The blood flowing in Urashiki's veins came from one of the mightiest clans of the cosmic stars. He could tolerate losing once or twice—but being defeated by the same native, in the exact same way? That was absolutely unacceptable!
He quickly reached for his fishing rod, trying to retrieve it, but Neji yanked it out of his hands.
At this point, Urashiki's strength was barely a tenth of what it used to be—he couldn't possibly wrestle with Neji, and could only grit his teeth and give up the fishing rod weapon he had painstakingly acquired.
Then, he fired a pitch-black talisman at Neji—that was his Kāma.
Neji was the vessel he had chosen for reincarnation.
Originally, he hadn't planned to reincarnate just yet. Doing so would mean all the treasures he had collected across various planets—and those brought from his clan—would fall into others' hands.
That included the Gourd that held various kinds of energy, the little black box that could unleash the power to freeze time, and even the treasured tool of the Ōtsutsuki Clan: "Karasuki!"
Losing those… he couldn't afford that. Anything else, maybe he could collect again one day—but not Karasuki.
Even among the Ōtsutsuki Clan, Karasuki was a supreme treasure. If he couldn't recover it, even if he reincarnated, death would still await him.
But now, Neji had him pinned down.
He had no choice but to use this last resort.
"Hopefully, once I get this guy's body, I can inherit that strange and complex power inside him..."
With that thought, Urashiki grabbed his severed lower half—but instead of reattaching it, both halves began to swell.
"He's going to self-destruct!"
Amenotejikara!
From afar, Sasuke sensed something was wrong. He rushed to the scene and swapped positions with Urashiki, flinging him into the sky above the outer edge of Hoshigakure.
These days, Hoshigakure had become the hub of shinobi tech research across the entire world. Its survival was vital to the future of the shinobi world—Sasuke patrolled the area constantly.
He had also entrusted his broken sword to the artisans of the village for restoration and even further enhancement.
That was why he'd been able to make it just in time.
BOOM!
Above Hoshigakure, a massive golden shield composed of countless interlocking hexagons lit up, perfectly absorbing the shockwave from Urashiki's self-destruction.
This wasn't a barrier technique—it was power emanating from every brick and tile of the village.
Long ago, before Uchiha Kirin entered seclusion, one of his clones had come to this place.
To ensure the village's development even while he was offline, he entrusted the secrets of sealing techniques and faith-based power to the Mountain God.
Years passed, and in secret, the Mountain God and the pangolin clan had forged every stone and brick of the village into enchanted weaponry.
They had continuously infused them with faith-based power. By now, Hoshigakure could genuinely be considered a massive defensive divine tool.
Likewise, hidden within each of the artisans was power strong enough to kill a Jōnin. Even if an intruder survived, they would bear an inescapable mark—another gift left behind by the Mountain God for those who tried to sabotage the village.
Unfortunately, Neji and Sasuke had acted too quickly, and those seals hadn't had a chance to activate.
"Cough… You filthy low-class creatures… you dare ambush me...!"
High in the sky, Urashiki clutched at his shattered body, barely clinging to life.
The reason he'd taken his lower half earlier was to have it self-destruct in his place and buy him a chance to escape.
But Neji and Sasuke's sensory abilities were far too sharp. The moment he emerged from the smoke, they would lock on instantly.
Desperate, Urashiki gritted his teeth and pulled a strand of transparent energy from his Gourd.
This had been harvested after he painstakingly hunted a beast of the stars. He'd originally planned to refine it and fuse it into his own body as a new ability.
But now, he could only use it to erase all traces of his presence for a short while.
And just like that—Urashiki escaped again.
...
In Hoshigakure, Sasuke and Neji continued to scan the area of the explosion with their sensory abilities, but found nothing.
It really seemed like Urashiki had died...
"How are you holding up?"
Now that things had settled, Sasuke's gaze immediately turned to Neji's chest, deeply concerned. That black talisman Urashiki had launched at Neji—it was eerily similar to what Kinshiki had once used on Naruto.
Sasuke couldn't bear the thought of Neji, like Naruto, having his body hijacked by the Ōtsutsuki Clan.
"I'm fine."
Neji steadied his breathing and replied. He intended to leave now and lead the common people to completely overthrow the rule of the nobles.
As someone who had once broken free of the shackles of the "caged bird," Neji saw the so-called noble hierarchy as nothing more than a cursed seal branded upon the foreheads of both civilians and shinobi alike.
Now that everything was ready, he was determined to lead the people and smash this evil construct—
To sweep it into the trash heap of history.
"Neji, you're thinking of the bigger picture for the shinobi world—but please, don't hold a grudge against Konoha!"
Sasuke flew after him. For the sake of the shinobi world, he had to confirm whether Neji had truly been parasitized by the Ōtsutsuki's power.
"What the hell are you even talking about?"
The two talked past each other for a bit, until Neji simply pulled open his shirt, letting Sasuke see for himself—his body hadn't been possessed by anything.
Due to the effects of the Breathing Art of the Sage Path, as more "seals" unlocked within him, Neji had, in a way, already become an embodiment of the shinobi world itself.
His power grew stronger and more deeply in sync with the surrounding world. His body was constantly communicating and exchanging energy with the environment.
As long as he could still breathe, any foreign object could be repelled back into the shinobi world. And under the massive gravitational influence of the planet itself—it would be completely erased.
Even Kāma was no exception.
"Your breathing art… can it help Naruto?"
Sasuke's voice was heavy.
He couldn't bear seeing Naruto, his once equal and rival, transformed into a modified body living in the shadows—just to keep the shinobi world safe...
Neji shook his head.
His version of the Breathing Art of the Sage Path wasn't much different from the one that had already been spread. He had merely integrated his personal insights into martial arts and swordsmanship.
And those kinds of insights couldn't be passed on to someone else.
Besides, Naruto had already tried practicing this breathing method.
Later, he discovered it caused his chakra to reverse-flow into the world itself, which only weakened him—so he stopped.
Until Kinshiki branded him with the Kāma...
After that, the Kāma became part of Naruto. It wasn't an external force anymore, so the breathing art couldn't reject it.
Worse, continuing to train it would only strengthen both Naruto and Kinshiki.
That would've handed a valuable training method straight into the hands of the Ōtsutsuki.
...
With Sasuke by his side, Neji arrived at Ryūchi Cave for one last attempt to remove the Kāma without surgery.
It failed.
And Neji gave his final verdict on the matter...
...
"The new body is almost ready. We've already integrated some of Naruto's former flesh and blood into it. Any final adjustments you'd like to make? It's your last chance~"
Orochimaru, twirling a vial in his hand, slowly emerged from the depths of the Ryūchi Cave laboratory.
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