EBE Chapter 638 Looking back
Chapter 638 Looking back
Tsunade whirled around, her eyes filled with anxiety and anger: "Sensei! What are you doing?! I have to stop him! I..."
“I know how you feel, Tsunade.” Hiruzen Sarutobi’s voice carried an undeniable air of authority, but his eyes were filled with understanding and worry. “However, you cannot go in. This dark soul power is far more dangerous than you can imagine. It will erode the spirit of those who enter, devouring all light and life. Once you are completely enveloped by it, you will be assimilated by it, or even… killed by it.”
He paused, his tone becoming even heavier: "Moreover, since this power comes from the depths of Zhang Hai's soul, only he himself can truly fight against it. Any external intervention may backfire, or even intensify the darkness deep within his heart."
Tsunade's face alternated between pale and flushed as she stared into the bottomless darkness. Though extremely anxious, reason told her that Hiruzen Sarutobi was right. Even as a medical ninja, she could clearly sense the danger emanating from that invisible pressure.
"Then... are we just going to let him continue like this?!" Tsunade's voice was hoarse, tinged with despair.
Hiruzen Sarutobi shook his head, a resolute glint in his eyes: "No. I must go in."
Minato and Tsunade were both startled.
"Teacher!" Minato exclaimed urgently, "This is too dangerous! You are the Hokage!"
"Precisely because I am the Hokage, I cannot stand idly by." Hiruzen Sarutobi's eyes were firm. "I am the highest leader of the village and the teacher of all of them. I must do my best for the village and for my disciples."
He turned around and gave orders to the ANBU ninja behind him: "Pass down the order! Immediately set up the Four Purple Flame Formation to completely seal off this area! No one is allowed to approach; designate it as a restricted area!"
Several ANBU ninjas immediately obeyed the order, quickly dispersing and taking their positions, beginning to form hand seals. The red barrier light began to flicker at the edge of the darkness, gradually forming a closed array that completely enveloped the area where the memorial monument was located.
"Minato, Tsunade, you two stay here and keep a close eye on the situation inside the barrier. Report to me immediately if there are any unusual developments," Hiruzen Sarutobi instructed.
Tsunade gripped Hiruzen Sarutobi's sleeve tightly, her eyes filled with pleading: "Sensei... please... please bring Zhang Hai back safely. Don't let him be swallowed by that darkness... He's already lost Sakumo-sensei, he can't lose himself too..."
Her voice trembled slightly, and her worry for Zhang Hai far exceeded Hiruzen Sarutobi's expectations. Although Tsunade and Zhang Hai weren't exactly close, they both shared similar grief after Sakumo's death. But Tsunade's earnestness at this moment revealed an emotion that transcended the ordinary.
Hiruzen Sarutobi glanced at Tsunade with slight surprise; he hadn't expected her to value Zhang Hai so much. But he quickly composed himself; the situation was urgent, and this wasn't the time to delve into such matters.
"I... will try my best," he said in a deep voice, his tone heavy with uncertainty, "but even I, an old man, am not confident about that kind of soul power."
Having said that, he didn't hesitate any longer. With a flicker of his body, like a ghost, he resolutely stepped into that deep and chilling darkness. Behind him, the light of the Four Purple Flame Array blazed brightly, completely isolating him from the outside world. Only Minato and Tsunade remained, standing outside the barrier, gazing at that pitch-black area, their hearts filled with endless worry and anxiety.
The moment Hiruzen Sarutobi stepped into the darkness, a sorrow and despair a thousand times more intense than those outside surged into his mind like a tidal wave. This was not merely an emotional shock, but a powerful, corrosive force attempting to penetrate his spirit and shake his will.
He felt as if he were in an endless abyss, with everything around him swallowed by boundless darkness. His senses were stripped away, leaving only a deep-seated grief and the sluggish feeling of his own chakra being suppressed and dissolved in the darkness.
"This power... it truly is the manifestation of the ultimate negative emotions deep within the soul." Hiruzen Sarutobi felt a chill run down his spine. He recalled what the Second Hokage, Tobirama, had mentioned about the source of the Uchiha clan's power. Tobirama had conducted in-depth research on the Sharingan and concluded that the Uchiha clan, due to their profound love for their family and loved ones, would, upon losing those loved ones, transform that love into extreme hatred and despair, thereby unleashing even greater power, but also making them more prone to extremism and being consumed by darkness.
The Anbu's surveillance of the Uchiha clan was fundamentally aimed at preventing a recurrence of the tragedy of love turning into hatred, ultimately leading to the clan's destruction. And now, Zhang Hai was exhibiting precisely this familiar yet unsettling trait. Although Zhang Hai wasn't a member of the Uchiha clan, the profound bond between him and Hatake Sakumo, which transcended master and disciple, would have a devastating backlash if it suffered a catastrophic blow.
Hiruzen Sarutobi took a deep breath, forcibly stabilizing his mind and repelling the sorrow and despair that surged into his heart. He knew he had to remain absolutely clear-headed.
He had prepared for the worst. If Zhang Hai were truly swallowed by this darkness, lose his mind, and become a threat to the village… then, no matter how heartbroken he was, he would have to personally stop this disciple on whom he had placed so much hope. That was the Hokage's duty, and also his final act of mercy as a teacher.
In the darkness, there was no light, no sound, only a suffocating sorrow pressing down on him like a physical entity. Hiruzen Sarutobi followed the direction in his memory, taking each difficult step forward. He believed that Zhang Hai was still by the memorial stone, still before Sakumo Hatake's grave.
As he ventured deeper, a cold and sharp aura gradually became clearer. It wasn't a fluctuation of chakra, but pure sword intent, carrying a chilling glint that could cleave everything in its path. This chill reminded Hiruzen Sarutobi of Sakumo Hatake's formidable reputation as the "White Fang of Konoha." That sharpness, that unstoppable advance, that uncompromising edge.
"It seems... Zhang Hai has indeed fully inherited Sakumo's skills." Hiruzen Sarutobi sighed inwardly, acknowledging Zhang Hai's talent in swordsmanship. This sword intent even possessed a touch more melancholy and decisive killing power than Sakumo had back then.
However, within this sword intent, Hiruzen Sarutobi also sensed another, deeper, and more terrifying emotion—hatred.
It was a hatred etched deep into his bones, a hatred that ran through his very being. He hated the world, he hated the village, and even… he hated himself. The intensity of this hatred made Hiruzen Sarutobi's heart tremble. He had never felt such pure and immense hatred from a young ninja before. Even among the Uchiha clan, who had been oppressed to the extreme in their time, there were few individuals with such extreme hatred.