"Giving them a new life, endowing them with bone and flesh, allowing them to struggle, suffer, and make choices within your 'script'...
They were shaped by you, yet they possess lives of their own.
And now, this independent 'existence' is the 'truth' they are giving back to you."
At this point, 'Takuno' curled his lips into a meaningful arc, his eyes flashing with an unusual light as they locked onto Takuno's true body.
"So," his voice carried a hint of playfulness, yet felt like a heavy hammer.
"What do you plan to do? Are you going to act out a moving scene of reconciliation, just like that Child of Prophecy, Naruto? Will you use love and understanding to embrace these existences that you personally 'created' and then 'abandoned'?"
Takuno suddenly turned his head, his sharp gaze piercing toward the version of himself that asked the question like an icicle, followed by a short, mocking sneer.
"Since you and I are connected, then as for my choice and my path—don't you already know them clearly?"
His voice was cold and hard, without a trace of hesitation.
As his voice fell, his gaze returned to those individuals struggling in the mist, gradually condensing into substance.
These "works" whose tragic lives were personally determined and shaped by him.
Deep in Takuno's eyes was a frozen tundra, without a single ripple of emotion, and not even half a shadow of guilt.
Yes. Their birth originated from his will; their pain was forged by his hand.
However, for the sake of the indisputable final path he had identified, he had long ago thoroughly crushed the emotion known as guilt.
At this moment, whatever stood in front of his path—be it a phantom of the past or another "self"—was nothing more than thorns that needed to be cut down.
In his gaze, there was only resolve, without any wavering.
The cold waterfall roared, acting as the war drum for this silent confrontation.
Above the deep pool, the water's surface was like a mirror.
When Takuno's cold rhetorical question fell, the projection opposite him, who looked exactly like him, fell into a brief silence.
Then, that familiar face pulled into a self-deprecating arc and shook its head silently.
Takuno's state of mind did not fluctuate in the slightest.
'Takuno' knew exactly what the other was thinking.
Reconciliation? Letting go? That was the path for people like Naruto, definitely not Takuno's choice.
He knew well the hollowness of words. Trying to use logic to persuade a projection that grew from the depths of his own soul and carried all his darkness and resentment? Pure delusion!
Furthermore, he understood himself better than anyone.
That deep-seated suspicion and wariness would never relax just because the opponent was a part of himself.
Even if some superficial reconciliation were eventually reached, Takuno would never believe in its sincerity.
How could he be sure the other wasn't biding their time, waiting for a perfect moment for revenge?
Absolutely trusting one's dark side? That is the naivety belonging only to Naruto.
Takuno's principle was: never give absolute trust to anyone, not even another "self"!
Therefore, the answer was already obvious, consistent from beginning to end, never changing—and that was total eradication!
Simply locking away the memories? Not safe enough; hidden dangers would remain.
Directly erasing this segment of memory? Also not the best strategy.
Memories are like characters carved into the surface of water; even if the characters are wiped away, the ripples and tracks of their existence remain, eventually reappearing at some moment.
Only by thoroughly sweeping away all traces—the marks of existence, the remnants of emotion, the imprints of the subconscious—and then applying ultimate oblivion, could it be called a foolproof plan.
Now was the perfect time to use the miraculous effect of the Waterfall of Truth—which pierces and manifests the heart—to achieve this final liquidation!
Takuno's will was like an invisible flame, intending to incinerate the foundation of these projections' existence, along with the soil they grew in, into nothingness!
The water churned violently, and those figures saturated with the pain and distortion of Takuno's life finally solidified completely.
The first to speak was 'Obito'. His remaining three-tomoe Sharingan locked onto Takuno, his malevolence nearly overflowing.
"So you are the... 'Original' who controlled our puppet-like, desperate lives?"
Takuno's gaze held no warmth. Sweeping over these enemies bred from his own darkness, his voice was as cold as a blade sliding across ice.
"Enough talk. Do you want to come one by one, or... all at once?"
Since there was no intention of reconciliation, there was absolutely no need to chat with the opponent; it was merely a waste of time.
Before the last syllable had even dissipated, 'Gaara's' figure turned into a furious crimson shadow, lunging straight at Takuno with an unprecedented sense of power!
