Naruto Immersive Replay, The Curse of the Sharingan

Page 184

"True Self," "Home," "Stars"

"Huh? What does this say?" Deidara peeked out from behind your shoulder, his blond hair brushing against your mask. "I can't understand a word of it!"

You gently brushed his hair aside, got up, and walked towards the century-old cherry tree in the center of the courtyard.

Under the moonlight, the cherry blossoms had a translucent quality, and the branches were covered with colorful wishing plaques that made a soft rustling sound in the wind.

You hung the three signs on different branches, your fingertips lingering for a moment on the rough bark, silently reciting:

[May I become my true self]

—You wish to find your true self amidst endless confusion.

[May Nagi return to her home]

—May Nagi find her way home.

[May Showa find the stars!]

—May the Showa era never again be lost in hell.

The night wind suddenly picked up, and the cherry tree branches rustled as if the gods were whispering. You withdrew your hand and turned around to find that everyone else had already hung up their wishing plaques and were sitting on the prayer mats on both sides of the shrine, waiting.

Hidan was impatiently swinging his leg, while Kisame was gazing thoughtfully at the starry sky.

"You all rest first." Your voice was much gentler than usual. "I'll offer one more prayer."

Facing the statue in the main hall of the shrine, you clasped your hands together and bowed deeply, each bow filled with utmost piety.

The first bow, forehead touching the ground, reminds you that you are a blank slate.

The second bow, with hands clasped together, you see the people who have passed away in the Showa era, people whose lives could not be recovered.

On the third bow, close your eyes and concentrate. You will see countless parallel universes where Nagi is equally lonely.

The candlelight inside the shrine suddenly flickered violently, casting your shadow on the mottled wall like a crane about to take flight.

The Akatsuki members' eyes unconsciously followed you. Nagato's Rinnegan reflected your lowered eyelashes, Kisame's fingertips unconsciously caressed the bandages on Samehada, and even Hidan temporarily stopped fiddling with his bloody three-month scythe.

This is a side of you they've never seen before—not the ruthless Tanuki Lord in missions, not the strategist who chats and laughs in meetings, but a devout, fragile, and seemingly fragile supplicant who might vanish into the moonlight at any moment.

After the ceremony, you slowly rose, your expression returning to its usual calm, and walked towards the waiting crowd, softly saying, "Go back."

Just as you turned to leave, a sudden gust of wind swept through the cherry tree.

The wishing plaques collided with each other, making a crisp sound, and one of them landed with a "plop" on the puddle of bluestone.

“The wishing plaque fell to the ground; that’s not a good sign.” Mei Terumi bent down to pick up the wooden plaque, her bright red fingernails tracing the still-wet ink. “‘Homecoming’…what an abstract wish.”

You suddenly turn around.

The night wind suddenly became biting, and you saw the wooden plaque turning in Mei Terumi's hand, the ink on the two characters "Homecoming" blurred by the rain like an unhealed wound.

When you snatched back the wooden plaque, your icy fingertips brushed against Mei Terumi's palm, and everyone saw the tremor in that instant.

You clench the wooden plaque in your palm with such force that you almost crush it. Suddenly, the cherry tree behind you shakes violently, and countless wishing plaques fall like tears of blood.

The wooden signs inscribed with "True Self" and "Stars" still hang high in the treetops, casting interlaced shadows under the moonlight.

The scorpion's puppet strings silently wrapped around your wrist. "Want to go back and reattach them?"

"It's just that the wind is too strong," you said, trying to sound calm. "There's no special meaning behind it."

But you know in your heart that the gods may have already given the answer.

Nagi's fate, like this fallen wishing plaque, will ultimately not remain in its rightful place.

You look up at the night sky, the stars are obscured by dark clouds, leaving only the lonely moon radiating a cold light.

"Let's go," you finally said softly, quietly tucking the wishing plaque into your sleeve, and stepping down the stone steps, your silhouette appearing particularly slender in the moonlight.

Behind me, the cherry blossoms rustled again, as if telling a prophecy that no one could understand.

The other members of Akatsuki exchanged glances, but eventually followed in your footsteps. No one noticed that a tear silently slid down your cheek and disappeared into the night of the Land of Rain.

Fate always cruelly blows away the most precious wishes.

The sky over Amegakure was as gloomy as ever, with leaden clouds hanging low, but today was different; the sound of pattering rain was mixed with cheers rising and falling.

The damp streets were crowded with villagers and ninjas wearing rain gear, and all eyes were focused on the slender figure on the central avenue.

"The new leader of the Akatsuki organization, Lord Tanuki!"

