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"That sword..."
Finally, someone spoke. It was Osamu—the middle-aged man who had attacked first.
At this moment, both of Osamu's Mangekyo had lost their color. He, too, had used Izanagi twice.
But unlike the others, he had dodged Kagaya's final sword swing. After all, he had already used Izanagi once at the very beginning. If he hadn't dodged that final swing, he would already be dead.
The reason Osamu had been able to dodge Kagaya's slash wasn't because he had perceived anything. With an ability like Kagaya's—one that ignored distance—it was impossible for someone to suddenly understand it after seeing it just once, especially having never heard of or seen it before. The reason he had dodged... was purely because he had gone blind earlier.
Osamu had used Izanagi once at the very start. By the time Kagaya manifested the Susanoo, Osamu only had one Mangekyo left. He could only use Izanagi once more.
When Kagaya made his first slash, Osamu had also run backward like the others, but he had still been cut. So he had used his final Izanagi. By the time Kagaya made his second slash, Osamu was already blind. Having suddenly lost his vision, he was completely unaccustomed to the endless darkness and couldn't determine his bearings. Sensing the wind from Kagaya's slash, he had instinctively clutched his head and dropped to the ground. That was how he had narrowly avoided Kagaya's second slash.
If Osamu hadn't gone blind, he probably would have run backward too, and been cut down just like the others.
Even now, although he still couldn't determine his bearings, Osamu could sense that the chakra in the eyes of the clansmen around him had disappeared. He didn't need anyone to tell him—he understood full well that this meant every single clansman present had lost their Mangekyo!
It should be noted here that, in this world where chakra existed, even if one lost their sight, it was possible to determine direction and even live like a normal person. But this required a period of adaptation and training. Someone like Osamu, who had just gone blind, couldn't immediately use chakra to help himself determine direction.
At the very least, he would need some time to adapt before he could function like a normal person.
Osamu retreated two steps. Although he couldn't determine direction, he could sense Kagaya's chakra and use it to distance himself.
There were still many things he didn't understand. But at least one thing, Osamu had figured out—the brat up ahead was absolutely not someone he could defeat. In this situation, of course he had to retreat, even flee. He no longer had his Mangekyo. If he died again... that would truly be the end!
On the other side.
After dispelling the Susanoo, Kagaya was just about to call Yuki to leave when he suddenly whipped his head around to look at a house not far to his left.
"Planning a sneak attack? You'd better not. Come out. Or should I use force to drag you out?"
In Kagaya's perception, two Mangekyo shinobi had just entered that room. Although he couldn't tell who they were, any Mangekyo who came here now must be here to obstruct them.
"Ah, we've been discovered. Please calm yourself, my lord. I have no desire to fight you, not at all. Calm down, calm down. I merely brought a little brat along to observe your battle, my lord."
Two people emerged from the wooden house—Uchiha Masaru and Uchiha Takehara.
Takehara spoke with dissatisfaction.
"Old man, I am not a little brat!"
Masaru ignored Takehara and spoke to Kagaya in a jesting tone.
"Ha! You see, my lord? As expected, little brats never admit they're little brats!"
Kagaya remained unmoved and asked.
"You came just to observe? To be honest, I don't quite believe that. I recall we met once before. Yuki said you once tried to kill her? So, are you here now to continue what you left unfinished back then?"
Masaru shrugged, seemingly with no intention of denying it.
"That was then. You said it yourself, didn't you, my lord? Besides, look at my Mangekyo clansmen around me. I can see their fate all too clearly. I wouldn't dare obstruct you, my lord."
Kagaya gave the middle-aged man a long, deep look. From the moment he had entered the Uchiha until now, this middle-aged man before him was the only Uchiha he had met who carried not a single trace of the Uchiha pride. Everyone else—even the young man beside him—had unconcealable pride in their eyes.
Thus, Kagaya couldn't help but ask.
"What's this? I'm about to take a Mangekyo-wielding member of your clan away. As a Mangekyo member yourself, shouldn't you be stopping me at all costs? Don't tell me you're afraid to die?"
