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Naruto: IHCS Ch. 96
🕑 Added 2025-08-16 00:31:24 +0000 UTCHanzō's throat felt blocked, and for a moment he couldn't speak. It made him feel miserable. "No!" Without waiting for Hanzō's reply, Shirat
Hanzō's throat felt blocked, and for a moment he couldn't speak. It made him feel miserable.
"No!"
Without waiting for Hanzō's reply, Shiratori turned back to the Ame ninjas, and found the corpse of Chiba.
He knelt beside Chiba's body, placing both hands over the gaping wound in his chest. Light began to radiate from his palms.
"You won't die!"
"None of you will die!"
"I'll bring all of you back to life!"
He repeated stubbornly.
Hanzō watched his expression, and his heart throbbed in pain. He walked over and placed a hand on Shiratori's shoulder.
"Shiratori…"
As soon as he spoke, he realized his voice was trembling uncontrollably. He swallowed hard, calmed himself, and said slowly, "Accept their deaths…"
This was a path every ninja had to walk.
The light in Shiratori's hands went out. He collapsed onto Chiba's chest and let out a heart-wrenching wail.
[Affection detected: Hanzō +5000 points]
[Curse Growth - Love: 95%]
"No…"
"I don't want everyone to die…"
"I don't want this…"
Shiratori's hoarse voice echoed across the battlefield.
A crow beat its wings, skimming through the pale-blue sky.
Hanzō felt a sharp pang in his chest. He looked up toward the distance. There, the first light of dawn had already appeared. Shiratori's sobs kept echoing, refusing to fade.
He knew nothing he said would help. This was a hurdle he had to cross on his own. He knew how much Shiratori valued his bonds with others.
"Chiba-nii…"
"Wake up, please?"
"Look at me!"
He stared fixedly at Chiba's pale, cold face. The eyes were dull and lifeless, pupils dilated. Tears dripped from his chin, falling onto Chiba's face.
A suffocating pain twisted around his heart like a poisonous snake.
The ninjas had all been good people, and so young, now lying here, dead…
"Wake up!"
"All of you, wake up!"
He shook the body of Kuroi, lying nearby with eyes closed.
He still remembered that Kuroi was only fifteen…
No, this year Kuroi should have just turned sixteen. His body was only half-intact, and even before he died, there had been a faint smile on his lips.
Shiratori's eyes burned. His breathing turned rapid, but his tears kept falling, one after another, splattering on the ground.
"Enough."
"Shiratori."
Hanzō pulled him into his arms.
"Stop wasting your chakra. They're already dead… No matter how hard you try, you can't bring them back…"
"Face reality!"
"Shiratori!"
[Affection detected: Hanzō +30,000 points]
[Curse Growth - Love: 98%]
Ever since the poison sac had been implanted in him, he had never initiated an embrace with anyone. He knew that his embrace could only bring death to those around him. Yet at this moment, as he held Shiratori in his arms, he became acutely aware that he was still just a child. If there had been no war, he would probably still be attending ninja school. But now, he had already endured on the battlefield pain beyond imagination.
"There must be a way!"
"There must be a way!"
Shiratori broke free from Hanzō's arms.
Hanzō remained half-kneeling where he was, watching him crawl toward the Ame ninja corpses.
The dawn light spilled across the horizon.
No one knew how much time had passed before the Ame ninjas stationed at the camp, upon seeing Hanzō's signal flare, rushed toward the border of the Land of Wind.
When they arrived, they were met with the sight of Shiratori futilely trying to heal corpse after corpse.
[Affection detected]
[Multiple sources: +4,000 points each]
[Total accumulated: 20,000 points]
[Curse Growth - Love: 100%]
Amanagi led the ninjas to stand silently behind Hanzō.
No one disturbed Shiratori. Because they knew, only he could save himself.
Their eyes were red as they quietly waited.
He still refused to give up, groping among the corpses.
The rising sun shone on the battlefield, but none of them felt even the slightest warmth.
This war had ended in victory, but in the most tragic way possible.
[Curse Growth - Love: Threshold reached]
[Generate Love Cursed Spirit: Available]
[Confirm generation: Yes/No]
Yes.
Let everyone stay by his side forever, just in a different form.
Shiratori stared fixedly at the several corpses before him. Cursed energy surged within him. His pupils dilated, bloodshot veins spreading to fill the whites of his eyes.
"It's fake… all fake…"
His cracked lips moved, as if muttering in his sleep.
"This is fake…"
"Everyone is alive…"
Cursed energy radiated from his body, wrapping around the ninja corpses scattered across the battlefield.
"Don't die… Stay with me forever…"
His voice was hoarse, and there was a stubbornness in it that made Hanzō uneasy.
"Get up…"
"All of you, get up…"
"Stay with me…"
"Stay with me forever…"
All the extreme negative emotions he had been suppressing since he crossed into this world erupted at this moment.
The corpses of the ninjas, long since truly dead, began to change.
A black, viscous substance could be seen writhing over their bodies.
A cold, ominous aura instantly spread out.
In an instant, it was as if the temperature had dropped to freezing. The black mud-like substance stretched upward toward the sky. From the countless ninja corpses, the black sludge twisted and gathered in the air, forming a black sphere about a meter across.
The sphere spun violently in midair, compressing tighter and tighter.
"What is that?"
