The Perfect Catalyst

The first rays of dawn pierced through the thick clouds, striking the cracked stone slabs in front of the Hokage Building.

The pool of foul-smelling, white, spore-filled blood was still sizzling. Hundreds of elite Root knelt on the ground, barely holding their breath, afraid of disturbing the blond boy standing at the forefront.

"Kakashi-sensei, Sasuke." Naruto tossed his Hokage Haori robes behind him, his eyes burning with a fierce fighting spirit. "Notify Shikamaru to prepare strategic supplies. Tomorrow morning, target: Turtle Island in the Land of Lightning."

"Where are you going?" Kakashi asked.

"Go and uproot that damn tree." Naruto's voice was icy as he casually tossed the black scroll to the Anbu behind him.

Tsunade stood on the steps, looking at the mess on the ground, and rubbed her throbbing temples. Although Danzo, this cancer, had been uprooted, his Root had been cultivated for decades, and he secretly controlled too many nodes.

"Naruto, Neji and his Neji. But the Root, the seal repository and the underground archives, are still in the hands of their cronies." Tsunade a deep breath, quickly entering Hokage mode. "If they detonate the files, many of Danzo's secrets will become impossible to prove. The regular Anbu don't know the layout of the barriers inside; forcing their way in will trigger self-destruction."

"No need to force your way in."

From behind the ruins and broken walls, a boy emerged with his hands in his pockets. Shikamaru had an unlit cigarette dangling from his mouth, his face full of disdain, but his eyes were sharper than ever before.

He walked over to Naruto and gave him a light shoulder bump. "You're good at fighting, but not at finding things. Leave this brain-draining mess in the back to me. Go back and rest up for your sea voyage."

Naruto grinned, suppressing the raging Pure Yang Chakra around him. "Then it's up to you. Don't disappoint me."

"What a nuisance." Shikamaru spat out the tobacco dust in his mouth, turned to look at the ruins behind him, and said, "Choji, Ino, let's get to work."

Without further ado, two figures instantly landed on either side of Shikamaru.

"Three minutes." Shikamaru glanced at his watch, his tone extremely fast. "The northwest underground level three is the archives, and the southeast corner bunker is the seal vault. Take the files first. Ino, you only have ten seconds. Choji, prepare for demolition."

Deep beneath Hidden Leaf, in a top-secret archive.

Three Root loyalists wearing animal masks are frantically sticking Explosive Tag all over a metal cabinet full of scrolls.

"Hurry! Lord Kagami made a mistake! If these are destroyed, the Hokage will have no evidence to convict the entire Root!" The leading Chunin flew across the field, quickly Hand Seals, preparing to press the detonator.

Just as his fingertips were about to touch the center of the magic circle.

"The Mind Body Switch Technique!"

Without warning, the leading Chunin's body suddenly stiffened, his eyes instantly losing focus and becoming empty, lifeless sockets. His hand abruptly stopped in mid-air, then he twisted it in the opposite direction, pulled out Kunai from his thigh, and without hesitation severed the core detonation wire.

"Captain? What are you doing!" The two Root beside him were shocked and immediately drew their swords.

But the shadows on the ground had already moved.

In the dim Kakkō, a thin, black line sped along the crack in the wall, instantly splitting into two strands that coiled around the ankles of the two people like venomous snakes.

"Shadow Imitation Technique, successful." Shikamaru's voice came from outside the meter-thick steel gate.

The two Root inside the door froze instantly, remaining in their sword-drawing stances as if welded to the spot, cold sweat soaking their backs.

"Damn it! The door's locked from the inside, we can't open it from the outside!" A Root tried to stall with words, "Without the barrier key, you can't get in!"

"Ino, retreat." Outside the gate, Shikamaru didn't respond at all, but simply took two steps back.

The "captain" inside went limp, Ino's spirit returned to her physical body. She took a breath and leaned against the wall. "The barrier's central control has been severed; we can proceed."

"Choji, Opening Gate the door physically." Shikamaru yawned.

"Okay!"

Choji Hand Seals, and his body instantly swelled into a huge ball of flesh, with Chakra forming a violent protective shield on his body.

"Human Boulder!"

Boom--!

A deafening roar erupted in the tunnel. The steel door, which was said to be able to withstand the bombardment of A-rank Ninjutsu, was smashed into a pile of twisted scrap metal by Choji's sheer mass and kinetic energy, along with half of the load-bearing wall.

Amidst the billowing smoke and dust, Choji patted the ash off his stomach and returned to normal. "This method is still the easiest."

Shikamaru slowly Earth Flow, stepping over the broken bricks scattered on the ground, and pulled a dark red storage scroll from the arms of the captain who was slumped on the ground. He didn't even glance at the two Root who were nailed to the ground by shadows, and turned to leave.

"Send the Anbu down to clean up the area; these rats are theirs."

Ten minutes later, in front of the Hokage Building.

"Bang."

Shikamaru tossed a thick stack of scrolls onto the desk that Tsunade had temporarily brought out.

"The list of bribes from the Daimyo's mansion, the record of assassinations of our own geniuses, and... a list of private transactions with Amegakure and Orochimaru over the past ten years." Shikamaru rubbed his sore neck, his tone as calm as if he were reciting a menu. "All the original documents, not a single one missing."

