Kaito's face lit up with joy. "It works!"
Inside the pitch-dark dimension, lavender energy surged and swirled, constantly being refined by the thunder and lightning coursing through Kaito's body until it was nearly pure. Only then was it absorbed by his spiritual essence, nestled deep within his mind.
Crackle! Crackle!
The sound of thunder echoed in Kaito's consciousness for a long time, like a storm raging inside his skull.
An hour passed.
The once-dense lavender energy around him had thinned significantly. Another hour later, it was completely gone.
Kaito slowly opened his eyes. Even as the final trace of lightning-forged energy coursed through him, he observed his surroundings. Just as he suspected, the purple glow had faded entirely. Now, aside from a faint light above, the world around him was pitch black, like an endless abyss.
With a simple step, Kaito's figure launched upward like a dragon breaching the surface of the sea. In the next instant, he reappeared above the altar.
He crossed his legs, seated in midair, and calmly began absorbing the last threads of refined energy within his mind. Once the final wisp was drawn into his spiritual core, Kaito finally exhaled, shoulders relaxing. The tension in his body drained away.
This trip to the Dragon Veins had been an overwhelming success. First, he'd returned to the era of the Third Great Ninja War, gained mastery over Yin and Yang Release, awakened the Wood Style bloodline, and opened Seventh Gates of the Eight Inner Gates. His growth had skyrocketed.
On top of that, the vast chakra from the Dragon Veins had massively amplified his reserves. His chakra was now nigh limitless.
And most notably, his spiritual body had evolved, nearly reaching the level of a complete consciousness form.
Hum…
As Kaito focused his thoughts, electromagnetic waves exploded from him, sending out his mental energy like a flood. It surged outward, endless like the sea.
One meter. Ten meters. A mile. Ten miles.
In a blink, it expanded to cover a radius of a hundred miles—stretching all the way to the outskirts of Sunagakure.
"This range… terrifying," Kaito murmured.
Through the waves of electromagnetic perception, an expansive mental map formed in his mind, the detail overwhelming. If he stared too long, it could induce dizziness.
With a flick of thought, Kaito withdrew the induction. He stood, turning his gaze toward a distant point—the direction of Konoha. His expression softened, eyes distant.
He could almost see through time, envisioning the smiling faces of Ino and the others, waiting for him.
"It's time to go back."
The next moment, his figure vanished without a sound.
Near Sunagakure…
Naruto, Kakashi, and their squad were chasing a figure flying through the sky—a young man with yellow braids, dressed in a cloak of black clouds on red, a ring bearing a blue kanji glinting on his hand.
Deidara.
A member of the Akatsuki.
At this moment, Naruto and Kakashi had been sent by the Hidden Leaf to assist the Sand Village in rescuing Gaara and defeating the enemy.
But Deidara's aerial advantage and the clay bombs he dropped like pests below made it difficult to land a hit. Detonating clay ants crawled across their path, constantly slowing them down.
"Damn it! You wait, Gaara—I'll save you no matter what!" Naruto yelled, frustration burning in his voice.
In response, several white clay orbs rained from above.
Boom!
Explosions erupted around them, and Naruto and his team scrambled to safety.
From the sky, Deidara laughed wildly, voice arrogant and cruel. "You? All bark, no bite!"
"Damn it! I'll make you pay!" Naruto snarled again, barely dodging another clay blast.
Kakashi glanced at him and said quietly, "Naruto, protect me. I'm about to use that jutsu."
"Huh? That jutsu? What jutsu, Kakashi-sensei? You don't have anything that can hit the sky!" Naruto exclaimed.
Kakashi gave him a deadpan look. "This is something I developed myself. Just focus on covering me."
Naruto grinned and thumped his chest. "Got it! Leave it to me!"
Kakashi lifted his forehead protector, revealing his Sharingan. The scarlet eye began to spin, the tomoe rotating rapidly until they formed a curved sickle.
He locked eyes with Deidara and muttered, "Kamui."
Hum…
High above, space around Deidara's arm began to distort violently. His body twisted unnaturally, as though being dragged into a different dimension.
His eyes widened in horror, but it was too late. A moment later, space stabilized, and a severed, bloodied arm plummeted from the sky.
"Argh! Damn it!" Deidara hissed, face twisted in pain.
Kakashi gasped for breath, clutching his eye. "It missed…"
"Kakashi-sensei! What was that jutsu? That was insane!" Naruto asked, stunned.
"That's a technique unique to the Mangekyō Sharingan. It's a space-time jutsu," Kakashi said between breaths, still holding his eye.
With effort, he raised his head and targeted Deidara again.
This time, the air twisted around Deidara's entire body, and he had no way to escape.
Naruto cheered. "Yes! You got him!"
But with a puff of smoke, Deidara's body transformed—into a chunk of clay.
Kakashi and Naruto's expressions changed instantly.
"He used the Body Replacement Technique?!"
From atop the white clay bird, the real Deidara reappeared, grinning madly. "You're fun to play with, but I've got more important things to do!"
He tossed Gaara's unconscious body from the bird's mouth and vanished into the distance.
Despite his arrogance, Deidara was clearly rattled by the Mangekyō Sharingan and didn't want to risk another encounter with that power.
Naruto leapt into the air, catching Gaara before he hit the ground.
But the moment his hands touched Gaara's cold, lifeless body, something snapped.
Naruto's face twisted in rage. His blue eyes turned scarlet, pupils narrowing into vertical slits. A violent red chakra surged from his body.
The Nine-Tails stirred.
Whoosh!
Naruto's figure vanished and reappeared mid-air, directly in front of Deidara.
His chakra-coated fist smashed into Deidara's chest before the Akatsuki member could even react.
Boom!
The impact sent Deidara hurtling to the earth like a meteor, slamming into the ground with bone-shattering force.
Whoosh!
Before the dust settled, Naruto appeared again and pounded Deidara's head with another monstrous punch.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Three earth-shaking blows resounded.
But once again, Deidara turned out to be a clay decoy. His body crumbled into pieces beneath the force of Naruto's rage.
The crater widened, dust and smoke rising like fog from the battlefield.