Masaru let out a loud laugh. "Haha! My lord, you've hit the nail on the head. I am afraid to die! I also don't want to see anyone take a Mangekyo from the clan. If it were someone I could defeat, I'd have long since gone up and dealt with them in a few quick moves. But unfortunately, my lord, you are not someone I can defeat. I'm terribly afraid of death, you see. Look at me—I only have one Mangekyo left. I can't use it anymore. If I use this last one, who knows if I'll even survive afterward."
Kagaya raised an eyebrow. This man truly was an oddity. But that was fine—one less opponent meant one less effort. Kagaya turned his head and stopped paying attention to Masaru.
"Yuki, bring your mother. Let's go."
Yuki couldn't help but glance at Masaru. After learning about Momoko and her father's story, she felt that perhaps what Masaru had done to her back then might also have hidden reasons. She really wanted to ask him right now.
But the very next second, Yuki gave up on that thought. She knew very well that leaving the Uchiha clan grounds was the priority right now. As for so-called hidden reasons... it didn't really matter. Whatever the case, it was all in the past. She didn't intend to seek revenge anyway. So let it be.
"Alright, Kagaya-nii."
"San" had become "Nii." The sudden change in address caught Kagaya off guard for a moment. He glanced at Yuki again, but in the end, said nothing. He led Yuki over the gate and left the Uchiha.
Before leaving, Kagaya made a self-deprecating remark.
"In the end... I never did blast that gate open."
Watching Kagaya and the others disappear into the distance, Masaru couldn't help but smile. Though no one knew what he was smiling about.
Behind him, Takehara asked. "Old man... there are still plenty of Mangekyo in the clan, right? Why didn't any of them come out to stop that guy?"
Masaru replied with an expression that showed he had expected this all along.
"What, were you hoping for something?"
Takehara knew he couldn't hide anything from this man, so he admitted frankly.
"If more Mangekyo had come, and more had died, wouldn't that be great? The more Mangekyo in the clan, the more frequent the slaughter."
Masaru mocked him. "You brat... wishing for more of your own clansmen to die? Have you no conscience?!"
At this point, Masaru paused, then sighed and continued. "But then again... for the clan as it is now, maybe having fewer Mangekyo is the better option. Unfortunately, those bastards aren't stupid. After seeing so many Mangekyo taken down in a few moves, they definitely won't dare show their faces."
Takehara shot back with his own mockery.
"Exactly. Only an abnormal guy like you, old man, would come here at a time like this. And not only did you come—you dragged me along. What if that god of slaughter had gone berserk and killed us along with the rest?"
Masaru let out a scoff. "Gone berserk? Don't misunderstand. That only happens when fighting someone who can actually match you. If the gap is too vast... well, would you go berserk from stepping on a few ants?"
Takehara was momentarily speechless and fell silent. After a few seconds, he could only say helplessly.
"Masaru, you really do think highly of that god of slaughter."
Masaru rolled his eyes. "Stop calling him a god of slaughter."
Takehara curled his lip dismissively.
"Stripping away all their Mangekyo—what's the difference from killing them? If anything, the only difference is: one is instant death, and the other is a slow death. Oh, and old man—what exactly happened between you and that Uchiha Yuki? That woman earlier said you used to be her father's good friend."
Masaru turned and began walking away with Takehara.
"Mm. You want to know?"
"Of course. No need to ask. How can a person live without a bit of curiosity?"
"Haha, that does make sense. Then let me give you the short version. I once had a good friend. The reason we became good friends was that we both loathed the way the Mangekyo in this clan slaughtered each other. Because of that shared ideal, we became the closest of friends. Then, one day, I discovered that my good friend had gone mad—he insisted on molding his daughter into a Mangekyo wielder to join the slaughter. Tell me, could I tolerate that? I may be afraid of death, I may be an old bag of bones—"
"Stop, stop, stop, Masaru. You weren't an old bag of bones back then, were you?"
