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Naruto: End of the Shinobi World

Chapter 287: Fish Ponds and Fish · Oct 25, 2026

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Chapter List (423)

Page number / 9

251 Chapter 251: Three Against One 2026-10-25
252 Chapter 252: I’m Destroying the World. Why Do You Still Trust Me? 2026-10-25
253 Chapter 253: Extreme Regeneration 2026-10-25
254 Chapter 254: The Sealed Monster 2026-10-25
255 Chapter 255: Are You Brain-Dead? 2026-10-25
256 Chapter 256: Tsunade? 2026-10-25
257 Chapter 257: More Than Likely, Still a Sacrificial Pawn 2026-10-25
258 Chapter 258: Your Vision Is Too Small 2026-10-25
259 Chapter 259: Chakra Is the True Invader 2026-10-25
260 Chapter 260: Shaping the Heart in Reverse 2026-10-25
261 Chapter 261: How Did He Live for Over a Thousand Years? 2026-10-25
262 Chapter 262: Chaos in the Shinobi World Benefits Him 2026-10-25
263 Chapter 263: The Destruction of a Thousand-Year Civilization 2026-10-25
264 Chapter 264: The Sage of Six Paths Is Dumbfounded 2026-10-25
265 Chapter 265: Naruto, You Wouldn’t Want That Either… 2026-10-25
266 Chapter 266: Karin Appears Again 2026-10-25
267 Chapter 267: Sasuke, You Idiot 2026-10-25
268 Chapter 268: Twisting the Knife 2026-10-25
269 Chapter 269: And Why Should He Care If the World Drowns? 2026-10-25
270 Chapter 270: Come Out—And Destroy This World for Me 2026-10-25
271 Chapter 271: A Yellow Dog 2026-10-25
272 Chapter 272: Prosperous Wealth ( Wangcai)? 2026-10-25
273 Chapter 273: Did She Just Get Buffed Again? 2026-10-25
274 Chapter 274: Sage Art? Devoured. 2026-10-25
275 Chapter 275: Susanoo? Devoured. 2026-10-25
276 Chapter 276: The Meteor? Shattered. 2026-10-25
277 Chapter 277: Sakura Returns 2026-10-25
278 Chapter 278: Karin’s Fury 2026-10-25
279 Chapter 279: We Need to Leave — Now 2026-10-25
280 Chapter 280: A Red Stone? 2026-10-25
281 Chapter 281: Why Can’t We Be the Invaders? 2026-10-25
282 Chapter 282: All of Them Are Invaders 2026-10-25
283 Chapter 283: Does It Even Matter? 2026-10-25
284 Chapter 284: Other Worlds 2026-10-25
285 Chapter 285: Better to Do Nothing at All 2026-10-25
286 Chapter 286: Orochimaru Is Thrilled 2026-10-25
287 Chapter 287: Fish Ponds and Fish 2026-10-25
288 Chapter 288: Baiting? 2026-10-25
289 Chapter 289: The Toy Kingdom 2026-10-25
290 Chapter 290: Karin’s Ambush 2026-10-25
291 Chapter 291: In the End, It Still Comes Down to Orochimaru 2026-10-25
292 Chapter 292: Creating a Monster? 2026-10-25
293 Chapter 293: When the Time Comes, Who Will Be the Pond Owner? 2026-10-25
294 Chapter 294: Has Neji Been Turned into a Toy? 2026-10-25
295 Chapter 295: Does the Entire Uchiha Clan Deserve to Die? 2026-10-25
296 Chapter 296: Three Trash? Who Else? 2026-10-25
297 Chapter 297: You Can Only Take Me With You 2026-10-25
298 Chapter 298: The Hyūga Clan… Has Geniuses? 2026-10-25
299 Chapter 299: Creating an Uchiha Light 2026-10-25
300 Chapter 300: Even Danzō Can’t Take the Blame for This One 2026-10-25

”From the perspective of a ’god,’ understanding worlds becomes much simpler.”

Sakura seemed satisfied with their reactions.

She no longer tried to explain through complicated power systems or civilizational structures. Instead, she chose the most direct metaphor.

Bending down, she extended a pale finger and casually poked several shallow, fist-sized pits into the cracked, scorched ground beneath her feet.

”For example—this is a ’fish pond,’” she said, pointing at one of the pits. ”And it represents a ’world.’”

