Shinno was caught by Hiroki. His body wasn't restrained, but the moment the other touched him, he could feel his chakra rapidly draining away.
He couldn't help but find it ridiculous.
Since when did the ability to absorb chakra become so common?
He only wanted to grab a few people who had lost their sanity, drop them in crowded areas to create chaos, then appear alongside Yusui as saviors.
This would reinforce his good-doctor image while also allowing Zero-Tails inside Yusui to collect darkness from people's hearts.
He just couldn't wrap his head around how fast this world was changing — or why he kept bumping into so many freakin' surprises...
A Minato Namikaze actually came back to life? How come there wasn't even a whisper of such news?
Why didn't Konoha do anything about it?
And this one with blue eyes—who exactly was he and where did he come from?
"If your power originates from chakra, don't bother struggling. The result will always be the same."
Hiroki said nonchalantly.
With his hand pressed against Shinno's body, he activated [Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm] at point-blank range.
Boom...
Suddenly, Shinno felt something explode within him, his internal organs struck violently.
An intense wave of pain coursed through his body, especially his insides, and without being able to help himself, he spat out a mouthful of blood.
The blood seeped into the sand. Holding onto himself, Shinno gasped heavily, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth down to the ground.
"Hurry up and answer my question," Hiroki ordered.
"...Minato Namikaze... It was Minato Namikaze who brought me here," Shinno gritted his teeth and replied.
Just then, a dark slit suddenly appeared beside Hiroki. The rift quickly expanded, forming a black spatial portal.
Kaguya stepped out from it.
Shinno widened his eyes, staring at this unfamiliar woman who had appeared out of nowhere.
Calm, cold, mysterious.
Who was she?!
There's always someone stronger out there — feeling like these years had all been wasted, he sighed inwardly.
Hiroki gave Shinno a cold glance and decided not to check the truth of his words — for now.
Closing his eyes, he silently recited the name Minato Namikaze, recalling the man's appearance.
Activate the ability—but nothing happened.
He opened his eyes again and said flatly, "Minato Namikaze really isn't here."
Either he had gone elsewhere via the Dragon Vein,
or returned to the Pure Land.
What exactly was the Pure Land like? Hiroki pondered to himself.
"Take him away," Kaguya commanded White Zetsu.
Confused, Shinno was directly dragged off by a White Zetsu, leaving Kaguya and her companion's sight.
As they exited, he still managed to catch sight of the battle between Satori and Zero-Tails—an aerial creature versus a crawling beast. However, it was clearly one-sided.
Satori, with air superiority, kept raining down shuriken on the Zero-Tails below.
Shinno couldn't help but sigh; looks like he couldn't count on that guy at all!
At this moment, Hiroki was wondering if it was possible to locate someone inside the Pure Land.
Obito was already dead, yet had been forcibly reincarnated through Impure World Reincarnation—making mental invasion possible.
But what about the Pure Land? What would happen if those people were truly there?
He turned to look at Kaguya, who seemed lost in thought.
Meeting his gaze, Kaguya asked, "What's on your mind?"
"What kind of world is the Pure Land?" Hiroki murmured.
After a moment's contemplation, Kaguya replied, "A more secluded world than even the Three Great Holy Sites..."
"Then how do the dead return from there..." Hiroki muttered before asking again, "Kaguya, those people reincarnated by Orochimaru's Impure World Reincarnation—their souls come from the Pure Land. Can you see markers or coordinates on them?"
Kaguya hesitated for a beat before shaking her head.
The bodies were newly created when they were resurrected; there couldn't possibly be any traces from the Pure Land.
"Don't do anything reckless," Kaguya said softly, taking his hand. "Black Zetsu has never witnessed people crossing different eras. He must have gone somewhere else."
"It's also possible he went into the future, or another world entirely," Hiroki responded.
In his heart, he still leaned toward believing Minato had traveled through the Dragon Vein.
Just find someone recently deceased from the Pure Land and cross-reference them.
The Pure Land itself could be considered an independent world. And the place within the Moon where Kaguya was sealed—wasn't that also an independent space?
Moreover, both places were connected to the Sage of Six Paths—they were essentially his creations.
