Naruto's left ear canal was now a sealed battlefield, thanks to Kurotaro transformed into an earplug blocking the exit—no escape, no interference. Just war.
Inside, the miniaturized Isshiki glared at the bizarre figure blocking his way: the Monkey King, Sarumao. Both had shrunk down, so the face-off felt almost normal—like two titans meeting on equal ground.
Instantly, Isshiki realized his plan had been exposed. Naruto had seen through him from the start!
He eyed the unprotected outer ear canal, disbelief flickering in his gaze. "He's actually risking this? If I just restore my awl to full size, the force would punch straight through his skull!"
The Monkey King's voice thundered, echoing through the microscopic world: "Hmph! You underestimate my master—and you underestimate me. My secret technique, Water Curtain Cave Barrier, turns any entrance into a gateway to the Water Curtain Cave. The moment you crawled into my master's ear, you entered my world. Don't believe me? Go ahead, try your luck!"
Isshiki hesitated, suspicion in his eyes, but raised his palm anyway.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
The awls, shrunken by Sukunahikona, instantly returned to their original size—except, in this world, "original" was still microscopic. If Isshiki hadn't been shrunk himself, he might've believed they were restored. But now, compared to his current body, the awls should have been like pillars, able to pierce Naruto's skull and jaw. Yet they remained tiny, trapped by the laws of this space.
Isshiki's face darkened. "So that's how it works…"
The Monkey King grinned. "Now you see what I'm made of!"
Isshiki sneered. "Impressive. I'll crush you, break this barrier, and destroy his brain while I'm at it!"
With a hiss, a black staff materialized in Isshiki's hand. He lunged, swinging it down hard.
CLANG!
The Monkey King caught the staff barehanded, barely flinching. "Your staff work's sloppy. Want me to show you a couple tricks?"
"Not interested," Isshiki spat.
Swoosh! Isshiki shrunk the staff and stored it in Daikokuten, then unleashed a whip kick that crashed into the Monkey King's cheek.
The Monkey King's neck barely bent. "Hmm, that's just enough force to loosen up my bones…"
Crack! He snatched Isshiki's ankle in a flash.
Isshiki's eyes went wide. "What the—!?"
The Monkey King swung him like a ragdoll.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Isshiki saw stars. "This bastard…!"
But he forced himself upright, snatched a handful of black sand, and slapped it into the Monkey King's face.
"Ugh…" The move was unexpected—Monkey King staggered, eyes squeezed shut, blinded.
"Die!" Isshiki's right eye snapped open, power flaring.
—Sukunahikona!
Crack!
Sea urchin-like spikes erupted from the Monkey King's eye sockets, stabbing outward.
But then—his eyes ignited, flames roaring out and incinerating the spikes instantly.
"My Fiery Eyes of Truth aren't fooled by cheap tricks!"
The Monkey King flashed through hand seals, pressing his hands to the ground.
—Summoning Technique: Flaming Mountain!
WHOOSH!
Raging flames erupted, transforming the Water Curtain Cave into a hellish sea of fire.
"This is my old home, Flaming Mountain!" the Monkey King roared. "I summoned it here—let's see you handle the power of true wildfire!"
Isshiki snapped, "I don't care what mountain, what fire! Before Sukunahikona, it's all meaningless!"
With a swipe, Flaming Mountain shrank rapidly, reduced to a mere pebble in seconds.
Isshiki's patience snapped. "Fine! I'll return the favor—here's a mountain for you, beast!"
—Daikokuten: Five Finger Mountain Seal!
BOOM!
A black shadow loomed overhead—a colossal five-fingered mountain, inverted, crashed down toward the Monkey King.
Even the Monkey King's fiery eyes flickered in alarm. "That's…!"
Crack!
At the last split-second, the Monkey King yanked a tuft of hair from behind his head.
—Secret Technique: Life-Saving Hair!
Bang!
The hair transformed, taking his place beneath the mountain, pinned and trapped—while the Monkey King himself escaped, landing safely beside it.
He exhaled, shaken. "That was close… If that sealing mountain had nailed me, I might've been done for."
Life-Saving Hair wasn't something to use lightly. The Monkey King only had three strands, and regrowing them took ages.
