The battle between the two warriors had finally came into a blurry conclusion.The wider area, which once was the home of countless beings, like humans, animals and plants, was now nothing more than a barren wasteland, with huge craters scattered across a range of dozens kilometers. Small wildfires were still raging on and were the only sound sources that broke apart the uncomfortable atmosphere of silence.
The glorious capital city, with it's tall cobblestone buildings and it's wealthy residents, is now a pile of rock, wood and concrete.The struggle of thousands of people to build their lifes in that city was in vain. Koshiku was the last pillar that supported the people's morale.And now, this pillar had collapsed.
Somewhere in that rocky desert, that stretched as far as a huge island,the two warriors had collapsed from their wounds. Hayato, now limbless, was in a state of oblivion and he mindlessly looked around him. After most of his functions had rebooted,he subconsciously raised the remains of his arms on his face to touch it, as an act of instinct. Yet, it appeared that he didn't care that half of his head had completely burned off. There was something else that bothered him.
"M... My...headband?Where?" he spoke uneasy, with his dysfunctional vocal cords stuttering and lagging. He noticed that his headband wasn't tied around his head.
________
The two Otsutsuki viewers, who were once watching the fight with easiness, had completely frozen from shock. None of them spoke, none of them breathed and they just mindlessly stared at the walls of the dark room, as they awaited for further updates.
Takeminashiki was terrified to the point were his mouth hanged fully opened for so long, that his pipe fell on his feet.
He turned his head to glance on Inuyashiki and finally spoke with a tiny stutter.
"Wha-w-what in the otherworldly FUCK was that jutsu!"he said, commenting on the Terminal Velocity.
Inuyashiki nervously swiped away the swear that was trailing through his forehead.He wasn't concerned just for Hayato's bizzare jutsu, but for the whole destruction the whole fight caused.
Inuyashiki,as more swear continued flowing on his forehead, didn't answer immediately and retained his calm state. He pushed up his golden-framed, circular sunglasses and gave away an explanation.
"This energy that engulfed him was undoubtedly an electric discharge. The plasma that followed him after his rush and the one that coated Omoikane emitted insane amounts of radioactivity!"
Takeminashiki's eyes almost popped out of his eyelids after hearing the last word.
" RADIOACTIVITY?"he shouted panicked.
" Don't tell me that we have to face that thing again? "Takeminashiki asked afterwards.
Inuyashiki then let off a huge sigh of exhaustion and sat down on a marble, throne-like chair besides.The eyelid that bore a mysterious dojutsu on his forehead closed, thus ending the link between Omoikane.
"I dunno. I can't analyze the whole situation right now.Sorry."he apologized as that unknown linking jutsu could also make him sense the horror that the whole ecosystem experienced during the fight.His heart race from agony and compassion.He believed that it was better to not force himself into a sophisticated analysis of the fight.
Takeminashiki kneeled down to reach for his pipe when suddenly, tiny and fast paced footsteps could be heard from the other side of the dark room, which were coming closer . Along with the footsteps, tiny whines could be heard as well, similar to dog whines.
"Oh, Kotaro!" Takeminashiki said surprised before getting up.
The source of the sound showed itself from the shadows. It was a four-legged creature with white and grey fur and it was exactly like a dog. It bore the characteristics of a doberman and even the Otsutsuki Byakugan eyes.
The creature tucked itself under Takeminashiki's armpit and raised its little head to lick it's master's face,since it sensed his stress.
"What's the matter, big boy? You wanna see the fight too? Well you are outta luck, 'cause it's over."Takeminashiki said and petted the creature's neck, as his mood instantly swifted to a more positive and energetic one.
Inuyashiki briefly peeked at both of them and slightly grinned.Kotaro's appearance lightened up their moods a lot,even though Inuyashiki didn't show it as much as his subordinate did.
As much as he wanted to continue the linkage, he couldn't. He was severely exhausted.
Yet, there was something else that bugged him. For a second, when Hayato activated his final jutsu, he sensed an other chakra signal that peculiarly spanned around the whole world. Well, it could be just a mistake, as Terminal Velocity produced immeasurable amounts of energy that could easily confuse the best sensor. But the face this abrupt chakra signal couldn't leave his mind.
______
Hayato turned his head right and left several times in order to find his headband, like a lost child who tried to find it's mother. It wasn't easy though, since his optics were still malfunctioning.
