His mouth fell open in a silent scream as the newly perfected [Rasengan] struck him, instantly vaporizing him. But the technique didn't stop there—it kept flying forward, slamming into the cliff face of the canyon and shattering it completely, causing the entire gorge to collapse.
A massive cloud of dust exploded into the sky, visible from kilometers away.
Naruto stared at the destruction caused by his new technique. He still had his right hand clamped tightly over his eye, his Shadow Clone had disappeared, and his left arm hung limply at his side.
Dust hung thick in the air as Naruto's breath came in ragged gasps. He stumbled toward a nearby boulder, sat down, and buried his face in his hands, trying to steady himself.
Earlier, he'd told Deidara that against absolute strength, he was practically helpless…at least, without paying a terrible price, there was no way to defeat him.
As a Jinchuriki, he truly was a walking target, but at least that meant they couldn't kill him. And he shouldn't have held back. The bastard crossed the line. No matter what kind of side effects this technique brought him, he had to die.
Lifting his head, Naruto cried out in pain, his voice echoing through the canyon.
"Naruto-senpai!"
Maki and her ink bird landed near Naruto. She hadn't even had time to assess the battlefield before she was startled by his appearance.
"What happened? Who did this to you?"
"Deidara," Naruto replied, struggling to keep his tone calm so Maki wouldn't panic. "It's over, Maki. I won. He won't be coming back." He tilted his chin toward the other side of the canyon, which now lay in ruins.
Maki's hands began glowing with light as she used [Medical Ninjutsu] to examine his injuries.
Her hands moved across his body, stopping finally beside his cheek.
His hand still pressed tightly over his eye, blood leaked between his fingers.
"Naruto-senpai…" she whispered softly. She lowered her head, clearly unable to accept what she was seeing. "Please… please take your hand away."
"Just a minor injury," Naruto said casually, trying to sound relaxed. "Old problem. It'll heal. It always does."
"Take your…hand away," she said firmly, raising her gaze again, her voice trembling with emotion. "Please, Naruto-senpai…please take your hand away…"
Frowning slightly, Naruto sighed and slowly removed his right hand from his right eye.
The scar that had marked him for years remained clearly visible…but his right eye was missing—and it hadn't healed at all.
When Deidara's clone exploded in front of him, the mask shattered.
That mask had been extremely durable—supposedly strong enough to survive an [Explosive Tag] blast—but under those circumstances, it had still broken apart, and all the fragments had struck Naruto directly in the face.
At the moment of the explosion, the mask shattered into countless hard pieces, tearing into his face. Most of the wounds would heal on their own if left alone, but a shard had struck his right eye directly, shattering it beyond repair.
Maki cupped Naruto's face, tears brimming in her eyes:
"It's all my fault... Blame me again. I left you alone again when you needed help, and this happened! It's all my fault—!"
"It's not your fault!" Naruto shouted, cutting her off. "It's not your fault... Deidara found me and we fought. I got hurt, that's all. This isn't anyone's fault. If you have to blame someone, blame me."
Maki nodded, holding back her tears. She couldn't cry—Root members don't cry.
"Nine-Tails—?"
"Nine-Tails can't regrow the organs I've lost," Naruto said coldly, shattering her last sliver of hope. "My eye is gone. It won't come back."
He shook his head.
"Heal me, Maki. We still need to catch up to Sasuke or Itachi. We can't have come this far for nothing."
Maki stared at him as if he were a monster.
"Do you really want to fight?" she nearly shouted. "How could you possibly beat them? That's Itachi! And Sasuke defeated Orochimaru too! I know you said you could do it too, Naruto-senpai, and I believe you, but in your current state, Sasuke will beat you too! Why are you still going after them?"
"I made a promise to someone," Naruto replied firmly. "I don't make promises lightly, Maki, because I hate being tied down by them. But this time is different. I had no choice but to make that promise. I must retrieve the sacred sword from Kiri. And besides, I can still fight."
Maki slapped him across the face:
"They'll kill you! Itachi won't care that you're injured! Sasuke won't care either! Kisame will come for you like a shark smelling blood! They don't care about you like I do! Good grief, your eye..."
Maki burst into tears. He had never seen Maki cry before—he didn't even know if Root members cried.
"Don't cry, Maki," Naruto said after a few moments. "I'm still alive. I won't die. I just lost one eye—it's not a big deal. I'll be fine." Maki slowly stopped crying. "There, there. Don't fall apart over something like this."
"I know..."
She choked back sobs, then lifted her head to look at him, took a step back, wiped away her tears, and tried to steady herself.
"Alright, let's begin. You still have a mission to complete."
With that, she began performing hand seals to heal him.
"Do you really think you can face the Sharingan with just one eye?"
She fell silent suddenly, knowing there was no point in saying more.
Naruto had already made up his mind. She could see it. Ever since he decided to go after the Uchiha clan, he had already considered this very issue.
"I have no other choice... Either face one of Konoha's strongest ninja with one eye, or fight with two eyes—one housing a power I can't control."
"Naruto-senpai."
"Maki called out again, trying to snap him out of it. 'If you're going to make a move, do it now! We're running out of time. I'll patch you up, but you've got to move fast.'"
Naruto gave a silent nod, and Maki began treating him, hoping to get him battle-ready as soon as possible.
Far away on a mountaintop, a man clad in an Akatsuki uniform and wearing a swirling mask rose from beneath the earth. His body was split—half black, half white.
"Looks like the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki has picked up another new trick. Leader will definitely find this interesting." With that, he vanished back into the ground.
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