The mist thickened.
Sound vanished.
Even breath felt loud.
A thin thread of chakra stretched through the air—red, glowing faint like blood under moonlight.
And it moved.
Snap.
A shinobi's head dropped, mouth still open in a silent scream.
The mist swallowed the corpse.
Another thread glowed in the fog.
Another death.
Kakashi didn't speak. He didn't move.
His Sharingan spun slowly.
Beside him, Naruto trembled. Not from fear. From rage.
"This isn't Genjutsu," he muttered. "It's something else."
Kiba's nose twitched violently. "It smells like… burning."
"Blood," Shino whispered. "Fresh blood."
The fog pulsed.
And then—something moved.
A silhouette. Tall. Thin. Cloaked in rags. Long, spidery fingers holding a single bell.
Ching.
The bell rang once.
Sakura's eyes widened. She froze.
Her hands fell limp.
Kakashi turned. "Don't look at it!"
But it was too late.
Sakura's mouth opened. No sound came. Her eyes bled.
Naruto lunged.
But the figure vanished before he reached it—dissolving into threads of red.
Crimson strings curled in the air like tendrils.
They reached for him.
Kakashi grabbed Naruto's collar and yanked him back.
Too late.
One thread wrapped around Naruto's ankle.
Kakashi sliced it with a kunai.
The kunai shattered.
"What the hell—"
The thread snaked up Naruto's leg.
He screamed.
Not in pain.
In fury.
The fox stirred.
Eyes turned red.
The thread hissed—burned away.
The mist recoiled.
And then—
Laughter.
Mocking. Raspy. Childlike.
"Still weak, are we?"
The voice echoed from every direction.
"Even with the fox, you crawl like worms."
Kakashi narrowed his eyes. "Show yourself."
The mist parted slightly.
A boy stepped through.
Young. No older than Naruto. Pale skin. Eyes like empty mirrors. And sewn across his arms—red threads glowing faintly.
Kiba growled. "Who the hell are you?"
The boy smiled. "I'm a puppet."
He raised his arm.
Five threads burst from his fingers—shooting forward like needles.
Naruto slammed a Rasengan into one.
It burst into a cloud of red ash.
But four others circled.
Kakashi stepped forward. Sharingan blazing.
Chakra threads met lightning.
For a moment—
Stillness.
Then an explosion.
Red and blue light crackled. Trees shattered. The ground split.
When the dust settled, Kakashi knelt. Bleeding.
The boy still stood.
Untouched.
"I'm not the enemy," he said softly.
"But I'll be the grave."
And then—
A second presence emerged from the mist.
This one… colder.
Stronger.
Its chakra was like ice in the spine.
A woman.
Long black hair. Pale face. Empty eyes.
Her presence sucked the air from the forest.
The puppet boy turned to her. "Mother."
She didn't look at him.
Her eyes fell on Naruto.
"Found you," she whispered.
Naruto staggered back.
Kyuubi stirred violently.
Danger.
The woman raised a hand.
Dozens of threads burst from the sky.
Each one humming. Each one red. Each one aimed at his heart.
The world slowed.
Kakashi shouted something. Distant. Useless.
Naruto raised his arms.
But he knew—
He couldn't stop this.
Not alone.
Then…
A blur.
A silver flash.
A blade cut through the threads mid-air.
One by one. All gone.
A man landed beside Naruto.
Eyes closed.
White hair. Black cloak. A mark on his forehead glowing faintly.
Naruto stared.
"You—"
The man opened his eyes.
A broken circle spun within them.
The cracked dojutsu.
The one from his dreams.
"You're late," the man said flatly.
Naruto blinked. "Who—"
The man raised his hand.
"Save it."
He looked at the woman.
"Your threads won't reach him anymore."
The mist screamed.
Wind howled.
The woman raised both arms.
The sky turned red.
And the broken-eyed man…
Smiled.
"Then let's cut the world apart."
—End of Chapter 76—