Naruto: I, Shikotsumyaku, Byakugan Princess

Chapter 118 Tailed Beast Fusion
thump!
thump!
All three fell into a pool of blood at the same time.

With his cervical vertebrae severed by a bite from above and below, Yotsuki's head fell off and rolled a long distance on the ground.

Naruto, whose skin had peeled away and whose skull resembled a fox, stared at Kairi, whose face was split open and whose sharp teeth were bleeding, through Yotsuki Yu's broken, pale neck.

His vertical pupils trembled violently.

"Hui Li, what happened to you..."

"Ahem... Give me your hand."

Hui Li coughed up charred blood clots.

She is in extremely poor condition right now.

Her chest was pierced, and although she had transferred her lungs and heart beforehand, it only turned a fatal wound into a serious one. Finally, she faced a desperate counterattack from the enemy, and terrifying lightning strikes electrified her abdomen, almost cooking some of her organs.

Fortunately, she had already blocked out the pain.

Right now, I just feel weak and heavy, but not so much pain that I faint.

She is now surviving entirely on adrenaline.

"Give me your hand!"

"what?"

"quick!"

Naruto didn't know why Hai Li had become so... strange, but his tone remained unchanged, and the slit-mouthed woman in front of him was indeed Hai Li.

Reach out.

What Naruto saw was not his usual arm, but a blood-red claw.

Fascia and flesh are exposed, and menacing nails extend from the fingertips.

Am I really a monster?
Naruto finally understood where the hostility towards him in the village came from.

"Pooh!"

Hui Li spat out the flesh and blood belonging to the enemy, and squeezed out the last of her chakra to fix the jagged teeth in her mouth.

then.

It bit Naruto's arm.

"hiss……"

Naruto shuddered in pain, but forced himself to endure the agony, letting Haili bite him.

The sharp teeth sliced ​​through the arm, but miraculously avoided the tendons, only biting through the blood vessels.

The sweet, metallic taste of blood instantly entered Gray Glass's mouth.

Gum!

Gum!

Swallowing.

Gray Glass greedily sucked up Naruto's blood, as well as the Nine-Tails' chakra that had not yet dissipated within it.

Tick ​​tock!

The scorching Tailed Beast chakra entered the esophagus along with the blood, and finally the blood flowed out from the hole in his chest, sliding down Yotsuki Yu's arm, while the Tailed Beast power within it had been intercepted by Hai Li.

call!
The scorching, vibrant Nine-Tails chakra was slowly injected into Gray's already exhausted body.

呲呲!

The esophagus and meridians were burned by the domineering power of the Nine-Tails, but then the tailed beast chakra continuously transformed into life force, restoring the damaged body to its original state.

An infinite cycle of destruction and repair.

The chakra seed pulsed joyfully, its meridians like roots constantly drawing in foreign chakra, and the original deep blue began to collide with the scarlet once more.

Hui Li carefully manipulated her chakra to divide the Nine-Tails' power.

Back in Peichuan Port, she had already absorbed the power of a tailed beast once.

That incident caused her chakra seed to mutate into blue, and her chakra also changed from ordinary azure blue to a deep blue like the ocean. At the same time, she gained the abilities of Water Release without seals and the Tailed Beast Cloak.

An inexplicable surge of ice chakra nearly turned her into an ice sculpture; the process of being devoured was far more dangerous than a battle.

At this moment, Hui Li was fully prepared, but the situation once again exceeded her expectations.

I saw.

The deep blue chakra attempted to nibble away at the Nine-Tails' power bit by bit, but before it could defeat it one by one, the frenzied Nine-Tails' power seemed to see a relative and ceased its fierce resistance.

The power of the Nine-Tails even actively responded to meet Hui Li's chakra. The two chakras, one blue and one red, blended together seamlessly. Although it was still difficult, it did not require Hui Li's control at all and began to combine automatically.

In the blink of an eye.

The blue and red chakra intertwined, and a faint purple hue had already appeared at the point of contact.

The Nine-Tails' chakra showed absolutely no rejection like it had with the Three-Tails before.

Tsundere?
Hui Li bit Naruto's arm and sucked on it until she watched Naruto's fox form slowly fade away and he could no longer draw Nine-Tails chakra before reluctantly letting go.

Naruto was exhausted at this point.

First, he created hundreds of clones to fight the beast horde, then he transformed into a fox demon and fought against Ye Yuexiong, who was no match for him, and finally he was caused to lose a lot of blood by Hui Li.

The azure eyes finally fell upon the pierced chest of the gray glass.

Click!

The sternum, like a pencil sharpener, rotated along the lines of Yotsuki Yu's arm, dissecting it like a butcher carving up an ox.

Separation of flesh and blood.

The arm fell out of the hole in Gray Glass's chest.

thump... thump...

The heart, glowing with a purple aura, beat rapidly, slowly rising from Naruto's abdomen back into the enormous cavity as his vision gradually blurred.

