A special thank you to my patrons:
—Shahzaam, Jacob Mooe, kevin Williams, Jose Sierra, Pasang Sherpa, Acedia, kurtis newman, Nhoxious, sediaz, Targaryen, King Scales.
You can read 30 chapters ahead of everyone on p@treon.
P@TREON - [email protected]/lessaservantofcosmos
(just replace the "@" with "a")
ps: Please support me on P@treon. I can really use your help!
-------------------------------------------------------------
"No, that's not it. It's not that people should become friends just because they can have fun together. Kagaya-san, you can do that with others, but not with me. I... I feel that you are not worthy of becoming my friend!"
Yuki's voice trembled slightly, yet she rejected Kagaya with stern, severe wording.
Kagaya furrowed his brow again. It wasn't that he felt annoyed by the rejection. Rather, it was because Kagaya once again sensed that this girl before him was far from simple. To put it plainly, she was far too full of contradictions!
She had said, "Kagaya is not worthy of becoming her friend." Such words should have carried a tone of disdain and contempt. Yet, within that very sentence, she had still used the honorific "you." Furthermore, from her tone, one could clearly tell that this honorific wasn't some kind of veiled sarcasm, but a genuine expression of respect.
This in itself was very contradictory. Expressing respect within a sentence that should have been dismissive?
Also, although the girl before him had sternly refused Kagaya, Kagaya could clearly see a faint, flickering longing in her eyes.
This...
What was going on? Was it his problem? Was it because she didn't know him and thus instinctively feared him? Or was it her own problem?
Kagaya wasn't entirely sure. But one thing Kagaya could confirm: this girl before him wasn't rejecting him wholeheartedly. For Kagaya, that was enough. That was enough to give him hope that she would resurrect him in the future.
"I'm not worthy? Then, how can I become worthy of being your friend?"
Hearing Kagaya's words, a look of irrepressible apology instantly surfaced on Yuki's face. But very quickly, she steeled herself once more.
"No matter what... it won't work!"
Kagaya nodded.
"I see. Then let's not become friends. How about just being simple traveling companions?"
"Eh?"
Yuki froze, her face full of bewilderment. It seemed she had never considered the possibility of "traveling companions." She began to think—could this possibility actually work? After a moment, she spoke.
"That... should be fine."
Should be fine? So even she isn't sure? Just what is this girl called Chiharu... no, wait. "Chiharu" must also be a fake name she randomly came up with.
Kagaya pondered silently. It wasn't that he was being nosy. Rather, since Kagaya had already decided to have this girl resurrect him in the future, learning more about her was naturally not a bad idea.
"Then, I'm very glad to be traveling with you, my future companion, Chiharu!"
Yuki nodded and straightened her posture, putting on an appearance of being "very reliable."
"Mm-hm! I'm also very glad to meet you, Kagaya-san."
And so, the boy and the girl made a pact to travel together.
What the future held for them—at least, no one knew right now.
Day Eight of the death countdown was also the first day Kagaya and Yuki met.
On this day, Kagaya didn't rush to reveal his purpose. Although his time was indeed running short, being too hasty wouldn't do any good either.
On this day, Kagaya simply accompanied Yuki as she wandered through that beautiful forest. Then, they got some food. As night approached, he simply built two small wooden huts and went to sleep.
On this day, Kagaya gained a basic understanding of Yuki's personality. This would add many possibilities to his plan of getting Yuki to help resurrect him in the days to come.
Death Countdown—Day Seven.
Kagaya woke up early in the morning. He planned to tell the girl his purpose today and ask for her help.
Although he had previously said he didn't want to be too hasty, there was no helping it—Kagaya simply had far too little time. Even if he wanted to take things slowly, he couldn't overdo it. Waiting one day was already the limit. Any more truly wouldn't do.
Just as he stepped out the door, Kagaya saw someone crouching by the river in the distance, seemingly washing her face.
Perhaps she had heard the sound, because Yuki immediately turned her head to look. Her face, still damp with droplets of water from just washing, looked exceptionally beautiful. Her eyes, as always, carried that cheerful light. One didn't even need to do anything—simply meeting her gaze for a moment was enough to lift one's mood considerably.
"Kagaya-san, you're awake! You're up so early. Won't you sleep a little more?"
Kagaya shook his head and got straight to the point.
"No. Chiharu, there's something I want to talk to you about."
