Szzzt!
As the summoning contract took hold, the Golden-Eyed Toad's eyes shifted—Rinnegan patterns spiraled out, but the golden hue and horizontal pupils of a toad remained!
Poof!
The Golden-Eyed Toad vanished in a swirl of white smoke. Once Naruto left the Realm of Reincarnation, he'd be able to summon it as his own beast using the Rinnegan's Amplified Summoning Technique!
Both Kurama Mode and Susanoo faded away.
Naruto, Hinata, and Konan landed back on solid ground.
Konan was the first to rip off her gas mask. "Finally, that's over…"
She thought to herself: Never want to wear this thing again.
Hinata followed, peeling off her mask. "Whew, that was tough…"
Her thoughts: Next time, I have to help Naruto-kun more!
Naruto was last, removing his mask with a sigh. "It's my fault—I should've done my homework. If not for Kurama, we'd have been in real trouble…"
He thought: Next time I read a letter, I'll check both sides. And honestly, this mask looks pretty cool… I kinda want to keep wearing it.
The three pressed on, exploring deeper into the forbidden lands of the Realm of Reincarnation.
After their run-in with the Golden-Eyed Toad, they moved with a newfound respect—and a healthy dose of caution. One misstep here could mean death.
Half an hour passed.
Through the mist, the outline of a mountain appeared.
Naruto frowned. "We've been walking on flat ground this whole time—how did a mountain suddenly pop up?"
Konan mused, "We might not be seeing the whole picture. But yeah, something's off."
"Let me check it out!" Hinata's Byakugan flared, shifting into the Tenseigan.
After scanning, she reported, "It's definitely a mountain. Nothing unusual."
Naruto nodded. "Alright, let's keep moving."
Logically, the Tenseigan's vision should be the final word. Still, Naruto wasn't convinced. He activated Kurama's golden chakra cloak, keeping his senses sharp for malice.
Tap.
As they passed the mountain's base, Naruto stopped, eyes narrowing. "Enough pretending. Even if you hid your chakra perfectly, the moment you showed malice, you couldn't escape my senses!"
A deep, mocking voice echoed, "Yo ho ho, you made it this far alive—not bad at all…!"
RUMBLE!
The mountain shook violently.
"Scatter!" Naruto barked.
Whoosh!
The trio leapt away, landing a hundred meters out—just in time to see the "mountain" rapidly shrink!
Konan gasped, "That mountain—could it be…?"
Naruto nodded. "Yeah. It disguised itself perfectly as natural terrain. Impressive—a transformation even the Tenseigan couldn't see through. Without my malice sense, we'd have been caught for sure…"
Hinata stayed silent, but her Tenseigan Chakra Mode flared to life.
The mountain revealed its true form: a mighty ape, draped in a tiger pelt, eyes blazing like fire. It wasn't enormous, but its chakra rivaled a Tailed Beast!
Naruto said flatly, "Konan-nee, this is it. No doubt."
Konan's face hardened. "Yeah, I think so too. The 'Monkey Demon King'—the one who nearly killed Nagato."
In the early days, Nagato explored the Realm of Reincarnation alone. After barely escaping the Monkey Demon King, Konan invented her talisman to keep him safe.
Naruto thought: Grandpa Third's summoning beast, Enma, was strong enough to rival a Kage. How powerful must this guy's ancestor be…?
The Monkey Demon King stood tall, arms crossed, tail swaying, fiery eyes locked on Naruto. His voice rumbled, "Let me ask—are you here to subdue me, to make me your summoning beast?"
Naruto didn't mince words. "That's right. Otherwise, why would I come here instead of catching up on sleep?"
"Hahahaha!" The Monkey Demon King's laughter boomed, then turned cold. "Years ago, a red-haired little thief with a limp ran for his life after I trounced him in three moves. You want to follow in his footsteps?"
Naruto smiled. "Ah, you mean my senior brother, Nagato. But I think he underestimated you. Don't worry—I won't make that mistake."
The Monkey Demon King snorted, "Oh? That's not what I saw. Who was it that got flattened by that stinking toad's genjutsu, huh?"
Naruto's eyes narrowed. "You saw that from here?"
The Monkey Demon King grinned. "Yo ho ho, don't be ridiculous. You're not the only ones with eye techniques. My Fiery Eyes and Golden Pupils can see events hundreds of miles away—the greatest observation eyes there are!"
Naruto chuckled. "Impressive, but I wouldn't call them the greatest."
"Hm? What do you mean by that? Whose eyes could be better than mine? Even that little girl's eyes next to you can't see as far!"
It was true—Hinata'sTenseigan could see dozens of kilometers, but in sheer range, it fell short of the Monkey Demon King's gaze.
Naruto played coy. "Even if I told you, you wouldn't know. No point wasting words…"
The Monkey Demon King pressed, "Tell me! I want to know!"
Naruto said, "Fiery Eyes and Golden Pupils, huh? That's a first for me. But have you heard of the Senrigan?"
