The meal ended on a sour note.
They failed to reach any conclusion.
Hyuga Miyu wanted to stay, but she had a tutoring session scheduled with her clansman, Hyuga Shiro, so she could only leave reluctantly.
Tamayo Nara and Aburame Aoi disliked Uchiha Yuki, so they took their leave from any place Uchiha Yuki occupied.
In the end, only Senju Wakama and Uchiha Yuki remained in the inner chamber.
Uchiha Yuki said nothing, but having been with him for so long, Senju Wakama understood her emotions quite well.
Senju Wakama said softly, "I'm sorry. Something has happened, and I don't want to deceive you."
"You've always been like this—so honest. But your honesty always brings hurt," Uchiha Yuki said faintly.
"Yuki, I don't have long to live." Senju Wakama stared at Uchiha Yuki's lovely face, successfully spotting the look of confusion that appeared on it.
Senju Wakama continued, "I'm going to die soon."
Uchiha Yuki didn't think Senju Wakama was playing for pity. She had known him for many years, and although she was aware of his talent for sweet-talking, she also knew he would not utter such inauspicious words lightly.
Because Senju Wakama had once told her that some negative words had the potential to become reality if spoken, and so should not be said carelessly.
"It's not suicide. My time has simply come," Senju Wakama continued. "I hope that before then, my sister's dream can be realized."
"These girls have been entangled with me for a long time. They come from different ninja clans, and I want to use them to merge the clans as quickly as possible, but it's still too difficult."
Uchiha Yuki disagreed, saying, "If you just beat them all into submission, it would be easy to succeed."
Senju Wakama shook his head. "We will all die. If we rely on force to unite them, the major ninja clans will just rebel after we are gone. It can only work if they are genuinely willing to join hands with us."
Uchiha Yuki reached out and pulled Senju Wakama into her arms. "You've burdened yourself with all these rules and restrictions, creating your own difficulties. Of course success won't be easy. Why not get rid of these shackles?"
"Everyone can see the Senju clan's current situation. Unite them first, then assimilate them, just like the Princess treated our Uchiha clan."
"There's already a successful precedent for it. What is the Princess hesitating about?"
Senju Wakama looked up at the window, watching a flock of sparrows frolicking under the eaves. He suddenly said, "Perhaps there are other hidden reasons?"
Senju Wakama raised a hand to gently stroke Uchiha Yuki's hair bun. He had the urge to tell Uchiha Yuki the truth, but he restrained himself.
Brother Zetsu had said that for people like them, being in a state of immortality was actually a curse.
Their closest family and friends would all gradually die.
And they would need to constantly forge new relationships.
The profound love they felt now would vanish like smoke after a hundred years.
One only needed to look at Tsukuyo's current state to understand.
And Tsukuyo's situation was still considered a good one.
This was the first time Senju Wakama was facing this.
Just imagine: he looked this way now, and in ten years, he would still look this way.
The girls with him were young women now, but in ten years they would be mothers, and then ten years after that, and after countless more tens of years.
Senju Wakama would remain unchanged, while his loved ones, aside from Tsukuyo, would all grow old and die.
Sooner or later, they would notice something was wrong.
Especially Tsukuyo.
Therefore, Senju Wakama knew he must "die."
He had to "die."
But he also wanted to live on in the hearts of his loved ones.
A person dies three times in their life.
The first death is when your heart stops and your breathing ceases; you are declared biologically dead.
The second death is at your burial, when people attend your funeral in mourning clothes, declaring your social death.
The third death is when the last person who remembers you forgets you.
Only after experiencing all three does one truly die.
And no longer has any connection to this universe.
Yet now, with Zetsu's help, Senju Wakama could achieve physical immortality.
But for an ordinary person, this was nothing but an illusion.
"Being remembered" is the most real and tangible way to extend one's life.
That is the meaning of procreation.
"Yuki, love yourself well," Senju Wakama whispered in Uchiha Yuki's ear. "Even if you lose me, even if I die, don't grieve for me. Live well, for your own sake. The reason I hope for a child is to give you all a reason to keep living…"
"Could your feeling be wrong?" Uchiha Yuki did not think Senju Wakama was joking. She asked with utmost seriousness, "Are you really sure?"
"Mm…" Senju Wakama nodded. "As long as my sister 'dies,' I will surely follow her."
"How could the Princess die?" Uchiha Yuki was startled by Senju Wakama.
That Senju Tsukuyo, the princess who had lifted the Senju clan to its peak, was still just a young girl.
For any ordinary person of that age, as long as they didn't meet with an accident, they should live for a very long time.
Let alone a prodigy like the Senju Princess.
Senju Wakama shook his head. "I can't tell you the specific circumstances. I'm sorry. Knowing too much would be meaningless and bring you danger. Just know that this will be my end, and I hope you will be well."
Uchiha Yuki said no more.
If he could, Senju Wakama would have wanted to take Uchiha Yuki with him when he left.
But he couldn't.
Senju Wakama was already relying on Zetsu to leave this world in a box; how could he ask for more?
Unless he could also turn Uchiha Yuki into one of Zetsu's vassals.
But how could that be possible?
Zetsu was willing to take Senju Wakama in because of the debt of gratitude for his protection over the past few years. He had built a deep bond with Zetsu and would potentially be willing to give everything for him.
Uchiha Yuki only had deep feelings for Senju Wakama.
Zetsu would never make her a vassal because, no matter what, Uchiha Yuki would never be willing to give everything for Zetsu.
Senju Wakama was very clear on this point.
For now, the only thing he could do was be as good to Uchiha Yuki as possible before he left, cherishing their final moments.
"Oh, right." Senju Wakama released Uchiha Yuki, walked to the curio cabinet in the living area, and opened a drawer, taking out an exquisite box.
It was a pendant Senju Wakama had bought in a small accessory shop in the modern otherworld. It was a ceramic piece themed on the "silhouette of a cat from behind," and it looked very special.
"Please accept this," Senju Wakama said, handing the item to Uchiha Yuki.
Uchiha Yuki looked surprised, and then a joyous expression bloomed across her face. "What a delicate piece of jewelry. Thank you."
Without much hesitation, Uchiha Yuki put the pendant on, looking as if she couldn't bear to part with it.
Senju Wakama smiled as well. This item was one of a kind in this world. He hoped it could serve as a memento of their eternal farewell.
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