Chapter 82
It was truly a wonderful display of power. Even the wind felt real, and maybe it was, as it was drawn out of his memories. If not for a few details and this feeling deep inside him, he would probably have been stuck in this place for who knows how long.
He didn't even know how much time had passed outside this world. Seconds? Hours? If this man wanted Hiruzen dead, would there be a chance for him to save himself? Well, thankfully, it looked like this man desired something more than Hiruzen's death.
He could not call him Obito, for that boy was dead. And neither was he Madara Uchiha. To Hiruzen, he was just a masked man, someone who was manipulated from a young age to hate and see the world through his hatred. At least that's what Hiruzen thought.
Sadly, that world wasn't a lie either. Where light gathers, so do the shadows. There was nothing Hiruzen could say or do to change that. There was nothing that could lessen the pain in that man's heart.
"I am sorry." But he could at least take responsibility. "I won't pretend to know you, or what you've been through, or what you are feeling right now, but I am sorry. From the eye with which you look down on me, I can tell that I have failed you. That the village has failed you, and so has the Shinobi system."
"What is this?" The masked man seemed a bit taken aback by Hiruzen's words. "A last-ditch effort to stop me? It is pathetic, as is this whole world."
"Maybe so, maybe that's all I can do," Hiruzen knew better than anyone else how futile his words might have been. "But to preserve the peace, I will do everything I can. Even though it is a pathetic last-ditch effort."
"This peace you so much desire is built on the dead and the forgotten. You don't deserve it, and neither does this village. This is what you deserve."
The world faltered and shifted. Hiruzen continued to sit on his own stone head. The smell of smoke filled his nostrils as embers rose to the sky. The smoldering flames were the only thing left of the village from his memories.
"Maybe you're right, and we all deserve to burn for our sins." Hiruzen knew that arguing with this man wasn't going to go anywhere. "But we must move forward, even if we die and are forgotten. For those who come after us, it's a worthy sacrifice."
"Your sacrifices will lead only to one end. No, they have already led you to this." Now Hiruzen knew that the masked man was trying to shake him. "You couldn't save your village before, so how will it be saved now if I decide to unleash that beast upon you again?"
"The buildings will collapse, the walls will burn, but you forgot something." Hiruzen caught a falling ember from the sky and held it in his palm, feeling its fading heat. "The will of embers shall never be extinguished. No matter how small they might be, they will burn far brighter than any fire you can make. And the time will come when the village will be rebuilt, better and stronger, as we lie here dead and forgotten, as we should be."
The scenery changed once again. The dark skies turned blue, the smoke disappeared, and where once there was nothing but smoldering fire, now stood buildings higher than mountains, reaching up to the sky. There were no walls, but buildings as far as one's sight could reach.
Countless people laughed and conversed with each other from various villages. There was no sign of worry or fear in their expressions. It was what peace would bring to this village and to this world. This was what he desired most in the world, a place where there were no walls of fear to restrict them anymore.
"What is this?"
"Surprised?" Hiruzen chuckled humorously, but not for long. "It is what I believe will come after me. Or are you surprised that I can control your illusions? You must have forgotten this is my mind you entered."
But Hiruzen was probably the one most surprised. It seemed that maybe there was still humanity left in him, that part of him was still Obito Uchiha, for Hiruzen's words to make him react this way. And for how he did it, he didn't know; he just visualized his dreams.
For a moment, Hiruzen thought that maybe he could reach him with his words, force him to put down that mask and stop all of this nonsense. The next moment, he was burning. Hiruzen felt his skin melt from his bones and his flesh char in an instant.
Hp 100%
If not for the system showing him that he was completely fine, he might have died from the shock. The pain was real, the feeling was real, but it was just an illusion. And he could endure this pain, for now. He needed to wake up. But how, he had no idea.
"You're weak." Hiruzen's neck was grabbed, and his body was lifted as the red eye continued to look at him. "All you can do is dream. And while you dream, people die by your orders. You talk of sacrifice, yet there you are when you should have been the first one to be sacrificed."
Maybe these words would have shaken him if he hadn't already known it. What the masked man said was true. Hiruzen's words would mean nothing if he didn't live by them himself. If he couldn't put his life on the line, how could he ask others to do so?
"Hate me. Despise me." Hiruzen looked back at the eye. "I will take it all. All your hatred, so don't harm others. After all, I am weak, as you have said. I can't protect them from you any other way."
All Hiruzen needed to do was endure. Whatever the masked man wanted, he wouldn't get it from Hiruzen. The masked man probably still couldn't act right now. He was testing Hiruzen and looking for information. So, he only needed to endure for now and look for an opportunity to reverse the situation.
"I will see for myself how much longer you can keep it up before you beg me to end it."
…
None of it had to do with any feelings in mind. His actions were for a world that was already ruined by the shinobi system. There was nothing left in it but hate, an endless cycle of hatred. There would never be any peace in this world.
The desire for it might be admirable, but it was driven by nothing but human arrogance. To believe oneself capable of accomplishing something like that could be called nothing but foolish arrogance. This world was already too deep in the cycle of hatred; it couldn't escape it anymore.
