Deep below Konoha, in a facility few even knew existed, a door opened with a hydraulic hiss.
Inside the chamber, something moved.
The lights flickered violently as chakra-reactive cells in the walls strained to suppress the being held within.
A figure hung suspended in the center of the room—strapped to an obsidian restraint platform with runes scorched into his skin. His body was humanoid… mostly. But jagged distortions fractured the symmetry of his limbs, and his chakra signature pulsed like a corrupted frequency.
His eyes opened.
One was red with a warped Sharingan spiral, the other a cracked, dim Byakugan.
And both turned toward Danzo.
"You… again."
Danzo stepped into the chamber flanked by two elite Root ANBU. "Subject X-42. You have a purpose again."
The creature grinned, revealing sharpened teeth stained with dried blood.
"I want… to feel it again. That Void. It tasted like a god bleeding."
Danzo's lone visible eye narrowed. "You'll get your wish. But if you fail…"
He tossed a single explosive tag at the ground. It sizzled and stopped two inches from X-42's foot, bound to his life signature.
"…you'll be erased."
Meanwhile – Training Ground 14
Ardyn stood at the center of a massive circle, Void runes etched into the earth with precision. His hands moved in a slow kata—an ancient motion taught not by a mentor, but by the memories of a realm that whispered to him in his dreams.
"The edge between form and formless. Create the echo, then strike with the shadow."
[SYSTEM NOTICE: VOID KATA – STAGE 1 UNLOCKED]
[SKILL ACQUIRED: Phantom Rift Slash – Short-range dimensional rupture dealing energy bleed damage]
As the final motion completed, a crack tore the air in front of him—just for a moment. Space split open, then healed.
Perfect.
But the moment of triumph died as the atmosphere shifted.
Ardyn felt it first as a stutter in the system.
[WARNING: INTERFERENCE FIELD DETECTED]
[VOID ACCESS DISRUPTED BY 32%]
He turned.
And saw it.
A figure crawling out of the tree line—half-walking, half-lurching—its chakra signature a maelstrom of rage, mutation, and cold design.
Subject X-42.
No warning.
No diplomacy.
Just violence.
The ground exploded as X-42 launched forward with unnatural speed. Ardyn barely sidestepped as a corrupted Rasengan—unstable and vibrating violently—ripped through the air where his chest had been.
He snapped his fingers.
Black tendrils erupted from the dirt in response—but fizzled out before contact.
Anti-Void dampening field, he realized.
X-42 grinned, chakra leaking from every pore like venom. "Pretty. Let's see how you scream."
He lunged again—this time using Body Flicker, enhanced with stolen Hyuga chakra control. Ardyn traced the motion but was still caught in the shoulder, blood spraying into the air as a jagged kunai slashed him.
[SYSTEM ALERT: MINOR DAMAGE – BLEEDING – VOID RESPONSE LIMITED]
Pain flared—but so did focus.
Ardyn kicked back, sending a pulse of Void into the earth. The ripple destabilized the terrain for a second—just long enough for him to retreat to a higher ledge.
"You're not a person," he said calmly, already calculating. "You're a blender of stolen bloodlines and broken experiments."
X-42 laughed. "And you're meat wrapped in void. Let's break each other."
Inside the Hokage Office – Minutes Later
Tsunade stood rigid, eyes locked on the flashing distress rune from the training ground.
Iruka and Shizune were already moving to respond.
"Should we intervene?" Shizune asked.
Tsunade didn't answer immediately.
Part of her wanted to.
But another part… needed to know.
What is he truly capable of?
Back on the battlefield
Ardyn exhaled.
The bleeding slowed—partially cauterized by his internal Void temperature regulation.
He extended his arm—and with effort, wrenched a piece of space into a jagged dagger of folded dimensions.
"Let's test your limits, freak."
They clashed.
For minutes, the field became chaos—chakra blasts, void ruptures, and taunts hurled between strikes. Every movement from X-42 was erratic yet calculated, as if a madman had been trained to kill like a god.
But Ardyn wasn't holding back anymore.
His eyes gleamed with fractured starlight.
[SYSTEM OVERRIDE: PARTIAL REALITY CORRUPTION GRANTED – 3 SECONDS]
He whispered the command.
"Collapse."
The world twisted—just for a heartbeat.
And X-42 froze.
His limbs locked. His vision blurred. The corrupted Sharingan began to melt.
Ardyn moved.
His Void dagger pierced the creature's side—straight into the core where multiple chakra natures fought endlessly.
For a moment—just a moment—X-42 looked human.
"…help…"
Then—
Boom.
A black explosion erupted in a contained sphere, absorbing sound and light. Trees warped. The ground cratered.
When it cleared…
Ardyn stood at the edge.
Barely breathing.
Bleeding from his side.
But victorious.
[ROOT SUBJECT X-42: TERMINATED]
[VOID RESONANCE BOOST: +8%]
[SKILL UNLOCKED: Anti-Field Disruption Pulse]
Meanwhile – ROOT HQ
Danzo watched the feed cut to static.
He turned away, furious.
"He killed it," the ANBU reported.
Danzo's silence was volcanic.
"…Prepare Subject X-43. And activate the contingency project. If he won't join us…"
A mechanical hiss echoed from below.
"…then we'll make another."
Back in Ardyn's mindscape
He stared at the broken dagger in his hand, blood trickling down his arm.
This world was adapting to him faster than expected.
And something inside him stirred.
A voice.
Faint. Cold. Ancient.
"The seal weakens, Void Prince. When it breaks, even you will kneel."
Ardyn narrowed his eyes.
"…Then I'll break it first."
[CHAPTER END | NEXT: The Marked Hyuga and the Scroll of Shadows]