Naruto Immersive Replay, The Curse of the Sharingan

When she caught your cold body, she found a small paper crane hidden in your sleeve, a lucky charm she had secretly given you three years ago.

"Liar..." Xiao Nan buried her face in your bloodied neck, "We promised to see peace together..."

The body in your arms suddenly moved, and you raised your broken wrist, gently wiping it across her wet cheek.

"Why are you crying..." Your breathy voice was like a spark about to be extinguished. "Paper won't explode if it gets wet..."

Xiao Nan grasped that hand, and the paper crane flew from their clasped fingers toward the battlefield.

She remembered many years ago when you taught her how to fold her first paper crane with a detonating talisman, you said, "Paper is fragile, but faith is not."

The moment the Tsukuyomi world completely vanished, Konan folded the last paper crane of her life.

It passed through Kaguya's All-Kill Ash Bones, carrying the unfinished dreams of all Akatsuki members, and shattered the gloom that shrouded the ninja world.

"Xiao Nan... I'll go to sleep now."

As the paper crane sank to the bottom of the water, the sky finally cleared up.

【Sasori's Tsukuyomi World——】

The air was filled with the dry wind and the smell of cooking smoke. Scorpion stood in front of an ordinary wooden door. Behind the door lay his long-buried desires, which he dared not touch.

He calmly pushed open the creaking wooden door.

The scene inside the room caused the human heart belonging to "Scorpion of the Red Sand" deep within the core of the puppet to skip a beat.

Under the warm light, the aroma of the food was almost unbelievably real.

His mother, wearing a plain apron, was placing a steaming bowl of miso soup on the table. When she saw him, she smiled gently, "You're back just in time, Scorpion. Go wash your hands."

Her voice perfectly matched the vague, warm silhouette in my memory, without the slightest deviation.

The father was not wearing ninja uniform, but casual clothes. He was sitting next to Granny Chiyo, carefully fiddling with a small, basic puppet, his brows slightly furrowed, as if he was tackling some difficult problem.

Granny Chiyo patiently gave him instructions, and when she looked up and saw him, a kind smile appeared at the corner of her eyes. "It's Sasori who's back."

Scorpion silently stepped into the room, gently closing the door behind him, shutting out the real and cruel world outside.

The turmoil within was perfectly concealed beneath a delicate, expressionless face.

He didn't ask "Why are you still alive?" or question the obvious falsehood.

This is Tsukuyomi, a poison coated in honey, a gift from the enemy, and a beautiful dream he could never reach again in his entire life.

If that's the case, why bother waking up?

He sat quietly in his place at the dining table.

His mother's hand, still warm from her body and carrying a hint of cooking oil, gently stroked his cheek, her eyes filled with the precious joy of something lost and found again. "My Scorpion... he's grown quite a bit taller than I remember."

Scorpion didn't answer. Instead, he picked up the bowl of his mother's best fish soup and, as if performing some kind of ritual, tilted his head back and drank it all in one gulp.

The taste was exactly the same; the sweet, slightly fishy warm liquid slid down his throat, burning his cold chest.

The father clumsily picked up a large piece of glistening fish sashimi with his chopsticks and carefully placed it in his bowl, his eyes filled with a subtle hint of flattery and expectation. "Eat more, it's your favorite."

Scorpion lowered his head and put the cool, sweet fish meat into his mouth, chewing slowly as if trying to imprint every flavor into the depths of his soul.

Then, without warning, scalding tears welled up and instantly blurred my vision, dripping into the sauce in the bowl and creating tiny ripples.

He cried silently, only the slight trembling of his shoulders betraying his emotions.

"Good boy, eat more if you like it." Grandma Chiyo gently patted his back with her warm, rough hands, her voice hoarse with the all-encompassing tolerance of an old woman, without asking why.

Dinner ended in a quiet and warm atmosphere.

No one talked about war, missions, separation, or death; they just kept putting food on his plate and watching him eat, as if that could make up for all the time they had missed.

After the meal, his parents embraced him on either side as they sat on the warm tatami mat.

The mother hummed a faint lullaby, the father's hand rested stiffly on his shoulder, and Grandma Chiyo quietly mended clothes beside her. No one spoke.

There were only the occasional soft crackling of the lamp flame and the mingling of their breaths.

Scorpion closed his eyes and gently rested his head on his mother's soft shoulder. He knew that this dream would end at dawn after tonight.

In the real world, there are no living parents, but there are the troublesome and strange "comrades" of the Akatsuki organization, there is you who can suddenly go crazy and secretly oil the joints of his puppets, there is unfinished art, and there is cold reality that belongs to him.

Some separations are for the sake of the next reunion.

