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JST Chapter 144: Kiri’s Darkness, Kazuki’s Light
🕑 Added 2025-01-01 14:18:40 +0000 UTCKazuki spoke quietly to Jinzaburo. "Feel the pain, experience the pain, accept the pain, understand the pain. Only those who understand suffering can understand true peace. I hope that you return with a calm mind and pass this calm on to your clan and your companions."
"I hope I will not see you on the battlefield in the future."
Jinzaburo shuddered all over, and when he thought about being Kazuki's enemy again, he felt a deep pain throughout his body.
It wasn't just the physical pain; Jinzaburo now felt an indifference towards fighting that he had never experienced before. All he wanted was to find a quiet village, a place where he could enjoy peace under the warmth of the sun.
Kisame, Zabuza and Mei stared at Kazuki blankly. Is he really going to let them go?
If that was the case, why had he subjected Jinzaburo to such an intense lesson? Is it just to make him smile gently?
"I wish you success in the exam. As an examiner, I still need to do other things..." Kazuki released Jinzaburo, who collapsed to the ground, and then walked away calmly.
"Kisame, try to help me unlock this curse seal!" Mei shouted immediately.
But Kisame turned a deaf ear to him, picked up the ninja sword in his hand, looked at Zabuza's neck, and muttered to himself: "Sorry, Zabuza, the Kirigakure ANBU who failed in the mission does not deserve to live."
Mei was suddenly shocked and shouted: "Kisame, what are you talking about!"
Kisame shook his head and said in a muffled voice:
"Not only Zabuza, but Jinzaburo and you are also my assassination targets. This is the order of the Mizukage."
"We live in such a strange village..."
He added in a somber tone: "The enemy will strike a Kiri-nin to make him feel the pain and understand the value of peace. It's a pity that Jinzaburo can't convey such ideas to the Kaguya clan. He will die here."
Kisame slowly walked towards Zabuza.
Zabuza's eyes were full of anger, but there was also a strange sense of relief.
Since the day he graduated by murdering all of his classmates, Zabuza knew this moment would come.
Kirigakure is twisted to a degree that drives people crazy.
Jinzaburo let out a long breath. He had finally escaped the pain, beginning to taste peace.
If before he only wanted to die, now he wanted to reflect on his life, to find meaning in the calm moments.
Unfortunately, Kisame didn't want to give him this opportunity.
Or rather, Kirigakure didn't want to.
Without turning to look at Kisame, Jinzaburo spoke as he watched the sunlight shine through the leaves: "Kisame, that smile I showed earlier, the same as that Uchiha's... can you do it too?"
Kisame stopped, surprised. He instinctively tried to smile, but his lips felt stiff and awkward.
He was not a bloodthirsty madman like the people of the Kaguya clan. Although following orders was his duty, killing comrades gave him no satisfaction.
Mei struggled to break free from the seal, but Kazuki's bonds were not something she could easily untie.
When Kisame was about to take action, he suddenly felt someone patting his shoulder.
Kazuki smiled. "I forgot one thing, but I didn't expect to see an interesting scene after I came back?"
With a calm smile, Kazuki continued: "I, a ninja from another village, did not want to kill you. Why do you, instead, insist on fighting each other? This is wrong..."
Kisame tensed, about to attack, but his reasoning stopped him instantly.
[From the target Kisame: You gain the ability to absorb chakra!]
Kisame frantically tried to analyze in his mind why Kazuki had returned.
To his surprise, Kazuki sighed slowly. "In the past, something similar happened in our village. Have you heard of Hatake Sakumo?"
"In order to save his companions or complete the mission, the man was almost forced to commit suicide..."
Kisame remained silent. Of course he knew the story. That was, in fact, one of the reasons why Kirigakure found the confidence to start the war.
"You are all excellent shinobi, but you were born in the wrong place." Kazuki commented with a hint of regret: “When you decided to attack your comrades, you had doubts deep down, didn’t you? Otherwise, you would have done it a long time ago. Saying it was an order from the Mizukage was probably just a way to ease your conscience, right?”
