Chapter 140: The Bystander
The ugly "shell" originally used to accumulate strength and maintain itself shattered inch by inch at this moment.
Four crystal-clear Chakra wings unfurled in the wind as Kagero flew into the air.
"Is this... your true form? You're a woman?"
From a hunchbacked, buck-toothed ugly man to a fair-skinned, green-haired young lady—this transformation left Shiranami stunned.
Seeing the cicada-slough-like membrane left on the ground, Shiranami understood instantly.
That ugly husk wasn't a disguise, but a vessel for some kind of power—a "cocoon" used to accumulate Chakra.
Kagero did not answer; as she formed hand seals, brilliant energy began to condense around her body.
"Mayfly Jutsu: Bubbles—"
The four wings composed of Chakra began to extend, drawing graceful arcs in the air and turning into a torrent of energy aimed straight at Shiranami.
Shiranami instinctively raised his arm, while shouting sternly at the En no Gyoja: "Do it again!"
The manipulated old man raised his hands once more, and the white light of Heavenly Fury Eruption flared up again.
Rumble—
The two forces of energy collided violently, with splashing energy carving scars into the ground.
"Ah—damn it!"
The stream of energy pierced through Heavenly Fury Eruption's shockwave like a sharp blade, grazing the bodies of Shiranami and the En no Gyoja.
The smoke and dust cleared.
The clothes of both men were torn, and the energy impact left scorch marks on their skin, as burning pain instantly spread through their bodies.
Shiranami clutched his bleeding arm and walked out from behind a mound of earth with a gloomy face.
Half of the En no Gyoja's cloak was blasted away, and there was a scorched scratch on his chest, but for him, possessing the core of the Forbidden Jutsu, this was not fatal.
Compared to the minor external injuries of the two, Kagero's condition was much worse.
After her body released the last of its energy, her four wings began to shatter piece by piece, turning into bits of fluorescence that dissipated into the air.
Thud—
She fell from the sky and slammed heavily onto the ground, like a doll discarded at will.
"Not dead yet? What a persistent cockroach." Shiranami spat out the sand in his mouth.
Rustling movements came from behind.
The few Fuma Clan Members who had originally been protected behind Kagero stood up unsteadily.
Looking at the flattened surroundings and then at Shiranami, who had only suffered minor injuries, what gradually emerged in their eyes was not fear, but fanaticism.
"Lady Kagero..." A clan member stumbled closer but stopped a few steps away from her, "Is this what you meant by...'surviving'?"
"Hey, you lot. Have you made your choice? Will you die with this useless trash..."
Shiranami looked at them and pointed at Kagero on the ground—her breathing had become extremely weak, her eyes were half-open, and her pupils had lost focus; she clearly wouldn't live much longer.
"...or follow me to create a new world?"
"Lady Kagero is already useless. After using that jutsu, she's as good as dead." The clan member who had just spoken looked down at Kagero, his eyes filled with disgust.
"Without enough power, this is the end one meets. If the Fuma Clan wants to be revived, we need even greater power."
The Clan Members exchanged glances, bypassed the fallen Kagero, and walked toward Shiranami.
Shiranami laughed loudly and patted the clan member on the shoulder: "A choice made by a smart man. I will lend this power to you and help you revive the Fuma Clan."
He took one last look at the woman on the ground, who couldn't even move a finger, as if looking at a pile of trash.
"Let's go. Katsurayama Mountain is right before us; our era is about to begin."
Shiranami led the Clan Members into the forest without looking back.
She stared at the sky above, unable to feel her limbs, only listening to the footsteps walking further and further away until they could no longer be heard.
On the desolate, scorched earth, only Kagero remained alone.
Her vision began to blur, and at that moment, the face that surfaced in her mind was actually Haruko's.
That face, which always carried an annoyance toward troublesome matters, yet never looked away because of her ugly appearance.
...
"...When I woke up again, I was already lying in this room."
Throughout the narration, Kagero's eyes remained empty as she stared at the ceiling, her emotions showing no fluctuations, as if she were reciting a passage of text.
The hospital room fell silent.
Haruko withdrew his hand; the treatment had come to a temporary halt.
"Let me summarize: you and your Clan Members were on a mission in the Land of Fire and encountered Shiranami near Katsurayama Mountain."
"You refused his recruitment and fought him, risking your life to use a Forbidden Jutsu. In the end, your Clan Members weren't just ungrateful; they turned around and defected, leaving you there to die. Is that right?"
"Yes." Kagero's face showed no ripples of emotion.
"Well, it's quite tragic, but I still don't understand—why did you come to me?"
Having gathered the necessary information, Haruko raised his question.
"I've never shown Medical Ninjutsu in front of you, and there's no particular need to tell me this information... do you want me to help you pass some last words to your clan?"
"No." Kagero turned her eyes to look at Haruko, "I just... want to ask you."
"Ask what?"
"Where did I go wrong?"
She had no sadness, anger, resentment, or any other emotion; there was only a simple question, as if she were asking about a math problem.
"I gave everything for my clan, but what I got in return was betrayal. I want to know where I went wrong."
"Was my power not strong enough? But I already did my absolute best. Or was my choice to first rely on Konoha the wrong direction? Is it wrong to want to ensure the clan's survival first?..."
"Stop, stop, stop." Haruko raised his hand to interrupt Kagero's barrage of questions, "Honestly, I think you're asking the wrong person."
"What?"
"I don't have much obsession with clans." Haruko crossed his arms and shook his head, "So I can't understand why you'd push yourself so hard."
"I just... wanted to revive the clan," Kagero explained.
"You're more like doing it for your own obsession with revival." Haruko looked down at her, his eyes devoid of pity, "A mutual effort is called sacrifice; a one-sided one is called self-gratification."
"How many years did you play the role of an ugly person? How many years did you accumulate power for that Forbidden Jutsu? You thought you were sacrificing for the clan, but did you ever ask them if the revival they wanted was the kind you were giving?"
Kagero was somewhat puzzled: "They supported me, though?"
"That's because they didn't have a better option at the time. You risked your life with a Forbidden Jutsu, and they turned around to follow someone stronger. That was their own choice."
"What they wanted was power and status; what you gave them was stability and humility. Since your paths were different, you couldn't work together. It's that simple."
"I see... perhaps I really was just gratifying myself." Kagero's face remained expressionless, as if she weren't talking about herself. "So, were my efforts all these years... wrong?"
"You weren't wrong, and you did your best." Haruko shook his head, "But the idea that hard work always leads to a good result only exists in fairy tales."
"I see..." Kagero closed her eyes, "That is indeed true."
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