Never-ending, flat desert stretches out as far as the eye can see. There are no buildings to be found, or even indications of mountains or other natural landmarks. No sign of shelter or escape, either.

"Oh, this is bad," Sakura murmurs, eyes wide and hands clasped in front of her mouth. "This is so, so bad." She turns her head rapidly from side to side, as if that will show her something comforting.

Naruto seizes Sasuke by the shirt. "What the hell were you thinking?"

"Me?! This was him!" he shoots back, also fastening his hands around Naruto's jacket collar to push him away.

"Well, you're him!"

"Not for another twenty years!"

"It doesn't matter, this is exactly your twisted kind of logic!"

"As if you understand anything about logic!"

"We're going to die of thirst and – and exposure!" Sakura wails. "And our insides are going to overheat and our brains will boil, and oh gods, I'm going to turn into a giant freckle!"

"Alright, everyone, calm down," Kakashi orders in a would-be-soothing tone, striding forward to pry Sasuke and Naruto apart.

"Calm down?" Sakura demands. "People die of dehydration and heat stroke in the desert within a day! There could be poisonous animals around here – and who knows if it's some strange alien dimension with monsters! We don't have the time to calm down!"

"I have no doubt in my mind that Sasuke – Sasuke's future self – would not have sent us here if it were not safe," Kakashi insists. "As much as I don't like it either, it's best for everyone if we just stay here until they fix the problem. If anything happens to any of us, it won't go well for the future."

"So what, we just sit here and do nothing?" Naruto demands. "It could take forever!"

"Not with how shaky time is back in our dimension," Kakashi replies. "This incident is going to be determined one way or another, and soon. You'll just have to have the same faith that I do that your future selves will win this – and they will come back to get us."

"And if they don't?" Everyone glances to Sasuke, whose face is pale with barely controlled fury. "What happens if they lose?"

"I don't believe they will. And if they do...it may not matter. Assuming the timeline resets itself to Jikken's desired results, we will likely all cease to exist."

"Or, because we're in a completely separate dimension, we might be outside of the reach of that timeline," Sakura counters. "Assuming these dimensions aren't tied together in any way, and assuming time is tied to specific dimensional space, what's to say we won't be trapped here in this desert forever?"

"I only understood about half of that, but it's true, it'll be a pretty short forever," Naruto swallows nervously. "If all the stuff you just said about deserts are true too."

"We have to get out of here," Sakura tells Kakashi.

"And not just because we might die," Sasuke agrees. "I don't think this fight is going to be as straightforward as they all think. Maybe my future self can cross dimensions, and maybe Sakura's is a talented healer and Naruto's does...whatever it is he can do –"

"Hey!"

" – but none of that matters if they are facing an enemy that can't be killed."

Sakura blinks in confusion. "Can't be killed? What do you mean?"

"It's something Jikken said when we released him from Kakashi's Kamui," Sasuke explains. "He said that he died over and over, but then was brought back. This goddess person, Teisōko, brought him back. What if no matter how many times our future selves kill him, she somehow brings him back? Even our future selves will eventually run out of chakra."

"And they don't know that's a possibility!" Naruto realises. "The only ones who also heard him say that were Konohamaru and Boruto –"

"Who we don't know have even managed to make it wherever Jikken is," Sakura adds.

"And even if they do, what's to say they happen to think of the same connection Sasuke did in time to warn their parents – assuming they even meet up with them," Kakashi catches on.

Faith aside, several different, progressively unpleasant scenarios begin to present themselves.

"Facing an enemy that could potentially never tire and never die would waste what little time everyone has left," Sasuke concludes.

Everyone is very quiet for a long moment, exchanging troubled glances.

"So what do we do?" Sakura asks quietly.

Kakashi is torn.

On the one hand, he understands the importance of staying out of the conflict. If anything happens to his students, or even him, the ability of their future selves will be rendered utterly void. On the other hand, sitting in the middle of a desert hoping that somehow, the future Konoha shinobi will account for every eventuality leaves far too much to chance.

It's a lesson every shinobi learns early, not to leave anything to chance...

But even if they were to try to escape this place, how would they do it? It's an entirely separate dimension, possibly with the only way out being Future Sasuke's time-space abilities.

Well...there could be a way...

He winces as a spectacularly bad idea occurs to him. Another in a long list of bad ideas today...

Sakura appears to be thinking along the same lines, because when his expression changes, so does hers.

"You can't," she protests.

"Probably not," Kakashi agrees right away.

