Seeing Kawaki slightly collapse, Sasuke frowned a little. He could clearly sense Kawaki's true emotional turmoil at the moment—he was genuinely blaming himself and terrified, not putting on an act.
However, Sasuke wasn't as gentle as Naruto, who might have hugged or comforted Kawaki. He had his own style and principles.
"Naruto isn't dead!"
"What? How do you know?" Kawaki suddenly looked up at Sasuke, his eyes gleaming with hope.
"Naruto doesn't die that easily, and I have my own sources of information!"
To be honest, Sasuke couldn't confirm Naruto's condition at the moment. But years of instinct and trust made him believe in Naruto—he wouldn't go down easily.
Moreover, the Tenshou Sennin had said earlier that Naruto was temporarily fine, and he wouldn't lie about such critical information. So Sasuke chose to believe that Naruto was only sealed by the villainous Jigen. That must be what severed the chakra connection, making Kawaki's artificial arm unable to sense Naruto's chakra.
"Really? The Seventh Hokage is truly still alive?" Kawaki was overjoyed, jumping to his feet and grabbing Sasuke, his eyes full of hope seeking confirmation.
"If you want to save Naruto, get up and stop moping around here!"
"I need your information and your strength."
"As long as you're willing to help, we might be able to save Naruto sooner!" Sasuke brushed Kawaki's hand away, scolding him sternly.
He despised people who retreated in the face of difficulty. If Naruto didn't trust Kawaki so much, and if the Kama on Kawaki's body wasn't so crucial, Sasuke wouldn't care about this kid at all.
"Alright! I agree!"
"I'm willing to cooperate. I'll do anything as long as it saves the Seventh Hokage!" Kawaki finally stood up, a spark of hope igniting in his heart as he made a firm vow.
He wasn't close to Sasuke but knew the man was the most trusted comrade of his adoptive father, Naruto. After all, he was a ninja who had escaped Jigen alive—he must have strength. So saving Naruto wasn't impossible!
Seeing this, Shikamaru was still a bit worried. "Sasuke, this guy's identity and motives haven't been verified. Is he…?"
Sasuke had already decided. "I trust Naruto, so I trust him too. Right now, everything is about saving Naruto and protecting the village. We must use every available resource!"
"If he ever betrays Naruto in the future, I'll be the first to end him!"
Seeing Sasuke's stubbornness, Shikamaru could only agree. After all, he had trusted these two Konoha War Gods countless times before—one more time wouldn't hurt.
◆━⊰✧⊱━◆
Next, Kawaki shared all the information he knew about the Kara organization and Jigen with Sasuke.
Of course, Kawaki's knowledge was limited. After all, Jigen had always groomed him as a vessel for revival—a pawn and a container didn't need to know too much truth.
But Sasuke had fought Momoshiki and others before. He already knew the Otsutsuki Clan's main goal was to plant the Divine Tree and harvest the Chakra Fruit. Connecting this to the Kama that Momoshiki had etched onto Boruto, he roughly guessed the meaning of "vessel."
"In other words, Kawaki is likely a tool used by Jigen—or the Otsutsuki behind him—for revival! Just like what Momoshiki did to Boruto."
Sasuke analyzed, and Shikamaru had a sudden realization, immediately forming a plan:
"Oh, I see. That makes sense. No wonder Boruto and he could open that strange space-time portal."
"So, Jigen's revival vessel and the Juubi spawn that serves his goal are now in our hands. That means we might have a chance to fight him!"
Sasuke wasn't optimistic. "Theoretically, yes, but that guy is extraordinarily ruthless. He might not be swayed by our threats."
"That's not certain!"
"The key to negotiation lies in who stands to lose the most."
"Both Kawaki and the Juubi might be more important to him than we think!"
Sasuke frowned. "You want to use Kawaki to trade for Naruto?"
Shikamaru shook his head. "I initially thought so, but I know you and Naruto would never agree. And if Kawaki is truly the enemy's revival vessel, handing him over would indirectly give the enemy another life. I'm not foolish enough to help the enemy…"
Shikamaru didn't trust Kawaki, but he wasn't stupid. He knew how terrifying it would be to let the enemy have another life. If Madara Six Paths or Otsutsuki Kaguya had had an extra life back then, the entire world might now be White Zetsu's playground, and Konoha wouldn't have survived.
"So you're saying the Juubi?"
"Exactly! This Juubi spawn should be a good bargaining chip. If we're truly out of options, it could be used to trade for Naruto—at least there's a chance!"
Sasuke shook his head. "It's still not safe. Without enough power, it's hard to strike a deal with the enemy."
"Even if the enemy agrees to trade the Juubi for Naruto, he could just break his promise after we hand it over and kill us all…"
No one knew Jigen's terrifying power better than Sasuke. Without comparable strength, let alone negotiation or trading, they'd just be swallowed whole by the enemy!
Just like negotiations can only be equal between humans. Between a human and a dog, no matter what valuable item the dog brings, once it lets go, it becomes a delicious meal. And in the eyes of the Otsutsuki, the native ninjas of the shinobi world might be even lower than dogs…
"Enough power to face him? That's tough!"
