Chapter 17: Owning One’s Wrongs

Sasuke could do nothing but scream in agony, his severed tongue leaving him unable to utter a single coherent word. But for Izumi Uchiha, this was only the beginning of her revenge.

His limbs were severed, his tongue cut out, and now she pierced his eardrums and sliced off his nose.

Kevin Cross had initially been curious to see how Izumi would carry out her vengeance but even he hadn't expected her methods to be this brutal.

Still, Kevin didn't try to stop her. After all, what Izumi had endured was far more horrific than what Sasuke was going through now. It was just that Kevin had grown up in a peaceful time. Faced with such a grotesque scene, he found it hard to stomach.

"You've already caught Sasuke Uchiha. I guess it's time for me to head back," Kevin said to her.

"Sure. Come by whenever you feel like it. I belong to you now, after all," Izumi replied casually, giving a slight nod. But her eyes remained locked on Sasuke, burning with venom and cruelty.

"OK, no problem. See you," Kevin replied, and with that, he stepped through the portal and returned home.

Even after Kevin left, Izumi's revenge was far from over.

She intended to make Sasuke experience every torment she had suffered while in the Foundation. But just as she was about to slice open his chest cavity, she hesitated. What she had done so far at best only avenged herself against Itachi. That was far too lenient. It would be letting the rest of Konoha off too easily.

Izumi's eyes flickered with madness.

Staring at her, Sasuke's three-tomoe Sharingan spun rapidly, panic and horror overtaking his expression. He didn't know what she intended next, but to him, Izumi was nothing short of a lunatic. A complete madwoman.

"I'm back," Kevin murmured, stretching lazily. He opened the fridge, pulled out a cold bottle of soda, and downed it in one long gulp. With a loud belch, he sighed in relief. The sickening imagery of Izumi's revenge had finally started to fade.

He reopened the group chat and tagged Izumi:

@Izumi, I won't stop you from getting revenge, but… don't go too far, okay? At least try to stay rational. Honestly, your current mental state is a little worrying. In our world, people would be ninety percent sure you were clinically insane.

Izumi responded almost instantly:

"I understand. Don't worry, I'll keep my head on straight. Besides, I'm done damaging Sasuke's body."

"Uh… done hurting his body? Then what are you going to do? Don't tell me you're just going to let him off the hook?" Kevin asked, confused.

"Let him go? As if. I said I won't harm his body any further but that doesn't mean I'm done. Those two brothers turned the entire Uchiha clan into a ruin. They still owe their dues." Izumi's reply carried a twisted sense of calm, tinged with menace.

"Amitābha… vengeance begets vengeance, when will it ever end…" Yi Lin suddenly chimed in, clearly troubled by Izumi's brutal methods.

@Yi Lin, If I killed your master, would you forgive me? Izumi asked, without a hint of softness.

"Huh?" Yi Lin froze.

"If I killed your master, then slaughtered your entire Mount Heng sect down to the old cleaning woman who turns out to be your birth mother could you let that go?"

"Sister Izumi, how could you… how could you even say such things…" Yi Lin said, clearly shaken.

"Not only would I wipe out your entire sect and kill your parents, I'd capture you, sever your limbs, cut out your tongue, gouge out your eyes, burst your eardrums, and finally throw you into a brothel. Would you be able to accept that?" Izumi pressed on relentlessly.

"Amitābha, I… I…"

"That's enough, Yi Lin," Kevin cut in. You can't ask others to forgive when you've never endured their pain. Izumi has been through hell. Her entire clan was wiped out. Her family slaughtered. She was thrown into a lab like an animal. Telling her to simply 'let go' isn't fair. So maybe just don't say anything for now."

"I know Sister Izumi isn't wrong… but the sutras say, 'Lay down the butcher's knife and attain Buddhahood on the spot…'" Yi Lin said meekly.

"If someone did what Izumi described to you slaughtered your sect, crippled you, ruined your life and then decided to become a monk, would you accept it?" Kevin pressed her.

"I… I… I…"

"See? You wouldn't either. 'Lay down the knife and become a Buddha' sounds noble. But what about the ones who were murdered? Who were tortured? Do they get a say? No. So the sutras you can read them, sure but don't take them too literally."

"But… but the Buddha"

"The Buddha had a joyful aspect too, you know. So Yi Lin, when do you wanna join me in worshipping the Joyful Buddha together?"

Yi Lin immediately went silent. In truth, she wasn't some bleeding-heart saint. She was just raised this way. And once Kevin and Izumi flipped the scenario on her made her the victim her beliefs began to falter. Faced with a conflict between a decade of Buddhist teachings and the stark reality of cruelty, she didn't know what to believe anymore.

In the end, Yi Lin decided to seek guidance from her master.

"Master"

"Yi Lin, you're back. Something happened in that group chat again?" asked Serena Tranquil, noticing her disciple's troubled expression.

"Yes, Master. It's about Sister Izumi Uchiha…" Yi Lin recounted Izumi's story and her current acts of vengeance.

After a long pause, Serena Tranquil finally said,

"Yi Lin, in cases like this, it's better not to interfere. Izumi's decision to take revenge isn't wrong. Just… I hope she doesn't hurt the innocent. As for that Sasuke Uchiha well, he may not be entirely innocent either. Best if you stay out of it."

Yi Lin nodded obediently.

"Sister Izumi… I'm sorry. I shouldn't have tried to stop you. I'll pray for you instead," she said softly in the group chat.

Izumi's eyes softened. A faint smile played at her lips. At the very least, in this world, there were still girls like Yi Lin pure, kind, and sincere. And that, perhaps, was enough to keep her tethered to sanity.