Everyone still alive stood frozen in shock.
Even atop the ancient tree, Black Zetsu and White Zetsu stared wide-eyed; even Uchiha Itachi's brow twitched twice.
Hyūga Shigeo hovered mid-air, watching it all. The sight in person was far more overwhelming than he'd imagined.
"You feel that pain? Good. Today, I'll offer you as a sacrifice to Lord Jashin. He'll be pleased—after this, your Divine Guardian Sect will vanish into dust."
Hidan yanked the black spear from his own abdomen, looked down at himself, and grinned.
"Now then, which part should I do next? Which bit of your body do you hate most?"
The spear plunged again—this time into his thigh.
The Divine Lord's cursed-seal form collapsed. Blood gushed from his leg; terror filled his green eyes as he stared at the fanatic in the center of the field.
What was happening? Why did he feel the same wounds?
Moonlight bathed the field. Shigeo descended like a god, a thin smile on his lips and cold focus in his eyes.
He dashed forward, grabbed the Divine Lord by the collar—his Rinnegan flaring—and read his mind.
At once he found it: the location of the second half of Jūzō Ten-ten (Ten Elephants Heaven Turn).
The man's pupils shrank; his body trembled. He wanted to beg for mercy—but Hidan's curse gave him no chance.
The scythe whirled, its three red blades flashing.
Hidan laughed madly as he slashed himself again, each cut mirrored on the Divine Lord's body.
"Hurts, doesn't it? Regretting crossing the Jashin Cult?"
With those words, the Divine Lord vomited blood, convulsed, and collapsed. His body broke apart under his own curse.
Shigeo stepped forward to search the corpse—
but the man's tattoos burst to life, wrapping him in cursed markings.
The body twitched, absorbing natural chakra. A new cursed corpse was forming—the Divine Guardian Sect's final forbidden jutsu, possessed only by its leader.
This one was hundreds of times stronger than any puppet made from a lesser disciple.
Its skin glowed green, natural chakra crackling around it like lightning. The whole island trembled.
From their perch, Zetsu watched, horrified.
"Leave—he's going to explode!"
Indeed, the corpse swelled, rounder and brighter. Chakra beams shot from its wounds like jets of plasma.
The body was becoming a living bomb.
"It's going to blow!" Itachi shouted from above, standing on a disk of magnetic sand sustained by his Chōjūgan no Jutsu (Ultra-Light Rock Technique).
"BOOM!"
A blinding flash erupted. The corpse detonated; a column of chakra speared into the heavens, lighting the island as bright as day before everything shattered in a storm of flame.
The shockwave vaporized all—Divine Guardian and Jashinist alike.
Shigeo had already burrowed deep underground with Doton (Earth Release).
The ground shook violently for minutes before silence returned.
When the tremors faded, the barrier dispersed. The ghostly green fires guttered out, leaving only an ordinary island—its evil purged.
Shigeo followed a tunnel downward.
His steps echoed until he entered a vast chamber lit by faint luminous pearls.
There stood a colossal stone tablet—the lower half of Jūzō Ten-ten.
Cracks ran through it, threatening to collapse the whole cavern.
Ancient script covered the surface.
Shigeo skimmed quickly, memorizing every word.
Just as he thought—the true method of cultivation lay here.
The upper half warned of the Ten-Tails' danger; the lower half described the merging process and the divine powers gained by those who possessed the God-Tree's energy.
To awaken the Ten-Tails' power, one needed the Rinnegan—the ultimate dōjutsu of the Chakra Fruit—able to command all six chakra transformations and yin-yang creation.
It granted the authority of a creator god—and the power to annihilate all.
Strengthen it further, and it would evolve into the Rinne Sharingan, enabling Infinite Tsukuyomi, trapping the world in an eternal dream where the wielder could shape reality at will.
With enough chakra, one could even open Yomi no Hirasaka, crossing space and time freely and creating new realms.
Everything inscribed here described Ōtsutsuki Kaguya's abilities—exactly the goal Akatsuki would one day pursue.
Shigeo finally understood why the organization wanted the Divine Guardian Sect erased; they had known secrets the Five Great Nations never learned.
But even so, their knowledge had died with them.
The cavern quaked. The tablet split apart.
Using Kekkai Ikkō Kūkan Idō (Dimensional Transfer), Shigeo escaped as the cave collapsed.
He reappeared beside Itachi.
They exchanged a glance, then turned toward the Land of Hot Water.
Dawn broke.
At the border, Itachi stopped.
"If Akatsuki becomes unbearable," Shigeo said, "come to Nanmo. I'll give you a better life."
Itachi smiled faintly and shook his head. "No need."
With a few silent leaps, he vanished.
Their reunion had been brief—no time even for a drink.
Later, in a quiet town, Shigeo sat eating and drinking lazily when a shy young girl approached, clutching a small gift box.
"Big brother, this is for you," she said softly, set it on the table, and ran off.
Shigeo frowned.
That face—she looked like Haku of the Yuki Clan.
The realization hit him hard.
He leapt up, grabbed the box, and rushed out.
Damn it—how could he have forgotten something this important?
He didn't know the exact timing, but if he hurried, he might still make it.
A swirl of space—he vanished.
When he emerged again, he stood on the coast of the Land of Waves.
An island nation, and the site of what would become Team Kakashi's first famous mission—the battle that made Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura known to the world.
He didn't care about their fame.
What mattered was Haku—she couldn't die.
He might not be able to change Itachi's fate, but this one… he would change.
(End of Chapter)
[50 Power Stones = 1 Extra Chapter]
[10 Reviews = 5 Extra Chapter]
[Check out my Patreon to read 20+ chapters ahead]
[[email protected]/Zukooo]