Yamato seized the opportunity from the side, rapidly forming hand seals with both hands. Several branches sprouted from his right hand, binding the monster tightly like a wrapped dumpling.
But he was clearly struggling. "This won't work, Captain—I can't hold it for long. This thing can actually absorb chakra to break ninjutsu."
That was simply absurd.
In the shinobi world, it had always been Wood Release that absorbed other people's chakra. Who would've thought that one day there'd be a creature capable of doing the reverse and draining Wood Release instead?
All it showed was the vast gap between Yamato and the First Hokage. If Senju Hashirama were here, he could probably suck this monster dry into jerky in an instant.
"Time's enough."
Makoto flickered forward in a Body Flicker and appeared before the fallen monster. But at that exact moment, the creature seized the chance—its tightly shut eyes suddenly snapped open. A powerful yet overly loose and chaotic spiritual force surged out through its massive pitch-black eyes and crashed into Makoto's body.
It could use genjutsu.
An ordinary ninja would easily fall for such a sudden attack. But against Makoto—whose Yin Release had been trained to the extreme—it was useless.
Genjutsu: Rebound!
That immense and highly condensed spiritual force, carrying the monster's "gift" along with it, was sent straight back the way it came—forcing the monster to obediently shut its eyes again.
Makoto didn't often use genjutsu in combat, but that didn't mean he was bad at it. On the contrary, because Konoha had a group of Sharingan users who loved genjutsu, he had specifically trained to counter it.
Anyone who dared try to ambush him with genjutsu would learn exactly what it meant to face a perfectly well-rounded ninja.
With the genjutsu under control, the monster began to settle down. Even its absorption and disruption of Wood Release slowed, as if it had already given up resisting.
But Makoto had no intention of letting it go. If it could be killed, then it absolutely wouldn't be sealed.
He crouched slightly, pressing his right hand against the ground. Sealing inscriptions spread out across the surface and crawled over the monster's entire body.
Sage Art: Fūinjutsu — Nightmare Bind!
After restraining it with sealing techniques, Makoto extended both hands forward, palms open toward the monster. A massive amount of chakra surged out, forming a gigantic spherical cage of flames that completely enveloped it.
Sage Art: Fire Release — Inferno Barrier!
Compared to One-Horn Inferno Prison, which leaned more toward defense, Fire Release was better suited for offense. By using the high-temperature nature transformation of fire chakra to construct a barrier, one could trap the enemy and burn them alive—finally shaking off Fire Release's long-standing reputation of "can't kill anyone."
A true one-grab, instant refinement.
Control the enemy, kill the enemy, cremate the enemy, scatter the ashes—a full-service package. Everyone who's used it says it's thorough; no one has ever left a bad review after experiencing it.
Originally, Makoto had wanted to name it Fire Release: Crematorium, but in the end, he felt it was a bit too considerate and not imposing enough—so he changed it to Inferno Barrier.
The massive monster endured triple-layered suppression. Even as the Wood Release bindings burned away inside the inferno, it still couldn't escape. Amid agonized howls, it was reduced to nothing but ashes.
If it could still come back from that, then Makoto would gladly acknowledge it as the strongest when it came to physical vitality.
As the barrier dissipated and the heat dispersed, the monster vanished from the shinobi world forever, leaving behind only a layer of black ash on the ground.
The Uzumaki girl stood dumbfounded.
The ultimate summoned beast they had painstakingly cultivated—the one that slaughtered them like dogs—was just… gone?
At that moment, she felt a deep sense of emptiness. All her efforts up until now had turned into a joke, meaningless.
At the same time, her inherently kind nature made her feel a hint of relief. A terrifying, uncontrollable monster like that—if it had escaped, who knew how many people it would have devoured? Maybe it was better that it died.
...
Outside the volcano on the central island, Makoto and Yamato worked together, using Earth Release to bury everything in the laboratory deep underground.
Experiments like this—uncontrollable and harmful—were better off disappearing forever. Otherwise, someone might discover them later and start another round of archaeological-style research.
The Uzumaki girl remained indifferent. Nothing mattered anymore.
She bowed deeply to the four of them. "Thank you for saving me. Truly, thank you!"
Makoto replied, "No need to be polite. What are your plans now?"