"Can't what?" Naruto asks as he and Sasuke look between the two, missing the by-play.

"You're barely standing, we're barely standing!"

"I am aware."

"Then why are you considering it!"

"Will one of you tell me what the hell is going on?" Naruto shouts.

"Kakashi is considering using his Mangekyō Sharingan to get us out of here," Sasuke tells him. "And Sakura's right – it's a bad idea."

"Considering, I'm considering using it," Kakashi insists. "And it's more seeing if it's possible to reopen Sasuke's portal than anything else. In all likelihood, it's not. And not something any of you should be worried about." He makes a dismissive gesture with his hand. "And so while I continue to consider, you three might want to pipe down or see what you can do about finding shelter. Whether we're here for an hour or the rest of our lives, I don't think anyone wants to get heatstroke."

"What exactly do you expect us to do, burrow into the sand?" Naruto grumbles, but Kakashi makes a shooing motion with his hands, and the kids reluctantly quiet down to give him a chance to concentrate.

Kakashi sighs and turns to face the spot where they landed, wondering how exactly he's supposed to pull off a miraculous escape. In theory, reopening the portal Sasuke's future self used should be possible – in fact, he can sense small indications of chakra from their dimension.

Jikken.

It's different from before, not as muddy, but still as though coming from beneath many layers. He wonders if this is how the future Sasuke felt when he was guiding them through the winter world, following a dim chakra signature to know where to bring them out again.

Perhaps it's easer to sense chakra from a place that isn't completely infected by a temporal paradox, the way our dimension is.

Summoning up his Sharingan once more, Kakashi considers the weak spot for any sign that it can be reopened. A moment later, though, he gives a huff of disappointment.

"It's impossible," Kakashi tells him with a shake of the head. "The portal has been closed in a way that I can't even sense the seam."

It's as if Future Sasuke knew that none of them would be content to just linger, and ensured they couldn't get back the way they came.

"So you're just going to give up?" Naruto demands.

"There isn't really another option here."

"Who said we needed to use his portal?" Sasuke wants to know. "You can always open your own."

"Right..." Sakura picks up the thread. "We already know that your Kamui world is connected to our dimension, and it's connected to you, so you should be able to open it here. And if we go through the Kamui dimension and then to our world, we wouldn't need to rely on Sasuke's portal."

"Yes!" Naruto cheers. "Let's do that!"

"I've only ever opened a door to that dimension from our world," Kakashi reminds them. "I've never actually travelled through it. I don't even know if it's entirely safe."

Which was why it wasn't such a moral struggle to trap Jikken in there in the first place...

"If by some miracle I managed to get us into there, there's no guarantee I could get us out again. We could be trapped with no way out, and no one able to find us," he continues. "At least here, Sasuke is still able to retrieve us."

"If he's not dead or dying," Naruto mutters.

"He's not!" Sakura cries, upset at the very notion that something might happen to the older version of Sasuke. She shoots a panicked glance at her teammate, as if worried Naruto's words will somehow cause him to whither before her very eyes.

"It's still too risky," Kakashi maintains. "Even if I were to try it, I would need something to focus on. An anchor from our dimension to this one, and that's not something that we –" His suddenly fall on Naruto. " – have."

"What?" Naruto asks, glancing from side to side. Sakura and Sasuke appear as equally nonplussed as him. "What's going on?"

Oh, these ideas are getting worse and worse...

"There might..." Kakashi trails off, shakes his head, because no, that would be the worst possible thing they could add to this mess right now.

And yet...

"Naruto, I need to talk to you privately for a minute," Kakashi sighs.

"What? Why?" Sakura protests, while Sasuke crosses his arms and glares suspiciously.

"Because I said so," Kakashi answers, motioning for Naruto to follow him.

The blond boy grumbles. "If this is just another ploy of yours to give those two a 'moment' –"

Sakura sputters and Sasuke's cheeks tinge with pink.

"No, it's to do with your very specific chakra abilities that you learned to call upon when Lord Jiraiya was teaching you about summoning," Kakashi tells him tensely.

"And you can't tell us what those are?" Sasuke wants to know.

"Not now. No time," Kakashi answers, heading away from them. "It has to be Naruto, he's uniquely qualified for this."

"Why does it have to be a secret?" Sakura adds curiously.

"Just trust me," Kakashi calls over his shoulder. "Naruto, come on!"