The entire room fell silent. Even Tsunade, looking at the pile of information that was enough to shake the Shinobi World ten times over, couldn't help but take a deep breath.

"Well done, Shikamaru." Tsunade on the scroll, a murderous glint in her eyes. "With these, those old fogies who wanted to Danzo can all shut up now."

"The strategist is back in his place." Naruto stepped forward and unceremoniously put his arm around Shikamaru's shoulder. "From now on, all the dirty and tiring work will be yours."

"Stop with the nonsense." Shikamaru disdainfully brushed Naruto's hand away. "I'm only responsible for using my brain; don't call me to fight dirty battles. Tell me about that Turtle Island thing you're talking about, what's the real story?"

Naruto's smile faded. He walked to the table and unfolded the black scroll he had found in the basement.

The sunlight shone on the nautical chart, making the blood-red Sharingan mark stand out starkly.

"Obito and Black Zetsu are looking for a vessel. Their true purpose is far more than just capturing the Tailed Beast." Naruto pointed to the Coordinates, his voice deep and powerful. "Nagato was once used as a sacrifice to revive that thing. That thing is called the 'Demonic Statue of the Outer Path,' the shell of the Divine Tree. Once they feed the Golem, the entire Shinobi World will be dragged into a Genjutsu from which they can never awaken."

Sasuke leaned against a broken pillar, his Three-Tomoe Sharingan slowly rotating. "So, they found the final nourishment for the Golem on Turtle Island in the Land of Lightning?"

"Turtle Island is a mobile fortress of Kumogakure. Killer Bee, the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki, Killer B there before." Kakashi stepped forward, his gaze grave. "They went there not only for the Tailed Beast Chakra, but most likely to seize some ancient legacy. If they succeed..."

"No ifs."

Naruto rolled up the scroll, turned around and looked at the members of Team 7, as well as Hinata, Haku and Karin who were walking not far away.

The Yang Release Chakra emanating from his body faintly exuded a powerful aura, a kind of unrestrained confidence.

"No matter what trump cards they're hiding, no matter how tall that damn tree grows," Naruto grinned, revealing his gleaming white teeth, "We're leaving tomorrow. When we get there, we'll smash the island and the tree to smithereens."

"Understood." Sasuke sheathed the Kusanagi Sword, a bloodthirsty smirk playing on his lips.

"I've prepared the medical supplies and the sealing scroll." Sakura tossed her short hair, her eyes filled with an unprecedented determination. She was no longer the girl who could only cry.

With instructions issued rapidly, the dilapidated Hidden Leaf began to function at an astonishing pace, driven by these young people. The old decay was completely removed, and a new backbone was rising from the ruins.

At the same time, in the Land of Lightning, Endless Sea of Lightning.

The gale whipped up towering waves tens of meters high, crashing violently against the dark reefs. Deep within the mist, an island as massive as a mountain range was slowly moving. It was no ordinary island, but a prehistoric giant tortoise that had lived for countless ages.

Deep within the towering, dense forest on the back of the giant tortoise, in an extremely secluded natural cave, dark red Chakra spreads like a spider web across the rock walls.

A spiraling ripple spread through the space.

Obito Uchiha air. His right arm had been reattached with a pale, wiry arm, and black blood was still seeping from his shoulder.

"Nagato failed, he didn't get the Rinnegan." Obito's voice echoed in the empty cave, filled with suppressed rage.

In the shadows of the cave, the ground rippled like liquid, Black and White Zetsu slowly rose.

"As expected. Naruto Uzumaki's current combat strength has already reached the threshold of the Six Paths Level." Black Zetsu's sticky and sinister voice rang out, "But the good news is that my spore clone left in Hidden Leaf revealed the Coordinates of Turtle Island to him before it died."

Obito whirled around, his single eye beneath the mask radiating murderous intent. "Are you crazy? You lured that monster here? Our current strength is no match for him!"

"Don't get agitated, Obito." Black Zetsu smiled coldly. "Why do you think the transaction location was chosen to be Turtle Island?"

Black Zetsu slowly raised his hand, pointing to the deepest part of the cave.

There stood a colossal wooden statue, a hundred meters tall. Like a withered old tree, its hands were chained shut, and its ten closed eyes emanated a chilling aura of death in the darkness. The Demonic Statue of the Outer Path!

What's even more chilling is that the roots at the bottom of the Golem are digging deep into the giant tortoise's shell, frantically drawing in some kind of golden Leyline energy.

"This turtle devoured the remnants of the Sage of Six Paths 'Chakra." Black Zetsu's voice was filled with a morbid fanaticism. "Add to that the remaining Chakra of the One-Tail to Seven-Tails we possess, and if Naruto Uzumaki dares to set foot on this island..."

Black Zetsu stared intently at Obito with his pure black eyes. "The Nine-Tails within him, combined with that perfect Uzumaki Sage Body, is the perfect catalyst to awaken the Ten-Tails."

Obito stared at the enormous Golem, clenching his pale right fist.

"I want him to see with his own eyes how the world he wanted to protect could turn into a living hell."

A fierce wind howled outside the island, and one of the eyes on the Ten-Tails creature's body opened slightly in the darkness without warning.