Chapter 447: Powering Up? Are You the Protagonist? You Want to Power Up!
Intense pain, blood loss, shattered internal organs, broken bones... The icy shadow of death, like the thickest darkness, rapidly enveloped Toneri's consciousness, threatening to drag him into eternal silence.
However, at the very edge where his consciousness was about to sink completely, some voices—voices long buried by time yet deeply etched into the depths of his Soul—began to echo and surface in his shattered mind...
"My son," a deep voice said, sounding as if it had traveled through long ages, carrying an unquestionable expectation. "Upon your shoulders lies the mission of our Otsutsuki Clan! Purifying the Ninja World, reshaping order, and guarding the peace of the moon... This is the responsibility bestowed upon you by your Bloodline, and it is also your glory!"
It was his father's voice. The tall, stern man in his childhood memories who always taught him about "mission."
"Although this child was born without eyes, it... might not be without opportunity."
Another aged and wise voice rang out, carrying scrutiny and a hint of anticipation.
"Without the Byakugan, perhaps he can focus more on sensing the pure power of the Temple's Tenseigan, unconstrained by'seeing.' Train him well; he might become an unprecedented 'eye' for our clan."
This was the voice of the Elder. When he was judged an anomaly for being "born without eyes," this was one of the few clan Elders who didn't completely give up on him, but instead saw another possibility.
"Toneri, the Ninja World... how is the monitoring going?"
His father's voice rang out again, this time with inquiry and examination. "Have you fulfilled the duty of monitoring passed down through generations of our clan?"
"My son," it was his father again, but this time his tone seemed a bit softer. "My son, you are now grown... can you continue our clan's Bloodline?"
Finally, there was a voice so gentle it was almost illusory, yet like a ray of sunlight illuminating cold memories:
"Toneri... Mommy loves you... You must grow up healthy and strong..."
It was his mother.
The figure in his memory who would stroke his forehead with warm hands and hum unknown songs.
Unfortunately, such a gentle person passed away not long after he began to remember things.
This love was so brief yet so profound, becoming the only real, tangible warmth in his cold life.
His father's mission, the Elder's expectations, the responsibility of monitoring, the continuation of the Bloodline, his mother's love...
These voices, these expectations, these heavy, warm, and cold "things" swirled, collided, and intertwined rapidly in his near-shattered consciousness like a revolving lantern.
They were once the meaning of his life, the principles of his actions, the motivation for his lonely persistence, and also... the invisible shackles binding his Soul.
Yet at this moment, in the face of death's absolute cold, these "things" seemed to transform into the final fuel, igniting that unquenchable flame named "obsession" deep within his Soul!
"I... Upon my shoulders... I carry... so many things..."
In Toneri's shattered consciousness, this thought exploded like a thunderclap, carrying a nearly tragic resolve.
Mission! Responsibility! Expectations! Love!
They were so heavy, yet so... real. They were the proof of his existence in this world, the meaning of his struggle until now.
"I cannot... fall yet..."
"I cannot... fall...!"
A desire to survive and a sense of mission so intense it was almost overbearing erupted from the depths of his Soul like a volcanic eruption! This power temporarily suppressed the physical agony and dispersed the shadow of death!
"Tenseigan!"
He let out a silent yet scream-like call in his heart, "Ancestors!"
His spirit, desperately like a drowning man clutching at a final straw, forcibly connected once again to the distant Giant Tenseigan linked to his Bloodline.
He was no longer forcibly "borrowing" power; instead, he was praying, demanding, and burning his everything to resonate with and awaken the collective will and power of the past generations of the Ōtsutsuki branch family ancestors sleeping within that eye!
"Lend me your power, I need power!"
"Fulfill... our clan's mission!!!"
This shout seemed to penetrate the barriers of the flesh and the limitations of space, transforming into an incredibly intense spiritual ripple that shot straight toward that golden Giant Tenseigan!
Within the deep pit, Toneri's life aura, which had already grown dim and was on the verge of extinguishing, began to rise and fluctuate again in an unstable yet exceptionally violent manner, like a final flash of lucidity before death!
The shattered lunar surface beneath him seemed to tremble slightly due to this sudden explosion of Spiritual Power, a mixture of despair, obsession, and prayer.
Outside the pit, Naruto, who had just landed, suddenly frowned. Sensing the abnormal fluctuations at the bottom of the pit and the suddenly strengthened connection with the distant Giant Tenseigan, alarm bells rang in his heart.
"Still steaming?"
"Argh!"
At the bottom of the deep pit, Toneri let out a roar like a beast driven into a corner.
Although his body was overextended and his mind was beginning to blur, he still held onto hope even in such a desperate situation.
Because he possessed conviction and believed at all times that hope would always exist.
He slammed his hands against the cold, hard ground beneath him. His elbows, due to the intense pain and extreme exhaustion of strength, shook uncontrollably like a butterfly still trying to struggle after its wings had been broken.
Every minute movement agitated the shattered bones and ruptured internal organs throughout his body, bringing piercing agony.
Sweat and blood mixed with dust slid from his forehead, dripping into the dirt at the bottom of the pit.
He could feel a power forcibly triggered by his obsession surging within his battered body, and the connection with the distant Giant Tenseigan was strengthening its transmission regardless of the cost.
Soon! Almost there!
As long as he could endure this most difficult moment, as long as his hands could hold steady, his waist and abdomen could find the strength to push up, and his legs could tremble and stand straight...
Then, in one final push, he would be able to stand up again.
With the power lent by his ancestors, with his unfulfilled mission, and with the resolve of burning his life, he would fight again!
A large hand suddenly pressed down on the back of Toneri's head.
"Steaming? Keep on steaming then! Why don't you go sit at the same table as the Grass, Stone, and Cloud Ninjas? Every time, it's like I'm the villain."
Naruto's eyes turned into the red Six-Tomoe Rinnegan. Then, with a sudden lift of his hand, using the ability of the Human Path—one of the basic powers of the Rinnegan—he pulled out Toneri's Soul.
"I trained under Guy-sensei in the biting cold of winter and the scorching heat of summer, and then I'd secretly practice Chakra control at night. I carried weights ranging from dozens to hundreds of pounds. Do you think you're the only ones who worked hard?"
"Your talent doesn't compare to mine in the slightest, your efforts don't compare to mine in the slightest, and your intelligence is inferior too. You think you can just roar a couple of times to power up and keep fighting me? There's no such thing as a free lunch!"
The prerequisite for shouting to power up in a hot-blooded manga is that you are the protagonist.
Are you the protagonist, kid? And you want to power up!
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