Chapter 442: Hanzo of the Salamander
Deep within the sealed mindscape, a massive silhouette shifted in the gloom.
Kurama rested his heavy chin against his massive paws, his slitted crimson eyes cracking open just enough to watch the boy in the distance. A low, rumbling scoff vibrated through the cavernous space.
"Still as stupid as ever."
The giant fox closed his eyes again, his nine tails swishing lazily behind him. "But this appearance... is barely passable."
A heavy exhale parted Kurama's jaws, stirring the shallow water beneath them. "Listen well, brat. Do not think you are invincible just because you managed to borrow this old man's chakra. If you dare to embarrass me out there, I will swallow you whole."
Naruto wiped the lingering moisture from his eyes. He turned around, a bright, unshadowed grin breaking across his face as he looked up at the towering beast.
"Don't worry, Kurama." He bumped his fists together. "We're partners now, after all!"
Meanwhile.
In an entirely different mental domain, an endless expanse of barren desert stretched toward a dim, yellow horizon.
"I won't give it! I absolutely won't give it!"
A deafening screech echoed across the dunes. A gargantuan tanuki thrashed wildly, kicking up massive sandstorms as he rolled around like a petulant child throwing a tantrum.
This was the One-Tail, Shukaku.
Standing before Gaara, the legendary Tailed Beast was acting like nothing more than a disobedient brat, stubbornly hoarding his chakra deep within his massive belly. Not only did he refuse to cooperate, but he also continuously whipped violent waves of sand toward his jinchuriki.
Gaara stood perfectly still atop a high dune, his brow furrowing slightly.
Under Uchiha Akira's rigorous guidance, Gaara's strength had long surpassed his former limits. Yet, forcibly suppressing a rampaging Tailed Beast inside his own mindscape still required immense concentration.
"Shukaku," Gaara said, his voice cold and steady over the howling wind. "This is Teacher's command."
Shukaku slammed his heavy paws into the sand, baring his jagged teeth. "Who cares about your teacher! This is my chakra! Why should I hand it over to a brat like you?! As long as I refuse, there is nothing he can do to—"
The tanuki's voice caught in his throat.
The entire mental space suddenly lurched. A violent tremor ripped through the endless desert, shaking the very foundations of Gaara's mind.
High above, the dim yellow sky tore open.
A suffocating, world-destroying pressure crashed down from the heavens. Through the jagged rift in the sky, a colossal arm composed of blazing purple chakra descended, its sheer mass blotting out the light.
It was the arm of Susanoo.
Through the rift, Uchiha Akira looked down at the sprawling desert. His crimson eyes pierced through the void, staring at Shukaku with the cold, detached gaze of a god observing an insect.
"You said..." Akira's voice echoed from everywhere at once, vibrating with lethal intent. "I can't do anything to you?"
"Squeak!"
All the arrogance drained from Shukaku in a fraction of a second. The massive tanuki shrank back, his entire body trembling violently under the oppressive weight of the Mangekyo Sharingan.
"No... no..." Shukaku stammered, his massive paws covering his head as he instantly folded. "I'll give it! I'll give it, okay! Take it!"
The beast pressed himself flat against the sand, whining pitifully. "Waaa... the Uchiha are all monsters!"
Akira let out a cold snort. The purple hand of Susanoo hovered mere inches above Shukaku's head, radiating a heat that promised instant annihilation if the beast dared to twitch.
"Gaara," Akira commanded, shifting his gaze to his disciple below. "Take the power that belongs to you."
"Yes, Teacher."
Gaara bowed respectfully. He turned and walked calmly toward the shivering mountain of sand. Reaching out a hand, he spoke in an even tone. "Give me the chakra."
"Take it, take it! Just take it all!" Shukaku wailed, his face scrunched up in absolute misery as he actively forced torrents of his own chakra into Gaara's body. He did not want to look at Uchiha Akira for a single second longer.
It was simply too terrifying for a tanuki to endure.
With the massive influx of Shukaku's untamed chakra, terrifying waves of heavy, golden sand began to erupt from Gaara's physical body back in the real world.
Inside the Tianyu Space.
Two colossal auras detonated simultaneously, sweeping through the quiet dimension like twin hurricanes.
"I did it!" Naruto looked down at his hands, his entire body wreathed in a blazing, golden cloak of pure energy. He jumped into the air, his face flushed with excitement. "Teacher! I succeeded!"
Beside him, Gaara opened his eyes. The dense, oppressive aura of the One-Tail swirled around him in perfect harmony. Though his expression remained composed, a rare glimmer of deep joy danced in his eyes. "I have succeeded as well."
Uchiha Akira stood before them, the hem of his dark robes fluttering against the residual chakra winds. He nodded, a faint smile touching his lips.
"Very good."
His gaze swept over the two youths. "The Nine-Tails Chakra Mode, and the fully subjugated power of the One-Tail. Now, you finally possess the qualifications to step onto the true battlefield."
Akira turned his back to them, his voice ringing with absolute authority. "Let's go. It is time to let the Shinobi World see exactly how strong Konoha's new generation has become."
"Yes!" the two responded in unison, their voices echoing with unwavering resolve.
The next second, the three figures vanished from the Tianyu Space without a trace.
A short while later.
Konoha Village, the top floor of the Hokage Building.
Uchiha Akira stood at the edge of the rooftop, the wind catching his dark hair. Behind him stood Uzumaki Naruto, still radiating the faint warmth of his new transformation, and Gaara, his eyes sharp and determined.
