Chapter 269: Kekkei Genkai Fusion Ritual

Chapter 269: Chapter 269: Kekkei Genkai Fusion Ritual

The gazes of the two men, each harboring their own ulterior motives, met.

Both of their expressions sharpened for an instant before they quietly looked away, neither revealing the slightest trace of what was going through their minds.

Hyuga Kagami thought to himself, "Tch. Orochimaru’s got some serious guts. Isn’t he afraid Akatsuki will see through him? Does he really think he’s immortal or something?"

Meanwhile, Orochimaru licked his lips and thought, "My, my... What a fresh, vigorous Uchiha. If I can’t obtain Uchiha Shinichi’s body, then this Uchiha En would make quite a fine alternative."

Each with their own schemes in mind, the two quickly composed themselves and turned their attention toward Hiruko, who stood at the center of the platform.

Far in the distance...

Obito sat atop a towering rock formation with one leg casually crossed over the other.

Beside him, Zetsu emerged halfway from the rock face, a teasing look on his face. "Every one of those guys in the Akatsuki claims they don’t care, yet when Hiruko finally holds his Kekkei Genkai Fusion Ritual, not a single one of them is absent."

Obito replied calmly, "If Hiruko’s experiment ultimately succeeds, it will completely change the shinobi world. No one can truly remain indifferent to something like that."

"That’s true." Zetsu nodded, then chuckled. "Even Nagato, who fancies himself a god, came here personally."

Glancing toward Pain in the distance, Obito slowly said, "If the threat posed by Kamigami weren’t so great, I wouldn’t have encouraged Nagato to support Hiruko’s experiment in the first place."

Zetsu turned toward Obito. "You’re worried Hiruko might get out of control?"

Obito replied coldly, "If Hiruko really succeeds in fusing those five Kekkei Genkai into one, there’s no telling just how powerful he’ll become!"

Zetsu said, "With Nagato here, you don’t need to worry too much. Whether Hiruko’s experiment succeeds or fails, he’ll always remain a pawn in your hands."

Obito’s gaze shifted toward Hyuga Kagami, who stood beside Shinichi, and then toward Orochimaru, who stood beside Shinno.

"Have you figured out the identities of those two?"

Zetsu replied, "The woman beside Shinichi is named Uchiha En. According to Shinichi, she’s a spy he planted inside Konoha. The woman beside Shinno is named Oto. She’s a new research assistant recruited by Shinno. For now, there’s no way to verify either of their identities."

"Uchiha En..."

Obito frowned slightly.

"Is there really someone like that in the Uchiha clan?"

Unlike Shinichi, who had been a Special Jōnin when he defected from the village, Obito had only been a Chūnin promoted during wartime when he left Konoha, just like Hyuga Kagami. Given his position and status back then, even he couldn’t claim to have known everything that went on within the Uchiha clan.

Therefore, although he had some doubts about Hyuga Kagami’s identity as "Uchiha En," he couldn’t declare with absolute certainty, as Shinichi had, that no such person existed within the Uchiha clan.

After all, for a prestigious shinobi clan of the Uchiha’s caliber, it was perfectly normal to have a group of clan members who had been kept hidden from the public eye since childhood and secretly trained by the clan.

Back at the platform...

Hiruko stared up at the sky, an indescribable expression on his face—a mixture of anticipation, joy, madness, and restless anxiety.

Suddenly, the sun hanging high in the sky seemed to be obscured by something.

The originally clear sky abruptly darkened, as though night had descended in an instant.

Before anyone could react, brilliant patches of light began to shimmer across the darkened sky.

"It’s finally here!"

Hiruko shouted excitedly.

Immediately afterward, he rapidly formed a series of hand seals before slamming both palms heavily onto the ground.

Rumble...

In an instant, five cross-shaped restraints rose from the center of the platform. Bound to each one was a shinobi with their head hanging low, seemingly unconscious.

"These must be the Kekkei Genkai shinobi Hiruko captured!"

Hyuga Kagami’s gaze swept across the unconscious Kekkei Genkai shinobi one after another before finally settling on Uchiha Hiiragi.

He let out a soft sigh.

Unlike Hyuga Kagami, whose expression had grown somewhat complicated, Orochimaru’s face on the other side was filled with anticipation.

At that moment, the lights in the sky grew brighter and brighter, intertwining until they formed a vast curtain of green light.

Like ribbons, the green curtain twisted and danced across the night sky, illuminating the heavens in a dreamlike glow. It was as though the entire world had transformed into one enormous dreamscape.

As the curtain of light grew increasingly brilliant, rays of light streamed down from the heavens, falling upon the platform at the mountain’s summit.

The enormous mirrors surrounding the platform, each more than ten meters tall, reflected beam after beam of green light, focusing them all onto Hiruko’s body at the center of the platform.

At that very moment, everyone present could clearly sense the chakra emanating from Hiruko becoming increasingly intense.

Nearby, Hyuga Kagami and Uchiha Shinichi instinctively activated their Sharingan. The three tomoe within their eyes spun rapidly as they tried to observe every single change taking place within Hiruko’s body.

Sasori, hidden inside Hiruko, wore a grave expression.

Kakuzu took a step back, his body instinctively assuming a guarded stance.

Shinno watched without blinking, while a trace of wariness joined the anticipation on Orochimaru’s face.

Pain remained expressionless, but Konan’s delicate brows furrowed slightly.

More and more green light gathered around Hiruko, growing increasingly dazzling. The green radiance seemed almost alive as it flickered and danced across his body.

Hyuga Kagami was secretly astonished.

"What an incredible chakra reaction!"

There was no doubt that, with the aid of the celestial phenomenon, the intensity of Hiruko’s chakra had now reached an absolutely terrifying level.

But what astonished Hyuga Kagami wasn’t merely the terrifying intensity of that chakra.

What shocked him even more was how Hiruko’s body was able to withstand such an overwhelming amount of chakra in the first place.

Under Hyuga Kagami’s astonished gaze, Hiruko, standing at the very center of the platform, slowly began forming hand seals.

By now, Hiruko’s expression had become grotesquely distorted. It was a look of indescribable madness, his very features seemingly twisted out of shape.

"Chimera Technique!"

With Hiruko’s crazed growl, a massive amount of purple, gelatinous substance surged out from within his body.

The gelatinous matter seemed to be a part of Hiruko himself. It spread outward in every direction before lunging with clear purpose toward the five Kekkei Genkai shinobi bound to the restraints.

Before long, the gelatinous substance had engulfed them one after another.

"AAAAARGH!!!"

The instant they were swallowed by the strange substance, the five Kekkei Genkai shinobi, who had previously been unconscious, erupted into horrifying screams that chilled the soul!

Within the mysterious gelatinous mass, their flesh began to dissolve little by little. Their bodies seemed to be melting away, their pupils rolling upward until only the whites of their eyes remained visible. Saliva spilled from the corners of their mouths, and their faces had already lost any semblance of a normal expression.

Hiruko spread his arms wide and laughed madly.

"Wail! Despair! And then merge with me! Become one with me, and together, we’ll become a truly great existence!"