Chapter 365: What's Under the Mask?

"Everything's fine. You've just hit a growth spurt, that's all."

"For now, make sure you get enough energy, sleep more, try not to refine chakra too much, don't overwork your body, and don't use the Delicate Illness Extraction Technique to interrupt your development—"

"Unless you're okay with your new teeth not growing in and staying in a kid's body."

"They'll probably be here soon. I can help you keep this lost-tooth thing under wraps, but the rest is on you."

After finishing a quick exam on Link, Main-World Tsunade took the report and left with a yawn.

But things weren't over yet.

Weighed down by his worries, Link left the house wearing a Kakashi-style face mask he'd just bought. Then he received a message via Tobirama's "Web Network," summoning him to the Hokage's office.

Walking in, he found quite the gathering: basically the entire All-Star lineup—everyone who really mattered in the Allied Shinobi Forces was present.

"Why the mask?" Tobirama was the first to ask.

"No reason. Just felt like wearing one," Link replied, unwilling to explain (and not sure he could). Fortunately, no one could force him to take it off.

Tobirama's face tensed in a little frown but he didn't push it. After all, kids can do random stuff sometimes. He went straight to the point: "So what happened?"

"Nothing at all," Link answered stiffly. "I just suddenly felt like getting a checkup."

Everyone turned their eyes on him, and the pressure was suffocating—though not because of hostility. On the contrary, they all genuinely cared about him, which made it even harder for him to admit what was really going on.

How would he even say it?

Say that it was all a false alarm, and it's just me losing a tooth and freaking out, so everyone rushed over to worry about me?

Too embarrassing.

Besides, losing a tooth is something he absolutely had to keep secret. If anyone found out, that would be… well, catastrophic.

Trying to look calm and determined, Link put on a "serious" face.

"If you don't want to talk about it," said Hashirama #1, breaking the silence, "then let's just leave it at that."

Final-Chapter Sasuke was first to stand up and go. Hashirama #2 scratched the back of his head, saw there was nothing more to say, and left as well.

Tobirama sighed, like he still had something on his mind. In the end, he kept quiet, stood up, and gave Link a look that said "Come see me if you need anything" before heading out.

Final-Chapter Naruto patted Link on the shoulder before leaving too. One by one, they drifted out until only Main-World Sasuke, Utakata, and Main-World Jiraiya remained.

"Why are you still here?" Link asked Jiraiya, none too politely.

Jiraiya spread his hands. "This is the Hokage's office, isn't it?"

"Oh… right." Link suddenly realized and walked toward the door. "Well, do your job. Good luck."

Once the three of them were out of the Hokage Building, Link spoke up. "Don't ask why. I'm totally fine—healthy as can be."

Utakata looked curious but didn't push it, exchanging a glance with Main-World Sasuke.

(We'll talk about this later.) x2

They communicated instantly through a subtle genjutsu link.

"Ugh…" Link sighed, looking tired. "I'm heading home for a nap."

He planned to follow the doctor's orders. There really wasn't much else he could do; after all, he definitely didn't want his teeth to stop growing in or his body to remain stuck at its current size.

And his shadow clones could handle everything in the meantime. Even without his mutated ninjutsu, just his Black Shadow Army alone was enough to keep him at Six Paths-level power. If he stayed put in the Main World, there were basically no threats.

Plus, the Main World was his home turf—he had Utakata on one side, Sasuke on the other, and if worst came to worst, he could summon other Six Paths-level big shots through the Web portals. There was no scenario in which he'd be in real trouble.

(Sleep… sleep…)

Feeling dazed, Link made it back home. His shadow clones had already prepared everything: tidied the room, laid out fresh sheets, fluffed the blankets (giving them a light, comforting scent), closed the curtains, and lit one of his homemade incense burners to make the room as cozy as possible.

He collapsed onto the bed, and his clones helped him change into pajamas and get under the covers. Within seconds, he was out cold.

…

Meanwhile, at Training Ground Seven…

"Let's figure out what's actually going on with Link," Utakata said enthusiastically.

He still needed more material for his "movie," and investigating the secret behind Link's mask could make for a fascinating plot.

Main-World Sasuke thought it over and agreed readily. "Alright."

"But with the Black Shadow Army always on alert, we might not even get close to him. Any weird moves, and the shadows will stop us. You and I alone can't handle that," Sasuke pointed out.

It wasn't that he didn't want to know what was up with his friend; it was just that, realistically, they couldn't pull it off. Maybe if they got everyone to team up, they'd stand a small chance of ripping off that mask. But considering the two Hashiramas and the adult Naruto & Sasuke from the future world wouldn't join them in such mischief, that was basically impossible.

"True," Utakata agreed. The Black Shadow Army didn't just represent raw combat power—it was full 360-degree defense. He recalled that some of those physically enhanced clones were tough enough to tank a Tailed Beast Bomb to the face without flinching. Unless you had Sage Arts or Truth-Seeking Orbs, breaking that defense was impossible.

"I can handle the defense-type shadows," Sasuke said with a confident tap on his eye. He'd awakened another Mangekyō Sharingan ability before fighting against Kaguya, though his own power level at the time had slowed him down. In the final fight, he'd gotten thrown into one of Kaguya's alternate spaces and barely participated until the very end.

In truth, his new eye power was extremely strong—enough to matter even against an Ōtsutsuki. It was how he'd had the confidence to challenge Uchiha Madara in the Fourth World.

"The other shadows are still a big problem, and there's a ton of them. We need the right timing—" Utakata mused. Then both he and Sasuke's faces lit up with the same realization.

"One month from now, the new Fourth Great Ninja War!" they both exclaimed in unison.

They were already planning to put on an epic show together, so when the Black Shadow Army was deployed, that might be their chance to make a move.

The only worry was whether Link could keep his secret that long.

Sasuke shook his head. "We'll play it by ear. If the opportunity arises, we'll try. If not, we'll just let it go."

He'd initially thought teasing his friend might be fun, but it started to feel a bit off. If he really wanted to know, he could just ask Link directly. Doing something sneaky seemed a bit out of character for him—he was the cautious type, after all.

"Right…" Utakata calmed down from his earlier excitement and sighed. "Argh, seriously."

It did seem interesting, but going full prank-mode just felt wrong.

"So, what do you think is under that mask?" he wondered aloud, still brimming with curiosity.

~~~

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