What Exactly Are You?

Chen's God Robe sleeves had been completely burned away by the blazing flames... yet his arms were utterly unscathed!

Having already gained some understanding of Chen's abilities, Madara immediately saw through it. "Oh? Utsuro-ryu selected himself for Time Reversal, restoring his body to the state before he was injured? Only now that I've truly witnessed its effects do I realize it's even more absurd than I imagined..."

On another mountaintop, Obito also sighed. "Utsuro-ryu... this technique has a mechanism even more terrifying than Kamui. Mangekyo abilities are determined by the user's conviction at the moment their eyes awaken. Chen, I believe you awakened Utsuro-ryu for more than just your strong awareness of time. When you witnessed your parents' deaths, you must have desperately wished time could return to the past, right?"

"This isn't good, Sasuke."

"Yeah. Let's assume for now that it's some form of regeneration."

"If it's regeneration, there must be side effects."

"Let's get serious, Naruto." Sasuke slowly drew the Kusanagi Sword at his waist.

"Yeah, just what I wanted!" Naruto clenched his fists.

"Watch out for that dojutsu he used to break down our techniques! Use Taijutsu and swordsmanship as much as possible to decide this!"

"Got it!!"

Purple and golden light intertwined as they charged forward!

Naruto wielded his fists and kicks, empowered by Kurama's Chakra, as weapons!

Sasuke used the Kusanagi Sword wreathed in Lightning Release as his blade!

With movement patterns that changed in an instant, the two launched a relentless assault on Chen!

They're treating me like Momoshiki...

Fine.

Red light flickered in Chen's right eye as he engaged Naruto and Sasuke in a razor-close Taijutsu contest in the forest clearing!

No matter how fast or fierce their attacks came, Chen always evaded them with ease!

Chen focused on dodging, but whenever he spotted an opening and attacked, it came with the force of a sudden bolt of lightning!

Naruto and Sasuke had no way to avoid them, and could only retreat or block with all their strength!!

Clang! Clang! Naruto and Sasuke were simultaneously forced back by the fists coming straight at them!

"Naruto, did you notice?"

"Yeah. Our fists and kicks slow down when they get near him, but his punches suddenly speed up right before hitting us! It's downright bizarre!"

"That's another effect of that Personal Barrier!"

"But every dojutsu has its limits. That Personal Barrier is no exception!"

"As long as we keep pressuring him with attacks, we'll eventually break it!"

"And we definitely will!"

When it came to Chakra and reserves, Naruto and Sasuke, who had once become Six Paths, possessed absolute confidence!

The facts proved their strategy was correct!

So Chen would not obediently follow their rhythm.

As the two charged again—

Chen slammed a Sage Katsuyu Palm toward Naruto!

Whoosh! Naruto twisted through the air like a loach, evading it just as he had evaded Madara's Rinbo back then!

"Don't think the same move will work on me twice! If you want to hit me, at least do what you did before and suddenly use Susanoo to grab me!"

Madara thought, It seems Naruto is gradually getting his fighting instincts back.

Though the Sage Katsuyu Palm had missed, it still slowed Naruto's advance!

Sasuke's Kusanagi Sword struck first!

Chen's right eye suddenly flashed.

—Amaterasu-no-Mikoto!

Crack!

Looking at the Kusanagi Sword in his hand, now shattered apart with only the hilt remaining, Sasuke was horrified. "That dojutsu can even break down physical objects not made of Chakra? His attack on Naruto just now was to create a one-on-one situation so he could precisely target my Kusanagi Sword!"

Snap! Chen formed his hand into a crane-like grip and seized Sasuke's wrist. With a shake of his palm, he knocked the sword hilt from Sasuke's hand, then caught the falling hilt with his other hand and tucked it into his ninja tool pouch at his waist!

The entire sequence flowed as smoothly as water.

Then Naruto shouted, "Sasuke, switch with me!!"

Whoosh! Sasuke instantly understood and used Amenotejikara to swap Naruto into Chen's path in the posture of the wrist Chen had just seized!

Boom! Naruto broke free from Chen's grip by brute force. A giant fist of Kurama's Chakra ignited over his shoulder and smashed down!

—Amaterasu-no-Mikoto!

Crack!!

The giant fist disintegrated...!!

But... it revealed a Mini Tailed Beast Bomb clenched tightly within it!

"I understand how your dojutsu works. It can only affect one target at a time, right?"

—Amaterasu-no-Mikoto!

Crack! But the moment Naruto finished speaking... the Mini Tailed Beast Bomb vanished into black specks of light!

"Damn it!" Naruto shouted deeply as several massive tails erupted from his Kurama Chakra cloak, curving inward to form a sealed enclosure!

"Sasuke!!"

"Yeah, nicely done, Naruto..." In the distance, Sasuke focused his Rinnegan. A streak of blood flowed from the corner of his eye, while his right Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan also began to shine!

—Amaterasu!

Crack! Crack! Crack!

Black Flame Spears burst up from the ground, crisscrossing as they pierced into the golden tails. The Black Flames then bloomed within, swallowing the outer tail cloak from the inside out. Like a Black-Gold Fire Lotus, it blossomed across the earth!

