Chapter 167

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Kyomu is ruthless in both action and intent. No matter how strong-willed one is, going through his process inevitably leads to a shattered spirit.

Yugito, who is about the same age as Kyomu, has completely lost her resolve and seeks only death.

But death is not so easily attainable. Being part of the shinobi world, she knows how difficult it is to escape or commit suicide once captured.

So, Yugito surrendered and only wished for a quick death, seeking nothing else.

"I will eat well and follow your orders, but you must promise me that you will no longer harm my comrades.

You can have me do whatever you want, and when you're done, whether you kill me or extract the Tailed Beast from me is up to you.

But I only ask that you do it quickly. You can even become the Jinchuriki of Matatabi now, without needing to use me."

Yugito's voice was flat and her expression empty, like a puppet devoid of desire. All she wanted was to die and be with her comrades.

"I use you specifically to deal with the Cloud Shinobi," Kyomu remained unmoved. "Jinchuriki? I'm sorry, but I never intended to seal a Tailed Beast inside myself.

So you have two choices: surrender or surrender. No other options."

Yugito sighed and lowered her head without speaking. Mechanically, she grabbed the food on her plate and stuffed it into her mouth.

It is cruel indeed.

When someone's mental defenses are broken beyond repair and death is unattainable, and they can't even control their own actions, all light vanishes from their world.

Now, Kyomu's task was to inject a little light into Yugito's shattered heart.

"I can promise you one thing afterward."

"To let me die or let me kill you," Yugito looked up with some emotion. "But you won't agree to the last one, will you?"

At least she knew her situation.

But Kyomu was willing to grant her that request to give her a glimmer of hope.

"After the Cloud Shinobi are defeated, I will remove the seals on you and stop controlling Matatabi. I'll even give you countless opportunities to kill me."

Yugito's eyes brightened. "What kind of opportunities?"

"Opportunities to strike me anytime, anywhere," Kyomu gazed into her eyes. "But if you harm those around me, I will drag you out to massacre your comrades again."

"Kyomu, you're so arrogant!" Yugito seemed to regain her pride. "Do you really think I can't kill you without using the Tailed Beast's power?"

"You really can't," Kyomu replied with utmost confidence. "Without Matatabi's indiscriminate destruction, I won't use my spatial abilities. Even after the Cloud Shinobi are defeated, I won't slaughter anyone.

But whether you can kill me depends on your ability."

"Do you want to try it now?"

"Fine!" Yugito regained her fighting spirit, but she also had her own thoughts.

Kyomu smiled like a demon.

In an instant, he knew exactly what he would do. He would show Yugito the severe consequences of not following their agreement.

Honest people don't like deceiving others, but they detest being deceived.

"Yugito, do you think I can trust you?"

"And can I trust you, Kyomu?"

"When I give a promise and speak sincerely, it's the truth. I won't break my word." Kyomu shook his finger, leaning closer to Yugito until their eyes almost touched. "But I hate people who betray my trust. If you lie to me, I'll be especially ruthless."

Despite a hint of hesitation, Yugito's gaze remained firm. "I won't lie to you, but don't lie to me either!"

"Alright."

Kyomu nodded and left the tent. A moment later, the Uchiha kunoichi returned, having gone to fetch Fugaku.

Back in the tent, Yugito ate and drank as if she had fallen into the state Kyomu wanted.

But Kyomu knew Yugito wasn't being entirely honest.

For that, she would be disciplined.

Training a hawk requires methods, and Kyomu had plenty of those.

---

"Kyomu-kun, are you sure you want to do this?"

"I'm confident. Are you?" Kyomu calmly stared into Fugaku's eyes. "Will they fail at the crucial moment?"

"Hmph, worry about yourself instead!" Fugaku responded coldly. "I don't need your doubt or concern."

Fugaku then glanced around, "Releasing control over Matatabi should be done outside the camp. Doing it in the middle is just arrogant and reckless. If Yugito and Matatabi fight desperately, we'll suffer heavy casualties."

"Giving her this hope is precisely the point." Kyomu's smile was eerie. "Hope must be shattered to be effective. Once hope is gone, everything becomes simple."

"Kyomu-kun, I see the darkness in your heart," Fugaku felt Kyomu was warning him not to betray their alliance.

Kyomu indeed planned to handle Yugito but also wanted to keep the Uchiha in check.

Shrugging, he said, "I'm never dark toward my own people, and that alone is my pride.

And since when do the Uchiha go soft on their enemies?"

Fugaku wasn't soft-hearted. He just felt that breaking someone's spirit was more tedious and risky than outright killing them.

"If you're that confident, then we'll do as you say."

Fugaku led the way out of the tent, and Kyomu naturally followed, watching as Fugaku released the seals on Yugito and removed his Mangekyo Sharingan's control over Matatabi.

Yugito remained still, but only she knew what she felt or how she communicated with Matatabi in the mindscape.

"Follow me. It's up to you," Kyomu motioned to her before turning and walking into his tent without any defense.

Yugito silently followed, her body rapidly recovering to peak condition under the nourishment of Tailed Beast chakra.

She observed Kyomu, trying to determine if he was on guard.

"Yugito, act now!" Matatabi urged in the mindscape. "My instincts tell me Kyomu isn't on guard at all!

"Even if we can't kill him, many of the shinobi around him will die. Don't you want revenge?"

"I do!" Yugito nodded, "But it's not the right time yet. We need to wait."

