Countless people across the shinobi world cried out in shock.
Chakra being an invasion was one thing—but the Divine Knights as well?
Did that mean Karin's power was too?
Then what… what exactly were the so-called "power" and "civilization" we relied upon to survive in this world?
The entire shinobi world was numb.
"Sakura…" Even Naruto's voice trembled. "What do you mean by that? You're joking… right?"
Sasuke's Rinnegan locked onto her. His remaining hand clenched into a fist, knuckles whitening.
A vein throbbed faintly at Neji's temple. His eyes churned with disbelief.
They were all waiting for an answer.
Sakura's calm gaze swept across their identical expressions of shock and collapse.
There was no mockery in her eyes. No pity.
Only the near-cruel composure of someone stating a fact.
She nodded slowly.
"That's exactly what I mean."
"Whether it's the Divine Techniques system the Divine Knights rely on, the demonic power system Karin inherited… the occasional 'Devil Fruits'… even that dog you saw, named Wangcai—"
Her voice was not loud, yet every word struck like a hammer in the suffocating stillness, landing squarely in the hearts of Naruto, Sasuke, Neji—and all those watching through the heavenly curtain.
"They are all the same as chakra."
"They are all 'invaders' from beyond this world."
Silence fell.
Absolute silence.
The wind seemed to stop. The clouds froze in place. Even the dust lingering in the distance appeared suspended midair.
Naruto's expression completely stiffened. His mouth opened, but no sound came out.
Sasuke slowly closed his eyes, brows tightly furrowed, as if enduring a violent mental shock.
Neji swayed slightly, nearly losing his balance.
It wasn't merely the collapse of belief.
They had thought the world had some foundation, something intrinsic to rely upon. Yet now they were told everything extraordinary—everything powerful—was foreign.
Neji finally spoke, voice unsteady.
"Then… what was our world's original civilization?"
The question voiced the confusion in every heart across the shinobi world.
If all supernatural power was foreign contamination, then what had the "pure" world looked like before it was altered?
Sakura did not look relieved at the chance to clarify. Instead, a more complicated, almost absurd expression crossed her face.
"Perhaps…" she began slowly, her tone nearly ironic, "your civilization is the daimyō—and the nobles."
"What?" Naruto instinctively protested. "They're so weak, and—"
"And what?" Sakura cut him off, calm but sharp. "When chakra first appeared—or rather, when the Sage of Six Paths began spreading it—it couldn't possibly have been intended for war."
She stepped forward. Beneath her feet lay scorched earth, yet her gaze seemed to pierce through time itself.
"And then? Those who mastered it began using it to fight, to conquer, to protect, to destroy. Chakra gave rise to shinobi. Shinobi became tools—tools to protect nations, carry out missions, wage wars. And who hires shinobi? Who decides how they are used?"
"The daimyō and the nobles."
Naruto's pupils contracted.
Sasuke's frown deepened.
A chill crept up Neji's spine.
They had never considered it from this perspective.
"Judging from your expressions," Sakura continued, her tone softening slightly but carrying deeper implication, "let me put it another way. Is it possible…"
She paused deliberately.
"That this world's native civilization never actually disappeared?"
"That the chakra system never truly destroyed your civilization?"
"It simply… integrated into it. Thoroughly. Successfully."
"Shinobi possess the power to move mountains and part seas—yet they still obey the daimyō's orders. They accept missions issued by nobles. They bleed and die to uphold borders and rules those nobles established."
"You use power from beyond the heavens to defend and maintain the most fundamental power structure and survival system of this world."
"The conflicts between shinobi may change the actors on stage—but they never truly shake the rules of the stage itself."
"The system of daimyō and nobility is the foundation of this world."
"Chakra merely makes the drama performed upon that foundation… more spectacular."
When she finished speaking, silence descended once more.
This silence was deeper. Heavier.
Across the shinobi world, countless people fell into the same cold, absurd contemplation.
They looked at the shinobi forehead protectors beside them.
At the cities and farmland in the distance.
At the vast, silent world composed of ordinary people who had no chakra at all.
A confusion about existence itself enveloped everyone.
Under the heavenly curtain, the entire shinobi world teetered on the edge of collective madness.
"What's real?! Tell me what's real?!"
"I can't see clearly… I can't see anything anymore… hahaha… This world is fake! It's all fake!"
"Invaders… they're all invaders!"
"If that's true, then what are we shinobi? We who fight to the death and take pride in it?"
"Tools? A joke?"
"Or toys in the hands of invaders?"
Konoha
Inside the village, Jiraiya clutched his already disheveled white hair, pain and confusion etched across his face.
"What in the world… is this world, really?"
"Is it so hard to understand?"
A cold, biting laugh interrupted him.
Tsunade stood by the Hokage's office window, arms crossed, back turned to the room. Her shoulders were drawn tight.
"This wretched world," she said slowly, her voice so cold it seemed to freeze the air, "sometimes I want to destroy it."
"Tsunade!" Jiraiya's expression changed sharply. "Calm down!"
"I can't!"
She spun around. Her long blonde hair flared with the motion. The once-bold and resilient eyes now burned with blazing fury.
"My grandfather built this village. That man they called the 'God of Shinobi.' Why did he do it?"
Her voice rose, edged with tearing anguish.
"Because his little brothers were too young. So young they didn't even understand what kind of world this was—yet they were forced onto the battlefield… and they died!"
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