Naruto Immersive Replay, The Curse of the Sharingan

"Onii-chan, you stepped in the wrong direction." Izuna appeared beside him at some point, her voice so soft that only the two of them could hear it.

"Offer sacrifices—" the elder presiding over the ceremony announced loudly.

Ban mechanically accepted the offerings from his tribesmen and placed them on the altar.

Every detail about him was impeccable; however, his usually sharp, eagle-like black eyes were now slightly unfocused, his gaze occasionally drifting into the distance.

"Young clan leader?" a clansman beside him whispered.

Ban came to his senses and realized that he had missed the opportunity to offer the sacrifice.

He quickly composed himself, placing the offering in his hand into the fire. The flames suddenly shot up, illuminating his sharply defined profile.

A high, straight nose, tightly pursed thin lips, and eyes that held a sharp edge even in calm moments.

"Uchiha Madara, what are you thinking about?" His father Tajima's voice came from behind him, deep and authoritative.

"Nothing, Father." Ban snapped out of his thoughts, his voice calm and even. "I was just thinking about the arrangements for the next night's watch."

Tajima's sharp gaze lingered on his face for a moment, but in the end he just snorted and turned to leave.

Madara knew his father had seen through his absent-mindedness, but at that moment he couldn't stop thinking about Uchiha Nagi.

The lengthy blessing ceremony lasted for nearly two hours. When the last Kagura bell stopped vibrating, Madara felt an unprecedented fatigue.

As the vigil began, the clansmen gathered in twos and threes around the campfire, while Ban sat alone in the shadows under the eaves of the shrine, gazing at the moon in a daze.

"Onii-chan, you seem to be in a bad mood today." Izuna came over with two cups of hot tea and sat down next to him.

Ban took the teacup, and through the rising steam, he saw his younger brother's concerned gaze. "Is there?" He took a sip of tea, and the bitterness spread across his tongue.

"It's because of Elder Nagi, isn't it?" Izuna also looked at the moon, his voice calm and devoid of any emotion. "She was supposed to attend the festival today."

Ban's fingers tightened, and a faint cracking sound came from the ceramic cup. "It's necessary for clan affairs, there's nothing wrong with that."

Izuna turned his head, his dark eyes staring directly at his brother. "She's not simple. She's a former assassin, has a history of defection, and even her only family member died..."

"Enough!" Ban slammed down his teacup, the sound of the porcelain shattering particularly jarring in the quiet night.

Several pairs of eyes turned towards me from around the campfire, then quickly looked away. "I know what I'm doing."

Izuna's pupils contracted slightly, clearly not expecting his brother to react so strongly; the air between them seemed to freeze.

"Izuna! Ryoei is looking for you!" Fire Core's voice came from afar, breaking the deadlock.

He strode over, his gaze shifting between the two men, fine beads of sweat glistening on his forehead.

Izuna clenched his fists, his nails digging deep into his palms. He gave Madara a long look, then got up and left without a word.

"Young clan leader, I think..." Huo He rubbed his hands, hesitating to speak.

Madara suddenly stood up and walked towards the Naga Forest behind the shrine without looking back. "I need some peace and quiet."

The air deep in the forest carried the scent of damp earth, and the moonlight was filtered through the dense canopy of trees.

The pool was like a mirror, reflecting the full moon and his weary face. He knelt by the water, as if only in this way could he escape the gaze of his people, escape responsibility and expectations.

"Would the young clan leader also shirk responsibility?" A cold voice came from behind.

Ban didn't turn around, but his tense shoulders relaxed slightly. "Leng Xi, you shouldn't have followed me."

Uchiha Rei emerged from the shadows of the trees, the moonlight illuminating his pale face and outlining his clear features.

“I wasn’t following them, I just happened to want to find some peace and quiet here.” Leng Xi sat down next to Ban and took out a small wine flask from her bosom. “I stole a little of the sake used in the ritual.”

Ban took the wine jug, tilted his head back and took a sip. The spicy liquid slid down his throat, bringing a brief numbing sensation.

"Thinking about Uchiha Nagi?" Leng Xi suddenly asked.

Madara paused for a moment, but did not deny it. "Izuna is right. I shouldn't have been so obvious."

Leng Xi's Adam's apple bobbed, and the wine suddenly turned bitter. He swirled the wine pot. "Want to hear how I met her?"

Ban turned to look at him; this was the first time Leng Xi had brought up the past on her own initiative.

Uchiha Rei's fingertips traced the uneven scars, and memories flooded back like a tide.

That winter night was particularly cold. The corpses piled up on the battlefield became the only thing to keep warm. Leng Xi curled up in her parents' stiff arms. The wound in her chest where the kunai had pierced her had stopped bleeding, perhaps because the blood was almost gone.