While speaking, Kazuki walked up to Jinzaburo and stroked his head. "Come on, smile again..."
Jinzaburo stared at Kazuki, took a deep breath, and smiled kindly.
Kazuki nodded in satisfaction and patted his head while absorbing some of her chakra.
On Kazuki's index finger, an extremely sharp bone spur grew out.
Jinzaburo looked at this scene blankly and blinked hard.
“If the Kaguya clan can no longer remain in Kirigakure, you can come find me…” Kazuki said slowly. "You, the bloodline shinobi and ANBU of Kirigakure, should have seen Konoha's reply to Kirigakure, right?"
"Shinobi with kekkei genkai and people with vision are welcome in Konoha..."
“Like this girl with a double kekkei genkai, or you, member of the Kaguya clan. I believe you have great potential…”
Kazuki turned to Kisame and Zabuza, who remained motionless.
"In order to change the twisted village, you slaughter your companions with extreme methods, and in order to execute the orders of the Mizukage, you have to resolutely kill even your companions. I don't think you will be happy in your heart."
"Go back and think about it carefully. This is your own life, but at least in Konoha, what I, the examiner, have to do is that no one dies in this exam, otherwise it will affect the signing of the peace agreement."
Kazuki snapped his fingers and unlocked the seal on Mei.
Mei looked at Kazuki with a complicated expression. She really couldn't understand this man.
With such a powerful existence, could he really think that a peace agreement could restrain the war?
That's too stupid...
But looking at Kazuki's gentle and serene expression, she couldn't help but be speechless.
It was true that he seemed like an idealist, perhaps a little naive. But that was what made him beautiful, like a rare ray of light in a world plunged into darkness.
For Mei, whose life in Kiri had been marked by slaughter, betrayal and purges, peace had always been a distant, almost unreal idea.
Who was the fool in the end?
Although Kazuki's actions seemed senseless to her, she thought that without people like him, world peace would never even stand a chance.
Kazuki waved his hand goodbye.
“I hope I don’t see them on the battlefield. If, after the peace treaty, their hands are stained with the blood of Konoha shinobi, I will not instruct them as an examiner. The consequences will be different.”
“My name is Uchiha Kazuki. Child of the Kaguya clan, mark my words.”
Jinzaburo stared at the sharp bone in Kazuki's hand and, as if understanding something, nodded seriously. “Understood, Kazuki-sama. My name is Kaguya Jinzaburo. I will pass on your words to the clan members.”
Inside Kazuki's body, Tobirama could no longer contain himself. “Kazuki, how the hell did you get the Shikotsumyaku?!”
In Tobirama's original plans, his intention was for Kazuki to directly execute Kaguya Jinzaburo and then use the Chimera Technique to obtain the Shikotsumyaku, turning Kazuki into the perfect creature.
But the problem is that Kazuki seems to have only absorbed some of Jinzaburo's chakra and now had the Shikotsumyaku.
Could it be that Kazuki also has the bloodline of the Kaguya clan?
This doesn't make sense. Tobirama knows Kazuki's origins very well.
"Well, something interesting happened." Kazuki said calmly as he pointed to his eyes. "When I closely observed how that gray-haired Kaguya used the Shikotsumyaku, my body reacted strangely and as if it was something natural, like when Uchihas awaken their Sharingan, without realizing it, I mastered it."
"It wasn't just the Kaguya clan ninja, but also that kunoichi's Boil Release and Lava Release, and even the shark-faced guy's special physique that can absorb chakra. When I observed them with the Sharingan, I was able to copy them directly..."
"Not only that, but I was also able to learn the mastery of their skills."
"Don't you think my talent is a bit... peculiar, Tobirama?"
Tobirama remained silent. Kazuki was a genius, but even for a genius there were limits. No one should be able to learn a Kekkei Genkai just by looking at it.
