I Crawled Back from Hell

Using himself as bait and perishing together with them to reduce the enemy's numbers as much as possible had not been Yue's original battle plan for the Explosive Tags.

Though he would eventually use the "Cheat System" and head to the world of Bleach.

His initial idea had been to use special Explosive Tags during close combat, trading injuries for injuries, and only unleashing his trump card once his body reached its danger threshold.

Rather than releasing everything at once like this.

But it did not matter. The course of battle was impossible to predict. All he could do was respond appropriately according to the situation at hand.

Before closing his eyes, he had confirmed that aside from the blade-wielding rogue ninja before him, there were two others.

Barring any surprises, this move would take out all three at once.

The only trouble was that he himself was caught in it and would suffer the impact of the Explosive Tags' power.

If there had been even the slightest possibility of resisting them, Yue would not have taken such a risk.

This was the optimal solution his abilities could provide for this battle.

The instant the blast wave surged forth, Yue felt nothing, because its power was simply too great.

When the human body suffered a violent impact in a short period of time, the sensory system malfunctioned.

The only thing he could be certain of was that, with conscious mental preparation, his soul had not perished... Even if the Explosive Tags were powerful enough to kill him and leave his body covered in wounds, before the god of death arrived, life itself would still have a brief "delayed existence."

It was enough to let him enter the world of Bleach.

He had to thank the unique methods of battle and tempering in Bleach. They seemed to be quite effective at training one's will as well.

Without a powerful will to support him, it would have been difficult to endure.

Yue succeeded.

The last time he returned from the world of Bleach, he had noticed something.

His soul was essentially traveling between two worlds, while he himself in those two worlds existed as separate living entities... yet they could share the same source of power and were not bound by the rules of either world. In other words, unless his soul collapsed and he truly died, neither account would log out.

The soul was the most crucial part.

When he traveled to one world, time and space in the other world would "pause."

And the power they shared was not as simple as one plus one.

Put plainly, it was more like overwriting a save file.

For instance, the growth he had gained in the Soul Society Outskirts last time had also left him with quite a few injuries. Yet when he returned to Naruto, the exhaustion he sensed was only on a mental level, meaning it was related to his soul. The physical changes to his body in Bleach had not carried over.

But the enhancements to his flesh and spirit directly changed his state in Naruto the moment he returned.

It was not power flowing into him and gradually transforming him.

It was a complete, direct overwrite of his "attributes and data."

His Chakra suddenly increased, and his body became stronger as well.

His combat experience, along with all the "nourishment" he had obtained... did not need to be absorbed or digested. It directly fused with his Naruto self.

A brand-new self.

"Overwriting" and "changing" were two entirely different things.

Overwriting was equivalent to replacing a save file. No matter what state he had been in before, once the "overwrite" occurred, he would be completely renewed.

"..."

When Yue opened his eyes, he had already arrived in Bleach.

He was still on the tree where he had been when he "left," and nothing around him had changed.

"Stronger."

Expressionless, Yue felt the entirely new power within this body.

His growth in Naruto during this period had been obvious to all.

So naturally, the feedback to Bleach was equally apparent.

At this very moment, his Naruto self might have already been blown into a bloody mess by the Explosive Tags and lost the ability to fight on some level. Yet his Bleach self had not been affected in the slightest. This meant... as long as his soul remained, their shared power remained.

The two accounts were separate, yet they were one.

"So it really is an overwrite."

Yue leaped down from the tree.

After a bitter battle, his mind was still somewhat exhilarated.

But after the "overwrite," the power in his body had undergone a complete transformation.

"Different environments and rules create different powers. In Naruto, the upper limit of the human body itself is not particularly high. Most people rely on ninjutsu to display and enhance their abilities. But Bleach is entirely different. The physical ceiling in Bleach..."

Yue murmured.

In the Soul Society Outskirts, intense slaughter and growth would alter the density of the spirit particles in this body.

Once his blood and vitality became sufficiently vigorous and his body sufficiently solid, it would become terrifying.

Mere spiritual power would not even be able to break through his defenses.

Though Yue did not want to use Bleach's advantages to lock himself onto the path of the "physical body."

Strength was something universal to begin with.

And overwriting did not mean he had gained a second life.

Because traveling between the two worlds required a certain amount of time.

The most crucial thing was the reset of his condition.

Whether in Bleach or Naruto, if someone could kill him in an instant with a method even more powerful than an Explosive Tag explosion.

Then... he would have no chance to "overwrite."

Furthermore, even if the overwrite succeeded, he could not overwrite himself a second time. Anyone capable of killing him... could still easily finish him off.