"One... second." a growl sounded from Omoikane, whose severely charred body began moving slowly.
"If your rampage lasted 3 instead of 2 seconds I would've been dead. So would you perhaps." Omoikane said as his body started healing with amazing speed. Every severed limb got replaced, every sliced muscle and every burned tissue got repaired.
Before getting up, he placed his hand on his face and a metal liquid-like essence appeared, forming again a metallic mask that fully covered his face.
Omoikane got up from the ground, ripped a piece of fabric from his torn pants and tied his neck-length hair into a small ponytail. Now his upper body could be clearly seen. His athletic-built torso was covered in peculiar tattoos that depicted people, war scenes, weird patterns and even faces. He also held something in his right hand.However, sweat trailed from his whole body, which wasn't from stress or fatigue or anything like that.
"This guy.The plasma that was caused by his peculiar final jutsu raised the Earth's temperature by 3 degrees Celsius! The atmosphere is also filled with radiation! If I don't do something, many will die!" he thought worried.
"Indeed. You truly deserve the nickname Photon Racer.Even photons couldn't match the speed of your last jutsu!" Omoikane praised Hayato while he was slowly approaching him.
"However, even THAT was futile. I mean, compare my condition and yours! You are like a corpse!That... jutsu of yours. Terminal Velocity, wasn't it?Does truly the buffs of it overwhelm it's drawbacks? You had to use your Dojutsu, your Karma, AND the Sharingan in order to meet it's perceptive requirements. You used all of those abilities of yours and a tremendous amount of chakra to achieve what? 2 seconds of that Terminal Velocity?Was it worth? Think about it..." he continued calmly.
Hayato then sensed for a last time Omoikane's chakra pool. He didn't even waste a quarter of his chakra! He stared at his enemy with emptiness in his eyes as the feeling of tragic failure ached his heart.
He battled with all of his might, received countless blows, counterattacked, strategized, unleashed powerful jutsu that even hurted his enemy . And what did he accomplish? Nothing!He was lying down while the enemy managed to remain standing and gaze upon Hayato, pitying him.
"Also, I said that this battle wouldn't have the outcome you wanted, I truly meant it. You can see it by yourself! And to be honest I went easy on you. Had I used my swords to their fullest potential, you'd be dead!"
Omoikane then opened his palm and revealed what he was holding. It was Hayato's headband!
"I snatched your headband when you canceled your natural energy aura,during the last nanoseconds of the Terminal Velocity, and you know what I noticed?The shield of natural energy was much more dense around your forehead particularly." Omoikane said while retaining the calm tone in his voice.
"Your obsession around this object and the ideals it holds is quite worrying. You know what, Konoha is gone for like 3000 years and yes, it's your fault as well.Do you think that by believing in this ideology you will serve some kind of penance? That someone will come and pat your head and say 'Good job, Hayato! You are a true patriot!', huh? That ideology doesn't have a place in our era, unfortunately. "he said as the tone in his voice became more serious.He then squatted down and gazed upon Hayato with a mean look.
" And before you hit me with the 'Hurr Hurr,Will of Fire Hurr Hurr tha king isn't dead' crap, just... shut up! I can extinguish that fire and kill the king whenever I want!"he finally spoke with intensity.
Hayato, while the void of failure grew bigger inside him, answered coldly a few seconds later.
" My...penance.I only do it for myself and for no one else! You don't... understand! "
Omoikane placed the headband in front of him and got up, without bothering continuing the conversation. He turned his back on Hayato and walked away,without finishing him off. Not wanting to elaborate further, he decided to end it there.
"Fine. You can keep your ideals and your headband, I don't care. I'll respect that." Omoikane exclaimed as he was ready to open a portal and leave.
"OMOIKANE!" Hayato roared from behind shortly after Omoikane turned his back, as his spinal cords lagged.
"I've gathered enough info about your appearance, your physical prowess, your jutsu, your tactics. Next time I'll -"
"There won't be a next time" Omoikane interrupted him, turned back and walked slowly towards him once again, with his Sharingan activated.
"Since I don't think I've proven my point already, let me show you in practice our difference in power." he said as he cloaked himself a thin layer of chakra.
Instantly then, tremendous physical pressure was applied on Hayato, enough to make him sink a bit into the ground.He tried to move, but even that was useless. It seems... Omoikane was right. Hayato wouldn't even dare to face him as second time after this.
