The world remained completely frozen under the ominous crimson glow of the System screen. The dust particles hovering in the air, the splintered wood, and the terrified expressions of the three rookies were all locked in place.
[ALERT!: WORLD EVENT BOSS BATTLE INITIATED!]
[BOSS: IMPERFECT JINCHURIKI OF THE ONE-TAIL, GAARA OF THE DESERT (PARTIAL TRANSFORMATION)]:
Conditions:
Win battle.
Win by depleting Boss HP to 20%.
Win while the opponent's strength & defense is increased.
Bonus Conditions:
Win with more than 60% HP.
Deliver the final blow with explosive tags.
I let out a low whistle, my eyes scanning the harsh requirements.
"This is gonna be quite the doozy," I muttered to myself in the frozen silence. "And because it's this particular battle, this 'enhanced state' of his is basically just phase one. That explains why I'm only supposed to drop his HP to twenty percent. I have to push him to the brink so he gets desperate and unleashes the actual beast."
A new prompt blinked at the bottom of the screen.
[READY TO BEGIN?: Y/N]
My finger hovered over the 'Y', but I hesitated. I wasn't at a hundred percent. My clones were still engaged in heavy skirmishes across the village, constantly siphoning off my total chakra pool. And I didn't want to rely on chugging potions throughout an entire boss fight.
I need to send a Soldier to tell one of my non-engaged clones to disperse, I strategized rapidly. That way the others get the memory feedback, and they can start dispersing ONE AT A TIME to safely refund my chakra without leaving the village undefended.
Before I could even issue the telepathic command, the System chimed.
[NOTICE: MANUAL RELAY NOT REQUIRED. AUTONOMOUS DISPERSING OF ALL CLONES NOT CURRENTLY ENGAGED IN HEAVY COMBAT AND RELAYING YOUR DIRECTIVE TO STEADILY REBUILD YOUR RESERVES IS ACCESSIBLE.]
[INITIATE NOW?: Y/N]
Man, I love you sometimes, I said, confirming the command. Let's get it done.
With that, the crimson screens shattered into glowing red pixels, and the world violently unfroze.
The roaring wind rushed back into my ears, accompanied by Gaara's distorted, echoing snarls from the crater of trees ahead. Instantly, I felt my total chakra reserves start to tick upward as a fresh batch of clone memories flooded my brain.
Without turning around, I opened my [INVENTORY], and pulled out three high-grade [HEALTH & CHAKRA POTIONS], and tossed them blindly over my shoulder. The rookies behind me scrambled to catch them.
"I'm gonna tag in for this one, if y'all don't mind," I stated, keeping my eyes locked on the dust cloud where Gaara was beginning to stir.
"Tag in?! Are you crazy?!" Shikamaru yelled, his voice cracking with panic. "That guy's turned into whatever that is! We have to get out of here!"
"Naruto, Shikamaru's right! Our orders were to help Sasuke and get out!" Sakura pleaded, her voice trembling. "We have him now. What we need to do is find a way out of this. We can't fight him!"
I could feel Sasuke's gaze burning into my back—a heavy, suffocating stare devoid of words. He wasn't telling me to run. He was just watching, paralyzed and completely tapped out, radiating a silent, bitter frustration at what he had just seen unfold right in front of him.
"You're strong, we're aware of that, but even you can't beat a guy like that on a whim!" Shikamaru added desperately. "He's turned into something my mind can't even comprehend. Running is our only option!"
I didn't reply immediately. "Run? Me?" I said, finally, nearly chuckling. "Don't make me laugh."
I reached back into my [INVENTORY] and pulled out a rare, glowing golden vial—the [ELIXIR OF THE ASCENDANT]. I popped the cork and downed the whole thing. A surge of energy rushed through my veins, instantly restoring my HP and CP bars to a perfect one hundred percent.
I dropped the empty vial into the dirt and cracked my knuckles.
"Now, give me some space to operate," I commanded, my voice dropping into a dead-serious tone. "Unless you wanna get crushed, of course."
A massive surge of demonic chakra erupted from the treeline ahead. The shattered remains of the tree trunks were violently blasted away as Gaara pulled himself out of the rubble.
The sand rapidly swirled and reformed around his body, compacting tightly to make his half-transformed state look even more grotesque and monstrous than before. His oversized, clawed arm flexed, and his mismatched eyes locked onto me with pure, unfiltered bloodlust.