Granulation tissue growth fills the gap.

Seeing that Gray Glass had regained its vitality, Naruto grinned, but could no longer hold on and fainted.

Gray Glass looks inward at himself.

The four bright green spots on his brain and chest dimmed and lost their luster.

The four doors closed in sequence.

My body felt increasingly heavy.

The purple mist at the heart gradually devoured the red and blue until the blue was completely consumed, at which point the red could no longer blend in.

Hui Li controlled the newly generated chakra and forcibly devoured it, only to find that the chakra, which she had previously been able to control, suddenly became uncontrollable, and the purple color was covered by an even larger red color.

The fox-like transformation quickly spread within Hui Li's body.

Startled, she quickly stopped the fusion and expelled the excess Nine-Tails power from her heart.

The chakra and physical body returned to normal, continuously providing the Shikotsumyaku (Shikotsumyaku) with energy to repair the body.

The charred organs quickly shed their outer shells, revealing fresh, pink, tender flesh.

呲呲!

The hot steam evaporates.

The fused purple chakra flowed through his meridians, seemingly inheriting the Yang Release characteristics of the Nine-Tails, rapidly repairing Gray's severely injured body.

The white of his eyes was pale gray, and his pupils were filled with purple.

The Corpse Bone Pulse was also unleashed, vying for the remaining power of the Nine-Tailed Fox.

The pale white skeleton absorbed the Nine-Tails' chakra, making its already steel-like bones even thicker and heavier, with bits of deathly gray hue meandering and crawling across its surface.

All forces are evolving.

A tidal wave of power surged from the deepest part of his body, and the joy in Gray Glass's heart filled his chest even faster than the flesh and blood filling the empty space in his chest.

The power of the Nine-Tailed Fox is like a perfect tonic, and it's plentiful and filling.

The chakra remaining from Naruto's blood alone already surpassed the total chakra of Ash during his prime.

Most importantly, this vital chakra can not only repair the damage inside her body, but also combine with the Shikotsumyaku (Shikotsumyaku) technique to elevate her self-repair ability to a level comparable to that of a Sage Body.

In the blink of an eye.

Hui Li's body, which had been on the verge of death, had recovered to a level of approximately second-degree severe injury.

The injuries are still serious, but at least his life is not in danger.

that's enough!
Seeing that her chakra was almost completely depleted after repairing her body, Hui Li, who had been forcing herself to stay awake, felt a wave of dizziness deep in her mind, and the world became blurry.

My head is getting heavier and heavier.

Hui Li's vision went black, and she collapsed to the ground.

Boom!
Its petite yet heavy body sent dust flying as it slammed into the ground.

Moonlight spills out.

A silvery-blue halo flowed among the withered branches, the humus, sweet and foul-smelling, mingled with the night dew and frost. The noisy battlefield fell silent.

Only the fire burning the branches produced a crackling sound.

Summer had just ended, and the vegetation was lush. The flames couldn't ignite quickly enough, and soon the light faded, leaving only acrid, bluish smoke.

Unable to bear the stench, the insects crawled away along the grass.

Time passes quickly.

Even the chirping of insects seemed to disappear in the deep forest, plunging it into a profound stillness.

Whoosh!
rustle!

A nimble figure suddenly darted through the treetops.

Wow!
It was as if a leaf had fallen.

An old man dressed in black combat gear slowly stepped into this shattered battlefield.

The combat boots, which were stepping on the dead branches, involuntarily came to a stop.

When Hiruzen Sarutobi finally arrived, he was stunned by the sight before him.

The land, overgrown with weeds, was crisscrossed with gullies, and irregular deep pits seemed poised to overturn the entire surface. Charred tree trunks lay fallen, as if struck by lightning, the flames gone but thick smoke still billowing incessantly.

The three people in the center of the battlefield lay quietly on the ground.

The burly man, over two meters tall, was now completely unrecognizable as human; his chest had been ripped open, exposing his heart. His scarlet neck revealed his cervical spine, the wounds jagged and uneven, as if torn apart by some unknown wild beast.

The head lay quietly on the ground, its features contorted in a grotesque manner, its legs limp like noodles, and even its arms were shredded.

Hiruzen Sarutobi frowned in thought.

Each village has a limited number of elite Jonin, but this person's face looked so familiar, coupled with his imposing and powerful physique even in death...

After a while.

Information about this person then surfaced from the depths of his memory.

The Wild Thunder of the Hidden Clouds—Yotsuki Yu.

The Yotsuki clan's veteran elite Jonin, who has been active in the ninja world forty years.

When he accompanied the Second Hokage to Kumogakure to sign the peace treaty, Yotsuki Yu was already a famous master at the time, and the two of them had met once.

I didn't expect that decades would pass.

