Chapter 259: Capturing a Kekkei Genkai Ninja

Chapter 259: Chapter 259: Capturing a Kekkei Genkai Ninja

The strange manner in which the intruder had appeared immediately made Uchiha Hiiragi realize the severity of the situation.

Almost instantly, Hiiragi activated his three-tomoe Sharingan and silently swore to himself, "The humiliation from last time will never happen again!"

Stepping out of the vortex, Obito sized up Hiiragi, who stood on guard with his blade raised, and chuckled.

"Not bad. Those are some good eyes."

Seeing Obito dressed entirely in black, Hiiragi furrowed his brows and demanded, "Are you from Kamigami?"

Obito neither confirmed nor denied it.

"Where’s Homura? Where is he?" Hiiragi shouted before sneering. "You sent a small fry like you all by yourself? Kamigami really looks down on us Uchiha, huh?"

In Hiiragi’s mind, Kamigami was undeniably powerful, but the only member he was truly wary of was Homura, who possessed the Mangekyo Sharingan.

As for the other members of Kamigami, Hiiragi feared none of them.

Obito gave a cold chuckle.

"Small fry, huh..."

"The only thing capable of suppressing us Uchiha is the Mangekyo Sharingan. Didn’t Homura tell you that?"

With that, Uchiha Hiiragi’s figure flickered as he used the Body Flicker Technique and charged at Obito.

Whoosh...

Under the cold moonlight, accompanied by the sharp whistle of displaced air, the long blade in Hiiragi’s hand traced an almost perfect arc as it slashed toward Obito’s throat.

"Huh...!?"

His figure flashed past, but the sensation transmitted through the hilt told Hiiragi that his attack had struck absolutely nothing.

Turning his head toward Obito, who seemed to have remained standing in the exact same spot without moving an inch, Hiiragi looked utterly bewildered.

The three tomoe in his Sharingan spun rapidly as he tried to see through the bizarre phenomenon before him.

At that moment, Obito turned around as well.

Without saying a single word, he slowly walked toward Hiiragi.

Watching Obito gradually approach, Hiiragi instinctively felt a shudder run through his body.

"Why am I like this? Why... why am I afraid!?"

Gripped by fear, Hiiragi swung his blade at Obito once again.

But the result was exactly the same as before.

The incomparably sharp blade in his hand passed straight through Obito’s body without the slightest resistance, as though all he had cut through was empty air.

At that moment, Obito grabbed the stunned Hiiragi and began dragging him into the vortex.

Feeling his own body begin to distort along with the swirling vortex, Hiiragi screamed at the top of his lungs,

"Just what the hell are you—a human or a ghost...!?"

Before Uchiha Hiiragi could even finish speaking, his entire body vanished into the vortex.

Obito turned his head and cast a glance toward the distant Hokage Rock, where the faces of the successive Hokage had been carved.

Then, he too disappeared into the vortex.

......

Land of Earth.

Kakuzu kicked the burly man lying unconscious before him and said to Sasori beside him, "If we didn’t need to capture this guy alive, I’d really like to rip his heart out right now!"

Kakuzu’s desire for hearts, much like his obsession with money, seemed almost engraved into his very genes.

Whenever he encountered a powerful ninja, he couldn’t help feeling the urge to take their heart for himself.

Even Sasori was somewhat tempted.

"This guy’s Steel Release Kekkei Genkai was much more troublesome than I expected. If I turned him into a puppet, he’d probably make a truly exceptional specimen."

Even with Sasori’s exceedingly high standards, he had to admit that the Steel Release Kekkei Genkai ninja before them had been extraordinarily difficult to deal with.

During the fierce battle just now, if Sasori hadn’t released his poisonous mist, the fight would probably still be raging even now.

The Steel Style ninja’s terrifying defensive power and endurance were enough to drive anyone fighting against him to despair.

As Kakuzu hoisted the Steel Style ninja off the ground, he said, "Let’s hope Hiruko’s experiment doesn’t waste such a good heart!"

......

Land of Bears.

A ninja dressed in tattered clothes was racing through the forest at incredible speed.

Boom...

Boom...

Boom...

A series of explosions erupted all around him, and enormous clouds of dust and smoke completely engulfed his figure.

At that moment, he suddenly stopped running, spun around, and shouted,

"Dark Style: Evil Illusion Dragon Fang!"

Whoosh...

Accompanied by a violent gust of wind, a dark-colored wave of chakra shot from the tattered ninja’s hand and surged toward the sky.

High above, Hiruko stood atop his Chimera Beast, the corner of his mouth curling into a mocking smile.

There was no need for Hiruko to give any additional command.

The Chimera Beast suddenly beat its wings and soared higher into the air. Taking full advantage of its aerial superiority, it effortlessly evaded the Dark Release Kekkei Genkai ninja’s attack from below.

Then, the Chimera Beast flapped its wings once more and launched countless feathers covered in strange patterns.

Swish! Swish! Swish!

The hardened feathers rained down from the sky and stabbed violently into the ground, nearly covering the entire forest.

By this point, the panting Dark Style ninja clearly had little stamina remaining.

Looking at the feathers scattered all around him, a trace of despair appeared on his face.

Boom...

As streaks of red light began glowing across the feathers, every feather embedded in the ground suddenly detonated like an explosive tag, unleashing a massive series of explosions.

By the time the smoke from the explosions cleared, the Dark Release Kekkei Genkai ninja was already lying motionless on the ground, his fate unknown.

Standing beside Hiruko, Shinno immediately flattered him, "Against a Dark Release Kekkei Genkai ninja who can absorb chakra, bombarding him with explosive tags really is the most effective method."

Hiruko smiled. "A Dark Release Kekkei Genkai ninja by himself isn’t actually that frightening. As long as you know the right way to deal with him, defeating him is easy!"

After landing on the ground, Shinno knowingly jumped down from the Chimera Beast, picked up the unconscious Dark Style ninja, and tossed him onto its back.

He then jumped back aboard and said, "We’ve successfully captured the Dark Release Kekkei Genkai ninja. Now all we need to do is wait for news from the others."

Hiruko nodded. "Mm. There’s no need to worry about the Leader. With the Rinnegan, capturing the Storm Style ninja and an Uchiha with the Sharingan should be child’s play for him. Sasori may be irritating, but with him and Kakuzu working together, capturing a mere Steel Release Kekkei Genkai ninja shouldn’t be a problem either. Right now, the only group we need to worry about is Uchiha Shinichi’s!"

Shinno smiled. "If a Swift Release Kekkei Genkai ninja is determined to run away, catching him really won’t be easy."

A strange smile spread across Hiruko’s face.

"Then we’ll just have to see whether the Uchiha clan’s Mangekyo Sharingan is truly as powerful as the rumors claim."

Shinno asked, "If everything goes smoothly, when will you begin the fusion?"

Hiruko replied, "At the end of next month, there will be a rare celestial phenomenon when an aurora descends from the heavens. If all the Kekkei Genkai ninjas are successfully captured, I’ll complete the final ritual on that day."

Shinno’s eyes flickered when he heard this.

"I really can’t wait!"

......

Hyuga Kagami’s home.

Poof...

Amid a cloud of smoke, Shozaimaru popped into existence. He handed Kagami a scroll while simultaneously holding out a paw toward him.

Kagami took the scroll and casually sent Shozaimaru on his way with a thousand-ryo bill.

Then, he opened the scroll Shinichi had sent him and quickly skimmed through its contents.

His brows immediately furrowed.

"So it really is as I thought..."