Konoha Hospital, VIP Ward.
The air was so thick it felt like water could be wrung from it, and a heavy, oppressive atmosphere weighed on everyone's hearts. The ward door was gently pushed open, and the medical Ninja responsible for the examination walked out with a solemn expression, signaling to the people waiting outside that they could enter.
Almost as soon as the door opened, Uchiha Satsuki immediately rushed in. She came to the bedside, her gaze fixed on the unconscious Naruto, then abruptly turned to the medical Ninja who followed her in, her voice trembling uncontrollably, filled with an excitement that threatened to break through her rationality.
"Excuse me, what's... Naruto's condition... exactly?"
On the hospital bed, Naruto lay still, his eyes tightly closed, his face abnormally pale. But he wasn't entirely calm—his body was trembling slightly uncontrollably, and fine cold sweat continuously seeped from his forehead.
The medical Ninja was an experienced Jonin. He first nodded to the anxious crowd, especially acknowledging Jiraiya and Kushina who entered afterward, then looked at Satsuki, who had asked first, carefully choosing his words.
"Please don't worry. After a preliminary comprehensive examination, we can confirm that Young Master Naruto... currently has no direct life-threatening danger. His heart rate, breathing, and basic vital signs, although fluctuating, are within the range to sustain life."
Hearing the words "no life-threatening danger," Satsuki's tense shoulders relaxed for a moment, but then tightened again at Naruto's pained appearance. She wanted to press further.
The medical Ninja decided to explain the most difficult situation all at once. His expression became even more serious, and his voice deepened a few tones.
"However... the problem lies precisely here."
"We have used all conventional and some unconventional detection methods, and even requested the assistance of the Hyuga Clan for Chakra pathway exploration... According to existing medical knowledge, we... cannot determine when he will wake up, nor can we guarantee that he will definitely wake up."
These words struck everyone's hearts like a heavy hammer.
He continued to explain, "We found that within Young Master Naruto's body, there seems to be some unknown, continuously existing 'thing' that is slowly but persistently eroding and consuming his life energy."
"However—" The medical Ninja's brows furrowed even more deeply, "Young Master Naruto's own life energy, its total amount and vitality, has already far exceeded that of ordinary humans. And, most puzzlingly, whenever a portion of his life energy is consumed, his body... actually 'automatically' replenishes an equal amount of life energy from an unknown source!"
"This 'replenishment' seems to sustain his life, but it is not without cost. After observation, this 'replenishment' seems to be at the expense of depleting and overdrawing his 'mental energy.'"
"Or rather, it comes at the cost of brain activity and the power of his consciousness. If this situation continues and is not resolved..."
He paused, then heavily uttered the terrifying word,
"...Young Master Naruto's consciousness may fall into permanent dormancy due to excessive overdrawing of mental energy. He might... remain in this deep sleep, becoming... a 'vegetative state.'"
"Wh-what...?" Satsuki staggered, gripping the cold bed railing. She couldn't understand, couldn't accept it. He was fine just a moment ago, he was even smiling and reassuring her, saying "it's nothing," so why had it suddenly turned into this?
One moment she was in heaven, the next she felt as if she had been directly pushed into the abyss of Hell, coldness and darkness instantly engulfing her.
She abruptly turned around, her gaze like tempered knives, shooting towards Uchiha Sasuke and Uzumaki Boruto, who stood in the corner of the ward, their faces equally grave. All the fear, helplessness, and confusion at this moment transformed into sharp questions and the last flicker of hope:
"You... you must know something, right?! That enemy! That guy named Urashiki! You must know what he did to Naruto in the end, right?! You... since you came from the future, you must have a way to save him, right?! Tell me! Please tell me!!"
Her voice rose with emotion, hoarse and breaking. And if she received a negative answer, the power they had just discussed would probably awaken immediately.
"I..." Boruto instinctively spoke, then abruptly stopped. A clear struggle and confusion flashed across his face. Yes, he knew this black diamond mark, he had an identical one on his own hand... But... "You... don't know? Why?!" Satsuki's emotions became even more agitated, her chest heaving violently, "Didn't you come here to protect Naruto?! Now that something has happened to him, you..."
Her words trailed off, her gaze darting between her other self and her other world's self... her rationality somewhat returning, realizing that her anger might not be entirely fair, she forced herself to swallow the more intense words.
But the plea and despair intensified, and her voice even carried an uncontrollable sob. "But... you must have a way... please... save Naruto..." "...It seems," a voice suppressing immense emotional fluctuation rang out, and Uzumaki Kushina slowly stepped forward. She gently stroked Satsuki's head first, then she raised her head, her eyes now clouded with a deep, bottomless worry and a forced calm, looking at Sasuke and Boruto.
