Chapter 264 : I'm in hell
"I'm sorry…"
Murmuring his heartfelt apologies, Naraku helped the lifeless Rin gently lie down, pulling out the chakra blade stained with blood.
Bloodstains spread across the dark ground, mixing with the scorched earth and ashes, forming streaks of dark red cracks.
The bright moonlight shone on the girl's shoulder-length brown hair, adding an unreal haziness and illusion to her, as if all of this was just a nightmare that would cease to exist upon waking.
Naraku breathed the cold air with difficulty, and when he stood up, he stumbled two steps, unable to stabilize himself, and had to stick his long ninja sword into the ground to steady himself.
Just as his mind was somewhat hazy, he happened to see Kakashi still struggling to stand up not far away.
Kakashi's eyes were filled with tears, and his gaze towards Naraku was full of despair and grief. He clutched a handful of dirt tightly, almost squeezing blood from it.
That expression made Naraku's mind wander, and his chest ached faintly, but he couldn't explain at this crucial moment, so he endured it, pressing his lips together tightly and remaining silent.
"Naraku… Rin…"
Kakashi felt as if his heart had been torn in half and then roasted to ashes in magma.
He, of course, knew that after he and Naraku died, Rin would be taken by Kirigakure to Konoha to release the Three-Tails, still unable to escape the fate of death, and even the Village would be devastated, filled with countless vengeful spirits.
But for a comrade who had faced life and death together to die not by an enemy's blade, but by the hand of his close friend, even if it was out of necessity, it was still impossible to accept.
What was even harder for him to imagine was how much torment and suffering Naraku, who bore all of this alone, must be experiencing.
That idiot would surely take all the responsibility upon himself, falling into endless self-torment, and would not stop even if his soul disintegrated again and again.
Noticing that the Jinchuriki was motionless, dozens of Kirigakure Anbu re-surrounded them from all directions. After a glance at the scene, they also concluded that Naraku had personally killed his comrade to protect Konoha.
"Damn it! He succeeded!"
"We finally managed to get it…!"
"Damn it! He even… the half-Tailed Beast transformed Jinchuriki—"
"The Scarlet Hunter is almost out of it, kill him now!"
Just as these Kirigakure Ninja were stirring, wanting to seize this opportunity to eliminate "the Scarlet Hunter," one of the biggest threats on the front lines, a low, hoarse roar, sounding like a breakdown, suddenly came from somewhere, echoing across the entire battlefield.
"Ah—!!!"
Witnessing the most important and beloved girl die in such a tragic way, the overwhelming negative emotions of grief, disgust, and hatred erupted like a tsunami, driving Obito almost mad, making him wish he could kill all the enemies present.
In that instant, he felt a violent, immense power surge from deep within his mind, his eyes burned, all colors in his vision were suddenly drained, and the entire world was left with only a crimson hue, as if covered by layers of bloody mist.
Beneath the White Zetsu mask, his blood-red Dōjutsu Power (Pupil Power) trembled as a third tomoe grew.
Three tomoe revolved rapidly around his pupil, twisting and fusing in intense pain, transforming into a three-bladed shuriken connected as one.
--Here…--What…--What exactly is this place…!?
"Ugh ah ah—! Ah————!!!!"
He roared in pain, his body affected by the rampant Dōjutsu Power (Pupil Power) and Chakra, uncontrollably growing tree root-like protrusions.
Naraku watched the frenzied Obito from afar, retreating cautiously to Rin's side, pretending not to know who the other party was.
At the same time, he secretly controlled the ashes to approach, so that he could stop Obito's actions at the critical moment, otherwise, if this act was exposed, Madara and Black Zetsu would not let it go.
The Kirigakure Ninja all looked at this strange Ninja dressed in a black robe without any distinguishing marks, unsure whether he was friend or foe.
"Who is that guy?"
"Is it Konoha's reinforcement?"
"Idiot, it's just him! Take him out!"
