Living in a Dream

The orange-gold figure moved rhythmically in the high sky, the clouds beneath its feet flowing like ocean currents. Naruto in Nine-Tails Mode streaked across the sky like a shooting star.

Meanwhile, Sarada had been kidnapped by a man in white robes. His face was also adorned with a mask, a similarly pale mask depicting flying fish and flowing clouds. However, Sarada still caught a glimpse of a startling red through the mask's cracks!

--Mangekyō Sharingan!!

Sarada was completely dumbfounded. According to the information she had looked up before leaving, she and her dad were the only Uchiha left. Now, there were Mangekyō Sharingan everywhere, making the clan's once-proud eye power seem worthless.

The white-robed man continued to fly through the sky, sensing that the Nine-Tails had taken the bait. His mission was to kill it!

"Tell me, in your understanding, have you ever seen Naruto fight?" the white-robed man said coldly.

Sarada didn't say a word, turning her head to admire the beautiful rivers and mountains below. She had lost her glasses during the flight, so the scenery below was blurry.

The white-robed man didn't waste any time, directly dropping Sarada from his grasp. In the high altitude of ten thousand meters, the falling air currents even caused her skin to feel hot from the friction, but the high altitude should have been filled with howling wind.

Sensing the danger, Sarada was clearly a little dazed. At ten thousand meters, she had no way to cope, not even able to slow down her descent.

Sarada clung to the hope that the white-robed man just wanted to scare her.

But after falling for a long time without anyone coming to rescue her, the scenery on the ground became clearer and clearer in her eyes. Even with her nearsightedness, she could vaguely see the ground at this height.

It wasn't seawater, but even if it was seawater, she would be crushed to pieces at this height, right?

The ground was hard earth and rock, and the wind currents were tearing at Sarada's skin, causing it to crack. Blood was being lost as she continued to fall towards the ground, and tears had already mixed with blood, turning into bloody droplets flowing backward.

"Someone... save me!" Sarada's voice echoed in her mind.

The sudden downward speed made her brain dizzy, and the pain all over her body had long blurred her sense of pain. She was now drowsy, wanting to just fall asleep.

There was no miracle, and there would be no miracle, because she had been indifferent all along, disappointing enough to make people not even bother to help.

So, in her hazy perception, Boruto's annoying voice echoed in her ears. She shook her almost shattered body, and her dad was also there, silent on the side, while Naruto's expression was a bit melancholy.

"Am I dead? That's strange... I can't feel anything in my body," Sarada thought.

Suddenly, her consciousness became much clearer, and her brain was no longer drowsy. Some fragmented scenes played out in her mind, all of which she had experienced, including happy, disappointing, and angry memories.

Slowly, Sarada gradually realized that this scene was just like... a revolving lantern! It was said that before a person dies, their brain always recalls their past experiences, and she was now experiencing such a thing.

In other words, she had been violently smashed to death? ... Was that unknown enemy really so ruthless?

A series of questions aroused Sarada's desire to survive. She had just seen her father, and although she was very disappointed, he was still her father, there was no doubt about that!

Suddenly, a sharp pain attacked her, as if her body was being violently torn apart. Bones and blood vessels were connected by a thread in the great force, and all the feelings were so clear, it seemed that this was her current state.

Meanwhile, Naruto finally arrived after a period of rushing about. At the end of the horizon was the culprit who kidnapped Sarada. Sensing Naruto's increasingly approaching aura, he slowed down instead, as if deliberately waiting for him.

"Stop!!"

Naruto roared, opening the Nine-Tails' huge mouth and spitting out a Tailed Beast Ball. He had a bad premonition.

The Tailed Beast Ball streaked across the sky, approaching the white-robed man's figure. The other party seemed to not sense it at all, and the Tailed Beast Ball actually passed through the white-robed man's body.

"Kamui???" Naruto couldn't help but tremble.

First, a Shadow-level powerhouse who could use Wood Release appeared, and now he encountered a power that resembled Kamui. Could it be that the other party was a remnant of the Uchiha?

A dozen years ago, Itachi Uchiha massacred the entire Uchiha clan, leaving only his younger brother Sasuke. But was it possible that not all members were in the clan at that time, and there might be one or two who slipped through the net?

And now, were these remnants seeing that the time was ripe and preparing to start another war?!

The other party leisurely stopped, his white robe engraved with delicate flower patterns, and a light golden radiance flowed, making the colors seem to come alive when the sun shone on it. Chakra faintly surged on the surface.

"Who are you!" Naruto directly questioned. "Where's Sarada!"

"Your tone doesn't sound like you're asking me. Why should I answer?" a cold voice came from under the white robe.

Naruto frowned. He could no longer sense Sarada's location, and his expression couldn't help but become solemn. A pair of azure blue eyes faintly narrowed, and long-lost emotions surfaced within Naruto.

