Naruto Immersive Replay, The Curse of the Sharingan

The dream began to collapse, and the edge of the forbidden area turned into countless fragments, but Showa's gaze was fixed on the figure in the pool of blood, as if he could etch this scene into his soul forever if he looked at it for just one more second.

In the final moment, as darkness was about to engulf everything, she saw the corners of Chiri's lips slightly upturned, a relieved smile, as if death was nothing more than attending a belated banquet for her.

"Chiri—!" Showa suddenly woke up from her dream, a metallic taste rising in her throat. She lay on the bank of the River of Oblivion, coughing violently, drops of blood falling into the murky water, creating tiny ripples.

Scattered on the shore were the chains she had torn apart, the result of her physical body's reaction to her struggles in her dream.

For the first time in a century, Showa huddled on the shore like a child, wailing and crying.

Her nails dug deep into her arm, yet she felt no pain. The blood-stained straw butterfly seemed to still be fluttering before her eyes, and Chiri's final confession echoed in her ears.

The river flows silently, reflecting the distorted image of the Showa era.

On the other side she couldn't see, a figure with purple hair quietly turned around and disappeared into the depths of the thick fog. The touch of the grass butterfly still lingered on Zhili's fingertips, and a smile on her lips was exactly the same as in her dream.

Before dawn, the gates of Konoha were shrouded in a thin mist. Tsunade stood atop the stone statue, her fingertips unconsciously stroking the blood-stained die.

The betting game three days ago was won in a very strange way; when the dealer opened the dice, the dice stood up strangely on the edge.

She recalled the last time this happened was the night before Kato Dan went to war; and the time before that was the evening when Nawaki pestered her for a birthday present.

"Lord Hokage, everyone is assembled."

The silence brought her back to reality. Tsunade looked down and saw Jiraiya looking up at her with his signature silly grin, his silver hair covered in morning dew.

As he leaped onto the stone statue, the familiar smell of ink mixed with the aroma of wine wafted towards him. This always jovial man must have stayed up all night writing again last night.

"It'll be alright, don't overthink it." Jiraiya gently placed his hand on her arm, the warmth seeping through her armor.

Tsunade noticed that there was still cinnabar residue under his fingernails, which was a trace of the sealing technique used.

She opened her mouth, but ultimately didn't ask: Just how much preparation had this trouble-averse old friend secretly made?

The sound of pages turning rapidly came from the back of the group. This was the third time today that Kakashi had pretended to be engrossed in reading "Icha Icha Paradise," and the page had been stuck in the same spot for more than half an hour.

His exposed eye was unfocused, as if he were seeing something distant through the paper.

"Hey, Kakashi!" Might Guy suddenly bumped into him from the side, his green bodysuit standing out conspicuously in the mist. "What's wrong with you? It's just a meeting held by the Akatsuki!"

The book snapped shut, and Kakashi stuffed it into his ninja tool pouch, a beat slower than usual.

The scene he had dreamt of reappeared before his eyes: you were lying in a pool of blood, your long black hair scattered, but a familiar smile on your lips, so bright it seemed to dispel any gloom.

In your dream, your lips moved as you said something, but he couldn't hear you at all.

"It's nothing, I just didn't sleep well." Kakashi pulled down his mask and took a deep breath. The damp forest air smelled of earth and decaying leaves.

He subconsciously touched his left Sharingan eye, which was throbbing slightly, a feeling that had persisted ever since that dream.

Matt Kai stared at him suspiciously, his thick eyebrows almost forming a straight line. He opened his mouth as if to say something, but was interrupted by a sudden gust of wind.

Neji Hyuga's Byakugan was always fixed on the direction of Amegakure. Before he set off this morning, the tortoise shell he used for divination suddenly split in two.

At this moment, in his vision, the flow of chakra in the distance presented a rare dark red vortex, just like the sky on the night of the Uchiha massacre.

"Lady Hinata," he called softly to his cousin, who was checking her ninja tool bag, "If anything unexpected happens later, please stay close behind me."

The girl looked up in confusion, about to ask a question, but found that Neji, who was usually calm, had cold sweat on his forehead.

In his Byakugan vision, the chakra vortex above Amegakure was expanding, vaguely forming the shape of a Rinnegan.

At the very back of the group, Sakura Haruno was secretly organizing her medical kit.

