Shadow shook his head in silence. It was far beyond reason. Even someone like Nagato, also from the Uzumaki Clan and with powerful vitality, had only truly died after enduring the draining of the Rinnegan, the Demonic Statue, and Rinne Tensei no Jutsu in succession.
Yet these people had bitten an Uzumaki Clan clanswoman to death, mouthful by mouthful. It was impossible to imagine what Karin's mother had gone through in Kusagakure. Even with his own low bottom line, Shadow had to admit that the people of Kusagakure were worse than beasts.
"W what?" Karin, who had been struggling in Kakuzu's grip, stiffened and stared blankly at Shadow shaking his head. She did not seem to understand what it meant. Nagato frowned and asked in a low voice, "Is there really no chance at all?"
As someone who was also from the Uzumaki Clan and had also had his life force drained, he knew the answer very well. Still, he could not help holding on to a sliver of hope toward this mysterious man. "This body is indeed dead," Shadow said. "All life force has been drained completely, not a single bit left. I do not even know how she managed to last until now."
As he spoke, Shadow turned his head slightly to look at the silent Karin. He knew that the only reason this woman had lived this long was because of her daughter, Karin. Life force was not like a game health bar where death only came when it hit zero.
Someone like Nagato, drained by the Demonic Statue to that extent, was already half dead. It was likely that she endured because she knew that once she died, Karin would take her place and become a blood source for the Kusagakure Ninja. But no matter how strong one's will was, it could not make up for a body that was completely emptied.
"Aaah... mm!" Karin was about to cry out, but Kakuzu suddenly covered her mouth. "You just said that 'this body' is dead, right?" As an immortal, Kakuzu keenly caught the special meaning in Shadow's words.
"Yes," Shadow nodded and smiled. "To me, death is not frightening. Death has never been the end of life, only a long sleep."
Hearing this, Nagato raised his head from silence and met Shadow's gaze. "Me?" Nagato asked hesitantly. He thought Shadow meant the Outer Path Rinne Tensei no Jutsu.
That was a truly forbidden technique. In his current state, if he really used it, this White Zetsu Tobi would likely be ruined. "No need," Shadow said. "I only have one request."
He laughed softly and pointed behind him toward Kusagakure. "Leave those people to me, how about it?" He knew very well the violence boiling in Nagato's heart. If he were not still unsure about the fate of his clansmen, Nagato would have already gone to make Kusagakure feel pain.
Nagato looked at him deeply and finally nodded. "Then I will leave it to you." Realizing that these three were trying to save her mother, Karin finally stopped struggling and became quiet.
Shadow walked up to the woman and swept his gaze across her face. There was no doubt that she was a great mother. At the moment of death, she must have carried deep hatred and obsession.
"It is a pity that Orochimaru's soul devouring technique is not finished yet," he sighed. Treating it as an experiment, he silently recited in his heart, "Extract the target soul, implant it, one-time soul devouring technique."
After a pause, he added, "According to the setup I gave Orochimaru, there should be a black outer body and a white mask, and there must be a hollow in the chest..." A prompt appeared, asking whether to manifest it at the cost of 2000 points.
"So she has not entered the Pure Land yet," Shadow muttered, "otherwise it would not be this price." Shadow, or rather Yunchuan Hyuga, winced inwardly and whispered, "Manifest, manifest."
Buzz. At the moment the thought formed, he suddenly felt a faint connection with the woman before him. This feeling was different from the souls he had collected from those who died in the Underground Palace or were killed by Hidan.
Those souls were merely confined in a closed space within the Underground Palace. The woman before him was different. This was a master-servant bond at the level of the soul, and no matter where she was placed in the Ninja World, she would not be forcibly taken away by the Pure Land.
At the same time, in Nagato's slightly widened eyes, a black soul stood up from within the woman's body. "Go," Shadow said softly with a smile. "Bite them, devour them, hate them."
"Now, it is your turn to gnaw on them."
It was deep night. Kusagakure lay under its usual low pressure, a mix of caution and numb routine.
"Cheers!" At the night watch post, several Kusagakure Ninja ate grilled meat and gulped down alcohol, their faces flushed with drink. A Kusagakure Jonin who did not join them sighed and said they should stop, warning that the hardliners would scold him again if they were seen.
There was a legend that Grass once opened an ultimate weapon from the era of Sage of Six Paths, the "Box of Ultimate Bliss" that could grant any wish. It was said they had almost used it to rule the Ninja World. But one day, without warning, Kusagakure was destroyed.
After that, two opposing forces appeared in Kusagakure. One was the pro war Grass Fruit Faction that wanted revival, and the other was the anti war Grass Flower Faction. In truth, they only valued different interests, and there was no real difference between them.
This small squad belonged to the so called anti war Grass Flower Faction. To be precise, they were the compromise faction.
"Boss, why are you so serious? We are about to change shifts." A red faced Kusagakure Chunin complained that with the current situation in the Ninja World, no one knew when Iwagakure might join in and turn the Land of Grass into a battlefield again. He laughed and said that if he died then, he would not even get a drink.
"If that day comes, I will bring that woman with me," one said. "Get hurt and take a bite, it can save your life." "Do not forget the little one too. Maybe her effect is even better." The Kusagakure Ninja laughed loudly, speaking as if Karin and her mother were not people at all.
In fact, from top to bottom, all of Kusagakure treated them the same way. If even one person had stood up to stop it, Karin's mother would not have been drained of life and killed.
"By the way, what has Muei been busy with lately? I have not seen him for a long time." "He is at Hozuki Castle of course. That work addict is always like that."
Seeing them continue, the Kusagakure Jonin stood up helplessly and said he would guard outside, telling them to keep drinking but not go too far. Before anyone replied, he stepped out of the room.
The night was dark, with thin fog spreading through the rough village houses and adding a damp chill. Yellow light flickered from windows, and distant arguments or sleep talk came and went, making Kusagakure feel empty and lifeless.
The Kusagakure Jonin frowned and pulled his clothes tighter. Kusagakure felt colder than usual, and the night felt deeper than before. The air seemed to stop moving, and even the wind went quiet.