Valley of the End

Crack... crack...

Within the bright yellow campfire, the uneven rhythm of burning was one of the few accompaniments to the night wind.

It was the sound produced when uneven heating warped different parts of the wood, causing its fibers to snap.

"Uchiha... Sasuke..."

Beneath the firelight, Naruto looked confused. When he learned that Sasuke had defected as well, a strange flicker of worry had surfaced in his heart.

It was very strange.

He and Uchiha Sasuke were merely acquaintances who nodded to each other in passing.

If the source of that worry had been Shikamaru or any of the others, he would not have been this confused.

"Kurama, is there something wrong with my soul?" Naruto asked.

Kurama lived in his Mental Space. He might know Naruto's soul better than Naruto himself.

"...No." Kurama sensed it for a moment, then shook his head slightly.

Naruto fell silent. He had checked himself several times as well, and the result was identical to Kurama's. His soul was "pure," with only one consciousness—his own.

But if his soul had not been interfered with by some outside force, then what was this inexplicable worry in his heart?

His own emotions? He was not the sentimental type.

Genjutsu? With Kurama there, he was already immune to the vast majority of Genjutsu.

Naruto brushed his hair back and slowly rose to his feet. Having ruled out every possibility, the most unlikely guess became the only possibility.

Something was influencing him without him even noticing.

And neither he nor Kurama could sense it.

That was a little terrifying.

He had lived three lives and meditated through two of them. His soul might not have been stronger than everyone else's, but across the entire ninja world, it was definitely among the very best.

And Kurama went without saying—a walking natural disaster.

"What is it?" Kurama asked in confusion.

Just now, he had thought Naruto had fallen under Genjutsu.

After thinking for a moment, Naruto chose to tell him about his discovery.

Since the other party's level was far beyond his own, they might have already noticed something unusual in his actions.

Rather than hide it, he might as well tell Kurama.

Three ordinary men could match Zhuge Liang, and besides, the big fox had lived for so long. Perhaps he had some special method for dealing with this sort of supernatural thing.

After hearing him out, Kurama scrutinized him carefully from every angle for a long while.

"If I didn't know your personality, I'd definitely think you'd lost your mind."

"Your intuition may be right. Chakra is the combination of spiritual energy and physical energy. Perhaps once chakra becomes powerful enough, it can continue existing in this world."

"Of course, that is only a guess. Even that old man of the Six Paths failed to keep living through this method, so this guess is basically impossible."

Naruto stroked his chin and nodded slightly.

"What are you doing?" Kurama asked in astonishment when he saw Naruto begin mobilizing the chakra within his body.

"Rather than sit here and wait for death, I'd rather go see what's happening with Uchiha Sasuke and find out exactly what it is that keeps luring out the 'thing' inside me."

Naruto's figure abruptly vanished from the spot.

Valley of the End.

It was said to be the place where the First Hokage and Uchiha Madara had their final parting.

It marked the official division of their friendship and ideals, and symbolized the end of a great era.

"I heard this place was created by the battle between Uchiha Madara and the First Hokage. Is that true?"

Standing atop Uchiha Madara's stone statue and gazing at the broad river that seemed to stretch endlessly ahead, Naruto asked.

"Compared to those two, you still have a long way to grow," Kurama said with feeling.

Uchiha Madara and Hashirama Senju—he liked neither of them, and even hated them.

Yet even he, the strongest Tailed Beast, could not help admiring their strength.

"There's a battle not far away. Aren't you going to take a look?" Kurama asked. If he had not sensed wrongly, some of those presences belonged to acquaintances.

"Since I chose to leave, I should cut things off cleanly. What kind of sense would it make to keep dragging things out?" Naruto snorted.

"...Is that so?" Kurama teased. He might have been sealed away, but he was not blind.

He had blatantly sent several Shadow Clones toward the battlefield. Anyone could tell what he was doing.

"That's exactly it." Naruto stroked his chin. Within the perception of his Mind's Eye of the Kagura, a familiar chakra was rapidly approaching.

"But what is with this inexplicable dark feeling?"

The chakra was still Sasuke's, but its drastically changed aura had nearly made him fail to recognize it.

"Come on, let me see exactly what it is that's drawing me in!"

Naruto slowly rose to his feet and rapidly mobilized the two great energies within his body, merging them to nurture new chakra.

Within a forest.

Spiderwebs filled with immense chakra hung throughout every corner of the woods.

Kidomaru hung from one web like a spider, studying the prey below with interest, like a true spider hunting for food.

He had not concealed himself, but it was not because he arrogantly believed his great strength could easily deal with the enemy before him.

On the contrary, this Hyuga genin from Konoha was strong—so strong that Kidomaru had no choice but to enter Curse Mark Level 2 and constantly push his body beyond its limits in exchange for greater power.

The reason he had not concealed himself was simply that there was no need.

No matter how well he hid, the Hyuga Clan's Byakugan would accurately drag him out of any nook or cranny.

"His chakra should be nearly exhausted." Like a true beast, Kidomaru had gradually worn down his prey's stamina before delivering the fatal blow.

And now, after this prolonged battle of attrition, it was finally time to reap the fruits of victory.

But he did not rashly launch an attack because of it.

A trapped beast's final struggle was often the most dangerous moment.

Rustle... rustle...

The constant sound of plants rubbing against one another reached Neji Hyuga's ears, like a dull blade sawing through flesh as it relentlessly pressed on his nerves.

The pressure of death instinctively tightened his nerves. Blood surged madly through his body as his overworked heart pumped it into every corner of his limbs.

The veins bulging around his eyes resembled bowstrings drawn taut, waiting for the enemy to appear.

The Byakugan's visual range was shrinking bit by bit. Neji Hyuga knew that his chakra was once again nearing depletion.

Though he had consumed Military Rations Pills several times and relentlessly squeezed every last bit from his body, even a sponge would eventually be wrung dry. His body could no longer refine the slightest trace of chakra.

The Byakugan's powerful scouting ability was mostly blocked by the chakra-filled spiderwebs surrounding him. The Gentle Fist and Tenketsu techniques that the Hyuga Clan relied upon had been countered one by one.

His bloodied fingertips were proof of his repeated failed attempts to seal Kidomaru's Tenketsu.

"The Byakugan truly is an enviable Kekkei Genkai..." Through the sweat glands in his skin, Kidomaru condensed another layer of "Spider Sticky Gold," lest the Hyuga brat seal his Tenketsu again in the coming battle.

Even someone as arrogant as him did not dare engage a Hyuga ninja in taijutsu after having his Tenketsu sealed.

"Here it comes!!"

The veins around Neji Hyuga's eyes bulged even further.

For the final strike, Kidomaru no longer held back. Countless chakra-hardened spider threads shot toward the enemy below from every direction and angle.