Chapter 504: line with translation of chapter title

Yin Shi held the straw of strawberry milk in his mouth, mumbling indistinctly: "Hey hey, Xin Ba Ji, you glasses-wearing guy, just stop dreaming—girls of this caliber could never possibly like you in reality; if anyone were to choose, it'd be someone like me, mature and steady with natural curls."

"Huh?!" Xin Ba Ji turned his head dissatisfiedly, "Yin Sang, what nonsense are you spouting? Never mind me, have you ever dreamed of girls chasing you in Taiyi's Dream? In galgames you can't even catch an NPC, yet you have the nerve to say that about me?!"

Yin Shi's temples bulged with veins, and he crushed the milk box with a "pah—" sound: "That, that's a game bug! Besides, in Taiyi's Dream I... I'm also quite popular with girls!"

"Bullshit! If there were beautiful girls who liked you in Taiyi's Dream, would you be willing to wake up this early from the dream? This shows that even in Taiyi's Dream, no girl likes you at all!"

Yin Sang's pupils quaked, his whole body as if struck by lightning, as if someone had instantly sucked out his bones, turning into a puddle of mud that flowed onto the floor.

... What Xin Ba Ji said is true.

In Taiyi's Dream he only encountered endless strawberry milk and endless Shonen Jump, and truly never met a girl willing to talk to him...

"Taiyi's Dream... is indeed a deception, huh."

——

"Huang Quan and the old man stood at the seaside, gazing out at the distant sea."

"Countless black arms stretched out from the sea, their joints twisted and withered; those arms reached upward in the posture of pilgrims, attempting to touch the—"

"Black Sun."

"It hung there like a gouged-out eye socket, emitting no light or heat, only viscous shadow dripping continually, falling into those outstretched arms."

""How long has this rain been going on?""

""If I'm not mistaken, it's probably been several years, decades, maybe even a century." Huang Quan spoke calmly: "The death resolve of the hunters never ceases even at life's end, but fortunately… we have finally escorted these souls. They were heroes in life, and will no longer become puppets of nothingness.""

""Look, the shadows on the sea surface have completely dissipated. Do you remember? You said that once the regrets of the departed are all appeased, the sky will clear.""

"The old man's voice sounded as desolate as autumn's withered leaves: "But the rain still hasn't stopped……""

""…Yeah.""

""So then, why exactly…… why has this rain chosen me?""

""Perhaps it's because someone's regret still hasn't been appeased. Mortals walking their fate are like small boats crossing water, leaving a winding trail that pushes aside countless ripples of possibility. Compared to the fleeting lives of humans, these waves do not subside for a long time. And among them, some individuals exist with such intensity that they leave their own reflection in these clusters of waves.""

""The Blood-Sin Spirit… the obsession of a fate-walker, born from the shadow of IX, regards itself as the matter at hand and unconsciously repeats the deceased's former actions. They are born from nothingness, return to nothingness, and live meaningless lives. But just such an illusory shadow……""

""Yet it walked those long days together with me.""

——

Naruto.

Uchiha Madara stood on the streets of Konoha.

Sunlight filtered through the leaves' gaps and fell; children's laughter came from the training grounds; shops lining the street bore signs displaying the Uchiha and Senju clan crests side by side. Not far away, Hashirama was arguing with Tobirama about something, while Senju trailed behind him, curiously asking, "Big brother, what are you looking at?"

"No, nothing……"

Uchiha Madara turned his head, quietly scrutinizing the youth before him—the one he had silently vowed to protect with his life, his only younger brother.

Too perfect.

This is exactly the world he hoped to reach using Infinite Tsukuyomi.

The Uchiha and Senju shook hands and made peace; ninja clans no longer slaughtered each other, children need not die on the battlefield. No chain of hatred, no endless war—not only that, but even Hashirama's gambling luck inexplicably improved considerably.

Madara lowered his gaze to his hand; the palm lines were clear, not withered by age. He remained that vigorous Uchiha clan leader, not a spirit summoned via Edo Tensei.

Yet everything before him again aroused a strong sense of dissonance in his heart.

The "Hashirama" before him had no gloom in his eyes, and "Tobirama Senju" was even willing to set aside all grudges between the two clans, supporting a Uchiha as the next Hokage. Everyone acted according to his inner expectation, becoming ever more inclined toward "peace," yet the intense dissonance made him feel this "world" was profoundly unreal.

Fake smiles, fake Hashirama, so fake that even he couldn't convince himself… a "perfect" world.

If everything in the dream is false and can be altered at will, does the "peace" he racked his brains to achieve still hold any meaning?

Madara suddenly felt a hint of absurdity.

The plan he had pursued for decades ultimately materialized as nothing more than a phantom dream he himself could not believe?

"... Boring."

Madara swept his hand wide, and the vision of Konoha before him shattered like broken glass, peeling away into pitch-black emptiness. The scenery inside the cave quickly reappeared before his eyes, signifying that he had broken free of Taiyi's Dream and returned to reality.

Beside him, Obito remained in the dream, still calling out the name of Rin Nohara; surely he had already met the person he longed for.

If creating a beautiful dream amounts to nothing more than this image, does Infinite Tsukuyomi still need to be realized?

——

""Ah, I see now.""

"The world was instantly dyed red. Huang Quan's hair turned pallid, his body transformed into a state corroded by 'Nothing,' while the old man beside him became a vague black shadow. Yet they still gazed out at the sea, at the waves as blood-colored as ever."

""I… I'm already dead.""

""Yes.""

""Are you watching over me?""

""Perhaps. This is my duty… as Huang Quan's Warden. I will guard the path to the depths of Nothing, leading every soul unwilling to fall therein back to this world. Please extend your hand, then close your eyes. I will carry your wish downward and fulfill it. Only thus can I settle the final regret of this dead sea.""

"The old man extended his hand, shrouded in black mist, toward Huang Quan: "I… can I still see them?""

""You certainly will.""

""Because it was you who personally told me these things: about that train, your two former companions, the pioneering effort halted by insect plague, your escape from death, and your encounter with the Sea-Wandering Ranger……""

""And also that hometown you can never return to—Pinkangni.""

""Yeah, countless times… I was turned away at my family's door, only able to brush past it." The old man's voice trembled, "But I know my companions are still there… alone……""

""Mikhail… are you still there……""