Chapter 169
"Oh, Sakura? She had something to deal with, so she went back first. She'll probably return the day after tomorrow."
"Why? Menma, do you miss her?"
Sasuke leaned lazily against the sofa, raising his eyebrow playfully as he looked at Uzumaki Menma.
"Boring."
Menma glanced coldly at him, then shut the door and locked himself back inside the study.
Karin watched his every movement carefully.
She sensed it.
The Nine-Tails inside him had been sealed.
Not only that—even Menma's own chakra had been sealed as well.
A very sophisticated sealing technique.
And there were at least two different seals placed on him.
Troublesome.
"Karin."
A hand landed on her shoulder.
Sasuke spoke in an exaggeratedly wounded tone.
"Even if you've just seen the one you love, you don't have to stare at him like that."
"If you keep doing that, I'll get very hurt."
Who likes Menma, you idiot?!
The words were about to leave Karin's mouth when she noticed the meaning behind Sasuke's glance.
She immediately shut her mouth and fell silent.
They had finally managed to see Uzumaki Menma.
If they made any reckless moves now, things might only get worse.
"Here, I just bought some fruit. Try some."
As if she hadn't noticed the tension between them, Kaoru placed a plate of sliced fruit in front of the two.
"Thank you."
Karin nodded politely.
"Hey… Uzumaki Karin, right?"
Kyūsei, who had just been held back by Kaoru earlier, spoke while looking at the red-haired girl.
"Yes."
Karin pushed up her glasses and met his gaze.
"How many Uzumaki clan members are left in your world?"
"I'll answer that."
Kushina suddenly spoke up.
"During the Second Shinobi War, the Land of Water, the Land of Lightning, and the Land of Earth joined forces to attack the Land of Whirlpools."
"The Uzumaki clan was destroyed, and countless secret texts were lost."
"Most of the clan members perished as well."
"Among the Uzumaki we know of today…"
"The ones standing in front of you already account for three quarters."
Kushina shook her head sadly.
Three quarters?
Uzumaki Kushina.
Uzumaki Karin.
Uzumaki Menma.
"Then who's the last one?"
Kyūsei asked.
"There's another clan member."
"His name is Nagato."
—
Clang!
The clash between a black iron rod and a ninja blade echoed through the valley.
A red-haired figure and a black-haired figure moved like flashes of light, colliding repeatedly.
Every clash produced sparks.
In just a few seconds, the two had already exchanged dozens of blows.
An old, withered man watched them calmly.
Behind him stood a tall figure.
His body was slender, his arms crossed.
Half of his face was burned with flame-like scars, terrifying to look at.
The other half, however, looked like that of a handsome young man.
The contrast made his face strangely unsettling.
As if sensing the old man's presence, the two fighters stopped and walked toward him.
"Hikari. Nagato."
The elderly man looked at the two tools he had painstakingly cultivated.
"Teacher."
Nagato bowed respectfully.
Uchiha Hikari looked at the old man with complicated emotions.
She knew exactly why he had released her from the seal.
But humans had feelings.
No matter how unwilling she was to admit it, she had to acknowledge that Madara had spent tremendous effort training her.
Somewhere along the way, a teacher-student bond had formed.
Madara paid little attention to Hikari's complicated expression.
Instead, he introduced the figure behind him.
"This one is a life form I created using Yin–Yang Release."
"You may call him…"
"Yūma."
"Uchiha Yūma."
"He will assist you on your path in the future."
After Madara finished speaking, Uchiha Yūma gave Hikari and Nagato a rather awkward smile.
"There is one more."
A mass of black substance rose from beside Madara's feet.
Two eyes and a mouth appeared on the pitch-black form.
It grinned.
"Lady Hikari, Lord Nagato."
"I was created accidentally by Lord Madara."
"You may call me…"
"Black Zetsu."
Hikari frowned slightly.
This strange creature gave her an inexplicable sense of danger.
"Though accidental, his stealth and concealment abilities are exceptional."
"If necessary, you may use him to gather intelligence."
Madara was clearly reaching the end of his strength.
Even speaking a few sentences exhausted him.
"Teacher…"
Nagato looked at the man he respected deeply, his face filled with pain.
"Nagato…"
"You are the wielder of the Rinnegan."
"The world will change because of you."
"You will rule the world in the future and guide its direction."
"The last person to possess those eyes was the legendary Sage of Six Paths."
"This world is full of sorrow, pain, and regret."
"I hope that through you… it will bloom with beauty and happiness."
"It has already been proven that the Sage of Six Paths was wrong."
"Nagato, I hope you walk the correct path."
Madara's deep, hoarse voice echoed beside Nagato.
"Didn't you say you still had five years left?"
Hikari interrupted bluntly.
