Shiratori understood the situation very clearly. No matter what they said, the outcome would be the same. The ninja before them had no intention of letting them go.
Yahiko was still desperately trying to explain things to the ninja in front of him.
The ninja looked down at him, a cruel glint flickering in his eyes.
When Yahiko finally ran out of things to say and his voice turned hoarse... The ninja sneered coldly. His words completely extinguished the light of hope in Yahiko's eyes.
"Then you should all just die."
The kunai was raised high.
Shiratori and Yahiko could see the twisted, ferocious face reflected in their eyes.
Bang!
Shiratori shoved Yahiko aside.
The kunai tip pierced straight toward his eye.
For the affection points, this is it!
If I sacrifice myself, the affection from Konan and the others will definitely skyrocket.
"Shiratori!"
"Shiratori!"
Konan and Yahiko screamed in terror, eyes wide.
[Affection values detected]
[Konan: +5000 points]
[Yahiko: +5000 points]
[Nagato: +5000 points]
[Total accumulated: 15,000 points]
[Feeding Function: Available]
[Feed cursed spirit Rika?]
[Yes/No]
.
.
.
[Host unresponsive - Auto-feeding protocol initiated]
[Energy transferred to Rika]
[Development progress: 34%]
[Rika's feedback: I will kill everyone who hurts Yuta!]
[Rika manifestation: ACTIVE]
The kunai tip stopped forever, just one centimeter away from his eye.
A giant hand had gripped the ninja's entire arm.
"Hurting Yuta..."
"You deserve to die!"
A shriek echoed through the cave. The massive being inside the cave had appeared suddenly—, nd exerted just a bit of force.
"AAAAHHHH!"
The ninja let out a blood-curdling scream.
His kunai and entire arm were crushed into a mist of blood in an instant, filling the air.
"Don't make a mess here, Rika..."
Shiratori snapped back to his senses and said.
"Listen… to Yuta…"
"Don't make a mess…"
The cursed spirit casually grabbed the ninja's head and, like a bolt of lightning, flew out of the cave.
The other ninja stood frozen in place, his trembling pupils slowly landing on Shiratori. Blood veins crept rapidly into his eyes. He drew his kunai and lunged toward him.
[Killing Intent detected: +5000 points]
[Insufficient threshold for cursed spirit activation]
[Energy stored for future use]
"Get lost!"
Nagato lifted his head. His whole body trembled, his teeth clenched tight, hatred appearing on his face.
A wave of invisible power surged from his pupils.
The charging ninja was instantly blasted away by the force.
A giant hand reached into the cave from outside, grabbed the airborne ninja's leg, and dragged him out.
"No!"
"NOOOOO!"
The screams pierced through the curtain of rain, reaching Shiratori's ears.
Thud!
He turned to the sound and saw Nagato collapsing to his knees. His eyes were wide open, those ghostly purple pupils staring blankly ahead.
What a scare for the kid!
Shiratori quickly helped him up.
"Are you okay?"
Nagato didn't seem to hear him, staring blankly ahead. After a moment, he looked at his own hands.
"So it was me... I killed them..." he mumbled words he couldn't understand.
Shiratori frowned in confusion and continued to call out, "Nagato?"
Nagato's dazed eyes slowly regained focus. He stared at him and said, "I killed the Konoha ninjas… I killed the ones who got my parents killed… I killed..."
As Shiratori listened to his rambling and recalled what he knew from his memories of Naruto, he finally understood what Nagato meant.
Nagato's parents had been killed by Konoha ninjas. Unconsciously, he had used the Rinnegan to kill them, but he didn't realize it was his own power. It wasn't until the scene just now replayed itself that he understood, it was he who had killed those ninjas back then.
That seemed to be the logic behind it all.
Whether he killed or not wasn't the main point. What was important was that Shiratori saw another chance to deepen his relationship with Nagato.
He hugged the boy and gently patted his back, speaking, "It's okay... don't be afraid. You didn't kill anyone evil, you protected us. Those ninjas were going to murder children for fun. Without you, we'd all be dead right now."
He pulled back slightly to look Nagato in the eyes.
"I don't know what happened with your parents, but I know this, your power isn't something to be afraid of. It's something that can keep the people you care about safe. Your power can become the weapon that protects others."
Nagato's cold body finally began to feel a sliver of warmth. He clung to that warmth coming from Shiratori, murmuring, "I… can protect you all… Yes! I can protect you… I'll protect you all…"
[Affection detected: Nagato +1000 points]
[Feed cursed spirit Rika?]
[Yes/No]
Shiratori mentally confirmed the transfer.
[Energy transferred to Rika]
[Development progress: 35%]
[Rika's feedback: Yuta, you're so good to me~]
Only after Nagato calmed down did Shiratori finally let him go. He turned his head and saw that it wasn't just Nagato who had been scared, Yahiko and Konan were also stunned.
They were staring in horror at something behind him.
Shiratori turned around, and sure enough, saw Rika, who had already finished cleaning up the ninja corpses.
"Yuta…"
Her enormous body nuzzled against Shiratori, surprisingly bashful and adorable.
"..."
He wondered if something was wrong with his brain. Had he already been this thoroughly assimilated by Rika?
He was seriously worried about his future sense of aesthetics.
Compared to the frightened Yahiko and Konan, Nagato at least didn't look scared, just curious.
"You don't need to be afraid," he reassured them.
The moment he said that, Konan and Yahiko instinctively took a step back in fear.
"..."
Never mind, getting them not to be afraid was probably impossible.
He stretched out his hand and introduced:
"This is Rika. She's my—"
Before he could say the word "friend," a chill suddenly ran down his spine. He surrendered to the pressure and quickly corrected himself, "She's my fiancée. After she passed away unexpectedly, she now protects me in this form."
The expressions in Konan and Yahiko's eyes shifted from fear to shock, and then from shock to admiration for Shiratori.
Rika was very satisfied with his explanation. She affectionately nuzzled him, her body radiating pink, bubbly energy.
Shiratori raised his hand to show them his ring.
"Even though Rika has passed, she stayed by my side to protect me."
"Yuta…"
"Protect… Yuta…"
Rika happily repeated, like a child.
He wore a gentle smile and caressed her massive face, saying his iconic line.
"It's pure love."
Rika shyly wrapped him in a hug. She moved delicately, as if he were something fragile. After snuggling for a moment, she returned to the ring.
Yahiko and the others were still kids. Accepting something like this was far easier for them than it would be for adults. To them, this was just a beautiful love story. Even if one of the main characters looked a bit monstrous.
"What should we do now?"
Konan looked at Shiratori, hugging her knees, the smell of blood still lingering in the air. Although she hadn't known him for long, she already had a deep, unexplainable trust in him. It felt like no matter what happened, he could handle it.
A kind of security she didn't get from Yahiko or Nagato.
Shiratori thought for a moment, then said, "We need to leave this place."
"Leave?"
Yahiko looked toward the small cave inside. That cave contained all their hard work. If they left, what would happen to their food? That food had taken an incredible amount of effort to gather and store.
Konan looked at the cave they'd stayed in for who knows how long, her face full of reluctance.
"Yes."
Shiratori nodded firmly and explained, "Even though Rika has taken care of the bodies, the fact remains, those people are missing. Four people disappearing at once will definitely draw attention. If more ninjas from their group come looking and find us, we'll be in trouble."
Yahiko nodded in agreement.
He knew Shiratori was right, he was just reluctant to give up the food.