Naruto Immersive Replay, The Curse of the Sharingan

Page 185

You subtly leaned back, creating distance between yourself and the two. "Deidara, conduct the explosion experiment outside the base. Kakuzu, submit the financial report to me tomorrow."

Both of them showed reluctance, but under your calm gaze, they eventually stepped back.

Before leaving, Deidara stuck his tongue out at Kakuzu, who responded with a cold snort.

When the room finally quieted down, you breathed a sigh of relief, rubbed your temples, and looked down at the small sand table in the corner of the map.

This is your projection model of the changes in the ninja world's landscape over the next five years. Each miniature flag represents a force, and the Akatsuki's black flag has already covered most of the territory.

“The plan is perfect,” Xiao Nan’s voice came from the doorway, holding a steaming cup of tea. “But you should rest.”

You take the teacup, your fingertips accidentally touching Xiao Nan's fingers. You pause for a moment, then Xiao Nan quickly withdraws her hand. A paper flower floats down from her sleeve and blooms into a white lotus on the table.

"Thank you." You took a sip of tea; it had a light bamboo scent that you liked. Xiao Nan always remembered these details.

“Yahiko and Nagato brought back new information,” Konan said, her gaze falling on your slightly bluish eyelids. “But we can deal with it tomorrow.”

You shake your head, "Show it to me now."

Xiao Nan hesitated for a moment, then turned and left. The instant the door closed, your shoulders finally relaxed. You put down your teacup, covered your face with your hands, and took a deep breath.

They care about you a lot.

A cold voice suddenly rang in your mind, and your body stiffened abruptly. The voice was all too familiar.

"You're awake," you replied in your mind, your expression returning to calm.

Deep within your soul, a woman who looks exactly like you but has no expression opens her eyes. Around Nagi is an energy vortex, the suppressed power of Hannya.

"This world is starting to reject us." Nagi's voice entered your mind directly. "I can feel the barriers of spacetime thickening."

【The power of Prajna must be completely diluted, otherwise...】 Nagi didn't finish her sentence, but you understand the consequences: the existence of all three of them will be erased by the laws of space and time.

"Why do this?" you suddenly asked. "Why risk diluting it when you could simply take back this power?"

A brief silence fell over the depths of her soul. After a long while, Nagi's voice rang out again, but it was a little softer than before.

You possess a bond and warmth that I and my Showa era never had; this happiness is worth the risk.

A sudden pang of sadness wells up in your chest. You've always thought of yourself as merely a vessel, a tool to conceal your true power, but it turns out that in the eyes of the Creator, you are already an independent individual, even someone who is cherished...

A knock on the door interrupted your thoughts, and Yahiko's voice came from outside, "Tanuki, I've brought the intelligence scroll."

You quickly composed yourself and said, "Come in."

Yahiko pushed open the door and entered, his orange hair standing out under the light. His gaze swept over the map and sand table spread out on the table, and an approving smile appeared on his lips. "Working overtime again?"

"Just some minor adjustments." You take the scroll.

“Nagato said there’s something unusual going on in Kirigakure,” Yahiko pulled up a chair and sat down opposite you. “The Mizukage seems quite unhappy with our new policies.”

You unroll the scroll, forcing yourself to focus on the information, but deep in your soul, Nagi's presence grows stronger.

"This boy likes you," Nagi suddenly pointed out, her tone as flat as if she were stating the weather.

Your eyelashes trembled slightly, but you maintained a calm demeanor. "Strengthen border patrols, but do not provoke any initiative."

"It's already been arranged. By the way, I heard that Kakuzu and Deidara had another argument today?" Yahiko casually brought it up.

You shake your head helplessly, "That's normal."

Yahiko suddenly leaned forward, so close that he could smell the warm, sun-like scent emanating from him. "Don't overwork yourself. There are some things we can handle."

You instinctively lean back, only to bump into the back of the chair. Yahiko's gaze was so sincere that you didn't know how to respond for a moment.

"The Creator will instinctively be tolerant and protective of its creations." Nagi's voice rang out again. "But that's not a reason for you to hesitate now."

You smiled bitterly to yourself, but Nagi always seemed to see right through you.

“I’ll be careful,” you finally said to Yahiko, subtly changing the subject. “I’d like to leave the liaison work with Kirigakure to Konan.”

Yahiko seemed a little disappointed, but he still nodded in agreement. After he left, you finally breathed a sigh of relief and slumped back in your chair.

"What should I do?" you ask yourself softly, and also ask that being deep within your soul.

Just be yourself. I created you not to make you a second me, but to give you a complete life that neither I nor the Showa era could have.

