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Naruto: IHCS Ch. 120
🕑 Added 2025-09-09 15:25:08 +0000 UTCNagato stared at his own hands.
What... what did I just do?
What exactly did I just do?
Why am I frozen in place...
What am I afraid of...
Shiratori studied Nagato. Something about him was off. His pupils were trembling nervously, and his hands wouldn't stop shaking. His expression was caught between crying and laughing. His face looked as though it had been torn into two halves.
It appeared especially twisted and pained.
"...Nagato."
Looking at him like this, his psychological issues were clearly severe. For now, it was best not to push him into breaking completely.
"Nagato."
Shiratori placed both hands on Nagato's shoulders, gazed at him firmly, and said, "Nagato, calm down. I am not blaming you."
Nagato's trembling pupils shifted. He looked at Shiratori before him, and raised his own hands helplessly.
"I know... the only one blaming me is myself."
"There's still plenty of time. We'll have the chance to overcome this slowly. Drowning in self-blame is useless," Shiratori said this seriously, eyes fixed on Nagato.
Konan and Yahiko looked on anxiously at him.
The night was silent, broken only by the whisper of the passing wind, and by the voices of Shiratori and Nagato echoing in the dark sky.
Under Rika's watch, the captured shinobi didn't move. Their eyes darted back and forth between Rika and Shiratori, searching for a chance to escape.
Unfortunately, whenever even the slightest twitch of their fingers appeared, that chilling gaze would fall upon them again, freezing them in place.
"Believe in us. We will all help you."
Shiratori patted Nagato's shoulder.
Nagato turned, his eyes falling upon the ninjas.
Yahiko stood by his side, glaring furiously at them.
"Do you even have a conscience?"
He took a step forward, unable to contain his anger, shouting at the ninjas.
Conscience?
The ninjas looked at each other. In their eyes, a trace of mockery flickered. How could anyone with a conscience possibly survive in this world?
If they had a conscience, they'd already be dead.
How could they have lived this long otherwise?
What right did this naive brat have to stand on some moral high ground and condemn them?
Their hearts seethed with resentment and fury.
"You side with those merchants, killing innocents for them. Do you even deserve to call yourselves ninjas?"
Disappointment flickered in Yahiko's eyes.
Those blessed with such powerful abilities should be using their strength to do meaningful things.
Not just wasting away at the chaotic borders, scraping by day to day.
Hearing his words, the mocking smiles on the ninjas' faces grew stronger. One of them sneered, sweeping his gaze over Shiratori and the others before settling it on Yahiko.
"We can barely protect our own lives, how do we have the luxury to worry about others? Have you ever even set foot on a battlefield? Do you know what war is actually like? All we want is to live. What's so wrong with that? Isn't being a ninja just about taking money and doing the job?"
The ninja shot back. His bloodshot eyes locked onto Yahiko.
Did they want to be driven like cattle by those greedy merchants?
But what other path was there for them?
"I haven't been on the battlefield, but he has. And after leaving it, he didn't choose to sink as low as you have!"
Yahiko's words rang out firmly.
Shiratori by his side was living proof.
"Heh..."
Hearing this, the ninja couldn't help but let out a cold laugh.
"Shiratori? He is Hanzō's student! The vast majority of us are ordinary ninjas! Do you know what awaits an ordinary ninja on the battlefield? Only death!"
"The few ordinary ninjas lucky enough to crawl back alive from the battlefield... none of them return to their own villages. They vanish into unknown little countries, while their former names quietly enter the lists of the fallen."
"We can't go back to our homelands. We can't return to our villages. And we refuse to step back onto the battlefield. That leaves us only one choice: remain in war-torn nations, where at least we won't be driven out."
"Ame's victory shrank our space for survival yet again. We can only scurry like rats into the ruins of abandoned strongholds, just to eat and sleep. We are forced to sell our lives to those stinking merchants dripping with greed."
The ninja laughed bitterly.
"We are only searching for a chance to survive, that's all."
"Great ideals belong only to those ninjas with full bellies and no fear of survival."
"You're lucky."
"But not everyone can be as lucky as you."
Yahiko stared at the ninjas before him, his expression conflicted.
[Killing Intent detected]
[Multiple sources: +3000 points each]
[Total accumulated: 12,000 points]
[Curse Growth - Killing Intent: 6.3%]
"Stop putting on airs in front of us!"
"You could never possibly understand our pain!"
"..."
Blades flashed and crossed in a storm of steel. A shadow leapt high into the air, appearing above Shiratori's head.
Two crimson eyes locked fiercely onto him.
Boom!
The ninjas and samurai all widened their eyes in shock. Their weapons had struck against a massive pale hand. It was like hacking at iron or steel beams.
Not even a scratch was left.
"Rrrghhh..."
Rika let out an ear-splitting, wrathful screech.
Her other hand came crashing down upon the ninjas and samurai.
BOOM!
The ground beneath Shiratori and the others split open with a thunderous crash, leaving behind a deep crater.
Inside the pit, dark-red blood was flowing.
[Fear detected]
[Multiple sources: +3000 points each]
[Total accumulated: 9000 points]
[Energy transferred to Hanami]
[Development progress: 92.46%]
The stench of blood spread through the air, seeping into the bodies of the remaining ninjas and samurai. They stared in shock at the colossal being before them, their understanding of its power sinking to an even deeper level.
Moonlight spilled coldly across the ruins of the inn.
The stench of blood in the air was carried away by the wind.
Only the sound of tense, ragged breathing remained.
