Starting with rogue ninjas, building the insect kingdom.

Chapter 526 Touching: Kind People Choose Self-Reconciliation

Obito Uchiha awoke from the illusion, in which he had experienced countless cycles of world reorganization and reincarnation, yet he could still perceive that not much time had passed in the outside world.

Uchiha Shisui's genjutsu didn't take anything away from him, but only gave him something he had lost long ago.

The real you.

Does he still harbor resentment towards Konoha? Actually, he does, but he has already let go of it. Resentment only causes him pain; he is the one who can't let go, and he is the one who torments himself.

"Everything should be in the past, and it's time to bring the past to a perfect close," Obito Uchiha said with a gentle smile.

Not far from him, Nagato Uzumaki continued to torment Tobirama Senju, as if it were destiny.

Obito looked up and saw Nagato with one foot on Tobirama Senju's back, holding a black rod that was slowly grinding into his spine.

The impure body kept collapsing and reforming, reforming and collapsing again. The pain of having one's soul repeatedly torn apart was so intense that even a ninja god like Tobirama Senju couldn't help but let out a low roar.

"Tell me, where are your eyes?" Nagato's voice was terrifyingly calm, his interrogation methods no less sophisticated than those of the old Konoha ninjas.

The once withdrawn child has become the very thing he hated most.

Tobirama Senju gritted his teeth, saying nothing, as a black rod was inserted into him.

Obito took a deep breath, stepped forward, and said, "Nagato."

Nagato turned his head and said, "I didn't expect the Uchiha to fall into a genjutsu."

Obito didn't respond to him, but continued what he had just said, "Let him go, and you'll also be letting yourself go. His soul is about to collapse, and there's no point in torturing him any longer. Let him go and do what he needs to do."

Tobirama Senju was slightly taken aback; he couldn't believe those words came from Obito Uchiha's mouth.

"What are you planning?" Tobirama Senju asked weakly, his voice tinged with wariness. He couldn't help it; he had a natural distrust of the Uchiha clan.

Obito didn't look at him, but said to Nagato, "Didn't you want to see Yahiko and Konan's reanimated bodies? I'll take you there now."

"There's no point in me lying to you. You can kill me anytime you want, can't you?"

Nagato stopped the torture and pulled out the three black rods nailed to Tobirama Senju's body one by one.

With the restraints gone, Tobirama Senju struggled to his feet. He looked at Obito and the other man with a complicated expression, not understanding why he had changed so much.

But that didn't stop him from turning and leaving, for he didn't have much time left. There were no thanks, no pleasantries, not even a farewell. Tobirama Senju's figure vanished instantly, leaving only a few wisps of dust.

And that's why he was able to go to the battlefield—simply because he was spared and was about to face his death.

Obito Uchiha did not take Nagato anywhere else, but left him where he was and turned to walk into the ruins.

Dawn City is now nothing but ruins, and buried beneath the rubble are the people who couldn't move out in time. Nagato followed behind Obito, walking past these corpses with a blank expression.

After determining the location, he finally managed to dig out two coffins from the ruins, which were still sealed with special seals.

"Luckily it was buried deep, otherwise they would have actually jumped out on their own."

Obito Uchiha opened the coffin and formed hand seals.

"Spiritual communication techniques."

He can't use the Impure World Reincarnation technique, so he can't control corpses, but he can still learn the corresponding summoning jutsu.

The two sealing talismans on top shattered, the coffin lid slowly opened, and two figures sat up from inside the coffin.

Konan and Yahiko opened their eyes, looking at everything before them with complicated expressions.

"Have we come back to life?"

"You're all dead, just impure bodies," Obito Uchiha said to them. "Now, if you have anything to say, you can say it properly."

Nagato had expected to be excited to see Yahiko, but he wasn't. Instead, he stood there dumbfounded, completely at a loss for what to do.

"Nagato, you've changed." Yahiko's first words weren't a question, but rather a scrutiny of him.

"Yahiko, I..."

"No need to say anything more. Actually, even when I died, I could already guess what would become of you. It's just..." He looked around at the ruins and the corpses scattered everywhere, a hint of sadness creeping into his voice, "I never imagined things would turn out so horrific!"

"Yahiko, the situation isn't what you think. I'll explain everything to you in a moment."

After calming Yahiko down, Nagato turned to Obito Uchiha and asked, "What about the resurrection jutsu?"

Obito Uchiha shrugged and said, "I was lying to you before. How could an idiot like me leave behind a copy? What I destroyed was the original."

He wasn't lying; everything before was just a temporary measure. He just didn't expect Nagato to be so naive as to fall for such a simple trick.

"Then write it down from memory!" Nagato Uzumaki continued to demand.

Obito Uchiha shook his head helplessly and shrugged, saying, "I told you I'm an idiot. How could I possibly remember so much? Do you know how long that medical ninjutsu manual is?"

God knows, when he first got his hands on it, it was a thick stack of medical books, along with some random techniques he couldn't understand.

"You lied to me!" Nagato roared and punched Obito, sending him flying backward with blood streaming from his nose and mouth.

He wanted to continue attacking, but Yahiko immediately stopped him, saying, "Nagato, stop fooling around!"

Konan, standing to the side, chimed in, "Yahiko, you have no idea, he killed us!"

Obito Uchiha emerged from the wasteland. He didn't want to linger any longer, nor did he have time to listen to their reminiscing. Without a word, he vanished in a flash.

The two wanted to continue pursuing the matter, but Yahiko said, "It's all in the past. What's the point of getting revenge? Can you tell me about the future?"

The two remained silent, and finally recounted what they knew one by one.

"So, the world is about to be unified, and although the sacrifices will be great, people will usher in peace. Is that true?"

Nagato said uncertainly, "I guess so."

Yahiko lowered his head and smiled bitterly, "We were indeed working in the wrong direction. Let's stop thinking about living. Since society is already comfortable, those of us who should die should die. Nagato and Konan, I want to hug you."

The two obediently stepped forward, and the three of them embraced each other. In that instant, they seemed to return to their childhood, to the days when they were hungry and cold, seeking refuge in the land of rain, and embracing each other for warmth.

A ray of warm sunshine descended from the sky, warming their souls. The original darkness was dispelled, and the impure bodies turned into dust inch by inch.

The last three wisps of souls transformed into a faint golden light, hand in hand, and disappeared into the distance.