Several golden chains burst from the ground—
Instantly binding several of the black-clad shinobi in place.
"As expected of the Uzumaki clan."
A trace of wariness flashed through the scar-faced man's eyes.
"No wonder Lord Danzō feared all of you so much back then."
"That old bastard Danzō should have died long ago."
Nagato's voice was cold.
"I never expected his subordinates would still dare come here and cause trouble."
"Cause trouble?"
The scar-faced man grinned viciously.
"We're here to carry out justice!"
He suddenly formed a series of hand seals.
An eerie chakra erupted from his body.
"This is…"
Sasuke's pupil contracted.
"The power of a Curse Mark?"
"That's right!"
The scar-faced man's body began mutating.
His skin turned a dark gray-black.
"We also obtained the results of Lord Orochimaru's research!"
The other black-clad shinobi activated Curse Marks one after another.
Their strength surged instantly.
"This is getting troublesome."
Naruto frowned.
"These guys got a lot stronger."
The battle immediately escalated.
The Curse Mark not only amplified their strength—
It also dulled their sense of pain.
They became incredibly difficult to deal with.
But just then—
The ground suddenly began shaking.
"This is bad!"
Nagato's expression changed drastically.
"The shockwaves from the battle disturbed the resentment beneath the ground!"
The moment he finished speaking—
Black mist began pouring from cracks in the earth.
Wails echoed from within it.
Chilling everyone who heard them to the bone.
"What the hell is that?!"
Even the scar-faced man was startled.
"You idiots caused a disaster!"
Nagato roared.
"Now everyone here could die!"
The black mist grew thicker.
Within it—
Blurry human silhouettes began to appear.
They were the enemies who had died here all those years ago.
Now—
They had become vengeful spirits.
"Heh heh heh…"
The ghosts let out eerie laughter.
"Living people…"
"Fresh living people…"
For the first time—
The black-clad shinobi showed genuine fear.
Their Curse Mark power was completely useless against these spirits.
"Run!"
The scar-faced man shouted.
"Retreat!"
But—
It was already too late.
The vengeful spirits lunged at every living person in sight.
Friend or foe made no difference.
"Everyone, gather around me!"
Nagato raised the Soul-Suppressing Staff high.
"I'll suppress them temporarily!"
Everyone hurried toward him.
White light erupted from the staff.
The vengeful spirits were barely forced back.
"This won't hold for long."
Nagato's face had gone pale.
"We need another solution immediately."
"I'll try."
Naruto stepped forward.
"Kurama!"
"Lend me your power!"
"Kid."
Kurama's voice echoed inside his mind.
"These ghosts are troublesome."
"They're no longer ordinary resentment."
"Then what do we do?"
"There's only one option."
Kurama sighed.
"But it's risky."
"What option?"
"Tailed Beast Bomb Purification."
Kurama replied.
"Use the power of a Tailed Beast Bomb to purify all the resentment at once."
"But if your control slips…"
"You'll purify everyone here along with it."
Naruto gritted his teeth.
"Isn't there another way?"
"There is."
Sasuke suddenly spoke.
"Leave it to me."
"You?"
Naruto looked at him in confusion.
Sasuke's Rinnegan began to rotate.
"The Rinnegan possesses the ability to purify souls."
"The chakra consumption will be enormous…"
"But it's safer than using a Tailed Beast Bomb."
"Then it's yours!"
Sasuke took a deep breath.
His hands came together.
"Rinnegan…"
"Six Paths Power…"
"Soul Purification!"
BOOM!
Brilliant white light erupted from his body.
It engulfed the entire area.
The vengeful spirits screamed in agony within the radiance.
Their bodies gradually began to dissolve.
"It's working!"
Mina shouted excitedly.
But Sasuke's face was growing paler by the second.
Clearly—
The chakra consumption was overwhelming.
"Hang in there!"
Naruto hurried over to support him.
At last—
The final vengeful spirit disappeared.