"See?I could've used my immensely chakra pressure to crash you into pieces at the beginning of our fight" he shrugged.
"Or"
"I could've used this" Omoikane said calmly and activated his Sharingan. Instantly, the three-tomoe pattern completely changed into another one. It formed a sun pattern.
Hayato's left eye widened in shock and fear, since the right the other side of his head had completely burned, except the eye. He instantly recognized this Mangekyo Sharingan pattern and concluded that Omoikane's dojutsu wasn't his own.
The void of failure had completely taken over him, since now he witness the extensive consequences of his past actions.Even though he didn't want to, Hayato could practically picture how Omoikane got his Sharingan. A thought that made him tear up from guilt.
A severe burning sensation occurred in his chest, while he felt that his heart was ready to explode. Now, even the most simple act of breathing was impossible.
"This...Sharingan isn't yours!"he growled as he desperately tried to crawl towards Omoikane.
" Give it... back! "he continued as an expression of rage formed.Like a angry toddler,blinded by rage, he gave out a very simplistic answer, not compatible for his age.
Omoikane didn't want to answer immediately and arrogantly stomped his head.
" No. No, no, no. I won't! I earned this Sharingan with my own worth! This Sharingan is a spoil of war. "he replied sarcastically with his hands crossed.
" You... spineless piece of shit! Sharingan isn't just a power up. Sharingan is a synonym to pain and loss! Sharingan burdens the user with a cursed legacy. This spoil of war that you proudly use isn't anything but a curse!" Hayato furiously said.
Hayato naively tried to hide his guilt and grief under a layer anger.The ex-wielder of Omoikane's sharingan wasn't just a random associate to Hayato. In reality, she was a very close relative to him, someone who helped him during his long-year fight with the enemy within his head.
"A curse? Indeed, but that doesn't apply to me." the Otsutsuki responded indifferently.
Omoikane's indifference about the psychological weight that the Sharingan carries, made Hayato feel more powerless, irrelevant and severely annoyed. Every previous action against Omoikane seemed useless and pointless.This feeling of irrelevance and powerlessness, in combination with guilt and grief, made Hayato reach utter emptiness.
"I have now concluded that your voice is nothing but random digitized sounds, your body nothing else but an awkward mixture of metal and flesh, your so called 'free will' nothing but an unorganized horde of childlike thoughts..." Omoikane through another taunt and crossed his arms.
"Sometimes I really think that the person with whom I speak right now is not Hayato but a mere replicant of him. That the real Hayato died back there, a few thousand years ago.That Hayato's cybernetic body hosts a computer program, not a living being."the Otsutsuki really expected a reply to this taunt, at least an insult or some tears by his enemy. But no. Silence.
Omoikane understood that something wasn't right, since he hadn't received an answer for several seconds. Omoikane kneeled to check on him and what he saw surprised him.
"Ho? Is this what it appears it is?Why did you hide this power from me for so long?" Omoikane said as he didn't seem to care a lot for what he saw.
Hayato, who mindlessly faced the earth,had activated his Sharingan. No, not the base form, it was another form of it.Hayato's Mangekyo made it's appearance.
Omoikane bowed down to carefully analyze the pattern.
"Hm. A triskele pattern. I wonder what that symbolizes."he said to himself. He wondered whether the Mangekyo came out by itself or Hayato activated by his own since, judging by the expression in his face, he seemed dead. Something however told Omoikane that this wasn't the first time Hayato activated the Mangekyo.
Suddenly then, black chakra was emitted from inside Hayato's severed right hand, slowly forming a skeletal arm. When Omoikane noticed that, he quickly made a few steps back and activated the Byakugan in order to scan his enemy's body.
"Tsch! Good grief. There is still a drop of chakra in his body." he thought as he regretted for that Rasengan he threw at Hayato. This Rasengan did more good than bad.
As he was keep analyzing his body, Omoikane noticed that this strange chakra appeared inside his torso as well and formed ribs that protected his internal organs.
This black chakra radiated an ominous vibe, making Omoikane slightly anxious and he narrowed his eyes as he understood that something was definitely wrong.The peculiar chakra even formed skeletal legs and slowly stretched through his whole body, making an endoskeleton.
