Naruto Immersive Replay, The Curse of the Sharingan

Page 193

I traveled to every place that might have clues to the Rinnegan, and each disappointment only fueled my madness.

Once, I saw Chiri in an illusion.

She stood under the cherry blossom tree, wearing that light purple yukata, and reached out her hand to me. "Showa, let's go home."

But I no longer have a home.

I lunged at her to hug her, but I fell into the icy river.

When I woke up, I was choking an innocent villager, who was already dead.

"I'm sorry..." I let go, tears falling onto his corpse, "but I must bring her back to life..."

The day I awakened the Rinnegan, I thought I had finally triumphed over fate.

The blood-red moon hung high, and the power of the Six Paths surged within my body. I knelt in the center of the altar, my hands forming a mudra, preparing to cast the "Reincarnation and Rebirth Technique".

—She's coming back soon.

—My star can finally shine again.

But just as the surgery was about to be completed, my chest was pierced through.

The excruciating pain came a second late. I looked down and saw a dark, viscous, writhing hand piercing through my heart. Blood dripped from its fingertips, blooming into a glaring flower on the ground.

I turned my head in a daze and met a twisted black creature.

It has no facial features, yet it seems to be laughing, with countless painful human faces churning inside its viscous body.

—It was it that killed Chiri.

It ruined everything I had.

"Aaaaaaahh ...

I let out a heart-wrenching scream, my Rinnegan spun wildly, and black flames ignited from my palms, but the monster dispersed like a shadow and then coalesced behind me again.

“It’s no use…” Its voice sounded like the overlapping cries of millions of people, “Prajna is destined to be…lonely.”

I knelt on the ground, blood spilling from the corner of my mouth, but I laughed, laughed maniacally, laughed grotesquely.

"You can't kill 'Two-Headed'!" I stared at it, my pupils gradually dilating. "We will...reunite in hell..."

After my death, my soul did not return to the Pure Land.

Obsession bound me like chains, making me wander on the edge of the underworld, until one day, death appeared before me.

His figure was tall and decaying, and an empty echo came from beneath the bone mask: "Lost souls who linger in this world, what is your obsession?"

I raised my empty hand, as if I could still touch the warmth of Chiri's hair.

"I'll wait for her..."

"Waiting for a chance to see her again..."

Death remained silent for a long time before finally speaking, "At the cost of eternal damnation, are you willing to await the reincarnation of Prime Minister Prajna?"

I nodded without hesitation.

Even if my soul is scattered and my spirit is destroyed, even if I am never to be reincarnated.

Thus, the contract was established.

Time is frozen in hell.

I floated above the sea of ​​blood, watching my soul being devoured by vengeful spirits, only to be reborn again and again.

I wander between the underworld and the flames of karma, watching one reincarnation after another appear and perish.

They were too weak...so weak that they couldn't even touch the edge of the Rinnegan, so weak that they couldn't withstand the power of the Six Paths.

The blood moon rose and set, and countless years have passed.

Every time hope is ignited and then extinguished, it feels like a dull knife repeatedly cutting open my soul.

"Zhili..." I knelt among the spider lilies, my ethereal fingertips tracing the petals, "Am I... never going to see you again..."

Just when I was about to give up, she was born.

I heard the baby crying, the blood moon was in the sky, I peeked out through the cracks of hell, and the Nanhe River outside the delivery room suddenly flowed backward, and countless souls screamed in the whirlpool, a sign that the Left Prime Minister Prajna was about to be born.

I laughed maniacally, and the sound startled a sky full of blood-red crows.

"Found it... finally found it...!"

She was in more pain than I was, but she was also stronger than me.

She is my other half.

He is the one who can bring me back to Zhili.

When Uchiha Nagi first awakened her Sharingan, I whispered to her from the depths of hell, "Kill...hate...when you are strong enough, I will give you everything!"

Including these two Rinnegan eyes.

Including my century-long obsession.

The chance to see Chiri again.

(—The Showa era memories end here)

The rain outside the window falls softly, and you sit alone on the veranda, your fingertips gently caressing the unopened bottle of sake.

I just finished reading all the memories left by Showa, those bloody past events, those hysterical obsessions, and that crazy woman who died before the cycle of reincarnation but still refused to close her eyes.

"How wonderful it is that you have healthy meridians, a heartwarming story, and so many people who love you." Showa's voice still seemed to echo in my ears, with a hint of manic laughter.