This reset of his condition only applied to dangerous situations where the enemy's strength was roughly equal to his own, allowing Yue a brief "window to overwrite."

It gave him one chance.

If either version of himself died in either world, he would cease to exist. He could not die first, then overwrite his save file a few minutes, hours, or days later. The moment his consciousness vanished, even if only because he had fainted, it would be fatal.

It meant a true end.

Still, while this bug exploit was not overwhelmingly powerful, in certain matchups—such as the situation Yue currently faced in Naruto—it was already an absurd ability comparable to a Kekkei Genkai or a special forbidden technique.

This could be considered Yue's first exploration and understanding of his own "Cheat System."

"Let my Naruto body endure the first wave of the explosion while retaining a trace of consciousness as an entrance for my soul. But even if the overwrite succeeds, the blast's aftershock will still remain when I return to Naruto, so... I need an even stronger body."

Yue glanced at the long blade at his waist, fixed his determined eyes ahead, and strode toward District 78.

This time, with his strength increased, he could remain in the Soul Society Outskirts longer.

He... needed slaughter. A great deal of slaughter, to nourish this body.

Otherwise, he still would not be able to avoid death after returning to Naruto.

And there were five of them. The strongest rogue ninja had not even made a move yet.

The Explosive Tags' blast radius could only reach three of them.

Yue had no choice but to prepare for what came next.

On the other side, in Naruto.

The entire deserted village could see the flames soaring into the sky and the thick smoke rising.

The power was astonishing.

"Hiss..."

The two rogue ninjas who had been some distance from the battlefield had evaded it in time.

At the center of the explosion, the nearby houses and even the ground had been blown apart and swallowed up.

Both men sucked in a cold breath.

First, they had not expected Yue to have so many Explosive Tags in reserve, especially special Explosive Tags.

Second, they were shocked by the child's decisiveness and ruthlessness.

Killing others was easy enough. It did not matter if his methods were a little mad and sinister.

But he was even this ruthless toward himself.

That was somewhat terrifying.

"Idiots!"

One of them cursed with a dark expression.

Those three companions who had been blown to death had actually failed to notice Yue's little trick during the battle.

They deserved to die!

"He was only a child, after all. They were still too careless... I never expected him to have intended to perish with us from the start. Honestly, neither did I... Things like experience can be gained through training, but a person's resolve and temperament are difficult to change."

The other man's pupils trembled slightly, though his tone remained calm. "If this kid had lived and grown up safely... even if he could not make a name for himself in the ninja world, he would at least have become a significant figure in Kusagakure. What a pity..."

"Look behind you."

"Hm?"

The first man turned around.

"While fighting us, he unknowingly drew us far away from Akatsuki's base."

"That crazed appearance of his... was only a facade. It was also a way to distract us and delay for as long as possible."

"That kid's mind had been turning the entire time."

"..."

"I truly admire him."

"Let's go."

The strongest rogue ninja did not even glance at the smoke-shrouded inferno. He turned and headed toward Akatsuki's base. "If he died, it just means he was not strong enough. There is nothing more to say. Let's finish the mission first."

Even with only the two of them left, according to the intelligence Yota had provided, destroying Akatsuki's base and killing those patients would be effortless.

But just as the man turned around.

He heard a sound from behind him.

It was a sound he found very "familiar."

The sound of a sharp blade cutting through flesh.

He whipped around.

And saw a shocking sight that would be impossible to erase from his heart, one that would be deeply imprinted in his mind.

His companion behind him had been decapitated, his head sent flying high into the air by a streak of blade light, as though he were being chopped like a vegetable.

Judging from the expression frozen on his companion's face, the man had not expected to be beheaded so suddenly, nor had he noticed anyone approaching.

Not only had his companion failed to notice, even the man himself had sensed nothing.

Blood scattered through the air alongside the snow-white blade light. Through his companion's slowly collapsing corpse, the man saw a familiar figure.

His entire body was charred black, with large areas of burned scabs across his skin.

Wisps of white smoke still rose from him.

He looked... like an evil ghost.

"You... you..."

The man's mind went blank, as though he had fallen into an ice cellar.

Even his words came out stammering as he cried out, "You... you... how... are you still alive?"

"I crawled back from hell."

Yue smiled wickedly. On his darkened face, only a pair of clearly defined black-and-white eyes could be seen. "Come on, senior... let's continue."

"Only you and I are left. Let's properly enjoy this feeling of pleasure..."

"..."

"Hahaha."

"Hahahaha!"

Then Yue's expression turned wild, and he charged forward amid booming laughter.

At that moment, the strongest rogue ninja had been utterly intimidated by the Yue before him.

The sudden change had left his mind unable to make sense of what had happened.