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In that instant, Homura and Koharu didn't even have time to speak. They directly charged towards the Forest of Death, determined to force their way through.
Kabuto adjusted his glasses. "Now, now, that won't do, honorable elders. Please wait for the two friends behind you."
Chakra scalpels appearing in his hands, Kabuto rushed forward, intercepting both of them single-handedly.
Although Kabuto was clearly at a disadvantage, as long as he didn't get defeated, he held the upper hand!
Because Kagaya and Kisame were rapidly closing the distance!
Despite Homura and Koharu's desperate urgency, ultimately, they failed to break through Kabuto's defense before Kagaya and Kisame arrived.
Especially Kagaya. Upon spotting Koharu and Homura, he directly activated his Sharingan and pushed his speed to the limit.
The two elders were still engaged in combat with Kabuto when, suddenly, unnoticed by anyone, a flash of blade light streaked past. Koharu's entire right arm was cleanly severed.
Blood splattered onto Kagaya's face. His crimson Sharingan, filled with hatred, fixed on Koharu.
"This time, it's not a clone, is it?"
Kabuto's hand trembled involuntarily. He was startled—not by the act of severing an arm, but by Kagaya!
That attack just now... it was simply too fast. Kabuto was certain that if Kagaya had aimed for his neck, he might have died without even realizing what happened.
Koharu was momentarily stunned. She looked at her right shoulder, now gushing blood. Kagaya's strike had been so swift that her nerves hadn't registered the pain immediately. For the first few moments, Koharu felt nothing.
But mere seconds later, intense agony surged relentlessly towards Koharu's brain.
"ARGHHHH!!! You! You! You Uchiha bastard!!"
Kagaya sneered coldly. "It seems you share Danzo's great animosity towards the Uchiha. Coincidentally, we Uchiha hold a great animosity towards you as well. You, Konoha bastard!!"
Beside them, Homura, splattered with blood, was momentarily dazed. Then a kunai appeared in his hand, and he thrust it towards Kagaya.
"Die!"
A cold glint flashed in Kagaya's eyes. His own kunai twitched, ready to strike. But at that very moment, a white cloth-wrapped blade blocked Homura's attack.
Kisame had arrived!
Kisame smiled as he spoke to Kagaya. "Mr. Kagaya, we agreed on the way here—one each. You can't take my share."
Kagaya glanced at Kisame. The kunai in his hand quietly vanished. He said nothing.
Seeing Kagaya put away his kunai, Kisame knew Kagaya had agreed. He then turned to Homura.
"Ah, you there. Attacking Mr. Kagaya will get you killed, you know? Even I, after witnessing that speed, am not too keen on fighting Mr. Kagaya myself."
With that, Kisame exerted force, sending Homura flying far away, then pursued him. It seemed Kisame wanted to find a spacious area to toy with his prey properly.
Kagaya quickly called out, "Kisame, remember to leave him with a breath!"
Kisame replied without turning his head, "No problem!"
Then he vanished from Kagaya's sight.
Next, Kagaya looked at Koharu. Seeing her contorted expression, Kagaya felt a sense of dark amusement.
"So you can feel pain too."
Koharu was momentarily taken aback. She stared at Kagaya for several seconds.
"You are... Uchiha Kagaya?"
Kagaya responded mockingly, "What's this? Don't remember me? You slaughtered my entire clan, yet you don't remember me? I've remembered you all this time."
Gritting her teeth against the pain, Koharu asked, "How did you know that Homura and I were also among those who pushed for the Uchiha clan's extermination?"
Kagaya glanced at Koharu's heavily bleeding right arm, then looked at Kabuto. "Can you help stop her bleeding? Doesn't need to be perfect, but at least ensure she won't die for a while."
Kabuto nodded.
"Not a problem."
He then began to staunch Koharu's bleeding. Koharu didn't resist. Firstly, she was already very old. Suddenly losing an arm, her aged body simply couldn't withstand such shock. She truly didn't have much strength left. Secondly, she also knew that even if she were completely uninjured, she couldn't have prevented this.
Kagaya continued looking at Koharu. "You ask how I knew? Are you trying to deny it?"
Indeed, regarding the main instigators of the Uchiha clan massacre, Kagaya hadn't possessed any intelligence to learn about them during that period. Unfortunately, he was a transmigrator. He had known from the very beginning who the main instigators of the Uchiha massacre were. He never needed to gather intelligence.
Koharu let out a soft laugh. Her expression actually began to calm down. "You're right. No matter how you knew, what's done is done. I cannot deny it. Regarding the Uchiha clan's extermination, although I wasn't the one who gave the final order, before that, I did do many things wrong by the Uchiha."
Kagaya felt a flicker of surprise. This Koharu Utatane didn't seem as deranged as Danzo. Was it because she sensed her impending death, causing her to become philosophical? Thinking this, Kagaya couldn't help but ask,
"Then do you regret it?"
On one hand, Kagaya very much wanted to hear these former masterminds say, "I deeply regret it." That might grant him some measure of solace. But on the other hand, he hoped they remained unrepentant, so he could wield the blade without hesitation.
Koharu smiled. "Regret? There's no such thing as regret. We are not children anymore. What's happened has happened; regret is useless. I'd like to ask you something instead. On this journey of revenge, how many people do you intend to kill?"
Kagaya narrowed his eyes. "I intend to kill everyone in Konoha!"
Koharu shook her head with a light chuckle. "No. The hatred in your eyes isn't that great. You might cause great slaughter in Konoha, but you won't kill everyone."
Kagaya fell silent for a few seconds, then couldn't help but laugh softly. "Come to think of it, why am I talking about this with you? You're a dead woman walking. Regardless of whether others in Konoha die or not, today, you will definitely die."
Koharu stared at Kagaya for several seconds, then closed her eyes. "I never imagined that the frail little brat from back then would become so strong now. Perhaps... were we wrong all those years ago? If you were still in Konoha, if you were still a Konoha shinobi... then perhaps Konoha could enjoy another century of peace... Hah. But what's done is done. There is no chance for change. Therefore, I will not consider my actions back then as wrong. After all, the Uchiha back then were indeed an unstable factor. Even though the final outcome of extermination wasn't what I desired... I do not consider that outcome to be wrong either. I hope... I hope Konoha grows ever stronger. Hiruzen... you must... you must lead Konoha to prosperity!"
Kabuto raised his head, looking at Kagaya.
"She used her own chakra to attack her heart meridian. She committed suicide."