69novels Chapter 80 A Flower in a Mirror, a Moon in the Water
Chapter 80 A Flower in a Mirror, a Moon in the Water
Chapter 80 A Flower in a Mirror, a Moon in the Water
Standing on the riverbank at that moment, Hanzo couldn't help but feel a sense of "endless falling leaves rustling down, and the long river rolling on endlessly."
Desolate and bleak...
Suddenly, my life's many experiences flashed before my eyes like a revolving lantern.
The pain of having a poison sac implanted in my body when I was young;
A grand ambition he made in his youth after witnessing the Rain Country weeping in war;
The Second Shinobi World War was filled with endless battles and conflicts. First, he fought Onoki, then Chiyo of Sunagakure, and finally the Legendary Sannin of Konoha. One battle after another ensued.
At that time, his prestige and reputation were rising at lightning speed, but his inner fatigue was also accumulating.
So much so that when the war finally ended, he had completely forgotten his former beliefs and convictions, and all that remained in his heart was endless weariness.
When did it all begin? I can no longer hear the cries of the Rain Country.
They only care whether the name of demigod is still being sung, and only think about continuing to play music and dance every day.
Looking down, the puddles reflected my true face, a face I hadn't seen in a long time, beneath the mask.
He was old and haggard, and his eyes had long lost their light.
In that instant, Hanzo suddenly lost all strength to resist.
He was still somewhat unwilling to accept it, and asked one last time, "Qinghe, when did you start to despise me? Were all those letters you wrote last year just lies to deceive me?"
Shiba Kiyokawa, this outstanding boy from the Land of Rain, was also briefly his pride last year.
But even now, meeting his last pleading gaze, Shiba Kiyokawa's words remained icy.
"When did you develop the illusion that I once longed for you?"
"What?"
"Did you know? Last year, our Akatsuki organization went to the Land of Grass. There, even those two-faced, opportunistic grass ninjas who were used to being fence-sitters in the ninja world laughed loudly at the demigods of the Land of Rain for losing their ambition."
"Hanzo, even those most despicable Kusanagi ninja next door know about your depravity over the years. Why do you still think I have any illusions about you?"
The calm rhetorical question, like a sharp kunai, pierced deeply into Hanzo's heart.
He was speechless, and could only give a bitter smile.
After a long while, Hanzo raised his hand, silently took off his shirt piece by piece, then bent his knees and slowly and heavily knelt in the mud on the riverbank.
"Could I have a knife?" he suddenly asked.
Shiba Kiyokawa guessed what was going on and reached out to stop Nagato, who was on guard, and Konan, who had landed.
Then Shiba Kiyokawa cut the chain at the end of the scythe and threw Hanzo's short-handled scythe back to him.
Xiao Nan instantly adopted a defensive stance.
But Shiba Kiyokawa could see that Hanzo had completely lost his will to fight.
The other person took the sickle, but did not retaliate. Instead, he reversed the blade and pointed it at his own abdomen.
This scene was surprisingly similar to the original work.
In utter despair, Hanzo ultimately chose seppuku, just like in the original story, to preserve his last shred of dignity and end his own life.
"Do you need me to stand behind you as your second?" Shiba Kiyokawa asked calmly.
"No need, my hands are very steady," Hanzo replied calmly.
The next moment, the blade of the scythe sliced open his entire abdomen without hesitation, almost cutting him in half at the waist.
The ninja's hands were indeed fast and steady, without the slightest tremor.
At that moment, Kakuzu, Konan, and Nagato, who witnessed this scene, couldn't help but feel a pang of sympathy.
Even as adversaries, they couldn't help but feel a pang of sorrow for the fall of this demigod of the ninja world.
Except for—Shiba Kiyokazu!
Only Shiba Kiyokawa remained expressionless throughout, waiting for one second, two seconds, three seconds!
Three seconds later, Shiba Kiyokawa asked, "Tama, are you sure he's dead?"
"My senses gave me no warning, meow~ It's really dead, meow~"
Upon receiving an affirmative answer, Shiba Kiyokawa immediately sprang into action, his hurried manner leaving Nagato and Konan stunned.
"Xiaoyu, unroll the scroll! Help me set up the formation! Quick! Prepare to seal!"
Xiao Nan asked, bewildered, "Qinghe, what are you doing?"
Without turning his head, Shiba Kiyokawa replied, "Of course, we need to seal the source of the poison! This old thing is covered in poison! If we don't deal with it quickly, the Land of Rain might be littered with corpses in no time!"
Nagato asked, puzzled, "Didn't you seal his poison sac during the battle just now?"
As a result, Shiba Kiyokawa's casual reply almost caused Nagato's CPU to burn out on the spot.
"Of course I lied to him."
"……Clam?"
"Have you ever seen such a powerful sealing technique, sealing an organ inside a living person's abdomen while they fought for so long without noticing?"
"Ah, this..." Nagato stammered, unable to speak for a moment.
Xiao Nan reacted faster, saying, "So you actually used illusion magic to interfere with his senses, making him have the illusion that his poison sac was sealed?"
Shiba Kiyokawa nodded, then said, "That's right, come and help! This time we really need to seal this poison sac!"
Konan and Nagato exchanged a glance, and as they stepped forward, Konan still felt a moment of disorientation.
Just now, seeing Shiba Kiyokawa's calm and confident demeanor, they all thought he had truly accomplished the final blow against Hanzo!
But who would have thought that this was yet another ingenious scam?
Illusion, or more precisely, the illusion techniques of Shiba Kiyokawa, are truly terrifying!
Even she and Nagato, who were right beside her, were completely unaware of the flaws in Shiba Kiyokawa's acting.
Like a mirage, it's hard to tell what's real and what's not!
In the end, even the demigod whose fame resounded throughout the ninja world and who had reigned supreme in the Land of Rain for twenty years was tricked into committing suicide by him.
Can anyone else do that?
At this moment, Kakuzu, who was a few steps behind, had his eyes flicker several times, but in the end he didn't dare to make any unnecessary movements. He just obediently led the two masked monsters to guard the surroundings.
Kakuzu has now guessed that he was probably deceived before.
But after witnessing Hanzo's fate, even though he knew he had been deceived, he could no longer entertain the idea of escaping.
He had no confidence that he could escape the schemes of the boy in front of him.
Moreover, he had a vague premonition: as long as this boy named Shiba Kiyokawa in front of him didn't die, he might become a legend comparable to that ninja god in the future!
After working for several minutes, Shiba Kiyokawa, Konan, and Nagato finally managed to completely seal off the huge source of pollution and clean up the surrounding poison.
Afterwards, looking at the unobstructed river in front of them, they couldn't help but feel a surge of pride!
Next, the land ahead is flat and open!
It seems they are only one step away from unifying the entire Land of Rain!
But just then, the sound of birdsong suddenly came from the sky.
As everyone turned their heads, they saw several birds plunging down at lightning speed, crashing straight into their arms before they could brake in time.
"This is... the hydrangea's summoned beast? Why did it arrive so suddenly?"
Xiao Nan recognized the birds.
They then noticed that all the birds had letters tied to their legs.
Ziyanghua is using the spirit bird as a carrier pigeon.
But why is it flying in so suddenly? Could it be some urgent news?
With some doubt, the group took the letter that was rolled up on the bird's leg.
Then, in the next moment, all three of them changed color.
Nagato was the first to break down, shouting, "I want to go back!"
The letter contained only one line of small print—
The base has been attacked!
(End of this chapter)