Yuki's Voice

With the departure of the others, Chuanhe Residence once again fell into silence.

Chuanhe used his hand to rub Hui's head again—this child who never failed to worry him.

In a few more years, would he have to start preparing for the classic Uchiha maniacal laughter?

Hui hesitated for a moment before asking the question that had been gnawing at him most: "Father, what is the deal with that peace mentioned on the stone tablet?"

Chuanhe increased the pressure of his hand, his tone growing heavier as he said, "That thing is just a scam to trick Uchihas like you who don't know any better!"

Hui felt as if he were about to be pressed into the floor.

Damn it, he was just curious.

Hui, who had already given up hope of an answer, heard what followed.

"Since you're this curious, I'm afraid you won't be able to sleep until you know."

"Very well, let me first tell you about one way to achieve peace in this world."

"The Infinite Tsukuyomi: it achieves so-called peace by casting the entire world into a dream."

"Truthfully, if it were real, I would be willing to go inside and live there myself."

Hui's young mind couldn't grasp what was good about that; illusions were always fake, and what was there to pursue in a false dream?

Chuanhe's voice, however, held a hint of lament: "This plan, which everyone instinctively feels is wrong, is actually quite decent in this world."

"I used to look only at the surface, but later I discovered a major issue."

"This is Uchiha Madara's method. Although he also saw it on the stone tablet, if everything were to go as he wished..."

"Uchiha Madara would be the last person in the world living in 'hell.' He would spend his entire life guarding everyone else's beautiful dreams."

"Everyone would receive everything they ever wanted, except for him; he would have nothing, save for this world he loves..."

Hui felt his eyes growing moist. Was this really what Senior Madara thought?

At that moment, a puff of smoke appeared on the living room table, revealing a calico cat—it was Amber.

"Master Chuanhe, Hui! It seems the Mistress has awakened."

Chuanhe and Hui simultaneously grabbed one of Amber's front paws each, and amidst her meows, they used the Magic Cube to teleport back to the small town.

Following the Flying Thunder God mark they had set, they arrived at that familiar place.

The girl in the tank seemed somewhat confused.

Chuanhe suppressed his wildly beating heart and asked with a trembling voice, "Yuki, are you alright? I'm sorry, it was my mistake back then. How are you feeling now?"

Yuki seemed to have finally cleared her head a little; she tried to speak through the glass tank, but no sound could be transmitted.

Chuanhe immediately formed hand seals to cast a technique, placing his right hand on the glass tank and his left hand on Hui's head.

For a moment he had dreamed of for so long, how could he not have made preparations?

Chuanhe finally heard a voice!

"He? Didn't I die? Did the technique back then succeed? And is that... Hui beside you?"

The voice was intermittent; clearly, Yuki had not yet fully regained consciousness.

Hui could no longer suppress his emotions. He wanted to speak, but he didn't know how to convey his voice.

"Yuki, don't worry, we are doing well. It's normal to feel sleepy right now; I'm sorry, I was too foolish back then."

"This is Hui; he's a big boy now. Below is Amber—she was just a tiny kitten back then, but she's grown this big now."

"Hui, do you have anything you want to say? Just recite it silently in your heart."

Hui was startled by these words, his heart tightening; he didn't know how to begin.

"Mo... Mother?"

Those two words contained every emotion he felt. Yuki in the tank smiled faintly, struggling to lift her hand and press it against the glass.

Hui pressed his own hand against the same spot.

"Mother wasn't able to be there while you grew up, but looking at you now, we can live together from here on out."

"Are you eating well? He's cooking is much better than mine. Have you made any friends? Don't learn from your father; he didn't have many friends even after finishing school."

"Are you still in the Ninja Academy, Hui? In the future, take fewer of those... dangerous missions. He shouldn't be... short on money anymore."

"Are you learning... ninjutsu? Those aren't... very useful, not as good as learning that dimension stuff from your... father. Mother is very... clumsy, I didn't... learn much."

"Are you... dressing... warmly? It's easy to catch a cold when the... weather gets chilly... strange... I feel a bit... sleepy."

The voice cut off abruptly, but Hui was already streaming with tears.

Yet, his heart was filled with joy; he had swept away all the gloom. His mother was truly still alive!

