Chapter 223:
The moment she realized her genjutsu had failed, Shuyu immediately launched an attack on the three patrolling shinobi in front of her.
"Shuyu, what are you doing?!"
Seeing that Shuyu's attacks were all aimed to kill, Sarada cried out in alarm. If she actually killed those patrolling shinobi, the village would undoubtedly treat her as a rogue ninja.
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"
A fireball larger than herself erupted from Shuyu's mouth, engulfing the three patrolling shinobi.
"What are you doing, Shuyu?!" Sarada shouted, her face full of anxiety. But Shuyu remained expressionless, her gaze serious as she looked ahead. "If you keep this up, the village will definitely brand you a rogue!"
"Look, Sarada!"
Hearing Kawaki's voice, Sarada finally tore her gaze away from Shuyu and looked ahead—within the flames, the true forms of the three "shinobi" began to emerge.
"What... are these things?!"
Sarada involuntarily took a step back.
"They give off a vibe similar to Scientific Ninja Tools..." Kawaki observed. "And they also have disguise capabilities."
"A perfect disguise, and they even act as guards for the Light Armor... Looks like the village has already been pretty much overrun by these creatures..."
Shuyu added her analysis.
"If they're still guarding Tentō and Shinki here, doesn't that mean the real Tentō and Shinki haven't been replaced yet?"
Sarada's deduction prompted nods from both Shuyu and Kawaki.
After eliminating all patrolling shinobi unaffected by Shuyu's genjutsu along the way, Sarada wiped the sweat from her brow and said, "I didn't expect every patrolling shinobi to be one of those monsters..."
Shuyu stepped forward and knocked on the door. From inside came Shinki's voice—accompanied by faint snoring.
"Who's there?"
As expected of a shinobi—only someone like Shinki, also a ninja, would maintain such constant vigilance.
"Shinki, it's me—Sarada. Shuyu and Kawaki are here too."
Recognizing Sarada's voice, Shinki turned on the light and opened the door.
"Mmm... Shinki, can you close the light..." Tentō muttered with his eyes half-closed.
Seeing the three clearly battle-worn figures before him, a serious look came over Shinki's face as he turned to Tentō. "Get up, Tentō—something's happened."
"What?!"
Tentō's eyes snapped open and he jumped up from bed.
"Shinki, something big really has happened..."
Sarada began explaining to Shinki and Tentō.
"...I can't believe it. The Hidden Leaf has actually been invaded?"
Tentō looked shaken. The thought that everyone around him these past few days had been those monsters horrified him.
"And it's not just that—they even managed to replace every patrolling shinobi. That means some of the higher-ups in the Leaf must have been replaced as well," Shinki said slowly, then looked to Shuyu. "Are you certain the Seventh Hokage hasn't been replaced?"
"Yes." Shuyu nodded. "From what we've observed, these monsters can't use ninjutsu. They can only morph their bodies into weapons to fight. Which means the Naruto we fought in the alternate dimension really was the real one."
"That's a relief. Right now, we can't trust any of the village's higher-ups. The only one we can rely on is the Seventh Hokage—we need to bring him back."
As the highest authority in the Leaf, only Naruto had the power to remove the impostors who'd taken over the village leadership.
Sarada opened a space-time portal.
The five of them stepped through the portal and entered the alternate dimension.
Hidden Leaf Village – Hokage's Office
Though he normally hated overtime, Shikamaru had been working late every day recently. This had led to Temari's complaints, but she hadn't pressed the issue—after all, with Naruto missing, all the pressure had fallen squarely on Shikamaru's shoulders.
"Lord Shikamaru, all the patrolling shinobi stationed around the Light Armor have been exposed. Shinki and Tentō have also vanished."
An Anbu operative entered and reported.
"I see. Go clean up the scene."
"Yes, sir."
Alternate Dimension
"The Seventh Hokage isn't here..."
Sarada looked around and spoke.
"I've seen that thing before..." Kawaki pointed to an object that looked like two bowls pressed together. "It's a sacred artifact of the Ōtsutsuki Clan—Soul Coffin. The Seventh Hokage should be inside."
"Yo, Kawaki, long time no see. You're looking well."
"Borō! Cut the crap and let the Seventh Hokage out of there!"
Kawaki glared at Borō.
"Sheesh. It's been ages since we've seen each other, and this is the attitude I get? But... that's exactly what I like about you, Kawaki."
Borō smirked.
"Then I guess I'll just have to force you to let him out."
Kawaki growled, glaring at Borō.
"Lightning Release: Thunder Sphere!"
Before he could act, Sarada launched a jutsu.
"Ganging up on one person and attacking without warning? Since that's how you want to play it, don't blame me!"
Borō dodged the attack as he spoke. As he finished, three more figures appeared beside him.
"Taotie?!"
Sarada, Shinki, and Tentō turned toward the source of the new arrival.
"Code... Amado..."
"Long time no see, Kawaki."
Code greeted him with a mischievous grin. Meanwhile, Shinki and Tentō had already transformed into Wind Eagle and Flame Dragon Knights, engaging Taotie in combat.
"Sarada, the Seventh Hokage is in that Soul Coffin. Shuyu and I will hold them off—get over there and use the space-time tunnel to get him out."
Kawaki didn't reply. Instead, he quietly whispered to Sarada.
"Got it."
Just as Sarada responded, Borō chimed in again. "Are you done with your little strategy meeting? Well, even if you're not, I'm not going to give you time! Lava Release: Scorching Star Break!"
The ground split open as a highly corrosive liquid surged forth.
"Everyone, get out of the way!"
As she leapt into the air to dodge, Shuyu formed a shadow clone. The clone borrowed momentum from her original body and charged straight at Borō.
"Heh. Typical of kids your age—such predictable attacks."
Borō sneered as he caught the shadow clone by the throat with one hand. With a light squeeze, the clone exploded.
"Got him!"
Sarada's face lit up with hope as she looked toward the cloud of smoke caused by the explosion.
As the white smoke cleared, they saw Borō, half of his body blown off—yet still alive. And slowly, his body began regenerating.