Chapter 141: Sasuko's Love
He raised his hand in a pressing motion. Invisible force instantly enveloped the entire base. Before Nagato and Konan could react, they lost consciousness.
Kaguya observed Yu's actions, contemplation flickering through her pure white eyes.
Why would such a powerful man come to this place for a mere Rinnegan—especially an artificially formed one far weaker than the Otsutsuki clan's natural version?
Yoya gripped her mother's hand tightly, saying softly, "Mother, we should leave."
Yu turned toward Kaguya. "You two should return first. I'll handle matters here."
His tone was calm yet carried undeniable authority.
Kaguya took one final look at Nagato before turning to depart.
Yoya hurried after her, stealing a glance at this man even Mother had to yield to as she passed.
After they left, Yu's gaze returned to Nagato.
Those Rinnegan indeed contained special power, but nothing more. Having observed his battle with Kaguya, Yu found these eyes' power pathetically weak—inferior even to Kaguya's versatility.
Completely different from the sensation the Sage of Six Paths had given him. Still, to avoid accidents, he used his ability to carefully search both their memories. Finding nothing particularly special, and confirming they weren't complete scum like Kakuzu but merely obsessive idealists, he proceeded.
He casually extracted the Rinnegan, then used his ability to create ordinary eyes for Nagato, repaired his broken body, and reawakened them both.
Nagato and Konan slowly regained consciousness. Seeing this mysterious man, their bodies tensed again immediately.
Nagato first discovered he could no longer use any Rinnegan powers. Konan also noticed Nagato's eyes had returned to normal black pupils. "Nagato, your eyes..."
Yu's voice came. "Live as an ordinary person from now on."
Nagato looked at the impassive Yu and suddenly mustered courage to demand, "You possess such overwhelming power. You could easily change this world. Why won't you do more? With such strength, everyone would fear you—just like Konoha back then. Because of Senju Hashirama, during his era, no one dared start wars."
Yu merely replied lightly, "And after his death?"
Following Hashirama's passing, decades of accumulated hatred had erupted with even greater ferocity.
Land, wealth, authority, population, food—wars fought over these resources proved even more brutal than before.
Yu's words left Nagato silent, though questions remained in his heart.
He gazed at this mysterious powerhouse, unable to resist asking, "Your name is?"
"Uchiha Yu."
The moment his words fell, Yu's figure vanished from the spot.
Nagato repeated the name in a murmur, complex emotions crossing his face. Uchiha Yu—the man who'd defeated thousands of Kumogakure ninja forces with a single strike, even defeating the Raikage.
He recalled intelligence heard from Zetsu years ago. Precisely because of this name, the Akatsuki organization had abandoned capturing the Nine-Tails, pursuing other tailed beasts instead. Throughout these years, they'd always feared this name.
Yet Akatsuki's operations had never gone smoothly.
First, that ally calling himself Uchiha Madara had vanished a decade ago. Then Konoha displayed hidden strength forcing them to act cautiously. More troublesome still, other shinobi villages had formed alliances, making them difficult targets.
Zetsu's betrayal was the final straw. That founding member had not only absconded with most of the organization's funds but left them unable to maintain basic operations.
Over these years, despite exhaustive efforts, they'd only captured the wild Three-Tails and Five-Tails...
Nagato gazed toward where Yu had vanished, emotions churning.
He turned to survey the base now reduced to ruins, recalling members who'd left consecutively due to financial issues.
By organization rules, traitors should be hunted down, but did the current Akatsuki have capacity for that? Besides Konan, only he remained—a leader unable to move freely.
Without Zetsu's reconnaissance abilities, he simply couldn't track members scattered across the land alone.
Tonight's consecutive encounters with two overwhelmingly powerful adversaries had forced him to recognize a cruel truth: perhaps from the beginning, he'd never possessed the ability to change the world.
He'd ultimately failed to fulfill his promise to Yahiko, nor become the prophesied child Jiraiya-sensei had spoken of.
Those once-grand ideals now lay as scattered ruins.
Konan gently grasped his hand, her paper wings slowly folding. The explosive tags transformed back into ordinary paper sheets, drifting to the ground.
"What... should we do next?" she asked softly, eyes filled with confusion.
Nagato gazed at his withered hands, shaking his head bitterly. Without the Rinnegan's power, he couldn't even protect himself, much less continue that unreachable dream.
Distant alert sounds echoed faintly—seems this commotion had attracted Amegakure's attention. Nagato took one final look at this base operated for years and told Konan, "Let's leave here first."
Two figures supporting each other disappeared into the ruins' shadows.
The Akatsuki organization—once feared throughout the shinobi world—had reached its end tonight.
---
When Yu returned to the familiar courtyard, he found Sasuko sitting on the corridor's wooden bench, just like that night years ago.
Yu felt somewhat surprised. By now, Sasuko should have been asleep.
Seeing Yu suddenly appear, delight flashed through Sasuko's eyes. Actually, she'd never slept—though Yu had acted normally during their afternoon conversation, having observed him for years, Sasuko still detected subtle differences in his emotions.
Just as she'd expected.
Though curious about Yu's late-night departure, she didn't intend to press this time.
Asking too many questions would seem like distrust.
She was willing to trust Yu, though occasionally... unease still crept in.
Sasuko showed a sweet smile, voice gentle. "Yu, you're back."
Yu seemed surprised. "Why aren't you asleep yet, Sasuko?"
"Because I was thinking of you." Sasuko tilted her head slightly, answering frankly.
Yu was about to explain when she gently interrupted. "It's fine, no need to explain. I just... felt inexplicably uneasy."
She stepped forward, night wind softly stirring her hair, bringing a subtle fragrance.
"I keep feeling that one day you'll leave." Sasuko's voice was light yet carried indescribable loneliness. "Despite seeing you, thinking of you, loving you every day... I feel you drifting further away."
She slowly approached Yu and embraced this person she'd loved for over a decade.
"Though you said this isn't good, I still can't help caring about even the slightest changes in your emotions." She rested her face gently against Yu's chest. "Does this trouble you?"
"Yu?"
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