The torrent of data abruptly stopped.
Sasuke's eyes flew open, and the clamor and stench of blood in the real world flooded back into his senses. His body swayed, and his knees slammed onto the ice. His vision kept darkening from the strain of overexerting his mind. A hand caught his shoulder just in time. It was Nagato.
"We got the intel, but it came at a steep cost." Nagato's voice was weary, too. The light in his Rinnegan had dimmed; evidently, the "firewall" had just consumed a tremendous amount of his ocular power.
Sasuke said nothing. He just stared at the black fragment in his palm, now devoid of all luster and as ordinary as a stone. The Otsutsuki's combat methods, the principles behind the Tenseigan's construction, the truth behind the destruction of the Moon Country... countless pieces of information churned through his mind, but none could suppress the icy dread brought on by that final voice.
It was a trap. From the moment they picked up that fragment, they had been part of it.
"Sasuke!" Konan's voice rang out. Supporting a shinobi who had just woken up, she struggled across the ice floe toward them. Her face was full of concern, and she clutched the blue crystal Tsukimi had left behind.
The moment Konan drew near, a sudden change occurred.
The blue crystal in her palm resonated with the black fragment in Sasuke's hand. With a soft hum, the crystal slipped from Konan's grasp and floated into the air on its own. A gentle blue light projected from it, unfolding a three-dimensional image before them all.
The image showed a vast, futuristic space, with countless energy conduits glowing green, coiled around the walls and ceiling like giant serpents. At its center stood a massive cage made of green