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Chapter 24 — Shinnō's Not Dead?
On the blood-soaked floor, Shinnō's severed head suddenly twitched.
His sclera sank in with a soft snap, and the once-dilated pupils rolled back to center—like time reversing itself.
The lifeless dullness in his eyes faded, replaced by the glimmer of consciousness, of life.
Reflected within those pupils was Konan's back, as though some ghost from hell had clawed its way up to silently stare at her.
The stiff mouth of the "corpse" closed on its own. His wrinkled, blood-smeared face twisted—grotesque, horrifying.
He… was alive again. Or perhaps—he had never truly died.
At that moment, both Konan and Alex were facing forward, preparing to search the Flying Fortress for scrolls and data. Neither was paying attention to Shinnō's body behind them.
But something—a spark of intuition, perhaps instinct—made Alex glance back.
That single glance nearly made his paper body tremble.
Those lifeless eyes were now glaring straight at him—sharp, venomous.
What the—!? His head's off, body crushed, and he's still alive? Alex thought in shock.
Luckily, Konan was surrounded by layers upon layers of floating white paper; Shinnō didn't seem to notice him.
The old man's cheeks swelled suddenly. From between his tightly closed lips leaked thin strands of black light, writhing like sinister threads.
Alex instantly understood—he was preparing a sneak attack!
There was no time to shout a warning. He seized control of the surrounding paper, sending part of it to shove Konan aside while the rest hardened into dozens of three-inch blades that darted toward Shinnō.
"Discovered already!?" Shinnō's eyes flashed in surprise, but he didn't hesitate. His chakra surged, releasing at blinding speed.
Whoosh!
He opened his mouth wide and unleashed a jet of pure black energy—a beam of shadow chakra that tore through the air straight toward Konan.
The blast reached her in an instant, aiming directly at her right side.
But the split-second shove from Alex had already alerted her to danger. Without knowing what was happening, she instinctively followed the momentum, vanishing from her spot with the Body Flicker Technique.
The black beam grazed through the space where she had stood, missing by a hair.
In the air, several paper blades were consumed by the black energy, falling lifelessly to the floor.
Their pure white surfaces yellowed, darkened, and finally turned to brittle ash.
The floor was littered with holes and small heaps of black dust.
Alex stared at the aftermath, his paper form trembling slightly. Good thing I moved when I did… one touch from that and I'd be gone for good.
Konan's Paper Release could resist water and fire and was impervious to most physical attacks.
But against this—whatever this black, unknown chakra was—her defenses meant nothing. The paper burned, weakened, and crumbled like ordinary parchment.
Konan landed lightly, her expression tightening when she saw the damaged papers scattered on the floor.
Her orange eyes narrowed sharply.
Without hesitation, she moved to Alex's side, cupping him close to her chest in a protective motion.
Her heart pounded—half fear, half fury.
Only now, seeing those ruined sheets, did she realize how close that attack had come.
It wasn't fear for herself that filled her—it was the terror of losing him.
Just one instant slower, and Alex would've been gone—along with her final hope, her last companion in this world.
Pressing him firmly to her chest, Konan whispered no words, but Alex understood.
—Go back. Stay inside.
He didn't argue. Without hesitation, he merged into her heartspace, retreating beneath her cloak.
That beam… whatever it was, it could destroy him in an instant. Staying hidden was the only safe choice.
Once she felt him secure, Konan's gaze lifted—cold as ice, her fury barely contained.
Before her, Shinnō's body was… changing.
From the severed neck poured a stream of writhing black light, like a river of darkness. It stretched outward, connecting his head to his headless torso several meters away.
He grinned, his laugh hoarse and maddened.
"White Tiger! I told you—you can't kill me!"
"Now, I'll show you the power of the Zero-Tails! The power of the ultimate body!"
His laughter rose higher, unhinged and gleeful, as his dismembered body and head began slowly fusing back together under the flow of black chakra.
Konan's eyes flashed coldly. She didn't bother replying.
Instead, she raised her arm.
Hundreds of Exploding Tags burst from her cloak, swarming around Shinnō's reforming body.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The underground chamber filled with thunderous explosions. Flames engulfed him, and the shockwave rattled the steel beneath their feet.
A searing mushroom cloud of fire and smoke blossomed upward.
Shinnō's mad laughter was drowned in the roar.
Alex, from within Konan's chest, grimaced. If he doesn't have something like Izanagi, that's gotta finish him. No "ultimate body" can take thousands of tags at once.
In the original story, Shinnō's so-called "enhancements" weren't anything special—but this world was no movie. He couldn't be sure what the old man had achieved.
Both of them stared toward the raging inferno at the chamber's center.
The light was blinding, the heat suffocating.
For a moment, it seemed all sound and life had been consumed.
Then—silence.
Konan stood unmoving, a statue amid the flickering embers, waiting for the smoke to clear.
But just as she and Alex focused on the blast zone, a sound came—from behind them.
Crack… crack…
At the far end of the hall, the sealed pool began to stir.
Like a sarcophagus, the entire basin was wrapped in ten thick layers of Konan's paper—completely encased when she had first subdued it.
Now, the smooth white surface bulged.
Something inside was pushing—trying to break free.
Konan's expression hardened instantly. She felt it before she even turned.
Alex's voice flared in ink upon her paper.
[Not good! The Zero-Tails—it's reacting! Shinnō's controlling it! He's not dead!!]