Promise me you'll taste something sweet for me.

You lower your eyes, suddenly chuckle, and abruptly pull out the cork, the rich aroma of the wine instantly filling the humid air.

"To the curse." You raise your glass to the void, a sarcastic smile playing on your lips. "To fate."

The crisp liquor slid down my throat, burning with a searing pain, "A toast to us, broken yet still breathing."

(I've tasted the sweetness, but why do I still want to cry?)

Chapter 181 - Impure Land

Rain pattered against the glass of the tower. Members of the Akatsuki gradually gathered in the conference room. You were the last to enter, your black robe with red clouds swaying gently with each step.

After glancing around, your slender eyebrows furrowed slightly. "Where's Dou?" Your voice wasn't loud, but it instantly silenced the noisy conference room.

Orochimaru leaned against the wall, a hint of amusement flashing in his golden vertical pupils. He shrugged. "Who knows where he is?" His tongue unconsciously licked his lips. "Perhaps he's doing his...little experiments in some dark corner."

You didn't respond; you simply walked to your place.

Several gazes followed you: Deidara's burning gaze, Sasori's focused attention hidden beneath his puppet, Kisame's playful smile, and Nagato's eternally unfathomable Rinnegan.

"Now that everyone is here, let's begin." Yahiko's voice was devoid of any emotion. "According to intelligence, the locations of the nine tailed beasts have been basically determined. The task allocation at this meeting will determine the direction of our next move."

Konan spread the scroll out on the table, with the location information of each Jinchūriki marked on it.

As you lean over to look, a strand of black hair slips down from behind your ear. Deidara almost instinctively reaches out to help you brush it away, but Sasori's puppet strings beat him to it.

All eyes are on you again; this isn't the first time this has happened.

Just as you were pondering how to respond, Nagato interrupted the farce, "Enough, Boss and Tobi will take care of the One-Tail, Deidara and Sasori will continue to work together to capture the Three-Tail, and the rest of you will proceed as planned."

After the meeting, the members left one after another.

You stand by the window, gazing at the ceaseless rain in Amegakure, and feel that something is amiss today, especially Kabuto's absence. He never misses a meeting without a reason.

"What are you thinking about?" Obito, disguised as Tobi, suddenly emerged from the ground, his voice deliberately lighthearted beneath the mask. "You're not thinking about me, are you?"

You've long been used to his elusive nature. "Ah Fei, do you know where Dou went?"

"Eh~ Senior Tanuki is actually concerned about that bespectacled guy? I'm so sad!" Afei exaggeratedly clutched his chest, but then paused for a moment. "But... it seems he went to the forest to the north."

As you ponder this, think of the northern forest... there, besides the abandoned training grounds, there's only...

An ominous premonition rose in my mind.

Kabuto pushed up his glasses, the outline of the dark cave reflected in the lenses. Black Zetsu's information was correct; your chakra did indeed remain here.

“Finally found it…” Kabuto’s fingertips traced the damp stone wall, feeling the residual chakra fluctuations on it.

Years of experience as a medical ninja allowed him to accurately distinguish the chakra characteristics of different people—not only yours, but also Tobi's chaotic yet profound aura, Zetsu's inhuman fluctuations, and...

Dou's breath hitched.

A powerful, chilling lingering aura of chakra, even after the passage of time, still sent a shiver down his spine.

He had only felt this kind of oppressive feeling when Lord Orochimaru mentioned that legend.

"Uchiha... Madara..." he murmured, his voice echoing in the empty cave.

The cave was dark and damp, with only a few rays of sunlight seeping in through the cracks. I lit a tinderbox, and in the dim light, the graffiti on the stone wall gradually became visible.

The crooked stick figures are facing each other, each holding a kunai, with a scribbled explosion pattern and even a few clumsy hearts.

These childish traces stand in stark contrast to your image as powerful ninjas, yet they inexplicably make Kabuto's chest tighten.

He imagined what you would be like living here, perhaps you would sit on this flat stone organizing ninja tools, perhaps you would lean against that wall taking a nap, your long hair cascading down like a waterfall... and those damned Uchiha, just naturally, would surround you.

"This is really...unpleasant." Kabuto's fingernails dug into his palm unconsciously.

The deeper you go, the heavier the air becomes.

Kabuto's medical ninjutsu senses told him that the chakra residue was most concentrated here.

