Self-Destruction

Collapse?

It really was a collapse.

Naruto shook his head; he should have realized it sooner.

The water that had inexplicably risen above his knees, the rusted copper pipes peeling away from the wall—all these signs had been telling Naruto the truth.

Since things had reached this point, there was no use in saying anything else. Naruto let out a soft, heavy breath, his thoughts churning. Countless cracks opened in the void, and dense chains of runes erupted, thickening the golden web of light above his head.

The next second, Naruto pushed through the falling debris and appeared before the nearly broken Bibi Dong.

Seeming to sense Naruto's approach, Bibi Dong, whose voice had already turned hoarse from laughter, finally stopped.

The papal crown she had been wearing was nowhere to be found, and her pale purple hair hung loose in the wind. She didn't even bother to wipe away the tears streaming from the corners of her eyes. Her lips curled slightly, and her bloodshot eyes stared straight at Naruto.

"That's right! You really do know everything!"

Naruto was trying to think of how to explain, but Bibi Dong grabbed the chair and stood up unsteadily, like a wandering ghost, before he could speak.

"I know what you're thinking, too!"

"This woman is just so stupid!"

"Isn't she?"

Bibi Dong's voice was as raspy as sandpaper, yet it still fell clearly into Naruto's ears amidst the constant roaring, crumbling, and collapsing of the Sealing Space.

Naruto opened his mouth, but under the intensity of Bibi Dong's gaze, he couldn't say a word. Lying was not a good choice right now, and telling the truth would only add fuel to the fire. Naruto could only close his mouth in dejection and remain silent.

"Too afraid to say it? Then I'll say it for you!"

Bibi Dong curled her lips into a sneer, then staggered forward, her voice dripping with blood. It sounded exactly like a curse, yet the person she was cursing was herself.

"The master she chose was a beast, a piece of trash!"

"She didn't learn much skill, but instead got locked away in this dark, sunless underground—and that's not even the worst of it!"

"That idiot saint actually thought a hero would descend from the heavens to save her! And she actually managed to think that every single night! How persistent! How truly steadfast!"

Bibi Dong gritted her teeth, cursing, berating, and mocking. She ignored the falling rocks around her, and even when her loose hair stuck to her face, matted with splashed water, she didn't care; she didn't stop.

Her volume gradually rose, and the mockery in her bloodshot eyes grew more intense. She turned her head, her ferocious face visible through her hair, carrying a thick, twisted smile.

"And this hero she longed for day and night! In reality, he's a complete and utter piece of trash!!"

"He didn't come!"

"He was just tricked away by a letter! While this idiot saint was wailing and praying, he was busy entangled with other women!"

Naruto stood in this storm, able to do nothing but listen in silence.

Bibi Dong's hoarse voice began to tremble. She forced her head up to stop the tears from flowing, and as she reached Naruto, she slowly spread her hands and looked down at him.

"Look! It's so ridiculous! Is there any joke in this world more laughable than this!?"

"You can laugh out loud now!"

"Look at how stupid this woman is!"

"She caused her parents' deaths the moment she was born! Her master is a piece of trash! The hero she longed for is a waste! Even her own daughter was pushed away by her own hands!"

"What..."

Tears burst forth. Bibi Dong's tense, beautiful face could no longer hold its composure. Her body shook uncontrollably, and her swollen throat couldn't force out any more words. She could only choke out the sounds between her tears.

"Nothing... there's nothing left... nothing at all..."

"Isn't that... what you wanted to say?"

"Say it!"

Bibi Dong pursed her lips, watching the silent Naruto, her chest heaving as she questioned him through her sobs.

With the final words from Bibi Dong, the collapse of the Sealing Space finally stopped—or rather, it ended. There were no more falling rocks or crumbling walls; silence returned.

The place was a scene of devastation, with messy rubble and water mixed together everywhere. This ruin had nothing left, and nothing more could collapse.

Naruto took a deep breath and apologized solemnly.

"I'm sorry."

"..."

"Get out!"

Bibi Dong bit her lip and shouted in anger.

Naruto quickly withdrew his consciousness.

In the ruined Sealing Space, only Bibi Dong remained, along with the faint echo of crying in the air.

A moment later, the crying stopped abruptly.

Before Bibi Dong could even wipe the tear tracks from her face, purple-black soul power erupted from her body. Gritting her teeth to stop the sobbing, Bibi Dong tensed her face, turned around indignantly, and glared at Naruto, who had suddenly appeared behind her.

Naruto raised his hands in a gesture of surrender.

"Wait until I finish speaking first."

Seeing that Bibi Dong didn't react, Naruto exhaled softly, gathered his thoughts, and put on a serious expression.

"I have always believed that one should not treat a part of life as the whole. Your identity, meaning, and value are not entirely defined by the parts you have already lost."

"The reason I feel angry about the relationship between you and Yu Xiaogang is that I still believe you have a future and a life ahead of you. You can still choose and decide what your life will be from here on out."