Naruto can't help beam at this, because it's supremely rare that their sensei needs him to help figure out a plan. Kakashi's default is usually Sasuke, whose success seems more important to him than Naruto's or Sakura's. He figures it has something to do with Sasuke's family issues, but it still sucks.

But now it's my turn!

He jogs over to where Kakashi has gone to stand, and grins up at his teacher.

"What do you need me to do, Kakashi-sensei? I'm totally ready!" Naruto declares, making a fist to emphasis his point. "I mean, I don't know much about summoning yet, but I'll do my best!"

"It's not about the summoning," Kakashi responds in a low voice, darting his eye back to where Sakura and Sasuke are talking quietly together. He seems to want to ensure they aren't paying attention to him and Naruto. "Summoning won't help us here."

Naruto frowns.

"Then why did you need me?"

"Because you have access to something that none of us do," Kakashi tells him grimly, meeting Naruto's gaze head on. "And that's what will help us."

It takes several seconds before Naruto's brain catches up.

He's talking about the Nine-Tails.

Naruto's earlier enthusiasm fades. "Oh."

And for the first time since Naruto met him, Kakashi is breaking the unspoken rule about acknowledging his awareness of its existence.

"Can you sense it?" his teacher asks.

"Of course I can sense it," Naruto mutters dully. "Kind of hard not to when it's a part of me..."

"No, not the one connected to you," Kakashi clarifies. "The one that's part of your future self."

"Huh?"

"It's the same entity. And it's much more powerful than a human chakra signature. It might even be able to transcend dimensions, and if you can sense it – well, it might offer us a strong enough anchor that I can get us out of here after all."

"I'll try," Naruto says with an unenthusiastic sigh. It figures that the one time he can come through and help his team, it's because of the evil spirit inside him and not because of his own abilities.

"Naruto." He glances up at the sharp tone in Kakashi's voice. "Whatever you're thinking right now, it's not true. I'm not just relying on you because of the Nine-Tails."

"It's okay, Kakashi-sensei, I get it. I'm only strong because of that..."

"Don't sell yourself short," his teacher chides him. "Your abilities have grown exponentially, just in the time that I've known you."

Naruto can't keep the petulance out of his voice here. "Yeah, well, if that were true, why's it always Sasuke you want to train with?"

"I won't lie – I do have more in common with Sasuke, and I understand more about his drive and the scale of his talents," Kakashi answers gravely, and Naruto's stomach drops. "For that reason, in many ways, I am an inadequate teacher for you."

"Huh?"

This sidetracks him momentarily.

"In fact, I've been thinking for a while that you need someone a lot more capable of bringing out all of your talents," he continues. "When this is over – assuming we live – I'm going to have a conversation with Lord Jiraiya."

"Huh? Why Pervy Sage?"

"Well, he did manage to teach you the Rasengan," Kakashi reminds him, "but he also happens to be one of the Sannin. A teacher like that could mould your potential into something...well, something close to the future you that we saw today."

"I guess..." Naruto allows, uncertain.

"And there's the fact he was your father's teacher as well. He knew both your parents, which means he probably knows a lot more about your capabilities than anyone else, especially your very particular kind of chakra."

But Naruto doesn't hear anything beyond the words 'father's teacher'.

His jaw drops. "Pervy Sage taught my dad?"

"Why do you think he taught you the Rasengan? It was meant to be yours."

Naruto stares down at his hand, memories flying back to the month of intense training he went through to master the jutsu, all the while ignorant of its true origins.

"He didn't teach you that jutsu because you have the Nine-Tails demon inside of you. He taught it to you because you are the son of Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki. Their dreams are alive in you and it gives you a drive that no one else here has."

"Kakashi-sensei..."

"You and your teammates are fast growing beyond what I can teach you," Kakashi continues. "And whatever you feel, know this: you are all an integral part of this squad. Perhaps Sasuke has the raw talent and the skill, and perhaps Sakura has the intelligence. But you, Naruto, have a will power I've never seen before. Somehow, when you set your mind to something, it always turns out how you want it to." He chuckles. "Either that or you have an ungodly amount of luck guiding you. Which I'm even more inclined to believe since meeting your future wife."

Naruto's cheeks flood with warmth at this.

He's not entirely sure how he feels knowing that he's going to marry Hinata one day, and the fact that Kakashi seems to find it impressive makes it even weirder.

"The point is, anyone else in the world could have that demon sealed into them, and I wouldn't trust them with something as important as this," Kakashi concludes, then pauses. "If it were Sasuke, I wouldn't even consider asking."

