Chapter 66: Severing Bonds—Rain Over the Fortress
Atop the shattered fortress walls,
The two stood watching Shinnō leap away, their eyes wide with astonishment.
Tsukasa took a deep breath, glanced at the scroll containing the Zero-Tails' dark chakra, and tucked it into his equipment pouch.
The Zero-Tails—a manifestation of concentrated dark chakra—was a naturally occurring power in the shinobi world, one that existed beyond the Nine Tailed Beasts.
The darker the heart of the wielder, the greater the power it unleashed.
Upon receiving the scroll, Tsukasa felt an uncomfortable weight settle in his chest.
Honestly, he couldn't understand how he—someone actively courting death under the guise of heroism—could receive such a precious gift.
This also served as a troubling reminder.
While his current actions were somewhat questionable in their motivations, they essentially resembled those of protagonists in shounen manga.
Seeking death made things simpler,
But it also brought the frustrating side effects of being a shounen protagonist:
Always receiving help from mysterious mentors at critical moments.
What was going wrong?
Obviously, his truest intention was to avoid dragging anyone else down, to avoid changing any major plot developments, and to remain alone in the vast Shinobi World, finding a suitable opportunity and a suitable powerful enemy to be defeated.
So where had things gone off course?
Tsukasa frowned, sensing something wasn't right.
"Let's go—what are you standing around for?" Beside him, Mei Terumi noticed his contemplative expression and waved her hand in front of his face, urging him softly.
Tsukasa frowned, his suspicious gaze falling on the girl who'd spoken.
He suddenly realized.
The key to this problem lay with this girl who looked cute but was actually as troublesome as—well, trouble itself!
She was the one who'd insisted on following, then brought along Hidan and attracted Shinnō's attention, ultimately forming this absurd team.
Sure enough—women only interfered with his suicide mission!
"We're not going."
Tsukasa's expression darkened as he brushed away Mei Terumi's hand. After a complex flicker in his eyes, he looked at her and
Asked coldly,
"I remember you said you needed to find someone crucial to you and your village? Is that correct?"
Mei Terumi was taken aback.
"That's right."
She carried the weight of Kirigakure's future and had to find the leader everyone in the village hoped for.
This was the fundamental reason for her presence in the Land of Hot Water.
Tsukasa stared at her coldly, his eyes accusing.
"I remember you said on the cliff that if I bought you time, you'd find the information you wanted and also locate Hidan."
"Well—did you find it?"
Mei Terumi met Tsukasa's increasingly cold gaze, feeling increasingly uncomfortable. Frowning, she explained,
"I already found Hidan's location. We're heading there now, so don't worry."
"That's not what I'm asking."
Tsukasa interrupted her before she could finish, saying coldly,
"I'm asking—have you found the information you wanted?"
Mei Terumi's heart sank, her mind racing.
Tsukasa's words abruptly
Dragged her back to reality from this shinobi adventure that seemed destined for a happy ending where justice would triumph over evil.
She was silent for a moment, then bit her lip and nodded, saying quietly,
"I found it."
Tsukasa nodded, then asked,
"If that's the case, then you have no reason to keep following me, right?"
He stared at the girl before him, the indifference and interrogation in his words like he was conducting a harsh debriefing.
"You've already gotten what you wanted, so in exchange, I just need you to use Lava Release to help me melt through the floor here so I can drop down."
"Then get out of the way and leave."
"Understand?"
Mei Terumi couldn't help but look up, her eyes filled with shock, her clear emerald eyes widening slightly:
"Wait—Tsukasa, didn't we agree to rescue Hidan together? He's one of our team too."
Tsukasa interrupted her coldly:
"Stop making so much noise!"
He looked at the girl before him, sneered, and asked with surprise and disdain:
"This team was already bizarre enough, and it's even more absurd now. As a kunoichi from Kirigakure—as one of the people whose village has ravaged this land—you actually pity some kid from the Land of Hot Water?"
"Who are you trying to save?"
"After all, what good were you when you froze up facing Kakuzu?"
"If you'd made decisions more decisively back then, we wouldn't have encountered Kakuzu at all. If you'd grabbed everyone and escaped immediately afterward, Hidan wouldn't have been captured."
"Every single choice you made was precisely the wrong one. You're so incompetent—how can I possibly trust you?"
Every word tore away another layer of the beautiful illusion in Mei Terumi's heart,
Making her expression darken. She raised her head, and the look in her eyes gradually turned cold.
"Uchiha Tsukasa!"
"What do you think everything we've been through meant?!"
Hearing this, Mei Terumi clenched her fists and glared coldly at Tsukasa.
As a Kirigakure shinobi raised on the doctrine that 'shinobi are tools,'
This long yet brief day
Had been an entirely new experience for Mei Terumi.
This feeling of genuine connection, of complete trust—
This fleeting, beautiful dream was being shattered by Tsukasa.
Tsukasa's face remained impassive as he raised an eyebrow.
"Perhaps it was just a mutually beneficial transaction?"
He looked at Mei Terumi coldly and said calmly,
"Let's end it here."
"If you keep following me, you'll only get in my way!"
"Choose—"
"Complete this deal and leave, or turn around and go right now. After all, you got what you wanted, didn't you?"
"Or—"
"After hearing such harsh words, you can't accept it and want to kill me here?"
At this, Tsukasa couldn't help but scoff.
"Well, a Blood Mist shinobi would make that choice, so I wouldn't be surprised."
The next moment,
He activated his Sharingan, staring intently at Mei Terumi with cold crimson eyes,
Waiting for her to make a choice.
Mei Terumi took several deep breaths, then raised her cold emerald eyes, anger flickering within them.
After a moment of silence, she clenched her fists. Finally, she released a long breath and said through gritted teeth,
"If you insist on calling everything that happened before a transaction—"
"Then fine."
"I'll open the passage, and then I'll watch you jump down to your death!"
"I'll leave you to it!"
Hearing this response, Tsukasa couldn't help but feel a bitter satisfaction.
"That works."
Coming to this world, Tsukasa's journey had always been a lonely, doomed game.
He only needed to keep his head down and press forward. That was enough!
These meaningless bonds could be severed.
These unwanted expectations could be betrayed.
It didn't matter. It didn't matter at all.
Emotional connections only dulled his instincts and slowed his pace.
In this moment, Tsukasa
Saw his true heart and his path with clarity.
At some point, thick clouds had covered the sky above the fortress, and a light rain began to fall.
With this understanding, he and Mei Terumi walked silently toward the fortress center.
They moved in silence until they
Finally stood at the fortress courtyard.
End of Chapter 66
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