developing, he still had a chance to turn the tables.
"Hhhooo..." He swayed, then forcefully slammed into Amado, who was propped against the wall, struggling to stand. A claw mark suddenly appeared, and both of them vanished from the laboratory.
"How are you considering it?" Naruto withdrew his gaze.
"You let Code remove his limiter. Was it to test your own strength, or to test Kawaki and Boruto's strength?" Eida didn't answer him, instead posing her own question.
Another ability? Naruto glanced briefly at her left eye, then, without denying it, nodded and said, "Coincidentally, both of them have grasped Otsutsuki power. Myself, the Seventh Hokage, or even Uchiha Sasuke—we are all unsuitable whetstones for them. Originally, you two siblings were also part of my plan as whetstones, but seeing your attitude towards Kawaki, it's unlikely you two would fight, so I gave up on that idea."
Clang!
A palm-sized ventilation duct cover in the corner suddenly fell off.
Eida's expression strangely tensed, like a shy girl about to meet her lover.
What on earth did that little brat Kawaki do... Naruto was slightly astonished. The fight hadn't even started, and he had already won over the enemy's key general. A man who conquers the world with his looks?
"Where's Amado?" Kawaki, having squeezed through the narrow ventilation duct using Sukunahikona, looked at the wreckage in the laboratory, his expression slightly dazed. He didn't know what had happened here; he had come to find Amado to understand his own body's condition.
"Don't know. Possibly dead..." Nara Shikamaru gave a deep look at the pale figure in the center of the room.
"Kawaki, come over here." Naruto beckoned. "Do you know her?"
"Huh? Eida!" Kawaki exclaimed.
"L-long time no see, Kawaki. How have you been lately?" Eida said shyly, blushing.
Thump!
Code and Amado's figures tumbled out from a claw mark.
"Long time no see, old man!" Daemon greeted Amado enthusiastically upon seeing him.
Unlike Daemon's beaming smile, Amado's face was grave. Even this one has been released?
Code stood up and grabbed Amado by the collar. "To be honest, I really didn't want to bring you to this base..."
"You should give up now, right?"
"What will happen after I help you remove the limiter?" Amado's voice trembled slightly, whether from the pain in his body or from excessive nervousness. "Will you kill me?"
"Probably." Code endured the intense pain and wiped the blood from his face.
"If the end result is death either way, do you think I'll help you remove the limiter?" Amado completely failed to understand his logic.
"Releasing you from your suffering, allowing you to die peacefully—for you in your current state, that's already very merciful," Code's tone gradually became savage, his grip tightening.
"After all these years, your flaws still haven't been corrected. You still act without considering the severity of the situation. Haven't you ever considered what would happen if I died from shock while you were torturing me?" Amado struggled to open his eyes, speaking weakly. "In the end, you'd be the one left confused, wouldn't you?"
"Alright, Amado, cut the crap. I'm in a very foul mood right now; you should know the reason why." Code's tone was like an erupting volcano, as if he had reached his limit.
"..." Seemingly understanding his state, Amado's heart sank. "My request is simple. As long as you spare my life, I will help you remove the limiter."
"Too unsightly, Amado. Still begging for mercy at a time like this. Don't you have any dignity?"
"I have no interest in things that serve no purpose."
Sssshhhrrrrip!
Suddenly, a spatial rift tore open near the two of them, and Eida's tall figure slowly emerged.
"Daemon, come here. We're moving to a new home." She beckoned to her younger brother, not even glancing at the two who were still in a standoff.
Although Daemon still wanted to know how things would unfold, his sister was more important. He reluctantly took Eida's hand and stepped into the spatial rift.
"Still haven't removed it... You really are useless." Naruto emerged halfway from another rift, saw this scene, and shook his head with an expression of someone thoroughly disappointed in an underperformer, then stepped back into the spatial rift. "I'll give you a little more time then."
"Damn it! I agree!" Code instantly felt his head rush with blood. Without another word, he agreed to Amado's request.
"Look into my eyes... Rei... Fuku... Mu (Propriety... Obey... Nothingness/Denial)." Amado stared directly into Code's eyes and uttered three words of unknown meaning.
BOOM!
As his voice fell, a terrifying pressure instantly swept through the spacious room. Simultaneously, Code's crimson hair, starting from the roots, was suffused with a layer of bright white. His bloodied and bruised face also began to heal at a visible rate.
"This long-forgotten feeling..." Code felt the vast, surging power within his body. Looking at the White Karma on his left palm, he murmured, "Uzumaki Naruto from another world, I sincerely pray that not even the slightest hint of regret will appear on your face..."
He turned his head to look at Amado, who was slumped on the ground.
"The wounds on your body must be very painful, right? I'll free you from your suffering right now."
Saying this, he raised his right claw high.
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