"Quickly! You of the Kaguya Clan, organize a diversionary force! Launch a suicide attack on the Three-Tails—stop it from breaking through to the Mizukage Building!"
"Forget about the coup, the factions, the civil war—none of that matters now! At this moment, we are all ninjas of the Hidden Mist!"
"Terumī Clan, use your Lava Release! Create a high-temperature wall to stop the Six-Tails from advancing any further!"
"Damn it, it's about to break into the underground shelter!"
"—Charge!"
The voice belonged to an ordinary Mist ninja, his tone resolute and calm.
Yet, the irony was cruel.
The moment he led a freshly organized wave of Mist ninjas to the front line, a slug-like fragment split off from the Six-Tails and fell upon them. It instantly evaporated and dissolved him from head to toe.
"Everyone of the Mist, this is the final moment! This is the last stand to practice our Way of the Ninja and protect the families behind us!"
"Even if we die, we must not let the Tailed Beasts enter the residential area!"
"The Third Mizukage is back! He's suppressing the Three-Tails! Everyone, move out together!"
"Lord Yagura... Lord Yagura, where are you?!"
This voice belonged to a common member of a Mist Kekkei Genkai clan, his tone trembling with tears and uncontrollable terror.
The squad he led didn't last long. Thump!
A massive palm from the Three-Tails slammed down, shaking the earth and erasing the last trace of his existence from this world.
Everywhere was filled with wailing, shouting, roars, and the whimpers of the lost.
Human lives burned away like dry grass before his eyes. Hyuga Yu lay paralyzed amidst the ruins, watching the scenes unfold. A flicker of struggle momentarily crossed his eyes, but it was quickly replaced by an expression of extreme indifference and cold detachment.
He began to examine his own body.
His chakra was nearly exhausted. After the double stimulation of his perfected Byakugan: Wind Style Chakra Mode and the Eight Inner Gates, his physical form had reached its absolute limit. Yu could feel it—despite being only fourteen years old, crow's feet had appeared at the corners of his eyes. His skin was no longer lustrous or vibrant; it was dry and aged.
Six ribs were broken in his chest. The fall from over sixty meters had caused a comminuted fracture in his right foot. Even a slight movement of his hand or leg sent a jolt of pain through his body so intense it nearly caused him to black out.
My body has lost the ability to move. My physical strength and chakra are less than ten percent. At most, I can release one more Wind Style: Vacuum Blade, or perhaps manifest a hollow Wind Style: Rasengan for show.
This was the judgment Hyuga Yu made.
At that moment, a voice rang out. "Is this the result you wanted? The 'Heavenly Ninja' of the Foundation? Or should I say... Hyuga Yu of the Hyuga Clan?!"
Yagura Karatachi stood before the ruins, staring at the cold-faced Yu with a look of agony. Yu looked back at him. Just by seeing Yagura's expression, he could sense a profound pain—an anguish so deep it mirrored a fallen king mourning a lost world.
"Why?!" Yagura cried out.
"Why?!"
"You told me you were standing here to protect the things important to you. I... I was too. But why did it end like this?"
"Who exactly was in the wrong?!"
Yagura laughed bitterly, his facial muscles twitching. He gripped his iron staff tightly and walked slowly toward Yu with a savage expression. Facing the future Fourth Mizukage, who was consumed by rage and pain, Yu merely shook his head and spoke calmly: "I don't know."
As for who was truly at fault, Yu honestly didn't know.
Was it the Third Mizukage?
The Third had acted for the village's future, launching a war against Konoha to seize land and secure a brighter path for the Mist. He didn't seem to be in the wrong.
Was it Yagura Karatachi?
The Kirishigure organization he led aimed to change the Mist, to make life better for all ninjas so they wouldn't have to live in fear of being assassinated by their own comrades during a mission. He staged a coup for that cause; he didn't seem to be in the wrong either.
Was it Yu himself who was wrong?