Souls resting in the Pure Land rarely reincarnate. All Hiroki needed to do was locate one life that had passed away recently.
With these thoughts in mind, he silently called upon the name and face of a certain member from the Sarutobi Clan.
This time, the familiar sensation finally appeared.
His vision changed in an instant.
The broken desert ruins and stormy skies vanished, replaced by pitch-black darkness so thick he couldn't even see his own fingers.
"Hmm?" Surprised by this unfamiliar place, he immediately returned to his original body.
After he left, light suddenly shone in that dark and unknown realm. Something flickered as an unfamiliar male voice echoed: "They're being too bold, daring even to disturb my Pure Land."
...
At the Ruins of Louran, before the Dragon Vein's seal,
"Minato Namikaze no longer exists in this world," Hiroki stated.
Both turned their gazes toward the seal (sealing formation).
He felt slightly uneasy. According to the original storyline, the two worlds connected by the Dragon Vein experienced time at different rates. In the short amount of time that had passed here, who knew how much time Minato had already spent elsewhere.
"Alright, I'll wait for you here."
Kaguya spoke, already guessing Hiroki's plan.
Hiroki stepped forward, stepping directly onto the sealing formation.
Kaguya crouched halfway down, preparing to use Konoha's unsealing method.
If necessary, she would break it open by force.
As she moved, the entire sealing formation gradually lit up along its intricate patterns, surrounding Hiroki in radiant light.
When the brilliance faded, Hiroki had vanished from her sight.
There's no sign of him or Minato in the past—my future self wouldn't hurt him.
So thinking, Kaguya chose to believe in herself.
[Sealing Technique from Konoha]
She then used a sealing technique from Konoha to reinforce the area slightly before walking away.
Above, Satori continued teasing the Zero-Tails below.
After such prolonged mockery, the Zero-Tails had become nearly helpless, its movements growing slower and slower.
It wanted to fight but couldn't reach him. Frustrated, it let out furious, mindless roars.
"You can't even talk. How pathetic," Satori mocked.
Meanwhile, outside the battlefield, Shinno had already been rendered unconscious and bound by White Zetsu.
"Isn't it over yet?" Kaguya asked coldly, glancing toward the sky.
Satori glanced at her briefly, a chill creeping up his spine.
Vigorously flapping his wings, he dove downward, claws seizing the Zero-Tails on the ground.
The Zero-Tails twisted its serpent body, tightly coiling around his form.
Satori accelerated, spinning and jerking his head mid-flight as he soared upward, trying to shake off the clinging Zero-Tails.
At several thousand meters high, the Zero-Tails stiffened significantly from instinctive fear.
He grinned wickedly and hurled the Zero-Tails down. "Die, little pest."
"Hold—"
Like a meteor plunging from the heavens, the Zero-Tails plummeted in a straight, unbroken line. It crashed into the sand, creating a deep crater, sending an explosive jet of sand skyrocketing like a geyser before cascading back down rapidly, burying the Zero-Tails completely.
White Zetsu rushed over and frantically dug for a while. What he pulled out was a wheat-skinned girl with both eyes closed, unconscious.
"She's still breathing."
...
That same night, both Naruto and Sasuke shared the exact same dream—one in which an old man with a long beard and horns on his head appeared before them.
Naruto woke from sleep, staring at the Sun Mark on his palm, his eyes slowly filling with determination. "I have to find Sasuke. Yeah, we can do this..."
"As long as you work together, as long as you're willing, there's nothing you can't achieve! The path forward is yours to choose!"
Around the same time, the Sage of Six Paths' figure gradually faded away. Sasuke also awoke from his dream. He stared blankly at the Moon Mark on his palm, still struggling to process the Sage's words. "Us two subduing Kaguya?"
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Indra was seething with anger.
Damn old man! He knows perfectly well Ashura and I don't get along—why force us to team up?
Don't people pursue different things? Doesn't he understand that at all!
We want completely different things—we don't belong in the same world!
The Yin and Yang Chakra could've just gone to one person! Why force them to be split apart? What's so great about fake harmony anyway?
In his heart, he always favored Ashura—that idiot!
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