"But... you must have a way... please... save Naruto..." "...It seems," a voice suppressing immense emotional fluctuation rang out, Uzumaki Kushina slowly stepped forward. She first gently stroked Satsuki's head, then she raised her head, her eyes now clouded with a deep, bottomless worry and a forced calm, looking at Sasuke and Boruto.
"You've been hiding a lot from me."
Her voice was still steady, but her slightly trembling body revealed the fear of her own impending collapse.
As the wife of a hero who once died protecting the Village, she would not blame those who might be "reinforcements."
But... if Naruto truly suffered an irreversible accident because of this... even as an Impure World Reincarnation, she would never allow the existence that harmed her son to rest in peace, even if she had to pursue them to the ends of the earth, to the end of time.
Kushina forced herself to calm down, "I hope you... can tell us everything you know about that enemy, about this mark, about all potentially relevant information. Even if there's just the slightest clue that could save Naruto, please tell us."
"Mm." Jiraiya, who had been silent, also stepped forward, his expression more solemn than ever, even tinged with deep self-reproach. He glanced at Naruto struggling painfully on the bed, then looked at Sasuke and Boruto, "I hope you can cooperate. Tell us exactly who this suddenly appearing enemy—this so-called 'Otsutsuki Urashiki'—is, what abilities he has, and especially any hidden ploys he might have left behind."
He had already lost two Disciples on whom he had placed great hopes; he absolutely could not lose this child, whom he regarded as hope, and perhaps even the future of the Ninja World.
The ward fell into a brief silence, with only the faint ticking of medical equipment and Naruto's unconscious, suppressed breathing.
"...Mm." Uchiha Sasuke finally spoke slowly after a long period of contemplation.
"It seems there are no other options. Boruto, let's go, I will explain everything I know clearly."
Boruto clenched one hand, then opened his palm. There, a black diamond mark, almost identical to the one on Naruto's palm, lay quietly.
He looked at the unconscious Naruto, his heart filled with immense confusion and unease.
Did this world's "Dad"... also encounter the same "mark" as himself?
But why... had he never fallen unconscious because of this mark?
——————
Consciousness, like a drowning person sinking into the deep sea, struggled in darkness and nothingness, finally surging upward, breaking through that viscous boundary.
Opening his "eyes" again—or rather, the moment he regained perception—what came into "view" was a completely unexpected scene.
An boundless, vast grassland stretching to the horizon unfolded under a soft light.
The grass was a vibrant emerald green, swaying in the wind, forming waves that met the clear, azure sky. A gentle breeze passed, carrying the fresh scent of grass and damp earth.
Scattered across the grassland were several large lakes, their waters crystal clear, reflecting the flowing clouds and light of the sky, the surface shimmering with ripples occasionally stirred by the breeze.
A scene of tranquility and peacefulness, forming an extreme and absurd contrast with the previous cataclysmic battlefield, with its atmosphere of death and despair.
Is this... that kid's... inner world?
Otsutsuki Urashiki, who had returned to his normal human form but still had his evolved golden Rinnegan, looked down somewhat blankly at his perfectly intact "body," which felt no pain or weakness whatsoever.
He raised his hand, clenched his fist, and felt this incredibly clear "sense of presence," though it wasn't a physical body.
After a brief moment of confusion, an uncontrollable, volcanic eruption of ecstasy followed!
He quickly checked his condition—not fully resurrected, but more like being parasitic, or rather trapped, in this peculiar mental space as a special "consciousness body" or "Soul fragment." But what did it matter? This was billions of times better than being completely annihilated, his consciousness returning to nothingness!
"Hmph... hmhmhm... hehehe..."
An uncontrollable, trembling chuckle escaped his throat, then the laughter grew louder, more unrestrained, finally turning into hysterical, joyful laughter of one who had escaped calamity.
"Hahahahahahaha—!!! I knew it! I knew it!! How could I possibly meet my end so easily, like those inferior creatures!!!"
He spread his arms, as if to embrace this grassland and sky, "It worked... it's simply... a gift from destiny!! This body! It's mine! Hahahaha!!"
However, his triumphant laughter didn't last long.
"ROAR—!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
A roar, as if from the deepest depths of Hell, filled with monstrous rage and bone-deep hatred, suddenly erupted behind him like a thunderclap!
Immediately followed by a question more chilling than the roar, as if teeth were being ground to dust, each word squeezed out, filled with such intense loathing and killing intent that it seemed capable of tearing Urashiki into a thousand pieces.
"You scoundrel!! What did you do to Naruto?!"
Urashiki's wild laughter stopped abruptly. He whirled around.
Not far behind him, above the peaceful grassland, red Chakra surged wildly like erupting volcanic lava! At the center of that churning Chakra torrent, a pair of gigantic, blood-red beast eyes, burning with all-consuming fury like a blood moon, were fixed on him, as if to devour him alive!
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