"Senrigan? What's that? Can it really see a thousand ri away?"
In his previous life, Naruto had faced a member of Kara named Ada, whose "Senrigan" could see across time and space itself.
Naruto just smiled and shook his head. "If you're that curious, come with me to the outside world and see for yourself."
The Monkey Demon King rumbled, "I'd love to leave this damn place—but not as a pet to be ordered around…"
The Rinnegan's Amplified Summoning Technique boosted a beast's power, but at the cost of their mind—they became little more than weapons.
Naruto said, "If you're willing to cooperate, once we're outside, I can give you a new soul. That's better than wandering here forever, isn't it?"
He wanted to save his strength for the real target—the Nine-Headed Snake Sage.
The Monkey Demon King scoffed, "You think a few words will make me trust you? I'm the ancient lord of Flame Mountain, with an Adamantine Incorruptible Body! Even Asura and Indra had to show me respect. You, a mere reincarnation of Asura, think you can boss me around?!"
"Oh? Adamantine Incorruptible Body, huh? Then let's see what it's made of…"
Naruto spread his arms as Kurama's chakra surged. A Tailed Beast Ball blasted straight at the Monkey Demon King!
The ape didn't budge, letting the sphere slam into him.
BOOM!
When the flames cleared, the Monkey Demon King stood, unscathed.
"Hey, hey, that's your test? Who do you think you're dealing with?"
He'd tanked a Tailed Beast Ball with his bare body. Even Ten-Tails jinchūriki needed Truth-Seeking Balls to come out of that unharmed.
Naruto's face grew grave. "So it's the real deal…"
HUM!
Sage Mode activated.
Naruto formed seals. "How about this, then?"
—Sage Art: Myōjin Gate!
The Monkey Demon King glanced up. "That's Asura's specialty—can completely suppress chakra…"
THUD!!
The Myōjin Gate slammed down, pinning him.
"But my body's strength has nothing to do with chakra."
The Monkey Demon King gripped the crossbeam with five fingers and squeezed.
CRACK!
Fissures spread across the gate—then, with a crash, it shattered!
Naruto frowned. "That strong?!"
Whoosh!!
Hinata couldn't hold back. She dashed forward, unleashing her deadliest move!
—Golden Wheel Reincarnation Explosion!
CRACK!
The golden blade, powerful enough to cleave the moon, was caught in the Monkey Demon King's bare hand. He squeezed.
CRACK! The Golden Wheel shattered.
He eyed the shallow cut on his palm. "A high-energy cutting attack, huh? Not bad, to break my thousand-forged skin. But that's as far as it goes…"
He looked up, dangerous. "My custom is to give three free shots at the start. Three moves are up—you can die now!"
—Adamantine Embrace Moon!
BOOM! The ground shattered as the Monkey Demon King lunged, arms locking around Naruto's waist!
Poof!
In a puff of smoke, Naruto turned into a log!
—Substitution Jutsu!
Rustle rustle rustle…!
Konan's body scattered into thousands of paper slips, swirling to wrap the Monkey Demon King. Seals appeared on the papers.
—Paper Art: Mutually Multiplying Explosive Tags!
BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM…!
A chain of endless explosions swallowed the Monkey Demon King.
From the perimeter, Konan watched. "With the defense he's shown, even this probably won't work. I just can't figure out how his body could be so hard…"
Naruto's gaze was dark. "Adamantine Body is one of the Ōtsutsuki clan's high-level abilities."
Konan was startled. "So the Monkey Demon King is…"
Naruto nodded. "Tracing it back, just like the three great sage lands, he's got deep ties to the Ōtsutsuki's planet—Takamagahara."
Konan pressed, "Then… is there any way to break through that Adamantine Body?"
Naruto explained, "Before it's perfected, there's always a 'vital point'—the key is to find it!"
Konan frowned. "How do we find it? Just grope around blindly?"
Naruto shook his head. "Maybe not. Mutually Multiplying Explosive Tags is an all-directional, no-blind-spot attack. When the explosions end, something should be revealed…"
Konan worried, "But… what if his Adamantine Body really is perfect?"
Naruto smiled. "Impossible."
Konan glanced at him. "How can you be sure?"
Naruto clenched his fist. "Because even the strongest enemy we ever faced—Ōtsutsuki Isshiki—his Adamantine Body was still one step from perfection. This guy? No way."
Konan's orange eyes softened. "Sorry… I made you think of something unpleasant again."
Naruto smiled. "It's fine. Running away isn't my style."
The explosions faded. The Monkey Demon King reappeared, subtly withdrawing one hand from behind his back.
Clearly… he'd just used that hand to shield a certain spot.
If he was covering it, that had to be the vital point.
"Oh? If that's where it is, I'm more than ready."
Naruto smiled almost imperceptibly.
"Hinata, Konan-nee, I have a plan. Work with me…"
~~~~❃❃~~~~~~~~❃❃~~~~
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