Naruto Immersive Replay, The Curse of the Sharingan

Madara's fingers touched your face again, this time gently but sending chills down your spine. "Nagi, what do you think these brats can give you?"

Shisui's Kusanagi sword attacked again, this time aiming at Madara's arm. Madara easily dodged it and struck back, knocking him back several meters.

"Enough!" you suddenly shouted, "Stop it, all of you!"

Ban paused for a moment, looked at your slightly reddened eyes, and his expression softened subtly.

"Do you care about them?" he asked softly, as if everyone else didn't exist.

You bit your lower lip and nodded, "They are all very important people to me."

Madara was silent for a moment, then suddenly withdrew all his chakra. The remains of Susanoo turned into blue light spots and dissipated into the air. He took a step back, looked around at the men who were eyeing him menacingly, and finally his gaze fell back on you.

“It seems Nagi has grown up.” His tone carried an emotion you couldn’t quite decipher. “Make your choice now.”

You were stunned. "Choose what?"

A dangerous smile curled at the corner of Ban's mouth. "As for who I choose to follow, I still..." He glanced contemptuously at the others, "These lowly brats."

Deidara immediately bristled, "Who are you calling a brat?! Huh!"

Sasori's puppet arm made a cracking sound. "Madara, you're far too arrogant."

Itachi's Mangekyou Sharingan flashed with a cold light, "Tanuki won't go with you."

Obito remained silent, but a vortex of Kamui dimension had already formed around him.

"It's been ten years since you left," you finally spoke. "Did you think I would always be faithful to you?"

Chapter 184 - A Perilous Love (3)

Madara's fingers, with their characteristic coldness, gripped your jawbone with an irresistible force, forcing you to raise your head and look directly into those Rinnegan eyes at the almost tangible rage and... a trace of sinister pain from betrayal.

"Who was the one who knelt in the cave before I died, looking at me with those foolishly sincere eyes and asking me who loved me?" Every word Ban says hits your heart like a hammer blow, carrying a suffocating weight.

"You think you can just give up once you're bored? Uchiha Nagi, are your ears just for decoration? Did you ignore what I said on the road to the underworld?"

The chilling killing intent, like an invisible icicle, pierced your skin with a painful sting. The oppressive aura, penetrating to the bone, mixed with the damp and cold memories of the cave in the land of near death, suddenly tore open a corner of your mind that had been deliberately forgotten.

The dark, damp cave reeked of blood, and the vitality of the spotted creature was fading away as quickly as a candle flickering in the wind.

He gripped your wrist with his last bit of strength, his knuckles almost digging into your flesh, his voice hoarse and broken, yet carrying an undeniable, almost curse-like obsession.

"Since you've already provoked me... don't... don't even dream of falling in love with someone else. Remember, you're mine... you must wait for me... to come back..."

Your eyelashes trembled violently a few times, and an undisguised guiltyness flashed in your deep black eyes. "Back then, I was young and reckless..."

When I first came to this world, I was mainly driven by the impulses of Nagi and the chaotic memories of the Showa era, not by my clear-headed true self at this moment.

Under the increasingly cold gaze of Madara's Rinnegan, you were left speechless.

Deidara stood on the bird's back, his handsome face filled with undisguised anger and anxiety. He roared at those below, "You old relic who should have been ashes long ago! Let her go! Give this wicked woman back to me! Huh!"

Scorpion's voice echoed from within the Hiruko, "The filth that crawls out of the land of the dead should lie peacefully in the depths of the tomb and decay. Forcibly staying in the mortal world will only make it an eyesore."

You felt a headache coming on. You knew Ban's personality all too well; the more you provoked him, the worse the consequences would be.

The terrifying chakra of the legendary ninja demon erupted suddenly, spreading outwards from him like an invisible tsunami. The rubble beneath his feet instantly turned to dust, and the earth groaned under the unbearable weight!

The air was compressed to the point of near solidification, creating a suffocating feeling that could paralyze the heart.

"Madara, I've been thinking about you all along... really, every single day..." When you hugged Madara, you felt the chakra storm freeze for an extremely brief moment.

That moment of blankness lets you know you've bet on the right direction.

But Ban didn't turn around. His body remained stiff, and a very soft sneer escaped from his throat. "Think of me? The result of thinking of me is that you can use your so-called longing to seduce one or two... or even more men?"

His icy gaze slowly swept over Deidara circling in the air, and the persistent, haunting Hiruko behind him, his disdain and disgust undisguised. "Ha, the weight of your longing is truly paltry...not even worth mentioning!"

He deliberately overthought the last four words.

You said I love you, and I admit it!

You suddenly look up and stare directly into Ban's eyes. You see Ban's pupils contract slightly, clearly not expecting you to admit it so bluntly.