Uchiha Yoshio's voice came from afar: "Have you checked everything? No survivors, right?"

He tried to shout, but only spat out pinkish blood foam.

When he was finally thrown into the mass grave, he felt relieved. As the soil was shoveled down, covering half of his face, he suddenly heard crying.

"...Sister, my best friend has been abandoned here..."

It was Uchiha Su's voice, that friend who always cried. Leng Xi wanted to laugh. So even in the underworld, she could still hear familiar voices. It seemed that death wasn't so scary after all.

But then, the mud covering his face was ripped away, and the moonlight stung his eyes, which were adjusted to the darkness. Two faces appeared in his blurred vision: Uchiha Sukuna, tears streaming down his face, and...

Lengxi still remembers the shock she felt when she first saw Uchiha Nagi.

She squatted on the pile of corpses, her black hair stained with blood, and the bandage around her right eye was so dirty that its original color was no longer visible.

But her left eye, under the moonlight, was not the crimson of an Uchiha, but rather had fine golden lines flowing around it, as if sealing some ancient ferocious beast.

"Ah Su, this is the price of weakness."

Her voice was colder than a winter night, but her fingers, digging through the soil, were surprisingly hot.

Despite his torn fingernails and bloody fingertips, he managed to pull Leng Xi back from the brink of death. Later, he learned that Leng Xi was a friend of Uchiha Nagi who had secretly infiltrated the battlefield to search for his younger brother.

"Why did you save me?" he once asked Nagi.

Uchiha Nagi, who was sharpening her kunai, paused upon hearing this. "A-Su will be sad," she replied, her voice calm and utterly unwavering.

Uchiha Nagi is the most secretive weapon of the old hawk faction, and is known as the "Blood Raven" in fear within the clan.

She never leaves anyone alive on her missions, and her Sharingan can see through all illusions. Yet, this ruthless assassin will secretly feed stray cats in the dead of night and stare blankly at the moon when no one is around.

“My sister is actually very gentle,” Su Zeng once told him, “but she just can’t show it.”

The pool water suddenly rippled, interrupting Lengxi's reverie. He met Ban's gaze, and neither of them spoke first.

Ban's gaze swept over the scar on his brow bone, then moved towards the distant mass grave.

A memorial stone now stands there, its inscription faintly discernible in the moonlight: "In remembrance of all the souls who sacrificed themselves for the Uchiha."

Madara imagined the scene: young Nagi, her fingertips stained with blood and dirt, expressionlessly saving a dying child.

This is exactly the same as her now, with a cold exterior hiding an unknown softness.

“Later I learned,” Leng Xi’s voice lowered, “that she was the blade, death itself, and a trapped madwoman. From beginning to end, she wasn’t herself…”

"Young clan leader, you've fallen in love with her, haven't you?" Leng Xi's question was so direct it was almost cruel.

Ban did not answer, but his silence spoke volumes.

Morning light slanted in through the cracks in the paper window. You opened your eyes and felt an unusual warmth in your chest. Looking down, you saw a talisman glowing with a faint golden light on the spot where your heart had been eroded by the cold poison. It was a product of the Yang Release Healing Technique.

With a light touch of his finger on the edge of the talisman, the flow of chakra was clearly visible in his eyes.

The Senju clan's style, with its sharp strokes and unparalleled precision, flashed through my mind. The last image before I fell unconscious last night flashed before my eyes: a white-haired boy squatting beside me, his brows furrowed.

You peeled off the talisman with a blank expression, tracing the intricate patterns on it with your fingertips.

Why save the enemy? Was it because of her kunai that deliberately missed vital points during their last encounter? Or was it the Senju clan's laughable humanitarianism? He scoffed and crushed the talisman in his palm.

As you stand up, you notice that the chakra within your body flows exceptionally smoothly, an effect that ordinary medical ninjutsu could not achieve. That white-haired brat seems to be no ordinary person.

As for the reason, you're too lazy to delve into it; the ninja world is inherently full of such absurd cycles of cause and effect.

The more pressing issue is that the identity of the fox spirit has been exposed.

You got up, dressed neatly, and put your ninja tools back in their original places one by one.

The cold light of the kunai illuminated your expressionless face. The layout of the Land of Wind needs to be adjusted, but it's not yet time for total defeat.

A soft breathing sound came from outside the door.

Your movements didn't falter at all; in fact, you had already sensed that familiar presence, but you were too lazy to pay attention.

You didn't open the door until all the equipment had been checked.

Sunlight streamed in, illuminating the boy standing in the courtyard. Rin Shikamaru was dressed in a white kimono and had clearly been waiting for a long time.

