The pressure radiating from Naruto now felt even denser than during his battle with Shu—deeper, more unfathomable.
He rolled his neck once, that radiant yet chilling smile returning to his face.
Looking at Sasuke and Neji—both shaken by the revelation and sinking into deeper despair—he pronounced their sentence, word by word:
"So even if you try to stall… I really don't mind."
"Because—"
He slowly lowered into a combat stance. The Rinnegan's cold purple light locked onto the weakened Sasuke and the exhausted Neji.
"—I'm at full power now."
The instant the words fell—
The ground beneath Naruto's feet shattered soundlessly.
He vanished in a streak of gold and crimson, a violent blur carrying annihilating force.
Faster than any attack before.
And his target—
Hyūga Neji.
He intended to eliminate the most troublesome dōjutsu user first—while he was weakest.
Neji barely had time to cross his arms before his chest, forcing the last remnants of chakra into a defensive guard.
Death was inches away.
Across the shinobi world, countless people closed their eyes.
No miracle was coming.
Strategy had crushed trust.
Despair seemed inevitable.
But at the final instant—
Just before Naruto's strike could connect—
Something happened.
Not from Sasuke.
Not from Neji.
Not from Orochimaru's Edo Tensei army.
Not from Karin.
It came from—
The shattered corpse of Shu.
Shhk—!
A subtle sound, like a seed breaking through soil, barely audible beneath the chaos.
From the cracked center of Shu's wooden forehead, a tiny emerald sprout burst forth.
It grew instantly.
In a blink, it transformed into a supple yet terrifyingly vibrant vine—alive like a striking serpent.
Not toward Naruto's body.
But precisely—
Around his attacking wrist.
Time seemed to freeze.
Naruto's forward momentum halted abruptly.
For the first time, his confident smile faltered.
Sasuke and Neji stared in disbelief.
The vine appeared delicate—but carried an inexplicable force, as though it could bind the essence of life itself.
Naruto's mountain-shattering fist stopped less than an inch from Neji's face.
Then—
From the direction of Shu's broken body came a calm, ancient voice. It carried the echo of an old forest.
"You say… you don't know who my sister is?"
"It doesn't matter."
"I'll tell you now."
The shinobi world erupted again.
"He's not dead?!"
"That thing's body was destroyed!"
"Is he even human? Some plant entity? A construct?"
"The name 'Shu,' the wooden body, plant-based powers… maybe he was never a normal lifeform!"
Inside the projection—
The battlefield shifted once more.
Naruto's expression cracked.
He looked at the vine around his wrist, Rinnegan flickering with irritation.
"What exactly are you?"
Nearby, Shu's ruined body began reconstructing itself.
Emerald vines formed a framework, weaving and growing like a living structure. Flesh-like wood reassembled.
Within seconds, Shu stood whole again—though now his skin bore deeper green, bark-like patterns.
"Can you still fight?" Sasuke asked hoarsely, suppressing pain and weakness.
Enemy or ally was unclear.
But Naruto was the immediate threat.
Shu ignored him.
His gaze remained fixed on Naruto.
"Do you know why I led you here to fight?"
Naruto flexed his wrist violently, exploding chakra outward. The vine shattered under brute force.
He rolled his numb wrist.
"I'm more curious about your 'sister,'" Naruto replied coolly.
But the ease was gone from his eyes.
Only caution remained.
Shu was more dangerous than anticipated.
Shu continued.
"This place… is a sealing site."
All three stiffened.
"Beneath us is sealed… an ancient monster."
"I've tried countless methods to break the seal. None worked. Because opening it requires chakra—vast amounts of it. High-quality chakra. As both key and sacrifice."
Naruto raised a brow.
"And?"
Shu lifted his hand, pointing at Naruto—subtly encompassing Sasuke and Neji as well.
"You've cultivated 'divine techniques,' but you're far from mastering them. Your greatest reliance remains the chakra system."
His voice turned colder.
"I lured you here. Fought you. Every bit of chakra you consumed and released…"
"…was not wasted."
"They've all been absorbed by the ancient monster beneath this land."
"What?!" Neji gasped, instinctively looking downward.
Even weakened, his Tenseigan sensed nothing unusual.
Sasuke's Six-Tomoe Rinnegan activated fully, violet light spiraling as he peered into the earth.
His expression darkened.
He could feel it now.
Faint.
Deep underground.
A colossal, slumbering presence—
Stirring.
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