He had a strong intuition that this time, you would get what you wanted, and he himself... might also have an unexpected surprise.

It's not this false warmth, but something... more real.

So, at this moment, this stolen, brief embrace and warmth from his parents is more than enough; he even wished time could slow down.

However, the light of dawn still mercilessly seeped through the window paper, like the horn of judgment.

Scorpion calmly got up and straightened the hem of his perfectly wrinkle-free clothes.

He walked up to Granny Chiyo and, like every Sand Village ninja who had left home, bowed deeply and solemnly.

Then, he turned to his parents, forcing a somewhat stiff, unskilled smile, raised his hand, and waved gently, "I have to go back now, goodbye."

The mother's eyes instantly reddened, but she still smiled gently, "Take good care of yourself."

His father raised his hand and waved it gently at him, as if he were just going out on a short mission, as he had done countless times before, and would be back soon.

Scorpion turned around resolutely, pushed open the creaking wooden door, and walked out without looking back.

The moment the door closed behind him, he slammed against the cold, wind-chilled earthen wall, raised his hand—which still felt his mother's warmth—and covered his face with it.

Suppressed, broken sobs leaked from between his fingers, and his shoulders trembled violently.

It turns out that wanting to get something really does mean you have to give up something else.

Even such fleeting and illusory parental love, when it is let go, feels like having a piece of your heart ripped out again, bleeding and raw.

Chapter 209 Redemption in Tsukuyomi (7)

He cried for a long time, until the morning light completely dispelled the darkness of night, until the surging emotions subsided slightly, and he slowly lowered his hand, revealing reddened eyes, but his gaze had become cold and firm again.

Scorpion wiped the remaining dampness from his face with the back of his hand, and softly said to the fading warmth of home in the air, "Thank you."

The moment the words fell, the surrounding scenery—the streets of Sunagakure, the warm little house, the figures of her parents and Granny Chiyo—ultimately vanished completely into nothingness.

The illusion created by Tsukuyomi has been completely shattered.

Sasori stood alone in place, surrounded by the eerie blood-red sky and silent world under the Infinite Tsukuyomi. The puppet's face remained exquisite and perfect, without any emotion.

But at least, in that fake world, he had a warm dinner with his parents.

For him, this brief, stolen warmth was perhaps... truly enough.

【Deidara's Tsukuyomi World】

When the threads of light from Tsukuyomi descended, Deidara felt no discomfort; instead, he felt an excited anticipation, as if he were about to embark on a brand new journey.

When I opened my eyes again, I saw the vast, boundless desert surrounding Sunagakure.

A dry, hot wind ruffled his golden hair as the giant clay bird beneath him soared steadily high in the sky, its expansive view stretching to the horizon.

He was piloting the bird on a routine... well... patrol, his gaze lazily sweeping over the caravans and sand dunes below, which looked as tiny as ants, until a black figure that stood out starkly against the backdrop of the endless yellow sand suddenly caught his eye.

The figure lurked in the shadow of a sandstone cliff, moving as nimbly as a black cat poised to pounce. He was intently watching the Sand Village caravan slowly making its way below, his aura perfectly concealed. Had he not been looking down from this angle, he would have been almost undetectable.

"Wicked woman!" Deidara's eyes lit up instantly, and he blurted it out almost without thinking, with a surprise and familiarity that he himself was unaware of. His voice wasn't loud, but in the silent high sky and with the ninja's superhuman hearing, it was undoubtedly a thunderclap.

The dark figure below visibly stiffened, abruptly looking up. The hood slipped down slightly, revealing a delicate face etched with astonishment. A few strands of long black hair clung to the cheeks, flushed from the heat. The dark eyes were filled with wariness and...unfamiliar confusion?

Your brow furrowed as you frantically searched your memory to make sure you had never had any interaction with this arrogant blond boy.

Who is he? How do we know each other? And why is he using such a strange form of address?

In that split second you were stunned, Deidara had already seized the opportunity.

He suddenly lowered the bird, swooped down, and with the precision of a hunting eagle, swept over the sandstone where you were hiding. In the instant the bird brushed past, he stretched out his arm, grabbed your arm firmly, and pulled hard!

"Hey! What are you doing?!"

In a dizzying moment, you were pulled onto the back of the clay bird by a brute force, and staggered before regaining your balance.

You immediately shook off Deidara's hand, like an enraged cat, your pupils blazing with fury as you glared at the arrogant, blindingly bright-smiling boy before you.

"Let me introduce myself, I'm Deidara! Hmm!" Deidara didn't care about your anger at all, and even patted his chest with a rather smug look, then extended his hand, acting as if he were already familiar with you.

You glanced at him coldly, not reaching out, but instead hugging your arms tightly, leaning back slightly to create distance, your voice icy.

