Purpose

The Beginning Ball Dimension remained silent for a long while—so long that they could hear their own heartbeats, thudding slowly, one beat at a time, inside their chests.

Cang stood with his back to everyone amid the shattered bone slabs and broken stone pillars, as if waiting for something. He waited for roughly ten seconds before turning around. His gaze swept across the rubble and cracks before settling on Naruto and Sasuke.

Zhi Li stood beside them, her chains already withdrawn. She had not struck heavily; she had merely pinned the two chakra-depleted men to the ground and kept them from rising. Naruto lay facedown on a bone slab, his cheek pressed against the ground. Blood flowed from the corner of his mouth, pooling into a small dark stain on the gray-white surface. His chest rose and fell, heavily and slowly. Sasuke lay on his side a few steps away, the Kusanagi Sword fallen beyond his reach. His Rinnegan had closed again, and his breathing was even shallower than Naruto's.

Cang walked over and crouched three meters away from them. He did not stand over them condescendingly. He simply crouched, like anyone crouching on the ground to speak with another person. His right hand rested on his knee, his left hanging naturally at his side. His posture was relaxed.

"Zhi Li. Step back."

Zhi Li silently retreated five or six meters behind him. Her pale-blue Rinnegan still glowed, but her presence had already been reined in.

Cang looked at Naruto lying on the ground for several seconds before speaking. His voice was not loud, but in the silent Beginning Ball Dimension, every word came through with perfect clarity.

"When you were fighting Kaguya just now, did you ever think about one question: what was she afraid of?"

Naruto did not