While Osamu fell into a state resembling the “space cat” meme, Pain had already nimbly stripped Danzo naked, carried the battered body to a bathtub nearby, and dumped it in, scrubbing him front, back, left, and right like a Dongbei auntie washing cabbage.
Osamu watched Pain lift Danzo’s freshly scrubbed body out of the bathtub and even bounce it a bit to drain the water.
He couldn’t hold it in and burst out laughing in midair, curling into a ball.
The System Ball had already dashed back to the timeframe where the physical body was, waiting for a moment when Pain blinked so it could directly haul the body back to store in the system space.
However, Pain kept a tight eye on Danzo, occasionally cupping that head to examine it intently for a few seconds.
That icy expression made the System Ball shrink back in fear, constantly feeling like Pain might slice open the body’s head in the next second.
“Not only using yourself as a culture medium for Sharingan, but also fusing uncontrollable Hashirama cells into your right arm…” Pain held Danzo’s pale, bloodless right arm.
Where the Sharingan had been forcibly gouged out were round hollows, but under the healing of Hashirama cells, they had recovered to mere wrinkled scars.
Now, Danzo Shimura, the culture dish, had died, and the successfully transplanted Hashirama cells had lost their vitality.
“I heard your master, Tobirama Senju, was a genius in research.” “He must be very relieved to have taught a good student like you, who cared so little for his own life.” As Pain spoke, he laid Danzo’s body on a new set of white kimono laid out beforehand on a high platform beside them, swiftly dressing the body in it.
As he moved, he coldly tried to stimulate Danzo with words: “Word is that Sasuke Uchiha plans to launch his revenge against Konoha…
That too was a grudge ‘Root’ had a hand in, wasn’t it?” “Are you not planning to wake up and use your life to stop it once more?” “Wake up?” Suddenly, an unfamiliar voice rang out.
Osamu, who was pondering Pain’s current mental state, raised an eyebrow.
Before Pain, in the space opposite the high platform, space began to distort, and a man wearing an Akatsuki cloak and an orange mask emerged.
Obito Uchiha…
Osamu had a hunch that nothing good ever came from this shit-stirrer appearing.
According to the timeline, Obito Uchiha should have already met with Sasuke Uchiha.
Originally, he should be planning to push Sasuke to seek revenge on Konoha’s higher-ups, declare war at the Five Kage Summit, and inform the world of the “Eye of the Moon” plan.
However, Danzo had committed suicide right in front of Pain, preserving all of Konoha’s vital forces, and even left behind Shisui Uchiha’s eye, guiding Tsunade to control the Daimyo of the Land of Fire and settling the restless borders through diplomatic means.
Toward this man whose death had thrown his entire plan into disarray, Obito developed a slight sense of curiosity.
Hearing Pain say “wake up,” he became even more intrigued.
Could Danzo not be dead?
The Sharingan pattern beneath his mask slowly spun, but in Obito’s eyes, Danzo’s body appeared no different from an ordinary corpse, except for the fact that he had been dead for over a month yet looked as though he had just passed away.
However, this was enough to indicate that there was something wrong with Danzo’s death.
Regarding the sudden appearance of “Madara Uchiha,” Pain showed no emotional fluctuation.
He merely gave him a cold glance and continued straightening the clothes on Danzo’s body.
Obito observed the soft limbs and the undecayed skin during Pain’s movements, his tone growing somewhat light: “Was it because of him that you abandoned the plan to capture the Nine-Tails?” Something felt off, yet nothing seemed wrong either.
Osamu rubbed his temples melancholically, looked back at Gaara, who was still fast asleep, and then returned his attention to the surveillance feed.
Pain looked at Danzo’s body.
After a long pause, he answered Obito softly: “What he spoke of was reality.” The civilians who suffer the most pain from war are the first to die when more pain is inflicted, leaving behind the shinobi who possess the ability to fight.
Deprived of the ability to initiate war, those without resources would never again resist those who possess resources; they would only degenerate into slaves.
“He said I was too arrogant, that I ignored the causes behind all the problems, placing my ideals above those struggling to survive in reality.” Pain lowered his eyes, remembering Amegakure under his control, remembering Konoha, and remembering the countries and villages he had walked through.
“He said survival is even more terrifying than death.” *Ignored the causes behind all problems.* *Placed his ideals above those struggling to survive in reality.* *Reality.* Obito’s movements paused for a split second, his gaze toward Danzo gradually turning complex.
As Pain spoke, he grabbed Danzo’s shoulders resentfully again, staring at this man who had died on his own terms, muttering with hatred: “In his eyes, I am nothing.
My ideals are nothing.” “I was just a fool he disdained after a single look.” “Even those few pieces of advice he gave me were exploitation.
He only wanted to preserve Konoha, preserve the Nine-Tails, and preserve Tsunade.” Pain thought that if only Danzo had been willing, if only he could have lingered a moment longer to spare a fraction of the devotion he bestowed upon Tsunade for him, even if only to answer a few of his questions, the outcome wouldn’t have been so…
tragic.