Madara had previously said he still had five years to live.
"Hah… I overestimated myself."
"But if you can pass through this period safely, it will be worth it."
His words were ambiguous.
He did not explain further.
Technically, he did have five years left—
But only if he continued using the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path to sustain his life.
Now that everything was prepared, he no longer needed to waste its chakra to stay alive.
He believed Nagato, Hikari, and Yūma were capable of facing the Nine-Tails jinchūriki.
And the current situation greatly favored his plan.
After just one war—
The One-Tails, Two-Tails, Four-Tails, Five-Tails, and Eight-Tails had already fallen under his control.
With a little more planning, they could defeat the Nine-Tails jinchūriki and gather all the tailed beasts.
Then he could revive himself with the Rinne Rebirth Technique.
Become the Ten-Tails jinchūriki.
And activate the Infinite Tsukuyomi.
The world would fall into eternal and beautiful peace.
What a wonderful future.
"Teacher…"
Nagato looked at the man who had guided him so carefully.
Tears filled his Rinnegan.
His parents had died at the hands of Konoha shinobi.
Yahiko had sacrificed himself for peace.
Now even his teacher was about to die.
This world…
"Nagato. Don't cry."
Madara spoke calmly.
"You are the one who will lead the world."
"You cannot show weakness."
"Do not disappoint me."
"Yes, teacher."
Nagato wiped the moisture from his eyes.
His voice became firm and resolute.
He had lost too much.
He could no longer rely on his teacher.
From now on—
He had to stand alone.
No…
Not alone.
Nagato glanced at Hikari beside him.
He still had companions.
Companions who would walk the path toward peace with him.
"From now on, the three of you must cooperate sincerely."
"Discuss matters together."
"Do not act recklessly."
"Cooperation is the foundation of success."
…
Hikari stood before a grave.
Madara had chosen this place as his burial site.
It was simple.
Plain.
Even the once-feared Asura of the Shinobi World eventually became nothing more than a mound of earth.
The sky was dark.
A soft drizzle fell.
Raindrops slid down Hikari's face.
This country that seemed to cry endlessly—
She had never liked it.
Not before.
Not now.
And not in the future.
"Lady Hikari."
A black mass rose from the ground beside her.
Black Zetsu looked up at the girl.
"What is it?"
Hikari asked coldly.
"Over the past two days, the White Zetsu have discovered several people repeatedly traveling between the Land of Fire and the Land of Wind."
"Sunagakure?"
Hikari frowned.
Although the Hidden Sand Village had been flattened by that mysterious tailed-beast attack, it hadn't been completely destroyed.
Several powerful figures still remained.
The Third Kazekage Kurozawa.
Sasori of the Red Sand.
The new One-Tails jinchūriki Karura.
Along with some capable shinobi and those who had been away on missions.
However, after that devastating attack, their overall strength had dropped to a tenth of what it once was.
If not for those three powerful figures holding things together, they might not even match Takigakure anymore.
Thinking about Takigakure reminded Hikari of the Seven-Tails she once controlled.
Now Takigakure had begun leaning toward Afterglow.
Something she did not want to see.
"It's not them."
"It's Konoha shinobi."
Black Zetsu looked puzzled.
"Konoha?"
Hikari frowned.
"What are they doing?"
"Not sure. But those Konoha shinobi will soon enter the Land of Wind again."
Konoha shinobi traveling freely between the Land of Fire and the Land of Wind—
Were they really ignoring Akatsuki so blatantly?
"Have the Third Kazekage Kurozawa bring those Konoha shinobi to me."
Hikari waved dismissively.
Her tone toward the so-called Kazekage carried the arrogance of a superior addressing a subordinate.
If Sunagakure had still been strong, she might have respected him slightly.
But now…
Heh.
—
Land of Wind
Sunagakure
The Third Kazekage stood quietly, watching the ruins of the village being rebuilt.
A trace of sorrow appeared in his eyes.
During the last war, Sunagakure had already been severely weakened because of Hiruzen Sarutobi.
They had hoped to recover afterward.
Yet disaster struck again.
A jinchūriki they had never seen before descended from the sky and destroyed the entire village.
Screech!
A black ninja hawk cut through the desert sky like an arrow.
The Kazekage raised his arm.
The hawk landed smoothly.
He removed the message from its claw.
After reading it, he frowned.
Because the village had been destroyed, Sunagakure's intelligence network had collapsed completely.
Even information within their own country now had to come from Rain Village's intelligence network.
The Kazekage sighed.
Then he looked at the half-ruined village around him.
Sasori and Karura were away on missions.
…Forget it.
I'll go myself.
Black iron sand flowed across his hand.
The message turned to powder in the dry wind.
A dark figure shot into the sky—
And vanished into the horizon.
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