At this moment, Sarutobi Hiruzen and Enma ran all the way to a valley. They tried to use narrow terrain to avoid the pursuit. The cliffs on both sides were towering, and the wall surface was very smooth. There were even some flowing waters dripping to the ground, creating a dripping sound.
Chasing after them, Uchiha Tonan shouted, “Sensei, do you see these eyes? It represents endless pain and uncertainty. If possible, I’d rather never wake them up. It’s such a pity there are no ifs in life.”
The Yaksha’s right arm stuck into the cliff and shook it violently. The entire cliff collapsed and countless pieces of rubble fell towards the valley, creating a heaven-piercing sound.
Enma instantly transformed into dozens of Adamantine Staffs, forming a cage to protect Hiruzen. Both Enma and Hiruzen were buried by broken stones.
In the next moment…
Boom… Holding the Adamantine Staff, Hiruzen rushed through the debris and jumped out. He landed on the stone pile and stared at Tonan. Seeing that the Yaksha was preparing to attack again, he helplessly shouted, “Tonan! Have you forgotten the Will of Fire?”
The Yaksha’s movement suddenly stopped. A hint of confusion flashed through Tonan’s eyes, and he dazedly repeated, “Will of Fire…”
There’s hope! Hiruzen’s eyes lit up. He wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and continued, “When the leaves dance in the air, the fire also prospers continuously.”
Hearing this, Tonan felt very awkward inside while pretending to be confused. These words were simply not appropriate in this situation. The illiterate Hiruzen truly took this sentence as an all-purpose remedy. Tonan even suspected that Hiruzen had never understood the plain meaning of this sentence for all these years.
Even if he must use it, couldn’t he add some context to change the meaning? Tonan was simply speechless. However, at this moment, he could feel that his ocular technique, Tamamo-no-Mae, couldn’t absorb any more negative emotions.
Therefore, he should end this farce. Everything should be done within a limit. If he continued to push, it would make Hiruzen impatient and think that he was unreasonably making trouble.
Also, after everything was said and done, his plantation in Konoha was too important. Although there were many bloodline limits outside, there were no reincarnations of Asura and Indra. And Rinnegan was the stone to step the threshold of the Six Paths level. This was the safest path.
If he ran away after making a mess, Hiruzen might annihilate the Uchiha clan in advance. If that happened, he would lose the chance to achieve the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan, then he wouldn’t even have a place to cry.
“Will of Fire… Konoha…” The confusion in Tonan’s eyes intensified. It seemed he had been blindfolded by gauze. He couldn’t see the light but only the chaos. Tonan held his head with his hands as if he was in great pain.
Blue veins popped on his forehead as if the blood vessels were going to burst. He also ripped his hair. At the same time, he bellowed, “What’s the meaning of all this? I’m such a selfish villain. How can I care so much?”
Seeing Tonan’s current appearance, Hiruzen continued to persuade, “You still have me, I never thought about killing you. I was carried away by anger earlier. Can you forgive your sensei?”
Once Hiruzen said this, Tonan knew that this ordeal was finally over. He immediately knelt on the ground and raised his head to look at Hiruzen. Tears streamed from his eyes, “Sensei…”
His tone was filled with sobs. He resembled a severely aggrieved child. His previous lunatic expression had disappeared, replaced by deep emotions. Tonan also controlled the Yaksha around him, making it look like he was struggling with his life on the line.
Then, he quietly transformed it into the Great Tengu’s second form – the Buddha Form. The pitch-black Yaksha seemed to wail quietly and the ferocious look of the evil spirit looked unwilling. Soon after, bits of golden specks gradually covered the Yaksha. The terrifying demon disappeared without a trace and instead, a benevolent and compassionate Buddha, emitting golden light, appeared.
Enma dispelled the Transformation Technique and stood beside Hiruzen. He said with great surprise, “It changed…”
Hiruzen looked at Tonan with a face full of relief and nodded, “It’s not surprising. Sharingan is the eye that is known as the window of the soul.” At present, Hiruzen firmly believed that Tonan’s Susanoo was able to turn into a compassionate Buddha from a terrifying Yaksha because of his contribution.
“This child is so attached to me and I wanted to kill him. I’m inhuman. I’m afraid apart from my dead father, only Tonan cares about me the most in this world.” Hiruzen looked at the brightening sky behind the Buddha.
Before he knew it, the sky was showing first light and birds had already come out searching for food. The snow had also stopped and the morning rays could be seen on the horizon.
He closed his eyes and looked at Tonan again. “With a student who regards me as his life like this, what kind of a son do I need? Affection is far more precious than blood.” Hiruzen felt like he was enlightened. It seemed his understanding of the Will of Fire had improved to a higher level. He looked at Tonan with eyes full of love.
Enma looked at the Buddha stretched high in the sky and said with a shocked look, “So that’s how it is. Is this the power of emotion? It’s incredible.”
Tonan seemed to have overcome the confusion at this moment. He stood up and stared at Hiruzen, wiping the tears off his face, “Sensei, thank you…”
Enku looked at Tonan and sighed deeply. He patted Hiruzen on the shoulder, “Sarutobi, regardless of what happened between you two, just let it go. Tonan is selfless towards you and Konoha. Don’t live in plenty without appreciating it. To be honest, I’m a little jealous of you today.”
Hiruzen nodded, “I understand, I almost made a big mistake and lost a good student.”
Enku dispelled the Summoning Technique on his own, leaving behind just the sensei and the student. “Tonan, I’m sorry,” Hiruzen spoke to Tonan with a warm smile. Tonan’s face was filled with affection. His Mangekyo Sharingan disappeared, reverting to his black pupils.
The golden Buddha also disappeared. He subconsciously took a step towards Hiruzen, leaving deep imprints on the snow. After walking one-third of the distance though, Tonan collapsed. Hiruzen would have to cover the remaining distance. After all, you would cherish things only if you had to pay, even if it was a trivial thing.
Hiruzen hastily walked over and carried Tonan on his back. He then slowly walked toward Konoha. In front of him, the red sun had jumped out from the morning mist, and a myriad of lights played on the snow, dyeing the morning fog red and creating long shadows behind the two.
The morning breeze blew softly.
Coo, coo… In the sky above, a flock of white pigeons flew over chirping. Tonan seemed to be disturbed by the noise and his hands around Hiruzen’s neck tightened slightly.
Hiruzen smiled knowingly and glanced at the sun that had just risen from the horizon. He then bowed a little so that Tonan could sleep more comfortably.