Finally, the black chakra spread to his head as well, covering his whole cranium.The skull that was formed underneath was only visible by the right side of his head, which was completely charred.
Omoikane made a few more steps back and prepared for combat.The structure of that endoskeleton reminded him of a specific jutsu.
"Don't tell me! S-Susano'o?"he wondered as he awaited an attack.
" No, that's not it! Susano'o is a gigantic avatar. This is just a chakra endoskeleton "he thought as he tried to relieve himself. Yet, it wasn't a coincidence that this endoskeleton appeared when Hayato activated his Mangekyo. So, the thought of this jutsu being a miniature susano'o was still inside Omoikane's head.
" Oi! Omoikane! Can you hear me!" Inuyashiki established a linkage once gain using his jutsu.
"I think I might have figured out what that thing is. This is undoubtedly a Susano'o!" he spoke words that made Omoikane flinch.
"Please bear with me! The scientific ninja tool in his back draws natural energy by itself and molds it with his chakra, creating senjutsu chakra. Then, his body forcefully draws out this chakra and forms that endoskeleton. However, it seems that senjutsu chakra flows uncontrollably and he might start behaving weirdly." Inuyashiki continued his explanation and made sure that Omoikane was ready to counter any incoming attack.
Suddenly, Hayato's body started moving, making slight movements that seemed like a tremble. Then, he raised his right skeletal hand and slammed it on the ground and easily smashed it. He used the hand as a support in order to get up.
Omoikane glared at Hayato's left eye.He didn't seem to have any sentience in him and retained his dead expression. His body attempted to approach Omoikane with slow and sloppy movements,until it mysteriously stopped. There was something moving inside his left chest, that seemed like muscle spasms.
Suddenly from that spot, 3 chains were spewed, the first two were tied around his skeletal chakra arms and the last one around his neck, violently pulling his head downwards. Even with almost no sentience left in it, Hayato's head battled against the chain in order to remain still.
Instantly,his body leapt skywards and as it fell, it gained a lot of momentum which he used to chop Omoikane. However it's attack was useless, since Omoikane used his Rinnegan to summon the Kubikiribocho and the Nuibari in a blink of an eye, deflecting the blow.
"What's with that unprecedented strength... and speed?" he thought as he shoved away Hayato with his sword.
Instantly then,muscle grew around the skeletal arms, legs and face. The chakra muscles in his face formed a melancholic expression, pretty unusual for a Susano'o. Furthermore, two additional hands sprouted from it's elbows and were connected with the chains as well.
The Susano'o - controlled Hayato's body launched one of it's chains at Omoikane, yet it didn't hit it's target.The chain hit a boulder, instantly obliterating it into dust.
Omoikane answered by throwing the Nuibari at him and managed to hit Hayato's torso. However, the needle sword couldn't continue further into his body, since it was stopped by the Susano'o endoskeleton.
Hayato's body grabbed Nuibari's string and tossed the sword away. Instantly, two chakra swords were formed in it's hands and without losing any time, Hayato's body charged forward at insane speed. The Susano'o used both of his swords and hands to unleash a series of blows against Omoikane, but they were pretty useless since it's moves were clumsy and sloppy, making them easy to block or avoid.
Omoikane then swung the Kubikiribocho at him, precisely slashing him at his chest and senting him flying a few meters away. He then nailed his swords on the ground and extended his left hand, which had the Rinnegan embedded in it.
Just when Hayato's body was about to get up, Omoikane used the Shinra Tensei technique to unleash a powerful repulsive force that kept him still. However after a few seconds, even this tremendous force wasn't able to hold the Susano'o still at it's position, since it managed to get up and slowly walk towards Omoikane.
He kept pressuring Hayato's body with his technique and even increased the intensity of it. Yet, even that didn't affect Hayato's body and it kept approaching Omoikane.However, as he scanned him with his Byakugan, he noticed that Hayato's heartbeat made small, yet frequent pauses.
________
His body felt heavy, his legs were stiff. Hayato opened his eyes with difficulty and now, he was in a completely different location. He looked around him puzzled, trying to comprehend where he was.
It appeared that he was in a hospital's corridor, with doors at the left and at the right side of it,doors that instead of locks had sophisticated fingerprint mechanisms on them. This mechanisms had also names enscribed on them,making Hayato's understand more specifically were he was. It seemed that he was in nowhere other than in a memory of his.
