Ch.124 The Real Body Arrives!

Among the endless waves of stone warriors, Uchiha Shinji sprinted forward, red light flashing wherever he passed, leaving a trail of shattered stone. In the gloomy forest, his figure seemed like a red streak darting through the stone warriors.

However, Shinji was far from as composed as he appeared.

In his mind, his 'Killing Intent Detection' continued to sound alarms, making it feel like everything around him was filled with hostility. This left him unable to distinguish which threats were truly fatal amidst the omnipresent killing intent.

Whoosh.

Another stone spear shot from his blind spot. This time, it was so close that he barely had time to react, tilting his head just in time to narrowly avoid it.

"Damn it!"

The enemy's overwhelming attacks dulled his sensory ability, making it impossible for him to anticipate threats in advance. After dodging a few more spears, Shinji leaped onto a large tree, panting heavily as he surveyed the surroundings.

Soon, he noticed faint battle sounds coming from ahead.

"Have they been intercepted?"

With a grim expression, Shinji flashed towards the sound.

Moments later, with a swift movement, Shinji landed in the middle of the scene.

He glanced around. Shion was sitting on the ground, terrified, while Sasuke lay nearby, his face covered in blood, unconscious and uncertain if he was alive. Neji was still fighting, but a stone spear had pierced his left shoulder, leaving only his right arm functional, and he was being overwhelmed by the stone warriors.

Fortunately, Kimimaro was still holding his ground, managing to keep most of the stone warriors away from Shion.

Seeing Shinji arrive, Neji shouted, "Shinji, hurry and heal Sasuke!"

Shinji rushed to Sasuke's side while asking, "How did you all get blocked off?"

Enduring the pain, Neji replied, "These stone warriors came out of nowhere and surrounded us. Sasuke tried to break through but was severely injured. Please, save him quickly! I'll cover you!"

Despite his injuries, Neji resolutely positioned himself in front of Shinji and Sasuke, preparing to defend them.

Shinji quickly assessed Sasuke's wounds. The most serious was a large gash on his abdomen, causing heavy blood loss. The other injuries were minor in comparison. He immediately began healing Sasuke's abdominal wound using medical ninjutsu and applied emergency bandages.

Sasuke groaned and regained consciousness, his face twisted in frustration. "Damn it, those stone warriors regenerate, no matter how many times we hit them!"

"You've lost too much blood. Rest for now," Shinji said, then turned to Shion, "Are you alright?"

But just as Shinji turned—

Whoosh!

From the shadows of the forest, a massive dark-purple tendril shot towards him with astonishing speed and ferocity.

No one had time to react, not even Neji, whose Byakugan was dulled by his exhaustion. Shinji's 'Killing Intent Detection,' overwhelmed by constant warnings, also failed to detect the attack, and the massive tendril struck him directly!

"Shinji!" the group cried out in horror.

Shion was frozen in shock.

Sasuke tried to get up but the pain from his abdominal wound made him collapse, his face contorted in agony.

Neji and Kimimaro tried to move to Shinji's aid, but the tendril was too fast. It coiled around Shinji, lifted him, and slammed him violently into the ground.

Boom!

The earth shook with the deafening impact, and the ground trembled.

Watching this, everyone was struck with despair. No one could survive such a brutal attack, and Shinji, still only an eight-year-old academy student, seemed doomed.

"No! No!" Shion snapped out of her stupor, rushing toward where Shinji had fallen.

Neji held her back, "Don't go!"

"Let me go!" Shion cried, struggling against Neji's grip.

Neji clenched his teeth, filled with sorrow.

"Damn it! Damn it! I'll kill you all!" Sasuke screamed in fury, his Sharingan evolving in that moment—his two-tomoe Sharingan turning into three-tomoe.

Kimimaro, after a brief moment of shock, returned to the battle, holding off the stone warriors to protect the others.

However, the truth was that Shinji hadn't been destroyed as everyone feared.

Though he had been struck by the tendril's sharp fangs and slammed into the ground, the bell charm Shion had given him activated at the moment of impact, forming a protective shield around him. As a result, neither the fangs nor the impact harmed him in the slightest.

Still, the blow had left him dazed. He looked at the monstrous fangs pressing against the shield and swallowed hard. "Was this the death foreseen in Shion's prophecy?"

Without the bell charm's protection, that surprise attack would have torn him apart before he could even react.

Fortunately, he had been prepared.

The tendril, unable to harm Shinji, slowly retracted into the shadows of the forest.

"Shinji!" Shion cried with relief when she saw that he was still alive.

Sasuke, Neji, and Kimimaro all felt a surge of hope.

Shinji jumped back to their side and said to Shion, "Thank you for the bell charm. Without it, I'd be dead by now."

Sasuke grinned weakly, "I knew you wouldn't die that easily!"

Noticing the fully developed three-tomoe Sharingan in Sasuke's eyes, Shinji raised an eyebrow, surprised that his near-death experience had triggered Sasuke's evolution.

But now wasn't the time to dwell on it. "We can't let our guard down yet," Shinji warned.

Neji, grim-faced, stared toward where the massive tendril had attacked from. "He's coming!"

Sure enough, the stone warriors parted, opening a path.

A figure emerged from the forest, stepping forward slowly. It was none other than the Yellow Springs Sect leader, who had earlier been impaled by Kakashi's Chidori.

Now, he looked terrifying—his chest a gaping hole, his body radiating a dark-purple chakra visible to the naked eye, with massive tendrils trailing behind him like a partially transformed jinchuriki.

"Monster!" the word echoed in the minds of Shinji and his comrades as they stared at him.

The Yellow Springs Sect leader smirked at Shion as he approached. "Do you see now? No one can stop our destiny!"