Suddenly you realize something: you are not only the creation of Nagi and Showa, but also the continuation of their hopes, carrying their power and walking a completely different path in life.

The feelings that the Akatsuki members have for you, no matter how they ultimately develop, will be proof of your existence as an individual.

Deep within her soul, Nagi closed her eyes again, continuing to suppress the restless power of the Prajna, but before falling asleep, she left behind her last words:

Remember, you deserve to be loved, not only because of who created you, but also because of who you are.

In the middle of the night in Amegakure, the lights on the top floor of the Akatsuki base were still bright. You put down the last volume of documents you had finished reviewing and gently pressed your temples with your fingertips.

Five years have passed, and since taking over the leadership, working late into the night has become the norm.

"It's already this late..." you murmured to yourself, your black robe with red cloud patterns slipping off your shoulders as you stood up, revealing your snow-white neck.

Reaching out to turn off the light, moonlight immediately poured in through the floor-to-ceiling windows, bathing the office in a cool, silvery-blue glow.

The corridor was silent, except for the sound of your footsteps echoing on the stone walls.

As you pass by the members' rest area, your pace unconsciously slows down. Deidara's door is covered with hearts made of exploding clay; Hidan's door cracks are seeping with the smell of blood and candlelight; and Kakuzu's door is neatly decorated with bouquets of folded currencies from various countries.

Now you sit quietly in the leader's seat, watching them approach one by one, and you never refuse them.

"I just didn't want to see them disappointed..." you explained to yourself.

When you push open the door, you see a bouquet of fresh paper flowers on the table. It was Konan's handwriting, and each petal was imbued with subtle chakra, ensuring it would never wither.

A bottle of sake sat beside the bed, its label bearing the flamboyant words "Celebrating the Boss's Overtime Work Again Today," written in Yahiko's handwriting, with a crooked smiley face drawn next to it.

On the windowsill, a clay bird tilts its head and looks at you. It's Deidara's masterpiece, with the words "Exclusive to the Wicked Woman" engraved on its wings.

And the corner...

—Standing there is a dusty puppet.

Your steps paused slightly.

Five years ago, after a mission, he silently placed that piece of art in your room, never explaining its purpose.

Later, the puppet was forgotten in a corner and gradually accumulated dust.

You walk over and gently stroke the puppet's cold cheek with your fingertips. "...What a waste of a work of art."

Pick up a soft cloth and start wiping the dust off the puppet.

Joints, torso, hair... every detail is exquisitely crafted. When your finger slides to the back of the puppet's neck, you suddenly touch a tiny protrusion—a hidden button.

You raised an eyebrow slightly and pressed it.

"—Click."

The puppet's chest cavity slowly opened, revealing a crystalline chakra core. At the same time, Sasori's voice came from the core, deep and calm, yet with a barely perceptible tremor.

"I love you, from the parts to the core."

Your fingers are frozen.

The "love" you know is the same as Madara Uchiha's relentless pursuit of Nagi in another world, going to great lengths to keep her by his side.

The Showa era's mad pursuit of Jiri for a century, even at the cost of destroying the world, was to reshape her soul.

— Passionate, persistent, morbid, tragic.

That kind of love was too extreme, so extreme that you subconsciously avoided all the feelings directed at you by members of the Akatsuki.

You can't refuse.

You love Yahiko's cheerful smile, Nagato's silent protection, the paper flowers blooming from Konan's fingertips, the dazzling explosion of Deidara's clay, and even the fiery core hidden within Sasori's cold puppet body...

—You don't want to see anyone disappointed.

You suddenly feel like a stranger. You slowly walk to the dressing mirror. The moonlight gilds your silhouette with silver edges. The person in the mirror has slightly red eyes, but a strange smile on their lips.

"And what about me?" You traced a misty path with your fingers on the mirror. "What should I look like?"

It lacked Nagi's indifference and Showa-era madness.

You stand on the edge of the precipice between normalcy and madness, yearning to be loved yet fearing to repeat the tragedy of the Creator. This contradiction tears you apart, causing cracks to appear in your usually perfect mask.

"Heh...heh..." A low chuckle escaped from his throat, quickly turning into an uncontrollable, manic laugh.

Your shoulders trembled violently, and your black hair fell down, obscuring your expression. How ridiculous it is that a soul that has never truly experienced pain refuses all touch because it is afraid of pain.

"...Why should an incomplete person expect normal love?"

Since I can't be as coldly refusing as Nagi, nor as crazy and persistent as Showa, then... I'll choose the third path.

Chapter 174 Beauty Wine

The laboratory lights were a stark white, casting a long, distorted shadow on the face of the pharmacist Kabuto.