This old guy somehow managed to infiltrate Konoha using an unknown method, and then died at the hands of two ninja academy students from Konoha Village.

Hiruzen Sarutobi had mixed feelings.

Shocked by the huge gap in Konoha's defenses, the enemy entered the village unnoticed. Enraged that Kumogakure dared to send ninjas to plot against the Nine-Tails during peacetime, attempting to provoke war.

I am delighted that the seedlings of Konoha are so outstanding; even with the combined efforts of Kaito and Naruto, they were able to kill such a powerful individual.

Their gazes were drawn to two other figures.

Naruto, with his blond hair, lay sprawled on the ground, his bloodied flesh exposed, skin slowly growing back onto his skin. The scene on Hui Li's side was even more horrific; blood had completely stained his white robes red, and a huge crater had formed in his chest.

Hiruzen Sarutobi could even see the lungs bulging inside the pit of flesh.

His throat moved.

The horrific wounds on the two men made Hiruzen Sarutobi's heart pound with fear.

But considering how powerful the enemy they killed was, it was already a miracle that no one died, only seriously injured.

He was even a little curious.

What kind of brutal battle could have resulted in such severe injuries on the three of them?

There's no time to waste.

Hiruzen Sarutobi quickly formed hand seals and spat out a stream of water to extinguish the smoke-filled tree trunk.

He picked up Naruto and Hairi, carrying one on each shoulder. The difference in their weights caused him to pause for a moment before turning and leaving, still holding Yotsuki Yu's head.

A gentle breeze was blowing.

In the center of the shattered battlefield, only a twisted, headless corpse remained.

……

Training Ground Zero.

South Gate.

The firelight illuminated the crowd.

Medical ninjas, carrying first-aid kits, bandaged the students injured in the disaster. Teachers, with notebooks in hand, recorded everyone's names and also compiled a list of the dead.

"Iruka-sensei... Waaah, Taiji... he was..."

Yuta and Takashi cried and sobbed to the statistician. The tall Yuta was completely devoid of his usual arrogance when he bullied Naruto; his face was flushed and he was panting heavily.

Iruka already knew of this tragedy, and he wrote Taiji's name heavily in his notebook, his face filled with sorrow and uncertainty.

Every time I face death.

They are all so heavy.

Thinking of his family who died in the Nine-Tails' attack, Iruka couldn't help but gaze towards Training Ground Zero.

Naruto has the Nine-Tails sealed inside his body, and from Shino's words, it's clear that the enemy's target is the Nine-Tails.

If the Third Hokage cannot arrive in time, and if the enemy has already released the Nine-Tails.

The disaster of six years ago is about to befall Konoha again.

How many people will lose their lives because of this?
Iruka couldn't imagine it.

All he can do now is close his eyes and pray that the Third Hokage can resolve everything and that his students can return safely.

Hyuga Neji was also praying with him.

Neji, aren't you hungry?

Every day, looking at Neji who was practically squeezing water out of the bread, her big eyes were filled with confusion.

Not to your liking?

There's no need to hold onto that so stubbornly!
The bread was almost turned into flour.

Neji, whose politeness was ingrained in his bones, wanted to answer, but when he opened his mouth, he found that no sound could come out of his throat.

Kazama Koshi's arms were completely destroyed, and even the chief physician of the ninja hospital could only save his life.

This shows just how terrifying the enemy's strength is.

Those are elite Jonin, numbering no more than a handful in each village. No matter how talented or strong Hui Li is, her age is a factor, and the hope of holding out until the Hokage arrives is extremely slim.

But that was the only hope after a thousand years of separation!

Neji closed his eyes in pain.

He rested his fingers on his forehead, stroking the caged bird hidden by the cloth strip.

The most painful thing in the world is not to be in darkness all the time, but to fall back into darkness after seeing the light.

Hinata, the eldest daughter of the main family, faced the enemy head-on, and despite her weakness, she suffered no injury whatsoever. The branch family escaped the Caged Bird Seal, but the most talented member, Hairi, remains missing, her chances of survival slim.

Is this... fate?

Are the caged birds, unable to escape, destined to be the fate of all the Hyuga branch families?
Fate, which seems so ethereal and intangible, feels so real at this moment.

"Out!"

"It looks like the Hokage has come out!"

"That is……"

As Neji was immersed in his pain, he suddenly heard the teachers' screams.

"Medical ninja... quick..."

"This girl is badly injured!"

Swish!
Neji opened his eyes instantly.

Countless figures blocked the way ahead.

Roll your eyes!!

open!!!

I have never opened my eyes and formed hand seals so quickly in my life.

At the very center of the crowd.

The slowly undulating, misty purple light completely filled Neji's field of vision.

It was a chakra he had never seen before, yet it was the most beautiful color he had ever seen, simply because this power was sustaining the last breath of its dying owner.

A radiant smile spread across her lips.

She has triumphed over fate once again!

(End of this chapter)