Chapter 356: Not Over
Konoha Hospital, special care ward.
The air felt so stagnant it could be wrung out, oppressive atmosphere pressing heavily on everyone's hearts. The ward door gently opened. The medical ninja responsible for examination walked out with grave expression, signaling to those waiting outside that they could enter.
Almost simultaneously with the door opening, Uchiha Satsuki immediately rushed in. She came to the bedside, gaze locked dead on the unconscious Naruto, then violently turned toward the medical ninja who'd followed in, voice carrying uncontrollable trembling and excitement nearly breaking through rationality.
"Please, the situation... how is Naruto?!"
On the bed, Naruto lay quietly, eyes tightly closed, complexion abnormally pale. But he wasn't entirely peaceful—his body was uncontrollably trembling slightly, cold sweat continuously seeping from his forehead.
The medical ninja was an experienced jonin. He first nodded to the anxious crowd, especially acknowledging Jiraiya and Kushina who'd entered afterward, then looked toward Satsuki who'd asked first, carefully choosing his words.
"Please don't panic first. After preliminary comprehensive examination, we can confirm that young master Naruto... currently has no direct life-threatening danger. Heartbeat, breathing, basic vital signs—though somewhat fluctuating—all remain within life-sustaining ranges."
Hearing "no life-threatening danger," Satsuki's tense shoulders relaxed momentarily, but immediately tightened again seeing Naruto's pained appearance. She wanted to press further.
The medical ninja decided to explain the most troublesome situation all at once. His expression became more serious, voice lowering several degrees.
"However... the problem lies precisely here."
"We've mobilized all conventional and some unconventional detection methods, even requested Hyuga clan assistance for chakra pathway examination... According to existing medical knowledge, we... cannot determine when he'll awaken, nor can we guarantee he definitely will awaken."
These words struck like a heavy hammer, viciously smashing into everyone's hearts.
He continued explaining: "We've discovered that within young master Naruto's body, there seems to be some unknown, persistently existing 'thing' continuously—slowly yet persistently—eroding and consuming his life energy."
"However—" The medical ninja's brow furrowed tighter. "Young master Naruto's own life energy—its total quantity and activity—already far exceeds ordinary humans. Moreover, most baffling is that whenever life energy is partially consumed, his body... surprisingly 'automatically' rapidly replenishes equal life energy from some unknown source!"
"This 'replenishment' seemingly maintains his life from falling, but isn't without cost. Through observation, this 'replenishment' appears to deplete and overdraw his 'mental energy.'"
"Or rather, at the cost of brain activity and consciousness-level power. If this situation continues without resolution..."
He paused before heavily uttering that terrible term:
"...Young master Naruto's consciousness may fall into permanent silence due to excessive mental energy overdraft. He might... remain asleep like this forever, becoming... a 'vegetative state.'"
"Wha... what..." Satsuki staggered, supporting herself against the cold bed rail. She couldn't understand, couldn't accept. He'd been fine just moments ago, smiling while reassuring her "it's fine"—why had things suddenly become like this?
One moment in heaven, the next seemingly pushed directly into despair's hellish abyss—coldness and darkness instantly swallowed her.
She violently turned, gaze like quenched blade-sharp knives shooting toward Uchiha Sasuke and Uzumaki Boruto standing in the ward corner with equally grave expressions. All fear, helplessness, confusion transformed this moment into sharp questioning and a final spark of hope:
"You... you must know something, right?! That enemy! That guy called Urashiki! You must know what he did to Naruto at the end, right?! You... since you're from the future, you must have ways to save him, right?! Tell me! Please tell me!!"
Her voice rose from excitement, carrying hoarse breaking tones. And if she received negative answers, the power just discussed would probably awaken immediately.
"I..." Boruto instinctively opened his mouth but abruptly halted. His face flashed obvious struggle and confusion. Yes, he knew this black diamond-shaped mark—he had an identical one on his own hand... but...
"You... don't know? Why?!" Satsuki's emotions grew more agitated, chest heaving violently. "You came here to protect Naruto, didn't you?! Now something's happened to him, you..."
Her words cut off abruptly, gaze moving back and forth between the other self and the other world's self's... rationality slightly returning, realizing her misdirected anger might not be entirely fair, forcibly swallowing back more intense words.
But that pleading and despair showed even more intensely, voice even carrying suppressed sobbing:
"But... you must have ways... please... save Naruto..."
"...Looks like," a voice suppressing tremendous emotional fluctuations rang out. Uzumaki Kushina slowly stepped forward. She first gently stroked Satsuki's head, then raised her head, eyes now covered with bottomlessly deep worry and forcibly composed cold ice, looking toward Sasuke and Boruto.