That hospital was a psychiatric clinic. There was complete silence, with the only sounds being the beeping of the machinery.This uncomfortable atmosphere could make anyone go crazy.
Hayato stared around him kinda panicked and his eyes stopped at the door behind him. They were nailed on the digital name encryption on the fingerprint mechanism. The expression on his face shifted to an one of shock and fear.
"TANAKA JIN"
"UCHIHA HAYATO"
Those were the names that were encrypted on it and made Hayato back off a bit. Yet, he didn't hesitate to extend his arm and attempt to open the door by touching the fingerprint pad. Nothing happened.
"No, this is not correct. The correct way is from the right" a voice spoke. It was the usual androgynous voice that he usually hears.
Hayato turned his head right, only to see a lonely door at the end of the corridor. The words "SURGICAL ROOM" were displayed by the electrical sign and this particular door was reinforced with metal.
Hayato was overwhelmed with terror when he read the sign, enough terror to throw his breathing out of tempo. His eyes widened as he gasped in fear, while he felt the door mysteriously getting closer to him. He instantly remembered what happened inside that room.
"No... Not inside that room, please!" Hayato murmured in fear. He still felt himself getting closer to the door.
"NOT THAT ROOM, PLEASE!" he screamed, breaking the silence of the hospital.Tears soaked his eyelids.
Instantly, a chain made of black chakra was superficially launched from inside the surgical room and phased though the door. It tied itself around Hayato's arms and neck,slowly pulling him towards the door.
"Foolish vulgar creature! If you want to achieve penance, if you want to release the shackles of guilt around your neck and hands, then pass through this door! COME ON, MY SEED!SHOW ME THE POWER OF YOUR GENES!"a maniacal male voice screeched from inside the room. Afterwards, everything blackened...
_______
"What...what the hell is wrong with you?!" Omoikane rhetorically asked with disgust as he stared at Hayato's face.The dead expression of his face's left side didn't even change a little, strengthening the idea that there was no consciousness or feelings left in him.
Nevertheless, his head battling against the chain that pulled it downwards was saying otherwise,making Omoikane think that Hayato's was trying to resist against that state that he was in. Tragic, if the second scenario was true!
Suddenly, blood gushed out of his eye sockets, making the Susano'o endoskeleton disappear. Hayato, who was launched several meters away by the repulsive force, lied on the ground, fainted. He had put too much restrain onto his body, even though if it was made to withstand unimaginable forces.
Omoikane lowered his hand and prepared to finally depart for his whereabouts.Definitely one the most exciting fights he had ever experienced in his multi-thousand year life, yet there were many stuff about his enemy that surprised him. He came out victorious though and that's what matters.
"Heheh. What a persistent fellow!" he chuckled as he turned his head to glare at Hayato. The spacetime in front of him bended and a few milliseconds later, a portal opened.
"AHEM!" Inuyashiki communicated once again through the jutsu.
"Did you forget about something?" he asked Omoikane, seeming insistent about something.
Omoikane let long sight and rolled his eyes,justwhen he thought he could finally go home for soup. Since he couldn't do anything, he weaved a few handsigns to cast a jutsu.Well... If he didn't cast it, the effects from Hayato's Terminal Velocity would simply cause a lot of natural disasters.
" Ying-Yang Release:Terraforming Jutsu" he slammed his arm on the ground and launched a huge shockwave that traveled through the whole area. This shockwave completely changed the terrain, making the mountains that were blown off reform. After that, vegetation sprouted and made the whole area green again. Where wildfires still raged on, lakes and rivers appeared that put them out. Using that jutsu, Omoikane breathed life in the whole area that both him and Hayato previously destroyed.Even the radiation in the atmosphere got nullified.
"Fine? Are you happy now?" Omoikane asked, slightly irritated, as he preferred to unleash the jutsu after his meal.Yet again, it wasn't time for him to enjoy his soup, as he remembered something important. He used his Byakugan to scan further into the area and search for a specific object. That object was Hayato's spear, which it got instantly detected.
He landed on the area using sheer speed and grabbed the spear, which was pinned on the ground.
"I can't let you wield this anymore. You are too dangerous with it." he thought as he was reminded of Hayato's annoying fighting style, that combined Sojutsu, Frog Kumite and lightning release.He thought it was better to take the weapon with him.