He didn’t want the Danzo who said “they are dead” to die like this.
If back then he could have set aside a bit of the arrogance of a “god” he had held for years, and asked him earnestly how to truly avoid those problems, how to achieve peace, how to ensure everyone had enough food and clothing…
“Your arrogance is abominable.” Now Pain was convinced that Danzo must…
hate his arrogant ignorance.
If Osamu knew what Pain was thinking right now, he would definitely deny it wildly.
As a passerby from another world, he had no commendable feelings for characters who were merely passing figures to him.
Unfortunately, he didn’t know, which allowed the author to spread wild rumors.
Just then, the surveillance screen shook violently.
Before Osamu could react, the dark room suddenly brightened.
After a few seconds, he realized that this so-called room was actually a cave, its ceiling disguised with Dance of the Shikigami layered with some Kinjutsu sealing method.
Now, the white paper disguise scattered away in fluttering pieces.
Appearing above the cave were Konoha ninjas—and Sasuke Uchiha.
Osamu: …
What a familiar lineup.
Did they skip the Five Kage Summit and just gather here to play out the plot by chasing after Danzo’s body?
However, Shisui Uchiha’s eye had already been transplanted into Yamanaka Fu, and Fu Yamanaka had used Shisui’s ocular Ninjutsu on the Daimyo of the Land of Fire, rendering it unusable again for at least a decade…
Currently, Danzo’s body was just an utterly useless corpse.
Even if Sasuke Uchiha turned that body into a sieve, it wouldn’t vent the hatred of the Uchiha clan’s annihilation.
Still, a lively scene had its perks.
If a fight broke out, the System Ball would have more opportunities to reclaim the physical body.
On Konoha’s side, Naruto kept his eyes fixed on Sasuke, while Sasuke had no intention of acknowledging them.
A pair of blood-red Sharingan stared intently at Danzo, who had been dead for a long time below.
After a long pause, Sasuke suddenly spoke: “Give him to me.” Danzo’s suicide had occurred over a month ago.
If he were truly dead, there was no way this corpse could be preserved so perfectly.
There was something wrong with Danzo’s death.
At the thought of this possibility, anger began to scorch Sasuke’s heart and mind.
“Impossible,” Pain flatly refused.
“He must answer my questions first.” Might Guy, who was watching from the sidelines, poked Kakashi next to him, his face scrunched up in confusion: “Did he say…
the late Elder Danzo?
Back then, even Lady Katsuyu confirmed that he was completely dead!” Kakashi stared down at Elder Danzo placed on the platform, looking as if frozen at the moment he went to his death.
He had seen countless Ninjutsu, including Kinjutsu and rare bloodline abilities, but keeping a dead person’s face unchanged for so long…
He really couldn’t think of a plausible answer.
The atmosphere between Sasuke and Pain grew tense with drawn swords.
Pain finally let go of the hand he had kept on Danzo, preparing to face Sasuke’s attack.
The System Ball seized this opportunity and floated down slowly, like a speck of dust drifting with the wind, landing on the physical body’s forehead.
In that instant, Pain whipped his head back, and Obito, who was intimately familiar with space-time Ninjutsu, also snapped his gaze toward Danzo.
A burst of white light fell upon Danzo’s body, enveloping the entire form in a blink.
The body that had been dead for a month began to disperse thread by thread like a cloud of light smoke.
That aged face slowly faded.
Beneath it, a figure with a blurred face opened its mouth, seemingly saying something.
A single teardrop fell.
Then, Danzo’s body vanished entirely.
Sasuke swung his blade the moment abnormal movement occurred with Danzo’s body, but the blade passed lightly through Danzo’s body without affecting the speed at which it dispersed.
Pain watched all of this, his raised hand slowly lowering.
…Danzo was really dead now.
Completely and utterly dead.
No matter how much attachment, no matter how many lingering fixations, all had turned to dust and vanished.
Pain stood there stiffly, while Nagato, controlling him from behind, collapsed helplessly into his seat.
Was that blurred figure his soul?
Was he mocking them at that final moment when he said…
“fool,” for still arguing endlessly right now?
Why did he vanish completely?
Why did he shed a tear?
Why…
wouldn’t he give me an answer even to these?
Watching the chaos on the monitor, Osamu lost interest in watching conflicts unrelated to himself.
With a wave of his hand, he turned off the screen.
In the next second, the System Ball leaped into his arms.
Overjoyed, the System Ball leaked streams of data uncontrollably, looking like a weeping ball of light.
“Host baby!
I finally, I finally got the body back!!!” “I even viciously called those guys fools!!!” “They must be so mad, hahahaha—” Osamu patted the little ball of light with gratification, his gaze passing through the window of the room, falling upon the endless wind and sand outside.
Well then…
it was time to leave.
Before leaving, he would bid a proper farewell to Gaara.