He only needed to wait a little longer...

The Three Tomoe began to spin, as if trying to merge into a single line. But Hui, who had never experienced true loss, did not meet the requirements.

There was indeed something wrong with the chakra; Chuanhe had discovered that long ago.

The Mangekyou was even more problematic—a mechanism that functioned like a wish-granting device; it was hard not to suspect that something lay behind it.

Chuanhe truly did not deliberately design for Hui to obtain this power, because they truly did not need it.

However, not needing it is one thing, while having it is another.

Chuanhe vaguely remembered that when he was a child, he desperately wanted a toy that every one of his playmates possessed. Without that toy, he simply could not fit in with the crowd.

In the Uchiha clan, the Sharingan followed the same logic; you might think you do not need it, but you must have it.

Because these are two different mindsets.

Therefore, when crafting the bodies, Chuanhe did not remove the bloodline of the Uchiha clan.

Even if there were truly issues with the chakra, it would only follow the chakra as far as this physical vessel.

For his own family, Chuanhe's Soul Sealing Technique did not utilize chakra.

At this moment, the bodies they were using were "temporary vessels" isolated by the Soul Sealing Technique.

In fact, the name Soul Sealing Technique was a misnomer; what was sealed inside was actually the vessel for self-consciousness.

However, when Yuki was used at that time, it was an incomplete technique, and what was inside was a true soul...

Life and death—these were the questions Chuanhe pondered on the battlefield.

This world.

When a person dies, there is still the soul.

When the soul dissipates, there is still chakra.

When chakra ceases to exist, there is still Karma.

As for whether Karma contains chakra, that is a highly controversial question. If it did, why couldn't the Rinnegan see it?

On the contrary, its absence is the only thing that explains all of this.

As for how Karma, which lacks chakra, produces such a massive amount of chakra—

That is even simpler.

Because chakra is matter, and as long as it is matter, there is a way to manufacture it.

The vessel for self-consciousness does not necessarily have to be a soul; it can be a great many things.

This was something Chuanhe only discovered after that failure with Yuki, and the price was far too heavy.

Replacing the vessel takes time, but the old man Six Paths would not grant him that time at all.

The overly powerful seal made Yuki appear just like the silent Nine-Tails.

From the outside, she looked as if she were merely sleeping.

If he undid the seal, her soul would return to the Pure Land.

If he weakened the seal, a single slip in control could damage her soul, and Chuanhe had no idea how to repair that.

He could only let Yuki's chakra gradually erode the seal, just like the Nine-Tails.

Once again, Chuanhe rubbed Hui's head.

"There will be a next time. Do you want to learn the technique I just used?"

"I do!" Hui nodded heavily.

"Meow, what about me!"

Amber was on the side, jumping up and down in anxiety; these two guys didn't leave any time for her at all.

Thinking of this, a flash of cunning crossed Amber's eyes. Next time, she wouldn't tell them.

Who would have thought that Chuanhe would directly lift Amber by the scruff of her neck with his left hand, while gently stroking her little head with his right.

"Amber, there will be plenty of opportunities in the future. If you don't report normally, then your grilled fish... I can't guarantee those anymore, you know."

Amber was horrified, and began to bow like a beckoning cat: "Lord Chuanhe, please don't! I just wanted to spend more time with my master."

Hearing this, Hui suddenly thought of something. No wonder he hadn't seen much of Amber lately.

Could it be that Amber's clinginess to him earlier was due to the tattoo on his back, which allowed Amber to smell the scent of his mother?

Thinking of this, Hui didn't have any other thoughts; instead, he felt that the current scene was beautiful, and he wanted it to continue like this forever...

But...

Hui thought of the people he had rescued from the Root Base today.

Hui clenched his hands. He didn't want to give up on a single one of them. Was there really no perfect method?

He felt deeply unwilling.

Thus, Hui thought of the Infinite Tsukuyomi from earlier. A method that had seemed so jarring before now appeared intimate in Hui's eyes.

Now, Hui finally understood why Chuanhe had said he also wanted to live inside it.

Unfortunately, it was fake. But, it was a method.

If only it were a little more perfect, just a little bit...

Carrying these inexplicable thoughts, Hui finally brought this long day to an end.