In his room, Naruto saw himself sprawled on the floor, fast asleep and drooling!
"Huh?!" Naruto's consciousness jolted, and he snapped fully awake.
He looked down and found that he was translucent, floating weightlessly above his own body!
"Wh-what's going on?! What happened to me?!" He flailed his arms and legs in panic and discovered he could move freely.
A terrible thought struck him like lightning.
"D-d-did I... work myself to death?!" The thought scared Naruto out of his wits.
Did practicing that technique wear me out so badly I died?! No!!! I only just graduated! I only just got my forehead protector! I haven't become Hokage yet! I haven't made everyone in the village acknowledge me!!!
Naruto kept screaming, but no one could hear him.
He stared at his "sleeping" body below, and his will to live surged.
"Get back in! Hurry! My body's still warm! Maybe I can still save myself!" Thinking desperately, he swam through the air toward his body on the floor.
But when his soul touched his body, he felt nothing like the reunion he had expected.
Instead, it was like breaking through a film of water. The world spun violently before his eyes!
Whoosh!
A powerful sensation of falling seized him. The light around him dimmed at once, and the air grew cold and oppressive.
He was no longer in his little room, but in a vast, dark space, damp and filled with standing water.
Cold water covered his ankles. The air was thick with a chilling Chakra presence, so full of hatred and violence that Naruto could barely breathe.
"Wh-where am I?!" Naruto's soul trembled as he looked around in terror.
He was standing before an enormous iron cage. Its bars were frighteningly thick, and sealing paper was pasted across them.
Then, deep in the darkness beyond the bars, two enormous lanterns lit up like blood moons!
Looking closer, Naruto realized they weren't lanterns at all. They were eyes, brimming with malice and rage!
A tremendous roar shook the entire space, making Naruto's soul quiver:
"Hm? Brat, how did you get in here?!"
BOOM!!!
With a roar, a gigantic red fox slammed into the cage that held him.
"D-Demon Fox!!!" Naruto screamed in utter terror.
Without a second thought, Naruto turned and frantically "swam" upward. All he wanted was to escape that dreadful place!
"Get away! Don't come near me!!"
The world spun again, as though something had yanked him back.
"Gah!!!"
On the floor, Naruto's body sucked in a sharp breath. Like someone revived after nearly drowning, he snapped his eyes open.
He panted hard, drenched in cold sweat. His heart hammered so wildly it felt ready to leap out of his throat.
He sprang upright and, still shaken, touched his face, arms, and chest. He was "alive," and he was still safely in his room.
Warm sunlight was streaming through the window.
Morning had come long ago.
He whipped his head around and looked beside his hand.
The Sheep Talisman lay quietly in his palm, as if nothing had happened.
"Was it a dream?!"
As daylight filled the sky, the Canopy Screen began its usual broadcast.
[Mahito appeared on the screen once more.] [He leaned against a twisted tree, bored out of his mind. His fingers toyed with the soul of a hapless fawn that had wandered past, casually molding it into a twisted shape of agony.] [Listening to its faint cries, Mahito wore his signature smile of inhuman delight.] [Suddenly, the shadows around him began to boil unnaturally!] [Several black-clad ninjas with crimson eyes swiftly emerged from the shadows.] [Mahito showed no fear at the sight of them. Instead, he grew wildly excited.] [He let them drag him into the shadows.] [The scene shifted. The black-clad ninjas had brought Mahito to a strange place.] [There was no earth, no sky, and no boundary.] [Emptiness lay beneath his feet, and emptiness stretched overhead.] [Only dark-red veins of energy that formed and shattered flickered through the space, resembling a red sky.] [A line of small text appeared on the Canopy Screen.] [A land where no living thing was permitted—the Shadow Kingdom.] [A massive stone floated into view, bearing an enormous Obsidian Throne.] [Seated on the throne was a figure in a regal yet ancient white Six Paths Hunting Robe, its sleeves embroidered with mysterious black Tomoe patterns.] [But his eyes were the most unnerving part of all: they were the Nine-Tomoe Rinnegan!] [Within the deep purple ripples, nine jet-black Tomoe slowly revolved, as though they held ultimate power.] [He looked down at Mahito impassively, like a deity judging an ant.] [Even more striking was the fragment bearing half a tiger design, suspended from his pale, slender neck by a black cord.] [The Canopy Screen displayed a line of text beside him.] [Lord of the Nine Nether—???] [For once, Mahito did not immediately laugh. Instead, he called to the figure on the throne with a mix of smugness and eagerness for praise:] ["Boss! Boss! Look! I found the Snake Talisman!"] [He raised the Snake Talisman high, showing it off proudly.] ["Boss, this thing was hidden with a guy named Shimura Danzō in Konoha. I even fought that village's leader to get it!"] [On the throne, the Lord of the Nine Nether slowly opened his half-lidded eyes.] [The Nine-Tomoe Rinnegan appeared once more, and his indifferent gaze settled squarely on the Snake Talisman in Mahito's hand.] [The darkness throughout the Shadow Kingdom seemed to tremble slightly beneath that gaze.] [Mahito felt its pressure, and his smile faded a little. His excitement remained, though, and he continued to hold out the talisman.] [The Lord of the Nine Nether said nothing. He merely raised one pale, slender hand and made a grasping motion toward the Snake Talisman.] ["**Hum!**"] [The Snake Talisman shook sharply, tore free of Mahito's hand, and shot toward the throne in a streak of light!] [The Lord of the Nine Nether lowered his gaze to the newly acquired talisman. At last, a ripple of satisfaction seemed to stir in his impassive Nine-Tomoe Rinnegan.] [The half of the Tiger Talisman around his neck seemed to resonate faintly with it.] ["You did well, Mahito."] [That simple praise stretched Mahito's grin wide again, as though he had received the finest reward.] ["It's my honor to collect these fascinating toys for you, Boss!" Mahito gave an exaggerated bow, his voice brimming with twisted delight.] ["But Boss! Why exactly are we collecting these talismans?" Mahito's face was full of confusion.]
Before you continue