Shisui floated in the sea of fragments, locked between moments. His body refused to move. His voice wouldn't answer him. The only thing he had left was thought.
The dome of fractured space around Naruto and Bernkastel shimmered, muting their conversation but never hiding the weight of it. Two beings speaking like they had lived entire eras before this world even formed. Shisui watched them in terror and awe.
They know me, he thought. Not just now… like they've met me before. Like my existence is something they've already seen a dozen times.
The idea made his stomach twist.
Bernkastel's tone earlier replayed in his mind. So casual. So cruel. Like the Uchiha clan's doom was already written .
Massacred… by who? And how does she know that?
He strained to move a finger. Nothing.
That girl … she could erase me on a whim. Just blink, and I'm gone.
Shisui's breath hitched in his frozen throat. I need to get out. I need to warn someone. Anyone. His mind clawed at the edges of the fragment sea, desperate. But how? I can't move. I can't speak. I can't even blin—
The dome shattered.
Fragments scattered like glass across an invisible floor as Naruto stepped out, cracking his neck once before clenching his fist. His presence felt heavier—older—closer to whatever he'd once been.
Bernkastel watched him with detached amusement. "So? How does it feel? Returning to… a stronger version of yourself."
Naruto rolled his shoulder. "Only one of my fragments is back. The rest?" He tapped his chest lightly. "You scattered them across my world."
Bernkastel toyed with a loose strand of her steel-blue hair. "I did more than scatter them. I rigged the whole game to give you the last one you lost—The Fifth Blessing: Memory Harvest. If anyone should be thanking anyone…it's you, Naruto. For receiving something so absurd."
Naruto's grin sharpened. "Of course. That blessing is a game changer."
A quiet thought slipped through him. Ten percent. I'm finally back to at least ten percent. And every fragment I find from now on… stacks. Multiplies. Until I reach my original state again.
Bernkastel crossed her arms, satisfied. "As you requested, I gave you what you asked for. Every fragment you recover will intensify your strength… and bring you closer to what you desire most—freedom from me."
Naruto tapped his cane lightly, unimpressed. "Restrictive freedom, not full. But I admit—what I uncover will benefit my endgame. And by default, your Foundation too, Bern."
Bernkastel's form began to dissipate—her presence here only a projection sculpted by the fragments themselves. As her outline flickered, she gave one last glance at him, voice dripping with amused affection. "Don't forget our deal, Naruto. Finish this task… and you'll receive every reward you wanted."
Naruto answered with a cold "Hmph."
Bernkastel's ribbontail twitched as she smirked. "I should've never taken you in when you died as a child in that snowstorm… but the idea of a toy biting her owner's hand is far too exciting."
With that, Bernkastel dispersed into drifting fragments, leaving only Naruto and Shisui suspended in the aftermath.
Naruto snapped his fingers.
The bindings around Shisui evaporated. Gravity returned. Air flooded back into his lungs.
Shisui dropped to his knees, coughing hard, chest heaving like someone who'd been held underwater.
Naruto stood over him, gaze lowered, cane in hand.
I can feel it. Weirdmageddon's radius just hit six hundred meters. That fifth blessing is inside me. Finally. I've got options again. Break the world barrier. Shake hands. Collect fragments. I'm climbing back to my original state much more faster .
Shisui wiped his mouth, breath ragged, still shaken by the sea of fragments he'd been trapped inside. "What the hell are you, Naruto? And who was that woman?" His voice cracked with something rare for an ANBU—fear. "She talked like she knows the Uchiha clan's future.
Naruto turned his head slightly, eye half-lidded. "Have you ever had a dream, Shisui?"
Shisui blinked. "What?"
Naruto said, "Think of all this as a bad fucking dream you had, "You wake up. Everything's fine."
Shisui's breath shook. "That's not an answer. I am a shinobi of Konoha, and I have the right—"
Naruto's irritation snapped.
The Nightmare Realm poured from his body like a living shadow, distorting the entire dimension around them. The fragment-sea warped, horizons bending, gravity twisting sideways, colors splitting into impossible spectrums. Shisui froze mid-breath as the world itself recoiled.
Naruto stepped forward once, cane tapping against nothing, voice cold.
"You did help me . That little trick—using Kotoamatsukami to tweak my brain—I knew your plan. Make me a nice little 'goody two shoes.' And I used it anyway. For my benefit. To weaken my connection with Bern."
He tapped his temple lightly.
"For that, you have my thanks. But I also saved your life from my step sister's grasp. She is not the type to let things slide."
Shisui wanted to step back. His legs wouldn't move.
Naruto continued, tone flattening into something almost instructional.
"And before you even think Konoha can counter Bern…"
He snapped his fingers. The fragment-sea cracked open, showing glimpses—worlds collapsing, universes falling like dominoes, entire timelines erased with lazy, effortless cruelty.
Naruto pointed at one of the collapsing realities.
"Here's a cruel example you can understand: Konoha controls land. Big land ."
"My step sister? She owns worlds. Millions of them. And she can crush them with her bare hands."
The images faded back into the sea of fragments. Naruto's eye dimmed to normal again as the Nightmare pressure receded, the dimension stabilizing.
Naruto looked at Shisui with the calm of someone who had just shown a truth far above human scale. "Compared to her… Konoha isn't a village. It's dust."
The nightmare realm folded away in a single breath, colors snapping back into normal reality. Naruto brushed his sleeve once.
"Come on. Let's go home. Mortals shouldn't stay in higher dimensions for too long."
He began walking toward the collapsing edge of the fragment sea—
but Shisui's voice stopped him. "...Naruto."
