Chapter 229: Yūgao's Resolve, a Belated Confession
"I don't quite understand."
Akiyama Makoto stared into Uzuki Yūgao's eyes, even activating his spiritual energy to perceive her thoughts.
If her answer did not satisfy him, he wouldn't even mind having Ino empty her mind.
But Yūgao simply uttered a single name, and his entire body trembled.
"Akiyama Gaku."
Seeing his reaction, she gave a bitter smile. "So, you remember too."
"It seems we... had a different future. In that future, you killed Baki to avenge Gekkō Hayate. We went to the Sand Village and lived together for decades, and you even became the Kazekage's advisor."
"We had a child, and we loved each other for a lifetime. I... I can't forget—"
His gaze was distant. "You should have forgotten. You're not supposed to remember."
"Yes... I had forgotten."
Yūgao and he were on completely different wavelengths, but she continued with her own understanding, "But when I was healing you, I suddenly remembered all of it. If I had forgotten, I might be happier."
His mind raced, and he finally remembered the problem with the details.
After the simulation had ended, he had been receiving the bloodline feedback. At that time, she had been treating him, and their chakra had come into contact.
Could it be... that this had caused her to remember everything? But why hadn't this happened with anyone else?
His eyes suddenly lit up. Is the essence of bloodline feedback a feedback of chakra?
Chakra from the future had merged into his body, carrying with it the will and memories of that future. If a chakra connection was made at that moment, that memory would be shared...
He had a faint feeling that this was the logic. His "Dream Inheritance" was essentially the same process. However, that was a process he could control. The bloodline feedback, on the other hand, had been beyond his control from the beginning, and had already caused him two minor problems.
At this thought, he calmed down.
He could sense that there were no chakra seals or curse marks in her mind. This meant that she was acting entirely on her own memories and volition.
And unlike the other girls around him, she had taken everything from that memory as real.
He, on the other hand, had been very cautious about letting the girls know about the future. Even when he used the Dream Inheritance, he would first build a good relationship with them, then tell them the "dream" was just a dream, and only then show them the edited version of the future.
Ultimately, his own future was still in a state of great uncertainty. Every time a simulation ended, his future would change. Therefore, it was enough to let the girls know they would have a child in the future. As for the specific details, saying too much now would only lead to disappointment.
As for her... it was an accident.
At that time, he had been unable to take care of himself, let alone others. It wasn't too late to deal with her now.
But how should he deal with her?
He pulled her up into a sitting position.
It was already July, and the temperature hadn't dropped much with the night. A warm breeze blew by, causing both of them, who were already a little nervous, to break out in a sweat.
Her eyes were gentle. She took out a handkerchief and began to wipe the sweat from his forehead. This was just a habitual action, but it made him realize that she could no longer distinguish between the simulation and reality.
He grabbed her wrist, his voice cool. "You should understand, right? What is happening now is not the same as what is in your memory."
"So, in all likelihood, I will not be framed by Danzō in this future, nor will I defect to the Sand Village. The future has already changed. Do you understand?"
Her body trembled, and she lowered her head in silence.
She had been following and protecting him recently, so she could naturally see that he was a world apart from the "him" in her memory. In her memory, he hadn't even been Gekkō Hayate's match at the time of his death. But the current him... had just used the Flying Thunder God Technique, and the hand gripping her wrist was like steel, making it impossible for her to move.
In addition to the other changes she had observed in him, even if he said he had Jōnin-level strength, she would not have had any doubts.
Therefore, she nodded. "I understand."
"Then why did you come to me? Because you don't want to give up the life in your memory and want to rekindle our relationship?"
"Or... is it because you want to save Gekkō Hayate?"
He felt it was most likely the latter.
If she had come for this, it was fine for him to make a move. But since she was using a kiss and their simulated love to "coerce" him, he naturally wouldn't just selflessly help someone else. As the price for saving Hayate, she would have to become his live-in housekeeper. She was very beautiful, after all, and easy on the eyes.
He had to admit, there was some malice in his heart. If a woman sacrificed herself for him, he would be very moved. But if a woman came to him and sacrificed herself for someone else... while he would accept the sugar-coated bullet, he still wouldn't be happy.
Perhaps this was just his instinctive nature.
Yūgao's whole body trembled. She understood what he was saying, and her eyes glistened. She wanted to deny it, but she didn't know how to speak. He had many girls around him who liked him, and her appearance had been too abrupt. How could she prove that she liked him?
Or rather, did she really like him?
A few days ago, even she hadn't known the answer. But according to what Anko had said that day, if you thought about the same person day and night... that meant you liked them, right?
At this thought, her gaze became firm. "I like you, Makoto-kun."
"Mm." His reply was noncommittal. He didn't deny that she had him in her heart right now, but they had had too little contact. He wasn't confident enough in this "love."
She immediately understood his thoughts. Her eyes filled with the dejection of not being acknowledged, and the regret of her own impulsiveness.
Finally, as if she had thought of something, she took out her forehead protector and a kunai from her back pouch. Then, to his shock, she drew a line across the protector and tied it to her arm.
This signified that she was defecting from Konoha, that she was no longer a Konoha-nin.
He didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "Did Hiruzen Sarutobi offend you? Or has Konoha made you sick?"
There was a hint of mockery in his words, but she just nodded with a bleak expression.
This piqued his interest. "What happened that made you so dejected?"
"Because... Konoha is shielding Danzō. And after I submitted the intelligence that the Sand Village might be planning to attack, the Hokage still ignored my report."
She then recounted her experiences over the past two days. While he had been busy with the Chūnin Exams, she had had free time to investigate the Sand Village's movements. Because of her knowledge from the "memory," her investigation had been twice as effective, and she had actually discovered the tracks of their hidden personnel.
She had submitted the report, but had been told by Hiruzen to "not do anything unrelated to your current mission," and that "Konoha will handle the Sand Village's provocations."
She had then gone to find Hayate, warning him not to take any difficult missions recently, but had instead been lectured by him. It was clear he was still resentful about her current mission.
These weren't even the direct reasons. The most direct reason was that she had decided to go to the bathhouse today, and had run into the Sannin, Jiraiya, peeping on the women's bath.
Hearing this, he couldn't help but sputter with laughter.
Thinking about the timeline, Jiraiya had indeed returned in the last couple of days, and he was absolutely the type to do—or rather, often did—this kind of thing. Although Jiraiya himself might think he was just being charming and fun, in her eyes, it was a completely disgusting act.
Alright. Hiruzen, Danzō, and Jiraiya had all disgusted her, and she had also been chewed out by Hayate. No wonder she had broken down and come to him.
But that still wasn't enough.
"I believe you. This means you've truly despaired of Konoha. But... do you really like me? And not the 'me' from your memory?"
This was, in fact, an unanswerable question. Even he himself didn't know how to answer it.
But she gave an answer. "You can have the Yamanaka girl check my memories. I won't resist."
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