On the faces of several ninjas and samurai were written fear and a deep sense of helplessness.
Their eyes were fixed on Rika, who stood beside Shiratori.
Looking at the blood pooling in the pit, the ninjas' and samurai's will to resist gradually faded.
The ninja's earlier words struck deeply in Yahiko's heart. When he looked at these ninjas now, his eyes no longer held only simple anger.
"In war, everyone struggles just to live."
They were only a bit more fortunate, because they had met Jiraiya. If they hadn't met him, perhaps they would have long been dead.
"But you shouldn't throw away your lives for those merchants. They don't care whether you live or die. The pay they give you, can it really be worth your very lives?"
He was still angry, but his anger was no longer directed at the ninjas and samurai before him.
It was directed at those merchants. Those who fed on the blood of the battlefield. The ninjas lowered their gazes.
His words were like thorns driven into their hearts.
Of course it wasn't enough.
"We will not kill you."
Yahiko stepped forward once more.
"If we were to kill you as you kill others, then the very ideal of replacing violence with peace and opposing war with dialogue would lose its meaning."
He turned slightly, looking back at Shiratori.
When he saw him, it was as though strength welled up in his heart.
No matter how difficult, he would not give up on spreading their ideals throughout the shinobi world.
"We are war orphans. We grew up in the Land of Rain, scarred by endless conflict."
"We understand better than anyone the consequences of war and slaughter."
"Mutual killing only brings endless grief, displaced civilians, deep suffering, and ninjas and samurai like you, forced to struggle in the mud and darkness, even to the point of selling your own souls and principles."
His words fell like heavy hammers, striking the hearts of every ninja and samurai.
Their fists clenched, their eyes flickered.
How could they not understand?
But the pressures of survival and long years of despair had numbed them into resignation.
Shiratori spoke at just the right moment, turning his gaze toward the samurai whose hands gripped their swords tightly.
"The swords you hold carry the legacy of loyalty and righteousness, of compassion and courage. The way of the samurai is an upright path. But ask yourselves, are the deeds you commit today still in keeping with the way of the samurai?"
When it came to words, he was no weaker than Yahiko.
Yahiko's persuasion was grounded in sincerity, in heartfelt and genuine emotion to move others. But his persuasion was to see into the depths of others' hearts, striking precisely, cutting straight to their core.
"To serve as lackeys for the corrupt... is this truly where your swords point?"
"Shouldn't your blades be raised to protect the weak, to cut down true evil?"
In that instant, the deepest shame and unwillingness welled up inside the samurai. From the moment they first grasped a sword in childhood, they had carried pride in their identity as samurai.
But now...
Yahiko took a deep breath, his eyes shining with the light of his ideals. That light burned so brightly it seemed to ignite the pupils of the ninjas and samurai before him.
"For the sake of peace, for the sake of saving all those who suffer, we founded Akatsuki."
"Simple violence cannot bring true peace, it only breeds deeper hatred. We must use our strength to end war, to protect the ordinary people who cannot protect themselves!"
His voice grew stronger, more powerful, filled with emotion that stirred the heart.
The moment he thought of their ideals, tears welled up in his eyes.
"We will create an entirely new world!"
"A world where the great nations no longer toy with the small, where children are no longer forced onto the battlefield, where no one is left homeless and wandering like you!"
Shiratori's gaze swept slowly across the crowd.
"I once dreamed of driving out the invaders of the Land of Rain. That dream came true, not because of my strength alone, but because of the combined strength of everyone in Ame."
"When the ideals of all people converge, they form a power so great it is frightening."
"That is why Akatsuki exists."
"Only when more and more comrades who despise war, who cherish peace, who share our vision join us, will Akatsuki possess the power to truly change the world."
"This power is meant to make those who dream of ruling all through violence hear our voice, and be forced to sit down and listen to our ideals!"
He looked into the eyes of each person before him, his gaze blazing. He reached out his hand toward them:
"What we need are comrades, not subordinates, not tools, but true companions who understand these ideals and are willing to fight alongside us."
"We need your strength, but not for meaningless slaughter."
"The power of Akatsuki is meant to cut through the chains of war, to open a path toward peace."
Yahiko wiped away the tears of passion at the corner of his eyes. Standing beside Shiratori, he too extended his hand toward the crowd.
"Join us!"
"Together, let us break this world filled with hatred and create a new world where no more tears will be shed!"
Silence shrouded the ruins.
The wind still howled.
The ninjas and samurai were utterly stunned.
The fear on their faces slowly faded.
Why did they no longer feel afraid?
Because those who could speak such words could not possibly be cruel butchers.
The fear in their hearts had long since been replaced by shock.
A bunch of kids, how could they say such things?
Their hearts pounded wildly.
Hearts that had been silent for too long now ached to speak again.
The ninjas and samurai stared blankly at Shiratori and Yahiko, then glanced at their comrades who were also lost in deep thought.
They remembered their own childhoods.
Back then, they too had been children who held innocent dreams of changing the world.
But when war broke out, they buried those grand dreams deep within their hearts.
The ninjas and samurai thought of the corpses scattered across battlefields, thought of the merchants' scornful exploitation. Their fists clenched tight, nails digging into their palms.
After a long moment, they released their fists and let out a heavy, pent-up breath.
They raised their heads, their eyes no longer wavering, but filled with resolve.
"I'll join you."
"I'll join too!"
"And me..."
"..."
In that moment, countless drifting souls wandering the wastelands finally found a home.
