Chapter 201: Grief
Just as a glimmer of hope had ignited for the Iwa ninja, a curtain of absolute darkness instantly enveloped them, plunging them back into the abyss of despair.
Aside from a few of the strongest shinobi who could break free, the vast majority were left scrambling like headless flies, praying that the reaper's blade would not fall upon them.
While continuing his assault, Kyosuke quietly created a shadow clone and ordered it to rescue the captured clansmen.
When the darkness finally lifted, the Iwa ninja saw that their hostages had already been freed. Their will to fight shattered, and many began to look for a way to escape.
Maintaining the Susanoo, Kyosuke paid no mind to the terrified enemy. Instead, he knelt and undid the restraints on the Second Elder.
"Second Elder... I was too late," Kyosuke's voice was heavy with an immeasurable pain.
The elder looked up at the majestic, imposing form of the Susanoo, then back at the boy inside it. "Good child," he said, his tone gentle. "This is not your fault. This is... a shinobi's destiny."
Kyosuke hesitated, a desperate hope in his voice as he asked, "Nagisa... is she really..."
Watching the Second Elder give a single, pain-filled nod, Kyosuke slammed his eyes shut as the final confirmation washed over him. A long moment passed before he slowly opened them again.
His face was a blank mask as he surveyed the surrounding enemy. "Rest now, Elder," he said. "Watch me slaughter every last one of these bastards."
"...Alright." The Second Elder smiled with a sense of pride. But as he tried to stand, his body froze.
To his horror, he realized his body was moving on its own.
Damn it, they've done something to my body! the Second Elder screamed in his mind, but he could not alert Kyosuke.
With his vast experience, he understood the enemy's plan in an instant. He tried to end his own life, but it was no use. Not only was his body paralyzed, but even the chakra within him no longer answered to his will.
Slowly, his body rose to its feet. The elder watched in terror as his own hand shot out, aiming for Kyosuke's heart. Though he held no weapon, a hand sharpened with chakra could easily pierce through a human body.
Fortunately, some of Kyosuke's reason had returned. He managed to dodge at the last second, avoiding a fatal blow, but the attack was powerful enough to have crippled him.
With no time to process what had just happened, Kyosuke leaped back, his gaze turning grim as he looked at the Uchiha clansmen who were now surrounding him.
"Damn scum," he hissed. The moment he saw their eyes, he knew. They were all being controlled. And he, in his blind rage, had noticed nothing.
The fury that had momentarily subsided now roared back to life, but this time, it was laced with a dreadful dilemma.
He was no master of sealing jutsu, nor did he know any barrier techniques. The only way to stop them was to knock them all unconscious.
But his subsequent attempt ended in failure. The enemy had clearly anticipated this. By some unknown method, neither the Second Elder nor any of the others could be knocked out, no matter how he attacked them. Even genjutsu had no effect.
Just then, the Second Elder, the strongest among them, managed to speak, his words broken and strained. "Don't... waste your strength... They're using... some kind of curse mark... to control our bodies... No matter what... our lives... are already over."
"Kill... us."
Kyosuke fell silent.
"This is... a shinobi's destiny. We will not... blame you," the Second Elder said, a sad, proud smile on his face as he slowly closed his eyes. The other clansmen did the same.
At that moment, the surrounding Iwa ninja renewed their attack. Kyosuke dodged a constant barrage of earthen spikes, his face a mask of agony as he watched the scene before him.
As much as his heart rebelled against it, he had to admit the truth. Surrounded by enemies, he could not possibly escape with the controlled Uchiha.
Blood dripped from his clenched fists. Kyosuke took a deep, shuddering breath. When he stood before his clansmen again, his face was a portrait of infinite, cold emptiness.
"I understand."
"Get out of my way!"
Nagisa sent an Iwa ninja flying with a single blow. Encased within Tobi, even an average Jonin was no match for her.
Almost there. I'm almost there. Seeing the canyon just ahead, she could barely contain her excitement.
Grandfather will be so happy to see I'm alive! And White Zetsu said Kyosuke is there, too! Maybe he's already rescued him! Leaping from rock to rock, she dispatched the Iwa sentries guarding the perimeter with brutal efficiency.
Having perfectly fused with the Hashirama cells, her potential with Wood Release surpassed even the future Yamato. And though she hadn't mastered many formal jutsu yet, the one technique she had developed on her own—"Wood Release: Impaling Spikes"—was more than enough to overwhelm her opponents.
A wooden spear shot from her hand, piercing through the last enemy. With a final, powerful leap, she landed on the clifftop. The scene in the canyon below instantly filled her vision.
And the excited expression on her face froze.
Below, she saw the brilliant, deadly flash of a sword.
"Is that... Kyosuke...?"
"It is him. It's been so many years, but I recognized him instantly."
"But... that's strange..."
"Why... is he killing... Grandfather?"
"Why is he killing Grandfather?!!
"AHHHHH!!!"
Rage, confusion, and utter despair crashed over the young woman's mind in a devastating wave.
Sensing the dangerous shift, Tobi immediately seized control of the Zetsu body, completely enclosing her to hide her presence.
But then something happened that shocked even him. A strange, powerful sensation spread through his body—an overwhelming urge to obey a will that was not his own.
He quickly realized the source of that will was the girl spiraling into despair within him.
"Get away from me!" Nagisa's cold, commanding voice echoed in his mind.
Instantly, Tobi felt an impulse for his body to break apart, the foreign will penetrating deeper into his consciousness.
Though he was curious to see what would happen if he let it consume him completely, he ultimately suppressed the urge.
With a slight pulse of his own immense chakra, he sent a shockwave through his body that knocked the girl unconscious. He then sat down on the edge of the cliff, quietly observing the battle below.
"It is not your time to enter the stage," he murmured. "Be patient."
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