He then teleported back to the portal, using the same jutsu, and entered hastily, as he couldn't wait to enjoy that bowl of hot soup
______
A few minutes later, Hayato wakes up, without memories of his Susano'o-controlled state and attempts to look around. Yet even that simple movement was very challenging to him, as he had put to much strain on his body. By witnessing the beautiful environment around him, Hayato believed that he made his way up to heaven! However, there is no way he could end up there, he thought.
TIC-TAC
TIC-TAC
The sound of a clock ticking mysteriously resounded through the whole area. Hayato looked around him once again in order to find the source of the sound.But, nothing could be seen.
TIC - TAC
TIC - TAC
It resounded once more. Yet this time, an animal's silhouette appeared a few meters away from Hayato and now, he was sure that the ticking sound came from it.This silhouette resembled a bulky animal with horns,slowly approaching Hayato.He couldn't recognize the animal that this silhouette belonged to, until it growled. The growling sound muffled the ticking one.
"This is... a buffalo!Undoubtedly, my optics have been completely destroyed it seems" Hayato thought, as he now recognized the animal. He didn't take it seriously though, since what he saw was so peculiar, that it only be normally seen with psychedelic drugs .So, he imputed this bizzare sighting to his malfunctioning optics .
Then, the growling buffalo silhouette disappeared together with the ticking sound.
"Heheh,what was that next -level bullshit I witnessed right now?" he asked himself and chuckled.
"Ah right! They say that you see extraordinary things before you die!"his optics started bugging and buzzing, as he approached his final moments.
Suddenly, a sharp pain struck the left side of his body. He couldn't tell whether the pain came from his arm or leg or torso, since his body was now a shapeless amalgamation of flesh and metal, and he didn't even question why as they weren't in that bad state before the Susano'o endoskeleton.He turned his fading sight towards the source of pain and he witnessed a snake biting him.
"Ah,a snake is biting me.Is it poisonous? Well, it doesn't matter since I'm gonna die anyway." Hayato said as the sense of death affected his speech as well. Everything then went completely black and every single one of his senses stopped functioning as well.
" Well, it seems that this is truly the end... "
________
But... was it though?The answer isn't so straightforward. He opens his eyelids with great difficulty and tries to check on his surroundings.It appears that he lies on a tatami, in a typical traditional Japanese house. The room is plain, with the only source of light being the translucent paper embedded in the shoji sliding wooden panel that functioned as a door. From the outside, seagulls could be heard. Sea waves as well.
As Hayato attempted to get up, he noticed something different on himself. The metallic parts on his were gone! He now had a fully biological body, making him believe that he was dead.Something else that convinced him that he was dead was the fact that he wore a white kimono, with which the deceased are dressed during their funeral.
He grabbed his right shoulder and lifted the kimono. The Karma was still there. Anyways, he got up and opened the sliding door that lead to the hall. The light from the setting sun, that entered from the opened sliding door that led outside the house, almost blinded him. Outside of that door,a man was sitting on the exterior hallway of the house, who gazed at the sun-reflecting sea.
Hayato exited the house and approached the man, who had already noticed him. This man, dressed in ragged brown robes turned his head to glare at Hayato, revealing his facial features. He was a man in his middle 50s,who had neck length black hair that covered the left side of his face.He also had a circle beard, while the look in his pitch-black eyes radiated hardship and fatigue. The most noticeable feature on was the fact that his left hand was missing.
Hayato instantly recognized that man and pulled back,utterly shocked. He then stuttered.
"G-Grandad?"
"Yo." he monotonously replied .Hayato then sat besides him and both of them stared at the sea.
"Your face..." his grandpa said "...it's pained"
Hayato didn't seem to receive this comment very well.
"Hn! Yours look tired and pained all the time!" he exclaimed slightly irritated and crossed his arms. His grandpa slightly chuckled, breaking the blank expression in his face.
"Well, it seems that we've both seen some shit in our lives, don't we?" he said with a grin. Hayato then nodded affirmatively as he related to his words.
"And, we've done some shit in our lives." he continued and turned his head to look at his grandson. Not with a judgemental tone though, since he tried to associate himself with Hayato in order to make him feel less... alone in some way.
When Hayato heard those words, he sniffed in sadness and lowered his head in embarrassment.
"Grandad I-" he tried to apologize, yet his grandfather interrupted him.