"Even you and Naruto together couldn't defeat him. How could we gain comparable strength in such a short time?"
Shikamaru sighed in resignation. Naruto and Sasuke were already the strongest in the shinobi world—how could their power be easily enhanced further?
"Wait… Can this Juubi be sealed?"
"It should be possible."
"Sasuke, then you…"
Sasuke understood Shikamaru's meaning. He likely wanted him to seal the Juubi and become its Jinchuriki, potentially gaining power equal to Jigen's. Then, negotiations or trades wouldn't be necessary…
"Unfortunately, even if this Juubi spawn can be sealed, it wouldn't help much."
Sasuke glanced at the Juubi spawn inside the barrier, silently weighing the situation.
The chakra of this Juubi spawn was only comparable to Kurama's, perhaps even slightly weaker. It couldn't compare to a complete Juubi, nor even to the half-complete Juubi sealed by Obito during the Fourth Great Ninja War.
A Juubi spawn like this, even if sealed in his body to make him a Jinchuriki, wouldn't provide much of a boost. It couldn't elevate him from a semi-Six Paths level to a true Six Paths level. Without true Six Paths power, he'd still be crushed by Jigen—Sasuke was well aware of this.
"Then it's really difficult!"
"In short, hide and secure this Juubi spawn first."
"As long as the enemy can't find the Juubi, we'll at least have an extra bargaining chip…"
Sasuke nodded, agreeing with the proposal:
"Alright!"
"Once my chakra recovers a bit more, I'll transport the Juubi spawn to the base at the Tomb Mountain."
"There are barriers and facilities left by Madara there, sufficient to isolate and seal the Juubi!"
Shikamaru agreed. Compared to keeping the Juubi in the village, moving it out was safer.
"One more thing. Since Jigen's targets are Kawaki and the Juubi, to prevent him from invading the village again, how about moving Kawaki out of Konoha too?"
Shikamaru pointed at Kawaki, suggesting again.
"No way! He has to stay by my side. Without me, if Jigen finds him, he'll be captured immediately…"
Sasuke knew Jigen's terror all too well. Kawaki's only slight hope of survival was staying close to him.
"Then move him to the village's underground?"
"There's a secret Root barrier left by Danzo underground in the village that can block Byakugan's vision. How about moving him there?"
"That way, Jigen's Byakugan won't be able to penetrate and find him."
Sasuke shook his head. "That won't work either. Naruto once said the Kama links Kawaki and Jigen. No matter where Kawaki hides, even in another dimension…"
"As long as the Kama remains, Jigen can sense and locate Kawaki…"
"Hiss… He can track him anywhere? That's such a troublesome ability. Then this guy can never escape Jigen's grasp!" Shikamaru sighed in despair.
Imagining himself in that position, marked and tracked like that with an overwhelmingly powerful enemy—it was truly hopeless!
With no way to defeat Jigen, they had to protect the Juubi and Kawaki, find a way to save Naruto, and figure out how to beat Jigen…
Three hellish levels of difficulty stacked together. Even the clever Shikamaru found it nearly impossible, with no good solutions…
"Let's start moving first."
"We don't know when the enemy will strike again. Preparing early can't hurt."
Shikamaru nodded and acted immediately. "Alright! I'll arrange for the villagers' evacuation right away. You handle the placement of the Juubi and Kawaki."
"Okay."
Sasuke didn't waste words either. He immediately led Kawaki toward the Juubi, preparing to move it first before planning how to deal with Jigen.
Kawaki followed Sasuke, his expression grim. He had overheard Sasuke and Shikamaru's entire discussion and basically understood the situation. But the more he understood, the clearer it became how dire things were. Facing the terrifying Jigen, all that seemed left for him was despair…
It might even drag down the entire Konoha village, involving Boruto and the others…
"Maybe my existence is a mistake!"
"If I die, will Jigen's revival plan fail? Could that save the Seventh Hokage and all of Konoha?"
Under the dual domination of fear and despair, Kawaki grew desperate, unable to stop himself from asking Sasuke.
Sasuke frowned, feeling he had no time to coddle this kid, but for Naruto's sake, he still offered encouragement:
"Jigen isn't a good person. If you die, he might not release Naruto just to vent his anger!"
"If you have the energy to think such nonsense, why not think about whether Jigen has any other weaknesses?"
"Naruto acknowledged you, not so you could become a coward!" Sasuke's words were blunt and sharp, but they slightly rekindled Kawaki's confidence.
Right! For Naruto's sake, he couldn't give up so easily. That bastard Jigen, if he didn't get what he wanted, would never let the Seventh Hokage go.
"I understand. I'll do my best!" Kawaki clenched his fists, his resolve strengthening.
Meanwhile, Sasuke instructed the barrier team to release the barrier, reaching for the Juubi.
At that moment, a dark red space-time portal suddenly opened above Konoha. An enraged Jigen swiftly flew out, launching a sudden attack no one expected, invading Konoha once again!