Chapter 113 He Originally Could (Ch 113)

Naraku returned to his body from the spiritual world, gently moved his eyelids, and slowly opened his eyes.

It was pitch black all around, with only a candle lit by the bed.

Can you still light a candle underground? Is there enough oxygen?

On the other side of the room, Madara took in Naraku’s confused expression.

In Madara’s preconceived opinion, this was because the other party had suffered a series of major blows and was confused about where he was now and where he would go in the future.

Seeing this expression on that face that looked so much like Izumi made him swallow back the sarcastic remarks that he always made.

By the time the words were spoken, they had already become a greeting.

“How does it feel?”

“?”

Pretending to have just noticed that there was someone else around, Naraku slowly turned his head to look over.

At the other end of the room, sat a dying white-haired old man. The candle flame illuminated his profile, allowing Naraku to see the pair of three-magatama Sharingan.

“Who are you?”

“I…” The old man paused, “Just an ordinary Uchiha.”

–Oh, really?

–You’re pretending quite well, Uchiha Madara.

Naraku got out of bed barefoot and walked towards that side step by step. He was slowly adjusting his walking posture and the way he stared at the target.

From Madara’s perspective, the boy who was gradually approaching looked more and more like Izuna, and in a trance even he himself could hardly tell the difference.

His mind told him countless times that this kid only looked similar to him, but his emotions were disturbing the few remaining emotions in him, making them turbulent and difficult to calm down.

It was not until the young man came closer that he could see clearly the pair of dark and lifeless eyes, which were numb, indifferent and painful, like a piece of broken porcelain that was pieced together again.

The shape is still there, but the cracks are hard to eliminate.

The boy became a little unlike the clever and lively Izuna who was always in front of him.

–Fortunately, I’m finally not like Izuna anymore.

Madara thought thankfully, his turbulent emotions beginning to subside.

Then, he heard the boy’s clear voice, straight and stiff, utter that question, a question he had never thought he would hear from the other person.

“Grandpa, you look… not very happy?”

Madara’s breathing stopped for a moment.

[Brother…you look…ahem…unhappy…?]

Back then, when Izumi was seriously injured and dying and decided to donate her eyes to him, she also looked at her brother with a heavy face and said the same joke.

He froze in place, all the words he had prepared stuck in his throat, solidifying into an unexpected dry cough.

The young man walked up to him and squatted. Even though his eyes were dull, his handsome features still showed that he cared about or was worried about the old man in front of him.

But when the boy tried hard to control his expression and wanted to show his very skilled smile to comfort the other person, in the end he only pulled the corners of his mouth, raising a slightly weird arc.

He no longer knew how to laugh.

Even if it was a fake smile, it eventually disappeared from his face.

The boy realized that he was abnormal, and after trying a few times, he gave up silently.

Uchiha Madara, the Shura of the Ninja World who had been proud all his life, suddenly wanted to flee twice in his life.

The first time was when Izuna died. He had an extremely strong desire to escape from this false world full of lies.

And the second time is now.

In the boy’s hazy and dim eyes, Ban could clearly see his own reflection.

The reflection was staring back at him, revealing a fact that had just been deliberately ignored.

…You destroyed this “Izuna” with your own hands.

…It was you who made Uchiha Naraku no longer look like Izuna.

After being exposed, Madara suddenly felt angry and retorted harshly.

–But this is not Izuna!

…right.

The reflection nodded, then shook its head.

…but he could have been more similar.

…Whether he is a descendant or a reincarnation, no matter what identity he stays with you, he could have been exactly the same as Izuna.

–Shut up!

Madara was so angry that he wanted to look away, not wanting to see the reflection again, but his body was controlled by an inexplicable emotion, and he stood still, staring at the reflection, unable to even move his eyes.

He could only yell in a cowardly manner.

–These are all necessary sacrifices for the Moon Eye Project…

–Uchiha Naraku is the best chess piece!

–If it doesn’t look like it, then it doesn’t look like it. What use are these things to the plan?!

But the reflection said.

…There is no such thing as the best or the worst. How can you guarantee that there won’t be better chess pieces appearing in the future?

…Admit it, Uchiha Madara.

It laughed silently and spoke word by word.

…you just regret it.

The fog in his mind dissipated along with the illusion, and when Madara came to his senses, he found himself gasping for breath, holding a fragment of the stone handrail tightly in his hand.

The sharp edges of the fragments cut the palm of my hand, soaking it in the bright red blood that gushed out of the wound.

The young man was squatting silently by the side, trying to pry the hand open.

He unconsciously loosened his strength, and the other party took the opportunity to gently pry open the dry fingers bit by bit, picking out stones from the bloody mess and throwing them on the ground.

The bright green light flickered in the dark underground space, becoming the only ray of life in the dead world.

Madara’s Adam’s apple moved slightly, and it took him a long time to ask the first question: “Aren’t you afraid?”

The young man held his withered hand and continued to treat him. He did not even raise his head and said in a calm voice, “If Grandpa wanted to harm me, he would not have saved me.”

The dull and indifferent tone made Madara feel a little annoyed. He looked down at every detail of Naraku’s body, trying to get the truth from the latter’s reaction.

“Perhaps, I want to do something for you while you are still alive? For example, let you stay here and serve me until I die of old age.”

He paused and pointed at the several dark shadows hanging at the edge of the room: “They might be using you as fertilizer.”

No matter how he threatened, the other party was still not afraid at all, and just replied softly: “It’s only right to repay the life-saving grace.”

At this time, all the wounds had just been treated. The boy raised his head with a calm expression on his face.

“But I’m sorry, I still have a lot to do and can’t stay here. If everything is done and I’m not dead yet, I will definitely come back.”

“What did you say?” Madara’s already restless mood immediately became even more unhappy, and he asked back: “What can be more important than me?”

The boy looked at him and responded with his own empty eyes: “Those things are more meaningful than my life.”

Madara sneered, “So my ‘life-saving grace’ is not high enough priority, is it?”

The only answer to him was silence, and silence was a silent acknowledgement.

Madara pulled his hand back, leaned back against the cold stone chair, and his voice was colder than ever before.

“Humph, do you still think you can leave here?”

“This is the gap between the underworld and reality, and you are already a living dead wandering between the human world and hell.”

His eyes burned with bloodshot.

“Don’t even think about leaving.”

…