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The power of Izanagi was to turn all things unfavorable to oneself within a certain period of time into illusions that would vanish. Thus, this technique could make its caster an existence close to invincibility.
As long as one deemed something unfavorable to oneself, it could be erased.
For example—the death of someone close.
As long as one deemed it unfavorable to oneself, as long as one was willing to sacrifice a Mangekyo, then the outcome of death could be changed.
Strength surged back into her body. All the wounds on Momoko's body vanished in an instant. She was fine now.
Kenichi had used Izanagi to save her.
"Why?"
Momoko asked the question that was only natural.
Anyone, at a moment like this, would have to ask. Ask him—why?
Kenichi closed his eyes. By now, both of his Mangekyo were gone. One had been lost in battle long ago. The remaining one had just been lost.
Kenichi had once been injured. He had lost an arm and his last eye, which had caused Yuki to awaken the three-tomoe Sharingan. In that battle, losing the arm had been real. But losing the eye had been an act. So, until just now, Kenichi had still possessed one Mangekyo.
"Did she get away?"
Kenichi didn't answer Momoko's question. Instead, he asked one of his own.
"She got away. She's already far away."
Momoko, of course, knew who Kenichi was asking about.
Hearing Momoko's answer, Kenichi couldn't help but laugh. He patted himself down, then sat on the ground, placing his katana beside him.
"Good! You should leave too, Momoko. The people in the clan don't know about the Mangekyo in your eyes. Once you've escaped, no one will come after you. Take that Mangekyo's power and go protect Yuki. By the time the others arrive and discover that my Mangekyo has been used, they won't have any suspicions about you two."
A chill shot up Momoko's spine. She realized—she might have done something terribly wrong.
"Kenichi... what exactly have you done?"
The man who had persecuted Yuki the most... had now suddenly changed? No... or had he, perhaps, never changed at all?
Kenichi shook his head.
"Nothing. If I had to say, I did what any father would do. It's not worth any kind of praise. Alright, hurry now. Take that Mangekyo and protect Yuki. Any later, and you won't be able to leave."
"You—"
Momoko began pressing Kenichi for answers. But every time, Kenichi merely shook his head gently and urged her to set out immediately.
In the end, left with no choice, Momoko spoke.
"Since you won't tell me the full picture, then there are a few questions you must answer."
"Make it quick. There isn't much time."
"Did you kill Yuki's friends? Did you use that method to force her to awaken the Sharingan?"
"No. Although the Mangekyo wielders in the clan slaughter each other brutally, there's an ironclad rule that no one may harm those outside the Mangekyo ranks. No one can violate it. I'm no exception."
"Then who killed them?"
"There isn't enough time to discuss this in detail."
"Fine. You said before that you planned to have Yuki awaken the Mangekyo and then vie for the position of clan leader. Was that true?"
"Awakening the Mangekyo was true. Vying for clan leader was false. I did intend to have Yuki awaken the Mangekyo, but I never intended for her to contend for that so-called clan leader position. The reason I acted like a man possessed was to give Yuki an excuse to escape the clan. Leaving the clan without reason would definitely draw an investigation. But I wanted Yuki to leave with the Mangekyo, to have the power to protect herself. So she couldn't be investigated. Thus, I thought—if she had a madman for a father and, unable to bear it any longer, fled the clan... then perhaps no one would conduct a thorough investigation. Of course, the current situation is even more perfect. The Mangekyo is on you now. Even if someone investigates Yuki, they won't find anything. And you, Momoko—you're not even an Uchiha, so you'd never be investigated. After all, you couldn't possibly awaken the Sharingan."
"You didn't need to do all this. We could have simply kept Yuki away from ninjutsu, kept her from awakening the Sharingan—no—"
"It couldn't be stopped. Born into a shinobi clan—and a genius at that—she couldn't possibly avoid contact with ninjutsu or with death. She would definitely awaken the Sharingan. So, escaping the clan was the best option. You should understand that too. Alright, go now, Momoko. There's no time."