"You!" he snarled, his dual-layered voice grating against my ears.
A massive red HP bar materialized directly above his head, hovering ominously in the air.
"Well, well, well. Ain't you a sight for sore eyes," I said, shaking my head with a mock sigh. "You look absolutely dreadful. Maybe more sunlight would do some good for you."
Gaara ignored the jab, his demonic aura flaring violently. "So you finally arrive."
"Live in the flesh," I replied smoothly, gesturing to myself.
"It's time to show you that my existence is greater than yours!" he roared, his sand shifting erratically.
I rolled my shoulders, keeping my stance loose. "What'chu you waiting for then? Let's get this over with."
Gaara pulled his monstrous, sandy arms inward, the air around him whistled as wind and chakra condensed into a localized storm. "THEN MAKE ME FEEL ALIVE!" he roared, thrusting his hands outward. "SAND SHURIKEN!"
Dozens of high-speed, hardened projectiles of sand ripped through the air, tearing toward me like a barrage of bullets.
I whipped out a single shuriken and hurled it forward in a blur of motion, channeling chakra into the spinning metal.
[SKILL ACTIVATED: SHURIKEN SHADOW CLONE JUTSU (MINIMUM OUTPUT)]
The single projectile instantly multiplied by the dozens. The air rang out with a deafening cacophony of metallic clangs and grinding sand as my steel shurikens perfectly intercepted his barrage, creating a massive cloud of dust between us.
Using the smokescreen to my advantage, I instantly pushed off the large branch I was standing on.
[SKILL ACTIVATED: SPRINT]
I blurred out of his line of sight, effortlessly flanking the monster and arriving at his blind spot on the right side. With a flick of my wrist, I hurled one of my [WINTER'S BITE] daggers directly at his exposed neck.
But before the blade could connect, a thick wall of sand violently erected itself, attempting to block the strike. I recalled the dagger in an instant before it could even make contact.
So his sand protects him autonomously in this state too, huh? I thought internally, analyzing the fluid movement of the barrier. It's just like what happened with the Echo of Kushina. This actually might be more complicated than I thought.
Sensing my location, Gaara whipped his massive arm around. It extended at a terrifying speed, shooting through the forest like a battering ram. He laughed maniacally, fully expecting to crush me against the trees.
[SKILL ACTIVATED: SHISUI UCHIHA'S BODY FLICKER]
I dissolved into an afterimage just a microsecond before the massive claw connected. Reappearing slightly above the extending arm, I drove both of my daggers deep into the sandy limb.
Gaara's laugh was instantly cut short by a gasp of shock. The moment the blades pierced his arm, a wave of absolute-zero frost exploded outward, rapidly freezing the compacted sand solid.
Realizing the ice was traveling straight up the arm toward his main body, Gaara was forced to violently snap off the freezing limb to stop the ice from spreading. The massive chunk of frozen sand crashed onto the ground below.
"Was that... Ice Release?!" I heard Sakura shriek from the sidelines.
"Impossible!" Sasuke breathed, his voice thick with disbelief. "How is he wielding that Ice user's Kekkei Genkai?!"
I caught their panicked whispers just as I aimed an open palm at the frozen sand arm on the ground.
[SKILL ACTIVATED: RULER'S HAND]
The invisible force wrapped around the frozen limb, and I hurled it right back at Gaara. The Sand Jinchuriki's eyes widened in shock at the sight of his own severed arm flying at him. He hastily threw up his remaining hand, unleashing a point-blank Wind Style jutsu to blast the frozen arm out of the air.
The collision shattered the frozen sand into thousands of icy fragments that scattered across the clearing.
"He didn't even use a hand sign," I heard Shikamaru say. "He just moved it with his mind. What the hell is going on?!"
Realizing I had created the perfect opportunity with the falling debris, I seamlessly chained my next attack.
[SKILL ACTIVATED: WATER STYLE: HAIL]
I condensed the residual moisture from the shattered icelets, instantly forming dozens of razor-sharp water projectiles in the air. With a thought, I sent the aquatic barrage raining down on him.
But the monster adapted. Hideous, gaping mouths suddenly ripped open across the sandy portions of Gaara's deformed body.
