Artoria's eyes turned toward the distance.
She could feel a tremendous aura of chakra moving in the direction of Amegakure.
"Hm…" she murmured softly. "It seems he has already devoured nearly thirty percent of all the chakra in this world."
Her gaze darkened.
"It can hardly be any better in the afterlife."
Then she closed her eyes for a brief moment.
"So, Universal Master System… we need to talk. The previous system was a catastrophe."
A new message appeared before her eyes at once.
Emergency protocol initiated.
Would the Host like to install a new system?
Option 1: Standard replacement system
Option 2: Universal login system for all worlds
Artoria's hand slowly brushed across her forehead, as though she had to restrain herself.
"How is it possible that every system I encounter is terrible in its own unique way?"
She studied the options for a moment.
"But this is at least better. I'll take option two."
In the next instant, a new voice sounded in her mind.
Welcome, Host. I am the login system, and I look forward to a long collaboration. I am sorry that the Host had bad experiences with the previous system.
Artoria blinked lightly.
Host, would you like to log into Avalon and receive your newbie gift package?
"Gladly. Give it to me."
The system's voice immediately became more cheerful.
Congratulations, Host. You have received:
Motored Cuirassier
All abilities of Saber Alter
Mature Chakra Fruit
Beginner smithing skills
Artoria frowned.
"Uh… and what exactly am I supposed to do with smithing skills?"
A brief moment passed.
"But the rest is quite useful."
Then her eyes narrowed slightly.
"Can you transfer Saber Alter to me directly?"
At once, Artoria felt a new power spreading through her.
Darker.
Heavier.
More uncompromising.
Something inside her answered something that had always lain dormant there — and with every second, her power continued to grow.
Another status window opened before her.
Status
User: Artoria Pendragon
Title: Goddess of the Holy Lance
Race: Divine Spirit
Condition: Soul stabilized / Heart fragment purified
World: Naruto Universe
Location: Avalon
Physical Attributes
Strength: EX
Agility: EX
Endurance: EX
Magical Power: EX (awakened+)
Resistance: EX
Divine Aura: EX (awakened+)
Special Traits
Divinity: High
Nature Resonance: Active
Soul Presence: Stable
Royal Bearing: Active
Login-System Compatibility: 100%
Avalon: Active
Saber Alter: Active
Abilities Rhongomyniad Divine Magic Soul Perception Nature-Nurturing Aura Uzumaki Fūinjutsu Knowledge Complete Ninjutsu Knowledge of the Naruto World Student Analysis Map Function Level 2 Excalibur Motored Cuirassier Items Mature Chakra Fruit Restrictions Heart Fragment Loss Active
Artoria could feel it clearly.
She had finally broken through the limits of her previous power.
Then, suddenly, a new voice echoed inside her.
"Hey … how did I get here? And how did you free me from those people's control?"
Artoria remained silent for a moment.
Then Avalon spoke up, with audible amusement.
"At last, I'm no longer the only one living in here. I am Artoria Avalon. The main body out there is Artoria Rhongomyniad."
Rhongomyniad's voice followed almost immediately.
"Welcome. It seems our inner circle has gained a new member. Tell us about your life."
The new voice hesitated for a moment.
Then she answered.
"I had a good master… and then I was consumed and turned into something I never wanted to be. I almost took his life."
A brief, silent moment passed.
"But what remained in my heart…"
Before she could finish, the other two broke into dry laughter.
"What?" Avalon asked with audible amusement. "One version of us actually found love?"
"That may be even more unsettling than everything else that has happened in this world," Rhongomyniad remarked dryly.
Then her voice grew calmer again.
"But jokes aside. You should look through our memories first. Then you'll understand what is truly happening here."
Avalon nodded inwardly in agreement.
"We have to save this world. Otherwise it will soon be nothing but a dead shell."
The new voice fell silent.
Then she answered firmly:
"I will."
While new power was awakening in Avalon, hell was already unfolding somewhere else.
Before the gates of Amegakure, it looked as though hell itself had descended upon the world.
With every single step the creature took, the earth split open.
Everything died within the range of its approach.
The ground became dead.
Trees withered away.
Animals perished before they could even flee.
Even the water looked lifeless, as though every will to flow had been taken from it.
Pain stood upon the walls of Amegakure with his Six Paths, silently watching the spectacle.
Konan stood beside him.
"Where is Zetsu?" Pain asked at last. "Ever since the report that Konoha was destroyed by this being, he has vanished. Madara is gone as well. The two of them disappeared as though the earth itself had swallowed them."
Konan's gaze remained fixed on the approaching monster.
"I don't know either," she said quietly. "But do you really believe we can stand against something like that? Everything that gets too close to that being dies. If we do nothing now, this village will fall as well."
Pain was silent for a moment.
Then he spoke with cold composure:
"You forget one thing, Konan. I am a god."
His Rinnegan locked onto the monster.
Konan's gaze hardened.
"Nagato… you are no god. You are, like all of us, only human."
Her voice remained calm.
"Yes, you bear the eyes of the Sage. But no more than that."
Slowly, Pain rose into the air.
Hovering above the approaching monster, he raised both hands.
"Then I will now show you the power that only a god possesses."
His voice echoed across the battlefield.
"Chibaku Tensei."
With all his power, Pain tried to bind the being inside a colossal sphere of rock and earth.
Stone burst from the ground.
Debris, earth, and whole masses of rock shot upward and began to seal the monster inside a growing sphere.
For one brief moment, even the sky itself seemed to hold still.
Then a laugh rang out.
Deep.
Contemptuous.
And as harsh as the cracking of a grave.
"You dare… use my own technique against me?"
The being's voice echoed through the swirling dust.
"Then die."
In the next moment, the aura of death spread out.
Like a black flood, it swallowed Pain.
His bodies crumbled away before Konan could even scream his name.
But just before that same deathly wave could engulf Amegakure itself, a figure suddenly appeared before the village.
She stood in golden light.
Still.
Upright.
And her presence alone was enough to force even that hell to a standstill for a single heartbeat.