If he couldn't have it, no one else should either—that's how he really felt.
Homura gazed melancholically at the snow falling from the sky. "I don't know why, but I feel some regret. After all, this was a child with the talent to become a Kage."
Koharu sighed as well.
Though they didn't trust Shiki Uzumaki, in their hearts, they had also hoped Konoha might gain another protector.
"If only Shiki Uzumaki had been someone we watched grow up from childhood, perhaps things wouldn't have turned out like this. Unfortunately, we knew absolutely nothing about him until he was six years old. No one can be sure if this child bears the same kind of resentment as the Uchiha once carried against the village."
"Could he blame Konoha for the Uzumaki clan's destruction? After all, our village and the Uzumaki were once the closest of allies."
Nobody could predict what the future held. Yet now, seemingly everyone felt sorrow over the loss of a young genius.
Even Danzo was thinking—if only Shiki Uzumaki had obeyed him, maybe this day would have come differently.
At that time, he would already have become Hokage. His era would finally have arrived. And Shiki Uzumaki would be his most loyal subordinate, leading the Anbu under him.
At Konoha Hospital,
The place was filled with bustling activity everywhere.
Because today, an unusually large number of ninjas were injured.
With the end of the year drawing near, doctors had hoped to spend the following days leisurely, yet suddenly found themselves facing another heavy workload.
"It's strange this time. Although these injuries seem severe and the patients lost a lot of blood, treating them felt just like handling normal external wounds."
"Eh? You experienced the same thing too? I thought my patient alone was like that, so I was secretly relieved."
"However, I heard someone actually died on Dr. Uesugi's watch."
"What? How could anyone actually die?"
"They say he was already dead when brought in, neck twisted in a terribly horrifying way."
"You two still have time to chat here? Hurry up and attend to your patients!"
A stern reprimand interrupted their conversation. The two staff members could only leave discontentedly. It was none other than the hospital's head nurse, scolding them sharply.
Sarutobi stood beside Shiki's bed while listening to Tenzo's report.
"Have you confirmed everything? One ninja was killed by an unknown shinobi, and the other was personally slain by Fu Yamanaka?"
Tenzo knelt on the ground and answered, "Indeed, based upon battlefield analysis, and the Mind Body Transmission Technique conducted by Elder Inoichi retrieving memories from both deceased individuals. This incident has absolutely no connection with Shiki Uzumaki. Additionally, Danzo indeed forced Shiki to join Root."
Sarutobi nodded solemnly. He even suspected that the death of that jōnin might have been part of Danzo's hidden plan to obtain the Uzumaki bloodline.
After all, Danzo showed absolutely no mercy toward any Root member. To qualify as a proper Root agent, one must even go through trials of mutual killing.
Sai and Shin were living examples of such brutal training.
But as Sarutobi shifted his gaze back onto Shiki, he let out another helpless sigh.
Chapter 53: How to Become Stronger?
In his dream, Sena Hoshino's death replayed itself over and over again before Shiki Uzumaki.
It was like waking up in terror from one nightmare, only to fall into another.
"No!" With a frightened scream, Shiki Uzumaki finally awoke.
He found himself lying in a private hospital room, surrounded by many familiar faces already standing inside.
After all the changes these past three months, the people before him seemed both familiar yet oddly distant now.
Before Shiki Uzumaki could fully regain his senses, Tenten had already rushed forward and wrapped him in a tight embrace.
"Thank goodness! You're okay, Shiki!"
Feeling the warmth surrounding him and the faintly familiar fragrance of her body, Shiki Uzumaki felt momentarily stunned,
"Nai-jie? You're alright?!!!"
"What do you mean, 'is Nai-jie okay'? Are you kidding me? If anyone was in trouble, it should be you, not Shiki!" Tenten replied irritably, puffing out her cheeks like she was genuinely upset.
"Huh... what exactly happened?"
Shiki Uzumaki was somewhat confused. His mind returned to that most terrifying scene.
He clearly remembered being trapped in a genjutsu known as the "Non-Existence Technique"—only to witness Nai-jie's death afterward.
Wait!
Could that also have been an illusion?
Suddenly, Shiki Uzumaki recalled another jutsu mentioned in the original story—the "Naraku View Technique!"
Right, this jutsu forces its victims to confront their deepest nightmares—made real through illusion.
So that's how it was. Shiki Uzumaki couldn't help but chuckle bitterly.
This technique was originally meant to crush an opponent's fighting spirit and destabilize their emotions, making it difficult for them to gather chakra normally or launch effective counterattacks.
But Fu Yamanaka probably hadn't expected his reaction would be so extreme.
To the point where he forced open the fifth gate of the Eight Gates Formation—Limit Gate.
Thinking about Limit Gate immediately made Shiki Uzumaki pay attention to his injuries, since this concerned his future path.
When he tried to move slightly,
Hiss!
He couldn't suppress a sharp intake of breath.
Compared to any pain he'd felt before, it was like his whole body was convulsing with cramps while being stabbed by countless needles at once.
He hadn't noticed earlier because his body had endured that agony for so long that he had somehow grown numb to it. Now, even the slightest movement felt as if swarms of fire ants were devouring his insides.
At this moment, Shiki Uzumaki almost wondered whether Torune Aburame's poison insects had started multiplying inside his body.
"Shiki Uzumaki, are you okay?" Seeing the expression of pain on Shiki Uzumaki's face, Sena Hoshino couldn't help but ask with concern.
Shiki Uzumaki forced a smile and answered, "Just some pain. It's nothing serious."
"What unbelievable willpower! Enduring such unbearable torment without letting those around him feel a shred of worry..."
"Is this the boundless power of youth... and love?!"
"Lee, did you hear that?! From now on, you must study under Shiki Uzumaki and march shoulder-to-shoulder with him on the sacred road of youth!"
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