Yu told himself he hadn't made a mistake. From the perspective of history and the overall situation, the collapse of the Mist was inevitable. Even if the Third Mizukage had won the coup and Yu had never appeared, someone else in Konoha's high command would have eventually executed this mission. If it wasn't Minato Namikaze, Jiraiya, or Orochimaru, it would have been Danzo Shimura or the Third Hokage himself.
In this mission, Yu was merely an "executioner." As a ninja of Konoha, he carried out the village's orders to save his family, who had been strapped to Danzo Shimura's war machine on the eastern front of the Land of Fire. Was he wrong?
It seemed he wasn't.
No one was in the wrong. Everyone followed their own sense of justice and fulfilled their respective missions, yet the result was this horrific catastrophe!
The flowers of good intentions had ultimately borne the fruit of extreme evil.
So, who was truly at fault?
"'I don't know'... Hahaha... 'I don't know'..." Yagura stared at Yu and couldn't help but laugh savagely. He swung his iron staff, pointing it at Yu's forehead, his voice dripping with hatred. "Then just die for me!"
A heavy, murderous intent flashed in Yagura's eyes!
Despite the excruciating pain, Yu remained expressionless as he propped up his upper body. He stared coldly at the approaching Yagura, raising his right palm. A cyan Rasengan began to swirl in his hand!
Suddenly, several figures leaped in front of Yagura and held him back. It was Kanryu, Ao, and Gonbei. "Yagura, don't get close to him!"
"It's been confirmed. He is the hero of Konoha who was supposedly killed by the Hyuga Head House on the eastern front two months ago—Hyuga Yu!"
"Based on the intelligence we have, he has at least one last-ditch killing move. If Shisui of the Body Flicker hadn't used the Susanoo to block that attack back then, it's unlikely even three of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen would have made it back alive. And that was when they weren't even his primary targets!"
"It isn't worth risking your life against a madman like this right now!"
Ao stared grimly at the calm, white-eyed youth lying in the ruins. He tugged at Yagura, advising him solemnly once more: "The only one who can save the village now is you, Yagura!"
"The Third Mizukage is on the verge of death after being attacked by two Tailed Beasts! We must support him immediately, otherwise..."
Hearing this, Yagura closed his eyes and took a deep, heavy breath, his body trembling. Soon, he regained his composure, realizing what he needed to do. "I understand!"
Yagura cast one last cold glance at the paralyzed Yu. "Watch him closely. Don't let him escape!"
"When this is all over, I will take his head and use it as a sacrifice for all the ninjas the Mist has lost!"
"Understood!"
Kanryu and Ao nodded. They signaled, and soon a twelve-man company led by three Mist Jonin rushed over. They surrounded Yu in the center of the ruins, maintaining a distance that was neither too far nor too close—close enough to capture him at any moment, but far enough to dodge any final, desperate counterattack.
Yagura quickly departed with Ao. In the distance, massive explosions soon began to roar again. The two sides of the coup had joined forces once more to combat the Three-Tails and Six-Tails rampaging through the village.
Trapped on the spot and surrounded by twelve ninjas, Yu was forced to mobilize the last of his chakra. He struggled to maintain the Rasengan in his palm, using it as a bluff.
The Mist ninjas didn't dare act rashly. Their mission was simply to guard the culprit who had plunged their village into chaos.
Because of the distance, Yu couldn't absorb extreme emotions from the surrounding ninjas to convert into Dark Chakra. His only remaining chakra had to be used to sustain the Rasengan, leaving him unable to perform medical ninjutsu to restore even his basic mobility.
He had reached a dead end. His life force was being wasted in vain, and his chakra was trickling away toward total depletion.
Yu surveyed the scene with an eerie calm, observing this moment so close to death. There was no anticipation, no more hidden trump cards, and no hope of breaking through.
"Heh, is this how it ends for me?"
Yu couldn't help but chuckle. However, his laugh startled the twelve elite Mist ninjas, causing them to retreat three steps in unison. They watched him even more warily until they realized he had no intention of attacking, allowing them to sigh in relief.
Yu let the Rasengan in his hand dissipate. He lay back on the ruins. Soft moonlight pierced through a hole in the gloomy sky—blasted open by the Tailed Beasts' emergence—and shone quietly upon his face.
