An inner demon sealed in a coffin

The mist among the trees was bleak and cold. A dying wind swept up broken, withered branches and faint flecks of blood, slowly brushing across the deathly still battlefield of carnage.

Lin Chen's white-clad figure receded into the depths of the dark forest. The invisible pressure of the rules around him faded with him, but did not vanish completely. Throughout the Forest of Death, hidden killing intent, traps, the ferocity of exotic beasts, and forbidden auras remained utterly dormant.

He did not need to keep maintaining his domain.

Once the imprint of the Heavenly Rules descended, this low-dimensional world would forever remember its submission.

Yet this casual, godlike residue of power left everyone with entirely different feelings.

Deathly silence hung over the battlefield clearing.

Drained of chakra, the Otogakure ninjas stood rigid, not daring to move an inch even now. The terror of their barrier silently shattering and their power being reduced to nothing with a single thought had already seeped into their bones and branded their souls.

They were subordinates Orochimaru had painstakingly trained in forbidden techniques. Steeped in dark ninjutsu for years, they believed they had long transcended the limitations of ordinary genin and elite jonin. Only today did they see clearly-the forbidden power they took such pride in was not even dust before true authority.

Hidden in the shadows, Orochimaru slowly exhaled a cold, foul breath. His emerald snake eyes remained fixed on the direction in which Lin Chen had vanished, stripped of every trace of a schemer's composure and fervor.

Before this, he had only wanted to use Lin Chen's pressure to force Sasuke into darkness, sever his bonds, and turn him into his perfect Uchiha vessel.

But those words just now, "Every game on this tiny board is a cage," had not only shattered Sasuke's conviction, but also pierced the understanding Orochimaru had held of himself for so long.

He had spent his life escaping Konoha, studying forbidden techniques, breaking through life and death, and deconstructing the Shinobi World's system. He had thought he had long escaped worldly shackles and stood at the very forefront of the Shinobi World.

In the end, he was still nothing more than a frog at the bottom of a well, trapped inside a tiny cage.

"Interesting... far too interesting."

Orochimaru murmured, the tip of his tongue licking the corner of his lips with morbid relish. Deep beneath the apprehension in his eyes, crazed greed sprouted once more. "The Heavenly Rules, transcending the system... so the true ultimate was never within the Shinobi World at all."

"Then I have all the more reason to secure Sasuke Uchiha."

His gaze was cold and dark, his decision settled completely in an instant.

Originally, all he had wanted was a perfect Uchiha body and a pair of endlessly evolving Sharingan.

But now, he would use Sasuke, this seed of darkness that had fallen utterly into madness and completely broken free of the Shinobi World's cage, to gamble on a path toward transcendence.

Lin Chen had personally shattered the endpoint of every righteous path in the Shinobi World.

Then he would use Sasuke's darkness to carve out a demonic path of boundless taboos.

"Everyone, retreat."

Orochimaru gave the order flatly, his voice cold and resolute. "No need to prolong the fighting or seize the scrolls. Simply wait for the right opportunity."

The Otogakure ninjas felt as though they had been pardoned. Not daring to linger another moment, they flickered away, swiftly disappearing into the thick mist without a trace.

This meticulously arranged game of certain death had ended without a brutal slaughter or a contest of victory and defeat, yet it had completed the final shaping of Sasuke Uchiha in the most thorough way possible.

High above the clouds, Zetsu's shadowy figure wavered slightly. His faint voice drifted through the air, carrying an indifference that saw through everything:

"Conviction shattered, obsession reshaped, utter rejection of the Shinobi World's game... Konoha's pillar has broken completely."

"Lord Pain's prediction was right again."

"This move came sooner and more decisively than we expected."

The Akatsuki's patient observation from hiding had finally yielded clear gains.

Konoha was rotting and collapsing from within, all on its own.

The forest clearing finally grew quiet again.

Only the three members of Team 7 remained, at odds with one another, their states of mind completely divided.

Naruto stood frozen, his hands trembling slightly. All the passion and determination had drained from his face, leaving only bewilderment and heartache.

He had watched Sasuke turn his back on his comrades, embrace darkness, and descend into blood-soaked madness. Then he had watched the power Sasuke had traded everything for reduced to nothing by a single thought from Lin Chen, rejected with a single sentence.

He did not understand what the Heavenly Rules were, or what a low-dimensional cage was.

But he understood one thing perfectly clearly-Sasuke had changed.

He had become cold, obsessive, unfamiliar. He was no longer the Sasuke Uchiha who would compete with him, stand beside him, and look forward to the future with him.

"Sasuke..."

Naruto's throat bobbed. His voice was dry and trembling, carrying his last refusal to give up and his final plea for Sasuke to stay. "Are you really going down that path? We can train together, get stronger together, and catch up to Big Brother Lin Chen together!"

Sakura stood to one side, her eyes reddening and a bitter ache flooding her heart, but she did not try to persuade him again.

She was more sensitive than Naruto, and more clearheaded.

What Lin Chen had said just now was not a simple assessment. It was an absolute verdict.

As long as they remained in Konoha, remained in this Shinobi World, no matter how hard they worked or whether they chose light or darkness, they would never escape the predetermined cage of fate.

And Sasuke had already believed it completely.

The boy standing drenched in blood slowly lowered his trembling fingertips.

The black-and-purple cursed seal markings covering him dimmed completely, fell dormant, and receded into the skin of his neck. He seemed to have returned to normal, but everything within him had already been turned upside down.

The savagery of his rampage, the madness of his fighting, the humiliation of being crushed, and the despair of that verdict all settled deep in his heart, becoming the coldest, most unwavering obsession.

He was no longer agitated, no longer angry, no longer hysterical.

After utter madness came utter calm.

He slowly turned his head, sweeping a sidelong glance over Naruto and Sakura behind him.

There was no disgust in his eyes, no hatred, no mockery. Only a deathly still indifference remained.

The warmth that had once bound them together, the years of training side by side, and the days and nights spent with Team 7 had all faded into the past within his heart.

They had not been severed by hatred or swallowed by darkness, but utterly crushed by the despair of dimensions.

"Get stronger together?"

Sasuke spoke quietly, his tone so flat it was almost cruel. "Stay in Konoha, stay inside this cage, and no matter how strong we become, we'll still be nothing but ants fighting each other."

"If you're willing to imprison yourselves in a cage, I won't stop you."

"But I won't stay any longer."

Every word was final, leaving no room for retreat.

Naruto's pupils abruptly contracted. It felt as though his heart had been seized in a vicious grip, the pain unbearable. "A cage? What cage? This is Konoha! This is our home!"

"Home?"

Sasuke raised his eyes slightly, looking toward the dark depths of the forest where Lin Chen had vanished. His eyes were black and thick as ink. "A home that can't give me power, a home that blocks my path forward, is meaningless."

At that, Naruto was left utterly speechless.

For the first time, he realized that he and Sasuke had long been living in two completely different worlds.

What he saw were comrades, bonds, a future, and the meaning of hard work.

What Sasuke saw were disparities, a cage, fate, and hopeless mediocrity.

Sakura gently closed her eyes, and a barely audible sigh dissolved into the wind.

She gave up all hope.

The boy before her had made his choice and fixed his conviction. There was no longer any possibility of persuading him to stay.