"Wind Style: Infinite Sand Devastation!" the mouths roared in unison.
A massive, omnidirectional shockwave of wind and abrasive sand erupted from his body, violently knocking away my water projectiles and effortlessly uprooting several massive trees in the process.
"MORE, MORE!" Gaara laughed, completely losing himself to the thrill of the fight. He began throwing massive waves of sand projectiles in every direction, obliterating the landscape.
I landed softly on another sturdy branch, narrowing my eyes at the untouched health bar floating above his head.
Ight, I think it's time to kick it up a notch, I thought, raising my hands into a cross seal.
Two [SHADOW CLONES] popped into existence beside me. They instantly dashed in opposite directions, circling the clearing and firing a barrage of standard kunai and jutsu, only for Gaara's autonomous sand to effortlessly block every single strike.
"It's useless!" Gaara taunted, his manic laughter echoing through the trees. "None of your tricks will work against me!"
"I guess we'll be seeing, huh?" I smirked.
From the left flank, my first clone rapidly cycled through hand signs. "Water Style: Water Dragon Bullet!" A massive, roaring dragon of water crashed into Gaara's sand shield.
Simultaneously, from the right flank, my second clone struck. "Water Style: Rising Water Slicer!" High-pressure blades of water slammed into the opposite side of the barrier.
Gaara sneered, preparing to shoot his sand outward to impale my clones, but the sand barely moved. It slumped sluggishly, struggling to hold its shape. The heavy, concentrated water jutsu had completely saturated it.
Gaara's mismatched eyes widened in sudden realization.
I didn't give him a second to recover. I launched myself at him with my fist pulled back. As I extended it forward, my perk flared to life.
[PASSIVE EFFECT ACTIVATED: ABSOLUTE FORCE (SHIELD BREAKER)]
My strike collided with him. The impact unleashed a shockwave that completely shattered the mud-soaked shield of sand around Gaara's main body. I followed through, driving a devastating right hook directly into his jaw.
Gaara was sent skidding backward across the dirt, and for the first time since the battle began, I watched the massive red HP bar above his head finally drop.
He tumbled backward through the dirt, his monstrous form tearing up the ground until he forcefully dug his sand-claws into the earth to stop his momentum. He let out an ear-piercing shriek of pure rage.
Realizing his autonomous sand was too slow when heavily saturated, Gaara slammed both hands onto the ground. The surrounding earth trembled as he forcefully extracted all the dry minerals and sand from deep underground. It rapidly swirled around him, compressing into a massive, ultra-dense dome of hardened sand that completely encased him.
Trying to turtle up, huh? I mused, watching the dome solidify. Let's see how absolute this new defense really is.
"Hit it again!" I yelled to my clones.
Both clones, who were still active on the flanks, sent two massive torrents of water crashing over the hardened dome, thoroughly soaking the outer layer of sand.
I didn't waste a single second, and channeled a massive surge of condensed, high-voltage chakra into my palms, which made the air around me crackle with erratic blue energy.
[SKILL ACTIVATED: LIGHTNING STYLE: THUNDERBOLT]
I thrust both hands forward, unleashing a blinding, continuous surge of raw electricity. The high-voltage lightning violently struck the soaked sand dome. The intense heat of the electrical current instantly superheated the saturated sand, flashing the water into steam and completely altering the molecular structure of the barrier.
Within seconds, the impenetrable sand dome turned into a brittle, translucent shell of shattered glass.
I instantly ceased the lightning and reached into my [INVENTORY], pulling out a standard kunai wrapped in three [EXPLOSIVE TAGS].
With a flick of my wrist, I hurled the kunai directly at the massive cracks in the glass dome.
Inside the shell, Gaara felt the heat rise tremendously and desperately tried to summon more sand to compact the dome, but the sand was turning into brittle glass faster than he could structure the jutsu.
I held my hand out, fingers outstretched.
[SKILL ACTIVATED: RULER'S HAND]
Instead of pushing the kunai forward, I locked onto Gaara's chakra signature and wrapped the invisible force around his body. I yanked him forward, ripping him straight out of the center of his dome, and sending him crashing chest-first right into the [EXPLOSIVE TAGS] just as they detonated.
BOOM!
The explosion was deafening. The concussive blast completely shattered the rest of the glass dome into a million pieces. Gaara's remaining sand collapsed in on itself as his body was violently thrown back into the dirt, smoking and partially scorched.