"I've heard that even the Shadows of the Five Great Nations are wary of her!"

"That arrest warrant...that's really audacious..."

Whispers spread like a tide behind you, but you ignored them, your fingertips lightly tracing the mottled brick wall by the roadside.

"So everything was foreshadowed..." you murmured to yourself, raindrops falling on your eyelashes like a tear about to fall.

“Three hundred million taels.” Kakuzu’s voice came from behind, tinged with rare satisfaction. “Your bounty has set a record.”

You didn't turn around, but gently stroked the new black robe with red clouds that you had changed into. This robe felt much heavier than usual, perhaps because it carried too many expectations and ambitions.

"Afei and Xiaonan did a good job," you commented casually, recalling the deliberately ambiguous wanted poster.

In the scene, you are reclining on the throne in the Akatsuki's main hall, your eyes are lazy yet dangerous, your clothes are slightly open, and you are surrounded by the core members of the Akatsuki.

That arrest warrant should have spread throughout the five major countries by now, becoming a topic of conversation for countless people.

Turning a corner, you suddenly stop. At the entrance of Amegakure, a huge banner flutters in the rain, with exaggerated lettering that reads, "Congratulations, Tanuki-sama, on becoming the leader!" It is signed by Yahiko and Nagato.

Your lips twitched. When did these two develop such terrible taste? You decided to pretend you didn't see them and quickened your pace toward the base.

At the base entrance, White Zetsu were busily moving intelligence scrolls.

Since being enslaved as intelligence agents, these white creatures have become unusually diligent, perhaps out of fear of your Sharingan.

In a corner of the hall, Black Zetsu was trapped in a specially made container, futilely crashing against the transparent wall.

As you pass by, Black Zetsu lets out a hoarse roar, "You won't succeed! Lord Madara—"

Just as you sat down on the throne, the space beside you suddenly twisted and spun, and Obito appeared out of thin air, so close he was practically whispering in your ear, "The plan went smoothly, but you..."

His warm breath brushed against your ear. "Why did you choose 'Li Nu' as your new name?"

Instead of answering immediately, you lazily shifted your posture, a movement that slightly opened your collar, revealing a faint curse mark on your collarbone.

You noticed that Obito's gaze lingered there for a moment, and a silent smile played on his lips beneath the mask.

"Because...cats have nine lives."

Your voice was soft, yet it seemed to pierce through time and space, carrying a weight of destiny.

The swirling mask concealed Obito's expression, but his single eye remained fixed on your retreating figure. "This doesn't explain anything," he said in a low, hoarse voice.

A bitter smile curved your lips, and the reflection in the puddle distorted, shattered and reformed by the falling raindrops, in an endless cycle.

Looking down at my palm, I see that it once held a knife and was stained with blood, and was also tightly held by "you" from another world, where warmth was passed on.

"Do you know why I can use the power of the Hannya?" you countered. "Why can my Sharingan influence spacetime?"

Obito's body stiffened almost imperceptibly for a moment. This question touched upon your exceptionally powerful eye power, which was almost not of this world.

“‘Tanuki’ is the code name for another world,” you whispered, “symbolizing immortal power, but in that world, Nagi and Showa were the real people who existed.”

Your fingertips gently touch your heart, but it's empty; there's no heartbeat that truly belongs to you.

"And I... am merely a consciousness created by Nagi when she tore through space and time to conceal the power of Hannya."

Obito's breathing paused slightly.

You look up, and it seems as if another soul is watching him from the depths of his dark pupils.

"I inherited her memories, the emotions of the Showa era..."

"But it is not an individual."

The room fell silent, with only the sound of rain filling every inch of the air.

Obito clenched his fist, then slowly relaxed it. He recalled the first time he saw you, his eyes filled with complex emotions that he couldn't understand.

Did you already know back then that you weren't truly alive?

“The most ridiculous thing is,” you chuckled softly, but your voice was colder than the rain, “I have all their memories, Nagi’s pain as she struggled in the time rift, Showa’s hundred years of wandering in hell… I remember every detail, but I can’t feel that it was my experience.”

You turn to face Obito, "Can you understand? The emptiness of possessing all memories yet being unable to find one's 'self'?"

"So who are you now?" Obito finally asked. "Nagi? Showa era? Or something else?"

“I don’t know,” you answer honestly, “but I know I must finish what they left unfinished.”

Obito suddenly felt an indescribable emotion welling up inside him. He wanted to say something, perhaps to comfort him, perhaps to question him, but in the end he just stood there.

"Will you continue to use the name 'Li Nu'?" he asked finally.