Shisui's tone trembled,. "What is Konoha to you? Just now… the way you looked at everything here… you don't even differentiate us from ants. So why not just invade our world?."
Naruto didn't turn around immediately.
Then he did—slowly—eye faintly gleaming with the quiet, cosmic annoyance of someone who had debated gods and monsters, not humans.
"Ooh, that's a luxury question," Naruto said. "Why I—Naruto, co-head of the Foundation—didn't glass your world to dust?"
"Simple. I needed a refuge. A place to breathe while avoiding Bern's leash. And you? You're convenient . Mutual benefit, Shisui."
His tone stayed almost casual, but Shisui felt the pressure behind it like a mountain leaning forward.
"You don't get in my way," Naruto continued, "and I won't pulverize yours."
Naruto lifted his cane, tapping it lightly against the fractured ground.
"And one more thing. I prefer you keep everything that happened here inside your head. Don't spread a single word. Belief has power. If people start believing what's out there… it becomes a catalyst."
Shisui swallowed. "A… catalyst for what?"
Naruto's answer came with a small, humorless smirk. "For Bern to manifest her armies in your world ."
Time snapped forward.
The frozen world of fragments dissolved, folding back into the familiar noise of the academy training ground. Leaves rustled. Dust shifted. Students blinked back into motion, unaware that entire impossibilities had just passed.
Only Shisui moved differently. His Mangekyō Sharingan was locked on Naruto but before he could speak,
Naruto headbutted him.
Shisui stumbled back, clutching his forehead.
Itachi stepped in instantly. "Shisui. Did it work? Your technique."
Shisui leaned close and whispered through clenched teeth, "No. It didn't. Naruto is immune to every type of genjutsu." His voice dropped even lower. "And I just confirmed Kotoamatsukami didn't work at all."
Naruto twirled his cane once and grinned at the stunned field. "Wowww. Looks like I just defeated two ANBU. A kid taking down Konoha's elite—exciting, right folks?"
The field stayed silent, the kind of silence that dropped straight into the bones. No cheering came.. Not even a gasp slipped out; the entire class just stared at him like he was a natural disaster wearing a human shape.
Hinata was the only exception—face bright red, shoulders tight. She lifted her hand in a tiny, trembling thumbs-up..
Naruto blinked once at Hinata's shy thumbs-up. Then smirked and slipped his gloves back on, swinging the cloak over his shoulders in one smooth motion. "Guess we're done. Thanks for watching the Naruto Show. Hope the reviews are nice."
On the benches, Sasuke's jaw tightened. The only show I saw was you kicking my idol brother's ass and beating two ANBU in front of everyone.
Shisui stepped forward despite the lingering ache in his ribs and extended a hand. "A promise is a promise, Naruto. I lost. I offer my handshake. Isn't that what you wanted? You were looking for a handshake with someone."
Naruto tilted his head, eye narrowing with that amused cruelty. "Hmm. Testing the waters now?"
Shisui kept his hand out, steady. "I don't go back on my word."
Naruto laughed once under his breath. "Please. I don't need cheap handshakes from losers."
A ripple ran through the benches. Small gasps. A few stunned whispers.
Sasuke's jaw tightened, irritation burning through him. To him we shinobi… mean nothing.
Itachi stepped forward. "Isn't that what you wanted? A handshake—like the one you offer my brother?"
Naruto's smirk deepened, already reading the intent behind Itachi's question. He knew exactly what Itachi was hinting at—the meaning of Naruto's blue-flame handshake.
"Fighting you both is more than enough," Naruto said. "And like I told you, I have other matters to handle."
Black jack cards began orbiting him, swirling in a tight spiral as the teleport prepared.
He tapped his cane lightly. "Still… today's haul turned out pretty good. So I'll humor you two. If time aligns with me, I'll visit sandaime ."
Shisui blinked. "You will?"
Naruto tilted his head, voice carrying a lazy edge. "Do you want me to or not? From your tone… sounds like you want me gone."
Shisui shifted immediately. "Instead of that… another surprise would follow if I brought you to the Sandaime. So how about this—come to the Uchiha compound tonight."
The benches reacted at once.
Ino leaned forward, whispering fast. "Isn't that a crazy privilege? Invited into the strongest clan just like that?"
Sakura's fists tightened. It's supposed to be me, not Naruto-baka.
Neji's eyes narrowed. The Uchiha cast aside their pride… are they trying to recruit someone like him?
Mizuki suddenly stood, voice loud and shaky. "You serious, Shisui-san? The rumors about Naruto being a demon child—now he calls himself a demon lord-wannabe on top of that. Are you sure—"
Itachi's glare cut through him like a blade. Mizuki not speak further .
Shisui continued as if nothing happened. "Well? What do you say, Naruto? We'll give you a warm welcome. At least in your terms. Someone who just kicked Great Shisui's butt into the dirt deserves that much."
Naruto rubbed a thumb along the Masamune's hilt. "If things today turn out like I want… and the haul I expect is good… I might reconsider." He pointed lazily with the cane. "Also— you, Itachi, and that emo brother of yours."
Sasuke's face twitched. A kunai flew at Naruto out of reflex. It warped midair and imploded from inside out, scattering dust like shrapnel. Sasuke clicked his tongue. "Tch. Always some trick."
Naruto's smile sharpened. "You three are good guys. But let me give you a piece of advice." He lifted the cane just slightly, cards swirling. "Life is a marathon. And for now? Self-preservation is priority."
Black jack cards erupted around him in a tight spiral. The air folded. And in a blink—Naruto vanished, dispersed into swirling cards that flickered out like snuffed embers.