I watched his HP bar rapidly plummet, stopping exactly at the 20% mark.
Finally. That took a lot longer than I would have liked, I noted, letting out a heavy exhale.
Through the clearing smoke, I noticed two new figures standing in the trees some distance behind Gaara's position. Temari and Kankuro. Kankuro looked completely exhausted and chakra-depleted, leaning heavily against a tree trunk, but both of the Sand siblings were staring at the crater in absolute shock.
"No way..." I heard Kankuro say, his eyes wide with terror. "He actually pushed Gaara this far..."
From behind me, I could hear Shikamaru muttering under his breath, completely baffled by the sheer scale of the elemental combos I had just casually dropped on an unkillable monster in less than two minutes.
Gaara's body twitched, looking heavily scorched and completely deformed from the glassing process and the explosion. He slowly attempted to stand up, looking down at his cracked, smoking sand armor in sheer disbelief. He couldn't believe the state his body was in.
Then, the air in the forest suddenly grew incredibly heavy.
A suffocating hurricane of wind and demonic chakra exploded outward from Gaara's body, blowing the shattered glass and debris in every direction.
A blaring red warning notification flashed across my vision.
[WARNING: THE BOSS IS ENTERING THEIR SECOND PHASE]
"I WILL NOT LOSE TO SOMEONE LIKE YOU!" Gaara screamed at the top of his lungs, his voice completely overlapping with a terrifying, demonic roar.
The forest practically ripped itself apart as the rest of the sand rapidly enveloped him. The wind gust became a localized tornado, forcing me to anchor my feet deeply into the tree branch just to stay standing. When the sand tornado finally dissipated, the terrifying scale of the battle had completely changed.
Towering over the treeline, easily the size of a mountain if not larger, was the massive, towering form of the Shukaku.
Its enormous, blue-patterned sand body casted a terrifying shadow over the entire forest. Gaara's upper half protruded from the top of the beast's head, his eyes rolling back into his skull as he immediately used the Playing Possum Jutsu, falling into a deep sleep.
The beast's massive red HP bar instantly refilled to 100%, and two additional colors—one yellow, one purple—layered themselves underneath it, signifying just how tough he had become.
So, you finally appear, I thought, staring up at the towering Kaiju.
"I wonder which is greater, a Monarch or a raccoon," Kurama's voice vibrated in my skull. "Either way, try not to get yourself killed. Especially by one as weak as him."
Before I could reply to the Fox, the System officially locked in the second phase parameters.
[BOSS: THE ONE-TAIL, SHUKAKU (HOST TRANSFORMATION) - S-RANK]:
Conditions:
Win battle.
Knock the host body awake.
Defeat the awakened host.
Bonus Conditions:
Clear at least two health bars.
Knock the beast transformation off balance.
I stared at the second bonus condition in pure disbelief.
How the hell am I supposed to knock his big ass over?! I thought, staring up at the beast. Hmm, maybe I could—
I didn't get another second to think. Shukaku let out a deafening, manic laugh. The massive beast raised its blue-patterned arm and brought it crashing down toward me like a falling skyscraper, aiming to flatten me into the dirt.
[SKILL ACTIVATED: RULER'S HAND]
Instead of attempting to push the arm away, I wrapped the invisible force tightly around my own body and launched myself upward in another direction. I shot into the sky like a rocket, leaving the tree branch to be completely pulverized into sawdust by the beast's massive paw.
"HAHAHA! A FLYING BUG!" Shukaku's grating, chaotic voice boomed across the forest. The Kaiju inhaled sharply, its massive, bloated belly expanding to an impossible size. He slammed his palm into his stomach. "Wind Style: Air Bullet!"
A compressed sphere of wind the size of a meteor erupted from the beast's mouth, tearing through the air with the force of a natural disaster.
HOLY SHIT! I gasped, hovering high above the treeline as the jutsu sped towards me. If I get hit by that even once, I might be done for.
I strafed sideways, using [RULER'S HAND] to violently alter my aerial trajectory. The air bullet roared past me, the sheer wind pressure nearly ripping my arms off my shoulder before it collided with a distant mountain range, completely obliterating the peak in a massive explosion of rock and dust.