From then on, no matter what Momoko asked, Kenichi refused to say more. He simply sat there on the ground, smiling faintly, like a wooden statue.
"Let's go together." Momoko spoke.
But Kenichi only smiled faintly, saying nothing.
The problem was obvious. Within the clan, Kenichi was one of those known to possess the Mangekyo. The other Mangekyo wielders would never allow him to leave—not even if he was blind. Because, right now, the Uchiha clansmen still didn't know whether the Mangekyo would regenerate after using Izanagi.
So, in this clan, once one awakened the Mangekyo... one could forget about leaving.
If Momoko left alone, nothing would happen. But if she tried to take Kenichi with her... hordes of Mangekyo wielders would immediately hunt them down.
In the end, Momoko still left, leaving Kenichi sitting there alone.
The wind blew, carrying a leaf that landed on Kenichi's face.
Kenichi reached out and plucked the leaf from his cheek.
"A leaf, is it? It feels like a leaf. Blown here by the wind? Ah, right—the wind. The wind has risen! What a pleasant breeze. Is this leaf reminding me to hurry on my way? Hahaha! How impatient! These days, even a leaf is so impatient? Ha! Ominous! Ominous!"
Relying on the countless times he had trained in the past, Kenichi picked up the katana from the ground. Although he had lost his sight, it didn't affect him much.
At first, the blade was very white, even faintly reflecting the light. But halfway out of its sheath, the blade began to show blood red—the stain left from when he had stabbed through Momoko's abdomen.
The katana was fully drawn. Waves of cold air spread outward. Kenichi placed it against his own neck.
Without the slightest hesitation, the blade flashed!
"Don't look back, Momoko..."
Kenichi collapsed to the ground, releasing the leaf in his hand. A gust of wind blew, carrying the leaf far away, as if he had truly followed that leaf and soared away, leaving this bloody clan forever.
Kenichi didn't have to die. But he was destined never to leave the Uchiha. And he didn't want Momoko and Yuki, now far away, to have any lingering attachments.
Besides, the people most important to him had already left. What meaning was there in leaving behind a mere corpse like himself?
Better to be free and easy—to follow that leaf, riding the wind, and travel the world!
He felt no fear of death, because he had already sent off the two most important people in his life.
However, what Kenichi didn't know was that Momoko had come back.
Her emotions got the better of her. She came back.
She found Kenichi's corpse. She couldn't accept it. She wanted to investigate what had truly happened to Kenichi. And so, she stayed.
This wasn't a rational decision. It was a foolish one!
But Momoko was human, not a machine. Her decision, while foolish, was understandable.
Humans have emotions. Machines do not.
"That's how it was. Do you understand, Yuki? Mother didn't want you to see me. Not one bit! You'll develop attachments! But you can't stay in this clan! Even though you no longer have the Sharingan and staying doesn't seem harmful... but, but this blood-drenched clan is full of too many accidents. No one can guarantee that one day, the battles between Mangekyo won't drag you in. I can't accept that. Kenichi and I put everything into sending you out of this clan. I truly don't want to see you return in the future and die because of some Mangekyo battle!"
Momoko spoke to Yuki in a tone that was almost begging.
"I... I..."
At this moment, Yuki's heart was thrown into complete chaos. The strength and optimism of the past had all vanished.
Kagaya sighed. He hadn't wanted to interrupt a mother and daughter's conversation at a time like this. But Kagaya had keenly sensed something. A bad premonition was rising in his heart.
"May I ask, Mrs. Momoko? You left a clone here to tell us what just happened. But why a clone? Wouldn't your real body have been better? You couldn't be—"
Momoko released Yuki's hand and stepped back two paces, smiling faintly.
"Yuki... she cannot have any lingering attachments to this clan."
Suicide—almost instantly, those two words surfaced in Kagaya's mind. Someone very important to him had once done the same. It was an extremely painful memory. So, seeing this kind of act again, Kagaya's fury surged instantly.
He lunged forward and grabbed Momoko's arm.
