Thunder cracked.
The crimson sky bled lines of chakra. Thousands of them. Each one sharp. Controlled. Alive.
Naruto stood frozen. Not from fear.
From instinct.
Something deep inside screamed—run.
Beside him, the white-haired man moved. No sound. No hesitation.
His broken eye spun once.
And the world shifted.
The threads above halted.
Hung still, like frozen rain.
The woman frowned.
"You…"
Her voice was empty.
Not hate. Not anger.
Just hollow.
"You shouldn't exist."
The man chuckled.
"Neither should you."
He raised his palm.
No hand signs.
No flash of chakra.
Just a gesture.
A pulse rippled through the air.
Boom.
The threads collapsed.
All of them.
Gone.
The crimson sky flickered—then shattered like glass.
The sun returned.
But the cold stayed.
The woman drifted back a step. For the first time… unsure.
The puppet boy whispered, "His chakra… it's stitched. Torn. Rewritten."
Naruto stepped forward.
"You saved me," he said.
The man didn't look at him.
"I didn't come to save you."
"Then why?"
"To stop her."
The man pointed at the woman. "Before she becomes something worse."
Kakashi staggered closer. Blood on his hands. "You—who are you?"
The man's broken eye turned to him.
"My name doesn't matter."
"But my mistake does."
The woman raised her hand again. Threads spiraled around her fingers like snakes.
"Still playing with strings?" the man asked.
He vanished.
In a blink.
Reappeared behind her.
His hand reached toward her neck.
But—
She split into black crows.
Caw.
The forest filled with wings.
Naruto flinched.
"She's fast."
"No," Kakashi muttered. "She's something else."
The crows circled. Merging midair.
She reformed again—on a branch.
The man landed near her.
"I'll ask once," he said.
"Unravel yourself."
She didn't respond.
Instead—
She opened her mouth.
And screamed.
The sky turned red again.
The trees bled sap.
Naruto fell to one knee.
Even the Nine-Tails growled in confusion.
What was she?
The white-haired man didn't flinch.
He lifted his hand again.
His fingers drew a shape in the air.
A symbol—like a spinning circle, split in two. Incomplete.
But when it formed—
The scream stopped.
The woman gasped. Clutched her throat.
The puppet boy cried out, "Mother!"
She staggered. Threads spilled from her chest.
The man whispered something under his breath.
"Time… to snip the soul."
Then he vanished again.
No movement. Just—gone.
He appeared above her.
And brought his hand down.
Chakra twisted at his fingertips—like spirals made of broken mirrors.
He struck.
But—
The puppet boy jumped in between.
The hit landed.
The threads inside him snapped.
He screamed.
His body flung back into the forest like a rag doll.
The woman caught him mid-air.
Her eyes glowed faint red.
Her voice shook now.
"You touched my son…"
The man frowned. "He's not your son."
"He is mine," she hissed.
"He is my thread."
She vanished again.
This time—
The forest around Naruto burned.
Not with fire.
But with chakra.
Thick. Red. Hungry.
Kakashi shouted, "Everyone fall back!"
Naruto stayed.
His hands clenched.
He looked at the white-haired man.
"You can't beat her alone."
The man didn't argue.
He looked down at Naruto.
"You'll help me?"
Naruto nodded.
The man grinned.
"Then we die together."
"No."
Naruto's voice was calm.
"We win."
The mist closed again.
And the threads came.
But this time—
They weren't alone.
Because Naruto wasn't the same.
Not anymore.
And the broken-eyed man?
He was only getting started.
—End of Chapter 77—