klisemfg Chapter 640 is the old man
Chapter 640 is the old man
The third generation's voice gradually became heavy and self-reproachful: "I bear an unshirkable responsibility for this. It was I who failed to notice his inner torment in time, and failed to provide him with sufficient protection. It was I who watched helplessly as he was driven to the brink of despair..."
He slowly raised his head, his gaze falling once more on Zhang Hai, his eyes filled with complex emotions: the responsibility of being Hokage, the love of being an elder, and the guilt of being a teacher.
“Zhang Hai, you hate the village, you hate the world, you even hate me… I can understand all of that.” The Third Generation’s voice was tinged with weariness, yet it was unwavering. “If the hatred in your heart needs an object to bear it, then let me bear it all.”
Having said that, Hiruzen Sarutobi took another step forward. Without any warning, he walked straight towards the white fang-shaped blade embedded diagonally in front of the tombstone. His figure appeared somewhat aged in the darkness, but each step was exceptionally firm, without the slightest hesitation.
He knew that his actions at that moment were completely exposing his life to Zhang Hai. If Zhang Hai were truly consumed by hatred, the White Fang Blade in his hand could take his life at any moment. But the Third Hokage was prepared. He was willing to use his own life to bear the hatred born of the village, to awaken the last glimmer of light deep within Zhang Hai's heart.
However, just as Hiruzen Sarutobi was only a few steps away from the White Fang Blade, he suddenly stopped.
A chilling gaze, like a sharp blade, pierced his mind in an instant. He abruptly raised his head and looked at Zhang Hai.
In that pitch-black darkness, Zhang Hai's eyes were no longer ordinary ink. They had become a deeper, more profound black, like an endless vortex. Within his pupils, there were no longer ordinary tomoe, but countless tiny, extremely sharp blades interwoven together, radiating a chilling gleam.
Mangekyō Sharingan!
Hiruzen Sarutobi's pupils suddenly contracted, and a tidal wave surged within him.
He had never seen such a bizarre and powerful Mangekyou Sharingan. Those pupils, made of blades, seemed capable of cutting through everything in the world. Just being stared at by those eyes, Hiruzen Sarutobi felt as if his body, his chakra, and his thoughts were all imprisoned by an invisible force, becoming sluggish and stiff.
It was a power that was deeper and more destructive than the dark soul power I had sensed before.
Hiruzen Sarutobi was instantly filled with shock. He knew Zhang Hai was exceptionally talented, but he never imagined that Zhang Hai would awaken the Mangekyou Sharingan under such a blow! Moreover, the power contained in these pupils composed of blades was likely closely related to Zhang Hai's ultimate understanding of the White Fang Blade and his deep affection for Sakumo Hatake.
At this moment, the combination of dark soul power and the Mangekyou Sharingan has brought Zhang Hai's power to an unprecedented level. This power has completely exceeded Hiruzen Sarutobi's expectations.
He felt an unprecedented sense of crisis. If Zhang Hai, possessing such power, were truly and completely consumed by darkness, if the hatred in his heart were to erupt uncontrollably, then he would pose a devastating threat to Konoha Village!
Just as the three generations were in shock, Zhang Hai remained unusually calm.
He slowly pulled the white fang blade from the tombstone. The blade gleamed coldly in the darkness, but he quickly sheathed it.
Then, Zhang Hai's gaze fell on the sleeve of the Third Hokage's battle suit. He reached out, his movements as gentle as brushing a feather, and carefully tore off a small piece of fabric from the Third Hokage's sleeve.
Those were red cuffs representing the glory of the Hokage, embroidered with the Hokage's symbol.
Zhang Hai held the half of the Hokage sleeve, staring at it intently with a complex expression. He didn't speak, but simply gripped the half of the sleeve tightly in his hand.
"Thank you, Lord Sandai."
Zhang Hai's voice rang out again, still calm, yet carrying an indescribable sense of vicissitude and weariness. That calmness, however, stirred an even stronger unease in Hiruzen Sarutobi's heart. This calm was more like the deathly stillness before a storm.
"I originally... just wanted to survive." Zhang Hai's voice was very soft, as if he were talking to himself, or as if he were confiding something to the Third Generation, "Carrying my teacher's expectations, I tried my best to survive in this dirty world. For those so-called truths, for those so-called justices..."
He slowly raised his head, and his Mangekyou Sharingan, made of blades, looked eerie and profound in the darkness.
“But now… I have a new goal.” He said softly, his tone carrying an almost obsessive determination. “The teacher isn’t wrong. The world is wrong. This hypocritical, cruel world that has driven light to the brink of despair.”
As soon as he finished speaking, a ball of pitch-black flame suddenly rose in his hand. The flame had no temperature, but it exuded a chilling, devouring power.
Zhang Hai slowly extended the half-sleeve of the Fire Shadow Blade in his hand towards the ball of black flames. The flames silently licked at the fabric, gradually devouring the red that symbolized glory, burning it into nothingness.
The charred ashes slipped from his fingertips and drifted in the darkness, just like all his former hopes and beliefs, which he had burned away with his own hands at this moment.
As he watched the half-sleeve of the Hokage turn to ashes in the black flames, the emptiness and despair in Zhang Hai's eyes were gone. In their place was a clarity and determination that bordered on obsession.
He finally understood. For an ordinary ninja, Sakumo Hatake's decision to abandon his mission might have been merely a personal choice. But for "Konoha's White Fang," the successor to the Hokage who bore the village's honor and the title of ninja exemplar, the impact was far more profound. It wasn't just a betrayal of a mission; it was a challenge to the established beliefs of the entire ninja world, a trampling of the "ninja rules." The village couldn't tolerate it, the world couldn't accept it, ultimately leading to the tragedy.
This is not the teacher's fault, but rather a result of deeply ingrained beliefs in the world.
Since that's the case, since this world is so cruel, since people's hearts are so fragile and fickle... then let it change.
His goal was no longer merely to survive, no longer merely to uncover the truth. It was to completely change this corrupt world, to change the twisted hearts of those who held sway over humanity. To ensure that true justice and light were no longer obscured by worldly prejudice and darkness.
The moment this decision was fully formed in Zhang Hai's heart, the dense darkness that enveloped the memorial tablet began to recede rapidly, like a tide. The suffocating power of the soul also seemed to have found an outlet, no longer spreading outwards, but flowing back into Zhang Hai's body at an astonishing speed.