Chapter 213: This Is the Shinobi World, A Purgatory—Not a Fairy Tale!
"Hehe, if large size were useful, humans wouldn't be the shinobi world's masters."
Yasushi laughed coldly. His gesture changed, raising upward. The light gate before him vanished. Chakra prayer beads merged together, gathering in his palm. Golden light blazed at the palm's edge in sword form, constantly contracting and expanding like a supernova.
After briefly gathering power, Yasushi slashed this light sword heavily downward.
"Golden Wheel Reincarnation Explosion!"
This move was specifically prepared for large-bodied enemies. Against small creatures, it held no advantage.
Who knows why Toneri insisted on using this move against Naruto, wasting so much chakra.
Had he used this move to slash the Nine-Tails back then, the Nine-Tails would have died long ago.
Before this move even fell, that momentum had already descended upon Gamabunta's head.
Gamabunta's animal instincts frantically alarmed. Every bump on his skin trembled. An instant crisis sensation making toads shudder arose in Gamabunta's heart.
But he still had no intention of retreating.
He was the great boss toad of Mount Myoboku! What situation hadn't he witnessed? How could he retreat in fear?
He roared explosively, his webbed feet standing one forward one back, both hands gripping the blade raised overhead. Using all his strength, he slashed toward the sky, intending to forcibly receive this move.
But this move's power far exceeded his imagination. With merely a flash of golden light—like a knife cutting tofu—this light sword effortlessly broke through his defense, slicing him in half from head to toe before plunging into the ground.
Time seemed to suddenly freeze. Gamabunta immediately stood there motionless.
Only when that massive broken blade's tip fell from midair, dropping to the ground and penetrating deeply underground with a dull "thump"—only then did time seem to resume flowing.
A thick blood pillar erupted straight upward from Gamabunta's body, just like a fountain, shooting high into midair before splashing down, drenching an area dozens of meters around.
Gamabunta's massive body slowly separated left and right, toppling toward both sides, exposing Jiraiya protected behind.
Under blood pressure's effect, Gamabunta's internal organs and flesh violently burst outward from the wound, raining down another blood shower in midair, drenching Jiraiya and the two toad sages head to face.
"Gamabunta!" Jiraiya and the two toad sages all cried out simultaneously. They could no longer maintain their previous calm-as-water state. The little natural energy originally gathered immediately scattered.
Jiraiya's earliest acquaintance among toads was Gamabunta. His relationship with Gamabunta could be called most intimate.
One could say without Gamabunta, there'd be no Jiraiya today.
The two had fought side by side for years, defeating countless powerful enemies. Who'd have thought he'd actually die here today?
Jiraiya's heart immediately became chaotic, standing there dazed and somewhat wooden.
But Itachi had no relationship with Gamabunta, so naturally his emotions didn't fluctuate. Instead, seizing this opportunity when the Wood Release forest was destroyed, he charged before Yasushi in a few steps, punching heavily downward.
Facing Itachi's attack, Yasushi remained unhurried. His body lightly lifted upward, ascending straight to the skies, easily dodging.
He hung high above the clouds, just like Pain once did, looking down at the multitude of living beings below.
Perhaps because distance increased, his voice gained several degrees of ethereality.
"Jiraiya!"
"Nagato was right—you truly are someone who never progresses!"
"After all these years, you're still treading water in place without any advancement."
"Orochimaru progressed. Neji progressed. Even Sarutobi Hiruzen progressed. Only you haven't!"
"This is the shinobi world, a purgatory—not a fairy tale world!"
"Everything here can only be obtained through your own hands. There's no savior, no deities to rely upon!"
"Holding hope in your heart is naturally good, but this hope won't descend from thin air. You must personally realize it step by step!"
"Not striving for hope yourself, instead placing all hope on an illusory savior—the final result is disappointment after disappointment, helplessly watching things you treasure being destroyed bit by bit while you remain powerless."
"Your personality—to put it nicely, it's called a childlike heart. To put it bluntly, it's called childish, naive, ignorant, escapist, refusing to grow up..."
"You're fundamentally unsuited to being a shinobi. A traveling writer gathering material would better suit your life."
"Leave this place, Jiraiya."
"You should already know Konoha Village's situation—long since rotted through."
"A tree already rotted cannot grow fresh fruit."
"If you truly want to find some savior, then go ahead and search. Anyway, that kind of thing definitely won't appear in the current Konoha Village."
"Shut up!" Jiraiya's eyes turned bloodshot, staring murderously at Yasushi in midair, grinding his teeth: "Stop preaching with such grand words there!"
"If abandoning comrades and treating human lives like grass is called progress, then I'd rather not have such progress!"
"Look what you've done these years!"
"How many innocent people in the village died because of you?"
"How much chaos in the shinobi world arose because of you?"
"This is your so-called growth?"
"You've clearly extinguished your humanity!"
"Humanity? Hahahaha..." Yasushi suddenly threw his head back laughing loudly. "You say I have no humanity?"
"If I had no humanity, I could completely abandon the Uchiha clan's grudge and continue remaining in Konoha Village with peace of mind."
"Guess—with my current prowess, would the Third be extremely polite and respectful toward me?"
"If I had no humanity, I wouldn't need any revenge. I could openly inherit the Uchiha clan's legacy, transforming overnight from an ordinary Uchiha into the clan head of the shinobi world's foremost clan. Money and beauties—everything available."
"Would that make you all satisfied?"
"You'd praise me from your hearts: 'Uchiha Yasushi truly has the Will of Fire!'"
"'Even having his entire clan exterminated by the village doesn't bother him—definitely Konoha Village's most loyal dog!'"
"When I abandon revenge, I have humanity. When I avenge my clan, I lack humanity. What, is humanity raised by your family?"
"Whoever you say has it has it. Whoever you say lacks it lacks it?"
This time Jiraiya no longer spoke. At this moment, he profoundly felt—before reality's bloodiness, how pale and powerless words truly were.