Not waiting for Isshiki to pull another trick, the Monkey King charged, fists flying, launching a brutal close-quarters assault.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Each blow landed with bone-shattering force. Isshiki staggered back, gasping. "Now I get it—this body's strength and toughness, it's the Vajra Body of my clan! He's reached the eighth mastery level!"
"This monkey… he's connected to the old homeland…"
THUD!
Isshiki was smashed across the battlefield, mind racing. "But the Vajra Body isn't just about brute force—its weak point changes as you progress. Only at the ninth level can you refine the weak spot inside your body. Tenth mastery eliminates it completely, making you truly indestructible. At eighth mastery, though, the weak point's still external… at the 'back door'!"
Isshiki's right eye locked onto the Monkey King's groin.
—Daikokuten: Reverse Flow!
Crack!
An awl shot up from below, aiming straight for the Monkey King's vulnerable spot.
"Oh…!" The Monkey King's face twisted in shock. "You bastard—you know my weak point too?!"
CLANG!
The awl struck something hard and bounced off.
The Monkey King grinned. "But you miscalculated! My weak point is also where my master's Six Paths staff rests. To help me overcome it, the staff's been reinforced. It's still a weak spot, but it can handle an attack like that with no problem!"
Crack!
"You're too dangerous—I can't waste any more time!"
The Monkey King decided: time for the kill.
—Water Curtain Cave: Shrink!
WHOOSH!
The ear canal's Water Curtain Cave shrank rapidly, becoming a single-file tunnel—no room to dodge, no escape up or down.
Monkey King flashed through hand seals again.
—Ruyi Vajra Transformation!
BANG!
His body morphed into a spiked bronze ball.
BOOM! He rolled forward, flames roaring from his surface.
—Secret Technique: Explosive Flame War Chariot!
Isshiki's face drained of color.
Behind him, the Water Curtain Cave's exit was blocked by the Truth-Seeking Ball earplug—there was nowhere to run.
—Daikokuten!
A black wall sprang up in front of him, but the war chariot tore through it in seconds.
"Damn it!"
Crack! Crack! Crack! Black rods sprouted all over Isshiki's body, forming a defensive shell—just like he used against Sasuke's lightning-charged Kusanagi sword in the Boruto manga.
RUMBLE!
The war chariot smashed into Isshiki, flames blasting out in all directions.
"GAAAHHH!" Isshiki screamed, straining with everything he had. But the chariot's relentless rolling ground down his black rod armor, stripping it away.
Crack…
With his defenses shattered, the war chariot crashed into Isshiki's flesh—he couldn't resist, swept along, slammed into the Truth-Seeking Ball blocking the exit.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
A perfect pincer attack—front and back, pain doubled.
"GAAAHHHHH!" The agony was beyond words. Isshiki's eyes rolled back, his scream echoing through the battlefield.
BANG!
The Truth-Seeking Ball earplug was blasted out of the opening.
Monkey King, still in war chariot form, barreled through, carrying Isshiki out of Naruto's ear and back into the outside world.
Momentum sent Isshiki flying, landing far away—his body mangled, blood pouring.
The Monkey King returned to his true form, landing beside Naruto. "Master, do you need me to keep fighting?"
Naruto stood, eyes steely. "No need. You did great. Leave the rest to me."
Monkey King nodded. "Alright, I'll withdraw."
WHOOSH!
He vanished in a burst of flame.
"Huff… huff… huff…" Several hundred meters away, Isshiki—battered, bleeding—struggled to his feet. He barely had time to catch his breath before a nightmare unfolded above him.
The dozen 'Thousand Gravity Stones' he'd deployed earlier had multiplied into thousands, floating overhead. Worse, each stone now sported a cartoonish face, grinning at him maliciously. "Hee hee hee hee hee, ugly freak…"
Naruto hovered above, forming hand seals, looking almost innocent. "These stones are pretty handy, so I made a few copies. They might be a bit heavy—try to endure it, okay?"
—Six Paths: Super Added-Weight Rock Technique!
Buzz… buzz… buzz…
A thousand Thousand Gravity Stones, each a thousand times heavier, came crashing down. The scene was apocalyptic—no words could describe the devastation.
Isshiki screamed, voice raw: "Uzumaki… Naruto!!!"
RUMBLE! RUMBLE! RUMBLE! RUMBLE! RUMBLE!
After an earth-shaking cacophony, silence fell.
The entire world… was quiet.
~~~~❃❃~~~~~~~~❃❃~~~~
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