Naraka is a Buddhist expression associated with the “Avīci Hell,” the realm of uninterrupted suffering.
When there is no way to determine whether Hell truly exists, Naraka is more commonly used in everyday speech to refer to the very thing a person least wants to experience.
And the D-rank Genjutsu, Hell Viewing Technique, can make precisely those situations one desperately wishes to avoid appear vividly before the victim’s eyes.
In other words, the power of this technique depends entirely on the intensity of the individual’s own fear.
After Uchiha Enka used the enhanced technique on Tōru through his Sharingan, he completely dragged Tōru into his most terrifying hallucination, causing him to forget his identity in the present.
…
“Monjiro (Tanjiro)!
That’s the one with the middle-parted hair!
Don’t you recognize him?” Tōru was sent flying by Tanjiro, who had absorbed Muzan Kibutsuji’s cells and been transformed into a demon.
Claws tore through his flesh, but that wasn’t what caused him pain.
[We had already won.
We had already killed Muzan…] [Why did Tanjiro become a demon—and even overcome the sunlight?!] Tōru knelt on one knee, using his sword to support himself, his blade planted against the ground.
He stared around him in despair.
Amid the severed limbs and corpses of Demon Slayers scattered across the ground, Gyomei Himejima sat slumped inside the wall his body had smashed through, his head hanging low.
Obanai Iguro held Mitsuri Kanroji motionless in his arms.
She had already stopped breathing.
Sanemi Shinazugawa was still alive, but judging from the panicked expressions and movements of the Kakushi around him, his condition was hardly any better.
[Among the Hashira, I’m the only one who can still move.] [There is…
no one left who can defeat him!] The heart of Tōru Tomioka, a Hashira, began to waver.
At that moment, the boar-headed boy who had rushed forward to stop Tanjiro was caught around the throat by a thick skeletal chain and violently slammed into the ground— Under the gaze of those cruel, terrifying blood-red vertical pupils, he was smashed into the ground again and again until he became a bloody mass.
Only his empty boar mask remained, flung aside and rolling bloodily to Tōru’s feet, its shape no longer recognizable.
“ROOOAAAR!!!!” Tanjiro, his fangs bared, dropped onto all fours like a beast and howled toward the heavens.
A tremendous shockwave swept the corpses around him away, while countless streams of cold, warm, and scorching blood splattered across Tōru’s numb face.
Tanjiro turned toward Tōru with an emotionless expression, as though he had already decided on his next target.
[Have you really forgotten everything, Tanjiro…?] Grief overwhelmed Tōru.
Under the gaze of those eyes, his body could not move at all.
He had lost one arm.
His remaining hand could no longer grip his weapon.
Numerous bones throughout his body were broken, and after losing so much blood, he could not even stand.
He felt as though he had returned to that night many years ago, when he could only helplessly open his mouth and watch his bloodstained junior stumble toward him on all fours, accompanied by the choking stench of blood and meaningless gurgling sounds.
[Is this the end?] Tōru closed his eyes.
[I’m truly useless.
I’m sorry…
Master, Master Urokodaki, Nezuko, and everyone who sacrificed themselves.] [Someone as weak as me really had no right to become a Hashira.] Just as he prepared to face his death, voices suddenly rang out from all around him.
“Protect the Water Hashira!
Protect the Water Hashira!” It was Murata and the voices of the other surviving members.
Tōru opened his eyes again.
“We can’t let Tanjiro kill the Water Hashira!” “Stop Tanjiro!
Lord Water Hashira is our last hope!” “Stop him!” The dozen or so surviving members immediately left the wounded who had just received treatment, grabbed the nearest Nichirin Swords, and rushed toward Tōru.
“Water Breathing, First Form: Water Surface Slash!” “Wind Breathing, Third Form: Clear Storm Wind Tree!” Not one of them was Tanjiro’s equal for even a single exchange.
They were effortlessly torn open at the throat, their spines ripped apart, their bodies thrown about like garbage.
Tōru watched as all of those ordinary Demon Slayers were killed.
Then even the Kakushi, who did not know Breathing Styles, rushed forward to shield him from the rampaging Tanjiro.
The remaining few Kakushi grabbed him by the arms and dragged him into a secluded corner where he would be difficult to find before returning to the battlefield.