When he saw you come out, his eyes immediately lit up, with the same longing look he had when you were rescued from the battlefield five years ago.

“Foster father…” the boy began, his voice much lower than he remembered.

You lean against the doorframe, staring at him expressionlessly.

Five years have passed, and the trembling child has grown into a tall and upright young man, with only the dependence in his eyes remaining unchanged.

“I actually knew you were a woman a long time ago.” Shikaga Rin’s fingers tightened around the hem of her clothes. “I just didn’t expect… you would be a ninja from the Uchiha clan from the legends in the books.”

A gentle breeze swept through the courtyard, scattering a few early cherry blossom petals.

Your gaze swept over the boy's slightly trembling eyelashes and reddened ear tips—therein lay more emotion than words could convey.

"So?" Your voice was as calm as a deep pool. "What do you want me to do?"

Lu Helin seemed to have been stung, and his shoulder shrank almost imperceptibly.

But he quickly raised his head, his eyes flashing with the stubbornness you know so well. "Come back to Fengdu City with me. The Uchiha and Senju could go to war at any time. The nobles will not allow you to become powerful."

You suddenly smiled, a smile that reminded Lu Helin of their first encounter five years ago. On a snowy night, this blood-covered man stood on the highest rooftop of Fengdu City, looking down at all living beings as if they were ants.

"Even if I were to leave the Uchiha clan, it wouldn't be because of the war with the Senju." You stood up, your long black hair billowing in a sharp arc in the morning breeze. "I'm not afraid of death, nor am I afraid of so-called nobles. Do you understand what I mean?"

Lu Helin's face turned pale instantly; of course he understood.

After five years of living together day and night, he knew better than anyone that this Tanuki, who was ostensibly the Prime Minister of the Wind Kingdom, taught him political intrigue and trained him in swordsmanship and ninjutsu, but never showed him any tenderness.

Lu Helin's breathing became rapid, "But we've been together for five years..."

“Five years is enough to raise a fledgling into a skilled falcon,” you interrupt him. “It’s also enough for an orphan to become the adopted son of a high-ranking official in the Wind Kingdom. You should be grateful, not push your luck.”

You know how cruel your words can be, but you're never good at being gentle. In this world, tenderness is a more dangerous weapon than kunai.

"I don't like it when people disagree with me." You turn and walk out of the courtyard. "You feel the same way."

"Is it because of Madara Uchiha?"

These words made you stop abruptly. You didn't turn around, but your chakra started to stir involuntarily, and the surrounding air seemed to freeze.

Chapter 29: Bait

“I’ve investigated,” Shikagawa Rin’s voice trembled but remained firm. “You are the sharpest blade of the Uchiha hawks, yet you’re willing to stay by the young clan leader’s side as an ordinary elder. Why?”

The figure at the courtyard gate finally turned around. For the first time, Lu Helin saw the true emotion in his adoptive father's eyes—not indifference, not mockery, but an expression of near-pity.

“Rin,” you called his name, the first time in five years, “you are my best student.”

Your fingers lightly brushed against the kunai at your waist. "So you should know that there are some questions you shouldn't ask."

The Mangekyou Sharingan in his eyes had been silently activated. Rin was forced to take a step back by those blood-red eyes, but he still stubbornly looked up.

Five years ago, you found this dying boy on the edge of the battlefield.

At the time, Rin Kaga was only ten years old, covered in blood but clutching a book soaked by the rain.

For some reason, that stubborn look in your eyes reminded you of your younger brother, Uchiha Suku, who died young.

"If you want to live, come with me." You remember saying that back then, your voice sounding low and hoarse after being processed by voice changer.

A startling will to survive flashed in the boy's eyes, and he used his last bit of strength to grab your trouser leg.

Later you learn that Rin Kaga is the illegitimate son of a minor nobleman in the Land of Wind, who was abandoned on the battlefield to die due to political infighting.

You gave him a new identity, taught him the art of political maneuvering, and even allowed him to call himself "foster father," a title he never changed after learning he was a woman.

"I just want to know the real me!" Lu Helin cried out, his voice choked with sobs. "For five years, you've never let me near you, never told me about your past, not even your name! I just... I just..."

The boy's voice lowered, turning into a suppressed sob.

You suddenly feel exhausted. This child doesn't understand that some darkness, once it's tainted, can never be washed away; some roads are destined to be walked alone.

Your voice returned to calm, "Forget the Uchiha, forget Tanuki. Live the life you were meant to have."

"But that's not what I want!" The boy lunged forward and grabbed your wrist with astonishing force. "What I want is—"

The cold light of the kunai pressed against his throat, silencing the words he was about to utter.

Your gaze is colder than a blade. "Don't force me to do something I'll regret, Rin."