Several shuriken spun out from the Kirigakure Ninja's hands, but the strange Ninja didn't dodge, remaining still in place.
The Kirigakure Ninja all thought this foolish person, who didn't know death, would perish, but saw the sharp projectiles spin directly through his body, one after another, embedding themselves in the tree trunks behind him.
It was as if they had struck a non-existent phantom.
"What was that just now!?"
"Did he dodge it!?"
"No, it looks like a Genjutsu!"
A hoarse, deep voice came from beneath the mask, terrifying like a demon crawled out of hell.
"I don't accept this…"
"I absolutely do not accept this, ah ah ah!!!"
Simultaneously with this roar, a sonic boom erupted behind Obito as his Chakra ran wild.
He stomped, shattering the solid ground and leaving a spiderweb-like crack. At the same time, he shot forward, striking the abdomen of the first Kirigakure Ninja in his path.
The moment he made contact with the enemy, his palm transformed into a dozen sharp wooden branches that pierced into the opponent's flesh.
In an instant, tree roots as thick as bowls grew out from the opponent's back like bamboo shoots after rain.
The splattering blood from the corpse stained half of his mask, but Obito ignored it.
He broke off a wooden spike from his body and raised it high, about to kill another Kirigakure Ninja struggling in terror at his feet, when three more enemies leaped into the air, swooping down from above, attempting to ambush him with their ninja swords.
Like the shuriken earlier, these ninja swords also passed through Obito's body, unimpededly striking the unlucky Kirigakure Ninja lying on the ground.
"It didn't hit!? How is that possible!?"
As the three were utterly shocked, Obito had already spun and leaped, using White Zetsu's powerful physical abilities to directly kick and break their necks.
Another inexplicable and bizarre scene appeared, and the Kirigakure Anbu all reacted as if facing a formidable enemy.
"What's wrong with this guy?"
"What strange techniques and Ninjutsu…"
"At least we have to retrieve that woman! We must not let the enemy get the body!"
Hearing this, Obito regained a bit of clarity from his frenzy and turned, running wildly towards Rin's direction.
Using his Mangekyo ability, he recklessly cut through the enemy ranks. No matter if it was blades, shuriken, or taijutsu, nothing could truly touch his body.
"This guy, he can really be phased through!"
Kakashi, who also couldn't tell if Obito was friend or foe, watched as he approached Naraku and Rin. He didn't know where he found the strength, but he endured and stood up, moving towards them.
--If he's an enemy, then dying together with Naraku and Rin isn't so bad.
Before the two Kirigakure Ninja who came to retrieve the Jinchuriki's corpse, Obito was the first to arrive near Rin and Naraku, swiftly killing one of the Kirigakure Ninja with a Wood Release: Cutting Sprigs Jutsu.
The remaining one was blasted into the ground with a punch, and then his corpse was smashed to pieces by Obito, punch after punch.
"That guy… who exactly is he?"
Even though the Kirigakure Ninja came from the brutal Hidden Mist, they had rarely witnessed such violent and insane actions. For a moment, they were stunned and found themselves in a dilemma, unable to advance or retreat.
When Obito stood up and looked around, a significant portion of them were even so horrified that they couldn't help but retreat.
The entire battlefield was silent, with only Obito's heavy breathing echoing in everyone's ears.
Then, massive, surging tree vines grew from his body. The Wood Release: Deep Forest Emergence created a vortex of wooden dragons that annihilated every Kirigakure Ninja present.
Blood flowed down the sky-reaching giant trees like a waterfall, and the thick scent of blood dyed the moon red, like a weeping eye.
Obito turned around and saw the battered Naraku and Kakashi still standing in front of Rin's corpse, looking at him with hostile expressions. Finally, behind his mask, he shed tears of despair.
--I understand.
--I… I am in hell…!
⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯
Read Ahead & Support
Read up to 650 chapters ahead with daily updates at 02radnovel.com
Connect & Updates:
(Twitter) • x.com/02IsmetHQ
Instagram • instagram.com/02novelofficial
⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