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JST Chapter 143: Jinzaburo Learns to Smile
🕑 Added 2024-12-31 15:40:05 +0000 UTCA dense fog instantly covered the surrounding forest. The trees that came into contact with the white fog began to dissolve.
Mei's heart skipped a beat. The technique Kazuki was displaying was her Boil Release...
How the hell had Kazuki learned this technique? Was what he said true? That the Sharingan could copy Kekkei Genkai? It didn't make any sense!
Mei took a deep breath and also released her acid mist, trying, albeit with difficulty, to counter Kazuki's mist with her own.
Meanwhile, off to the side, Zabuza and Kisame were unable to prevent their skin from rapidly corroding and dissolving.
In the midst of this life-or-death situation, Kisame, lying on the ground, formed hand seals. Channeling his vast chakra, he unleashed his Water Release to the fullest.
"Water Release: Great Exploding Water Colliding Wave!"
A huge amount of water shot out of his mouth, diluting the acidic mist floating in the air.
Kazuki smiled slightly. As Kisame used his Water Release to clear the acid mist from his and Zabuza's bodies, Kazuki concentrated a dazzling lightning light in his hands, mixing it with the flow of water.
So, Kisame and Zabuza, who had just survived the acid mist, were instantly swallowed by the electric current and lay on the ground trembling like two dead fish.
Mei shuddered at this scene. Kazuki had released that Lightning Release without even performing hand seals...
This strange Uchiha examiner was causing Mei an even greater feeling of oppression than when she faced the Third Mizukage.
Kazuki slowly turned his head, his Sharingan locking onto Mei. With a soft voice, he said: “Do you still want to resist?”
Mei looked at Kazuki's Sharingan and her heart sank.
In Kirigakure, shinobi were raised under the strict rules of the Blood Mist. Surrendering to an enemy was the greatest of sins. An unforgivable crime!
Although she hated the idea, Mei honestly put her hands on her head and slowly crouched down, indicating that she had no intentions of forming seals or resisting.
Kazuki looked at Mei's strange posture and smiled.
This wasn't something he had ordered, but Mei seemed to have done it instinctively. Maybe... she had some strange hobbies?
Kazuki walked slowly towards her and gently patted her cheek.
Immediately, a curse seal began to spread throughout Mei's body, immobilizing her and blocking her chakra.
Mei felt the warmth of Kazuki's hand and the stiffness of her own body, while a feeling of tension washed over her.
Kazuki hadn't killed her. Instead, he accepted her surrender and simply immobilized her.
As an experienced kunoichi, Mei knew perfectly well what the fate of a captured kunoichi could be. Her mind was in chaos.
But Kazuki did not give him another glance. Instead he whispered to Jinzaburo in his hand: "So, what about you?"
Jinzaburo was still proving with his actions that he did not want to give up, struggling weakly and resolutely in Kazuki's grasp.
It had to be admitted that although the acid mist had corroded the surface of Jinzaburo's skin, his regenerative ability allowed him to maintain at least a human form.
Jinzaburo's eyes flashed with ferocity as he spoke firmly: "Do you think I'm going to give up?"
His voice was filled with defiance. "Kill me! I don't want to see that hypocritical smile on your face anymore."
Kazuki looked at him in surprise.
No wonder, even after receiving such a brutal beating, he did not show any major emotional fluctuations...
He was a tough guy, after all.
Having experienced Kazuki's overwhelming power, Jinzaburo no longer felt any desire to resist. All he longed for was a quick end.
Kazuki sighed and shook his head slowly. "This is the second time you've criticized my smile... and I'm not happy about it at all."
Kazuki's words seemed to fill Jinzaburo with relief.
For him, that meant the end was near.
He did not fear death.
He grew up in the Kaguya clan, where the only purpose in life was to find satisfaction in battle. Only through slaughter and victory could he feel alive. From the moment he lost this fight, his path in life had fallen apart.
Even someone as arrogant as him knew that even if he survived today, he would never have a chance to take revenge on Kazuki, such a terrifying enemy.
In his worldview, if he couldn't defeat his opponent, it was best to die at his hands. That way, his existence would end once and for all.
Kisame, Zabuza and Mei looked at Jinzaburo silently.
Kazuki spoke calmly: "Even now, you are still trying to provoke me into ending your life. Is this the outcome you seek?"
He paused, as if in thought, before continuing: "There was a time when many of my clan members had that same attitude. But they are better now."