One Kakushi stayed behind.
She removed her mask, revealing the face of Tsutako, Tōru’s older sister.
“Tōru, Tōru, can you hear me?” His sister looked at him with the same gentle expression she had worn in his memories.
“What happened to you?
Why aren’t you moving?” “Can you still understand what I’m saying, Tōru?” “Tōru, you’re the only person left in the Demon Slayer Corps who can defeat Tanjiro.
Hurry and move—” Before she could finish, a pale, skeletal shape shot over from the battlefield.
A vicious bone spike pierced straight through her heart.
Yet Tōru still could not speak.
Tears streamed down his face, but he could do nothing.
He could only watch the familiar scene happen all over again.
“Tōru…” His sister’s warm hand suddenly turned cold.
It slid down his cheek.
“You have to live.” The long bone spike, like a scorpion’s tail, dragged her lifeless body backward.
Footsteps sounded.
Calm.
Unhurried.
Almost leisurely.
At some point, Tanjiro had returned to walking upright.
But he was wearing Muzan Kibutsuji’s black suit and that gaudy top hat, with a frivolous smile hanging on his face.
He draped Tsutako’s body over his right shoulder.
Another corpse hung from his left hand, while a third was slung over his left shoulder.
Tōru’s eyes widened.
His exhausted body was swallowed by an even deeper terror.
The remaining two corpses were Sabito and Nezuko.
Their bloodless faces were filled with disappointment, as though they were condemning Tōru.
Even they had been brutally killed by the demonized Tanjiro.
“Why are you making that face?” Tanjiro looked down at Tōru from above and spoke in Muzan Kibutsuji’s voice.
“I told you long ago.
Demon Slayers are all insane.
They actually think they can oppose me.” Using a bone stained with Tsutako’s blood, he wiped the tears from Tōru’s face, leaving a red streak behind.
“Why not simply think of me as a flood, an earthquake, or a volcanic eruption?
Does anyone foolishly seek revenge against a natural disaster?” “You could have lived quite easily if you’d just changed the way you thought.
Find some odd job and live a peaceful life.
It’s not difficult.” “And look at you now.
Other than your own life, you have nothing left.
Almost everything important to you, everyone you knew, has become nothing but a memory.” “To be honest, seeing you suffer like this makes me reluctant to kill you.” Tanjiro paused.
Then, as though he had thought of something, an exceedingly sinister smile spread across his face.
“Oh, I almost forgot.
There seems to be someone important to you who is still alive.” Tōru’s heart stopped for an instant.
He knew exactly who Tanjiro meant.
[Master Urokodaki!] “Oh, right.” The demonized Tanjiro’s crimson eyes deliberately glanced at the corpses of Sabito and Nezuko.
“I never gave him a proper gift when I became his disciple.
I suppose I’ll make up for it now.” “He’ll surely be delighted to receive these two gifts.
After all, the two of them and I are among the children Master Urokodaki cares about most.” With that, he turned and began walking toward the direction of the rising sun.
That was the direction of Mount Sagiri.
“Of course, I’ll tell him that I couldn’t have prepared these gifts without your help.” “Keep living like this, Tōru Tomioka.” “Always be protected by someone stronger.
Always survive every battle.
You’re the luckiest person of all, yet you insist on living with the most miserable expression imaginable.” “So be it.” “You and I will live forever and ever together!” [Tanjiro!] Tōru stared in horror as Tanjiro walked farther and farther away, a sorrowful cry echoing through his heart.
[Please!
Wake up!] [Please!
Kill me!
Don’t go after Master Urokodaki!] Tanjiro seemed to sense something and slowly glanced back.
But this time, Tōru saw it clearly.
That was no longer Tanjiro’s face.
It was Muzan Kibutsuji himself, wearing a smug, triumphant expression!
He sneered and continued onward with the three corpses.
[It’s him!
It’s him!] [That’s right.
If it were the gentle Tanjiro, how could he possibly do these things?!] [That damn monster!] Tōru’s eyes widened.
A furious flame erupted through every part of his body, restoring control over his battered limbs.
He stared fixedly at Muzan’s retreating back.