"You've hidden quite a lot from me."
Her voice remained relatively stable, but slightly trembling body exposed her heart's similarly near-collapse fear.
As the heroic wife who once died protecting the village, she wouldn't misdirect anger toward possible "reinforcements."
But... if Naruto truly suffered irreversible accident... even in an Impure World body, she would never let the existence that harmed her son rest in peace, even pursuing to the ends of the earth, time's limits.
Kushina forced herself calm. "I hope you... can tell everything you know—about that enemy, about this mark, about everything possibly related. Even if there's the slightest possibility of saving Naruto, please tell us."
"Yes." Jiraiya, who'd remained silent, also stepped forward, expression unprecedentedly grave, even carrying deep self-blame. He glanced at Naruto struggling painfully on the bed, then looked toward Sasuke and Boruto. "Hope you can cooperate. Tell us exactly what this suddenly appearing enemy—this so-called 'Otsutsuki Urashiki'—is, what abilities he has, especially possible backup plans left behind."
He'd already lost two disciples he'd placed high hopes on—absolutely couldn't lose this child he viewed as hope, possibly even the shinobi world's future.
Brief silence fell in the ward, only medical equipment's faint ticking and Naruto's unconscious, suppressed breathing.
"...Yes." After long contemplation, Uchiha Sasuke finally slowly spoke.
"Looks like there's no other choice. Boruto, let's go. I'll explain everything I understand."
Boruto clenched one hand, spreading his palm open. There, a black diamond-shaped mark almost identical to Naruto's palm quietly existed.
He looked at the unconscious Naruto, heart filled with tremendous confusion and unease.
This world's "Dad"... also encountered the same "mark" as himself?
But why... had he never fallen unconscious from this mark?
---
Consciousness—like a drowning person sinking into deep sea—struggled in darkness and nothingness, finally violently surfacing, breaking through that viscous boundary.
Upon "opening eyes" again—or rather, the instant perception recovered—what met his "view" was a completely unexpected scene.
Boundless, extending to the horizon's vast grassland spread under gentle light.
The grass color was vibrant green full of vitality, swaying with wind, forming wave after wave of undulating tides, meeting the clear azure sky. Breeze passed, carrying fresh scent of grass and moist earth.
Upon the grassland, several massive lakes distributed sparsely. Lake water clear to the bottom, reflecting sky's flowing clouds and radiance. Water surface shimmering with light—occasionally breezes swept across, stirring circular ripples.
A peaceful, tranquil scene—forming absurdly extreme contrast with the previous world-destroying battlefield, with death and despair's atmosphere.
Is this... that brat's... inner world?
Otsutsuki Urashiki—having recovered normal human form but eyes still maintaining evolved golden Rinnegan—looked down somewhat bewildered at his own undamaged body, not even feeling slightest pain or weakness.
He raised his hand, clenched his fist, feeling this non-physical yet incomparably clear "sense of existence."
After brief confusion came joy impossible to suppress like volcanic eruption!
He rapidly assessed his condition—not complete revival, more like existing in a special "consciousness body" or "soul fragment" form, parasitizing or rather trapped in this peculiar mental space. But so what? This was infinitely better than complete annihilation, consciousness returning to nothingness!
"Heh... hehehe... hahaha..."
Irrepressible low laughter with trembling overflow from his throat. The laughter grew louder, more unrestrained, finally transforming into hysterical, joy-filled after-surviving-calamity unrestrained laughter.
"HAHAHAHAHAHA—!!! I knew it! I knew it!! How could I simply, easily meet my end like those lower life forms!!!"
He spread his arms as though embracing this grassland and sky. "Success... simply... fate's gift!! This body! Is mine now! HAHAHA!!"
However, his triumphant laughter couldn't continue long.
"ROAR—!!!!!!!!!!!"
A roar seemingly from hell's deepest depths—containing towering fury, bone-deep hatred—like sudden thunder exploded behind him without warning!
Immediately after came something more heart-palpitating than roaring—teeth seemingly grinding to powder, each word squeezed out questioning. That voice's contained loathing and killing intent—dense enough to dismember Urashiki.
"BASTARD!! What did you do to Naruto?!"
Urashiki's wild laughter abruptly stopped. He violently turned around.
Behind him not far away, above that peaceful grassland, red chakra like erupting volcanic lava madly rose! At that surging chakra torrent's center, a pair of blood-moon-massive crimson beast eyes burning with all-consuming fury locked dead onto him as though to devour him alive!
***
80+advance chapters at patreon.com/Eatinpieces