"Have you lost your mind?! Is there something wrong with your brain?! Suicide is the dumbest damn thing in the entire world! Stop it right now! You don't want to stay in the clan? Then just leave with Yuki!"
Momoko's gaze dropped slightly.
"It's useless. The clan already knows about the Mangekyo in my eyes. If I leave with Yuki now, every Mangekyo in the clan will hunt us down. That's a power capable of destroying heaven and earth. No one can withstand it."
"Mother! Mother! Don't! Please! I'm begging you..."
Yuki, her voice choked with tears, embraced Momoko. She too had realized what Momoko intended to do.
Momoko stroked Yuki's head, just as she had when Yuki was a child.
Poof.
Momoko turned into a puff of white smoke and vanished.
Her resolve was set!
Momoko was going to carry out her plan!
"I... I... what do I do? What do I do? What do I do what do I do what do I do what do I do..."
Yuki completely panicked. She lost all reason, leaving only fear and helplessness.
Grab!
Kagaya grabbed Yuki's wrist.
"Let's go. We're going to find her."
Yuki trembled slightly.
"But... but even if we save Mother... we can only leave her in the clan. As a Mangekyo wielder, if Mother stays in the clan, she'll definitely die. But if we take her away..."
Kagaya's face had already taken on a few traces of anger. If there had been some other reason, it would be one thing. But committing suicide for the sake of others—Kagaya had experienced this several times already. To be honest, he absolutely despised it!
"Why all this talk? Move!"
Not giving Yuki any chance to continue, Kagaya pulled Yuki and shot forward. His perception rapidly expanded as he began searching for Momoko's real body.
Because Kagaya had completely unleashed his speed, he kicked up violent gusts of wind above the Uchiha clan grounds, like a wrathful deity preparing to overturn the entire Uchiha territory.
Of course, Kagaya wasn't that angry. If one had to say... it was simply that he couldn't stand to watch.
The starlight dimmed.
On this day, Yuki encountered the darkest day of her entire life. It was as if all hope, all happiness, had been replaced by deep despair. The whole world was pitch black.
Tears streamed uncontrollably down her cheeks. She wasn't a girl who liked to cry. But this feeling of helplessness and despair—she truly couldn't accept it.
Father died for me. Mother stayed for Father. Now... am I going to cause Mother's death too?
I... I... what should I do?
Can I save Mother? What power do I have?
It seemed she had none. Against power of the Mangekyo's level, Yuki was still far too weak.
Then... what about Kagaya-san?
The light in Yuki's eyes dimmed. How could she even think that? Facing all the Mangekyo in the clan—no matter who it was, they would die, right? How could she ask Kagaya-san for such a thing?
Hadn't she already caused enough deaths?
I want...
But deep inside, it was as if a voice was screaming something.
Kagaya brought Yuki to where Momoko was. Momoko had underestimated Kagaya's strength. She hadn't expected him to find her so quickly.
Kagaya's hand firmly grasped the hilt of the blade in Momoko's hand. With a fierce pull, aided by chakra, he directly wrenched the katana from her grip and hurled it far behind him.
"It seems I was faster. You could have quietly killed yourself. But you wanted to tell Yuki the truth about her father before you died, to keep her from resenting him, right?"
"You shouldn't have stopped me. For Yuki's sake, you shouldn't have stopped me. She should leave this clan, not come back."
Momoko spoke helplessly, tears streaming from the corners of her eyes. She too wanted to stay by Yuki's side. She too wanted to live a normal mother-daughter life with Yuki. But she couldn't let Yuki stay in the clan. She couldn't...
"I already said it. If you don't want to stay in the clan, then just leave together!"
"Leave together? No, there's no—"
Kagaya directly cut Momoko off.
"No chance? It's just a bunch of Mangekyo, isn't it? Just Izanagi?"
The starlight dimmed. But at this very moment, in Yuki's life—after the starlight had faded—a dazzling, brilliant light shone through.
So it turned out... the sun had risen!