This power filling his entire body—far exceeding what he had in life—sent him into an extreme frenzy. With this, he surely could—he must—kill the source of everything who controlled him!
Takuno didn't even lift an eyelid, as if he had long expected it.
Facing that violent impact carrying the momentum of wind and sand, he simply twisted his waist and hips, and a plain but concentrated punch embodying his full strength was brazenly thrown!
"Bang, BOOM!!!"
The moment the fists collided, the explosion was deafening!
The mirror-like pool beneath their feet was like it had been hit by ten thousand tons of explosives, erupting violently!
Towering waves shot into the sky, turning into a downpour as they cascaded back.
Under the recoil of the violent force, both Takuno and 'Gaara' were simultaneously pushed back several steps, their feet plowing deep trenches into the water's surface.
Takuno shook his slightly numbed wrist, his gaze sharp.
As expected, under the rules of mental-body projection, the opponent's pure physical strength was no different from his original body's, reaching a perfect replica.
But, equality in power definitely did not mean equality in the odds of winning!
The foundation of the absolute confidence Takuno held in fighting many alone was crystal clear:
Since they were separate existences, it proved that his memory seal had not failed. His current recollections still only told him that he had used their experiences to open his Sharingan, but he lacked their specific experiences.
Their composition was inevitably based only on those sealed memories. Therefore, while their appearances were similar to his, they retained more of their looks from within the hallucinations.
Furthermore, if 'Gaara' mastered all of his power, it would be impossible for this punch aimed at killing him to not contain the Strength of a Hundred / Chakra Enhanced Strength!
So, under these circumstances.
The source of the ninjutsu these projections could perform was limited to the information upon which the hallucinations were constructed.
That is, the techniques Takuno himself truly mastered or that existed in his cognition.
Among them were real ninjutsu he had actually mastered, and there were also hallucinatory products he knew of conceptually but had not learned—or even completely fictional ones.
It was impossible for them to learn techniques in the hallucination out of thin air that simply did not exist in Takuno's memory bank!
Even if they appeared to perform them, they would be nothing more than false phantoms under a hallucination, all show and no substance, easily crushed.
The moment 'Gaara' and Takuno clashed, the others no longer hesitated.
Despite not being swallowed by madness like 'Gaara', their hatred for the "Original" before them—who controlled their lives and brought endless despair and pain—was equally etched into their bones.
'Sasuke' and 'Obito' almost instinctively wanted to use the dōjutsu they were so proud of in life.
'Amaterasu'! 'Kamui'!
However, the moment they pushed their chakra, a cold sluggishness suddenly seized their eyes!
The expected power did not emerge. Those Sharingans remained in the three-tomoe state, without even a hint of evolving!
If Takuno could see the storm in their hearts, he would likely only respond with a cold sneer.
He himself hadn't even opened the Mangekyō Sharingan; how could these replicas derived from his mental projection master power that even he, the source original, had not yet touched? Wouldn't that be a fundamental negation of his existence?
The brief shock was like ice water over their heads, but what surged up afterward was a deeper resolve and madness.
'Sasuke' and 'Obito' instantly understood the massive deficiency in their abilities.
Unable to use the Mangekyō Sharingan... this meant that even by joining forces, they would likely struggle to shake Takuno in the slightest.
But so what?
The outcome would be nothing but death!
Hadn't their lives—controlled by invisible threads, helpless, and ultimately heading toward tragedy—already died once in the script named the "past"?
This time, it was just a matter of dragging the source down with them and dying once more!
With the resolve to die, the two figures shot out like arrows from a bow, brazenly joining the fray and besieging the figure standing aloof on the water.
At the other end of the battlefield, just as the memory-experience entity appearing in the form of 'Kakashi' and another memory entity that similarly did not belong to the Naruto world intended to rush to the battlefield to support their companions, a figure carrying a chilling killing intent suddenly cut off their path.
"Your opponent is me." A low and oppressive voice rang out. 'Takuno', a reflection replicated by the Waterfall of Truth carrying all of Takuno's memories, stood proudly.
The obsession and arrogance toward power in his eyes were identical to the original's.
