Chapter 55: Lost Memories — When Something Goes Wrong, Someone Has to Take the Blame

The blood-red moon above slowly descended, carrying with it a crushing pressure that made everyone below struggle to breathe.

At the center of it all, Kaguya Cangjie's face was pale. He could feel that the crimson moon had completely locked onto him. There was nowhere to run.

"Tsukuyomi… turned into a physical attack?"

Even Uchiha Yao, watching from afar, could feel the immense destructive power contained in that moon. He let out a surprised sound.

Kaguya Cangjie, unwilling to die in a foreign land, began to desperately squeeze out the power within his bloodline.

His skeleton began to grow rapidly, his whole body towering several meters tall, transforming into a giant of bone, a terrifying figure entirely constructed of ash-white bones with sinister spikes protruding everywhere.

"I, Kaguya Cangjie, cannot die at the hands of some brat!"

From the giant's ribcage came his maniacal roar.

Uchiha Gin, however, remained unmoved by his opponent's transformation. His blood-red eyes stared coldly at the descending moon as fresh blood continued to stream from them, and his once-strong body visibly withered.

This was the price of using his life force to fuel his chakra.

The bone giant raised its hand, forming it into a spiraling bone lance, charging with thunderous momentum toward the falling moon.

The moment the lance clashed with the moon, a powerful shockwave erupted, forcing everyone present to shield their eyes.

What shocked everyone was that the giant's spiral lance actually stopped the moon's descent, and a hint of hope appeared on Kaguya Cangjie's face.

But…

Crack!

A crisp sound shattered that hope. Cangjie's smile froze on his face.

The bone lance began to fracture from the tip, and cracks spread across the giant's entire body.

The once-proud Kaguya Cangjie left not even a final word before his giant form collapsed into ash and disappeared from the world.

"Gin, stop this now!"

Uchiha En, the only one still standing, looked on in horror as the crimson moon that had crushed the giant showed no signs of dissipating. He shouted loudly.

But Uchiha Gin seemed not to hear. He stood there, blank, his face soaked in blood and his body radiating a chilling aura of death.

He had already lost control of the crimson moon.

The moon slammed into the ground with a deafening explosion, and the shockwave flung everyone present.

When the dust settled, Uchiha En raised his head — and froze at the sight.

A massive crater now marred the center of the Uchiha compound, the clan leader's residence reduced to rubble, countless buildings destroyed, and the screams of the injured filled the air.

In the middle of the crater, Uchiha Gin lay on his back, blood oozing from every pore, while the frail Uchiha Hikari staggered to her feet, rushing toward the boy.

The explosion snapped Uchiha Tajima out of his grief for his wife and children. Feeling the surge of power in his eyes, he shut them in pain.

"Kotoamatsukami… but what good does it do?"

When he opened his eyes again, they held only bitter anguish. The price of this so-called legendary eye was something he could not bear.

"What… what happened here?!"

Uchiha Miao arrived late, equally stunned by the devastation, especially by the giant crater. It was beyond his comprehension.

"Tajima-sama, please… tell me what happened."

Tajima and En were also late to the scene and didn't know.

"I… Gin and I had already subdued the intruders, but then…"

Hikari, still conscious, glanced worriedly at the unconscious Gin and began recounting what happened.

"You said you lost control of yourself and unconsciously used your Mangekyō power?"

When Hikari mentioned how she suddenly lost control, using her Eight Thousand Spears to drain everyone's chakra and force the Kaguya to slaughter each other, Miao couldn't help but ask.

Hikari nodded. At that moment, she truly couldn't control herself.

"Has this happened before?"

Miao, as a researcher, suspected it wasn't a mere accident.

"Yesterday, Uchiha Yao had me participate in a test. During it, I passed out, and afterwards I found memories in my head… bad ones. Just now, when I lost control, those memories surfaced again."

She recalled carefully and answered honestly.

Hearing this, Miao fell silent in thought. He remembered how Gin had also been unconscious when they retrieved him from Yao's lab yesterday.

After a moment, he looked down at Gin, lying battered on the ground, and quietly asked:

"What about Gin?"

"…It was him. Everything here was his doing."

Uchiha En, who had been silent, suddenly spoke. His Sharingan faintly swirled with dark energy.

"He unleashed some unknown jutsu and summoned that crimson moon, flattening our home."

"No! Gin did it to save us!"

Hikari quickly cried out in defense.

"And you — if you hadn't drained the clan leader's wife of her chakra, she wouldn't have died to that Kaguya."

En turned his anger on Hikari.

"Cough… who turned out the lights…"

Gin slowly woke, his voice dry and hoarse. Even now, he managed a grim joke.

"Gin, are you okay?!"

Seeing him awake, Hikari's tears returned.

"Hikari… you okay?"

Struggling to regain consciousness, Gin reached for the familiar voice.

"I'm—"

Hikari tried to respond but was stopped by Miao, who wanted to confirm something else.

"Gin, do you remember what you did just now?"

"I… I saw…"

Gin trailed off.

He remembered seeing his beloved aunt dying before his eyes, and the three young boys slaughtered.

"I'm sorry. I couldn't protect them."

Forgetting his own blindness, Gin rose shakily to his knees and bowed his head heavily to the ground.

The crowd went silent.

"Uuu… Tajima-sama, please punish the one who destroyed our clan!"

At some point, survivors gathered around, weeping to Tajima.

As more and more voices joined, someone muttered that it was Gin who destroyed the compound. The scene quickly spiraled out of control, and bitter curses and accusations erupted.

"Tajima-sama… I believe this is connected to Yao's weapon project."

Miao leaned in behind Tajima and whispered.

"He planned to turn two of them into mindless weapons. Their loss of control is likely his doing."

Tajima did not reply, only nodded faintly.

Propped up by Hikari, Gin could hear the murmurs. Even blind, he could guess what happened.

"Uncle…"

Gin spoke hoarsely, his head still bowed.

"…Use my life to appease their anger."

(End of Chapter)

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