In the vast star field—
Naruto and Ōtsutsuki Urashiki were moving through the cosmos at extreme speed, their figures streaking across the darkness like meteors.
There was no other choice.
According to the intelligence brought back by Urashiki's shadow clones during the last two encounters, a group was actively searching for them. Worse still, during the second probe, Urashiki's shadow clone had deliberately tested the enemy.
There were ten Ōtsutsuki in total.
Ten.
Urashiki knew very clearly that if those ten people fought together, even if he and Naruto joined forces, their chances of victory would be extremely slim. It would not be impossible to escape, but once they were truly entangled, the outcome would become unpredictable.
Naruto could not afford to gamble.
He had no retreat left.
Failure was not an option.
That was why, the moment they finished harvesting the chakra fruit, they immediately left the area at full speed. As long as they were even slightly delayed, they could be surrounded at any moment.
While flying, Urashiki suddenly felt something was wrong.
"Wait—Naruto!"
Urashiki abruptly stopped, his expression turning tense as he frowned deeply.
Naruto halted as well and turned back, looking at him. "What's wrong?"
Urashiki's brows were tightly knit, his face unusually solemn. "No… something's wrong."
Naruto felt his tone and frowned slightly. "What do you mean? You look nervous."
Urashiki narrowed his eyes, his gaze sharp. "I feel extremely uneasy. I can't explain it clearly, but it's the same feeling I had when my shadow clone was killed the second time. That kind of instinctive warning… and now it's appearing again."
He subconsciously spread his perception, sensing the chakra fluctuations in the surrounding star field.
Nothing.
No trace of Ōtsutsuki chakra.
Naruto also expanded his perception, even activating the Rinnegan and the Pure Eye at the same time—but still, he found nothing.
"Could it be… you're overthinking it?" Naruto asked cautiously.
Before he could finish speaking, Urashiki suddenly shouted in a low but resolute voice, "No! Absolutely not! This feeling is definitely real!"
He looked straight at Naruto and said firmly, "Naruto, someone is approaching us. The distance is still very far, so we can't sense them yet—but they are definitely coming."
Naruto fell silent for a few seconds.
Then he asked, "Why are you so certain?"
Urashiki replied without hesitation, "Because when escape becomes impossible, my body sends me this kind of warning. It's an instinct carved into the Ōtsutsuki bloodline."
Seeing Urashiki this serious, Naruto's expression also became solemn.
"In that case…" Naruto exhaled slowly. "There's only one way."
As he spoke, Naruto raised his hands and rapidly formed seals.
"Multiple Shadow Clone Technique!"
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang—!
In an instant, tens of thousands of Naruto shadow clones exploded into existence, completely filling the surrounding star field. The scene was overwhelming, like an army suddenly appearing out of thin air.
Urashiki looked at the endless sea of clones and immediately understood Naruto's plan.
"Then… what should I do?" Urashiki asked.
Naruto shook his head. "No. You stay hidden with my real body. I'll send these shadow clones out in all directions. Once the enemy reacts, I'll use the reverse Flying Thunder God Technique to instantly withdraw."
Hearing this, Urashiki nodded. "Good plan."
As he spoke, Urashiki subconsciously glanced around, searching for a suitable planet to hide on.
Naruto noticed this and said calmly, "No need to look elsewhere. We'll return to the planet we just hunted."
Urashiki's eyes widened slightly.
"Naruto, you—"
Naruto said seriously, "The most dangerous place is often the safest. That's written clearly in the ninja manuals."
Urashiki paused, thought about it, then nodded in agreement.
He had to admit—this logic made sense.
So the two of them quickly turned back, returned to the previously harvested planet, and dug deep into the ground. Urashiki immediately deployed a powerful barrier, completely isolating their chakra and presence.
Unless they revealed themselves voluntarily, no one could possibly find them.
Naruto sat cross-legged underground, closed his eyes, and calmly rested.
Meanwhile, his tens of thousands of shadow clones had already rushed out in every direction, scattering across the star field like a net.
