Passing the Buck is an Art

"Who exactly are you? What is your purpose?"

At this moment, Konan was extremely vigilant, having completely identified the person before her as an enemy.

"My name is 'Adam.' As for my purpose..."

Uchiha Sōgetsu paused for half a second before slowly saying, "In the name of 'The Master,' I act on Its will, walking in this world to save the lost sheep."

Adam, of course, was his disguise.

I have to praise it, products of this world are always top-notch!

The extraordinary tool known as lies is indeed quite handy.

"Are the 'lost sheep' referring to me?"

Konan's delicate brows furrowed, and a hint of coldness flashed across her ice-like, beautiful face. "You said earlier that all gifts bestowed by fate have already been marked with a price. What exactly did you mean?"

"Haven't you already seen the revelation of fate?"

Uchiha Sōgetsu placed his slender fingers on the book and tapped it gently. "As for the 'price.' Isn't it your good friend 'Yahiko'?"

"Who... who are you? How do you know these things? Why..."

It was as if a thunderclap struck Konan's mind. Her face turned deathly pale, as if her soul had been stripped away, leaving her limbs cold.

Because all of this was orchestrated by me.

Uchiha Sōgetsu said calmly, "I believe I've already answered that question. As for how I know these things, the answer is simple. The one who showed you fate... was me."

"It was you?!"

In an instant, Konan's emotions surged. All the regret she felt at that moment seemed to transform into anger.

All the pent-up emotions of these past few days erupted like a volcano, a myriad of feelings mixing together, completely igniting that bomb.

Pain! Hatred! Regret!

Under the confluence of these emotions, Konan's eyes turned red, and she stared at him like a wild beast.

It was as if, in the next second, she would pounce and tear this man apart.

However, a sliver of remaining reason told her that if she acted, her own end would be dire.

She couldn't die yet; who would take care of Nagato otherwise?

Yahiko's death had made her realize that meaningless anger and panic only made things worse.

Rather than that, it was better to calm down and seek an opportunity to resolve the problem.

Konan painfully suppressed her hatred, forcing herself to remain calm. "Can you tell me why you chose me?"

"It wasn't me who chose you, but 'The Master'."

Uchiha Sōgetsu's calm tone carried a strange infectiousness. "I am merely following 'The Master's' will. I happened to intercept a small segment from the torrent of fate and present it in the form of a dream. As for the outcome, and whether you can change it, that lies with you."

"This is too cruel."

Konan clenched her fists, biting her lip fiercely, letting the blood seep into her mouth, filling it with bitterness.

That feeling of witnessing the outcome with her own eyes, watching it unfold step by step, yet being unable to change it, was like a drowning person grasping at a floating reed, mistaking it for salvation. But upon grabbing it, she discovered it was a deeper, heavier, darker despair, a fall from the paradise of hope into the abyss.

The boundless abyss of despair felt like a large hand gripping her throat, suffocating her.

"Although it is regrettable, I have fulfilled my duty."

Uchiha Sōgetsu crossed his hands in front of him, his gaze as clear as a tranquil lake. "But fate will not change because of this. The future you saw will still unfold. So... what will you choose? Will you become a slave to fate and accept it, or will you carve out a path in the desolate wilderness of darkness?"

"Do I have any choice?"

Konan's heart was filled with bitterness, and a sense of powerlessness pervaded her entire being. "I tried, but I couldn't change it."

Yes, she had tried, but what was the result?

Her rash attempt had directly led to Yahiko's death!

How ironic.

It was precisely because she tried to change the future that she had instead accelerated its arrival, ultimately changing nothing.

If... if she had just pretended not to know anything, perhaps it would have been easier.

At least this way, Nagato could have lived a little longer.

This immense blow had terrified Konan. She no longer dared to touch the red line of fate, fearing she would hasten that outcome.

"The key to the problem is, do you have the courage to abandon everything?"

Uchiha Sōgetsu's low voice subtly introduced a hint of psychological suggestion. "Everyone hesitates at times. Hesitation is not frightening; what is frightening is failing to make a choice amidst hesitation. Because once a choice is made, there will be no more hesitation, and you will act according to the predetermined direction."