Amanagi frowned deeply, his face pale, as he stared at the spinning black sphere above Shiratori.
They had seen it with their own eye, —the substance had grown from their comrades' corpses and fused into that black sphere.
Hanzō gazed intently at Shiratori. Combined with what he had just said, a suspicion formed in his heart.
"Shiratori…"
"Protect him…"
A piercing shriek split the silence of the battlefield.
The black sphere swelled and twisted at a speed visible to the naked eye. The sound came from within the black sphere. It was like the mingled voices of countless people.
"Shiratori!"
"Protect Shiratori!"
Inside the black sphere, it was as if countless vengeful spirits were imprisoned, frantically tearing at it, desperately struggling to squeeze their way out. The voices grew louder and sharper, making one's teeth ache, as if even the soul itself trembled. The black sphere had already expanded into a massive sphere more than three meters in radius. Its surface churned with thick, black bubbles, like boiling hot oil.
Cursed energy and violent emotions surged madly within it.
Suddenly, an indescribable wave of terrifying pressure burst forth from the sphere's center!
The boiling black sphere abruptly contracted inward.
The next moment, Boom!
A deafening blast shook the very eardrums.
A colossal figure replaced the black sphere, now floating in the air.
Like a small mountain, the figure cast its shadow over Shiratori and the others. He looked up toward the figure floating in the sky.
A gigantic monster, nearly forty meters tall, let out a roar.
The earth shook.
The monster resembled Rika, its torso sprouting an astonishing number of arms. On its enormous head were two crimson gem-like eyes, devoid of any human emotion, cold to the extreme.
Every arm clutched a different weapon, war hammers, longswords, scythes…
The towering curse hovered in the air like a demon god descending to earth. Its crimson pupils slowly rotated, locking onto Shiratori.
The monster, swinging its weapons, suddenly froze for an instant. It began to move toward him. He stared, overcome with emotion, at the cursed spirit born from love.
"Shiratori…"
"Protect Shiratori!"
The cursed spirit let out a repeated roar. Its massive body shielded him beneath it, warily scanning its surroundings, while its countless arms stretched out menacingly toward the Ame ninjas.
Cautiously, he reached out and touched the cursed spirit.
It felt just like touching Rika, cold and unnaturally smooth.
"Thank you…"
He spoke with heartfelt gratitude.
"Thank you for always staying by my side…"
The cursed spirit closed its eyes tightly.
"Stay with Shiratori…"
"Protect Shiratori…"
In the distance, the ninjas stared wide-eyed at the scene before them.
"W-What… is that?"
They swallowed hard, gazing at the monster shielding him.
"It's probably his curse…"
Amanagi frowned, glancing toward Hanzō.
"He couldn't accept his companions' deaths, so he cursed them…"
"They became curses, and stayed by his side…"
Hanzō murmured softly, his gaze complicated as he looked toward Shiratori. Amanagi's lips parted, his expression stunned.
Was that really the case?
For companions who had already died… was this a blessing or a curse?
Suddenly, his brow relaxed.
If, after his death, he could still protect Shiratori, he would feel happy!
The same must be true for their fallen companions.
Shiratori gently caressed the cursed spirit, sensing its violent emotions gradually calming down.
[System interface: Name registration required for new cursed spirit]
He lifted his head to look at the massive yet gentle curse before him.
Yes, it needed a name.
But what should he call it?
He gazed at the massive yet gentle curse before him.
They didn't just want to protect him—they wanted to protect Ame as well.
Then…
"I'll call you Rain."
[Name registered: Cursed Spirit - Rain]
[Classification: Love-type Cursed Spirit]
He stepped out from under Rain's arm, there was still business to attend to.
A vortex formed behind Rain, and the curse's enormous body was gradually swallowed by it.
The battlefield returned to dead silence.
Shiratori and Hanzō exchanged a glance. He walked slowly to stand before his teacher, lowering his head.
"I'm sorry, Sensei…"
"I couldn't accept everyone's departure…"
Looking at the bowed head before him, Hanzō let out a long sigh. He said nothing, simply placing his hand on Shiratori's shoulder and giving it a gentle squeeze.
"Let's head back to camp."
Shiratori lifted his head, seeing only Hanzō's back.
Amanagi walked to his side.
"Don't blame yourself. I think… they wanted to stay, to protect you, and to protect Ame. Don't you think so?"
His hands rested on Shiratori's shoulders, eyes slightly red as he spoke with sincerity, "If one day I die, I too hope I can remain by your side to protect you. That's one of the few things I can still do."
Shiratori stared blankly at him.
Amanagi smiled. "Come on, let's go back. You're exhausted, you need a proper rest."
He warmly draped an arm over Shiratori's shoulders.
Shiratori followed him toward the border of the Land of Rain.
After all, this was Amanagi's own promise, he couldn't take it back later.
After a few steps, he suddenly felt tired. Out of the corner of his eye, he glanced at Amanagi's profile.
He decided, it was time to pretend to faint.
A wave of dizziness struck, darkness creeping into his vision, and his body collapsed toward the ground.
"Shiratori!"
Amanagi caught him in a panic, relief flooding his face only after checking his pulse. He hoisted Shiratori onto his back and carried him toward the Ame camp.
Though they had lost countless comrades, they had finally won.
They had protected the dignity of the Land of Rain.