White vapor poured endlessly from his nose and mouth like smoke billowing from a factory chimney.
[I absolutely cannot let him hurt Master Urokodaki.] He walked over to Murata’s severed arm, took the hand still gripping its sword, and attached the arm to his own severed limb.
Strangely, it worked perfectly.
Because this was a hallucination.
[I absolutely cannot let him take Sabito, my sister, Tanjiro, and Nezuko away from me again—] [They’re all my family!] Murata’s blue Nichirin Sword seemed to sense his determination.
A surge of water suddenly erupted from its blade.
Like Tōru himself, it longed to unleash one final strike against the enemy twenty meters away, even if doing so meant exhausting every last bit of its strength and vitality.
“Water Breathing, Tenth Form…” Muzan seemed to sense something and turned around in surprise.
“You still have the strength to fight?” He casually threw the three corpses from his body, making Tōru’s fury burn even hotter.
“Then I’ll play with you!” He moved both hands through a series of strange motions.
Buildings surrounding them suddenly collapsed with thunderous crashes, forming barriers between the two of them.
The bodies of the Demon Slayers along the path were trampled beneath the falling debris once again.
Their imagined screams stained Tōru’s eyes completely crimson.
“Constant Flux!” Accompanied by a terrifying dragon’s roar, a ferocious water dragon surged forward like a speeding train, smashing straight through the buildings blocking its path.
Tōru had never felt so powerful.
As he rotated his body and recovered his blade, the water dragon swept its massive tail through the obstacles ahead, blasting them into countless fragments.
With every rotation, the dragon’s roar grew louder.
Its body became increasingly solid.
Its two empty eyes gradually began to glow, as though a living soul had taken residence within it.
One wall.
Then another.
Then a third, fourth, and fifth— Each was destroyed more completely than the last.
The final obstacle was a ruin more than three meters thick, yet the dragon’s head smashed straight through it and reduced it to dust!
Fear finally appeared in Muzan Kibutsuji’s eyes.
He suddenly leaped high into the air, attempting to avoid the dragon’s gaping jaws.
But how could Tōru possibly let him escape?
He stamped both feet against the ground, shattering the earth beneath him.
The blue blade and dragon’s head soared into the air together.
On the face once mocked for being expressionless appeared an expression more vicious than that of any demon!
In desperation, Muzan moved both hands through a series of motions and spewed out a huge mass of flames.
But the water instantly extinguished them.
The billowing steam was completely useless.
Tōru made his final turn.
The colossal dragon opened its jaws.
It was about to tear the enemy apart— When suddenly, the sun rising in the east split into more than a dozen suns.
Every one of them turned crimson.
Each developed strange tomoe patterns.
And slowly began to rotate.
The next moment, Uchiha Tōru woke from the Genjutsu.
He was currently “flying” through the air, surrounded by six or seven copies of Shisui, each bearing a Three-Tomoe Sharingan.
[What am I doing?!] Tōru had no time to think.
He didn’t even fully understand what had just happened.
But he knew Shisui was his friend.
He immediately dispersed the chakra concentrated in his hands and halted his sword strike.
Blood nevertheless spilled from the corner of his mouth.
The water dragon, more than fifty meters long, instantly transformed into countless droplets of rain that showered the surrounding trees.
Tōru, having exhausted himself completely by abruptly changing his technique, fell toward the ground.
In midair, every Shisui blocking his path vanished instantly.
Just before Tōru could hit the ground, the real Uchiha Shisui suddenly appeared directly beneath him and caught him in his arms.
Meanwhile, Uchiha Enka, who had narrowly escaped death, collapsed onto the ground, drenched in sweat.
After repeatedly using large-scale Earth Release and several Fire Release: Fireball Jutsu, he had almost completely exhausted his chakra.
Yet he had never seen a Water Release technique that could curve, protect its user, and continue advancing alongside the caster.
Unfortunately, he was in midair and hadn’t even had time to use the Substitution Technique.
Especially that final expression Tōru had given him.
The overwhelming hatred and disgust had left him trembling with fear.
[What could that brat possibly be most afraid of…?] Before he could recover, Uchiha Shisui put Tōru down and used the Body Flicker Technique to appear in front of Enka.
