Chapter 297: Spirit Transformation

Disclaimer: Naruto and all of its characters belong to Shueisha and Masashi Kishimoto. I own nothing but the original characters I create.

"Dialogue"

'Thoughts'

-Author notes-

Chapter 297: Spirit Transformation

"The God of Death?..." Tsunade was no longer sure if Naruto was messing with her or being serious...he was always doing something ridiculous so it was hard to tell.

"What exactly are you planning?" Hinata asked.

"Yeah, and why did you need this?" Ino pointed at the man held by the ANBU agents.

Naruto's golden eyes glanced over the chained man. "Is this the sacrifice?"

"Sacrifice?!" the man exclaimed in shock.

The two agents looked at each other. "This man is a serial killer we recently captured. According to our initial orders, we were going to transfer him to the Blood Prison and schedule his execution for next week."

"He liked to target young villagers, for...well, it doesn't matter. He will be dead soon." The other agent added.

"Perfect. You can leave him with me then," Naruto said.

"What are you going to do with him?" Tsunade asked, though she could easily guess the answer involved killing him.

"You'll see in a moment." Naruto created a couple of clones, who moved to take custody of the prisoner.

"W-Wait! Don't leave me with him!" the man shouted. "I don't want t—mmm!" One of the clones covered his mouth.

"Thanks… I need to concentrate now. This operation requires perfect timing." Naruto pointed to a group of trees in the distance. "If you want to watch, make sure you do it from a safe distance. Things are about to get very dangerous, very soon."

Tsunade sighed. She understood that Naruto wasn't going to explain anything else, so they'd just have to wait and see what he had planned. Ino had mentioned something about a Heavenly Tribulation, but she had no idea what that was. What she did know was that it sounded dangerous.

"Let's go," she instructed the others.

Naruto sat back down and closed his eyes. It was finally time to break through and reach the Spirit Transformation Stage.

Inside his Mind Palace, the two Biju...the Eight-Tailed Beast and the Four-Tailed Beast were being contained by chakra chains and kept in a state of slumber.

'Let's get started…' He was already at the peak of the Nascent Soul realm, so he decided to start with the Eight-Tails first.

The chakra from that demon should be enough to push him past the barrier.

Naruto began absorbing the chakra from the octopus-like beast. It was a process he had done many times before, so it went quickly now.

A stream of chakra emerged from the sealed demon and traveled to his core, where all unnecessary impurities were filtered out. The chakra was then purified and refined.

This pure chakra was then mixed with Naruto's remaining reserves of Yin, Yang, and Natural Energy, creating his signature golden energy.

Only then did he allow it to flow into his soul, reinforcing it and pushing it ever closer to its limits.

To achieve the Spirit Transformation Stage, Naruto had to force his soul to its absolute breaking point. A transformation needed to occur...his spirit had to evolve to a semi-godlike state and cast off the limitations placed on all mortal souls.

All mortal spirits were the same. When a person dies, their soul travels through the Yellow River (Pure Land) to be purified and reforged. The soul then passes through the Purgatory Flames of the Underworld Cauldron, which burns away sin before allowing reincarnation.

This process also seals the memories of past lives.

However, this cycle could be broken, if someone transformed their spirit into something that was more than just a mortal soul.

In the real world, Naruto's body was now surrounded by a golden light that grew increasingly bright.

Tsunade and the others watched from a safe distance as it happened.

Ino, being the most familiar with cultivation, had some understanding of what Naruto was trying to achieve. Still, it was hard to comprehend how exactly one transformed a soul.

Hinata's eyes glowed with blue light as she observed the change in her husband. She could see things the others couldn't.

"What's happening to Naruto?" Tsunade asked. She might not have the ability or knowledge of his Dao Companions, but she could tell something fundamental was changing within him.

"I don't know how to describe it…" Hinata said at first. "To me, it looks like his soul is expanding… becoming more refined."

"You can see his soul?" Tsunade turned to the new Hyuga Clan leader. They had only briefly discussed Hinata's new eyes, but she had never mentioned this.

"Spirit Transformation... that's the name of the stage Naruto is trying to reach," Ino explained. "Supposedly, he'll regain memories of past lives… I just hope that, by the end, he's still the Naruto I know."

"Of course he will," Hinata said with conviction. "Naruto won't let a few extra memories change him."

"You think he could become a bit more polite? That wouldn't be so bad," Tsunade joked.

"Look!" Hinata pointed above Naruto. She wasn't sure if the others could see it too.

A column of golden light shot out from Naruto's body and pierced the sky. At the same time, his body began to levitate.

Nine orbs of pure light manifested behind his back, and finally, Naruto opened his eyes.

But what he saw next was not the charred forest clearing where he had been moments ago.

Instead, he saw an open field covered in green grass. In the distance, tall mountain peaks pierced the clouds.

There was no sign of Tsunade, Hinata, or Ino. He couldn't even sense the clones he had stationed throughout the Land of Fire.

"What is this place?" Naruto wondered, trying to figure out if something had gone wrong with his breakthrough.

He didn't think he had made a mistake.

That's when he noticed something peculiar. When he looked down at himself, he realized his clothes were completely different. He was wearing simple brown wool garments and a rope belt to keep his pants from falling.

Then he realized that he was not alone.

"Baaaa!"

Naruto turned around and found himself staring at a large flock of sheep.

"…What is this?"

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