This pathetic old man might think he was different, but he was just another foolish human who had driven the world to its current state. He might regret it now, but it was too late for those kinds of feelings.
The shinobi this man sacrificed were not for peace; they were nothing but fuel to feed the hatred in humanity's heart. But he refused to accept reality, hiding in his dreams, thinking that he could fix it all, not realizing that once something is broken, no matter how well you fix it, it won't be the same.
Just like his body. He broke the Third Hokage's body in many ways, burning it to the bone, cutting flesh from him piece by piece, flaying his skin. And even though he would come back in one piece, he must now know that he was no longer the same.
Loss? Hate? Those things didn't matter to him. There were no longer any feelings pushing him forward. How could there be, after all? He had no heart to store them. He was empty, just a vessel to bring this world, devoured by the shinobi system, down.
He didn't need an apology from someone who didn't even know what he was talking about. All he wanted was information; he needed to confirm who the Nine-Tails jinchuriki was. And the only one with a definitive answer was this man. But as he had expected, the Third Hokage wasn't going to reveal anything so easily.
Anyone else would have already tried to escape this reality and hide within other memories. In that way, he would have been able to freely see through his memories and learn everything he needed. Yet this old man refused to escape, accepting his fate.
"You should give up; you can't stop me." Picking up the old man who writhed in pain at his feet, his lone eye looked into the Third Hokage's eyes, showing him there wouldn't be any mercy for him. "You are alone. Completely isolated from the rest of the world. In here, I control everything. Nobody will even notice that anything has happened to you before you die."
"Haa, haa." It was already surprising that he could stand on his own feet after all he had experienced. "Give up what?"
"You really are a stubborn man." It was admirable, but foolish in the end.
This pathetic old man could pretend all he wanted, but it wouldn't change anything. Slowly, his soul would erode to nothing but dust. The agony he was feeling right now was nothing compared to what he would soon feel. Once he was finished with him, the Third Hokage would be nothing but a puppet to control as he liked or be disposed of as he liked.
Though he had to admit that the old man's pathetic act of stubbornness had put some pressure on him. He wouldn't be able to sustain this genjutsu for long. It had drained nearly everything he had to trap the Third Hokage already.
If he had to wait any longer, he might have no choice but to abandon this plan. But he couldn't; it was the best way to get as much information as he could from the source itself. That kind of information about Konoha's secrets and the real identity of the jinchuriki would be invaluable in the future.
This old man sure knew how to endure pain. He still refused to run. Well, he probably had realized that it was his intention. The Third Hokage knew that his only way to escape was to go to another memory, but refusing to do so meant that he realized it was a trap.
So, he would rather endure this torture than give up any secrets he had. Well, they will have to see how long he can do it. How much pain can his mind handle before it breaks? He was looking forward to seeing it.
…
How long had it been? How many times had his body been torn apart? Damn, it hurt a lot. Even if it wasn't real, he could still feel it all. This torture was way too much for him to handle. But he couldn't do anything about it.
That damn masked man hadn't even told him what he wanted. If he had, he probably would have told him anything. It wasn't like he had any information that couldn't be found out by Black Zetsu. And he just wanted it to end.
He had no way of fighting it. His knowledge of genjutsu was very minimal. And after showing up a bit to him, the masked man seemed to have taken even more control of this world. Hiruzen didn't know what he could even do.
He didn't think there could be a worse situation to be in than he was right now. He couldn't endure the pain after he was burned alive for the first time. At this point, it was nothing but pointless torture, and yet all he could do was somehow endure it.
"Haa, haa." Even when the pain was gone, it was hard for Hiruzen to breathe as he could only think of what would come next.
He still didn't know what that masked man wanted from him. Was this just a game to him? Should he call him out by his name? Unmask him? But what would that even resolve? Couldn't he just read Hiruzen's mind and get all the information he wanted?
Why did Hiruzen even try to act all tough? Unlike the real one, he hadn't received any training on how to deal with anything like this. And was it something he could even deal with? Wait a damn moment, why couldn't this damn asshole read Hiruzen's mind?
He was already in Hiruzen's head. But all he did was mess with his senses. So, could it be that, unlike what he claimed, he wasn't in control as he wished. All he could control were Hiruzen's senses, torturing him.
"I see now."
That second of not feeling the pain, combined with the desperation of how to escape this endless pain, made Hiruzen remember that they were still in his mind. And while this damn masked man could control him, Hiruzen could control this whole world.
"Have you come to your senses and accepted your fate?"
"Sure," Hiruzen replied with a smile.
Then the world turned into water. At the moment, he couldn't imagine anything but the ocean, an endless and bottomless ocean where he could escape from all this pain. It was the only place he could imagine where he would be able to hide himself. As he was just that pathetically afraid right now.
A.N. As always, thanks for reading and supporting me, so I can continue writing without any concerns, and if you want more, up to seven more chapters, you can support me on pa treon. com \ ironwolf852.