"Back in that dark cave, besides saying 'Wait for me to come back,' what else did you leave behind?!"

The air froze instantly, and similar images involuntarily surfaced in the minds of everyone present: a dying powerhouse, a blood-red oath, and a girl's desperate tears.

These images are so vivid, as if they have traveled through time and space and been projected directly into their consciousness.

Your voice trembled slightly from the intense emotions, and your fingers gripped the edge of your tattered armor.

The red armor still bore the marks of the battle at the Valley of the End, with cracks revealing the pale body reborn from the dead.

"It's watching you die! It's keeping that vague promise day after day, year after year! It's me struggling alone in this damned world!"

A crack appeared in Ban's expression. He released his grip on your chin and instead grabbed your wrist. The strength was still astonishing, but the posture subtly shifted to a kind of support, as if afraid you would collapse due to emotional distress.

"I've waited!" Your voice rose higher and higher, almost a scream, "I waited until I almost thought it was all an illusion! Now... you're finally back..."

Your gaze was fixed on Ban, as if trying to see through the soul beneath that filthy body. Tears welled up in your eyes, but stubbornly refused to fall.

"But what have you brought me besides cold questions and threats of destruction?"

These words were like a sharp sword, piercing Ban's heart.

His brow furrowed almost imperceptibly, and a subtle fluctuation appeared in the red light of his Samsara Eyes.

In the distance, Deidara's clay bird hovered in the air, the blond boy's mouth agape; Sasori's Hiruko stood frozen in place, its poison needles trembling slightly; Obito's mask tilted to one side, revealing his shocked Sharingan.

No one has ever seen you like this—vulnerable, angry, and real.

"Is this what you've come back to deliver on your promise to me?" Your voice suddenly lowered, yet it was more piercing than your previous screams. "It's to personally crush all the bonds I've painstakingly held onto the moment you return?"

"Uchiha Madara, do you think this is fair?!"

These words had an immediate effect; the destructive red light surging in Madara's Rinnegan froze for a moment, like boiling magma being thrown into a cold boulder.

He scrutinized the undisguised accusations and pain in your eyes, and for the first time, the weight of that waiting seemed to truly penetrate his powerful will, striking deep into his soul.

Even the sound of the wind seemed to have stopped.

Ban's lips moved slightly, as if he wanted to say something, but in the end he didn't make a sound.

He released his grip on your wrist and instead stroked your cheek with an incredibly gentle touch, a stark contrast to his earlier brutality.

The body resurrected through the Impure World Reincarnation has no temperature, yet you mistakenly feel a trace of warmth.

“Nagi…” Madara’s voice was low and husky, carrying a strange and unreadable emotion, “You…”

His words were interrupted by a sharp whooshing sound. Deidara finally snapped out of his shock, and driven by rage, he launched a reckless attack. "Don't touch her! Huh!"

Clay spiders rained down, and the explosion instantly engulfed Ban and your figures.

But the next second, the blue Susanoo skeleton rose from the ground, blocking all attacks.

Madara had one arm around your waist, while the other hand maintained a defensive stance, his eyes fixed on Deidara in the air with a gloomy expression.

"You reckless brat," Madara's voice was as cold as ice. "I'm not in the mood to play with you right now."

He raised his hand to launch an attack, but you held his arm down. "They're just... concerned about me."

Madara looked down at you, the red light in his Rinnegan flickering slightly. "You pleaded for them?" His voice carried a dangerous undertone. "After I heard your heartfelt accusations?"

You shook your head, your black hair flying in the aftershocks of the explosion. "I'm not pleading for them, I'm pleading for myself."

This answer made Madara raise an eyebrow. He withdrew his Susanoo, but still kept you by his side, his gaze sweeping over each member of the Akatsuki. "That's enough for today."

His voice wasn't loud, but it carried an undeniable authority.

Seeing that Madara had lost his murderous intent, you secretly breathed a sigh of relief, but this relaxation didn't last even a second before Madara's eyes darkened, and he suddenly reached out and put his arm around your waist.

That large hand, gloved in black, could almost encircle your entire waist, and its strength was so great that you had to stand on your tiptoes.

"We should find a quiet place to catch up." Ban's voice whispered close to your earlobe, his warm breath brushing against your sensitive skin, sending a shiver down your spine.

Space begins to distort, and you feel dizzy and disoriented. The scene before you becomes as blurry as turbulent water.

In the final moments before disappearing, you see Deidara angrily unleashing a clay bomb, his golden hair gleaming like sunlight in the firelight; Sasori's puppet needles rain down, gleaming with a chilling green light; and Obito's shocked face as he removes his mask...

"Wicked woman!" Deidara's shouts faded into the distance, swallowed by the spatial vortex.

