Naruto: From Fake to Real, Deceiving the Ninja World

Chapter 579 Return to Me

The "shadows" left behind were not there to stop them from pursuing Hyuga Kumokawa.

He simply wants to stay here, until the very last "sin," to complete its fusion with its host.

They were so focused on chasing after Hinata Kumokawa's retreating figure that they completely forgot about this crucial point.

The moment the thought crossed their mind, someone made the first move.

"Kakashi!"

With a loud shout, Jiraiya charged forward.

Kakashi and the others also disappeared from the spot.

All the Allied ninjas who were still conscious made the same judgment at the same moment.

Swish swish!

The group flashed like afterimages, dodging the roots of the divine trees as they rushed toward the pillar of light that enveloped Hyuga Aoi.

Under no circumstances should it be allowed to be completed!

But the next moment—

Puff! Puff puff!

Kakashi and the others simultaneously felt their ankles being gripped by something cold and slippery.

"This familiar feeling—" Kakashi gripped the wakizashi at his waist, his gaze instantly shifting downwards.

He saw the shadows beneath his feet writhing, stretching out several dark arms. These things grabbed his ankles, and a chill ran down his calves and through his entire body.

Previously, "Shadow" used these ghostly things to drag them into the virtual world.

Realizing this, Kakashi did not hesitate at all. He covered his wakizashi with chakra and swung it out with a backhand.

呲!

An arc of light, like a crescent moon, swept past his feet, and the pitch-black hand snapped in two. The severed part turned into black smoke and dissipated, but the remaining shadow still surged beneath his feet like an unyielding tide.

Not only Kakashi, but also many other Allied Shinobi, having learned from their previous experience, broke free from the shadows before the chill could take hold of them.

"Oh no, Lord Jiraiya—"

Kakashi didn't continue rushing towards the pillar of light; he subconsciously turned his head to look in Jiraiya's direction.

Jiraiya wasn't pulled into the void like the others, if he hadn't been on guard beforehand—

But Kakashi quickly realized that he had been overthinking it.

Bang! !

Jiraiya swung his broadsword like a giant hammer, blasting away the black hands reaching for him from beneath his feet and causing the shadows beneath his feet to ripple outwards like water.

Jiraiya raised his head with a solemn expression and looked towards the distant ripples.

In the distance, before anyone knew it, "Shadow" was already standing in front of that pillar of light.

The hem of the black robe trailed to the ground, billowing and swirling. The darkness beneath the hood remained thick, obscuring the face, but the oppressive, chilling aura made everyone stop in their tracks.

Stop here.

"Shadow" looked at Jiraiya and the others with a smile in his voice: "Now that things have come to this, whatever you do will be in vain."

Glug-glug-glug-glug

As soon as he finished speaking, the darkness behind him rippled like the surface of water.

Amidst those ripples, dark figures slowly emerged from the shadows, kneeling on one knee from head to toe, awaiting orders.

Ninja Group, Helmet Shadow Group, Troll Group —

One, ten, a hundred, a thousand————

In the blink of an eye, hundreds and thousands of dark figures knelt down behind "Shadow" in complete silence.

All the battle groups that had previously appeared before Hiruzen Sarutobi and the others were here, and many more unseen silhouettes were hidden in the depths, revealing only pairs of scarlet eyes.

Rumble!

The roots of the divine tree continued to extend outwards. At this moment, the world outside the underground palace had probably become a living hell, but inside the palace, there was only a heavy, oppressive, and deathly silence.

No one speaks.

On the allied side, even the fierce Jonin were frozen in place, their earlier momentum towards the pillar of light seemingly extinguished by a single hand.

"You—no!" Jiraiya's face darkened. "What do you want? What do you want to do?!"

"You'll find out soon enough." Shadow's crimson eyes curved in the darkness. "But until then, live to see it."

What?

Before Jiraiya could understand what he meant, a painful scream reached his ears.

"ah!!"

The familiar voice made Jiraiya turn his head sharply.

Tsunade collapsed to her knees in agony, and something seemed to be writhing beneath her skin and flesh.

puff!puff!

Countless filamentous structures, resembling fungi, swayed continuously, piercing her skin and extending from within her body.

"Tsunade!"

Jiraiya instantly appeared in front of Tsunade, reaching out to tear off the mycelium.

"No!!" Tsunade screamed almost hoarsely, "Don't touch those things!"

Upon hearing this, Jiraiya's hand froze in mid-air.

At this moment, in Tsunade's perception, those mycelia really felt like an extension of her own body.

It's like having your own nerves peeled off one by one and exposed naked to the air.