“Sorry, but I can’t let you remember this.” Shisui stared directly into Uchiha Enka’s eyes.
The Three-Tomoe Sharingan in his left eye rotated five or six times before finally stopping just short of changing form.
Enka promptly collapsed unconscious.
He had only altered a few minor details in Enka’s memories.
There was no need to use a Mangekyō Sharingan technique.
A simplified Genjutsu was sufficient.
When Uchiha Enka woke up, he would forget that Tōru possessed the Sharingan and believe that the Water Dragon Bullet had been Shisui’s work.
As long as his ocular power could not surpass Shisui’s, his original memories would not resurface.
After finishing everything, Shisui used the Body Flicker Technique to return to Uchiha Tōru’s side.
“Little Tōru, you’ve really made me look at you in a different light this time.” Shisui carefully removed the ninja blade from Tōru’s hand and tossed it far away.
Only then did he point toward the area behind Tōru.
“Of course, my cleanup work is going to be a real headache later.” Tōru turned around.
His eyes widened in disbelief.
The center of the previously neat Training Ground had become a muddy wasteland of ruins.
An arcing trench more than two meters wide stretched twenty or thirty meters across the ground.
The Training Ground looked as though it had been plowed by some enormous plow, not to mention the shattered stones scattered everywhere.
“Did…
I do this?” Tōru asked hoarsely.
Across the trench, he saw Sasuke slumped on the ground, breathing heavily as though he had witnessed something terrifying.
Unfortunately, Tōru was already completely exhausted and had no strength left to walk over and comfort him.
“Hey, have you completely forgotten?” Shisui patted Tōru on the shoulder.
“You directly defeated a prospective Jōnin.
You only started learning chakra extraction today, and you’ve already reached this level.
You’re seriously amazing.” [Though I doubt anyone else could have done it.] He carefully observed Tōru’s face, curiosity filling his heart.
He wanted to know exactly what was going on with that Water Release technique that was even more troublesome than the Water Dragon Bullet.
A water dragon that couldn’t be dodged, whose power kept increasing, that could carry its caster forward and even change its attack direction freely in conjunction with Taijutsu…
Calling it an A-rank ninjutsu wouldn’t be an exaggeration.
Forget its speed for the moment.
At the very least, it looked considerably more spectacular than Kakashi-senpai’s Chidori.
Most importantly, the technique didn’t require hand seals!
And that vicious swordsmanship Tōru had used to cleave apart the massive Earth-Style Wall— Could something like that really be cultivated by chopping vegetables in the kitchen?
Shisui considered himself someone who had already seen plenty of strange things.
Yet Tōru’s performance today had genuinely shocked him.
It was a pity Itachi wasn’t here.
Otherwise, Shisui would have loved to see his expression.
Hadn’t Sasuke already been scared stiff over there?
[I really should have taken a picture with a camera.
Then I could show it to him when he grows up…] Tōru felt nothing from Shisui’s praise.
Instead, he lowered his head dejectedly.
[If only I’d had this kind of strength back then.] He looked at his painful, burning right hand.
Knowing that he was still inside a Genjutsu, he subconsciously did what that previous Genin had done and used chakra to cover the muscles around his chakra points.
That was how he had managed to cause such enormous destruction.
As for the ninja blade, it had merely been a prop.
This power astonished him.
But it had come far too late.
There was another matter troubling him as well.
He had actually lost control just now and nearly killed that child.
“What about the other three?” After glancing at the Uchiha Enka sleeping soundly nearby, Tōru finally remembered the other three Uchiha Genin.
With such a huge disturbance, if the three of them had been caught up in it…
“You’re too kind-hearted, kid.
What’s wrong with teaching them a lesson?
They won’t come bother you again.” Seeing Tōru’s face grow paler and paler, Shisui quickly pointed toward the three boys hanging neatly from a tree.
“Don’t worry.
They’re fine.
Right now, you’re actually the most seriously injured person here.” His expression became slightly more serious.
“Remember this.
Never exhaust all your chakra and physical energy at once.
Otherwise, you’ll die.” Tōru sensed his own body.
Shisui was right.
The chakra he had extracted that morning was completely exhausted.
However, the remaining physical energy that had not yet been converted into chakra was still there, though there wasn’t much left.