When you regain your footing, you find yourself in an unfamiliar cave.

The damp air was filled with the scent of earth and moss, and the crisp sound of water droplets falling into the stone pool could be heard in the distance.

Ban released you, walked to the stone wall, lit a torch, and the dim light immediately filled the enclosed space, casting swaying shadows on the uneven stone wall.

As he turned, the red armor emitted a slight metallic scraping sound, and his tall figure almost filled your entire field of vision.

“Now, there’s no more disturbance.” Ban’s voice echoed in the cave, carrying a hint of dangerous pleasure, yet he still used his body to trap you between himself and the stone wall.

Your fingertips gently pressed against the rough rock wall behind you, trying to steady your slightly trembling body.

"Explain clearly why you broke your promise!"

"A lot happened after you died..." you carefully chose your words.

"Don't make excuses," Ban interrupted you. "I'm only asking you, do you still love me?"

This direct question caused your pupils to dilate slightly, and your long eyelashes cast trembling shadows in the firelight.

You lowered your eyes, avoiding his burning gaze, and said, "I...don't know."

The air froze instantly, and Ban's eyes suddenly turned cold, as if a tangible chill emanated from his body.

He grabbed your wrist and slammed you against the stone wall with such force that you let out a muffled groan.

"You don't know?" His voice was dangerously low, almost squeezed out between clenched teeth. "Who was it that cried and promised to wait for me back then?"

You winced in pain, but didn't struggle. "I was sincere back then! But now..." You took a deep breath. "Now I'm more clear-headed, Madara. Love isn't about possession."

Ban's expression went blank for a moment, then he laughed in extreme anger.

The laughter echoed through the cave, chillingly cold.

“For the Uchiha,” he suddenly leaned down, “love is possession.”

Your breathing quickens. Every touch of Ban feels like an electric current, making you want to run away yet unable to resist getting closer.

This contradictory feeling is frustrating, even though you've already decided to stop being bound by the past.

Two flames ignited in your dark eyes, "I hate you now, I hate that you decided my feelings for me without my consent!"

Ban raised his eyebrows slightly, seemingly not expecting your counterattack. He stepped back a little, giving you some breathing space, but still did not loosen his grip.

"Oh?" His tone held a hint of interest. "Then tell me, what are your feelings like?"

You took the opportunity to break free from his grasp, slipped out through the gap in his arms, and retreated to a safe distance of two steps. Your black hair was a little messy from the struggle.

"Complex." That was your final answer, your fingers unconsciously adjusting your disheveled collar. "I did have genuine feelings for you, I don't deny that, but all these years have passed, and I'm no longer the girl who blindly followed you."

Ban listened quietly, his expression unreadable. The torchlight flickered across his face, sometimes bright, sometimes dim, just like his unpredictable emotions.

“That promise…” you continued, your voice growing firmer, “was made under special circumstances. You were dying, and I was emotionally distraught… That wasn’t the whole me.”

Madara suddenly raised his hand, and a simple Wind Release ninjutsu extinguished all the torches.

The cave was plunged into darkness in an instant, and only the sound of your breathing was exceptionally clear in the silence.

Before you could react, you felt a cold body close to you, and Ban's arms wrapped around your waist, pulling you into his embrace.

Even in the dark, Uchiha's bloodline limit allows him to see clearly, and you can feel his gaze sweeping over your face inch by inch.

“You’re right,” Madara’s voice rang in my ears, “You’re not the girl you used to be.”

His fingers ran through your black hair, the movement incredibly gentle. "But I'm not the dying ninja I used to be, Nagi. The me now..." A light kiss landed on your brow. "I have the ability to fulfill all my promises."

Chapter 185 - A Perilous Love (4)

“No, you are dead, Madara. The dead have no right to make promises to the living.”

Madara's pupils first dilated slightly, then contracted into dangerous pinpoints. A body resurrected through Edo Tensei shouldn't have a heartbeat, but you swear you heard a sound like a heart bursting.

"Very well." Madara's voice suddenly calmed, a calmness more terrifying than a roar, like the deathly silence before a storm. "Since you insist so..."

He suddenly released his grip on your hand, took a step back, and a distance of less than two meters appeared between you, yet it felt as if there was an abyss between you.

The crimson light in Ban's Rinnegan was like blood, shining like two scarlet moons in the dim cave, illuminating your beautiful face.

"Then let your strength speak for itself." Madara's voice echoed in the cave. "Defeat me, and you'll be free." A cruel smile curled at the corner of his lips. "Loser... and you'll become my lover."

Your breath hitched. This bet was too much. If you won, you would gain the freedom that was rightfully yours, but if you lost, you would be forever bound to this obsessive man.