He pushed up his round-framed glasses, which had slipped down, the lenses reflecting the eerie green fluorescence in the test tube, obscuring his snake-like vertical pupils.

In the petri dish, the cell sample was proliferating at an eerie rate, sometimes exhibiting plant-like veins, and sometimes turning into a viscous black fluid.

"Interesting..." Kabuto lightly licked his lips, his pen moving swiftly across his notebook. "Even more astonishing than Lord Orochimaru's data..."

In the corner, the Black Zetsu in the specially made container suddenly opened its pale white eyes, and its imprisoned body slowly writhed in the transparent solution.

Five years have passed, and for the first time since it was captured by the design, it spoke on its own initiative: "Do you know who Uchiha Nagi truly cares about most?"

The sound, like the friction of rusty iron, echoed through the laboratory via the chakra conduction device.

Dou paused for a moment, but quickly continued writing, as if he hadn't heard the sudden conversation.

"What does this have to do with me?" His answer was understated, yet subtly forceful, the pen tip piercing the paper.

Black Zetsu's lips parted into an unbelievable arc, revealing its gleaming white teeth. It knew this kind of person all too well: a mad scientist, an abandoned orphan, a follower who lived forever in the shadow of others.

It waited patiently, until it turned to get another set of test tubes, before unleashing its fatal blow: "What if it could destroy the ninja world?"

"Crack—"

The test tube slipped from the holder and bloomed into a pale blue glass flower on the ground.

The solution evaporated into purple smoke upon contact with air, filling the laboratory.

Kabuto's pupils contracted sharply behind his glasses, his fingers trembling unconsciously as he recalled the scene he had witnessed at the Akatsuki base three days prior—

You lean against the cherry blossom tree for a rest, your black hair spread out like silk. Sasori's puppet is gently fanning you, Deidara's clay bird is hopping on your shoulder, and even Kisame, who usually doesn't care about anything, is silently standing not far away, using his large sword to shield you from the glaring sunlight.

And that string of bells on your wrist is clearly an antique that Zhou Ju didn't hesitate to spend a fortune to buy last week...

"Nonsense!" Dou suddenly raised his voice, as if trying to convince himself. He roughly took off his glasses and wiped them, but couldn't stop the throbbing veins on his temples.

The temperature in the laboratory seemed to rise suddenly, causing fine beads of sweat to seep from his back beneath his white coat.

Black Zetsu's laughter was like fingernails scraping glass. It slowly turned in the solution, revealing its chest pierced by chains. "Every time you delivered her lab reports, you'd specially change into that new robe...what an adorable crush~"

Dou's face turned deathly pale instantly. He turned around abruptly to organize the equipment, the chaotic clanging of metal echoing through the laboratory.

Those details he thought no one would notice—the adjusted angle of his glasses, the love poems secretly tucked into the report, even the deliberately slowed breathing when you passed by—were all seen by this monster.

"Shut up." Kabuto's voice was low and dangerous, as a scalpel slid out from his sleeve and twirled between his fingers. "Say one more word, and I'll cut you into a specimen."

Black Zetsu laughed even more heartily, its chains rattling with its movements. "Anger proves I was right... Think about it, if we could get Nagi's 'most important person' as a bargaining chip..."

Its voice suddenly became as sweet as honey, "Not only will you get her, you'll also make the entire ninja world kneel at your feet..."

Kabuto's breath hitched for a moment as two images flashed through his mind: one was the genuine smile you gave him, and the other was the "ultimate ninjutsu" that Lord Orochimaru had dreamed of and that he had personally performed.

Two desires, like a two-headed serpent, tore at his crumbling reason.

“Boring.” In the end, Dou coldly tossed out this word and strode toward the laboratory door. His back was stiff as a puppet, and the hem of his white coat drew a sharp arc in the air.

Black Zetsu simply floated leisurely in the solution, watching the figure flee in panic.

It knew the seed had been sown, and that, in the soil of jealousy and nourished by ambition, it would soon grow into a towering poisonous plant.

"I'm waiting for you to come back and beg me... you little snake cub..." Black Zetsu's voice faded into the empty laboratory.

You lean back on the throne, one hand supporting your cheek, a long black robe with red clouds loosely draped over your body, revealing a section of your snow-white shoulder. Your fingertips lightly tap the armrest, the rhythm slow and languid, like some kind of silent countdown.

As the last member stepped into the hall, you slowly raised your eyes, a strange light swirling in your crimson Sharingan eyes.

"Good morning everyone."

——Something is wrong.

Everyone noticed it.