"I told you, everything about you is laid bare before these eyes!" Sasuke declared, his gaze cold and indifferent as he stared at Raiga.
"You're not a strongman, not even a weakling," Sasuke continued calmly. "You're just a coward who's spent his entire life running away."
"As fellow members of the Seven Swordsmen, even Zabuza dared to assassinate the Fourth Mizukage. Throughout his escape, he never abandoned his ambition to return to the Hidden Mist and become the Fifth Mizukage."
"Kisame Hoshigaki would dare to defy the entire world for the truth he believed in and the world he envisioned. As for you..." Sasuke's lips curled into a mocking sneer.
"You can only dare to hide in a small mountain country, oppress defenseless commoners, and perform those ridiculous funerals to prove your existence. Your capacity is nothing more than that—truly disappointing!"
Kurosuki Raiga opened his mouth to retort, but Sasuke gave him no chance, as if his words would only defile his ears.
With a swift motion, Sasuke yanked the lightsaber from Raiga's heart, and blood gushed forth in a torrent.
Raiga's strength instantly vanished, and he collapsed heavily onto the water's surface.
In his final moments, the young boy's gaze remained utterly calm, without so much as a glance in his direction.
'Am I just a coward?'
As death approached, memories flooded Raiga's mind:
During the Third Shinobi World War, he had been critically wounded by a Konoha taijutsu ninja wreathed in crimson steam.
Forced to abandon his comrades, he had fled like a stray dog, his tail between his legs.
He had been surpassed by the village's prodigy, who had crushed him and seized the Thunder Blade.
Since then, he had spiraled into decline, becoming a laughingstock in the village.
As these thoughts swirled through his mind, Kurosuki Raiga's consciousness plunged into eternal darkness.
Sasuke casually glanced at Raiga's corpse floating on the sea before turning his attention to Ranmaru, who stood frozen in confusion.
Kneeling on the water's surface, Ranmaru stared blankly at Raiga's body, utterly lost.
Sasuke wasn't about to forgive Ranmaru's earlier hostility simply because he looked young.
Though Ranmaru appeared small, he was likely older than Sasuke himself.
When Kurosuki Raiga first encountered Ranmaru years ago, the boy already had this exact same physique and appearance.
Sasuke felt no sympathy for this boy. Ranmaru had repeatedly used his crimson eyes to disrupt Sasuke's judgment earlier, and if Sasuke had been weaker, he would have been dead countless times over.
In Sasuke's eyes, an enemy was an enemy, regardless of age. Enemies deserved the same merciless treatment as the harsh winter.
Sasuke had his own reasons for sparing Ranmaru's life for now.
"Don't bother looking. He's dead," Sasuke said flatly. "But not completely. You can try using your power to save him."
Ranmaru possessed a technique similar to Chiyo's Rebirth Technique, allowing him to transfer his own life force and Chakra to the recently deceased, thus reviving them.
In the original timeline, Ranmaru had used his power to resurrect Kurosuki Raiga. Sasuke wanted him to do exactly that!
"Why?" Ranmaru asked, his expression wary as he stared at Sasuke instead of immediately obeying. "You clearly killed Raiga. Why do you want me to revive him now?"
"Weren't you planning to do that as soon as I left anyway?" Sasuke grinned, baring his teeth in a predatory smile. His words dripped like a nightmare, slowly guiding Ranmaru. "Then hurry up. Don't keep me waiting too long."
"You're a complete madman!"
Ranmaru stared deeply at Sasuke, seemingly understanding his true purpose.
In that instant, Ranmaru felt his hands and feet turn icy, his entire body trembling uncontrollably.
But he had no choice but to comply. To him, Raiga was everything. His power could only revive the recently deceased; any further delay would render his efforts futile.
After a long silence, a transparent crimson glow flickered in Ranmaru's eyes. He slowly crawled toward Kurosuki Raiga's corpse and embraced him.
"Raiga, you are my everything."
"For me, being with you is what it means to live."
"Live on, Raiga."
Ranmaru whispered softly, his voice fading to a barely audible murmur toward the end. Miraculously, Kurosuki Raiga, who had been completely lifeless, began to show faint signs of breathing.
"Escape... don't fight him anymore... he's a madman."
With those final words, Ranmaru collapsed onto the water's surface, motionless.
He was dead.
Sasuke watched the scene unfold in silence. For a fleeting moment, a pang of guilt surfaced in his heart, but it vanished just as quickly.
Kurosuki Raiga had been revived!
Initially utterly bewildered, he quickly regained his bearings and took in his surroundings.
"Ranmaru!"
Upon being resurrected, Kurosuki Raiga didn't immediately attack Sasuke in the distance. Instead, he tightly embraced the lifeless Ranmaru.
"Hey, wake up, Ranmaru!"
"Don't play tricks on me like this, Ranmaru!"
Raiga frantically called out, but Ranmaru, who had already lost the breath of life, naturally couldn't respond.
"What did you do to him?!"
Raiga glared fiercely at Sasuke, his eyes burning with chilling murderous intent.
"Me?" Sasuke shook his head, a hint of mockery in his eyes.
"I didn't do anything. He resurrected you with his own life to save you. To him, you were everything. Do you know what he was worried about in his final moments?"
"What?"
"He was worried you'd be killed by me again after being revived. Such a naive young boy... Hahaha..."
"I'll kill you!"
Something seemed to shatter within Raiga's heart. Unprecedented rage and sorrow flooded his chest, coalescing into overwhelming killing intent and power!
Boom!
A deafening thunderclap roared, as lightning surged violently, its ferocious, man-eating energy roaring in the savage storm.
Kurosuki Raiga's figure moved with lightning speed, leaving no discernible afterimage as he lunged toward Sasuke.
"Good! Good! Exactly like this!"
Facing Raiga's attack, Sasuke neither dodged nor retreated, choosing instead to meet him head-on!
Another deafening boom!
The instant their blades clashed, a massive wave nearly ten meters high erupted from the sea's surface, crashing outward in a violent surge that sent ripples spreading far across the water.
Sasuke was sent flying backward, crashing heavily into the sea, his lightning blade shattered into fragments.
Cough
Sasuke spat out a mouthful of blood as he rose, clearly having lost the direct confrontation and sustained internal injuries.
Yet instead of dismay, a twisted delight flashed across his face. Staring at Raiga's deathly pale, impassive face, he erupted into maniacal laughter.
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
"Exactly!"
"Do you feel the pain and hatred now?"
"You want to kill me, don't you? You want to send me to hell, right?"
Sasuke grew increasingly agitated, his words bordering on madness.
His crimson Sharingan blazed even brighter, his eyes widening sharply, streaked with ferocious blood vessels.
From the moment Kurosuki Raiga appeared, Sasuke had been deliberately provoking and goading him.
His purpose was to subject Raiga to overwhelming life-and-death pressure, igniting his survival instinct to its fullest extent.
There is no greater sorrow than the death of the heart. In Sasuke's eyes, the current Kurosuki Raiga was the perfect opponent.
"Can you still dance? Do you have any stronger techniques left?" Sasuke roared, as a brand-new golden energy blade erupted from the hilt of his Thunder God Sword.
"Come on! Give it your all! Use everything you have to entertain me!"
___
This Sasuke Is Strange 190 advanced chapters: (5 ch updates everyday)
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