She brought an extra third of the hemostatic bandages. Last night she dreamed that she was desperately performing CPR on someone covered in wounds in the rain. When she woke up, she found that her pillow was soaked with tears.

When she told Sasuke about the dream, the usually aloof black-haired boy's expression changed, which was quite unusual.

"Hey, Sasuke," Naruto nudged his companion with his elbow, "You've had a sour face since this morning, were you having nightmares too?"

Sasuke didn't answer, but simply gripped the Kusanagi sword tighter.

Chapter 201 Oppression

"Let's go." Tsunade's voice was as cold as iron.

She stopped and took out the coin she always carried with her, the one she had won in the betting this morning. The sunlight danced on the metal surface, the reflected light stinging her eyes.

Jiraiya placed his hand on her shoulder again, this time with more force. "Tsunade..."

“I know.” She interrupted him, tossing the coin high into the air and catching it, then clenching it tightly in her palm. “Let’s go.”

The group moved forward again, but the atmosphere was more somber than before.

Kakashi was the last to arrive, his fingers unconsciously tracing the cover of "Icha Icha Paradise" in his ninja tool bag.

He suddenly felt a wave of suffocation. The dream was too real—your trembling fingers, and that last smile... He quickened his pace to catch up with the group, forcing himself to take a deep breath.

It was just a dream, he told himself, just a damn nightmare.

The mountain road became increasingly steep, and the outline of Amegakure Village gradually became clear.

Tsunade's pace quickened, almost to the point of jogging, with Jiraiya close behind, hesitating to speak several times.

He knew how accurate Tsunade's premonitions were, and he knew what she was thinking right now. If this time, it was another instance of her negligence causing the loss of someone important...

Tsunade's coin slipped from her fingers and rolled down the cliff.

She didn't even look down once; she shot off like an arrow, leaving Jiraiya's shouts behind her, with only the whistling wind and her increasingly loud heartbeat in her ears.

The coin tumbled in the air, sunlight flashed across its metal surface, and finally disappeared into the darkness of the valley.

Like those important people, they always disappear from her life suddenly at the brightest moment.

The sky above Amegakure was as dark as ink, with thick, low-hanging clouds that seemed ready to collapse at any moment.

The towering structure stood tall in the rain, its steel-like structure gleaming coldly, like a sharp sword piercing the sky.

Powerful figures from all over the ninja world arrived one after another. The Kage of the five great nations, elite Jonin, and top fighters from various clans all stood on this land, gazing up at the tall tower.

At the top of the tower, the members of the Akatsuki stood in a row, looking down on all living beings like gods.

They wore black robes with red clouds, the hems fluttering in the wind, and each of them exuded an aura as unfathomable as an abyss.

Standing at the very front was a woman wearing a black raccoon mask.

Your mask only reveals the lower half of your face, your lips slightly upturned, a smile that is neither a smile nor a frown. The eyes hidden beneath the mask seem to be able to see through all illusions.

"That's... the Akatsuki?!" Someone in the crowd exclaimed in a low voice, which immediately caused a commotion.

Behind you, two tall figures followed closely.

They had the same black hair, the same blood-red Sharingan eyes, and the same suffocating sense of oppression.

—Uchiha Madara.

Onoki's pupils suddenly contracted, and an expression of disbelief appeared on his aged face.

He had personally witnessed the power of Hashirama Senju, the God of Shinobi, and had also faced the terror of Madara Uchiha on the battlefield.

And now, the man who once single-handedly suppressed the entire ninja world is standing atop this tower, and... there are two of them?

“Uchiha… Madara?!” His voice was hoarse and trembling, as if it were being forced out of his throat.

There was an uproar all around.

No one questioned Onoki's judgment, because he was the only one who had actually seen Madara Uchiha.

Kakashi stood in the crowd, and the kunai in his hand fell to the ground with a "thud".

His gaze was fixed on the slender figure beside you, her short brown hair still soft, her face bearing a gentle smile, as if she had never left.

"Rin...?" Kakashi's voice was almost squeezed out from deep in his throat, dry and trembling.

Years of guilt, regret, and self-blame turned into a surging tide that almost overwhelmed him.

—If Rin is still alive...what about Obito?

He turned his head sharply and looked at the man wearing the white swirling mask.

