Chapter 620: New Year in the Land of Lightning
Waterfall of Truth.
"Naruto, you can release your dark side, but you must defeat it within seven days. Otherwise, something extremely terrible will happen."
Killer B repeatedly reminded Naruto of this along the way, and once they arrived in front of the waterfall, he reminded him again.
Gulp.
Naruto swallowed nervously, all kinds of terrifying stories flashing through his mind.
"Seven days... What exactly happens after seven days?"
Unable to hold back his curiosity, Naruto pressed for an answer.
"After seven days, we'll be taking our New Year's holiday."
"..."
The frightened yet expectant look on Naruto's face instantly froze.
"What? You mean everyone in the Land of Lightning is going on holiday, so no one will be watching this place?"
Naruto looked disappointed.
He had thought that after seven days, his dark side would completely replace him and become the real Naruto or something like that.
"No, Naruto, you misunderstood. By New Year's holiday, I mean our New Year celebration in the Land of Lightning."
Killer B looked serious.
"What's the difference?"
Naruto scratched his head.
"The first day of the New Year in the Land of Lightning comes from an ancient legend passed down on this land."
"It is said that in ancient times, there was a ruler in the Land of Lightning named Yemanba. Even before chakra appeared, he had already mastered senjutsu."
"Not only could he turn water into milk and grass into bread, he could also fly freely through the sky."
"He was also extremely hardworking. Every morning at four o'clock, he would fly far away to bring fresh food back for everyone."
"Until one day, while Yemanba was flying through the sky, he was struck by two meteors falling from the heavens. He plunged straight to the ground and lost his life."
"The ancient people of the Land of Lightning wept over Yemanba's death. They prayed to the heavens to return their benevolent ruler to them."
"Then they suddenly remembered that the milk and bread they used to eat had all been transformed by Yemanba using his 'divine power.'"
"If that was the case, perhaps all they had to do was return that power to Yemanba, and he might come back to life?"
"So, the villagers fed Yemanba everything produced by the last two options after eating, drinking, and relieving themselves."
"Miraculously, Yemanba came back to life on the seventh day after his death."
"Everyone sang and danced in celebration, and from that day onward, this became the New Year of the Land of Lightning."
"And because of the method everyone used to revive Yemanba, we developed the custom of eating 'shit bento' during the New Year."
After finishing the story, Killer B looked toward the Waterfall of Truth.
"The reason I told you that you must defeat your dark side within seven days is because if you fail to defeat it, then when our New Year arrives, on the day Yemanba's resurrection is celebrated, your dark side may take advantage of the occasion and consume a huge amount of 'shit bento,' successfully becoming a truly living being."
"At that point, you'll no longer be able to make it disappear. You'll have to kill it to solve the problem."
"And the portion of your power that you separated from yourself will never be able to return."
"Because from that day onward, it will be an independent individual."
"I see, Uncle Bee."
"So it's like my Shadow Clone. If I dispel it within seven days, it's still just a Shadow Clone. But if more than seven days pass, the Shadow Clone will become a completely separate version of me. Is that right?"
"That's right."
"Then I completely understand. Let's begin!"
Naruto walked to the center of the pool beneath the waterfall and sat down cross-legged.
"We should leave."
After Naruto closed his eyes, Killer B quietly told the others to leave.
"I need to stay here and watch him."
Obito shook his head and refused.
After his two previous mistakes, he had already made up his mind.
He had to keep an eye on Naruto's every move to prevent another accident.
"Then be careful. The dark side from the Waterfall of Truth doesn't just attack the original body."
Killer B left him with that warning before taking the others away.
Obito paid no attention to it. When he was outside, he had Kamui intangibility.
As for Isshiki inside the Kamui dimension, there was no need to worry about that either.
If only Isshiki had been sealed inside, then his intangibility really could put him in danger.
But there was an entire Konoha inside the Kamui dimension now.
His intangible body would most likely appear inside some house in Konoha, where he would be perfectly safe.
Besides, even if there was any danger, Naruto would be the first one in trouble.
Naruto's "Stick" had been permanently sealed inside the Kamui dimension. Whenever he entered the Kamui dimension, his actual body would automatically appear where his "Stick" was and reassemble itself.
When he left the Kamui dimension, it was like logging out of a game. His "Stick" would remain behind while his actual body left.
In other words, when Naruto had left with Obito before, it was equivalent to Naruto suddenly disappearing right in front of Isshiki, leaving only his "Stick" behind.
Obito had originally been harboring some rather dark thoughts.
He had deliberately not warned Naruto. He wanted Naruto to become someone without "Stick" just like himself, so that Naruto could experience his suffering.
Even though this Naruto wasn't the Naruto from the real world, Obito still wanted to drag him into darkness and make him just like himself.
But unexpectedly, even after all this time, Naruto still hadn't shown the slightest reaction.
What did that mean?
The crazy Isshiki inside wasn't attacking randomly without thinking, so his intangibility was absolutely safe.
A day passed, and Turtle Island fell into complete silence.
Just as Killer B had said, the New Year in the Land of Lightning was approaching, and everyone had gone home for the holiday.
Important locations would still have people working overtime, but Turtle Island was mostly untouched wilderness. It was difficult for outsiders to even enter without someone leading them, so there was no need to leave anyone behind.
The entire island was left with only Obito and Naruto.
After a full day, Naruto finally managed to separate his dark side.
Naruto opened his eyes, and the moment he saw his dark side, he froze.
Because his so-called dark side was actually a golden-haired fox girl with fox ears—a lewd furry!
Wasn't this exactly what he looked like after entering Nine-Tails Mode?
Naruto suddenly realized something and hurriedly checked his body.
Sure enough, all the Nine-Tails chakra inside him had disappeared!
Separating his dark side had actually separated his other side entirely, including all of his Nine-Tails chakra!
The good news was that he now had a completely human appearance.
The bad news was, how was he supposed to defeat a dark side that possessed Nine-Tails chakra?
After struggling with the problem for a while, Naruto decided to deal with the immediate matter first.
He glanced at Obito waiting in the distance. In any case, he had plenty of allies in this world. He could just ask someone for help later.
"Um..."
"I know what you want me to do, Uzumaki Naruto."
The dark fox girl's eyes were crimson, and she revealed an evil smile.
Then her body twisted, transforming into Naruto's appearance. The Nine-Tails chakra around her body also disappeared.
"You don't need to tell me. I have your memories. I'll go and lure Namikaze Minato inside for you."
"..."
Dark Naruto agreed far too readily, which made Naruto feel extremely uneasy.
(End of this chapter)