Who Allowed You to Touch Me with Those Filthy Hands?

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

Several figures darted through the dense forest.

They were Root Division shinobi, but none retained their usual arrogance. Every one of them was fleeing in panic.

The lingering terror on their faces made it seem as though evil ghosts were pursuing them through the forest behind them.

"Faster, move faster!" Terai, the Root Division shinobi at the front, roared as he urged his companions onward. He kept glancing back, terror growing ever stronger on his face. "Don't slow down, not even for a second! That... that brat must still be following us!"

Heavy panting rose and fell nearby.

Every breath came with searing pain. Their lungs struggled to supply them with air, yet they still felt as if they were suffocating.

Yet even if their lungs burst in the next second, no one dared slow down in the slightest.

How had things ended up like this?

Terai's mind was filled with terror, and memories from more than ten minutes ago involuntarily surfaced.

Their plan had succeeded. They had caught the child following Tsunade off guard and abducted her.

Everything had gone according to plan. Tsunade had been successfully lured away from Uchiha Sōgetsu, creating the perfect opportunity for Hanzo.

But immediately afterward, events had completely exceeded his expectations.

The little girl they had abducted instantly displayed horrifying strength. In mere seconds, she tore the Anbu holding her into pieces before everyone's eyes.

Then, the little girl calmly wiped the blood from her face, and a windmill-like Sharingan appeared in her eyes!

"I have to... I have to report this intelligence to Lord Danzo!"

Back in reality, Terai seemed able to hear that trace of killing intent clinging to him like a shadow from behind. "The Uchiha Clan has an even deeper conspiracy!"

However, in the next second.

A petite figure dressed in black suddenly blocked everyone's path.

In an instant, the dozen or so Root Division shinobi seemed to have been struck by a paralysis jutsu. They stared in terror at the petite figure standing on a tree branch ahead.

"I hate it when people touch me."

Uchiha Hikari's face was expressionless. Like an icy killing machine, she filled everyone with dread. "Who allowed you to touch me with those filthy hands?"

Her tone was flat, without even the slightest fluctuation, yet it filled them with profound terror.

Just like a sharp steel blade had been placed against their throats!

The icy, bone-piercing sensation made goosebumps rise across their skin, every hair on their bodies standing on end.

The air was so heavy it seemed about to freeze solid, while the chilling killing intent lowered the temperature around them.

Fear spread uncontrollably, devouring their reason like a beast.

"Everyone, attack together!"

Terai knew they could not wait any longer. Otherwise, fear would crush everyone's spirits.

"Hehe... Hahaha... Hahahahahaha!"

Uchiha Hikari covered her eyes and laughed wildly, brazenly and manically. Her entire being exuded a sickening distortion. "I'm his... only he can touch me. As for you... you disgusting trash dared to touch me with your filthy hands. You all deserve to die!!!"

"Attack!!!"

Sweat born of terror sprayed through the air as everyone rushed at the girl with twisted faces and savage roars.

Uchiha Hikari half-covered her eyes with one hand. The crimson glow of her Mangekyo appeared as her cherry lips parted slightly.

"Kill each other until you die, trash!"

Dark clouds blanketed the sky, and rain poured down in torrents.

Engulfed by endless sorrow, Konan let the downpour soak her through.

Hanzo was dead.

He had died at the hands of the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path, slain by the enraged Nagato.

But... this was not the outcome she wanted!

"Konan..." Nagato's eyelids lowered as blood spilled from the corner of his mouth. With his last ounce of strength, he said to her, "Take us home."

After saying that, he fainted and collapsed onto the ground.

The Demonic Statue of the Outer Path, having lost control, turned into a cloud of smoke and vanished.

"Nagato!" Ignoring the mud all over her body, Konan staggered over and lifted the unconscious Nagato into her arms.

She was shocked the moment she looked at him.

That enormous Demonic Statue of the Outer Path had absorbed a tremendous amount of Nagato's Chakra. If not for the Uzumaki Clan's constitution, he would likely have died already.

But even so, Nagato had paid a terrible price. His entire body had become emaciated.

Moreover, the Black Rods piercing his body had inflicted grievous injuries on him. He needed treatment as soon as possible, or his life could be in danger at any moment.

"Why... why did it become like this?!"

Endless grief welled up within Konan, tears streaming down her face alongside the rain.

"Was this punishment brought down upon me because I tried to change fate?"

"Why... why treat me like this?!"

"You let me see fate, yet you won't allow me to change it!"

"I hate this!"

Beneath the torrential rain, Konan curled helplessly into a ball and wept aloud.

If she had not believed so firmly in the prophecy from her dream, if she had not insisted on bringing Yahiko and Nagato to the place from that dream to seek the truth, would none of this have happened?

But reality never had any ifs.

Yahiko was dead. Just as the prophecy in her dream had foretold, he had died to save her.

Nagato had been crippled. To kill Hanzo, he had forcibly summoned the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path.

Everything had unfolded exactly as fate had decreed. Whether they had struggled or not, the ending could never be changed!

"Yahiko... I'm taking you home."

With a pale face, Konan covered Yahiko's corpse with white paper. Then she lifted the unconscious Nagato and walked toward the distance in a daze.

"We're going home together, just as we promised."

The girl's steps were slow, as though every step exhausted all the strength in her body.

When she passed the Konoha Anbu, she stopped unconsciously. In the end, her kind heart could not simply ignore him.

The Uchiha Anbu Hanzo had slashed, though already unconscious, could still be saved. A savage wound ran across his chest, deep enough to expose bone. Blood had dyed the surrounding earth red, and he looked as though he were barely clinging to life.

"Fortunately, it isn't fatal." Konan bandaged his wounds. "As long as the bleeding stops, Tsunade should be able to heal you when she returns."

Then, with great difficulty, Konan left this place of sorrow with the two of them.

Pitter-patter.

The surroundings returned to silence, with only the soft patter of rain remaining.

A moment later, Uchiha Sōgetsu opened his eyes. After slowly sitting up, he touched the wound on his chest. "Damage Transfer. The Magician's ability really was useful."

Looking at Hanzo's drained corpse in the distance, he adjusted his glasses, his eyes utterly calm. "If you have another life, remember my advice: beware of the spectator."

This play had been wonderful.

But the one who had directed it all, the manipulator hidden behind the curtain—Uchiha Sōgetsu—was even more wonderful!

Hanzo, Konan, Yahiko, Nagato... everyone had merely been puppets on strings.

Following the script written in advance, they had walked step by step toward an ending that had long been planned.

"What a shame, Yahiko."

Uchiha Sōgetsu lowered his eyelids and murmured softly to himself, "In the script of my future, there is no need for you to exist."

December 19, clear

A moment of silence for those who died in the earthquake... Life truly was too fragile.