"It hurts right here, no?" he asked rhetorically and placed his right hand at his chest.
"The feeling that every breath feels like a stab, isn't it?" he said calmly,yet his grandson stood silent.
"I know too this feeling, yet I doubt it was as intense as yours.My mistakes caused hundreds of thousands of deaths and yours, a whole civilization." Hayato's grandfather said. His grandson kept his head lowered.
"Yet, whether you helped them to do what they did because they promised things or not, wouldn't change anything.No matter what we could've done, we stood no chance against 'em. You just hate that you deliberately were a part of the threat and now you just wanna correct things up. Atone for your sins.And that's fine,I did the same thing back then. " he slowly raised his cut-off arm.
" However."the tone in his voice shifted into a more serious one. Hayato raised his head surprised and turned it to glance at him.
" I remember. I remember since you were young how you always spoke about the fact that the Uchiha clan caused more harm to this world than good. That produced more genociders and paranoids than heroes to look up to.
You felt guilty about your own heritage, isn't it. You wanted to 'repent' on behalf of the clan and aspired to balance the good and the evil of the clan caused to this world.At first, I understood those actions, since you were just a kid and the way you learned about the clan's history and members was... traumatic."he changed to a calmer tone again.
" And that became the tinder for you to make altruistic decisions and actions, to become a humanitarian, a peacemaker. And, when things started to seem impossible to overcome, when your crusade against corruption, injustice and greed seemed like a dead end, you addressed a higher power. A higher power that unfortunately used you.It used your fixation on penance."
Hayato's eyes narrowed and he raised an eyebrow as he listened to all this. He was clearly getting more annoyed.
" What are you trying to say, grandad?"he wondered with a serious tone.
"Once again, you fail to understand my point. This fixation to that 'penance' leads you to idiotic decisions.While I'm not even a little questioning your altruism, I assume that you were afraid that you wouldn't be able to complete your 'penance'.
And, while forgetting everything you had accomplished, every life you saved and built, every village you saved from Kirigakure's imperialistic tentacles, you addressed that higher power, without even questioning that all those accomplishments could be lost if you asked their help. You offered your power to them nonetheless. "the old man continued talking, without changing his way of speech.
" And even now, after thousands of years you continue this 'penance', which fuels your idiotic decision. Look how far you've gone! You even trusted a woman you've never known, a woman who belongs to the enemy faction. And she has send you straight into hellfire!Listen, don't mix the goal of cleaning the Earth of the Otsutsuki reign and your penance.
Hayato, don't you understand? You are ruining yourself! "his grandad finally stopped speaking.Yet,he noticed his grandson's tear-soaked cheeks, as streams flowed uncontrollably from his eyes. His mouth was trembling, as he tried to not sob, while he was sniffing from sadness.
" Grandad. "he said with a quivering voice.
" Why do you tell me all this? Doesn't even matter? IM DEAD!"he shouted as he sobbed.
The old man understood that he overdid it. He placed his cut-off arm on Hayato's shoulder to comfort him.
" Listen I-I really don't wanna criticize you, in fact I'm the last one in this goddamned planet that should. But I...I really try to make you comprehend that you should abolish that warped idea of penance!" he exclaimed.
Suddenly, a weird effect appeared on the horizon. It seemed that... the sea was glitching! Hayato's body started glitching as well.
" You said that you are dead eh? Well that might not be the case. " the old man said as he stared at Hayato's awe-stricken face,who had stopped crying when he witnessed the glitch.
"I don't have much time left. Here take this." he put his left hand in his pocket and grabbed a purple scroll, which he gave it to Hayato.
"Doesn't need to explain what's it's content." the old man said as everything around them completely fell off.
" And in times of utter desperation, do not fret! You still have a trustful ally by your side." he finally exclaimed with a grin and pointed at Hayato's Karma seal, before he completely disappeared together with everything else.
"You still have a chance to prove that you are not a loser." and finally, his voice disappeared into oblivion.
______
He opened his stiff eyelids (again) and with blurry vision, he tried to analyze his surroundings. He was lying on a tatami in a familiar place and he also noticed a silhouette besides him,which he instantly recognized.
"Why the hell were ya crying in your sleep?" the silhouette, which was no one else except Akira Otsutsuki, asked.
Hayato, without answering, clenched his first with fury . Yet, he was...confused as well.
TO BE CONTINUED...