A deep scratch ran down the wall, as if cleaved by a sharp weapon; several rusted shuriken lay scattered on the floor; in the corner, there was even half a charred bandage. Did you ever bandage someone's wound here? Was it for Tobi? For Zetsu? Or for... Madara?

Jealousy coiled around his heart like a venomous snake. He quickened his pace until he reached the end of the cave, where a wordless stone tablet stood silently, its surface smooth as a mirror. It had no name, no epitaph, yet it exuded an undeniable presence.

Dou's knees suddenly went weak, and he had to hold onto the wall to keep from kneeling.

Even after many years of death, Madara Uchiha's aura remained terrifying. He trembled as he took off his glasses and wiped the cold sweat from his forehead with his sleeve.

"Is this...the most important man in her heart?"

You never mentioned Ban to anyone, but Dou heard you whisper that name in your dreams more than once during his night shifts.

Her cold and aloof face would reveal a softness never seen during the day; her long eyelashes would tremble slightly, and a faint smile would grace her lips—an expression that Dou would never see when you were awake.

The light from the tinderbox shone on the stone tablet, and Dou seemed to see a phantom in a daze: a tall, black-haired man with his back to him, his red armor glowing blood-red in the firelight.

You stood beside him, looking up and saying something, your eyes filled with adoration and...love? The phantom vanished in an instant, yet it made Dou's stomach twist in agony.

"Heh...it's enough to make your teeth ache with envy." Kabuto's voice was hoarse and unlike his own.

He remembered your cold and distant expression during every Akatsuki meeting; he remembered the occasional tenderness you showed during training that you only showed to that idiot Tobi; he remembered the complex emotions in your eyes when you looked at Orochimaru, none of which belonged to him, Kabuto Yakushi.

“Since I can’t get it while I’m alive…” Kabuto took out a scroll he had prepared beforehand from his ninja tool pouch, his fingers trembling slightly with excitement, “then let the dead tell me the answer.”

The technique of Impure World Reincarnation clearly appeared in his mind. He didn't care whether it would anger Lord Orochimaru or what consequences it might cause.

At this moment, all he wants to do is see for himself what makes the man who has captured your heart so special.

“Uchiha Madara…” Kabuto bit his finger, and blood dripped onto the unfolded scroll. “Let me see if the legend is true.”

The light from the spell erupted like a tidal wave, engulfing the entire cave, and Kabuto Yakushi's vision was filled with blinding white light.

The feeling of his chakra being rapidly drained was like someone scooping out his internal organs with a spoon. Cold sweat slid down his temples and condensed into a precarious droplet on his chin.

"Ugh—" Dou squeezed out a painful groan from his throat, but he still stubbornly kept his eyes wide open, staring intently at the direction of the stone tablet. His fingers dug deep into the soil, his nails splitting and bleeding, but he was completely unaware.

In the light, the paper-thin pieces of impure earth gathered as if they were alive, first outlining the lines of long legs, then the broad chest covered with red armor, and finally the face that only existed in the secret scrolls of the Uchiha clan, with a pair of Rinnegan slowly opening beneath the sharp, knife-like brow bone.

The deep, authoritative voice wasn't loud, but it sounded like a heavy hammer striking the eardrum.

The loose rocks on the cave walls fell in a soft rustling sound, as if the entire mountain was trembling in anticipation of the legendary return.

Dou's blood froze instantly. Some ancient instinct made him want to kneel down in worship, but he bit his tongue to stay awake with the pain.

As the light faded, Madara Uchiha stood perfectly intact before him.

His long black hair moved without wind, forming a majestic figure behind him. Red armor covered his explosive body, and every muscle line spoke of invincible power.

What's most breathtaking is that pair of legendary eyes, with purple ripples slowly flowing within them, as if they could see right through the soul.

Kabuto's knee slammed heavily onto the ground, not out of courtesy, but as a primal reaction to absolute power. He trembled as he looked up and saw Madara looking down at him, his eyes as cold and icy as ice.

"You'd better have a good reason to explain this offense." Ban's voice was calm, but it made Kabuto's eardrums buzz, as if someone was ringing a bell in his head.

Kabuto swallowed with difficulty, his throat as dry as if he had swallowed a handful of sand. He forced himself to lift his head, his eyes behind his glasses were bloodshot, but he revealed a twisted and excited smile, "Welcome back... Lord Madara."