She traced lightly within the shallow hole.

”The water, the mud, the nutrients inside—that’s the world’s fundamental laws and energy environment.”

She paused, glancing at the three of them.

”And the living things within it—shinobi, nobles, civilians, plants, animals…”

”They are the fish, shrimp, weeds, and microorganisms in that pond.”

The metaphor was simple—almost crude.

Yet it was chillingly intuitive.

They were… just fish in a pond?

Neji stared at the small pit, a vein throbbing at his temple.

Sakura moved her finger to another shallow hole beside it.

”This is another ’world.’ Another ’fish pond.’ It may have different water. Different fish.”

Different rules. Different lifeforms.

Then came the crucial step.

Sakura drew a firm line between the two pits.

A small trench formed, connecting them. Loose dirt slid down and mixed together.

”And this—”

”—is ’invasion.’”

Her voice was clear and cold.

”When the water of one pond—or a particular fish, or plant—enters another pond through some means.”

”Perhaps an accidental channel forms.”

”Perhaps a powerful ’fish’ digs through the wall itself.”

She straightened up, brushing the dust from her fingers.

”Chakra. Divine Arts. Demonic power.”

”All of these systems from beyond this world are, essentially, water or unique organisms from other ponds.”

”They flow into ours and alter the ecosystem. Some fish adapt and merge. Some perish.”

”And sometimes…”

She added calmly,

”They attract new predators.”

Her gaze settled on Naruto, Sasuke, and Neji—then seemed to pass through the heavenly curtain to every shinobi watching.

”And we—”

”Are native fish living in a pond that has already been invaded and mixed many times.”

”We think we’re competing for dominion over the entire world.”

”Without realizing there are countless larger ponds beyond ours.”

”And perhaps…”

”Owners who build, manage, connect—or destroy—these ponds.”

”As for ’gods’…”

Her tone grew distant.

”They are simply pond owners with the ability to construct, regulate, or casually link and erase these ponds.”

Silence.

No rhetoric or grand theory could have struck deeper than those crude holes in the dirt.

The world they had fought for—

Was perhaps just a pond.

The power they took pride in—

Water from somewhere else.

The struggles they called destiny—

Merely the chaos of fish adapting to ecological upheaval.

And the most terrifying part was this—

If a fish realized it was in a pond…

And learned of pond owners and other ponds—

What would it think?

What would it do?

Accept its fate?

Or try—madly—to leap out?

Naruto stared intensely at the two connected pits, his eyes flickering.

Across the shinobi world, reactions diverged wildly.

Some screamed.

Some collapsed.

Some stared blankly.

And some—like Orochimaru—burned with a completely different flame, a mixture of fear and ultimate longing.

Sakura’s metaphor was a key.

It unlocked not only imagination of a wider cosmos—

But the abyss of questioning one’s own existence.

After allowing the silence to stretch, Sakura spoke again, her tone almost advisory.

”So, Naruto.”

Her eyes fell on his clenched fist.

”You don’t need to take everything to extremes.”

”And you don’t need to believe you can accomplish anything—only to casually make promises without knowing how to fulfill them.”

”You’re just a fish in this pond.”

Her voice remained calm.

”Perhaps a stronger fish. A special one.”

”But you want to reshape the entire ecosystem. Replace the water itself.”

”Did you ask the pond owner?”

”Or do you think the owner cares about a fish’s opinion?”

Naruto’s face darkened instantly.

He shot his head up, fire blazing in his eyes.

”Even if I’m a fish—I’m a free one! I have my own will! My own choices!”

”Perhaps.”

Sakura neither agreed nor denied.

Then her tone shifted, carrying a faintly unsettling implication.

”Still… I suggest you recall what you once promised.”

”For example…”

She paused deliberately.

”Nagato.”

”Nagato?”

Naruto stiffened.

Memories surged—the leader of the Akatsuki, the devastation of Konoha, the promise of peace born from mutual understanding.

What did that have to do with ponds? With owners?

Before Naruto could spiral further, Neji forced his thoughts back to something tangible.

He inhaled steadily.

”So by your metaphor—”

”The Divine Arts system. The demonic system. Devil Fruits.”

”They are all forces that flowed into our world from other ponds. Correct?”

A logical conclusion drawn from everything she had said.

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