Kyomu suddenly turned around, startling Yugito into stepping back like an overreacting cat.

"Do you want to stay in my tent or should I arrange a separate one?"

"I'll stay with you. I'll kill you when you fall asleep."

"Go ahead."

Kyomu nodded and lay on his bed, quickly falling asleep.

After the big battle and moving the camp ten kilometers away, he rested as darkness fell.

Yugito's eyes gleamed.

Kyomu's tent was at the center of the Konoha camp, and fully transforming into Matatabi would let her wreak havoc on the Konoha shinobi in an instant.

"Matatabi, are you afraid of death?"

Matatabi's gaze was firm and filled with hatred. "Tailed Beasts can't die; we just slumber for a while."

Looking down at Yugito in the mindscape, Matatabi said, "And when that happens… I'll be free."

Yugito smiled tragically.

"We'll fight one last time together, and after I commit suicide, I'll set you free."

She extended her fist, bumping it with Matatabi's.

In reality, Yugito's chakra boiled, and so did Matatabi's.

Full Tailed Beast…

Click.

Space instantly condensed, and Yugito felt as though an invisible hand had grasped her throat. Though her transformation wasn't interrupted, it was confined within a limited space.

"The space is stretched!" Matatabi roared in the mindscape. "How can a mere human possess such power? His chakra shouldn't sustain this!"

In the tent, fully transformed Yugito appeared encased in a transparent jar, firmly trapped.

Her full transformation should have made her a towering figure, but the stretched space, embedded into the surrounding space, distorted the sight into a visual illusion.

Yugito was truly the size of a mountain, but the spatial power isolated her into an independent space, restricting her actions.

This feat exhausted Kyomu's entire energy.

His chakra was depleted, his stamina was drained, and even the reserve chakra in his armor was gone.

Barely scraping through, Kyomu used ten times his own chakra amount to achieve this.

"Fugaku-senpai!"

Fugaku dashed in, his Mangekyo Sharingan spinning wildly as blood-tears formed at the corners of his eyes.

Locking eyes with Matatabi, he regained control over the Tailed Beast.

Yugito, still held in place by Kyomu's spatial power, couldn't even move a finger.

Suicide was no longer an option.

Clatter.

Space returned to normal, and Yugito collapsed to her knees, quickly restrained by Fugaku with fresh seals.

Phew…

Kyomu let out a deep breath, his body empty of energy. The pain of being completely drained was excruciating.

Fortunately, his regenerative powers, the armor, and his own physical strength allowed him to hold on.

Panting heavily, Kyomu gradually regained his strength.

He grabbed Yugito's hair, pulling her face close to his and locking their foreheads together.

"I said I hate people who lie to me. Those who deceive me meet terrible ends."

Yugito's hateful gaze faltered. She panicked and feared what Kyomu would do next.

Pushing her away, Kyomu glanced at Fugaku Uchiha, "Fugaku-senpai, how many Cloud Shinobi have we captured?"

"About twenty."

"Let Yugito handle them all."

"No! You can't do this! You can't! I don't want to!" Yugito was terrified, shaking her head frantically. "You promised! You promised…"

"But you're not honest, so I have to make you honest. Is that wrong?" Kyomu remained unmoved. "Fugaku-senpai, I'll recover for now. Please take Yugito to greet her comrades."

"Aragami Kyomu, I'll kill you! I'll kill you!" Yugito struggled, tears streaming down her face.

No matter how desperately she screamed, she couldn't break free from Fugaku's grip as he dragged her out of the tent.

Before leaving, Fugaku nodded to Kyomu, signaling he understood.

Soon, Kyomu heard curses from the Cloud Shinobi and Yugito's wails outside.

"Fugaku-senpai is ruthless," Kyomu muttered, "having Yugito kill half while freeing half. Who can do that?"

Kyomu had intended for Fugaku to secretly let one escape to report back after forcing Yugito to kill.

But…

"Whatever, I'm already the villain here. I can't wash that off," Kyomu resigned, accepting his lack of sympathy for outsiders.

Outside the tent, Yugito's resistance turned to numbness, and eventually, she wore a twisted smile.

Nothing mattered anymore. Nothing but one belief: kill Aragami Kyomu at any cost.

"I've captured a few more," an Uchiha shinobi said, his gaze ice-cold.

Of the dozen Konoha genin who followed him, only three survived. The Cloud Shinobi were executioners, but he was, too.

"Yugito, your choice."

"Kill them all," Yugito smiled wickedly. "It doesn't matter. I don't care at all.

"Haha, I don't care. Not at all! Hahaha!"

Fugaku exchanged glances with his clansman, then looked towards Kyomu's tent.

Terrifying.

Fugaku shivered and made a decision.

Kyomu could only be a friend, not an enemy. Otherwise, he could become the next Yugito.

"The combination of Hashirama and Madara is irresistible and impossible to betray."

With a sigh, Fugaku led the bloodstained, crazed Yugito away, signaling to spare one of the remaining Cloud Shinobi.

"Kyomu-kun, your desired outcome."

"Kyomu-sama, when will you let me kill you?" Yugito tilted her head, "I can't wait."

Kyomu paused, surprised at how quickly she broke down.

"If you're capable, you can try anytime," he patted her head. "Just don't endanger those around me."

"Haha, understood," Yugito smirked. "Your life is mine! I swear!"

(End of Chapter)