He was already approaching the danger threshold.
It seemed that such overwhelming power from Constant Flux came with a price.
“I understand.” Tōru used Shisui’s shoulder to pull himself upright.
“Take me to Sasuke.” “No need.
Someone will bring him over.” As soon as Shisui finished speaking, Tōru saw Itachi appear beside Sasuke.
Itachi first looked at the wrecked ground in confusion, surprise flashing through his eyes.
He then asked Sasuke a question.
Sasuke merely stared ahead with a grim expression.
Apparently, he had been badly frightened.
There was nothing Itachi could do.
He hoisted Sasuke onto his back and walked toward Tōru and Shisui.
Seeing the questioning look in Itachi’s eyes, Shisui gently shook his head.
“Let’s take these two home first.
We’ll talk while we clean this place up later.” Itachi glanced at Tōru’s swollen right hand.
He knew Shisui was right.
They needed to treat his injuries first.
He created two Shadow Clones.
One would serve as Shisui’s “assistant,” while the other carried Tōru.
Itachi’s original body then nodded gratefully toward Shisui before leaving with Tōru and Sasuke.
The Shadow Clone stayed behind with Shisui and listened as he explained what had just happened.
…
The three brothers—four, counting the clone—didn’t say a word throughout the journey.
Itachi could feel that Sasuke’s entire body was cold, while Tōru was visibly exhausted.
Unfortunately, Shisui’s clone had not yet dispelled, so Itachi didn’t know exactly what had happened.
But he could make a few deductions.
That dragon’s roar and the marks on the ground should have been caused by the Water Dragon Bullet.
But Shisui didn’t possess Water Nature chakra.
As for Uchiha Enka, a potential enemy who could cause trouble, Itachi knew his abilities as well.
He likewise lacked the ability to perform a large-scale Water Release technique.
Then the only possible answer was…
Uchiha Itachi sighed.
Too many things had happened today.
One problem after another left even this young boy feeling overwhelmed.
Fortunately, his father didn’t know much about what had happened.
Itachi had only begun secretly observing them around lunchtime.
He had arranged for a clan Jōnin to provoke Uchiha Enka and lure him over because he wanted to use the hot-tempered Enka to make his two younger brothers suffer a little, thereby motivating Tōru to learn ninjutsu.
After all, how many children could tolerate being bullied?
Even if Tōru didn’t care about himself, what if he saw Sasuke being bullied?
In his father’s eyes, although the method was somewhat underhanded, it was still the better choice.
Otherwise, they would have had to work together with the clan’s Jōnin to come up with another solution.
And if that happened, Tōru would truly lose his freedom.
After thinking it over, Itachi decided to reach an agreement with his father, with both sides taking a step back.
First, his father would conceal Tōru’s Sharingan awakening from the clan.
Second, Itachi would patiently guide Tōru toward learning ninjutsu, especially persuading Tōru to agree to attend the Ninja Academy.
Third, Itachi had promised his father that he would participate in next month’s Chūnin Exams and, afterward, join the ANBU according to his father’s arrangements, becoming the Uchiha’s spy within the Hokage’s administration.
But he never would have imagined that the village leadership had exactly the same idea.
After returning home, he carried Sasuke and Tōru into their room and let them rest for a while.
Itachi then personally went to find a medical ninja he knew to treat Tōru.
He had used Shadow Clones far too many times today and didn’t have much chakra left.
The spacious room now contained only Sasuke and Tōru.
Similar faces.
Similar expressions.
After a long while, Tōru was still the one who reached out to Sasuke first.
He felt that any child who witnessed something like that would have been terrified.
It would be best to comfort Sasuke the same way he had comforted Nezuko.
What he hadn’t expected was for Sasuke to turn around and give him a firm hug first.
“Tōru, from now on, I won’t ever let you cry again.” He remembered something he had once read in a children’s storybook about a general.
If someone you believed would never cry suddenly cried so desperately, then that person must have suffered an unimaginable amount of pain.
Compared to the strength Tōru had displayed, those tears had shaken Sasuke far more deeply.
Tōru froze for a moment.
Then, with his uninjured arm, he gently wrapped it around Sasuke’s shoulders.
He said nothing.