Chapter 265 : The choice is murder
Several giant, blood-soaked tree vines still stood on the battlefield, and the exposed severed limbs and broken arms in their crevices looked eerie and terrifying under the red moon.
Kakashi felt a chill down his spine as such a formidable enemy focused its attention on Rin.
But he had not an ounce of strength left to resist; the only thing he could do was join his close friend in death.
Naraku's body was also at its limit; to achieve the desired effect, Ama no Kaguhiko and the special one-strike aimed at the "Death Line" had almost drained his Dōjutsu Power (Pupil Power) and Chakra.
Obito's gaze passed through the gap between the two, his heart aching as he saw Rin's blood-stained chest.
In the past, he was carefree and never quite understood what Madara said, but recalling it now, he felt utterly heartbroken.
"The longer one lives, the more one realizes that reality is filled only with bitterness, pain, and loneliness."
"Everything in this world is the same; where there is light, there must be shadow, and where there is love, hatred will inevitably arise."
"This is a cause-and-effect relationship that cannot be separated."
White Zetsu's erratic words also surfaced.
"Actually, it's just abandoning the troubles of the real world and escaping into a dream full of happiness~"
"Because it's a dream, everything can be as one wishes, even bringing the dead back to life!"
He passed by Naraku and Kakashi, who were already powerless to stop him, and knelt beside Rin, summoning immense courage to examine her body.
His fingers trembled as they passed through Rin, and he realized his subconscious evasion of reality, forcibly closing Kamui before finally touching her cold skin.
Then, the last sliver of hope in his heart vanished with the wind.
At the same time, the youthful innocence and passion in the boy's heart also died.
The sound of a weapon cutting through the air came from behind him. Obito silently sidestepped the blade, retreating a few steps, allowing Naraku and Kakashi to drive him away from Rin's side.
Looking at his friends, who were now pointing their blades at him, he wondered if he should still reveal himself to them.
—Without Rin, nothing in this world had any meaning anymore.
Madara's sorrowful and yearning words echoed in his mind again.
"Create a world where there are only victors, only peace, only love, a world where only these things exist."
—Yes… In such a perfect world, Rin would surely exist.
Just as he realized this, an anomaly suddenly occurred.
A bone-chilling sensation, like being targeted by a predator, crawled up his spine to the back of his head. Obito, immersed in grief, was jolted awake and immediately turned to look in the direction he had come from.
Standing there was a tall figure he had become incredibly familiar with over the past few months, but whom he didn't particularly want to see at this moment. The mask, neither crying nor laughing, gleamed with a pale, cold light under the moon.
A faint reddish glow emanated from the dark, hollow eye sockets.
The next instant, the figure of the Mysterious Person disappeared and reappeared. After several swift blinks that left no time to react, he was already in front of Obito.
"Running away from home isn't a good habit, you know."
"You…!"
Obito took half a step back but found his body unable to move, and the Chakra flow in his meridians was in disarray.
—When… Was it a genjutsu?
Before he could figure it out, his consciousness suddenly cut off, his vision went black, and he lost all sensation, falling straight forward.
The Mysterious Person grabbed Obito by the back of his clothes, gently lowering him to the ground, preventing him from falling face-first.
His posture was casual, and he even complained aloud about his "companion's" willfulness: "Sigh, so much trouble. I told him nothing good would come of running off~"
Kakashi tensed his back and arms.
—So strong… He took down that person just now with a single move…!
Noticing his tenacious demeanor, this "Mysterious Person" leisurely raised his left hand and snapped his fingers.
Snap.
The crisp sound echoed, and the extremely weak Kakashi, utterly defenseless, lost consciousness and collapsed just like Obito.
The only ones still conscious on the field were Naraku, the Mysterious Person controlled by Naraku's thoughts, and Black Zetsu and White Zetsu, who were observing from the shadows, not yet revealing themselves.
The Mysterious Person slowly walked over to Naraku, removed his mask, and looked down at the main personality with a cold tone: "Always playing clever little tricks."
Naraku slightly tilted his head to glance at Obito lying on the ground, a sorrowful expression, as if he had guessed something, appearing on his face.
He murmured in a voice on the verge of breaking: "As long as I kill the Jinchuriki… that's all that matters… isn't it?"
The two were in a standoff for quite some time.
The Mysterious Person raised his hand, unleashing a torrent of Black Flames that incinerated all traces of Wood Release.
He stood silently in the ocean of Black Flames. After a long while, he let out two low chuckles, then bent down to pick up Obito and hoist him onto his shoulder.
"Alright, a bet's a bet~ Since you made things more interesting, I won't nitpick so much~"
After demonstrating his magnanimity, the Mysterious Person looked down at Naraku's lifeless, expressionless face and said meaningfully:
"Although to others, this seems like a decent outcome."
"But don't forget, you truly made the choice to kill Nohara Rin for Hatake Kakashi and Hatake Sakumo."
"This has nothing to do with whether the sacrificed person truly died. The moment you made that choice, you had already committed murder."
Naraku's fingertips trembled imperceptibly. The Mysterious Person curved his lips, triumphantly raised an eyebrow, and then turned gracefully to leave.
"I'll give you a little more time, Uchiha Naraku."
…On the way back to Mountain Prison, Black Zetsu poked his head out from underground, his small, beady eyes looking at the still unconscious Obito, asking skeptically: "Will this really work?"
"Don't worry~" The Mysterious Person waved his hand indifferently, "Idiot Obito is guaranteed to break down~ Do you believe that the first thing he'll say when he wakes up back there is 'I want to join the Eye of the Moon Plan'?"
"…Alright."
Black Zetsu stopped discussing the topic and instead brought up Uchiha Naraku: "I thought you would take the opportunity to get rid of the main personality, after all, he's very weak right now—"
"Hey, when you're out in the world, we have to keep our word~"
The Mysterious Person patted his chest righteously, feigning distress at Black Zetsu's shamelessness: "As a villain, how can you go back on your word?"
—I'm already a villain, what the hell is there to keep my word about!?
—Are you crazy!?
Black Zetsu secretly rolled his eyes at the Mysterious Person's back, not believing a single punctuation mark of the latter's high-sounding excuses.
—That little lunatic definitely wants to toy with the main personality a few more times!
—I've completely seen through this evil and malicious guy!
Black Zetsu, believing he knew the truth, fiercely condemned the Mysterious Person in his heart, feeling that he was ridiculously kind in comparison… When the Mysterious Person's shadow completely disappeared from view, Naraku's tottering body could no longer hold up, and he fell backward beside Kakashi.
He gazed at the moon high in the sky, and suddenly realized that the Moonlight had, at some point, regained its pure brilliance.
The clear light shone down on the earth, as if covering the three scarred youths with a soft veil.
He waited for a long, long time, until Naraku was almost asleep, before a golden figure appeared on the ravaged battlefield.
—So slow… yellow flash.
Naraku closed his eyes with a sigh of relief, his head tilted, and he drifted into sleep…
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