"Yes, I am the embodiment of their hopes."

A bolt of lightning cleaved the sky, illuminating the Akatsuki members who had suddenly appeared. Nagato's Rinnegan glowed eerily in the darkness, Yahiko's hand rested on a kunai, Konan's paper sword was half-drawn, and Hidan was licking the blade of the blood-stained three-month scythe with his tongue.

"Oh dear, they heard us~" Your tone suddenly became light, as if your confession had never happened.

“We’ve come to invite the leader to dinner.” Yahiko’s voice was eerily calm. “It seems the time is not right.”

"Tanuki..." Xiao Nan stepped forward, the paper flower blooming and withering in her palm. "What you said earlier... was it true?"

Looking at the complex or hurt expressions on everyone's faces, you suddenly feel exhausted. These emotions are too heavy for a single consciousness to bear.

Chapter 173 The Creator

"If I told you that what stands here is merely a vessel holding other people's memories..." your voice was as soft as a sigh, "would you still look at me like that?"

Surprisingly, Hidan was the first to respond, laughing as he slung his scythe over his shoulder. "Isn't that even better! A perfect body without a soul is just what you need to become an evil god!"

"Shut up, idiot." Sasori's puppet tail lashed out at Hidan, and Hiruko's mechanical eyes flashed with a dangerous light. "Whoever you are, this body is indeed the closest thing to a perfect work of art I have ever seen."

Deidara bounced over, "You wicked girl! I'm going to make you nine hundred and ninety-nine roses out of clay! Mmm!"

Nagato and Yahiko exchanged a glance and sighed simultaneously.

Xiao Nan gently took your cold fingers in her hand. "Memories cannot define a person entirely. Even if you were initially born as a vessel, you now possess your own will, don't you?"

The thought of wanting to become a real, existing individual suddenly enters your consciousness, like a seed falling into barren soil.

At this moment, you finally understand: whether you truly exist or not, those cherished people and things, those bonds you are determined to protect, will leave an indelible mark on time and space.

And that, perhaps, is the whole meaning of your existence.

The moment the blond boy lunged forward, Kisame's Samehada was already blocking the way, Hidan's Mitsuki Scythe hooked onto your belt, and Kakuzu's Earth Grudge Fear black lines were wrapping around your calves.

"The leader should look at my financial report first."

"We clearly agreed that you would instruct me in physical skills!"

"The evil god needs me..."

Amidst the chaos, your black hair cascades down like a waterfall. Gazing at the faint ripples on the ceiling, you suddenly yearn for the peaceful life before the bounty of three hundred million taels was placed on your head.

"Let go, all of you." You formed a hand seal, and your shadow clones kicked away all those who were entangled with you. "Now I'm going to..." Your words were cut short, because Shisui was standing at the door, holding a vermilion crown that symbolized the leader's position, and the Divine Might Space had begun to devour the hem of your clothes.

The rain is still falling. White Zetsu's intelligence network shows that seventeen elite teams from the five great nations have accepted your bounty mission.

Looking at your collar, which has been messed up by everyone in the mirror, you suddenly feel that the price tag of 300 million taels is still too low—after all, just to quell the internal strife in the organization, it would be worth adding another 200 million.

The map is adorned with markers of various colors, and the tip of your pen hovers above the Land of Hot Springs, hesitant to fall.

Outside the window, raindrops wove a hazy curtain, blurring the whole world into the hues of an ink painting.

“The supply route to the north should pass through the Land of Frost.” Kakuzu’s hoarse voice came from behind, carrying a keen sense of money. “The tariffs there are 20% lower than those going through the Land of Iron.”

Your pen finally fell, drawing a winding red line. You turned your head slightly, and Kakuzu was standing behind the chair, his green eyes fixed on the numbered markers on the map.

You can smell a faint scent of blood and copper rust on him—Kakuzu never hides his obsession with money.

"I'll do it your way," you replied softly, your fingertips unconsciously stroking the pen.

Kakuzu's lips curled up almost imperceptibly, and his withered finger pointed to another spot on the map, "And here too!"

"Hey, hey, aren't you getting a little too close?" Deidara's voice suddenly cut in. The blond boy had appeared in the doorway at some point, toying with a lump of clay in his hand. "The wicked girl will be overwhelmed by your money-grubbing, hmm!"

Kakuzu's eyes instantly darkened. "Deidara! Do you want to be a wanted criminal?"

Deidara nonchalantly made a face and hopped over to your other side. "You wicked woman, behold my new art bomb! It's way more interesting than some miser's ledger!"

Your temples ache slightly; this scenario plays out almost every day.