Naruto's eyes widen, and he feels something suspiciously like tears in his eyes. Quickly he shakes it off, and straightens up.

"Alright, you just hang on a sec, Kakashi-sensei," Naruto declares, clenching his eyes closed and trying to focus. "I've got a demon to make a deal with!"

ナルト

"Don't...move...a muscle," Sarada whispers, trying to think past her sluggish brain to count how many of the horrible creatures are gazing down on them. In their condition, just one is going to prove a challenge, but with... dozens?

"I think our plan to run away isn't going to work anymore," Boruto whispers back.

One of the creatures above gives a terrifying, reverberating roar. Its fellows echo the noise, claws and fangs gleaming in the artificial light, and then they attack. It's as if a giant black curtain has suddenly spilled over the edges of the scaffolding, barrelling down on them from all directions.

Sarada feels Boruto's hold on her tighten, and it takes every fibre of her not to reflexively lean in to him and shut her eyes, because they are about to die and there is no time to even react before—

Countless snakes emerge from Mitsuki's arms, reaching upward and crisscrossing through the air. They wrap around the first wave of monsters, while the others create a barrier above Team 7. Slowly, the snakes encircles the small space of ground occupied by the three of them and Konohamaru's unconscious form, shielding them from danger.

"What are you doing?!" Sarada cries. "You need to stop Jikken!"

Through the swiftly closing gaps in the barrier, she can see the pale man staggering up the staircase, disappearing among the throng of bulky bodies. He might not be able to teleport now that his chakra has been sealed, but he can still do a lot of damage if they let him escape.

"My strength's fading," Mitsuki grunts, entire body shaking with effort. "By the time I reach him, it would be gone. I likely wouldn't survive another encounter."

"So instead of dying there you wanna die here with us?" Boruto quips. "I'm touched."

In spite of his sarcasm, Sarada knows he's impressed, and she can relate. In the face of their inevitable death, the idea that Mitsuki has chosen to face it with them makes her feel warm despite the cold poison trailing through her veins.

"I blame your strange ideas rubbing off on me," the other boy returns.

Right. Then this is it...

"Help me up," Sarada tells Boruto, struggling to remove his hold on her.

"But—"

"We're about to be ripped apart by giant curse mark bat things, you'd better damn well believe I'm doing it standing beside my teammates!" she hisses. "Or did you forget?"

Boruto blinks at this, and then smirks. "Right."

"We are one," Mitsuki agrees, inching closer to them. The flare of his chakra is a little intimidating, but at the same time, she finds it a comfort. "To the end?"

Sarada gets to her feet, using every bit of strength not to lean back on Boruto as she reaches into her pack for the last of her explosive tags; they're the only thing she's still capable of using.

"Yeah," she coughs, trying not to notice the blood taste in her mouth.

"Alright, you giant freaks of nature!" Boruto shouts, the air above his hand swirling into a Rasengan. "Come and get it!"

Mitsuki retracts the snakes surrounding them, and the creatures that were held back by the slithering barrier fall once more, reaching and clawing. Sarada lets out a shout of effort, throwing her explosive tags as far away from her and her teammates as she can muster.

There are several consecutive explosions, taking out the first wave of monsters as they descend, stunning and confusing them enough to give Boruto an opening. With an angry snarl he heaves his hand upwards, and Sarada is shocked to see that the tiny whirl of energy has not only grown larger, but utterly changed its shape.

That's...?

The whirling vortex of light travels upward, and then detonates, exploding into countless microscopic blades of wind that Sakura can't even follow the movements of. They collide with the descending creatures, there's a flash of light, and a growing din of angry, pain-filled screams.

"Rasenshuriken," Mitsuku murmurs, sounding awed. Sarada can empathise; she's only ever seen Lord Seventh use it, and Boruto has never given any indications that he had learned to perform that particular jutsu. Moreover—

"He shouldn't be able to do that!" she gasps, staring at Boruto as he clutches his arm; the skin is raw and his jacket smokes as if it has just been on fire. "He gave you enough chakra to help you tap into whatever it is you're doing now, and he can still...?"

Papa wasn't kidding when he said the Uzumaki clan had huge chakra reserves! I knew, but I never...!

"Did we...did we win...?" Boruto asks dazedly, falling forward as his knee gives out.

As the dust settles around them, Sarada sees several dark forms surrounding them in a circle, not moving. Others look like they've been shredded down to a fraction of their size.

For a moment she thinks that, against all odds, maybe they did.