Even if it was just an image of memory, the pursuit of supreme power rooted deep in the soul was equally fiery.
In his eyes, these two memory entities trying to interfere in the battle were nothing more than another eyesore and stumbling block on his path to becoming stronger.
He curled his lips in unabashed contempt: "Heh, merely tools provided for me to open my eyes and absorb experience, yet you dare to dream of possessing an independent personality and join the battlefield?"
'Takuno's' mockery was like a cold blade, "If not for the function of this Waterfall of Truth, would the likes of you even be qualified to stand alone before me? Wishful thinking!"
A powerful self-confidence surged in his chest.
Even without the special environment of the Waterfall of Truth, as long as enough time was given, relying on his powerful will and spiritual energy would be enough to thoroughly suppress and tame these chaotic memories within his body.
Allowing these memory fragments to breed independent consciousness or personalities? That would undoubtedly be the most thorough negation of his existence!
Now, what he and 'He' had to do was simply to save time!
Instantly, the fires of war were ignited. A seemingly lopsided duel of two against five erupted violently!
However, the disadvantage in numbers did not translate into a disadvantage in the battle.
The true Takuno and his memory-image 'Takuno', joining forces, actually erupted with overwhelming combat power.
The reason was simple: those memory entities opposite them, bearing the faces of 'Gaara', 'Obito', 'Sasuke', and others, possessed bodies identical to theirs but had no understanding of how to truly invoke and harness the power hidden within those bodies!
The true Takuno's gaze was as sharp as a falcon's, instantly capturing that the crimson three-tomoe Sharingans in 'Gaara's' eyes were spinning frantically.
His heart tightened: "I must end this quickly!"
The longer it dragged on, the more likely these memory entities would gradually realize and dig out the terror of this body during combat.
If they were truly allowed to master it... the consequences would be unimaginable!
In the blink of an eye, a blinding blue-white light erupted around Takuno!
Violent Lightning Release chakra was like ten thousand snakes dancing wildly, instantly condensing into a physical Lightning Armor that exploded outward with destructive energy.
The three memory entities at the forefront were slammed back by this violent lightning, retreating in a pathetic manner.
'Gaara' and the other two stabilized themselves, three pairs of crimson Sharingans locked onto Takuno.
The signature tomoe were spinning rapidly; they were trying to use the Sharingan's superior copying ability to take this astounding Lightning Release secret art for their own!
"Naive!" Takuno sneered in his heart.
This "Lightning Release Chakra Mode," a secret technique of Kumogakure, was it something that could be easily copied by the mere Sharingan?
It was not just exquisite control over chakra form transformation, but involved a deep combination of human physical limits and chakra nature transformation.
Even if this body had already adapted to the violence of lightning, if there was no corresponding fine control, forcibly driving this violent lightning was no different from playing with fire!
And as expected!
'Gaara' and the other two followed suit, but the moment they drew the Lightning Release chakra to the surface of their bodies, that violent power immediately lost control like a runaway horse!
A stinging sensation of paralysis swept through their bodies, their muscles instantly tensing and stiffening. The movements of the three stalled together, revealing a fatal opening.
"So, if it isn't your own stuff, you'd better not use it recklessly." A cold mockery rang out like a ghost behind 'Obito'.
'Obito's' pupils snapped into pinpoints! The Sharingan's superior dynamic vision actually failed to completely capture the other's ghostly figure!
"How is it possible..." The shocked thought had just arisen.
"Wood Release: Cutting Technique!" Takuno's palm had already pressed lightly onto his shoulder.
Puchi!
Countless sharp wooden spikes, dripping with blood, erupted instantly from within 'Obito' like a cruel briar hell!
He couldn't even manage a scream before his body was thoroughly pierced and torn apart.
Until the very last moment before his consciousness dissipated, 'Obito' realized in agony: "This body... can actually use Wood Release directly?"
Previously, his use of Wood Release relied on transplanted Hashirama cells, but here, he couldn't feel the existence of those cells in the body at all.
Without the assistance of White Zetsu, he had never even thought of trying to drive Wood Release, focusing only on the Uchiha's specialty, Fire Release...
Unfortunately, this belated realization was already meaningless.