The evening breeze was cool, and the shimmering water surface rippled with the breeze, swaying with the soft moonlight.
Downstream from the waterfall, at the dew spring, Shin'yu was, as usual, rinsing off in the pool, the difference being that Hikari was also soaking in the water with him.
The flowing water gently caressed her soft, slender waist, the moonlight outlining her graceful figure, her fair body glowing with a delicate luster, like a piece of pure white jade.
The two leaned against the bank, gazing at the moon.
"Shin'yu, didn't Lord Madara say he'd be back tonight? Why haven't we heard anything yet?" Hikari asked softly.
Shin'yu sighed softly, lying back with his hands behind his head, "I just went to check, and he's at the Valley of the End, contemplating in front of the waterfall. He's probably still thinking about what happened today."
"Because of that Otsutsuki Clan?" Hikari blinked, somewhat puzzled, "If they're enemies, wouldn't it be better to just defeat them all? If you need power, then work hard to become stronger."
"It's not that simple." Shin'yu shook his head with a smile, reaching out to touch her head.
Hikari's pretty face flushed slightly, but she didn't dodge, allowing Shin'yu's palm to rest gently on her head, his fingertips tracing through her hair, bringing a faint fragrance.
"He's thinking about the meaning of moving forward, not how to move forward." Shin'yu said, "The 'Eye of the Moon Plan' we've always adhered to may not be the true path to salvation. Initially, our goal was only to end the war and create peace, but after learning about the existence of the Otsutsuki Clan from outer space, everything changed."
"The two of us are just pushing all this pressure onto Lord Madara." Shin'yu raised his head slightly, looking up at the twinkling stars, "He always treats us like children."
Hikari squeezed his palm, her beautiful eyes gentle, and swam towards Shin'yu with the lightly rippling water.
"I want to hear your opinion."
"My opinion?"
"Yes." Hikari nodded lightly.
Shin'yu thought for a moment, his eyes deep, a clear smile on his face, "You should know that I don't have Lord Madara's grand ideals and ambitions. If the situation allows, I just want to be a carefree wanderer, living a free and easy life. As for power, it's enough to protect everything I want to protect."
Hikari watched him quietly, waiting for him to continue, her eyes like two pools of clear water.
"But, the path that Lord Madara has chosen is too heavy, and this ideal is too grand. Trying to accomplish it alone will inevitably be full of difficulties. Who knows if he will be taken advantage of? So..."
Shin'yu leaned lazily against the bank, his clear pupils reflecting the moonlight, "I really can't bear to see him bear all this alone, so on this road destined to be full of difficulties, I am willing to share his worries. If the enemy is detrimental to him, I don't care if they are Otsutsuki Clan or aliens, I will kill them all."
"I will support you too." Hikari said softly, a hint of tenderness flashing in her eyes.
Shin'yu's lips curled up, with a gentle smile, he raised his hand and touched Hikari's delicate face, the touch soft and tender.
This would be a rather "excessive" act in normal times, but tonight the water and sky were the same color, and there were only the two of them, and Hikari accepted it with a blushing face.
At this moment, she glanced quickly, and there seemed to be something like a crest on Shin'yu's palm, just like the "Yin Seal" on her forehead, deeply embedded in the flesh.
She grabbed Shin'yu's right hand and opened it like a kitten, a black diamond-shaped mark came into view.
"What is this?"
"Ah, you mean this." Shin'yu raised his hand, his eyes calm, "This thing is called 'Karma'. After defeating Otsutsuki Urashiki, this guy struggled to death and engraved a mark on me."
"Mark?" Hikari tilted her head, her hair flowing like water.
"I can sense that there is a mysterious and special power in my body, with a faint aura of Otsutsuki Urashiki."
"Otsutsuki Urashiki!" Hikari's surprised little mouth opened slightly, "Wasn't he killed by you? Lord Madara said that there wasn't even any ash left."
Shin'yu nodded, "Although that's the reality, this guy copied himself and digitized himself at the last moment, injecting a special power into my body. I'm not quite sure how he did it, but this 'Karma' is actually the Otsutsuki himself, containing all the data of his body and spirit."
"Data..." Light slightly furrowed her brow. Although she didn't quite understand, a few bad guesses still surfaced in her mind, "Are there any hidden dangers?"
Shin'yu's gaze shifted slightly as he said, "According to my senses, 'Karma' is a compressed 'Otsutsuki backup file'. The compressed file will use me as a carrier, and 'unfreeze' bit by bit over a long period of time. Once a battle starts, or when the Chakra in my whole body is in an active state, it will accelerate the 'unfreezing' process."
"This..." Light's breathing quickened, and her watery apricot eyes flashed with panic, "What will happen when the 'unfreezing' is complete?"
"When all the data is 'unfrozen', my body and soul will be replaced by Otsutsuki Urashiki's data." Shin'yu's tone was calm, as if he were talking about something unimportant, "At that time, the person 'Uchiha Shin'yu' will cease to exist, and Urashiki will use my body to completely revive."
"Pa."
Light's pretty face turned pale, and she grabbed Shin'yu's right hand tightly, "Then what are we waiting for? Quick, let's get rid of this 'Karma'!"
Feeling her cold little hand, Shin'yu smiled slightly, "It's useless. Urashiki's data is already directly bound to my body and soul. The 'Karma' mark is just an external manifestation. Moreover, the 'unfreezing' process is like a rock rolling down a mountain. Once it starts, it won't stop for a moment. A strange Chakra has already grown in my body."
With a "whoosh," Light stood up directly from the spring in a hurry, her full jade peaks swaying gently.
"Let's go find Lord Madara, he will definitely have a way!"
"Don't worry." Shin'yu chuckled dumbly, grabbed her slender wrist, and pulled her back into the spring, pulling her into his arms.
"Did I say there was no way to deal with it?"
"Eh?"
Shin'yu wrapped his arms around her snowy waist and whispered, "Have you forgotten my Eye Technique? Although this thing is extremely difficult to analyze, it can still be adapted to slowly."
"Are you saying that your 'Mahoraga' can adapt to 'Karma'?" Light asked in surprise.
"It can, but the process will be quite slow." Shin'yu pressed his face against Light's back, feeling the softness.
Light didn't pay attention. At this moment, her eyebrows were tightly locked, and her mind was full of questions about 'Karma', "That's not right, activating Eye Technique will mobilize Chakra, but like you said just now, mobilizing Chakra will accelerate data unfreezing, you are... racing against time!"
"Time is on my side." Shin'yu chuckled, "I can rewind myself every ten minutes, so that my state is always at its peak, and the unfreezing progress will always stagnate, but my adaptation will not be covered by the power of time and space... In other words, Urashiki will never succeed, and I can have infinite time to adapt."
Light's brows gradually relaxed, but her eyes were still a little hesitant, "But that also means... until the adaptation is complete, you will be stuck in the current state."
"It's better than being Body Seizing, isn't it?"
Shin'yu hugged her from behind, squinting his eyes as if he was about to fall asleep, "The only way is to find something to suppress the 'Karma' unfreezing, so that I can continue to become stronger. The only thing I can think of now is..."
"Sealing Technique!" Light's beautiful eyes lit up, and she said the answer for him.
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