Yuki nodded and spoke with a smile.
"I guessed as much. Kagaya-san proposing to travel with me—there must be something you wanted to ask of me. Don't worry about it. Please, go ahead. If it's something Chiharu can do, then Chiharu will definitely help Kagaya-san!"
"Thank you. It's wonderful that you'd say that. Then I'll be direct: I hope that, in the near future, you can help resurrect me."
"Eh?"
"Hm? What's the matter? Are my words hard to understand?"
"No... um... what does 'resurrect' mean? Can something like resurrecting a person really be done? And besides... even to resurrect someone, they'd have to die first, right? Kagaya-san, you..."
Kagaya pressed a hand to his forehead. This was his oversight. With this girl's level of strength, she naturally wouldn't have come into contact with ninjutsu related to "resurrection."
After a moment of silence, he tried to figure out how to explain it to her.
"Resurrection is something that truly can be done. I assure you. And the meaning behind having you resurrect me is also very clear: I will die soon. Although I can't tell you the reason, what's certain is that I will definitely die before long. When that time comes... I'll have to ask you to resurrect me."
"Does resurrection really exist?"
"Yes."
Hearing Kagaya's affirmative answer, Yuki blinked her large eyes and stared blankly at Kagaya. In the very next second, she actually began to cry. She asked once more.
"Kagaya-san... can something like resurrecting the dead really be done?"
Kagaya was startled by the girl's sudden tears and felt somewhat at a loss.
"Yes... um... it really can be done."
Yuki opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but then stopped herself and fell silent. A few seconds later, she opened her mouth again, but stopped once more.
Kagaya couldn't quite understand. He spoke directly.
"If you want to say something, just say it. Whether you agree or not, I've already prepared myself for the answer."
Yuki began shaking her head vigorously and spoke.
"No, no, no! Kagaya-san, I agree! I agree! It's just... I hope you can help me with one thing. Is that alright?"
Kagaya agreed without the slightest hesitation. As mentioned before, he didn't intend to just take without giving. To ensure that the other party would willingly resurrect him after his death, he had to make a fair trade—or even give the other party even greater benefits.
"Of course. Since you've agreed to help me, then as repayment, I will also agree to some of your requests."
Like someone who hadn't drunk water in ages finally spotting an oasis, a look of immense hope blazed in the girl's eyes.
"I... I... Kagaya-san, I want to ask you to help me resurrect my mother!"
From the girl's mouth came an answer that was more or less within Kagaya's expectations.
Resurrecting a loved one—it was a very normal wish. Only, the girl before him was still very young. Her mother must also have been relatively young. To be dead at such an age... it probably wasn't a natural death.
However, Kagaya didn't intend to dig too deep. He ignored that point and spoke.
"Of course. But my resurrection requires a part of the deceased's body. Flesh, bone, anything like that will do. But it must be a part of the deceased's body."
"Ah? Is that so? Then... never mind."
Yuki's face was full of dejection, along with a despair she was deliberately suppressing.
Kagaya asked. "What's wrong? You can't obtain a part of your mother's body? Even a tiny part is fine. You don't need much. As long as you know the exact location, I can go and retrieve it for you."
"No... forget it, Kagaya-san. Just pretend I never said anything just now."
Yuki's refusal was very firm. Yet, just moments ago, such immense hope had blazed in her eyes.
Kagaya looked at Yuki without speaking. Although he didn't intend to dig too deeply into this girl's past, from what he could see now, this girl's past experiences had affected her tremendously. Her behavior and mannerisms were mostly full of contradictions—carrying hope while simultaneously concealing immense fear.
As I thought, I should ask a little more.
Kagaya made his decision. Since her past experiences had affected her to this degree, Kagaya decided to learn more. No matter what, he had to at least ensure it wouldn't affect his resurrection plan.
After some thought, Kagaya decided to start with her name.
"Mm... although what I'm about to say might displease you, I mean no harm. Could you tell me your real name? This 'Chiharu'... it's a fake name, isn't it?"
"Ah!"
Yuki let out a startled gasp.
"Kagaya-san... you noticed?"
"Yes. But rather than saying I noticed... when you came up with that fake name, your eyes were darting around far too much. Anyone paying attention would be able to tell that name was fake."
"I see... Kagaya-san, I didn't mean to deceive you. It's just... I didn't want you to know my name. I am an ominous thing, covered in curses. I would sully you."
