Chapter 483: Uchiha Shisui—Itachi, I Curse You!
"I can't join the clan leader showdown?"
"Me neither?"
"We're in combat state. The clan emblem and defensive wall are active. After the buffs, we all attacked Orochimaru, so we're flagged in combat and can't teleport!"
Some players tried to respond to the Samsara Game's teleport prompt, but nothing happened.
They immediately realized the reason.
"But since it's Captain Aizen who initiated the clan leader showdown… it should be fine, right?"
Most players still didn't understand the full situation.
In the hearts of Konoha's players, Aizen was still the most qualified successor to the Hokage—a true heir to the Will of Fire.
If the new clan leader was going to be Aizen, there was no need for a battle. Even if they couldn't teleport, it didn't matter.
Just then,
A tear opened in the sky.
The scene was familiar—just like during the [Evil God Incident], when that giant evil deity ripped open space itself.
Inside the rift—
A pitch-black forest. No leaves. Every tree looked like weathered bone—pale, spindly—stretching endlessly into a lightless sky.
Depriving the entire space of illumination.
"That's… a forest?"
Hayate Gekkō covered his mouth to suppress a cough, his eyes wide with horror as he stared at the rift.
If it were just a forest, fine.
But in that darkness, countless giant black figures pressed toward the rift—like moths drawn to light.
Densely packed. Endless.
Each black figure wore a bone-white mask. Crude in design, but eerily natural.
"Reinforcements…"
Orochimaru's cursed serpent swayed its massive head and spat out Orochimaru's slime-covered body, slick with mucus.
He landed atop one of the few remaining intact buildings and smiled. "My mission ends here. Now, it's time for your beloved hero to appear and bring about Konoha's destruction."
Hueco Mundo.
A player recognized the creatures. Monsters from a world of Shinigami and Quincy.
Some Samsara quests had led to Hueco Mundo before.
But… how could Konoha be seeing them now?
"We're screwed!"
Players familiar with Hueco Mundo trembled uncontrollably.
That world was endless, black, and dead—filled with countless monsters. It was said that all corrupted souls were eventually dumped into that place.
If it were a normal quest—
Slaying a few dozen Hollows would complete it, allowing for escape.
But—
Now that the spatial rift had opened, Konoha had effectively dropped into Hueco Mundo itself. There was no version update to escape—this was a never-ending [Clan Defense Battle].
Konoha players now faced two options: abandon their home and flee, or fight until exhaustion and die in Hueco Mundo.
Crash!
A heavy, sickening thud echoed.
The first few hundred Hollows to pass through the rift stumbled in, rising slowly, pale bone claws grabbing helpless low-level ninja and tossing them into their mouths.
Crunch. Crunch.
The sound of chewing.
Utterly chilling.
Seeing the slaughter, Hayate Gekkō roared in fury, drawing his blade and cleaving a feeding Hollow in half.
It reformed instantly.
"Captain Hayate, their weakness is the mask!"
A teammate shouted. Hayate leapt high, his blade glowing with silvery moonlight as he slashed down, shattering the Hollow's mask.
The creature wasn't strong.
With proper coordination from Konoha's walls and ninja, they could establish a defensive perimeter.
That was the thought—
Until Hayate saw the broken Hollow's soul begin to crumble.
But before it could vanish, other Hollows swarmed and devoured it, their masks melting and reforming into harder, thicker armor.
No…
Hayate's expression darkened. He hadn't expected them to have this property—able to cannibalize their own.
Even in death, they became fuel for others.
That made sealing the rift far harder.
"Help!"
"Die, monster!!"
In just thirty seconds, thousands more Hollows poured into Konoha's clan territory. Hueco Mundo continued spawning endlessly.
Konoha's players, already barely holding off Orochimaru's undead army, were now overwhelmed by the flood of Hollows.
Cero.
Hundreds of blood-red energy beams tore through the air like laser cannons, sweeping indiscriminately across the village.
"Stop it!"
A furious voice cut through the chaos.
Blazing golden flames erupted as Naruto Uzumaki hurled a spinning holy beast yo-yo, instantly smashing ten Hollow masks.
His pupils shook.
Staring at the ruined village, the scene of Konoha's past destruction by Orochimaru flashed before his eyes.
"Clan leader showdown?"
"Wasn't Grandpa Hokage our leader? Where is he?!"
Suspended in midair by divine contracts, Naruto trembled as he questioned the devastation below.
No one answered.
No Konoha ninja could bring themselves to say that the Hokage had been killed.
"Sarutobi Hiruzen was killed by Uchiha Itachi, Naruto-kun."
Orochimaru's voice dripped with mockery. He pointed to Itachi, who had just defeated the Uchiha Wraith Amalgam.
He added, "That rogue Uchiha... surely you recognize the scent of guilt on him?"
Naruto's holy flames flared higher.
He turned stiffly—not even sparing Orochimaru a glance—and stared straight at Itachi.
He didn't need Orochimaru's manipulation.
Naruto's Temple Contract marked any player who killed someone he considered a comrade.
Beside him,
Sasuke trembled too.
His red Sharingan spun, evolving into Mangekyō. "Naruto… stop. Uchiha Itachi must die by my hand!"
Beneath him, a black dragon formed of cursed flames coiled.
Both Itachi and Sasuke—
Had, by fate or design, chosen powers of curse and fire.
The cursed dragon lowered its head, its eyes fixed on the shattered body of the Uchiha Wraith, pierced by Itachi's blade, and let out a piercing roar.
"Father… Mother…"
Sasuke could sense the familiar aura lingering in the creature. His hands, clutching the cursed blade, trembled.
The Wraith, though led by Shisui, was formed from the spirits Orochimaru had collected—hundreds of Uchiha, including the Mangekyō-wielding Fugaku.
At that moment,
Itachi stood over the crumbling Wraith, panting, barely holding on.
As it dissipated, revealing Shisui's face, Itachi whispered, "Shisui… you lacked the resolve to understand me. That's why you failed."
He stared into Shisui's eyes,
Desperately searching for acknowledgment—for a glimmer of understanding—but found none.
Shisui's gaze held only unrelenting hatred. His final words rang out with a twisted laugh:
"Itachi Uchiha… you were never a hero. You're a lunatic. A butcher. A pathetic soul bound for hell!"
"No!"
"You're all ignorant fools. You don't understand my burden! How could the narrow vision of the clan comprehend my pain?!"
Enraged by Shisui's dying curse, Itachi erupted in madness.
He slashed wildly, accelerating the Wraith's collapse.
"Itachi! DIE!!"
A furious voice shouted from behind.
Consumed by doubt and on the brink of insanity, Itachi never noticed his surroundings had changed.
Thank you for the support, friends. If you want to read more chapters in advance, go to my Patreon.
Read: patreon.com/Franklin1