"Yo yo yo, you're angry already? The Hokage is really impatient!" the other party's mocking voice came.

"Calm down, Naruto, don't be provoked by the enemy," Kurama's timely comforting calmed Naruto down a bit.

Too many things had happened recently, and they were too complicated, so complicated that even Naruto felt powerless. After all, she was Sasuke's child, and Naruto didn't want anything to happen to her.

"You look very panicked. Don't worry, she'll be fine," the white-robed man seemed to be comforting him.

Naruto was stunned, casting an inquiring look.

The white-robed man seemed to be touched, patiently explaining: "She's already dead, she won't be hurt anymore!"

!!!" Naruto's expression changed drastically, his eyes fixed on the white-robed man, wanting to see a hint of playfulness in the eyes behind his mask, but Naruto was obviously disappointed. The other party's eyes were extremely calm, and other than a mocking glint, he couldn't see any other emotions.

"You bastard... actually..."

Anger erupted uncontrollably, and the furious Naruto instantly went berserk. The Nine-Tails in his body was rarely silent. The last time it saw Naruto erupt with this kind of emotion was probably when it learned that Orochimaru was going to attack Sasuke.

"Fine, I'll humor you!"

Kurama's chakra poured out in one go, and Naruto instantly entered Sage Fox Mode. The Nine-Tails' huge body actually swelled a bit again.

The other party watched Naruto burn chakra with great interest. This level of Nine-Tails was already infinitely close to Baryon Mode, right? the other party thought.

But even in the face of the Nine-Tails in this state, the white-robed man wasn't panicked at all, not even bothering to activate Susanoo, just standing quietly in place, waiting for Naruto to pounce on him.

Sharp claws waved fiercely, faintly igniting sparks as they tore through the air—a display of speed and power pushed to their absolute limits! (Referencing Luffy's Fire Fist)

In an instant, Naruto arrived before the white-robed figure. The fierce dance of his claws forced the surrounding air to scatter, creating an absolute vacuum.

The white-robed figure stood still. In their indifferent expression, a scarlet eye rotated. All of Naruto's attacks passed right through their body.

This was indeed an ability similar to Kamui!

Seeing that physical attacks were ineffective, Naruto immediately condensed a Tailed Beast Ball and launched it. The Tailed Beast Ball had just been fired when Naruto directly shattered it with both palms!

Violent energy trembled and erupted. Even in other spaces, the power would spread. The air, shattered by the Tailed Beast Ball, was nearly twisted, struggling to hold on at the edge of destruction.

But the white-robed figure still stood there, motionless. The emotionless pattern in their eye sockets rotated. The power of the Mangekyō was constantly at work, continuously resisting Naruto's attacks.

"Your eyes are the Mangekyō Sharingan, right? Without another eye to complement it, excessive use of chakra-based eye power will only accelerate blindness. And I'm confident I can keep attacking until you go blind!"

Naruto's voice, a mad roar, conveyed a calm statement. It seemed he hadn't completely lost his composure, but his attack style was as violent and terrifying as a raving lunatic. Such attacks were the most chaotic and frightening.

Madmen are fearless, especially when they're in a frenzy. At such times, they only want to vent everything until their bodies are so weak that they lose all sensation.

The white-robed figure was unimpressed. "Thank you for your concern, but I'm equally confident I can hold out until you're exhausted. Then it will be my turn."

The two fell silent. Only Naruto continued to attack, relentlessly unleashing various fierce moves as he said he would—some with wide range, some explosive, all of them fatal.

If the white-robed figure showed any slack, they would undoubtedly be met with Naruto's most savage attack, which would immediately tear their body apart, along with their flashy robes!

Time passed into the afternoon. The setting sun cast a dim, fading light, signaling the approaching night. Only the colorful clouds on the horizon occasionally flashed with brilliance, Blazing brightly, as if the sun were still high.

"I say, aren't you tired, Hokage? Take a break. It's not worth ruining your health," the white-robed figure's leisurely voice rang out.

Amid the deafening sounds, the white-robed figure's voice clearly reached Naruto's ears. His fighting spirit didn't increase but decreased. The Nine-Tails' chakra had long since dimmed, and now only the Nine-Tails' outline remained.

"Naruto, we might be caught in another eye technique. Even Obito's Kamui only has a ten-minute evasion window at most. You've been fighting all afternoon. Logically, their chakra should have run out long ago, or the Mangekyō should have shut down from being overburdened.

But their eyes are still bright, and their red pupils are eerily chilling. Their chakra doesn't seem to have been depleted much all afternoon. There must be some conspiracy!"

Although Naruto was still persisting, Kurama, as the Tailed Beast with the most chakra, felt... drained after an afternoon of release!!!