Upon hearing this, Konan hesitated, unsure of what choice to make.

As 'Adam' had said, would she become a slave to fate, passively watching the tragic future unfold; or would she carve out a new path in this desolate wilderness of darkness?

"I... I don't know either."

Konan was lost, or rather, she always had been.

If Yahiko were still alive, he would surely make the right choice, wouldn't he?

"If you can truly see fate, can you tell me?" Konan bit her lip, her eyes moist with unshed tears, and trembling, she asked, "Why? Why is fate so cruel to us? Yahiko, he... Yahiko always wanted to change the Ninja World, wanted everyone to be happy, why did he have to die?"

"A very cruel truth is..."

Uchiha Sōgetsu instantly thought of how to shift the blame, and the reason was flawless: "Yahiko had to die. Only his death can promote Nagato's transformation."

"Nagato?" Konan was utterly shocked this time, her pupils dilating. "Why? Why is Yahiko's death related to Nagato?"

"Because Nagato's existence is the catalyst for the Child of Prophecy's maturation."

Uchiha Sōgetsu's tone was flat and indifferent, his eyes filled with a terrifying aura. "The fate of everyone in the entire Ninja World was sealed the moment It was born."

"Who is It? And what is the Child of Prophecy?"

Konan felt her mind was about to collapse. The sudden influx of information left her unsure how to react.

But vaguely, a voice seemed to echo in her heart.

It was a name, a name that commanded the awe of the entire Ninja World, a name that existed only in legends!

Konan's eyes darted around nervously, afraid to meet his gaze. An inexplicable fear gripped her heart.

"The blue-eyed youth who gleefully calls out the names of the nine-headed beasts is the Child of Prophecy."

Uchiha Sōgetsu glanced at her and said faintly, "As for 'It,' don't you already have a guess in your heart? Why do you still need to ask me?"

"Sage... of Six Paths..."

Konan instinctively took two steps back, muttering the words.

Perhaps others would think the Sage of Six Paths was just a legend, but she could be certain that he was not a legend, but someone who had truly existed.

Because Nagato possessed the eyes of the Sage of Six Paths—the Rinnegan!

"Everything we've been through was for the Child of Prophecy?"

Hatred surged within Konan, she had never been so angry.

She desperately wanted to question the Sage of Six Paths, why would he destroy everything she cherished because of a ridiculous prophecy?!

But then, Konan felt a deep sense of powerlessness. She looked at Adam, lost, "What... what should I do?"

"That's a question you should ask yourself."

Uchiha Sōgetsu pointed to the position of her heart and said softly, "Ask your heart, what does it want to do?"

Konan slowly closed her eyes.

Scenes from the past flashed through her mind like a revolving lantern.

Yahiko's smiling face and dreams, Nagato's persistence and pain, the past and future intertwined, countless images finally freezing.

Konan opened her eyes, and there was no longer any confusion in them.

At this moment, she had transformed, as if reborn.

"I don't want to be a slave to fate!"

Konan's voice was firm and resolute, a dark flame burning in her pupils. "And I don't want to be a pawn in someone else's prophecy. I will carry on Yahiko's dream!"

"In your eyes, I see 'resolve'."

Uchiha Sōgetsu extended his hand and smiled, "Then... the Twilight Hermit Society welcomes you. Join us."

In a void space somewhere unknown.

A pure white figure sat cross-legged, a staff resting on his lap, with several black spheres floating behind his back.

"Hmm?"

The pure white figure opened his eyes, a hint of confusion appearing. "Fate... a new choice has appeared. Who is it?"

Within his pupils, countless purple circles could be seen, clearly the legendary Rinnegan, flowing with a special aura.

December 21st, Sunny

I feel so awful, like I'm dying. I'm going to buy a scratch-off ticket after work, hoping that given how miserable I am, it can help me recover some funds (if I win the jackpot, I'll definitely treat all you esteemed readers to a good time, so please support me with a quick like given how sensible I am~).