The consequence was that—

"It hurts! It hurts so much!!"

Tsunade knelt on the ground, clenching her teeth, but still couldn't help groaning.

Even a speck of dust can cause terrifying pain.

And those mycelia seemed to be feeding on her pain, parasitizing her body, and in just a few seconds, they almost submerged her.

Even more so, these mycelia are twisting and turning, trying to reach out to others.

Why?

What the hell is this thing?

Could it be that...?

Tsunade's expression was contorted with pain as she stiffly raised her head, clutching the spot in her chest where the dagger had pierced her, and looked at the striking beam of light.

Is this the power of "Lust"?

A "seed," nourished and nurtured by emotions, whether it be love, hate, or fear, will sprout along with that emotion and take root in the nerves.

And so, it grew together with the host's senses, amplifying every perception of the host a hundredfold, a thousandfold—

Once it matures, it will spread outwards, just like it is now, seeking new hosts.

"Damn it!"

Tsunade, enduring the excruciating pain, hoarsely said to the bewildered Jiraiya, "Don't...don't touch that lustful weapon! Absolutely not!"

Is Tsunade's current state due to that lustful weapon?

Wait, if we can't touch that "lust," doesn't that mean—

Jiraiya raised his head and looked at the striking pillar of light.

Doesn't that mean that the pillar of light formed by the aura of "lust" is also untouchable?

"However, perhaps we can use ninjutsu and ninja tools—"

Almost at the same time that Jiraiya thought of this.

Sizzle! Sizzle!

Countless sharp black rods pierced towards Hyuga Aoi, who was enveloped in the pillar of light, at a speed that caught everyone off guard.

In the distance, Otsutsuki Isshiki raised his hand, his face dark and angry. He activated the Black Eye of the Younger Hikona and stared intently at Hyuga Aoi in the distance.

Otsutsuki Cloud Style!

If this is what you want —

Then I will kill her completely!

The next moment, under the watchful gaze of Isshiki Otsutsuki—

Splash!

Nine black chains extended from the darkness, enveloping the pillar of light and forming a barrier that blocked all the attacks from the black rods.

Ding ding ding!

The black rod struck the chain, producing a series of crisp sounds and sparks flying, but not even a white mark was left.

"What?!"

Ōtsutsuki Isshiki looked astonished and suddenly stared in the direction from which the chain was extending.

What was reflected in Otsutsuki Isshiki's eyes was a red-haired figure, and two figures standing behind him.

The only remaining Espada are "Uzumaki", "Sandstorm", and "Flame Ape".

Those black chains extended from within the "vortex".

"Sealing Technique!"

"That damned sealing technique again!!"

The veins on Otsutsuki Isshiki's forehead bulged, and his angry gaze seemed to want to devour someone.

Even though that damned "weapon" of Otsutsuki Kumoshiki is gone!

However, he can't even kill a single human being right now!

Could it be that even this step was taken into account by the other side?!

if----

If the fruit of the divine tree could ripen now, how could I possibly—

"Damn it!!" Yishi roared, raising his hand abruptly.

Sizzle sizzle sizzle!

Countless black rods poured out like a torrential rain, crashing down on the chain barrier.

A series of crisp sounds rang out, sparks flew, and the black rod shattered, broke, and bounced off the chains, embedding itself in the rock wall and falling into the shadows.

The barrier remained completely still.

He's still shooting.

Everyone knows it's useless, and he knows it himself.

The arms swung faster and more erratically, the black rods came out more and more densely, but the nine chains only trembled slightly, as if mocking.

Once, with a mere lift of these hands, one could crush tailed beasts, pierce through jinchūriki, and cause the entire battlefield to crumble and shatter.

Now, they can't even break through a single chain.

"Cloud Style!! Otsutsuki Cloud Style!!"

He roared that name, as if he had gone mad.

Thousands of years of planning and forbearance were torn apart piece by piece by that person and trampled into the mud. He didn't even know when the other party had set up the scheme!

The black rods were still pouring out.

No one from the Allied Forces moved, the Ten Blades didn't move, and neither did "Shadow".

Everyone just watched, watching the once godlike being futilely unleash its fury on a layer of chains, like throwing a punch at the ocean.

until----

Otsutsuki Issho's movements suddenly froze.

"Return to—"

A voice, without warning, rang in his mind.

What?

To what extent?

"Return to me." The ethereal voice in my mind became clear.

As if guided by some force, Otsutsuki Isshiki turned to look at the Divine Tree.

"Only by returning to me can I regain what I lost." The voice became even clearer.