Kurama Yakumo

"Who am I? Oh, I am Kurama Yakumo, a genius of the Kurama Clan!"

"I have parents who love me, a very kind teacher, and everyone says I will become the pride of the Kurama Clan."

"In the future, I will become a hero of Konoha, a dazzling kunoichi just like Lady Tsunade! That is what my master told me!"

"Kill! Kill!" A nauseating voice rang out.

"Kill? Kill whom?" The young girl was very confused. Why kill people? "Why must I kill?"

"Kill them all! They are your enemies! The enemies who killed your parents!" the voice continued.

"Why are they my enemies? And that is my teacher, not an enemy."

"No! That is your enemy!" "No, that is my teacher. My teacher would never kill my parents."

"Hehe, your parents were killed by her. It was Konoha that gave the order. Have you forgotten the fire back then? Have you forgotten that the old man wanted your teacher to kill you? Come now! Listen to me and kill her! This is the first step of our revenge!"

"Our? Who are you?" The young girl in the pink dress looked inward at another version of herself wearing a black dress. Her eyes were dull, and she asked with a blank expression.

"Hehe, who am I? I am you, and you are me! Come, do not hesitate. Only I can help you take revenge! Only I can help you realize your plan for vengeance!"

"Oh, you are me. Then, listening to you is fine," the girl said slowly, her expression vacant.

"That's right, that's right. You just need to listen to me," the other girl, whose face was twisted into a cold sneer, said slowly, like the whisper of a demon.

"Mm, then let's kill!" The face of the girl, previously dull, suddenly twisted and became as bloodthirsty as the other.

Her eyes turned blood-red, a ferocious expression emerging.

Immediately, the girl in pink clutched her head and began to scream violently. The blood-red color in her eyes gradually faded, as if she were slowly regaining her clarity.

Vaguely, the girl seemed to see her teacher looking at her with a pained expression, covered in wounds, along with the fire and the dying gasps of her uncle and great-uncle.

"No! I can't, I can't do this!" The girl's emotions fluctuated violently.

"Ah! Ah!"

"Tch, damn it. They all deserve to die. There is nothing I cannot do. It is all their fault, all their doing!"

The expression on the black-clad girl's face grew increasingly insane, the bone-deep hatred in her words laid bare.

"Father, Mother, I, Yakumo... Yakumo knows she was wrong, I know I was wrong. Everything is Yakumo's fault, wuwu..." The girl muttered to herself, two crystal-clear tears sliding slowly down her cheeks.

At this moment, the girl's face was full of sorrow, devoid of any ferocity or terrifying aura. There was only a faint sadness and an indescribable sense of emptiness.

"Damn it, damn it!" The black-clad girl watched the girl in pink, who was gradually calming down, and revealed an expression of extreme annoyance.

"Since that is the case, then you go die as well!" The black-clad girl glared viciously at the girl in pink, then reached out her right arm without hesitation.

What was horrifying was that the arm was covered in dense, black fur, with a thick, dark hand that was both nauseating and terrifying. It looked nothing like the arm of a young girl.

It reached silently toward the left chest of the girl in pink. The girl kept her eyes closed, a faint smile on her face. With a "pfft" sound, the black arm pierced through her left chest without the slightest resistance.

"Hehe." The black-clad girl wore a look of intoxication. The girl in pink seemed to be absorbed by the arm, gradually becoming transparent until she slowly vanished.

At that moment, a light suddenly appeared before her eyes, as if she saw a strand of purple hair, a familiar face she had seen before, and a trace of reluctance at the corners of those lips.

"This is fine. As long as it is like this, it is fine." In the very end, the girl murmured these words, and her consciousness gradually sank into darkness.

"Hmph, I should have done this sooner. Useless thing, just stay inside my body!" the black-clad girl sneered.

"Now! Next is... Hahaha... Hahaha!" The black-clad girl slowly turned around and laughed maniacally. If anyone were to see her face at this moment, they would surely be frightened into a dead faint.

Because only half of the girl's face remained as beautiful as before; the other half was like that of an ugly monster, with a pale, dangling eyeball that added to the terror.

Perhaps calling her a monster would be more appropriate.

Ueno Kei knelt on the high platform, gasping for air, his entire body finally relaxing. Although the battle was over, his hands were still trembling slightly.

Killing—it was not as if Ueno Kei had never seen a dead body. In his previous life, as one of the heirs to his family, he had seen too many people killed for betraying the family or standing against it.

He had seen cruelty beyond imagination, and having died once himself, he no longer felt much sentiment regarding the deaths of others. Yet, whether in his past life or this one, this was the first time Ueno Kei had killed with his own hands. He had killed to survive, and ultimately, he felt no guilt or burden.

He only felt a complex sensation in his heart that he could not shake off. Ueno Kei knew clearly that this was merely the aftereffect of seeing blood for the first time; with time, it would naturally fade.

Later, after killing more people, he would no longer have such sensitive feelings.

Of course, at the very moment he struck, Ueno Kei admitted he had hesitated. It was not for any other reason than the look of sorrow he remembered.

It had shaken the boy. He did not know why he had that thought at that moment, but his emotions told him he could not resolve the situation that way.

But in the end, his reason forced Ueno Kei to strike.

Kill or be killed—the choice was that simple. Everyone knew what they had to do. Once time passed and he did it more often, he would naturally get used to it. Weren't ninjas born for slaughter?

Ueno Kei shook his head in self-mockery.

On the other side, Yuhi Kurenai walked onto the high platform with heavy steps. As the girl on the platform had been cut in two by Ueno Kei, the monsters surrounding them had also turned into wisps of black smoke and vanished.

Yuhi Kurenai looked with sorrow at the girl lying on the ground, devoid of any breath, and slowly closed her eyes. She knew, she understood everything.

If Ueno Kei had not killed Kurama Yakumo, both she and Ueno Kei would have perished there.

But in the end, she was Yuhi Kurenai's first and most beloved student.

Ueno Kei naturally noticed Yuhi Kurenai's emotional fluctuation. He did not think he had done anything wrong. At that moment, trying to hold back and capture Kurama Yakumo alive had been too difficult for him.

Ueno Kei could naturally have chosen to stop.

But had he hesitated even slightly, it might have been Ueno Kei who died.

After all, at the very last moment, Ueno Kei saw Kurama Yakumo's bloodthirsty, maddened eyes and her twisted expression; Ueno Kei had sufficient reason to believe that Kurama Yakumo's soul had been completely warped.

It was because of that, which sent a chill through Ueno Kei's entire body, that he cast aside his final shred of hesitation at that moment and swung his blade down without a second thought.

Having ended the life of the girl before him, although Ueno Kei felt a trace of dissonance and a faint sense of emptiness within, he felt no guilt whatsoever; after all, it was either kill or be killed. There was nothing to hesitate about there.

As for Yuhi Kurenai, Ueno Kei did not know why he harbored a sliver of guilt toward her. Perhaps it was because Yuhi Kurenai had treated Ueno Kei with such gentleness previously.

As mentioned before, Ueno Kei was merely prioritizing his own life; in terms of ethics, he was absolutely a normal human being.

It was impossible for Ueno Kei to be completely indifferent to Yuhi Kurenai's kindness.

Therefore, regarding the matter of killing Kurama Yakumo, Ueno Kei still harbored a faint sense of guilt toward Yuhi Kurenai.