Chapter 194: Final Chapter · Part Two (Conclusion)
Everything happened in the blink of an eye.
He had no time to bid Senju Hashirama farewell before a scarlet slash obliterated Hashirama—along with Uchiha Kagami's arm.
——
Sukuna's most prominent feature of four arms was down to two. Half his face was gone, bone visible in the gash.
Judged by the number of limbs, he was the only "person" with four limbs still intact.
Kagami glanced at his severed stump.
His soul and flesh were fully merged now, making his body unimaginably tough.
Accordingly, to heal required a massive chakra expenditure.
Clang—
He recalled the black katana that had fallen nearby.
One-armed, Kagami gripped his sword, tilting his head in a smile.
There was no need—no need to regenerate.
Before all his power was drained, he just had to kill them all.
The white dragon was locked in combat with Uchiha Madara, also battered.
An utterly exhausted Madara still had the advantage over it.
…
Sukuna and Kagami locked eyes.
No talk, no shouting.
They clashed in an instant!
Fists, elbows, knees, teeth, skull—
Sukuna abandoned all weapons, reverting to a beastly ferocity. Every organ of his body was a weapon.
…
His throat burned as if on fire.
Ah… so his trachea was torn.
Kagami's face showed no change; his eyes were dead silent.
Slash after slash, unwavering.
…
Boom!!!
Chunks of the mighty white dragon went flying.
Madara, missing a leg, came barreling forward.
His hair—once turned snowy white in his transformed state—was reverting to black.
The so-called Six Paths vestments replaced by his old, crimson lamellar armor.
He laughed wildly.
"Uchiha Kagami!"
As he neared, the black gradually bled out of his hair, leaving it colorless, a stark white…
The Rinne-Sharingan at his brow closed.
Those eyes… a faint red lingered.
He stretched out a hand, voice raw, howling:
"I. Will. Not. Be. A memory!!"
…
Like wind sweeping away ash, Madara's body was crumbling into dust.
At last, it became a crimson ray of light—
Piercing Kagami's heart.
Thump—
Thump—
Boom!!
Darkness collapsed!!
Gloomy skies over the ninja world were illuminated anew; the blackness over the moon receded in haste.
As though Kagami's presence dissipated.
Slash!!
Sukuna's hand rose, fingertips blazing scarlet. He poured everything in—past, present, future, all of it—
Die, Uchiha Kagami!!
Slash Release – Taise (Too Red)!!!
——
Across the ninja world, people could plainly see—
Under moonlight, the silhouette of those who fought to the bitter end.
They saw the blade of a bloody crescent…
…
Kagami's consciousness lingered on the instant his heart was pierced.
Death.
What was death? This?
He sensed nothing, recalled nothing.
No illusions or ninjutsu—just emptiness.
Slash Release, Blaze Release, Yin–Yang Release—
He couldn't recall them either.
Even the simplest Three Academy Techniques were gone from memory.
Who was he?
No—he at least remembered that:
He was Uchiha Kagami.
He refused to die.
He was the world's one and only destiny!!
…
The black blade slipped from his grasp.
His raised hand, as though softly stroking a lover's hair…
As though brushing aside willow branches…
No need to compare.
This was the power to sever all cause and effect in the world—
A slash!!!
Heaven and earth parted!
——
An unseen blade swallowed the bloody strike, extending forth—
Severing demons, cleaving the moon—
Until it cut through the endless cosmos.
——
In the sky, a faint drizzle fell.
Drops of crimson rain spattered.
The two nearest the heavens were bathed in blood rain.
Sukuna slowly sank to a seated position.
Despite his horrid injuries, he seemed oddly calm.
…
"Kagami… from the start, I was alone.
We've finally come to understand each other, huh…"
"You think I'd say that?"
He tried to stand but couldn't. He mustered his voice in crazed laughter:
"Ahahahahaha!!!
How pitiful, Uchiha Kagami!!
From now on for all eternity, I'll curse you.
Surely… you'll meet some wretched end…
Fall to your monstrous ways!!"
…
Kagami clutched his throat, forcing out a faint sound…
Barely audible:
"Thank you, Sukuna."
He looked up at the dark sky. There…
"I won't remember you for long.
Perhaps in some future life, you'll again hear my name."
…
"Heh… so be it, then next time—
I'll come kill you again.
'Til we meet…"
"Kagami."
Sukuna gave a final relieved grin, his form dissolving into a great spiritual fire.
Whoosh—
Countless souls flew outward to the vast universe—
No longer bound by the Pure Land, free to reincarnate.
…
Amid those infinite spirits, one lingered.
She wore the green dress she loved in girlhood.
From a distance, her gaze met Kagami's, gentling bit by bit.
A single teardrop slid silently down Kagami's face.
She lifted her hand, waving farewell to her child.
Kagami lowered his head, unable to watch.
——
When the last souls departed, the sky was left in silence.
Starlight glimmered upon a solitary figure amid the emptiness.
He was bathed in moonlight, tinged with a lonely desolation…
…
Kagami slowly raised his head.
He saw a breach in the sky, far above.
His body ascended in flight, brushing past the sundered moon, passing gray asteroids, climbing onward…
Unending starlight draped the ninja world below; his silhouette was carved into legend.
——
——
"Breaching a sub-dimension with mortal flesh…
It's been thousands of years since someone like you appeared."
From the other side of that cosmic rift, infinite starlight shone, and a voice rang out.
Kagami peered into the limitless galaxy.
A single star-like glimmer reflected in his eyes, coalescing into a sixth tomoe.
Starlight, like living flora, draped a cerulean veil over those scarlet pupils.
Facing that starlight stood a figure in the darkness, not entirely clear, yet with silver-white hair flowing…
"Welcome to the Starfields.
My name is Kuu."
That figure adopted a sword-drawing stance.
In the next instant, a silver slash tore through the cosmic radiance!
A grin spread over Kagami's lips. He burst into wild laughter, echoing through the starry depths.
"Come on!"
He spread his arms, loosing endless slashes!
Declaring Uchiha Kagami's arrival upon the stars!
——
——
(The End)
There's no perfect ending—this is merely where I feel the story should stop. Hence, Uchiha Kagami's tale reaches its conclusion for now. There going to be epilogues or side stories later.