"Yakushi Nono."
"Come with us."
Uchiha Qianyu took a deep breath and spoke in a low, steady voice.
Yakushi Nono's body trembled violently. Her fingers clenched the hem of her clothes so tightly that her knuckles turned white, yet she did not dare say a single word.
Of course, she knew the name Uchiha Qianyu.
A figure whose reputation shook the entire shinobi world—at the peak of his power, feared and revered by all.
However…
She also knew, far too well, the terror of Root.
Even if she truly wished to save those children, even if she wanted to tell Uchiha Qianyu the whole truth, even if she was willing—as he suggested—to serve as a witness to this earth-shaking crime…
How could she guarantee the safety of the children?
Behind her backs were dozens—no, possibly hundreds—of innocent orphaned lives…
Aburame Ryūma glanced back at her.
It was as if he had seen straight through her hesitation.
He let out a cold laugh.
"Uchiha Qianyu, you can't take her with you."
"Yakushi Nono may be the director of the Konoha Orphanage in name, but she is also a member of Root. If you want to forcibly take her away, you'll need approval from both Lord Danzō and the Hokage."
"Otherwise…"
"You'll have to step over my corpse first!"
Aoki and Yamato snorted coldly in unison.
"You think we wouldn't dare?!"
Qianyu almost found it amusing.
"Aburame Ryūma… where did you get the illusion,"
"that I wouldn't kill you?"
"Or perhaps another illusion—"
"that I can't kill you?"
Ryūma sneered.
"Uchiha Qianyu, of course I know you're utterly lawless—there's nothing you wouldn't dare do. And I never believed you couldn't kill me."
"But…"
"You don't understand Root's way of doing things."
"Even if you kill me, you still won't achieve your goal."
"Not only will you fail to take Yakushi Nono away— even if you do, you'll never get a single piece of information about Root from her. Let alone from me."
"My body is bound to countless secrets. The moment I die, not only will many truths be buried in darkness forever, but more importantly…"
"Many lives will die with me."
"They'll all be buried alongside me!"
In an instant, Yakushi Nono's face turned deathly pale!
Aoki and Yamato instantly understood the threat as well. Their hearts shook violently, rage blazing in their eyes as if they were about to burst into flames!
Aburame Ryūma had most likely linked his life to the orphanage children through some secret curse technique. If he died, those children would die as well!
This was nothing short of inhuman—worse than a beast!
Yet, considering he was one of Root's leaders and a partner of Orochimaru and Shimura Danzō, it was also horrifyingly unsurprising.
Aoki and Yamato trembled with fury, but ultimately did not dare act recklessly. They could only turn their gaze toward their captain.
Kill Ryūma—and every child would die.
Spare him—and he was utterly confident he would never leak a single piece of Root's intelligence.
Yakushi Nono's face was as pale as paper, like a candle flickering in the wind, on the verge of collapse…
She too looked toward Qianyu, completely at a loss, like a walking corpse.
Qianyu took a deep breath.
"Threatening me."
"Very well, Aburame Ryūma. In this world, you're the first person who's dared to do that."
"You don't want to live."
"And you don't want to die."
"Then I'll make it so you can do neither."
Those words were merely a feint.
His true method had already been activated in the very moment he spoke.
Mangekyō Sharingan—
Open!
In an instant, his right eye transformed into a blood-red six-pointed star, slowly rotating as terrifying, violent ocular power erupted outward—already reflected in Aburame Ryūma's eyes!
Ryūma wasn't without defenses.
But Qianyu's activation was far faster than he had imagined—more concealed, more ruthless, and utterly irresistible!
Magatsuhi no Kami!
Buzz—!
The Mangekyō Sharingan technique of the right eye—Magatsuhi no Kami—descended upon the shinobi world for the second time since Uchiha Shisui had been completely erased!
Ryūma didn't even have time to react before his consciousness was dragged into the Mangekyō's illusionary realm.
His body instantly went slack, as if his soul had been ripped away.
Even Orochimaru would be crushed in an instant when facing the Mangekyō Sharingan wielded by Uchiha Itachi.
Let alone a mere Aburame Ryūma!
At that moment, Ryūma felt as though he had fallen into an endless hell.
Scarlet karmic flames surged wildly, filling the sky and earth—engulfing his entire body!
Every fraction, every inch, every corner, every single cell was set ablaze by the raging crimson fire, burning away the boundless sins of his lifetime—turning them into karma, then reducing them to nothing!
This was the absolute, inescapable fire of retribution!
One by one, the crimes of Aburame Ryūma's life replayed endlessly in the infernal world like a merciless lantern show—sins piled as high as mountains, evil beyond redemption.
Following a man like Shimura Danzō, how many atrocities had Ryūma committed? How many innocent lives had he ruined? How many inhuman operations had he carried out?
The list was endless—impossible to record in full.
Compared to him, Uchiha Shisui was nothing more than a naïve fool!
And precisely because of this…
The suffering Ryūma endured at this moment reached unimaginable depths.
Body and soul were burned together—scorched inch by inch. This was not merely pain that pierced the bones, but agony that tore through the heart and shredded the soul itself.
"AAAAAAHHHHH—!!!"
To the Root members watching, all they saw was Uchiha Qianyu's Mangekyō Sharingan flare—
—and in the very next instant, their captain, Lord Aburame Ryūma, let out a hysterical scream, his mouth stretched open to an exaggerated degree, as if his soul itself were about to be vomited out!
"Lord Ryūma…!"
"Th-this is…!"
Yet Qianyu restrained the power of his Mangekyō.
Magatsuhi no Kami had not been unleashed to its fullest extent.
Otherwise, Ryūma would have been reduced to ashes in an instant.
Qianyu always kept his word.
If he said you would be unable to live or die—then that would be your fate.
Under the burning karmic flames, Qianyu's ocular power forcibly shattered the countless curse marks placed upon Ryūma by Shimura Danzō.
Most crucial among them was the Tongue-Curse Seal of Absolute Silence.
And beyond that—every mental barrier, restriction, curse seal, and rune embedded within his mind…
All were crushed by the karmic flames, collapsing into ash!
Thus, Qianyu saw everything.
Including the forbidden technique Ryūma had been ordered to research this time—
Edo Tensei.
Qianyu spoke coldly,
"The children are being held at three secret Root facilities."
"The one ahead is one of them."
"Aoki. Yamato."
"Everyone here dies."
"Yes, Captain!"
In an instant—
Qianyu descended like a god of thunder, killing seven or eight Root shinobi in the blink of an eye!
His body flashed like lightning as he stormed straight into the hidden Root facility.
With furious roars, Aoki and Yamato charged toward the remaining three or four Root members.
Yakushi Nono hesitated only for a moment before suddenly turning around and rushing after Qianyu, following him into the Root base…
As for Aburame Ryūma—
He remained trapped within the endless karmic flames, his soul eternally scorched.
Unable to live.
Unable to die.
Neither living nor dying.
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