In this moment, Yu couldn't help but reflect. How had he done over these fourteen years?
Did he have regrets?
Had he truly given his all?
Could his actions be described as those of a person with a sound personality and free will?
But quickly, Yu gave himself the answer: No.
For a long time, Yu's goal had been to "become human." He had discarded selfish desires and severed emotional ties, striving toward the image of a "person" in the eyes of the world. He used all sorts of high-sounding reasons to place himself in extreme situations, using them as a template for his efforts.
But was this really what he wanted? Was this truly the path to being an upright "human being"?
As his life entered its final countdown, Yu's thoughts drifted. They drifted back to a night in October of the year Konoha 49. He remembered holding up the black combat uniform Hyuga Natsu had sent him, grinning like an idiot at his reflection in the mirror.
In that memory, Yu stood in the mirror of his cramped apartment, coldly watching his smiling self on the other side.
Looking back at his entire fourteen-year life, there had never been a moment where he felt more like a "human" than that one.
At this moment, Yu had an epiphany.
Standing within the "mirror" of his mind, he looked at his foolishly grinning self and slightly curled his lips, forming a stiff smile.
He finally understood what the "truth" he pursued was. Yet, it seemed he would never have the chance to touch that desired reality again.
However, just then—
A cold, somber voice suddenly drifted from the darkness behind him: "I believe I taught you..."
"Do not harbor any illusions about this world or others."
"What is with that expression on your face?"
Yu snapped his eyes open. He saw two spinning blades of wind shoot out from the darkness. They traced two arcs, cutting down the twelve Mist ninjas surrounding him like dry straw!
Nine Chunin fell before they could even react. The three Jonin stood frozen in place, motionless, seemingly caught in a genjutsu. By the time they realized something was wrong, their bodies had already been severed in two!
A thin man wearing a grayish-black kimono walked out. The garment left his left shoulder and arm exposed, revealing the white undergarment beneath. Carrying an aura of cold gloom, he flicked his bandage-wrapped right arm with one hand while leaning on a cane with the other. He stepped slowly out of the shadows of the buildings and looked at Yu with an indifferent expression.
"Lord... Danzo?" Yu looked at the newcomer, a look of astonishment crossing his eyes.
He couldn't understand why Danzo would save him.
Given Danzo's character, he should have discarded Yu like a worn-out shoe the moment his usefulness was exhausted... right?
Danzo walked to the edge of the ruins. Behind him, the entire Hidden Mist Village was in chaos—the scene of two massive beasts and two small figures leading a sea of ninjas in a fierce struggle. He looked down coldly at Yu, his brow furrowing. "Do you not understand, or are you playing the fool?"
"Placing hope in others and fantasizing that they will save you is the most foolish thing in this world!"
"However—"
"If you hold within your hands an interest or value that others cannot ignore or abandon, you can control them as if you were the most skilled puppeteer, making them die for you."
"Ryoma Aburame should have taught you this lesson at the very beginning."
Hearing this, Yu's heart cleared. He quickly accepted the reality before him and contemplated why Danzo had appeared. Lying paralyzed on the ruins, he gave a bitter smile and asked, "Then, for Lord Danzo, what value do I have now?"
Danzo glanced at Yu and said plainly, "Your value depends on the few small questions I am about to ask you."
"Do not attempt to lie."
Right in front of Yu, Danzo slowly pulled up the bandages covering his right eye, revealing a crimson, ominous Three-Tomoe Sharingan. "Under this eye, I can see through even the nature of a lie."
Yu nodded. "Please... ask."
Danzo Shimura did not rush. He waved his hand, firing a wind blade to kill a Mist ninja who had spotted them and was trying to raise the alarm. As if he had done something trivial, he asked calmly:
"On a ship about to sink to the bottom of the ocean, there are ten crew members. But one of them has contracted a malignant, infectious disease."
"If he is allowed to live, the other nine will also fall ill and die."
"If you were the captain of this ship..."
"Hyuga Yu,"
"What would you do?"
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