"The battlefield needs you," Akira said, not turning around. "This is the perfect stage to test the results of your training."
Naruto clenched his fists, his face dead serious. "Yes, Teacher! I definitely won't let you down!"
Gaara bowed deeply. "Teacher, we will bring back victory."
Whoosh! Whoosh!
The two young shinobi vanished via the Body Flicker Technique. They would lead the thousands of Konoha reinforcements already amassed at the village gates, marching straight into the heart of the war.
Silence reclaimed the rooftop.
Only Uchiha Akira and two very special guests remained.
Adult Sasuke and Boruto.
"Hokage-sama." Adult Sasuke stepped forward. The empty sleeve of his missing arm shifted slightly in the breeze. He looked at the man standing at the edge of the roof, his mismatched eyes filled with a heavy, complex emotion.
In this timeline, the Uchiha had not been slaughtered. They had risen from the ashes to become the undisputed, absolute pinnacle of the Shinobi World. And every single piece of that miracle was the direct work of the Fifth Hokage standing before him.
"It is time for us to leave as well," Sasuke said quietly.
Beside him, Boruto looked out over the sprawling, prosperous expanse of Konoha. His eyes lingered on the bustling streets and the towering monuments, a deep reluctance etched across his young face.
Akira turned around, his expression unreadable. He raised his hand, his palm facing upward.
A faint pulse of chakra rippled through the air, and an ancient, turtle-like artifact materialized in his grasp.
The Treasure Tool: Karasuki.
"This will take you back," Akira said, tossing the artifact forward.
Sasuke caught Karasuki smoothly. He gripped the cold shell, his gaze locking onto Akira's crimson eyes. For a long moment, neither man spoke.
"Thank you," Sasuke finally murmured, his voice thick with the weight of a lifetime of regrets. "In this timeline... please protect Sasuke."
He was speaking of himself. Of the young, unbroken boy who still had a family. Of a past he could never return to.
Akira let out a quiet, lighthearted chuckle. The sound carried effortlessly over the wind.
"In this world, the Uchiha do not need anyone's protection." Akira's eyes narrowed, a cold, absolute pride radiating from his very bones. "We are the ones who protect others."
Sasuke froze. The words struck him deep in his chest. Slowly, the tension bled out of his shoulders, and a genuine, relieved smile graced his tired features.
A blinding light flared from the turtle artifact.
Space warped and twisted, forming a swirling vortex of temporal energy. In the blink of an eye, the figures of Adult Sasuke and Boruto were swallowed by the distortion, completely vanishing from this timeline.
Absolute peace returned to the rooftop.
Meanwhile.
At the rear guard encampment of the Shinobi Allied Forces.
The earth suddenly groaned. The ground vibrated violently, rolling and buckling as if a massive dragon were turning over beneath the soil.
The shinobi stationed on the flat wasteland drew their weapons, their eyes wide with alarm.
From the cracked earth, several upright wooden coffins forced their way to the surface. They rose slowly, carrying an eerie, suffocating stench of rot and death.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The heavy wooden lids crashed forward into the dirt. Dust and ash billowed into the air.
Four figures stepped out from the shadows of the coffins. Their skin was a sickly, grayish-white, covered in fine, porcelain-like cracks. Their eyes were entirely black, devoid of life, yet burning with an unnatural light.
Edo Tensei.
"This is..." A Konoha chunin stepped back, his hands trembling as he stared at the intruders.
"That mask..." another shinobi whispered in absolute horror. "It's the Demigod! Hanzo!"
Standing at the forefront was a man wearing a dark diving suit and a heavy, industrial gas mask. In his hands, he gripped a massive kusarigama, the chain clinking ominously in the dead silence.
This was the former absolute ruler of Amegakure. The man whose very name once brought entire nations to their knees. Hanzo of the Salamander.
Hanzo slowly turned his head, his dark, cracked eyes scanning the terrified army before him.
"Edo Tensei, huh..."
His voice rasped through the heavy filters of his mask, muffled yet carrying a majestic, crushing weight. "To think that after my death, I would be dragged back to the world of the living by a technique that profanes the dead."
He tightened his grip on the chain of his weapon. "Hmph. It matters little. Since I have been brought out, let me see exactly what this current Shinobi World has become."
Beside him, a hunched figure stirred. A frail old woman with a face mapped by deep wrinkles slowly opened her dark eyes.
The legendary advisor of the Hidden Sand, Chiyo.
To her right stood a kunoichi with a striking figure, her back exposed and her green-black hair tied up. The hero of the Hidden Sand, Pakura of the Scorch Release.
The final figure was a burly, imposing man with hollow eyes. The former elite of Iwagakure's Explosion Corps, Gari of the Explosion Release.
"Where is this..." Chiyo muttered, her cloudy eyes sweeping across the barren landscape.
Her gaze drifted over the defensive lines, finally settling on the group of shinobi standing closest to the coffins. More specifically, her eyes locked onto the metal plates strapped to their foreheads.
They were Suna shinobi.
But right next to the traditional hourglass symbol of the Hidden Sand, an entirely different crest had been deeply and conspicuously carved into the metal.
The leaf emblem of Konoha.
"What is the meaning of this?"
Chiyo's voice instantly lost its frail rasp, turning razor-sharp. She raised a trembling finger, pointing directly at the frontline of Suna shinobi. Her cracked face twisted in pure, unadulterated outrage.
"What in the world is going on with your headbands?!"
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