Location: Hidden ROOT Complex – Undisclosed
Time: Simultaneous to Team 7's advance
---
Danzo Shimura stood in silence beneath the cracked stone of a forgotten ROOT facility.
Before him floated a sealed capsule, covered in hundreds of talismans and chakra-stabilizing rings. The room pulsed with containment fields.
> "Uchiha Kaizen," Danzo murmured, his voice like gravel dragged across bone, "was not meant to survive this long."
A masked agent approached.
> "Phase One failed. The subject achieved partial synchronization with the Bahdrakorr entity."
Danzo turned to the sarcophagus.
> "Then we proceed to Phase Two. Activate Project: RAIJIN VERTEX."
The ROOT agent hesitated.
> "But sir… that would risk—"
> "Do it. Before the forest becomes a second Jinchūriki."
---
🔥 Meanwhile – Forest of Death: Central Ember Zone
Status: Wyrmsoul Influence Containment: Initiated
---
The earth groaned under our feet.
More trees had blackened. Leaves now shimmered with metallic veins. Chakra-sensitive moss had begun speaking—mimicking words we had said earlier in the day, repeating them like haunted echoes.
I could feel it all happening.
Every step I took, the dragon in me radiated.
If this kept up, the forest would be permanently altered—and I wasn't going to let that happen.
---
> "System," I whispered internally.
"I need control. Give me chakra dampening. Something to suppress Wyrmsoul flare."
---
> [Enhancement System – Available Points: 13]
✅ Chakra Suppression Node: [LOCKED]
> Unlock for 5 Points? Y/N
> ✅ Wyrmsoul Stability Engine: [LOCKED]
> Allows isolation of spiritual chakra from environmental bleed
Unlock for 6 Points? Y/N
> ✅ Flame Regulation Pathway: [LOCKED]
> Decreases ambient temperature caused by passive aura
Unlock for 2 Points? Y/N
---
> "Unlock all three," I said without hesitation.
---
> [Points Spent: 13] – Remaining: 0]
> Enhancements Activated: Suppression Node, Stability Engine, Flame Regulator
I gasped slightly.
A pressure valve opened within me.
For the first time since Bahdrakorr awakened… the world around me went still.
---
The trees stopped whispering.
The flame beneath my skin calmed.
And the Forest of Death… exhaled.
---
> "What did you do?" Sakura asked, eyes wide.
> "I turned the fire inward," I said. "No more bleed. No more corruption. I'm done scarring the world just by breathing."
Naruto grinned. "Now that's cool control."
Sasuke remained quiet, but he looked… impressed.
---
Then—
The ground shook.
Not from me.
From something else.
---
> [System Alert – Incoming Threat Detected]
ROOT Weapon Signature – Approaching from North Quadrant
> Classification: Forbidden Construct
Codename: Raijin Vertex – Hybrid Chakra Predator
---
Trees splintered in the distance.
Chakra signatures vanished.
Screams were muffled… then snuffed.
Something huge was coming.
And it wasn't just hunting me.
It was designed for me.
Status: Suppression Mode Active – Wyrmsoul Flare: 4%
Location: Forest of Death – Ember Suppression Zone
Time Until Tower Lock Opens: 41 Hours
---
The trees began to tremble—not from chakra overload… but from fear.
Even the corrupted branches recoiled, retracting unnaturally as if pulled back by ancient instincts.
Naruto's smile dropped. "Wha… what is that?"
> "It's not a summon," I said softly.
"It's something made."
The chakra was unnatural.
Artificial.
Designed to feed off power.
---
> [System Alert – Anomalous Chakra Detected]
> Type: Synthetic Predator-Class Construct
Threat to Host: EXTREME
Direct Conflict Will Disable Suppression Mode
---
I clenched my fist.
> "If I fight… the forest burns again."
> "And if you don't?" Sasuke asked.
The answer arrived before I could speak.
---
A beam of lightning cut through the trees, searing a 100-foot path in a single breath.
From the smoke emerged something inhuman.
---
Vertex.
A humanoid shell made of blackened alloy, interwoven with preserved tendons and sealer ink.
Its face was a white mask split vertically, with a jagged red kanji:
> "Cut."
Its chest glowed with harvested chakra—a living battery core.
Inside it, I could feel fragments of Kurata, Uchiha, and something… worse.
> "Danzo fed it our stolen bloodlines," I growled.
The Raijin Vertex turned its head sharply, locking onto me.
Then it spoke—without a voice.
Just intent, transmitted through the air like pressure:
> TARGET: UCHIHA KZ-N | ABERRANT ENTITY | INITIATING DRAIN PROTOCOL.
---
It blurred.
Faster than Lee.
Faster than Kakashi.
It appeared before me in a blink, palm pressed to my chest, and my body went numb.
---
> [Wyrmsoul Drain: 3%... 5%... 9%...]
> "Tch—he's draining my soulfire!"
---
Sasuke attacked from behind—Flame Bullet, an incomplete version he'd been practicing in secret.
But the Vertex caught it midair, and redirected it into the ground. The explosion blew dirt everywhere.
Naruto charged in, mutishadow colne forming sloppily.
But the Vertex responded with a chakra negation pulse—snuffing it out like a candle.
---
It turned back to me.
Still draining.
---
> "System," I whispered through clenched teeth. "Reroute Enhancement points to Emergency Protocol. I need offensive override—now!"
---
> [Confirmed – Overriding Suppression Mode for 60 seconds]
> Enhancement Boost Engaged – Ember Overrun
---
My flame reignited.
The forest groaned as my Wyrmsoul cloak flared back to life, twisting around my limbs like dragons made of smoke and memory.
I stepped forward—fingers twitching as flame gathered at my knuckles.
> "You want to steal what I've earned?" I said coldly.
> "Then burn for it."
---
I struck.
The cloak detonated, not outward—but inward, into my fists.
> "Dragon Pulse: Ember Fang Style!"
My punch collided with its chest, chakra flashing between us in spiral recoil.
The Vertex stumbled, legs cracking under the feedback.
But it didn't fall.
Its mouth opened wide.
> [VOICE MODE ENABLED]
"Flame-corrupted subject. I will erase your design."
---
It lifted both arms—pulling energy from the forest itself.
From my own flame trails.
> "He's converting my chakra into weaponized lightning!"
---
The skies above began to twist—
A storm gathering, coiling like Bahdrakorr's tail.
---
I stood tall, flame surging once again.
> "Fine," I muttered. "If you want my fire…"
> "Then let's see if you survive its truth."