And I can't let him keep firing those either! I realized, watching the yellow health bar hovering over his head. But what jutsu would be powerful enough to get through that tough outer layer of his?
I needed heavier artillery. And after a very brief moment of pondering, I knew exactly how to fund it.
I held my arms out, channeling a large amount of chakra into them.
[SKILL ACTIVATED: ADAMANTINE SEALING CHAINS]
Five thick, glowing purple-black chains erupted from me. They shot downward like vipers, and pierced straight through layers of Shukaku's dense sand armor. They sank deep, until they were able to tap into the massive reserves of demonic chakra beneath.
Shukaku shrieked, his manic laughter turning into a roar of agony as the chains locked into his chakra network.
Alright, that was easier than I thought it would be, I smirked, actively pulling on the ethereal links.
Instantly, I felt the heavy, suffocating rush of the One-Tail's chakra surging up the chains and flooding directly into my own system. The sheer density of the chakra was intoxicating, rapidly filling my reserves and granting me the raw, explosive power I needed.
"GET OFF ME!" Shukaku roared, raising his massive claw to swat me out of the sky.
I funneled the stolen chakra directly into my hands.
[SKILL ACTIVATED: WATER STYLE: WATER SHARK BULLET]
A colossal shark constructed of highly pressurized water erupted from me. It crashed directly into the ascending claw, violently washing away chunks of sand. Before Shukaku could reform it, I seamlessly chained my next attack.
[SKILL ACTIVATED: ICE RELEASE: GLACIAL SPIKE]
I dropped the temperature of the residual water instantly. Massive, jagged spikes of unbreakable ice erupted from the saturated sand, aggressively scaling up Shukaku's arm and locking his entire right side in a small glacier.
I didn't waste the opportunity and propelled myself forward like a bullet.
[SKILL ACTIVATED: RULER'S HAND (MAXIMUM OUTPUT)]
I launched toward Shukaku with both fists extended forward. I spun in a drill-like fashion and, upon impact, crashed right through part of the beast's frozen limb. The beast roared in frustration as its arm was now hanging uselessly at its side.
I watched the purple health bar shatter completely, revealing the yellow one beneath it.
Ah, there we go! I thought, redlining myself. Now, time to wake up the host.
Using my aerial mobility, I blurred directly over the beast's head, locking my eyes onto Gaara's sleeping upper half protruding from the sand. I channeled the stolen chakra to my foot, zooming through the sky like an angry wasp, and drove a chakra-enhanced kick directly into Gaara's visible body.
The impact snapped Gaara's head back. His eyes snapped open, and he gasped for air after being abruptly forced out of his sleep induced jutsu.
The yellow health bar shattered upon him waking up.
"NO! MY FUN WAS JUST BEGINNING!" Shukaku's voice screamed in rage, its volume steadily dropping as Gaara started to regain conscious thought.
The now erratic beast thrashed violently, attempting to swat me out of the sky.
Time to put you down for good.
I equipped my [WINTER'S BITE] daggers once again, and extended them forward.
[SKILL ACTIVATED: ICE RELEASE: GLACIAL WAVE (MAXIMUM OUTPUT)]
A blinding wave of ice exploded outward. It instantly froze the moisture in the air and the damp earth below, quickly flash-freezing Shukaku's massive torso. The beast's erratic movements started to slow down significantly.
While the beast was immobile, I willed my [ADAMANTINE SEALING CHAINS] to wrap tightly around the beast's neck and upper torso.
"Let's see you stay on your feet now!" I roared, propelling myself away from it.
As I pulled on the chains, I added the telekinetic weight of [RULER'S HAND], and violently yanked the chilled beast in my direction.
The mountain-sized beast lost its center of gravity, crashing face-first into the forest floor. The impact created a localized earthquake, kicking up a tsunami of dirt and uprooted trees.
[BONUS CONDITION MET: BEAST TRANSFORMATION KNOCKED OFF BALANCE]
I didn't stop there. I raised my right hand and took all of the massive, dense Tailed Beast chakra I had siphoned through my chains and funneled it into a single point in my palm.
[SKILL ACTIVATED: RASENGAN (MAXIMUM OUTPUT)]
The spiraling sphere of yellow chakra rapidly expanded from the siphoned energy until it grew into a massive, roaring vortex easily the size of a small house. The rotational force of the [GIANT RASENGAN] whipped the surrounding air into a frenzy.