And the moment it did—
Sasuke's body went limp.
He collapsed unconscious.
"Sasuke!"
Everyone rushed over.
"He's fine."
After checking him, Karin finally let out a breath of relief.
"He just exhausted too much chakra."
"He'll recover after a few days of rest."
As for the black-clad shinobi—
They had long since fled without a trace.
The vengeful spirits had terrified them completely.
"Looks like news of our reconstruction plan has leaked."
Nagato's expression was worried.
"There'll probably be even more trouble in the future."
"Then we deal with it when it comes."
Naruto lifted Sasuke onto his back.
"Since we already decided to do this…"
"We're not going to be scared off by anyone."
…
Three days later.
Sasuke finally opened his eyes.
He found himself lying inside a crude tent.
Beside him—
Naruto was sprawled forward, snoring loudly.
"This idiot…"
Sasuke shook his head helplessly.
Then reached over and shoved him.
"Mm…"
"Sasuke?"
Naruto opened his eyes groggily.
Then immediately sat up.
"You're awake?!"
"Great!"
"How long was I unconscious?"
"Three days."
Naruto rubbed his eyes.
"Karin said you used too much chakra and needed proper rest."
Sasuke slowly pushed himself upright.
His head still felt slightly dizzy.
"What happened to the Root remnants?"
"They ran."
Naruto curled his lip.
"Those ghosts scared the crap out of them."
"They probably won't dare come back anytime soon."
"It won't be that simple."
Sasuke frowned.
"If they already know we're here…"
"They'll find another way to interfere."
Footsteps sounded outside the tent.
A moment later—
Nagato lifted the flap and entered.
"Good."
"You're awake."
A relieved smile appeared on the old man's face.
"That purification technique you used was impressive."
"You cleansed a large amount of the resentment that had accumulated over the past twenty years."
"It only treated the symptoms."
Sasuke shook his head.
"The root problem still remains."
"Which is why we need to speed things up."
Nagato nodded.
"While the resentment is weakened…"
"We need to finish setting up the sealing formation as soon as possible."
The three of them left the tent.
Outside—
Everyone else was already busy.
Mina and Karin were organizing the sealing records.
Uzumaki and the others were clearing the surrounding land.
"Sasuke!"
The moment Karin saw him—
A trace of concern flashed through her eyes.
"How are you feeling?"
"I'm fine."
Sasuke nodded.
"How far along is the sealing formation?"
"About halfway complete."
Nagato pointed toward a clearing not far away.
"Look."
Sasuke followed the direction of his finger.
Complex patterns had already been carved into the ground.
The symbols shimmered faintly—
Clearly infused with an enormous amount of chakra.
"This sealing formation is larger than I expected."
Sasuke approached and studied it carefully.
"The coverage area is at least one kilometer."
"It has to be."
Nagato explained.
"The resentment beneath the Land of Whirlpools is spread throughout the entire region."
"A small sealing formation would be useless."
"Then the amount of chakra needed will also be enormous."
Sasuke quickly calculated.
"The few of us won't be enough."
"I already considered that."
Nagato smiled mysteriously.
"Come with me."
"I'll show you something."
He led everyone behind the hillside.
There—
A cave entrance lay hidden beneath thick vines.
It was so inconspicuous that most people would have walked straight past it.
"What is this place?"
Naruto asked curiously.
"The Land of Whirlpools' chakra repository."
Nagato pulled away the vines.
"The clan head stored an enormous amount of chakra here long ago."
"It was meant for emergencies."
The interior of the cave was far more spacious than expected.
Dozens of glowing crystal spheres were embedded in the walls.
Each one contained astonishingly dense chakra.
"These…"
Karin stared at the sight in shock.
"What are they?"
"The chakra left behind by generations of clan heads."
Nagato's voice carried deep respect.
"Before dying…"
"Each clan head would seal their own chakra inside one of these crystals."
"A precious inheritance…"
"Left for future generations."
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