Sealing and a New Beginning

Sasuke stood in the center of the ruins, the faint torchlight illuminating his stern face. He stared at the black stone tablet engraved with "I am Ōtsutsuki Isshiki," his gaze as deep as the night.

"These clues... I have to take them back to the Leaf." Sasuke put away his equipment and turned to leave.

Just then—

The wind stopped.

The sand stopped moving, too.

It was as if time had frozen.

A low, amused voice came from the doorway:

"Who are you?"

Sasuke whipped around.

A man in a pure white robe stood beneath the doorframe, silver hair falling to his shoulders. His eyes were as red as a blood moon, and he held a strange red fishing rod with a faintly glowing Tomoe hanging from its tip.

"Ōtsutsuki Urashiki." Sasuke's pupils contracted as he recognized the man at once. "So you're still alive."

"Oh?" Urashiki's lips curled into a chilling smile. "You know who I am? Interesting. It seems the Leaf's intelligence network is more capable than I thought."

Before he had even finished speaking, the Kusanagi Sword was already drawn!

A flash of cold light streaked across the hall, lightning coiling around the blade as it thrust straight for Urashiki's throat!

"Chidori Blade: Instant Kill!"

Urashiki didn't dodge. He simply raised his fishing rod.

"Clang—!"

The clash of metal rang through the hall, sparks flying!

Sasuke moved like a gale, but Urashiki used his fishing rod as an axis, spinning like a top and effortlessly deflecting the attack.

"Not bad speed," Urashiki chuckled. "Too bad—you're still not fast enough."

In the next instant, his figure blurred!

Sasuke felt a chill at his back and instinctively sidestepped. A streak of red grazed his neck, slicing off a few strands of black hair!

"Fishing Line: Soul Bind!"

Urashiki swung