I slammed the massive sphere squarely into the center of Shukaku's back.
The impact was cataclysmic. The [GIANT RASENGAN] bore through the thick outer sand layer, drilling deep into the core of the beast. For a split second, the forest was bathed in a blinding golden-yellow light.
Then, the mountain of sand violently detonated.
Shukaku's form completely shattered, blowing apart into millions of grains of lifeless sand and debris that rained down over the destroyed forest like a desert storm.
Plummeting quickly to the ground was the body of Gaara. I casually extended two fingers, catching him in mid-air with [RULER'S HAND] and gently lowering him onto the soft dirt.
I landed softly next to him, my chains retracting seamlessly into me as the dust finally began to settle.
A high-pitched chime echoed in the silence.
[BOSS HAS BEEN DEFEATED!]
[LEVEL UP!] (X15)
[NEW LEVEL: 252]
[FULL RECOVERY ACTIVATED]
[RYO EARNED: (100% HP x 50) x 5.5 RANK BONUS = +27,500 Ryo]
[S-RANK CLEAR BONUS: +10,000,000 Ryo]
[TOTAL RYO ACCUMULATED: 55,515,100 Ryo → 65,542,200 Ryo]
[INT STAT THRESHOLD REACHED: 750]
[NEW PERK ACQUIRED: CHAKRA WEAVING]:
Effect: You can now cast jutsu faster, with fewer required hand signs. System skill cooldowns are now permanently reduced by 25%.
[NEW ITEM ACQUIRED: SHUKAKU'S CHAKRA FRAGMENT]:
Rank: S
Description: A dense concentration of the One-Tail's chakra. Radiates immense wind energy. Can be used for a specific dungeon trial in the future.
I smirked, dismissing the glowing screens with a thought. The physical exhaustion completely vanished from my body, leaving me feeling absolutely juiced. My [WINTER'S BITE] daggers remained in my hands as I looked down at Gaara.
"Hmph. You actually put that overgrown tanuki in his place," Kurama scoffed in an almost approving tone in my head. "How interesting."
Gaara was staring up at the sky, his breathing shallow, his eyes blown wide in catatonic shock that his monster had actually been defeated.
Rustling from the treeline drew my attention. All the available rookies had joined up with each other, and stepped into the clearing.
They looked at the devastated landscape, the mountain of lifeless sand, and then at me, their faces painted with a mixture of awe, shock, and genuine fear.
"He did it. He actually did it," Kankuro breathed from the opposite side of the clearing, supporting himself against a tree. "He beat the monster."
"Did you see that?" Kiba whispered loudly to Choji, Akamaru whining in his jacket. "He was actually flying just now."
"The amount of chakra used was incredible," Hinata said, shielding her eyes.
"Forehead, did you see the trees moving?!" Ino asked Sakura.
I ignored their chatter and took a step toward Gaara.
"Wait! Please!" Temari cried out, rushing forward and throwing her arms out defensively in front of Gaara. "Don't hurt him."
Kankuro stumbled forward to join her. "Yeah, hold on a minute, please," he let out tiredly.
But I didn't stop. I walked right past their outstretched arms, causing them to flinch, and crouched down next to the exhausted Jinchuriki. I opened my [INVENTORY] and pulled out the [TEAR OF THE DESERT PRIEST]. I uncorked the vial, grabbed the auburn-haired boy by the face, and tipped the glowing liquid into his mouth.
Almost instantly, the suffocating aura of demonic chakra clinging to his skin dissolved into nothingness. The dark, cracked rings around his eyes seemed to soften, and his erratic, shallow breathing finally leveled out.
"That should take care of the voices you hear from now on for at least eight hours a day," I told him casually. I stood up, materialized two standard [CHAKRA POTIONS], and tossed them to the other two siblings. "Those will recover your chakra. Y'all should leave now while you can. Safe journeys, or whatever."
I nodded at the now stunned siblings, and turned around to leave.
"What?! You're helping them?!" Ino shrieked, pointing at the Sand siblings.
"Yep," I replied casually, flexing my hand.
"Have you lost it?!" Kiba exclaimed, taking a step forward. "You can't let them leave after they took part in this invasion!"
"Of course I can," I countered. "I'm doing it right now."