As if sensing his gaze, the other person tilted his head slightly, a hint of amusement flashing in the Sharingan beneath the mask.

The next second, he slowly took off his mask.

Kakashi's pupils suddenly contracted; it was a face he knew all too well.

——Uchiha Obito.

The left half of his face was intact, but the right half was covered with hideous scars. His Sharingan eyes were blood-red, and a mocking smile curled at the corner of his mouth.

"Long time no see, Kakashi." His voice was deep and teasing, as if he were enjoying Kakashi's shock and astonishment.

Then he put the mask back on.

—It was like a prank, just to see Kakashi's expression of collapse.

Might Guy keenly sensed his friend's unusual behavior and asked in a deep voice, "Kakashi, do you know them?"

Kakashi didn't answer. His gaze returned to you, and your heart felt like it was being squeezed by an invisible hand.

So... he had sensed you all along.

So... you've always been there.

Just then, a furious roar suddenly rang out, "Itachi!" Sasuke's eyes had transformed into crimson Mangekyou Sharingan, and the hatred from the night of the massacre of his clan erupted completely at this moment.

He stared intently at the weasel on the tower, his Kusanagi sword already drawn, lightning crackling across its blade.

"How dare you show your face in front of me?!"

Itachi gazed at him silently, his eyes calm to the point of being indifferent.

But just as Sasuke was about to rush forward...

A deep and familiar voice came from the direction of the city gate of the Land of Rain.

Sasuke's body suddenly stiffened. He slowly turned his head, and then his pupils contracted sharply.

—It is Uchiha Fugaku.

His father was leading the Uchiha clan members step by step toward the tower.

"This... is impossible..." Sasuke's voice was almost squeezed out from between his teeth.

Was the night of the massacre a hoax?

What does his hatred even matter?!

The entire ninja world's powerful figures fell into a deathly silence.

As they looked at the Akatsuki organization atop the tower, and then at the Uchiha clan members approaching from outside the city gates, an absurd and terrifying premonition spread through their hearts.

At the top of the tower, you gently removed your mask. Your face was exceptionally clear in the rain, your lips slightly upturned, but your gaze was as deep and unfathomable as an abyss.

"Welcome to the real 'Akatsuki'."

As you finished speaking, both Uchiha Madaras took a step forward simultaneously.

A terrifying pressure of chakra poured down as if it were a tangible force. The weaker ninjas immediately knelt on the ground, but the youngest, Naruto, stubbornly held his head high, his azure eyes filled with disbelief, "Sister Tanuki...why..."

"Shh—" You put your index finger to your lips. This little gesture, which used to make him feel very close, now seemed particularly distant.

Sasuke staggered forward a few steps, the tomoe in his Sharingan spinning wildly. "Father... Mother... what is this...?"

Mikoto Uchiha stepped out from the crowd, her eyes brimming with tears, yet displaying a resolve Sasuke had never seen before. "Sasuke, we have never left."

"Enough!" Raikage roared, "No matter what tricks you play, you must—" He didn't finish his harsh words.

Because both of the demons raised their hands at the same time, the gravitational field of Chibaku Tensei instantly enveloped the entire area.

Countless pebbles defied the laws of physics and floated up, forcing the elites of the allied forces to defend with all their might, yet they were still suppressed and unable to move.

An eerie silence fell over the entire Allied Shinobi Forces; everyone was speechless, stunned by the sight that defied comprehension.

"I wanted to explain properly." Your voice was soft, yet strangely it pierced through the rain and reached everyone's ears. "But it seems... you need to experience it for yourselves."

"Sasuke." You reached out and stroked his cheek, your touch as gentle as if you were touching fragile porcelain. "Do you want to know what Itachi saw on the night of the massacre?"

Suddenly, golden light shone from your fingertips. Before Sasuke could react, he felt the world spinning around him.

When he opened his eyes again, he found himself standing on the roof of Konoha Hospital, with the massacre of his clan taking place below. But the ones wielding the butcher's knife were clearly members of the Anbu wearing Konoha headbands.

“This is…” Sasuke’s throat tightened.

"The truth." Your voice came from afar, "The buried, altered, deliberately forgotten truth."

The scene shifts again, this time to a laboratory in the Land of Rain. "In order to create weapons powerful enough to fight 'He,'" Fugaku's voice echoes in my memory. "We must do this."