"My plans…?" The girl's eyes were blank. "I don't know. Everything I was familiar with was here—and now it's all gone."
"I know you belong to a ninja organization in the Land of Sea. Aren't you planning to go back?"
"Everyone here is dead. If I go back, I'll only be suspected—and then killed."
"Your name is Honoka, right?"
"Yes… but how do you know my name?"
"I heard that researcher call you that earlier."
"Earlier? So you were inside the lab the whole time?"
Makoto didn't deny it. "Yes. The whole time."
Thinking of her dead colleagues, Honoka felt a wave of sorrow. "Then… why didn't you save them? For you, that should have been easy, right?"
"They were secretly conducting dangerous experiments and even created an uncontrollable monster like this. Then they got killed by the monster they raised. Isn't that a fitting ending?"
"If we had saved them, do you think they would've stopped? No. They would've just started over, creating something even more terrifying. And when that happens—how many more people would die?"
Honoka slumped. She knew he was right. "Yes… that's true. The experiments were too dangerous. We all deserved to die. So… why did you save me?"
"Because you're from the Uzumaki Clan. And we are Konoha ninja."
As Makoto spoke, he removed his mask, revealing the Konoha forehead protector on his head—openly declaring his identity. He didn't like hiding things in situations like this. Being straightforward was better for everyone.
As for what the girl would choose in the end—that was her decision. If she didn't want to go to Konoha, he would respect her choice. He wouldn't force anyone.
He wasn't the kind of person who used "it's for your own good" as an excuse to interfere with someone's freedom.
The girl forced her gaze away from his handsome face and looked at the Konoha symbol instead. "So you're Konoha ninja… Konoha and the Uzumaki Clan… that's a relationship from long ago."
"So you know about the connection between Konoha and the Uzumaki Clan."
"I do. My parents told me when I was young. But… we already abandoned our surname. We're not considered members of the Uzumaki Clan anymore."
"That's understandable. Survivors who've lost their country and ninja village—keeping the surname would only attract more trouble. I met someone like you before in Kusagakure—another Uzumaki who chose to abandon her name."
Honoka immediately grew curious and concerned upon hearing about another clansman. "And? Where is she now?"
"She, not he—a woman, with a daughter. They weren't living well in the Land of Grass. After I extended an invitation, they chose to go to Konoha."
"So… Konoha is planning to rebuild the Uzumaki Clan?"
"No. Konoha has no such intention. I just happen to invite any Uzumaki I meet during missions—like I'm doing now with you. If you don't want to go, I won't force it. We'll simply part ways here."
Honoka stared at his face. "Can I know your name?"
"Konoha ninja, Higashino Makoto."
"I feel like… you're unusually interested in the Uzumaki Clan."
Makoto smiled slightly. "Because my sensei in sealing techniques is from the Uzumaki Clan—Uzumaki Kushina."
"Sometimes I feel like… she probably misses her clansmen. If more of them could live in Konoha like she does, she'd likely be happier. That's why, whenever I meet Uzumaki survivors, I extend an invitation."
Honoka lowered her head and said softly, "You're really a good student who thinks for his sensei."
"Thanks for the compliment. So—what's your decision?"
Honoka thought seriously for a moment. Then she glanced at Makoto again. For some reason, her mind suddenly flashed back to the moment he saved her at the brink of death—when she was lifted into the air.
Back then, he had been wearing a mask.
But now, in her memory, the mask had disappeared—replaced entirely by his face.
"…Maybe going to Konoha wouldn't be such a bad choice."
Yamato, seeing the girl agree, quietly noted something down in his mental notebook.
He had learned something.
Treat people with sincerity, and you could earn their genuine trust. At the same time, it avoided future trouble caused by lies.
This—was the proper way people should interact with one another.
Unlike his time in Root, where Danzō relied on coercion, brainwashing, and curse marks to force control—that only produced a bunch of human-shaped machines.
As expected of my elder brother. But I'm absolutely not going to call you "niisan."
Hayate wasn't surprised by how things turned out.
Yūgao wasn't either—but she felt that something about the conversation between the two of them was… off. Especially when she noticed how this girl named Honoka kept sneaking glances at a certain someone.
She instantly sensed a major crisis approaching—like something she cared about was about to be taken from her.
'Hmph. What's so great about red hair? Is it prettier than my purple hair?'
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