530 Naruto the Flame-Flame Fruit

"Takami Musubinokami!"

Kiyosuke unleashed the amplified destructive beam he had absorbed from Delta.

In an instant, everything within several hundred meters ahead was wiped out, the force terrifying.

Staring at the scorched, smoking earth, he blinked and said:

"This thing's destructive power is insane. And I even suppressed the chakra output… so this is the technique of the Ōtsutsuki clan?"

"Hmph! Lowly creature, acting like you've never seen the world. How could the techniques of the Ōtsutsuki be something you could ever comprehend?" Momoshiki mocked proudly in Kiyosuke's mind.

"But it's mine now."

"You—!"

Kiyosuke ignored him. He spread his sensory field outward—no trace of Delta's chakra. Looked like he'd been erased. High above, a pink triangular drone tried to flee. Kiyosuke raised his hand and instantly blasted it apart.

"Don't know what that is, but better to shoot it down first. Not giving you a chance to send word back."

The drone fragments fell. Later, Kiyosuke had someone retrieve them and let Katsuke examine the device. They discovered its tech level was beyond even Konoha; Katsuke couldn't crack it. He also found that besides detection and attack functions, it held someone's genetic factors. With the right equipment, a person could be reproduced—and its chip even carried the individual's memories.

When cloned, the memories wouldn't be lost.

Hearing that, Kiyosuke asked:

"Can you extract them?"

"I could only get a portion. While continuing, the chip self-destructed." Katsuke sighed helplessly.

"Their methods surpass mine. I can't do more. But the fragment we did extract contained information on these people."

Faces appeared one after another on the monitor, each labeled with a name.

Jigen.

So this was the man Kawaki feared?

Around his late twenties or early thirties, wearing a white haori, hair tied high into a long ponytail. Roman numeral IV marked beneath his left eye, and a Kāma mark sat on his chin. His expression radiated contempt for all.

He felt troublesome just by appearance—and beside him stood Koji Kashin and others.

Code, Amado, Boro…

Katsuke said:

"From the intel I extracted, this Amado person is the researcher of Kara. He's confined inside Kara's base. And reaching Kara's base requires space-time ninjutsu. The method couldn't be fully decoded—it was destroyed."

"This Amado guy is impressive, being able to create artificial humans like these," Kiyosuke remarked.

Katsuke said:

"Kiyosuke-sama, this Amado is an extraordinary scientist with immense capability. All these people have been modified into scientific ninja tools by him—and their strength is extraordinary. I'd love to talk to him properly one day!"

"At least we've obtained their personnel data," Naruto said. "Good work, Katsuke. Sasuke, can you reach that place with your Rinnegan?"

"Not certain. I need coordinates. But I'll try. Also, this Boro guy—he's worth extra caution," Sasuke said.

"I'll assign people to investigate."

"Alright."

"Kiyosuke-san, thanks again for handling this."

"It's nothing. That guy basically ran straight into my attack." Kiyosuke laughed. "But I think Jigen needs attention. Just like Kawaki, he bears a Kāma—meaning both are vessels for some Ōtsutsuki. Ask Kawaki carefully when you get back."

"Okay."

Kawaki was currently living in Naruto's home, bickering with Boruto daily. The two fought endlessly—Kawaki couldn't even use the bathroom in peace.

But Naruto had also realized: Kawaki was deeply lonely, yearning for familial warmth yet resisting their care. He acted tough, but he accepted kindness deep down.

And the kid had trauma toward needles or anything resembling them—fear triggered instantly. His past was filled with suffering.

Even now, though he'd accepted this home, his heart remained closed.

Thinking of this, his body suddenly dissolved—the one here had been only a shadow clone.

At that same moment, inside Kara, news of Delta's death had already reached Jigen, and Koji Kashin had reported the Kāma on Kiyosuke.

"Asakawa Kiyosuke truly isn't someone easy to deal with. And that Kāma of Momoshiki's… not sure how far it's thawed. I should check personally." As he spoke, a black space-time vortex opened beside him, and he stepped in.

...

At the same time, in Naruto's house—

Kawaki, loafing around with nothing to do, suddenly felt his Kāma activate. A strange, never-before-seen pattern formed on his palm. Then, black chakra burst from his hand, spiraling into a space-time vortex.

Jigen stepped out of it.

"You! Jigen?!"

Kawaki froze in shock—this man had haunted his nightmares.

"Judging by the interior, this looks like a living room. I must apologize, Uzumaki Naruto—I walked in with my shoes on." Jigen smiled politely, his manner refined.

Naruto came in from the yard and said:

"That's not something worth worrying about."

"Asakawa Kiyosuke isn't here?" Jigen glanced around.

"Kiyosuke-san isn't visiting today. What are you here for, Jigen?" Naruto was fully on guard. This man's pressure surpassed even what he once felt from Madara.

"Simply to retrieve this disobedient kid. I don't intend to fight. But Asakawa Kiyosuke's absence is… unfortunate."

"Is that so? You sound like you were hoping I'd show up."

Kiyosuke descended from above, Kāma marks spreading across his face.

"I knew something happened to Kawaki—the reaction from my Kāma made it impossible to ignore."

His Kāma had flared violently, telling him Kawaki was in danger, so he rushed here.

Seeing him, Jigen smiled:

"The thawing level of your Kāma has already reached seventy percent. Fascinating. And it seems you can use its abilities too. Very interesting."

"Oh? So you should be a vessel as well—but judging by your appearance, you're not, are you?"

Kiyosuke's right eye shifted into a Byakugan. Veins bulged, and he saw an extraordinary scene: inside Jigen's ear sat the upper half of a tiny Ōtsutsuki being, its body laced with dense chakra pathways, fused to Jigen's ear canal. Noticing Kiyosuke's gaze, it lifted its head and used the Byakugan in its left eye to reflect Kiyosuke's sight back at him.