Naruto withdrew in a flash to Sasuke's side, and the two stared together at the death zone where survival seemed impossible!

At this point, neither of them believed Chen would die. After all... as an awakener of the Mangekyō Sharingan, he at least had Susanoo to protect himself.

But there was no way he could come out as unscathed as before!

"How about that!"

"Forget you—even Madara back in the day would have had a hard time taking that one, dattebayo!"

Crack! The Black-Gold Fire Lotus split open, and Chen emerged from the scorched marks left on the ground. His upper garments had been torn apart, yet strangely, his body remained completely unharmed...

Chen said sincerely, "That was indeed impressive. To see you both regain your former condition... honestly, I'm rather relieved."

Sasuke's expression tightened. What exactly is going on? He didn't even use Susanoo. If that's regeneration, then he doesn't have any cells associated with regeneration. There's no detectable Chakra reaction like Sakura's Byakugou Seal, either.

Could it be the Senjutsu on him that seems related to Katsuyu? No... my instincts tell me that Senjutsu alone shouldn't be this excessive.

Gulp. Naruto swallowed, cold sweat pouring down his back. "A monster... Uchiha Chen is a genuine monster!"

Chen raised his gaze and said quietly, "Naruto, don't act like you know everything and slap labels on others based on your own assumptions!"

—Toyomiketsunomikoto!

Gulp! Gulp! Naruto and Sasuke were both wrapped in dense spheres of water and floated into the air!

Gulp. Sasuke held his breath. "A Water Prison released from his right eye!"

Gulp! Naruto focused. "This Water Prison doesn't need the caster to maintain it manually. It exists independently!"

Madara said, "I see. Toyomiketsunomikoto, huh? Techniques that have had Energy Storage applied through this ability become complete in their mechanism and no longer require the caster to maintain them separately."

Obito said, "Yeah. That Susanoo spirit behind him earlier could also exist independently without Chen maintaining it!"

Within the Water Prison, Naruto and Sasuke looked at each other. Each could see the other's resolve in their eyes!

They could only go all out!

Boom! Boom!

Kurama's enormous golden form and Susanoo's dark-purple body burst through the Water Prison and rose powerfully!

The two forces gradually began to merge as they ascended.

Madara could not help reminiscing. "Beast Calamity, huh? I created that move, but they've truly mastered it..."

Obito sighed endlessly. "Back then, that very move ended my time as the Ten-Tails Jinchuriki."

Madara murmured inwardly, No joke—being the culmination of Yin and Yang, that technique is the symbol of absolute power. Chen, be careful. Don't mess this up...

Strangely, Chen ignored the massive being gradually taking shape before him from beginning to end.

He lowered his head and looked at his watch.

5:13:17.

"It's time to send them home..."

Chen flashed toward the rear flank!

"He's running!"

Naruto condensed a Tailed Beast Bomb, then smacked his forehead. "Oh no! I forgot he has the ability to annihilate objects!"

"Naruto, it's fine. Use this one! He can't annihilate it!"

"Huh? But he annihilated the Mini Tailed Beast Bomb too...!" Naruto suddenly thought of something. He looked at the Black Flames still burning on the ground and slapped his forehead!

"Oh! He didn't break down the technique we used by combining Kurama's Chakra tails with Kagutsuchi! Could it be...!"

Sasuke nodded. "That's right. The ability of his right eye to break down techniques and objects is related to the target's volume. With the size of your genuine Tailed Beast Bomb, he can't annihilate it!"

"Then... blast him with it!"

Naruto hesitated. "But what if we really kill him? He's a child's father. If possible, I want to give him a chance to turn over a new leaf!"

Sasuke said in a low voice, "Naruto, I need to tell you something. He still hasn't used the ability of his left eye!"

"Yeah!" Naruto's expression turned grave. After wrestling with the decision, he clenched his fists and condensed the Tailed Beast Bomb to its maximum size. Locking onto Chen's retreating figure, he fired it!

Bzzz! Chen looked back while running, light swirling in both his eyes.

—Mizuha-no-Mikoto!

Crack!! The Nine-Tails' ultimate Tailed Beast Bomb vanished into a sky full of black specks of light before Naruto and Sasuke's stunned eyes once more!

Chen stopped in front of the century-old tree surrounded by the "sword formation"!

He checked the time again.

5:13:25!

Amid his doubts, Madara suddenly realized something. His eyes widened in shock. "Could it be, Chen... you intend to..."

Without any hesitation, cinnabar-red light trembled in Chen's right eye!

—Omodaru!

Whoosh! Time flowed backward, black blurry lines trembling.

The sword formation vanished, and the stone filling the hole in the tree disappeared as well!

The instant the lines stopped trembling—

Crack!! Naruto, his face full of bewilderment, was once again pierced through the century-old tree by the great sword!

Boom! In the distance, Beast Calamity suddenly lost half its golden radiance as it collapsed!

"Naruto...?" Sasuke stared blankly at Naruto, who had vanished along with Kurama's Golden Cloak. An unprecedented terror crawled up his spine to his scalp.

"Uchiha Chen... what exactly are you?"

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