Urashiki also calmed himself and sat nearby, quietly digesting the chakra fruit he had just consumed.
——————————
On the other side.
Following Ōtsutsuki Ishiki's insistence, the ten-man arrest team split into four groups and began searching along the boundary of the star field.
Ōtsutsuki Ishiki moved alone as one group.
Ōtsutsuki Yamagami led a group of three.
Ōtsutsuki Yamamoto led another group of three.
Ōtsutsuki Watanabe led the final group of three.
The four groups advanced simultaneously.
After traveling for some time, they finally encountered Naruto's shadow clones.
As the captain, Ishiki immediately transmitted the location signal to the other groups, ordering them to converge.
However, almost immediately after sending the signal, Ishiki received location signals from every other group as well.
"Hm?"
Ishiki frowned deeply.
What was going on?
He was the one who sent the signal—so why were all the other groups also sending location data?
At the same time, Ōtsutsuki Yamamoto, Ōtsutsuki Watanabe, and the other group leaders were equally confused.
They had all received multiple location signals at once.
Where exactly were they supposed to go?
Under this chaotic situation, the long-suppressed arrogance of some clan members began to surface.
In Ōtsutsuki Watanabe's group—
Watanabe said impatiently, "What's going on? Why are there location signals everywhere? Are they playing games with us?"
Beside him, Ōtsutsuki Yukawa sneered. "Watanabe, why don't we just go for it?"
Watanabe's eyes lit up instantly.
He had wanted to act independently for a long time. If Ishiki hadn't repeatedly emphasized before departure that they must immediately notify everyone upon discovery, he would have already launched a sneak attack.
Ōtsutsuki Nishino, standing nearby, frowned. "But what if we act first and the captain blames us later?"
Yukawa waved his hand dismissively. "With this situation, where are we even supposed to regroup? Instead of hesitating, we might as well take the initiative."
Nishino felt something was off, but before he could argue—
Watanabe spoke decisively. "We're going. If something happens, I'll take responsibility."
Seeing that Watanabe had made the decision, Nishino had no choice but to remain silent.
Yukawa grinned. "Let's move. He's alone—maybe it's just another clone. Let's take him down first."
Watanabe nodded. "Exactly."
The three of them immediately charged forward.
"Where do you think you're going?!"
The moment they encountered a running Naruto shadow clone, all three unleashed their strongest attacks without hesitation.
The clone instinctively resisted, but it was completely outmatched.
One strike.
That was all it took.
Bang!
The shadow clone dispersed into smoke.
"Damn it, another clone!"
"I told you—something was off!"
"So the reason everyone received location signals is because they all ran into clones?"
"Most likely!"
——————————
Far away.
Naruto, who had been sitting cross-legged underground, slowly opened his eyes.
The moment a shadow clone was destroyed, all the information flowed back to him—location, number of enemies, and approximate combat strength.
Very strong.
Not long after, information from three destroyed clones returned in succession.
Naruto's gaze sharpened.
"So… they've split up?"
Urashiki opened his eyes and looked at him. "What happened?"
Naruto briefly relayed the information.
After thinking for a moment, Urashiki looked at Naruto and smiled faintly. "Naruto… this is an opportunity."
Naruto raised an eyebrow. "What opportunity?"
Urashiki met his gaze. "You know exactly what I mean."
Naruto chuckled softly.
If all ten were together, victory would be uncertain.
But now that they were divided—
This was a chance.
"Then let's move," Naruto said calmly.
Urashiki asked, "Who do we kill first?"
Naruto's eyes turned cold. "Anyone who dares to act alone has confidence in their strength. If that confidence is real, good. If not—then we start with the one who killed my shadow clone first."
As he spoke, Naruto raised his hand.
At that moment, Ōtsutsuki Watanabe's group encountered another Naruto shadow clone.
Naruto had already locked onto their position.
In the next instant, he grabbed Urashiki.
Flying Thunder God Technique!
With a flash—
They disappeared.
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