A flash of astonishment crossed Bibi Dong's eyes.

Yet, this trace of astonishment lasted only for a moment before Bibi Dong quickly suppressed it, her face shifting into a mocking smirk.

"Little brat, you haven't even grown your feathers yet, so don't go spouting such old-fashioned nonsense in front of This Seat!"

"You!"

Naruto pointed a trembling finger at Bibi Dong, his face flushed red with anger. Not daring to say anything harsher, he held it in for a long time before finally spitting out a single sentence.

"You don't know a good heart when you see one!"

After the outburst, Naruto immediately took off and vanished.

The Sealing Space returned to silence. Bibi Dong found a relatively flat spot to sit down, not yet fully recovered from her previous emotional breakdown. As for the words Naruto had said at the end, Bibi Dong shook her head.

That little brat was truly an idiot!

Cursing inwardly, Bibi Dong looked up at the ceiling. After it had collapsed, it revealed the void beyond. Suddenly, a thought crossed her mind: what was she to do from now on?

Returning to reality, Naruto first winced in pain, baring his teeth.

Then, he pondered inwardly: was he not passionate enough?

Why was it that Naruto only needed a bit of "Talk-no-Jutsu" for the villains to immediately see the light, while he had racked his brains for so long only to end up being mocked?

Naruto shook his head and sighed, slowly setting aside these distracting thoughts to return to the main issue.

Only by painfully clearing away the pus would the wound underneath heal.

Naruto had thought the same, assuming he could easily solve Bibi Dong's psychological issues. It turned out it wasn't a matter of the "Master's" intelligence-lowering aura at all; he had been blown to a crisp on the spot by this self-destructing truck.

Naruto raised a hand to cover his forehead, feeling a sudden headache.

But how was this problem supposed to be solved?

Everything... was gone...

It was truly all gone. Facing someone with no attachments, Naruto felt that anything he said would sound hypocritical. Life is still beautiful, there are many people in the world who love you, think of your family, your master, your lover...

If he dared to spout those platitudes, Bibi Dong would probably self-destruct right in front of him.

After thinking it over, Qian Renxue was the only glimmer of hope, but where was he supposed to find her now? Wouldn't he be sliced into mincemeat by the two gatekeeping Douluo?

Naruto frowned and shook his head repeatedly. The only plan for now was to take it one step at a time. At the very least, after the confirmation just now, Bibi Dong's mental state had stabilized; she had stopped at the edge of the cliff.

With a thousand thoughts racing through his mind, he realized that Dong Trumpet was truly more troublesome than Kurama.

Weren't they both Jinchuriki with psychological issues? How did it end up reversed, with him having to worry about the Tailed Beast's mental health?

After venting a few complaints in his mind, Naruto relaxed slightly. He then looked up through the window at the crescent moon in the night sky, his eyes narrowing in thought.

Tang Hao had yet to appear...

The Clear Sky Sect behavior he had worried about—where beating the small one would bring out the old one—had not occurred.

Was it because he saw that he was young and, holding himself to the status of a powerhouse, couldn't bring himself to lower his pride?

Or was there some other reason?

He couldn't find an answer, but Tang Hao had ultimately not shown up.

Naruto raised Tang Hao's image, which had previously hit rock bottom, slightly in his mind. But the thought that a Title Douluo could be following Tang San at any moment still made his hair stand on end.

How could these so-called Clear Sky Twin Stars be so good at hiding?

Naruto twitched his lips and stopped thinking about it. He centered his mind and began to meditate.

Under the same night sky.

The Nuoding City night market was bustling with people, truly lively.

"Boss?"

The hunched owner of the sugar painting stall seemed to hear a commotion; he scratched his ear and leaned out with effort, finally catching sight of the customer standing before his stall.

This petite customer wore her hair in a long scorpion braid and looked as delicate as if carved from pink jade, not at all like a child from a poor family. She was straining to stand on her tiptoes, barely managing to peek her head over the counter.

Glancing left and right, "Little girl, where are your parents?"

"Oh? I snuck out to play by myself. I want this one, and this one too." Xiao Wu didn't even look up; her eyes were filled with the colorful wonders of human society as she picked out sugar paintings from the stall.

"Do you have any money?"

The owner asked, unable to keep his curiosity in check.

"Of course I do!" Xiao Wu pulled the Gold Soul Coin she had just received from her pocket and patted her chest with great pride. "I'm a Spirit Master!"

Seeing this, the stall owner naturally offered the sugar paintings with fawning trepidation, taking the opportunity to inflate the price a little.

After paying generously, Xiao Wu beamed, continuing her stroll through the street with her hands full of snacks.

A child carrying gold through a bustling market—several idlers leaning against the alley entrance touched the Spirit Marks on the backs of their hands, exchanged glances, gestured with their chins, and quietly followed after her.