"Then why go through all that trouble just to let them go?!" Tenten demanded.
"Because I feel like it."
"That's not an answer! Be serious!" Ino yelled, her frustration boiling over.
I stretched my arms over my head, completely unbothered. "I am being serious. I won the battle, now I'm choosing to let them go. What's hard to understand about that?"
Shikamaru pinched the bridge of his nose, exhaling a long, stressed breath. "Okay, but why let them go when they're part of the reason why our village is like this?"
"Because they'd just be let go anyway," I explained dryly. "They attacked the village, sure. But when the people in charge determine why, they'll just deliberate on some kind of massive fee or reparation for Konoha and let them walk. I'm just speeding up the political process."
I twisted my torso. "Besides, they were just being used by that one guy," I added.
"What guy?!" Ino demanded.
"That evil Sannin, Orochimaru."
A collective gasp echoed through the Rookies. Sakura's eyes instinctively flew towards Sasuke's neck, and Sasuke's eyes widened at the mention of the man who had placed the Curse Mark on him.
"He killed their Kage, and was puppeteering them to destroy the village or whatever," I continued seamlessly.
"Don't just say that like it's an everyday thing," Shikamaru stressed, narrowing his eyes at me. "How long did you know all this?"
"I found out about it today after some things started to piece together," I lied smoothly. I pointed a thumb over my shoulder at the cratered forest. "Things almost turned out badly, huh?"
"Turned out badly?!" Ino yelled, gaining an anger mark on her forehead. "You think—?!"
Her words died on her lips as she stared past me. I glanced back. Temari and Kankuro, now looking much better after downing the potions, were helping Gaara to his feet.
"Oh, you three still here?" I asked, raising an eyebrow at them. "Shoo already. Go on, get outta here."
Gaara didn't make a motion to move. He just stared at me for a long time.
"What? You want some more?" I asked, raising both fists, which caused Temari and Kankuro to tense up.
"Why," he finally let out, his tone now much softer. "You could have killed me. You have the power. Why... why let me live after all I've done?"
"Like I said before, because I felt like it."
"I don't understand," he said.
"I don't expect you to. The inner machinations of my mind are an enigma," I said, deadpan.
"Inner machi—aw man, he's lost it," Kiba groaned.
"Maybe he's hungry from the battle. Let's get him some food," Choji said, eating a chip.
"No, no, I don't think that's it," Tenten waved off. "It might be because he was so high in the air. The altitude must have taken the oxygen away from his brain."
Everybody in this damn village loves taking shots, huh? I thought, gaining an anger mark.
I side-eyed them before turning back to Gaara. "When we came across each other a day before the Finals, you went on about the principles that drove you to continue living, and I pointed out the flaws in them. You told me you fought for yourself and only yourself. You snuff out others who have the potential of killing you so that you can feel alive."
The clearing was dead silent. Everyone was hanging onto my words.
"I thought it was interesting because I do something similar," I continued. "I fight for myself. I think about myself. And every action I take has a purpose for me in mind. So, you and I aren't so different in that regard. However, instead of killing people to make myself feel alive... I try to make improvements to myself to see just what level I can reach."
"And this?" Gaara asked, gesturing to the empty potion vial in Temari's hand. "Why give me this when we're enemies? It can't be just on a whim."
"Yea, that's right. I did it because we lived quite similar lives, in a way."
"How so?" Temari asked hesitantly. "How are you two similar?"
"Huh? Oh, I hold a Tailed Beast just like him," I said casually, pointing directly at Gaara.
The Sand siblings' eyes went wide as saucers.
"What's a Tailed Beast?" Choji whispered loudly to Ino.
"I don't know, but pay attention, we might find out," Ino shushed him fiercely.
Shikamaru, however, had gone completely rigid. I could see the gears turning in his genius mind, instantly connecting the dots between my childhood ostracization, the Nine-Tails attack twelve years ago, and the sheer, impossible power I had just displayed.
"Impossible," Kankuro uttered. "We didn't even feel the change in your chakra."
"That's because I don't use his power," I shrugged. "I mean, I would if I had to. But I wouldn't want to, because I have my own power that can take me to heights unseen, or whatever."
Deep in my mindscape, a massive snort echoed. "Don't say that when you haven't even faced the full extent of my power, brat," Kurama scoffed.
