socalfunplaces Chapter 135 Qing's astonishment and relief!
Chapter 135 Qing's astonishment and relief!
Chapter 135 Qing's astonishment and relief!
"Teacher, it's been a long time."
Izumi's voice wasn't loud, but it carried clearly in the sea breeze.
Behind the reef, the figure remained silent for a long time.
Sea fog churned around him, casting his silhouette in shifting light and shadow, like a stone statue forgotten on the shore.
Finally, he moved.
A corner of the cloak was lifted by the wind, and then the person slowly emerged from the mist.
Qing wore a dark cloak, and an eye patch covered her right eye, while her left eye shimmered with a complex light in the mist.
The expression on that face, etched with the wrinkles of time and the sea breeze, was indescribably complex.
There was anger, disappointment, helplessness, and a bitterness that was hard to describe.
It's like a cup of tea that's been sitting for too long—it's gone cold and bitter, but you still can't bear to throw it away.
Ao's feelings toward this student who betrayed him and stole his right Byakugan when he assassinated the Sand Ninja "Scorching Release" Pakura.
That was a student he had personally trained. He once thought that this young man would become the pillar of Kirigakure and an outstanding ninja who would inherit his will.
He taught him all the tactics, experience, and even some closely guarded secrets he knew without reservation.
He trusted him as much as he trusted his own right and left hands.
Then, during the mission to assassinate Yekura, at a moment when everyone was caught off guard, Izumikawa's kunai pierced his body from behind.
They took away the spoils he had fought so hard to obtain in the Land of Rivers—the Byakugan of the Hyuga main family.
Qing had thought countless times about what he would do if he saw Izumi again.
Is it to angrily question them? To silently turn away? Or to draw a knife and confront them?
But when that moment actually arrived, he found that there was nothing he could do.
The complex emotions in his heart were like an invisible net, binding his hands and feet.
He couldn't simply confront this former disciple with hostility, nor could he feign indifference and exchange pleasantries.
"Izumi River—" Ao's voice was a little hoarse, as if he hadn't spoken in a long time. The words were squeezed out of his throat with a rough friction. "You've grown up."
Izumi looked at Ao, his eyes, hidden behind sunglasses, revealed no emotion, but the slight upturn at the corners of his mouth softened, making him appear less casual.
The sea breeze brushed against the hem of his clothes, blowing a few strands of hair onto his forehead, but he didn't brush them away.
"Teachers are getting old too," he said, his tone calm but carrying a subtle hint of respect.
Qing gave a bitter laugh, a laugh devoid of warmth, filled more with self-mockery and helplessness.
He stepped onto the pier, the wooden planks creaking slightly beneath his feet.
He stopped about three meters away from Izumi River, neither too close nor too far away.
This distance is neither the intimacy between friends nor the wariness between enemies, but rather a kind of indescribable distance.
It's like an invisible river lies between the two of them; the river isn't deep, but neither of them has taken the first step.
"How are things going out there?" Qing asked.
"Not bad!" Izumi raised his hand, slowly took off his sunglasses, revealing his heterochromatic eyes.
The right eye is the Byakugan, and the left eye is the Sharingan.
His white pupils appeared exceptionally clear in the mist, and his three-tomoe Sharingan slowly rotated, reflecting Ao's figure.
Qing's gaze fell on those eyes, and her pupils suddenly contracted.
He saw not only the Byakugan, but also the Sharingan, with its three tomoe slowly rotating.
A look of astonishment appeared on his face, followed by an even deeper sense of complexity.
Unexpectedly—the other party was not only peering into the Byakugan, but also into the Sharingan.
These two clans were the main forces that fought against Kirigakure back then.
They forcefully halted the invasion of Kirigakure in the Land of Rivers, inflicting heavy losses on Kirigakure.
"It seems you weren't lying," Qing said, her tone tinged with a bittersweet relief.
"After all, you are my teacher." Izumi responded slowly, his voice not loud, but it made Qing's heart tremble slightly.
He also understood how selfish his initial choice was, but he genuinely meant it when he called him "teacher".
"Well then, Izumi, I have a question for you." Ao's voice suddenly became low and deep, as if it were coming from the depths of his chest, each word heavy with meaning.
"Please go ahead, teacher."
"Why did you betray me in the first place?"
This question had been weighing on Qing's mind for far too long. Countless nights, he would sit alone by the window, gazing at the perpetually gray sky over Kirigakure, repeatedly pondering that image.
The stabbing happened from behind, and warm blood flowed down his spine. When he turned around, he saw the face of his most trusted student.
He never had the chance to ask, nor did he know how to ask.
Now, with his grown-up disciple standing before him, he finally asked the question.
Izumi was silent for a moment. The sea breeze passed between the two of them, carrying a salty and fishy smell, blowing away the mist and then gathering it again.
He was weaving a white lie in his mind, since he couldn't say it directly.
I know what the future Kirigakure will be like. The Kaguya clan will rebel and be destroyed, and the bloodline ninja will hide like dogs, fleeing the Kirigakure's pursuit.
