And Light with Dust

8:06 PM.

Chen and Hikari held each other tightly, their eyes seeing only each other, their skin feeling only each other.

"Boom!" Fireworks burst outside the window—the Shadow Hidden Village's monthly Fireworks Festival happened to be opening at that very moment.

Colorful fireworks rose side by side into the sky, accompanied by detonations, transforming into flames more dazzling than the stars.

This month's Fireworks Festival was far more lavish than usual, because Konan had specially applied for funds from the finance director, Kakuzu.

Somewhere in the Shadow Hidden Village, a pair of green pupils stared darkly at the heavens.

In his eyes, what bloomed in the sky wasn't fireworks, but a rain of blood...

"That damn woman, using Lord Shadow's name to extort funds, and wasting them on a fireworks festival—a segment that does nothing but burn money!"

"If Lord Shadow really has returned and is staying in this village tonight, why hasn't he come to see me yet! I'm his treasure trove!"

Under the cover of this fireworks festival, on the rear mountain of the Shadow Hidden Village... a world-shaking battle erupted!

Super Impure World Reincarnation Uchiha Madara, Super Impure World Reincarnation Uchiha Obito!

Right from the start, both activated their Perfect Susanoo to greet each other.

Obito unleashed power equal to that of the Dual Kamui Kakashi from back then—Kamui Shuriken!

To counter this troublesome assault, Madara's four Rinbo shadows all activated their Perfect Susanoo simultaneously. Visible and invisible, various Magatama and fireballs, even meteorites from beyond the sky—let's just call them 'energy blasts'—all hurtled toward Obito!

Kamui Shuriken, impressive? Fine, it was indeed impressive—anything it touched would be teleported! It could ignore attack quality!

If quality couldn't win, then use quantity!

In the end... the overwhelming rain of energy blasts coming from all ten directions finally exceeded the limit Kamui Shuriken could handle!

More and more energy blasts broke through, bombarding Obito's lone-standing Susanoo.

Armor was pierced, the skull was torn apart!

Obito entered Kamui intangibility, ignoring the hail of light and projectiles!

Madara, unhurried, pressed his palms together and unleashed the grandest technique of his former rival and friend, Senju Hashirama!

The moment Sage Art Wood Style: True Several Thousand Hands towered into the sky!

Deidara, the sole witness to this battle, shuddered from the depths of his soul.

"Art, this is... art!"

The Thousand-Armed Buddha... thousands upon thousands of fists rained down like a meteor shower!

Obito roared, and his Perfect Susanoo stood once more, its might even greater than before—a black curtain of swords formed by Kamui Shuriken swept skyward!

The 'conversation' outside the room had reached its climax!

But the 'conversation' inside the room was just getting to the point!

Under Chen's attack—both gentle and fierce—Hikari was already about to be sent over the edge.

She clung tightly to Chen's neck and waist.

I have no right to criticize Samui...

"Because the one whose mind is filled with junk is clearly me..."

"Hikari... are you ready?"

"Mm... I'm counting on you, Chen!"

Blend your light with the dust, deep and clear as if present!

Time ticked by, the moon had long climbed past the treetops, and stars dotted the window.

In the dozen or so hours of waiting, Naruto had racked his brain to share everything that had happened in the village with Sasuke, and Sasuke had recounted his travels and experiences in detail.

But the owner of the house still showed no sign of returning.

In the pitch darkness, Sasuke asked, "Should we keep waiting? Naruto."

Naruto thought for a moment, then decided to wait.

He was certain Chen had gone out on business—maybe he'd be back late, maybe even stay out all night—but he would definitely return!

This was the intuition he'd developed from over a decade of living a two-point-one-line life.

"Then let's wait outside. Staying in here too long... feels uncomfortable."

"Yeah... alright."

They stepped out onto the corridor.

The cool summer night breeze brushed their faces, bringing a flash of clarity to Sasuke's mind.

"By the way, Shikamaru mentioned that about the leak of Chen's Otsutsuki rumor—that someone among the Five Kage let it slip. Who do you think is the most suspicious?"

"This..." Naruto hadn't thought deeply about it before. But now, he had to face the issue.

"Uchiha Chen, he even made his home in the Land of Lightning, and... cross those two mountains ahead, and it's the Cloud Hidden's treasure land, Cloud-Thunder Gorge, right!"

"So... I have reason to believe it's likely Darui who slipped up somewhere. But I trust it was unintentional on his part!"

Sasuke nodded slightly, a deeper layer of concern in his eyes. "Whether he's heartless or not no longer matters. What I'm mainly worried about is something else."

Naruto asked, "What is it?"

Sasuke said, "Back then, Obito used his Sharingan to control the Fourth Mizukage, dominating Kirigakure for a full decade. Could Uchiha Chen do something similar..."

Naruto was suddenly startled. "You're saying he might have used his Sharingan to control Darui?"

"He even dared to tamper with Madara's corpse, so that possibility can't be ruled out. And according to Orochimaru's confirmation, he possesses the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan, which makes it even more likely."

"I think we need to go to Kumogakure and confirm it..."

No sooner had Sasuke's low words fallen.

The moon was suddenly shrouded by dark, drifting clouds.

The wind rustled the distant Pine Forest with a sharp whisper.

Needle-like raindrops followed closely, striking the wooden railing of the walkway before them with a rapid patter.

"A door-closing rain... This is going to last all day." A shadow of worry crept onto Naruto's brow. If what Sasuke feared came true, it could easily trigger a chain reaction of suspicion.

"As the Hokage, it's not really appropriate for me to step in on this. Sasuke, go and investigate."

Sasuke nodded. "Mm. Fortunately, we're not far from Kumogakure. Even if Uchiha Chen comes back, I can rush back to support you immediately."

Naruto leaned back against the wall, smiling. "Honestly, the two of us coming together is already overkill for Uchiha Chen. In this shinobi world, there's no one who requires us to join forces."

Sasuke untied the lunch box Sakura had given him that morning from his waist and handed it to Naruto. "Better to err on the side of caution. Every pair of Mangekyo represents one or two powerful 'mechanisms.' Shin Uchiha's strength was mediocre, yet he still managed to wound both of us—that's one example."

"Yeah, that's true." Naruto took the lunch box. "Go on. I'll save half for you."

"Whoosh!" Sasuke shook his black cloak, leaped into the pouring rain, and sped off toward Kumogakure!

Neither Naruto nor Sasuke noticed.

"Rustle, rustle, rustle..." In the heavy rain, beneath the eerie Pine Forest, a pale head slowly retreated back underground.

"I must report this development to that great one..."