At last, Izumi Uchiha's body modification project was finally completed according to the carefully planned blueprint, and everything had stabilized... No, she should be called Raiden Shogun now. Her body had finally stabilized.
Looking at the body on the ground, whose appearance and build were exactly like her own, Shadow stared blankly. "This is... my body?"
"That's right. Do you like it?"
"Li—"
Like hell she did. He was the one who liked it, wasn't he?
Shadow couldn't help pouting.
Naruto didn't take it to heart and continued with his next task.
He opened Raiden Shogun's eyelids. The Rinnegan met her gaze and emitted a golden light that entered her eyes.
Naruto turned to Shadow. "Are you ready? I'm going to extract your soul. Are you prepared?"
Shadow nodded. "I'm ready."
—Human Path: Soul Extraction!
The light faded from the wooden statue's eyes. Shadow's soul left the statue and entered the body on the ground.
A few seconds later, her eyelashes fluttered and Shadow opened her eyes, revealing dreamy, radiant violet ones.
Shadow stood up and looked at her hands, murmuring, "So this is what a human body feels like? It's completely different from before..."
Naruto smiled. "Does it feel like you're alive?"
Shadow rested a hand against her chest. "There's also a heavy feeling."
Because of the modifications she'd undergone earlier, all her clothes were now in tatters.
The white and red fabric was torn away, exposing everything, whether it was meant to be seen or not.
Naruto said impassively, "That's a good thing. Other girls would be green with envy if they saw you."
"I find it a bit inconvenient. It gets in the way when I move."
"It doesn't get in the way. In fact, it's great. Just think of your signature move..."
Her signature move? Musou no Hitotachi?
No! The Milk-scented Blade!
That nickname... Shadow remembered it, so she instantly understood what Naruto meant. She glared at him. "I don't accept that lewd name."
Naruto's expression turned solemn. "Actually, I don't accept it either!"
Only then did Shadow nod with satisfaction.
Seeing this, Naruto smiled. "I've given you some of the Rinnegan's special abilities, so you can protect yourself in the Ninja World... Try to sense them carefully. You should be able to feel them."
Shadow closed her eyes. A minute later, she opened them, revealing the same Rinnegan as Naruto's.
Floating into the air, Shadow stretched out a hand.
—Shinra Tensei!
A violent repulsive force pulverized the nearby plants and trees, leaving a huge crater in the ground.
When her feet touched the ground, Shadow felt her eyes and looked at Naruto. "What is this?"
"Deva Path!"
Naruto solemnly declared, "Shadow, from today on, you are the leader of my Six Paths Maidens—the Deva Path, Raiden Ei!"
After a tumultuous night, dawn finally arrived.
At Konoha Hospital, the Third Hokage went to visit Sasuke in his room.
Sasuke hadn't woken up. He lay unconscious in the hospital bed, his face twisted in a frightening grimace, sweat pouring down his forehead as if he were trapped in a terrible nightmare.
The attending physician beside him reported, "There's nothing physically wrong with the boy. His mind has just suffered a severe shock, and I'm afraid he may be left with some aftereffects."
The Third Hokage asked, "Is there no way to treat him?"
As the last surviving Uchiha, Sasuke was someone the Third Hokage didn't want to see harmed.
The doctor shook his head. "There's no particularly effective treatment. He can only get through this on his own. We doctors can provide support at most."
The Third Hokage sighed. "Then do everything you can..."
As he left the room, an Anbu hurried over with a report—the Anbu assigned to watch Naruto had woken up.
"The Jinchuriki was about to head home, and we were following nearby. Then a tremendous force suddenly struck us from behind. Our bodies were in terrible pain, and when we woke up, we were in the hospital."
"Did you see what the enemy looked like?"
"We're very sorry, we..."
"All right. Rest easy."
How could they rest easy?
Losing the Jinchuriki was an enormous offense. It wouldn't have been unreasonable to execute these Anbu on the spot.
Even if they weren't executed, after such a serious mistake, they'd have little chance of continuing to serve in Anbu.
Thinking about their bleak prospects, the Anbu couldn't help feeling weighed down.
Ibiki Morino had no interest in the Anbu's feelings. He put away his notes, his expression cold, and went outside the room to report the results of the interrogation to the Third Hokage.
—Apart from further confirming that the enemy could control force fields, they'd made virtually no progress. Nothing they'd learned helped them find the Jinchuriki.
"Thanks for your hard work."
After offering a few words of comfort, the Third Hokage returned disappointed to the Hokage's office.
He hadn't been sitting for long when an urgent report came from Anbu.
"We've found the Jinchuriki!"
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The Nine-Tails' savage aura spread for miles. Its evil, hateful presence weighed on every living creature nearby.
Naruto, in Partial Tailed Beast Transformation, seemed to have gone mad. With no trace of reason, he roared like a beast and rampaged through the mountains.
Boulders, trees, hills...
Naruto crashed through everything in his path. His body was covered in wounds, but the Tailed Beast Chakra quickly healed him.
Shinobi from the Inuzuka, Aburame, and Hyuga clans formed a sensory squad and followed closely behind Naruto.
Looking at the scene around them, as if a hurricane had swept through, they all thought the same thing: "Thank goodness this isn't happening in Konoha..."
If it were happening in Konoha, who knew how many shinobi would have died?
After following him for another ten minutes, a Hyuga shinobi, who had kept the Byakugan activated, suddenly said, "Has the Sealing Squad still not arrived? There's a village ahead of the Jinchuriki. If we don't stop him—he changed direction!"
A shinobi from the Inuzuka Clan exclaimed, "Could the Jinchuriki still have some awareness?"
A shinobi from the Aburame Clan replied calmly, "It's possible, but it could also be a coincidence."
Tap, tap, tap...
A flurry of hurried footsteps sounded as the Third Hokage arrived with the Sealing Squad.
With the Nine-Tails right before them, the Third Hokage finally breathed a sigh of relief. He praised the sensory squad, "Well done. Finding the Jinchuriki is a great service to the village."
The sensory squad respectfully replied, "We were only doing our duty."
"The village is fair: rewards for merit, punishment for mistakes. I'll award each of you an A-rank mission."
A-rank missions involved matters affecting the country or the village, and their rewards ranged from 150,000 to one million ryo.
An A-rank mission for each of them was an extremely generous reward.
If the Jinchuriki weren't so important, the Third Hokage might not have been willing to offer so much.
After confirming Naruto's direction and estimating his route, the Sealing Squad set up a barrier in advance. Naruto blundered straight into it.
Inside the barrier, the Third Hokage gripped the Adamantine Staff and said gravely, "Naruto, wake up! Don't let the beast take control of your heart."
"Roar!"
A humanlike flicker of struggle appeared in Naruto's eyes, but the beast soon took control. Then the beastly nature faded and his humanity took over, only for him to become beastly again...
His human and animal natures cycled back and forth, making it hard to follow.
Seeing this, the Third Hokage felt not worried, but delighted.
Before you continue