"It's fine. You might not believe me just from words, but the truth is, I should be among the strongest people in this world. I'm not afraid of any curse."
If this was a parallel world of Naruto, then with Kagaya's strength, saying he was among the strongest was indeed not incorrect.
Kagaya also added a faint hint of genjutsu to those words, making it easier for the girl to believe him. However, Kagaya's genjutsu—aside from his ocular jutsu—was complete garbage. He didn't actually know whether it would take effect.
"Really? If what you say is true... then I'm willing to tell you my real name!"
It worked!
Kagaya was even surprised by himself. If it had been genjutsu cast with the Sharingan, taking effect on a Jonin wouldn't have been strange. But this was the simplest possible genjutsu, cast with ninjutsu. Could something like this really work?
Just how low-level was the genjutsu Kagaya had just used? It was the kind of foundational knowledge that anyone who had completed six years of ninja academy would definitely know.
And yet, this lowest-of-the-low genjutsu had actually succeeded?
Mm...
Well, regardless, success was success. The girl before him had readily believed his words, which would make everything that followed much easier.
"Yes. Everything I said is true."
"Then... I'll tell you. My name is Yuki. I am..."
Listening to what Yuki said next, Kagaya's eyes slowly widened.
In a certain place in this world, there existed a powerful clan.
They gathered together and lived as one. Back then, there were no wars yet. Everything was very peaceful. Everyone lived in a cradle of happiness.
This clan continued living in peace and happiness. Perhaps some among them had also thought—if only this life could continue forever.
But reality did not go as wished. This powerful clan soon faced its first existential crisis.
It wasn't due to natural disaster, nor was it due to attacks from other clans. It was purely due to internal strife!
Yes, internal strife!
No one knew who started it, but the people of this clan discovered a strange and mysterious power. This power was immensely formidable—so much so that it could even defy death itself.
The emergence of this power exceeded the imagination of all clan members at the time, leaping into another dimension entirely.
Immense power bred immense ambition. Those who obtained this power began fantasizing about ruling the clan.
Conflict arose from this. Those who wished to sit upon the supreme position were not just one person, but many. Thus, they began using that power to slaughter one another, over and over!
Without end!
They killed and killed until the very end. Some even forgot their original goals, remembering only the pure techniques of killing.
The crueler part was this: the price for using that immense power was something each person could only afford twice. This meant that even if someone fought their way to the very end, having used the power, they would become weak—meaning, there could never be a final victor!
This led to the slaughter never ceasing, never pausing.
A once-beautiful clan was thus plunged into an endless vortex of carnage.
And so, this was the tale of a laughable clan's history.
This clan was called Uchiha. And the power they used was called Izanagi—the Izanagi that each person could only use twice.
Kagaya stared at Yuki in disbelief.
"What you just said... can you say it again?"
Yuki nodded.
"My name is Yuki. Uchiha Yuki. I am a refugee of the Uchiha clan."
"Ha? But... how should I put this... I can't feel anything like the Sharingan from your eyes. Have you simply not awakened it? No... even if you hadn't awakened it, I should still be able to recognize it. I can say with certainty—your eyes are not eyes capable of awakening the Sharingan!"
Kagaya still couldn't believe it.
Being from the Uchiha clan wasn't strange. What was strange was that Yuki's eyes weren't Uchiha eyes at all!
The most important trait of the Uchiha clan—she didn't have it?
Those eyes constantly radiated a light that warmed people's hearts. Uchiha eyes couldn't do that. Uchiha eyes were colder.
If Yuki's eyes were spring, then Uchiha eyes were winter.
The two were fundamentally different!
Yuki closed her eyes and placed both hands over her eyelids, touching her pupils through the thin skin. She did so carefully, gently—as if touching a treasure more precious than the entire world. A faint smile surfaced on her face. At this moment, she seemed like the happiest person in the world.
"These are not my eyes. I am not worthy of possessing such eyes. They don't need to awaken any Sharingan, nor do they need any special abilities. As long as they remain as they are, they are the best eyes in the world! I bear witness! I proudly declare it here and now—these eyes of mine are the best eyes in the entire world!"
In this moment, Kagaya saw something in Yuki that he had never seen before—an overflowing confidence.
Was it those eyes that gave her such confidence? No... this could no longer be called mere confidence. This should be called—a pride, a treasure, an irreplaceable "strongest."