The pride of shinobi.
The ideals of the Kage.
The destiny of clans.
Personal struggle.
All of it seemed pale, laughable—even tragic—before the single word:
Puppet.
The world felt as though it had sunk into a lightless abyss. Even the direction of struggle had vanished.
Across the shinobi world, echoes of numb despair spread.
"Puppets… Sakura called us puppets… hah… hahaha…"
"Would she lie? If even our souls after death can be controlled… what else would we be?"
"Crude as it sounds, it makes sense… but damn it, that truth is messed up!"
A suffocating sense of helplessness spread like a plague.
"If nothing was ever truly changeable from the start… if we were always just pieces on someone else's board… then why struggle at all?" someone muttered blankly.
"Maybe we should just lie down and accept it… nothing matters anyway…"
But among humanity, there are always exceptions.
"Heh heh heh…"
A chilling laugh echoed in dim light.
Orochimaru's golden, snake-like eyes burned as he stared at the heavenly curtain, as if engraving every word Sakura spoke into his very soul.
"Puppets? Alteration? A second alteration?"
His long tongue slid across his lips. His voice trembled—not with fear, but with discovery.
"This curtain has given me… far too many surprises."
He paced slowly, mind racing.
"If the humans of this world were once altered into chakra-compatible beings by that so-called 'woman'…"
"Then in reverse—"
"Or as Sakura described—undergoing a second transformation by a completely different system…"
"In theory, it's entirely feasible."
He stopped abruptly, eyes flashing.
"If that's the case… why shouldn't I?"
"The secrets of chakra. The mysteries of life. The mechanism of soul reincarnation…"
"I've pursued them for so long."
"And now, a higher-dimensional secret of existential reconstruction lies before me."
His lips curled upward.
"This is the most seductive path toward eternity and infinity."
Kabuto Yakushi adjusted his glasses, his eyes glinting behind the lenses.
"OrochimaruLord, with your brilliance and tireless pursuit of knowledge, I'm certain you'll unravel this mystery before anyone else."
"Heh heh heh…"
Orochimaru laughed delightedly—so excited he flicked his tongue across his face, a habitual sign of extreme exhilaration.
"How magnificent… The truth of this world is far more interesting—and full of possibility—than I imagined."
Just then, a crisp yet faintly dangerous voice spoke up.
"Hey, Orochimaru," Karin tilted her head casually. "What if I sneak off to Konoha right now and kill Haruno Sakura? She's weak as hell at this point."
The outrageous suggestion made Orochimaru's pupils flare.
He turned toward Karin as if she had suddenly become a priceless treasure radiating divine light.
Karin.
Of course.
She was native to this world.
And yet she had gained the favor of a demonic entity—acquiring a power system clearly originating beyond this world.
By Sakura's own logic, Karin was a perfect example of someone who had undergone "secondary transformation."
Orochimaru's heartbeat quickened.
He had always found Karin interesting. He had studied her flesh and blood before.
But he had assumed it was merely a difference in cultivation system.
Now—
If she had been altered at a fundamental level…
Then her body—her cells—perhaps even her soul—
Must carry changes beyond chakra-based understanding.
"There must be something there…" Orochimaru murmured, trembling with excitement. "Structural differences at the cellular level. Alterations in the soul."
"I simply failed to detect them because my framework was limited to chakra."
"Like trying to measure temperature with a ruler."
A living, successful example of re-alteration stood right beside him.
Orochimaru instantly discarded Karin's reckless assassination idea.
Compared to that—
The true treasure was here.
A research subject beyond value.
His pale face stretched into an almost disturbingly "kind" smile.
He stepped closer, rubbing his hands together in a coaxing tone.
"Karin… about that… I have a small request…"
Within the Heavenly Curtain
It was Naruto who finally broke the suffocating silence.
He scrubbed his face hard, as if trying to crush confusion, pain, and bone-deep coldness beneath his palms.
When he lifted his head again, his blue eyes were bloodshot and tired—
But a stubborn spark had reignited.
"I'll do it."
His voice was low. Hoarse.
Yet steady as stone.
"No matter what the truth is. No matter how twisted the foundation… I'll find a way."
He didn't specify what he would accomplish.
Change the world?
Break free of puppet strings?
Both?
But that instinctive refusal to surrender—even at the edge of despair—remained Uzumaki Naruto's core trait.
Sakura looked at him.
A faint, unreadable smile curved her lips.
She neither agreed nor argued.
She simply shook her head lightly.
As if to say:
Do as you will.
"Then… what are worlds like, relative to one another?" Neji asked calmly, analytical once more.
Sakura fell silent for a moment.
She frowned slightly, as if searching for a description they could grasp.
After a pause, she looked up and asked something seemingly unrelated.
"Do you… believe in the existence of gods?"
Naruto, Sasuke, and Neji all stiffened.
Believe?
Before all this, they might have scoffed.
At most, they would have regarded the Sage of Six Paths as legend—not divinity.
But after everything revealed—
The word "god" no longer felt abstract.
The three exchanged glances.
Then slowly—
They nodded.
Whether they once believed or not—
Now, they had little choice.
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