Chapter 363: Waking Up as an Otsutsuki
Memory's final frame still remained at joining hands with Uchiha Sasuke, using that absurdly long-named Rasengan to thoroughly devour Otsutsuki Urashiki, leaving the battlefield.
Naruto's vision gradually became clear. First entering view was an unfamiliar ceiling.
Why... am I lying in bed?
He felt bewildered. Battle ended? Did he collapse from exhaustion? Shouldn't be possible.
Immediately after, an extremely strange, impossible-to-ignore abnormal sensation transmitted from his right eye's position.
Not pain but rather... a foreign energy source stuffed there, continuously consuming considerable chakra uncontrollably with awkward feeling.
Though temporarily causing no harm, it continuously drew his energy, bringing physiological discomfort.
Naruto frowned. Almost the instant his mind turned, wanting to "close" this meaningless consumption—
That continuous chakra extraction sensation surprisingly truly stopped abruptly! The foreign energy source's "idle running" halted.
In the ward, originally falling into dead silence due to Naruto's right eye's bizarre change, everyone was full of confusion and vigilance observing those heterochromatic pupils—left blue, right black-gold. Especially that eye emanating nonhuman golden radiance with pitch-black base.
Even well-traveled Jiraiya, walking the shinobi world for years, had never seen such peculiar eye pupils.
However, just as they were shocked and doubtful, something even more unexpected occurred.
Naruto's just-opened, still-confused black-base golden-pupil right eye—the heterochromia rapidly faded! Recovering to normal eye.
Naruto himself also felt his eye's change but was more confused why others were all staring at him with shocked yet complex gazes.
"...Are you... Naruto?"
A voice carrying probing, worry, and lingering fear carefully rang out, breaking the ward's bizarre atmosphere.
Uzumaki Kushina walked forward half a step, azure eyes similar to Naruto's tightly locking onto him, wanting to confirm whether this awakened person was still her familiar son.
"Huh? Why ask such a question?"
Naruto was even more baffled by this question. He propped himself up sitting.
"What happened? Why am I here?" Naruto's voice carried just-awakened hoarseness, but tone and demeanor were no different from usual.
This most natural reaction was like the most effective cardiac stimulant, instantly injecting into all who cared for him.
Obvious, successive relieved exhales sounded in the ward.
Uchiha Satsuki, closest to Naruto—hearing his familiar voice—that massive boulder hanging in her heart finally thunderously fell.
Next instant, she stepped forward, extending arms, tightly, using all her body's strength embracing just-sat-up Naruto!
Naruto was momentarily stunned by this sudden embrace but feeling the girl's body's slight trembling in his arms, immediately understood—something extremely terrible must have occurred during his coma, making her worry.
He instinctively raised his hand, patting Satsuki's back, using this method silently comforting her.
Nearby, Uzumaki Boruto watched this world's "master" tightly embracing another "Dad" scene. But more than this, he cared about that fleeting glimpse's mutation just now.
He quietly moved near Uchiha Sasuke, lowering voice. "Sasuke-san... that eye just now..."
Sasuke's voice was low. "Yes. Though color differs... it's very similar to your power."
At this moment, Naruto—just comforting Satsuki, still striving to recall and clarify the situation—suddenly heard from his heart's depths a voice filled with terror and hysteria.
"No—!! Now... what exactly... is this situation?! Reincarnation... succeeded?! Why... why am I still trapped here?!"
This voice was somewhat familiar... Otsutsuki Urashiki.
---
After comprehensive, detailed hospital examination confirming Naruto's bodily functions, chakra circulation, even mental fluctuations were basically stable—aside from that mysterious black diamond-shaped mark and unknown eye change—no other obvious hidden dangers, Naruto hadn't even properly spoken with his mother when he was "forcefully" "borrowed" by Uchiha Sasuke, brought to that relatively secluded forest outside Konoha Village.
Kushina obviously had countless questions and worries wanting to communicate with her son, but Jiraiya seemed to understand something. He blocked Kushina wanting to follow, only saying one sentence: "Remember to bring Naruto back intact later."
The village currently also existed in chaotic rebuilding period. Evacuated villagers needed orderly guidance returning and comforting. All entrances required strict inspection, screening spies possibly infiltrating during chaos or attempting intelligence leaks.
...However, that previous mythological-level battle practically staged at village gates—wanting to completely conceal news was nearly impossible.
In the forest, far from village's commotion, Naruto finally had time settling down, facing drastic changes occurring to himself.
When he spread his palm open, seeing that palm-center dark profound black diamond-shaped mark, he also understood what happened to himself.
He... almost... got body-snatched?!
Intense lingering fear made him involuntarily shiver. But immediately surging afterward was gratitude toward parents and Kurama.
At most critical moment, they fought desperately in his consciousness's deepest depths, successfully sealing and isolating that invader.
According to Minato's explanation, Urashiki's power had forcibly completed fusion with his own body, but Urashiki's soul, personality, and consciousness were thoroughly confined by Eight Trigrams Seal.
Now existing like prisoner within himself... his body interior was truly becoming increasingly "lively." Naruto couldn't help finding humor in adversity, self-deprecating.
That lingering fear hadn't completely subsided when he "heard" from heart's depths Urashiki's desperate, collapsed, unwilling mad screams.
However, this noise was quickly forcibly "suppressed" by Kurama—as for what "gentle" methods Nine-Tails used making Urashiki shut up, Naruto had no interest.
"Now, try controlling that eye appearing just now." Uchiha Sasuke interrupted Naruto's thoughts. They currently stood at a clear lake's edge. Boruto and insisting-on-following, currently standing tightly at Naruto's side Uchiha Satsuki were also present. Everyone's gazes focused on Naruto.
Naruto nodded, concentrating attention on his right eye. A sensation like accessing some new "organ" came awkwardly, but he could feel this access wasn't forcible driving but more like... granted permission.
With slight mental movement—right eye suddenly changed!
Originally clear blue faded. Eye white transformed to pitch black, while pupil became golden—identical to the state unconsciously revealed when awakening earlier.
Naruto lowered his head, using mirror-calm lake surface clearly seeing his current reflection. Left eye azure as usual, right eye this bizarre black-base golden pupil.
...Though heterochromia was pretty cool, Naruto felt he'd passed his chuunibyou phase.
Not like Rinnegan, similar but not Boruto's Jougan either...
"How is it? Feel any abnormality? Any discomfort or rejection?"
Sasuke repeatedly asked, carefully observing Naruto's every expression change and chakra flow.
"...Yes, controlling it... no obstacles, like using my own eyes."
Naruto carefully sensed, then face showed an expression mixing novelty, strangeness, and incredulity. Though situation was dangerous, for Naruto, he just awakened with powerful cheat ability.
"Should be... used like this?"
Naruto uncertainly said. Golden pupil radiance in his right eye suddenly intensified!
Next moment, at his gaze-directed midair, space quietly tore open a crack! Crack rapidly expanded, forming a bottomlessly deep pitch-black portal interior!
Precisely the Blood Limit Snare-level space-time ninjutsu Otsutsuki Urashiki once used—[Yomotsu Hirasaka]!
Just as everyone's attention was completely attracted by Naruto's newly gained ability, no one noticed—at distant concealed cliff rock shadow—a bizarre creature with half pitch-black, half deathly pale color—Black Zetsu—eyes filled with shock and fear, deadly staring at that lakeside golden-haired youth opening heterochromatic eyes, activating Yomotsu Hirasaka.
Afterward Black Zetsu dared not linger, figure soundlessly rapidly escaped underground, vanishing without trace.