Izumikawa slowly spoke: "Because I need the white eye, it's to survive."
"Survive?" Qing was slightly taken aback, her brows furrowing into a deep frown.
He never expected it to be for this reason, rather than to investigate who was controlling the Third Mizukage.
Is he still burdened by a burden and unwilling to reveal the real reason he told Mei Terumi?
But—what, does survival require a single eye roll?
This made his gaze somewhat complicated as he looked at Izumi, waiting for his subsequent explanation.
"Teacher, do you know Kimimaro of the Bamboo Clan?" Izumi asked calmly.
"That guy who awakened the Corpse Bone Pulse and was used as a weapon by your clan?" Qing frowned slightly. He had a deep impression of the person mentioned.
When the Kaguya clan was wiped out, Kimimaro, who had awakened the Shikotsumyaku, was extremely powerful and troublesome.
Bone blades rained down like a forest, bone bullets fell like rain before him, and the elites of Kirigakure fell one after another.
But in the final battle, he disappeared without a trace, allowing the Mist Ninja to easily and completely annihilate the Kaguya clan.
He had heard others mention the reason why he hadn't appeared—
"A bloodline disease!" Ao exclaimed in realization, then looked sharply at Izumi. "You have it too?"
Izumi nodded slightly, his expression as calm as a still pond, but something flashed in the depths of his eyes.
"That's right, it was hematogenous disease. At that time, I already had lesions, so I had been looking for a solution."
"Later, I found an ancient family book that said: The Kaguya clan and the Hyuga clan share the same roots, and only the Byakugan can cure the Shikotsumyaku bloodline disease."
"At that time, the teacher had just received a cold shoulder—so, I took action."
Hearing the other party recount the betrayal so casually, Qing felt a surge of anger rising within her, a rush of heat to her head.
He clenched his fists so tightly that his knuckles turned white.
"So, you think you can just roll your eyes at a teacher who trusts you?"
"Teacher, the world of ninjas has never been a place for sentimentality." Izumi's tone remained calm, even somewhat indifferent. "You taught me that missions come first, and that any means are acceptable to achieve a goal. I am simply putting your teachings into practice."
Qing was stunned.
It was as if someone had poured a bucket of cold water over my head; my anger was instantly extinguished, replaced by a chill that went deep into my bones.
He remembered what he had once said to Izumi.
He said something similar casually after a mission, trying to comfort Izumi who was frustrated by the mission's failure.
At the time, he simply wanted to encourage his students and prevent emotions from becoming a stumbling block on their path to becoming ninjas.
He didn't expect that the student would actually remember it and—use it on himself.
"You—" Qing opened her mouth, but didn't know what to say. It felt like something was blocking her throat, and she couldn't squeeze out a single word.
"Teacher, I don't regret my choice back then," Izumi said, her voice lowering slightly, "but I also remember your kindness to me."
"That's why I'm waiting for you here today."
Qing remained silent for a long time.
Finally, he let out a long sigh, a sigh that seemed to be drawn from the deepest part of his heart, carrying a weariness that had been suppressed for too long.
He shook his head, but couldn't help saying, "You could have told me back then. If it really was a bloodline disease, I certainly wouldn't have hesitated to give you that disdainful look."
Izumikawa shook his head slightly, a barely perceptible bitter smile appearing at the corner of his mouth, denying the statement.
He looked at his teacher and said slowly, "Teacher, I never expected that you would be so naive at your age."
He gently covered his left Sharingan, revealing its pure white pupil, and stared directly at Ao: "Is this Byakugan truly under your control?"
"Whether it was the high-ranking members of Kirigakure, the elders of the Kaguya clan, or me back then when I didn't have enough strength to protect the Byakugan."
"What will become of me then? As a Jonin of Kirigakure, you should know very well what will happen to me."
Qing opened her mouth slightly, but remained speechless.
He knew perfectly well. There were far too many people eyeing him with disdain, and the fact that he was able to keep his eye was the result of compromises from many parties.
That roll of his eyes was never just his own.
In that instant, he suddenly aged several years. The wrinkles on his face seemed to have been etched deeper by an invisible knife, and his shoulders slumped slightly.
He understood; it was a choice his disciple had no other option but to make.
Only in this way can he survive and solve his own problems.
"So—your bloodline disease?"
"alright."
Those two short words, like a stone thrown into a deep pool, created ripples that lingered in Qing's heart for a long time.
He gazed at Izumi River, at that face that had lost its childishness, and remained silent for a long time.
The sea fog swirled among them, sometimes thick, sometimes thin, like the bond between master and disciple that had been diluted over the years but never truly dissipated.
"You can go now." Qing finally spoke, her voice calm but carrying an indescribable weariness.
He turned and walked into the depths of the mist: "Next time we meet, as a Mist Ninja, I will not show any mercy."
But now he comes as a teacher.
"Take care, teacher."
""
Izumi didn't try to stop him, but spoke softly, his voice carried away by the sea breeze and into the thick fog.