"I have no interest in getting to know you. Put me down now. I don't have time to play your nonsense!" The caravan below has become alert because of the commotion. Your mission is now completely ruined.

“I can let you go,” Deidara withdrew his hand, put his hands on his hips, and began to act like a scoundrel with self-righteousness, his blue eyes gleaming with cunning, “but you have to grant me one request first! Hmm!”

"A request?" You looked at him suspiciously.

Has this guy lost his mind from the desert heat? You suppress your impatience, wanting only to get away as quickly as possible. "What's your request?"

Deidara leaned closer, his face bearing the solemnity of someone announcing a momentous event, and said loudly, "You must be my lover for one day! Hmm!"

"...Huh?!" You almost thought you'd misheard. You grabbed Deidara by the collar, pulled him close, almost nose to nose, and forced out the words through clenched teeth, "What the hell are you doing?! Do you want to die?"

Startled by your sudden violent action, Deidara instinctively tried to back away, forgetting that the two of them were standing on the back of a clay bird flying at high speed.

"Ah! Hey! Watch out! Uh-huh!" With his exclamation, the clay bird lost its balance and began to shake violently, tilting and tumbling downwards!

The howling wind suddenly became sharp and piercing, and a feeling of weightlessness gripped the two of them!

"!" You instinctively tried to form a hand seal to steady yourself.

But Deidara reacted even faster. The instant Asuka lost control and plummeted, he almost instinctively made a choice to forcefully pull you toward him, flipping over to cushion your fall and protecting you with his body, pressing your head against his chest.

"Hold on tight! Mmm!"

As you plummet rapidly, all you can hear is the whistling wind and the incredibly fast, drum-like heartbeat emanating from the boy's chest.

You can even smell the faint scent of clay and gunpowder on him, mixed with the warmth of the sun.

"boom--!!"

The clay bird finally crashed hard into the soft sand, raising a cloud of dust like a small explosion.

After a brief moment of dizziness, you struggled to get off Deidara, ignoring the sand covering you, and rushed to check on his condition.

"Hey! Deidara! Are you alright?" Although you think this guy is acting strangely, his actions to protect you just now were genuine.

Deidara lay in the sandpit, grinning.

Actually, falling on the sand doesn't hurt too much; given his physique, he'll only get a few scrapes at most.

But when he saw the genuine worry in your eyes, a thought flashed through his mind. He immediately frowned, clutched his chest, and gasped dramatically, "Ouch...it seems...it seems a bit serious...I might have broken a bone...hmm!"

He secretly opened one eye to observe your reaction, trying his best to look pained. "You wicked girl, you have to take responsibility for me! Hmm! It's all because you moved around that you fell!"

You squinted slightly, looking closely at Deidara.

Although he performed quite well, the slight upturn of his lips and the fleeting cunning in his eyes did not escape your notice.

He's perfectly fine, but he's pretending to be pitiful.

A sense of absurdity rose in my heart. I wanted to see what trick this blond boy was up to after going through all this trouble.

So, you suppressed the urge to expose him, a perfectly balanced look of guilt and worry on your face, and gently touched his "injured" arm. "Really? Does it hurt a lot? Then... what should we do?"

Seeing that you'd fallen for their trick, Deidara was secretly delighted, but he feigned even greater pain. "Of course it hurts! Hmm! As for what to do..."

His blue eyes darted around, as if he were plotting something again. "You'll have to agree to be my lover for one day first. Isn't it only right to take care of the wounded? Hmm! You'll be free once I'm better!"

You resignedly carried the blond boy who claimed to have "broken bones" on your back, trudging through the scorching desert.

With each step, the sand would go up to your ankles, creating heavy resistance.

Deidara, on the other hand, was like a child on a spring outing, so excited he couldn't sit still for a moment.

"You wicked girl, your hair is so smooth! Mmm!" He picked up a strand of your black hair and twirled it between his fingers.

"You wicked girl, you have a little mole behind your ear! Hmm!" A cold finger suddenly touched the skin on the back of your neck, making you shiver.

"You wicked girl, you smell of mint, and... a little bit sweet? Hmm!" He sniffed around your neck like a puppy.

"Dida!" you finally snapped, forcing out the warning through gritted teeth, "If you cause any more trouble, I'll really leave you here!"

The noise behind you stopped instantly. The next second, a pair of arms tightened around your neck, choking you so much you could barely breathe.

His warm cheek pressed tightly against your neck, his voice becoming pitiful, "I've been a good girl! Don't leave me, okay! I was wrong!"

"..." You take a deep breath and tell yourself to calm down. Why bother arguing with someone whose brain might be damaged?