"You brat, asking for a beating? Haven't you ever heard that you shouldn't interrupt people?"
"Fine, fine. Go on, go on!"
"Hmph. Although I indeed wasn't an old bag of bones back then, to be honest, I was no match for that good friend of mine. I couldn't tolerate what he was doing, but I couldn't beat him either. So I had no choice but to consider other options—like quietly taking his daughter away and helping her get far away from him. After planning my move, I acted one night. But damn it all... I was outplayed. I was used by my good friend. He caught the timing of my attempt to rescue his daughter, stopped me, and then even manipulated his daughter into thinking I was there to assassinate her. That actually stung quite a bit. But it didn't matter. Since I was already there, I couldn't just call it off. Even though my good friend stopped me, even though I couldn't beat him, I still tried to save little Yuki. Yes, Yuki was his daughter.
Unfortunately, I was used again. My good friend used our battle to stage a show—he even deliberately let me cut off one of his arms, which caused little Yuki to awaken the three-tomoe Sharingan. I knew I couldn't continue. Even though I couldn't stand what my good friend was doing... in the end, he was still my closest friend. Cutting off his arm had already filled me with guilt. There was no way I could kill him. So I retreated on the spot. Incidentally, the battle with my good friend also left me badly wounded. After escaping, I was hunted by a Mangekyo wielder, which cost me an eye. Fortunately, I ran into a kind-hearted brat like you, who saved my life. That's pretty much the gist of it. And because of that incident, little Yuki resented me quite a bit."
"So that's how it was. Masaru... when we first met, you were covered in blood because of that incident. To be honest, I only saved you because I felt you didn't seem like a bad person."
"Bwahahaha! I really must be very handsome, right? One look and you could tell I wasn't a bad guy!"
"No, Masaru. You're ugly to an absurd degree—one look and you could tell you could never play the villain."
"You brat, asking for a beating?!"
"Wha—? Hey! No hitting!"
"Don't run!"
And so, Masaru and Takehara ran back, chatting and laughing all the way.
As for Masaru's reason for coming to the gate—well, it wasn't much. Just as he had said, he was terribly afraid of death. He had finally risked his life once for a little girl. Now that the little girl might be in danger again, how could he not come to help? He couldn't let his past sacrifice go to waste.
After all, for a man as afraid of death as him... an experience of risking his life was something incredibly precious.
Death Countdown—Day Three.
After spending an entire day, Kagaya and his group finally put some distance between themselves and the Uchiha clan grounds.
The matter concerning Yuki had also, more or less, been resolved by Kagaya. Now, he could focus entirely on teaching Yuki the Impure World Reincarnation.
With a casual Fire Release to ignite some kindling, Kagaya took out the fish he had just caught and began grilling it.
Although his time was running out, he was actually the most relaxed of the group. Because the one learning the Impure World Reincarnation was Yuki, not him. He just needed to drop by and teach her occasionally. Yuki's genius also showed itself here—there was less and less for Kagaya to teach. Yuki had already confirmed that she could learn the Impure World Reincarnation. What remained was just a matter of time.
The pain in his heart grew stronger as time passed. Kagaya looked up at the sun in the sky and smiled somewhat helplessly.
He had never imagined that, upon entering the first world after starting his journey, the first major issue he would face would be the fact that he would soon die. Come to think of it... the Impure World Reincarnation required a living person as a sacrifice. Should he pick out a sacrifice in advance?
Kagaya sat idly on a rock, grilling his fish while pondering all sorts of strange things.
"Death, huh..."
He smiled and shook his head. To be honest, Kagaya didn't feel much about death. Because he knew very well—he would definitely be resurrected. The problem now was: after being revived through the Impure World Reincarnation, where would he find a Rinnegan to achieve true resurrection?
Mm. That was a problem.
"Hey, hey, brat. What do you mean? You're going to die?"
The Five-Tails' voice suddenly echoed from within Kagaya's body, filled with shock.
Kagaya froze. He had completely forgotten about the Five-Tails. Right—if he died, what would happen to the Five-Tails?