Chapter 77 (Chapter Seventy-Five)

Inevitably, the Eight-Tails hunt ended in failure, which hastened Sasuke's desire to leave Akatsuki and his determination to purge Konoha's high-ranking officials.

"Why do you want to stay? Do you really want to follow Madara?"

Sasuke looked on incredulously as he stared directly into Yuki's eyes.

Xue slightly averted her gaze and pursed her lips.

"That kind of man is not trustworthy at all! Uchiha Yuki!" he said emotionally. "A promise made casually is not worth keeping!"

Sasuke looked grim, and the others around him also frowned, clearly disapproving of Yuki's decision to stay. Suigetsu, whose injuries had mostly healed, wrapped her arms around Yuki's waist, revealing her sharp shark teeth, and tried to bite Yuki's cheek. But Karin grabbed her and threw her aside.

“It’s not about whether he’s trustworthy or not; I have a reason why I must stay by his side.” Xue felt a bit of a headache. She explained, “Orochimaru is dead, and only he can break the seal within me.”

Sasuke thought of that day, the day he captured the Eight-Tails.

He dragged her down.

He said through gritted teeth, "Uchiha Yuki! Don't try to fob me off with those high-sounding reasons. Staying by his side is tantamount to betraying me!"

"No, no! Sasuke!" Yuki hurriedly replied, her brows furrowed as she met Sasuke's gaze.

She pleaded for his understanding, but Sasuke's eyes instantly dimmed.

“That kind of seal doesn’t matter whether it’s broken or not. Wasn’t it the same when I was with my brother?” Sasuke couldn’t understand why it wasn’t the same for him. He felt that it was enough for Yuki to just be by his side; she didn’t need to fight as a fighting force. Wasn’t it the same when he was with his brother?

Was even she going to leave him?! Sasuke's expression was obsessive, bordering on madness. His hatred was incomprehensible to everyone, and if anyone tried to oppose his next move, he would make sure that person's loved ones suffered. Perhaps then, that person would at least begin to understand his hatred?

However, Xue had no one else besides him who was closest to her.

He was the closest person to Xue, and there was no one else like him!

Karin, Suigetsu, and Jugo stood silently to the side, a long silence spreading through the air.

Finally, Sasuke looked at Yuki's eyes, which remained unyielding and averted their gaze, gave a cold laugh, and turned to put on his black robe.

"From the moment you came into my life to the moment you decided to leave, it was all your own will. When has Yuki ever cared about my feelings? Saying you'd never leave me was just childish nonsense. Uchiha Yuki, even without your help, I can destroy Konoha—"

In their line of sight, the boy's delicate profile and dark Sharingan were clearly visible.

His silhouette looked particularly resolute in the dim light.

Xue's fists, hanging by her sides, were clenched so tightly that her nails dug deep into her palms, drawing blood.

Karin stopped and looked back at the snow that remained in place, then at the departing figures of Sasuke, Suigetsu, and Jugo.

In the end, she quickened her pace and caught up with them.

-

They learned from Black Zetsu that her and Sasuke's capture of the Eight-Tails, coupled with Pain's destruction of Konoha, had caused such a commotion that the Five Kage decided to mobilize and hold a meeting in the Land of Iron. At Obito's urging, Team Taka decided to go and take the head of the newly appointed acting Hokage, Danzo.

Yuki and Danzo didn't have much interaction; in her eyes, he was just an old man who was old, faded, and repulsive.

With Sasuke's current strength, killing him shouldn't be a problem, especially with the help of White Zetsu.

The snow raised its head, and the sky took on a dark hue. The sky over Amegakure was always overcast and rainy, as if it were shedding tears.

Cities built of steel are always shrouded in gloom, as if they have never seen the sun shine.

Suddenly, a huge explosion rang in her ears. Xiao Nan's paper magic tore the sea in two, revealing the explosive tags she had set up beforehand. Then, a series of explosions echoed across the sea.

Suddenly, the rain stopped.

The rainy village of Amegakure has started to clear up.

A magnificent rainbow appeared on the horizon.

The battle between Obito and Konan has ended.

"If you had known Sasuke would leave you, why did you bother explaining so much?" Obito appeared behind her and laughed mockingly.

Xue looked at his disheveled appearance. The mask that Xiao Nan had blown up only left the lower half of his face, the half of his body that Bai Jue had replaced, and his right arm was also broken off.

Her robe was blown to shreds, but the exposed parts were still completely covered by her black bodysuit.

"Six hundred billion explosive tags couldn't kill you, Obito Uchiha?" Xue said casually.

Obito's smile froze for a moment: "You knew all along that Konan was going to use against me?"

"Isn't that normal? That child likes me a lot." It wasn't a lie. Konan was very fond of the innocent girl who had lost her memory, even though she was an Uchiha brought by Madara.

As Yuki manipulated chakra to walk on the surface of the sea, Obito sneered.

"After all, isn't it normal for a promiscuous woman like you to be attracted to you?"

"ha--"

Xue walked along, frowning, not quite understanding the meaning behind Uchiha Obito's words.

They always used such insulting words to describe her.

"Aren't you worried about Sasuke?" Obito asked tentatively.

Xue sneered: "Isn't everything going according to your script?"

Obito couldn't help but pause for a moment, then felt inexplicably pleased.

He and Uchiha Yuki understood each other, and this thought led him to reach out with his only remaining hand.

He took her hand, their fingers intertwined, palms pressed together.

Xue frowned slightly, but did not shake him off, letting him hold her hand.

Her sensory abilities were significantly stronger than those of an ordinary ninja, so she was naturally able to sense the final fluctuations of the Rinnegan.

Even if Konan commits suicide in the end, Obito will not be able to use his Sharingan to force Konan to reveal Nagato's body. This is the double guarantee that Obito brought her here.

On the tower to the east of Amegakure, the empty hall appeared meticulously decorated. White paper flowers were scattered on the floor, and the marble pillars amidst the ruins were faintly carved with images of angels and gods. In the world of ninjas, were there even believers in Jesus? In the center of the hall lay two corpses, Pain and Nagato, their hands clasped across their chests; on the surface, they seemed merely to be asleep.

They were surrounded by flowers.

"How naive of them to hide a corpse in a place like this," Obito said. "His power is exhausted, huh? His red hair, proof he's a descendant of the Uzumaki clan, has turned so pale..."

This was the first time Yuki had seen Nagato. He had short, snow-white hair and a pale face. She lowered her eyes, her gaze falling on his white hair, wondering if it should have been a vibrant red or a dark, deep crimson. Obito released her hand and gouged out the Rinnegan with his bare hands. The varying shades of purple and tree-ring-like patterns swirled around his eyeballs.

Yuki took out the glass bottle she was carrying, and through Obito's hand, the two eyeballs fell into the dark brown liquid.

The Rinnegan? Yuki thought to herself.

Well then, it's time to go back.

The first thing to do upon returning to base was to fill the severed limbs with replacement White Zealot creatures.

Obito clenched his fist and then released it. He had Hashirama cells in his body, so no Sharingan would reject his body.

Using Izanagi, he dodged the lethal dose of the explosive tags, rewriting his fate of death.

Xue watched him from the side, tilting her head.

Obito skillfully pinched her chin and gave her a long, lingering kiss.

With their tongues entwined in a moist embrace, Xue opened her eyes and met his gaze.

When their lips parted, silver threads were pulled out. Obito grabbed her neck, but didn't use force.

"Pleasure me, Uchiha Yuki."

"Let me break the seal for you."

"Isn't that why you stayed by my side?"