"I'm not the only Uchiha capable of smiling kindly. When you find things in life other than battle, your heart naturally fills with peace, and the smile comes effortlessly."
“Seeing you, I feel like I’m seeing those members of my clan again. I want to help you, so that you can show a gentle smile…”
Jinzaburo frowned. For him, there was nothing that could make him smile with satisfaction.
Kazuki's words sounded like an alien language to him, completely unable to resonate in his heart.
In a situation like this, did he still want to help an enemy change his life?
Inside Jinzaburo, something began to stir. Suddenly, his desire to die didn't seem so strong.
In his opinion, although Kazuki was very powerful, he lacked the heart of a true warrior.
So if he tried hard enough to train, maybe one day he could get his revenge. The difference was not in strength, but in mental state.
Jinzaburo smiled with difficulty, more like a twisted grimace: "Is this smile okay?"
"No, it's not…" Kazuki denied with a slight shake of his head.
For someone with such an extreme personality like Jinzaburo, a few words were not enough to make his emotions fluctuate.
Even a beating only managed to slightly alter his emotions. So far, the rewards Kazuki got from his reaction did not include the Shikotsumyaku, but only a slight improvement in his physical condition.
He was a terribly empty person inside, so devoid of emotions that he only found meaning in his existence by killing or being killed in combat.
Kazuki knew that in order to provoke a true emotional reaction from him, he would have to use much less gentle methods.
With a calm expression, Kazuki placed his hand on Jinzaburo’s spine. A green flash of chakra enveloped his fingers as he stimulated his nerves, amplifying the perception of pain by dozens of times… and then, he broke the first vertebra.
"Aaaaahhhh!" Jinzaburo's heart-rending scream echoed throughout the forest.
Kazuki smiled gently. "Look at my smile, imitate it..."
"You bastard, you bastard!" Jinzaburo bellowed angrily, consumed by grief.
But before he could utter any more insults, Kazuki snapped his second vertebra. Amplified agony consumed him once again.
"The human body has 206 bones. You still have 204 chances…" Kazuki said with a smile, as he cracked the third vertebra. "Try it, smile. I know you can do it."
The fourth, the fifth, up to the eighty-seventh…
At first Jinzaburo cursed, then he began to plead, and finally he muttered incoherently. But Kazuki did not stop.
Kazuki always repeated the same thing: "No, that's not the right smile."
Upon reaching the 99th time, Kazuki stopped. He patted Jinzaburo's nearly paralyzed body, and a warm flow of chakra healed his wounds, temporarily easing his pain.
Jinzaburo exhaled deeply, his eyes unfocused, and felt a relief so pure it was almost heavenly. After an endless hell of suffering, it had finally all ceased.
At this moment, a kind of peace beyond his understanding enveloped Jinzaburo's heart.
As long as there was no pain, life had meaning. His thoughts of killing, which had previously dominated his mind, had been completely washed away by the intense suffering.
At last he understood Kazuki's words: living, simply living in peace, was enough.
"Okay, have you rested enough?"
Jinzaburo's body trembled upon hearing the voice, awakening from his reverie suddenly. "No, no!"
Kazuki smiled slightly. "Then, smile."
Jinzaburo stood frozen. He wanted to shout a string of insults at Kazuki, but his body wouldn't let him. His lips remained sealed.
"Remember, remember the peace you just felt…" Kazuki said softly. "You just need to smile, and everything will be over."
Jinzaburo entered a state of deep terror. As he looked at Kazuki's Sharingan, his mind began to fill with images of his monotonous and repetitive life.
Delving deeper into his memories, the only thing he truly longed for was the moment when Kazuki had allowed him to breathe, a moment of absolute relief.
At that moment, there was no chaos inside him, no violence or extreme emotions, just tranquility.
Guided by Kazuki's eye technique, Jinzaburo was caught in that peaceful memory. Slowly, his lips curved into a warm smile.
Kazuki created a mirror of water and placed it in front of Jinzaburo. "Alright, that's the smile…"
As he emerged from the genjutsu, Jinzaburo looked at his reflection and was stunned. That expression of serenity and satisfaction, was it really him?
[From the target Kaguya Jinzaburo, you get the Kekkei Genkai: Shikotsumyaku!]
"The Five Great Shinobi Villages will sign a peace treaty. The future of the shinobi world will be peaceful…" Kazuki muttered in a calm voice.