Shion recoiled in terror.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh.

Suddenly, kunai wrapped in explosive tags shot toward the Yellow Springs Sect leader from all directions.

Boom! Boom!

Explosions consumed the leader in a cloud of smoke and fire.

At the same time, Kakashi, Asuma, Kurenai, Yamashiro Aoba, and the other Hidden Leaf shinobi landed beside the group. They all looked battered, many of them injured, including Kakashi, who had a noticeable wound on his right leg.

As the smoke from the explosions cleared, the Yellow Springs Sect leader emerged unscathed, his Akatsuki cloak still intact.

"Pointless struggles," he sneered, sweeping his gaze over everyone. "None of you will leave here alive. I'll use your blood to celebrate my rebirth!"

Asuma, looking grim, muttered, "Can the prophecy really not be changed?"

Hearing Asuma mention the prophecy, both Sasuke and Neji's faces darkened.

They had thought they had already defied Shion's prophecy. But now, Asuma's words reminded them that the prophecy had yet to be broken.

"Is fate truly unchangeable?" Neji murmured, feeling all hope slipping away.

Sasuke shouted defiantly, "No way! I'm not dying here! Not until I've killed that person!" With newfound resolve, Sasuke charged at the Yellow Springs Sect leader, fully activating his newly evolved three-tomoe Sharingan.

He wanted to recreate the miracle that had allowed him to subdue the Nine-Tails in the village. He would defy fate and break Shion's death prophecy.

"Stop!" "Be careful!" "Damn it!"

Seeing Sasuke recklessly charging at the leader, Kakashi and Asuma cried out in alarm. But it was too late to stop him.

"What a foolish boy. If you're in such a hurry to die, I'll grant your wish!" the Yellow Springs Sect leader chuckled darkly as he raised his hand toward Sasuke.

In an instant, a massive dark-purple tendril shot toward Sasuke, its fangs gleaming.

Kshh! Kshh!

Kakashi and Asuma both acted, but they were too far away. The tendril was too fast, and they could only watch helplessly as it was about to tear Sasuke apart.

Shion squeezed her eyes shut in terror.

Neji screamed in panic.

Kimimaro lunged forward, drawing his spine as a weapon.

Shinji, too far away to intervene, could only watch.

Sasuke, staring at the sharp fangs on the tendril as it bore down on him, froze. In that moment, he realized how reckless his charge had been.

"Someone, save me!"

Regret flooded his heart, but it was too late. He could do nothing but watch as the fangs closed in.

Whoosh!

Just as the tendril was about to rip Sasuke to shreds, a figure suddenly appeared in front of him.

A golden light emanated from the figure, instantly transforming into the form of a massive skeletal giant.

The giant skeleton reached out with both hands, grabbing the dark-purple tendril and tearing it apart with a violent rip.

"What!?"

Everyone on the battlefield was stunned by this sudden turn of events. Even the arrogant Yellow Springs Sect leader was momentarily taken aback by the appearance of the skeletal giant.

All eyes turned toward the figure under the protection of the golden skeletal shadow.

The figure was dressed in an Akatsuki cloak with red clouds, but his outfit differed from the Yellow Springs Sect leader's. His cloak had a hood that obscured his face, giving him an air of mystery.

There was no doubt now—this newly arrived figure was none other than Uchiha Shinji himself, in the flesh.

The Shinji that had been accompanying the group all along was merely a shadow clone. He had left the group days earlier, using the battle against the black-robed shinobi as a cover to secretly go into hiding and complete the fusion of his Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan.

The shadow clone Shinji had left behind had been conserving chakra over the past few days, fighting only when necessary and avoiding unnecessary confrontations. Shinji knew that the key to breaking Shion's death prophecy lay in unlocking the full power of his Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan.

And now, just in time for the prophesied calamity, Shinji had completed the fusion and returned to the battlefield.

Standing under the protection of the golden skeletal giant, Sasuke blinked in confusion. "You… Who are you?"

Shinji turned his head slightly to glance at Sasuke, noticing that his Sharingan had fully evolved into three-tomoe. He raised an eyebrow, somewhat surprised.

As Sasuke met Shinji's gaze, he could see the strange, mesmerizing glow of the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan beneath Shinji's mask. His shock deepened. "You… You have the Mangekyo Sharingan? But how… how do you have the Uchiha clan's Mangekyo Sharingan?"

"Heh," Shinji chuckled softly, then activated his Susanoo fully. He effortlessly tossed Sasuke aside, sending him flying back into the formation with the other Leaf shinobi.

Kakashi hurried forward to catch Sasuke. After ensuring Sasuke was safe, Kakashi's gaze locked onto Shinji. He recognized that masked figure. During the battle in the town's main street, it was this very individual who had easily dispatched two elite shinobi before vanishing without a trace.

However, Kakashi couldn't tell whether Shinji was friend or foe. Why had he saved Sasuke?

Meanwhile, Neji and Kimimaro rushed to Sasuke's side, pulling him back to safety. But Sasuke's eyes never left Shinji's back. He muttered to himself, "That… That's the Mangekyo Sharingan! The Uchiha clan's Mangekyo Sharingan!"

In another corner of the battlefield, Shion stared at Shinji in disbelief. When she saw the golden skeletal giant protecting Shinji, something deep within her memory stirred. The memories Shinji had sealed within her mind suddenly resurfaced.

Fragments of forgotten memories flooded back into her consciousness, and she remembered everything.

Dazed, Shion glanced toward the shadow clone of Shinji still in the group and whispered under her breath, "Shinji, is that really you?"

The shadow clone Shinji, still among the group, could only offer a wry smile and sigh. "So the seal broke again?"