Chapter 342: The World of the Mind

Chapter 342: Chapter 342: The World of the Mind

"I’m the one who saved you."

Hyuga Kagami said it casually, his expression calm.

Back at the execution grounds, at the very last moment, Hyuga Kagami had transformed a Truth-Seeking Ball into a sphere and used it to shield Gaara, barely managing to save him before the explosion erupted.

Then, taking advantage of the sandstorm kicked up by the blast, he quietly left the execution grounds with Gaara, who had been knocked unconscious by the shockwave.

Gaara showed no intention of thanking him. Instead, he asked, "Why did you save me?"

Hyuga Kagami smiled. "Then why did you want to die?"

Gaara remained silent for quite a while before finally saying, "My mother hates me. My father wants to kill me. Everyone in the village sees me as a monster, but I can’t even become a real monster. I can’t find any reason to keep living."

Perhaps because Hyuga Kagami had defeated him so effortlessly, Gaara opened up and revealed what was truly in his heart.

Hyuga Kagami glanced at Gaara but said nothing more.

He knew that Gaara’s mother, Karura, had always loved Gaara deeply.

That love— that will—was so powerful that even after Karura’s death, her spirit remained attached to Gaara, protecting him through the sand.

Cases where a spirit could possess someone and remain in the shinobi world for such a long period of time were exceedingly rare throughout the entire shinobi world.

Aside from Gaara’s mother, Karura, the only other examples Hyuga Kagami could think of were Indra and Asura ōtsutsuki, whose chakra could continuously reincarnate and attach itself to others.

From this alone, it was clear that Karura’s chakra was extremely unique, and the strength of her spirit far surpassed that of an ordinary person.

As for the claim that Karura resented Gaara, that was nothing more than a lie concocted by the Fourth Kazekage to test Gaara. It was only because the lie had come from the mouth of his uncle, Yashamaru, that Gaara had believed it without question.

"You’re a pretty good shinobi. I see potential in you, so I saved you." After a brief pause, Hyuga Kagami continued, "As long as you’re still alive, you’ll have plenty of time to find a reason to live."

Gaara covered his eyes with both hands. "But I can’t endure this torment anymore!"

Hyuga Kagami knew exactly what Gaara meant by "torment," so he said, "Don’t worry. I’ll find a way to deal with the One-Tail, Shukaku."

In Hyuga Kagami’s eyes, the people of Sunagakure were simply being unbelievably stupid.

Instead of thinking about how to improve their Tailed Beast sealing techniques, they devoted all their efforts to provoking Gaara and testing his limits. They were undoubtedly playing with fire.

Whether it was his natural talent or his willpower, Gaara was already among the very best of his generation.

If their positions were reversed and Hyuga Kagami were placed in Gaara’s shoes, he probably wouldn’t last more than a few months before Shukaku’s constant mental torment drove him insane.

Therefore, if even Gaara couldn’t withstand Shukaku’s day-after-day mental torment, then even if Sunagakure replaced him with ten—or a hundred—different jinchūriki, the result would still be the same.

Unless they found an ascetic monk with extraordinary willpower like the previous One-Tail jinchūriki and completely isolated him from all contact with the outside world, there was no way to avoid the eventual outcome of the jinchūriki going berserk.

In this regard, Konoha was far ahead of Sunagakure.

Despite also being a jinchūriki, Naruto was barely affected by the Nine-Tails. In his everyday life, it was almost impossible for the Nine-Tails to interfere with him. At most, it could disrupt Naruto’s chakra control and interfere with his ability to perform ninjutsu.

This was one of the main reasons Naruto had ended up at the bottom of his class at the Ninja Academy.

Gaara hesitated for a moment before asking, "Can you really help me?"

Hyuga Kagami walked over to Gaara, lifted his clothes, and pressed a palm against his navel. He shouted in a low voice, "Sealing Technique: Four Symbols Seal!"

In an instant, a complex sealing formula appeared around Gaara’s navel.

Immediately afterward, the sealing formula seemed to come alive, spreading outward from Gaara’s navel. In moments, it had extended across his entire body.

Gaara stared in astonishment at the sealing formula covering him. Then he suddenly froze and shouted, "Shukaku’s voice is gone!"

Hyuga Kagami frowned. "Don’t tell me Shukaku has been harassing you this whole time?"

Gaara nodded. "Yeah. It’s always roaring inside me. I can’t even sleep peacefully."

"I see..."

Hyuga Kagami rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

The Four Symbols Seal he had just placed on Gaara had completely sealed away Shukaku. Although doing so relieved the immense mental pressure weighing on Gaara, it had also severed Gaara’s ability to draw upon Shukaku’s chakra.

In other words, while the seal remained in this state, Gaara had lost the abilities that a jinchūriki should possess.

Moreover, this Four Symbols Seal could only be maintained temporarily. As time passed, it would gradually weaken and eventually fail. Therefore, Hyuga Kagami needed to find a more reliable solution to deal with the One-Tail, Shukaku, inside Gaara.

"Looks like I’ll have to borrow the power of the Sharingan."

Having made up his mind, Hyuga Kagami immediately entered Tenseigan Chakra Mode and flew toward his aerial fortress with Gaara.

Several hours later, after arriving at the aerial fortress, Hyuga Kagami settled Gaara into one of the empty rooms inside the fortress. He then activated the Soul Descent Technique and took control of his Fire Release clone.

When he entered Gaara’s room while controlling the Fire Release clone, Gaara immediately became wary at the sight of the unfamiliar person.

Hyuga Kagami said, "Don’t worry. My name is Uchiha En. I’m Lord Kagami’s subordinate. I’m here to deal with the One-Tail, Shukaku, for you."

Gaara suspiciously looked the Fire Release clone up and down. "You can deal with Shukaku?"

Hyuga Kagami said nothing more and directly activated his Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan.

Seeing the crimson Sharingan in Hyuga Kagami’s eyes, with its intricate pattern, Gaara was startled. A moment later, a trace of lingering fear appeared on his face.

He certainly hadn’t forgotten how Shukaku had been instantly subdued by Shisui’s Mangekyō Sharingan before.

Hyuga Kagami slowly walked up to Gaara and unleashed the ocular power of his Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan. Just as Sasuke had once entered Naruto’s inner world, Hyuga Kagami invaded Gaara’s inner world.

Unlike Naruto’s tranquil inner world, Gaara’s inner world was an enormous, deafening cavern.

Shukaku roared and rampaged freely throughout the cavern, completely unrestrained, while Gaara’s tiny figure could only hide within the cracks between the rocks, desperately avoiding the enormous One-Tail.

Sensing the intrusion of an outsider, Shukaku let out a furious roar and lunged toward him. Its enormous body sent fragments of rock flying throughout the cavern and kicked up clouds of dust that filled the air.

Compared to the enormous Shukaku, Hyuga Kagami’s Fire Release clone appeared utterly insignificant.

Yet there wasn’t the slightest trace of fear on his face. He simply stared indifferently at the One-Tail.

The moment Shukaku noticed the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan in Hyuga Kagami’s eyes, it flew into a rage and roared, "Damn Uchiha! I’ll show you just how powerful Uncle Shukaku is!"