Until an echoing snarl starts up again, and the shadows in the dust beyond the fallen creatures become more defined. Not all of the curse mark branded creatures were caught in the lethal detonation, and they have begun to stir, dragging themselves back up. Some of them are entering the next phase of whatever the curse mark does, growing in size; far above them, there are still a few looming threateningly in the scaffolding.

There is no exit left, no place to retreat.

"We almost did," she tells Boruto quietly.

"Damn it."

"I don't suppose you can manage another one of those?"

From the pained hiss he offers when he tries to move his hand, she has her answer.

"Well," Mitsuki says, almost conversationally despite the way he continues to glow with blue fire. "It's been nice to know you both."

"Hey, Sarada?"

"Yeah?"

"There's something I need to tell you."

"What could you possibly need to tell me right—" she cuts herself off, a crazy idea occurring to her and whips around to meet Boruto's gaze. It's hard, the way her sight is beginning to give over to black, dizzying spots, but she's damn well going to give him a piece of her mind. "Are you kidding?! You do this now? We're about to die!"

"In that case, Boruto, there is something I should tell you as well," Mitsuki says pleasantly, as if they aren't f acing incoming death from above.

"You guys are ruining my final moments!"

"Oh, I beg to differ on that one, kiddo," a voice interrupts.

Suddenly there is a brilliant, warm orange light spreading throughout the chamber, as if a thousand torches have suddenly burned into being. Except it isn't torches. The flaming pyres of light are the familiar, incandescent and multiplied forms of the Seventh Hokage in his Sage form.

"Dad!" Boruto cries out in relief.

"It's been a while since I've dealt with any of these," Uncle Naruto—or at least the one closest to them—says, as his clones begin to grapple with the surrounding hordes. "Do they seem uglier to you, Sasuke?"

And this time, it's Sarada who feels an overwhelming sense of relief, because weaving through the skirmishing light and dark shapes of creature and clone, is her father. And not just him either, but—

"Mama? Aunt Hinata?" she murmurs in shock, just as the last of her strength leaves her and she pitches forward.

Papa catches her, and Mama is already reaching for her, one hand glowing, the other digging into her medical kit.

"Hold on, sweetheart, we're here," Mama says, as Aunt Hinata envelops Boruto in a tight embrace in one arm. As Mitsuki's chakra and snakes fades away he staggers back, falling into her other outstretched arm.

"Are you two alright?" she asks quietly, hands already roving over them for sign of injury.

"I'm fine!" Boruto insists, struggling away from his mother. "But Big Bro Konohamaru—he's been poisoned! You guys have to help him!"

"Of course we will, but first—"

"Where is Teisōko?" Papa interrupts, casting his eyes around into every corner of the dome.

Sarada blinks, bleary and confused. "How do you—oh! You ran into the others, didn't you?"

"Something like that," he says shortly, and then prompts, "Teisōko?"

"No idea," Boruto pipes up. "We never made it that far before Jikken tried to take us out and—"

Everyone ducks as one of the clones throws a curse mark creature overhead, careening into a cave wall with bone shattering force.

"—and then these freaks showed up."

Papa shoots an unimpressed frown at his student. "Coming here was foolish."

"Oh yeah? What would you have done!?"

"The exact same thing," Mama mutters as she checks Sarada's pupils and the knife wound in her hand.

"She's up there," Mitsuki tells Papa gravely, nodding towards the upper levels of the scaffolding. "There's a chamber he took me to, when I first got here. I don't remember much, as I wasn't very lucid. But she's in there. He keeps her restrained, but I...I'm not sure who benefits better from that."

Papa nods, spares one last quick glance at his wife and daughter—Mama shoots him an encouraging smile—and then he is gone. He moves like lightening through the melee of clones and beasts, moving up the scaffolding as if he could fly.

"She's so toast," Boruto says smugly, and then winces, "Ow! Mom!"

"Hush," Aunt Hinata tells him as she pokes and prods his arms. "Your chakra pathways are almost completely shredded—what did you do?"

Wow, Aunt Hinata is scary when she's angry...

"Um...maybe...possibly...used a Rasenshuriken?"

"Boruto!" Aunt Hinata cries in dismay. "You know you can't do that without learning Sage mode to temper it! You could have permanently affected your ability to perform ninjutsu!"

"Well, we were gonna die anyway, I didn't think..." His excuses trail off into indistinct mumbling Sarada is beginning to have trouble following.

