Within Naruto Uzumaki's body was a seal that imprisoned a tailed beast known as the Beast of Calamity—the Nine-Tails Fox.
As one of the Tailed Beasts created by the Sage of Six Paths, Kurama (the Nine-Tails) had lived for over a thousand years, making him the most experienced among everyone present.
He could say with certainty that all the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas in the world were merely clay idols and wooden carvings—there were no real ones.
But at this very moment, seeing Moss through Naruto's eyes—her pure, sacred appearance—Kurama suddenly wavered.
"Is there really a Bodhisattva in this world?"
Otherwise, why would there be such a warm light? Just looking at it made one feel calm, like central heating in winter or air conditioning in summer.
Kurama composed himself and thought, "This must be some kind of jutsu."
Shane thought the same.
When he saw Moss appear like a living Guanyin Bodhisattva, he flinched, his smile stiffened—but then quickly recovered.
"...Just a Transformation Jutsu!"
He sneered and crouched, gathering energy.
Having opened all eight gates of the Eight Gates Released Formation, his body resembled a fully drawn bow, ready to strike.
In the next instant, he shot forward like an arrow, storming toward the seemingly fragile blossom that would surely be torn to pieces in a heartbeat.
Moss formed a seal with her right hand, lifted her left with a string of prayer beads, and activated one of SanzoBeast's abilities: "Infinite Barrage Sutra!"
As she spoke, the prayer beads launched 108 glowing orbs. Like ping-pong balls, they bounced around, all homing in on Shane.
Bang!
One orb struck him directly, ricocheting off—but he stumbled as if heavily struck, his advance halted.
Naruto shouted, "Stop! He gets stronger the more you hit him!"
Each blow damaged Shane's muscles, but his regeneration ability restored and reinforced them.
That was the principle behind his "grow stronger by getting hit" power.
Moss mused, "If he keeps building strength like that and adds all eight gates, he might match Night Guy from the original series."
From there? Night Guy 2, Night God Guy, Ultra Instinct Guy...
She laughed to herself.
But it was just imagination. Shane couldn't even reach original Night Guy's level.
"What's going on?" Shane was stunned. Despite taking serious hits, he wasn't getting stronger. That shouldn't be possible!
His jutsu was working. Why wasn't it triggering?
"I see," Sasuke muttered, eyes narrowing.
The 108 glowing orbs weren't real—they were illusions!
Shane thought he was being hit hard, but in reality, there were no injuries—so the "get stronger" ability didn't activate.
In other words, Moss completely nullified his core strength!
Shane, unable to figure out why his power wasn't working, could only dodge the glowing orbs.
Despite his bulk, he was nimble—dodging while closing the distance.
Moss raised her prayer beads again—another 108 orbs fired.
Each raise added more until the hall was filled with luminous bullets—inescapable and overwhelming.
Now that's a true barrage.
Even Shane, with his hardened will, felt pressed mentally.
Seeing the time was right, Moss activated another SanzoBeast ability: "Butterfly Dream Sutra."
Inspired by Zhuangzi's famous "Zhuang Zhou dreams of being a butterfly," this move manifested a trial SanzoBeast once endured—forcing the enemy to relive it.
Since Moss hadn't yet completed the 81 Tribulations, she substituted:
"Let's have you fight Cell. In a way, he's the final form of your muscle-based path."
As soon as she finished speaking, the hall transformed into a rocky, open arena.
Stone slabs paved the floor—it was a battleground.
Moss looked around. "Feels like a Reality Marble."
Naruto and Yachiko were bewildered.
Sasuke quickly analyzed it. "Still genjutsu—but for the target, it's more like Tsukuyomi. And it's multiplayer-capable."
Tsukuyomi only targeted one. This? Group immersion.
"Who are you?!" Shane roared.
Everyone turned. A towering green humanoid bug stood before him.
Cell.
Cell turned and smirked at Moss. "Didn't expect we'd meet again, Moss."
Moss raised an eyebrow. "You can talk? Not bad… as expected of Butterfly Dream Sutra."
Although just a conjured image, Cell spoke with full personality—Moss's memory of him.
He felt real even though he wasn't.
That's the power of Zhuangzi's Butterfly Dream.
"Go, Cell!"
Like a Pokémon trainer, Moss gave the command.
Cell launched into combat.
Defeat. Defeat. Defeat...
18 rounds. 18 losses.
Naruto and Yachiko were starting to feel sorry for Shane.
But Sasuke was laser-focused on Cell. "He fights like a real being. And these moves—they're all replicable. This isn't normal genjutsu."
Shane's will crumbled.
Moss canceled the illusion and activated SanzoBeast's third skill: "Du Zichun Sutra."
If the others drew from pop culture and philosophy, this one came from morality literature.
Du Zichun was a wasteful aristocrat. He squandered three fortunes before reforming—only to fail during a final illusion trial involving losing his child.
This ability imposed that kind of moral awakening on others.
"AAAHHH!" Shane clutched his head, screaming.
For 14 years, he played the role of the kind doctor Shane. It was a mask.
But under the Du Zichun Sutra's effect, the fake Shane persona became real—and took over his broken mind.
He turned to Yachiko with guilt. "I… I can't believe I did that to you."
"Teacher?" Yachiko gasped. "You're back?"
He gave a gentle, heartfelt smile.
But he knew this wouldn't last. The dark part of him was merely suppressed—not gone. One day it would rise again.
And then… he might hurt Yachiko or spark another war.
But now, awakened by conscience, Shane made a decision.
"Yachiko, Master Moss is right. You must become the real Shane."
She blinked, moved. "Teacher… I've always loved you!"
A student-teacher romance—with a 40-to-50-year age gap.
He patted her head warmly. "Thank you."
Then he turned, retrieved a sealed scroll from behind the throne, and handed it to her. "Everything I am is in this scroll. Yachiko, go and become the real Shane."
Tears falling, Yachiko nodded. "I will!"
Shane lay down and peacefully passed away—for real this time. A dignified end, to ensure he never became a monster again.
"Waaahhh!" Naruto sobbed.
Sasuke sneered at him, then looked solemnly at Shane's body. Even he was moved by that selfless sacrifice.
[Shakyamon: 3%]
"Oh? Gained 1%. Was this one of the tribulations? Or was it personal?" Moss wondered, returning to SanzoBeast form.
Sasuke's heart trembled. "This monk could make even someone like him repent. Maybe even Itachi… No. I must kill Itachi. He must die!"
He suppressed the thought and eyed the scroll in Yachiko's hands.
"Give me that scroll."
He didn't come here to watch drama—he came for Orochimaru's prize.
Naruto blocked him. "That's Shane's legacy to Yachiko! I won't let you take it!"
Moss asked, "Orochimaru wants immortality, right?"
Yachiko and Naruto blinked. What kind of segue was that?
Even Naruto, master of randomness, couldn't follow.
Sasuke narrowed his eyes. What was this woman getting at?
Moss placed a hand over her snow-white chest and said calmly:
"I do not lie. There's a power inside me that grants eternal life."
She had finally realized what was missing.
To complete the 81 Tribulations, you have to have… Tang Monk meat.
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Each 25 Powerstones? (1 Bonus Chapters)
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