"So that's why," Gaara said, almost in a whisper.
"That's a part of it. But my main reason is because I don't like how the ninja villages operate," I said in a completely serious tone. "If it were up to me, I'd end the shinobi system without a second thought."
Gasps and stunned murmurs broke out among the Genin.
"Then why go through this much trouble to save your village if you hate them so much?" Temari challenged.
"Because it's favorable to me at the moment," I answered coldly. "These villages see us as pawns. Weapons. Just pieces in their little games of war. They want us to be monsters, or martyrs for them... and I refuse to be either."
I turned my gaze away from the Sand siblings, staring through the trees toward the distant, smoking stadium.
"I decided a long time ago that I was never going to play their game. So I make my own choices, and I choose my own paths," I said firmly. Then, I pointed at Gaara. "And today, I choose to let someone else similar to me have that same option of choice."
Gaara and his siblings stared at me in pure astonishment. The Konoha Rookies were stunned into silence by the sheer weight of the declaration.
Suddenly, a System chime rang out in my head.
[NOTICE: CONTRACT ANCHOR (HIRUZEN SARUTOBI) HAS BEEN ELIMINATED.]
[THE SPIRITUAL CONTRACT IS NOW NULL AND VOID.]
Damn, I thought, closing my eyes for a brief second. I guess Jiraiya couldn't deal with those crystal dragons in time to break the barrier.
"I think it's time for y'all to go now," I said to the Sand siblings, my voice lacking any of its previous amusement. "Before someone who disagrees with my line of thinking arrives, and I have to demonstrate the merits of my logic to them."
The three siblings hesitated for only a second before turning and blurring away into the trees, leaving Konoha territory for good.
As they vanished, the System chimed again, delivering the final payout for the invasion.
[CHOSEN PATH (OPTION B: ALL FOR ONE) COMPLETE!]
[REWARDS]:
+500,000 XP
+7,500,000 Ryo
[NEW ITEM ACQUIRED: HEART OF THE ABYSS]:
Type: Legendary
Description: A core that grants infinite chakra regeneration for 1 hour, enabling the continuous casting of devastating abilities without worry of depletion.
[ALL BONUS CONDITIONS FULFILLED]
[NEW TITLE ACQUIRED: HERO OF THE LEAF]:
Effect: Grants +50% Reputation boost with all Konoha-affiliated Shinobi. Grants a passive +15% HP/CP regeneration buff when fighting within the borders of the Land of Fire.
[+20 SP TO ALL CORE ATTRIBUTES]
[LEVEL UP!] (X10)
[NEW LEVEL: 262]
[FULL RECOVERY ACTIVATED]
I dusted off the jacket of my [MONARCH'S ABYSSAL MANTLE] and turned back to the Rookies.
They swarmed me instantly. Kiba and Ino started rapid-firing questions, demanding to know what a Tailed Beast was, how I was flying, and where I learned Ice Release. Choji and Tenten wanted to know what it was like to fly. Sasuke, Hinata, and Shikamaru stayed relatively quiet for completely different reasons. And Sakura looked like she was about to ask for answers regarding Orochimaru, but before I could dodge a single question, someone landed on a branch above us.
One of my [SHADOW CLONES] stepped out of the foliage, his face grim.
"The barrier has fallen. The Third Hokage is dead," the clone announced flatly, before dispersing.
The questions instantly died. The sheer gravity of the news hit the Rookies hard. Sakura and Ino gasped, Choji dropped his chips, and even Shikamaru looked ill.
Without another word, Shikamaru took charge, ushering the devastated group back toward the village to regroup with the others.
As I moved with them, my [SENSE] flared. With my newly enhanced stats, I was able to perfectly spot the Root operative hiding in the canopy three miles away, observing the aftermath of my battle. When I turned my head slightly towards their location, the operative realized that their position had been compromised and immediately bolted.
Oh? And where do you think you're going? I thought, a slight grin stretching across my face.
"Beru," I called mentally.
"Yes, my Liege?" the Ant King responded from the darkness.
"The quest is now over. How 'bout you go and… take care of that little rat for me," I commanded coldly. "And make sure you enjoy the meal."
"As you wish, Sire. It would be my pleasure," he responded, as he discreetly slipped out of my shadow and melted into the forest floor to begin his hunt.