"Mama?" she queries tiredly.

"Yes?"

"Papa was a big jerk when he was little," she tells her matter-of-factly.

"Is that so?" Mama says, but Sarada wonders if that isn't a tiny smile on her face.

"And you were kind of weird..."

"Everyone's weird at that age," Mama says as she unstoppers two large syringes; she passes one to Mitsuki. "Inject Konohamaru with this. It's a master antidote prototype I've been working on. The ultimate goal is to target and destroy foreign substances in the body, but for right now, it just forcibly ejects them." Mitsuki takes the syringe. "And hold him down, because it's going to hurt."

"No, but you were really weird," Sarada insists doggedly. "And I think Uncle Naruto had a crush on you, which is really w—"

Something punches into her arm, and pain like a thousand flames lick through her veins.

Sarada screams in agony, lashing out, but Mama has a firm grip on her. This makes the pain even worse, because there's nowhere that she can touch without jarring broken bones or lacerations. The agonizing fire spreads throughout her body, and she wonders if she isn't really on fire, because she is perspiring now.

A viscous, foul-smelling green liquid oozes from her pores, burning her as it evaporates.

Sarada cries out again, bewildered by the pain, but Mama doesn't let her go, simply swiping the noxious condensation from her skin. Just as quickly, a frisson of cold rolls through her body, as if from the base of her spine to the tips of her fingers. Sarada shivers convulsively, but Mama still holds her close. She can hear muffled yells from nearby, probably Konohamaru, mixed in with the sounds of battle, but she fights to stay awake. She won't become useless in the middle of a fight!

There is sudden heaving sensation in her gut, and she is abruptly turned on her side, expelling even more of the rancid fluid through her mouth and nose. The scent and taste makes her gag and dry heave, but soon it is all gone.

Her vision swims and blurs, before abruptly coalescing back into view. Mama is staring down at her with a tight smile, relief in her eyes.

"Better?" she asks.

"Mm-hm," Sarada mumbles, unable to form words just yet. Her throat hurts, and the disgusting taste is still in her mouth, but she doesn't feel like she's being hollowed out from the inside anymore.

"Gross," Boruto informs her from nearby. "Although, I guess you should be happy it only came out of your mouth.

Sarada's eye twitches. "...gonna...kill...you..."

"Not anytime soon, you won't," Mama says, taking hold of Sarada's broken arm. She clicks her tongue. "How did you get yourself into this condition? I'm sure I taught you to punch with a closed fist."

"Was kind of...falling off a cliff...not a lot of...options," Sarada heaves.

Mama's response is cut off when Uncle Naruto suddenly calls out. "Uh, people? We've got a problem!"

One of his clones snaps the neck of one of the creatures, dropping it on the floor just as another lunges in from behind, shoving its claws through the body to disperse it. The creature moves on the next nearest clone, but its fellow—the one Naruto killed—suddenly jerks. Its body flickers and shudders in static motions, almost the way a video tape does when it's being rewound.

And then, from one moment to the next, its neck is no longer hanging at an odd, broken angle, but snapped back to the way it should be.

"No way," Boruto breathes.

Beyond the protective, glowing circle that Uncle Naruto's clones have made around the kids and their mothers, other creatures are also getting to their feet. Even the one that was smashed into the wall twists and jerks, bones snapping back into place, and turns around to roar at them in fury.

"Something's bringing them back!" Konohamaru bites out, still in the throws of expelling Jikken's poison from his body.

"Edo Tensei?" Aunt Hinata wonders.

"No," Mama says, getting to her feet, a dark expression crossing her features. "They aren't reanimated corpses. It's more like they've...been rewound."

"What?" Uncle Naruto demands, grappling with another incoming enemy.

"Something put them back to their previous conditions," Mama clarifies.

"Almost like they have their own personal time-field," Sarada realises.

"What does that mean?" Uncle Naruto demands. "And how do we stop it?!"

"It means they can't die as long as whatever's controlling them keeps it up," Mama says. "If we're going to stop it, we need to—"

But she never gets the chance to share the solution, as just then, one of the curse mark creatures manages to vault over the wall of blazing clones and swipes wildly outwards, fingers grasping and talons extended. Before Mama can react, it swipes into the side of her throat, sending a spray of blood and muscle into the air.

"MAMA!" Sarada screams in horror and disbelief, frozen in her spot. Her mother's eyes go wide in surprise, body crumbling in on itself as the creature raises its hand to deliver the finishing blow.

つづく

_____

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