Chapter 273: Ridiculous and Frustrating

Chapter 273: Chapter 273: Ridiculous and Frustrating

"Could he actually possess ocular power on the level of the Mangekyō Sharingan?!"

The moment this thought arose, Hyuga Kagami’s attention instantly focused on Hiruko’s eyes.

Yet the Sharingan in Hiruko’s eye sockets were unmistakably still in the three-tomoe state. There wasn’t the slightest trace of the unique pattern characteristic of the Mangekyō Sharingan.

Kagami immediately became certain.

"His Sharingan isn’t a Mangekyō Sharingan!"

Given Hiruko’s current mental state, if he truly possessed the Mangekyō Sharingan, he would undoubtedly display it openly and without the slightest attempt to conceal it. He would never hide his abilities the way Kagami did.

Therefore, Kagami could be certain that Hiruko did not possess the Mangekyō Sharingan.

"Then why has his ocular power reached the level of the Mangekyō Sharingan?"

This question surfaced in Kagami’s mind.

The Sharingan Kekkei Genkai Hiruko had stolen belonged to Uchiha Hiiragi. But Hiiragi himself was only an ordinary jōnin-level ninja, and his Sharingan had merely reached the three-tomoe stage.

So even if Hiruko had absorbed every last bit of Hiiragi’s ocular power without any loss whatsoever, under normal circumstances, it should still have been nowhere near the level of the Mangekyō Sharingan.

What’s more, judging from Hiruko’s crude and reckless Kekkei Genkai fusion ritual earlier, there was simply no way he could have perfectly absorbed the Kekkei Genkai of all five Kekkei Genkai ninja without any loss.

Despite the many questions swirling in his mind, Kagami knew that now was not the time to investigate them. Without hesitation, he hurled several kunai toward Hiruko.

Whoosh, whoosh...

Accompanied by a series of sharp whistles, the kunai gleamed coldly as they shot toward Hiruko from different angles.

With his Sharingan now activated, Hiruko’s powers of perception had risen to a terrifying level.

The corner of his mouth curled upward. He didn’t even bother using Swift Release. Relying solely on the insight of his Sharingan, he lightly swayed from side to side, narrowly yet precisely avoiding every single one of Kagami’s kunai.

Then, with a smile on his face, he said, "What a boring attack!"

Clang, clang, clang...

Before Hiruko had even finished speaking, a rapid series of metallic collisions rang out behind him.

The kunai he had dodged had collided with one another behind his back, altering their original trajectories. Some ricocheted back toward Hiruko from behind, while the others flew toward Orochimaru, who was still standing motionless under the genjutsu.

By the time Hiruko sensed something was wrong and turned his head, the rebounding kunai were already right in front of him.

However, after colliding and ricocheting, the kunai had lost most of their momentum, greatly reducing their speed. And with his Sharingan active, Hiruko’s reactions were far beyond those of an ordinary person.

As a result, he effortlessly caught one of the kunai between two fingers, then casually used it to deflect all the others flying toward him.

Hiruko slowly turned his head and looked at Kagami with disdain.

"Still don’t understand? No matter how skilled you are at throwing weapons, they’ll never pose any threat to me!"

Kagami merely smiled and said nothing.

At that moment, Orochimaru, who had been trapped in the genjutsu beside Hiruko, suddenly regained consciousness and immediately leaped backward, putting a great distance between them.

Hiruko frowned deeply and stared at Orochimaru in disbelief.

Never in his wildest imagination had he expected that a mere research assistant working under Shinno could break free from the genjutsu he had cast at full power through his Sharingan so quickly.

However, with just a single glance, Hiruko noticed what had happened.

There was a conspicuous wound across Orochimaru’s throat, blood continuously dripping from it.

And that wound had been caused by one of the kunai Kagami had thrown just moments ago.

Clearly, Orochimaru hadn’t broken free of the genjutsu through his own power. It was only thanks to the external stimulus provided by Kagami’s kunai that he had barely managed to escape its effects.

Realizing that he had been played, Hiruko immediately flew into a rage and shouted at Kagami, "Damn it! So your real goal was just to break her out of my genjutsu!"

Orochimaru, who had only just escaped the genjutsu, was equally furious.

He had never truly regarded Hiruko as someone worth taking seriously, so this time, he was genuinely enraged. Never had he imagined that Hiruko would be able to subdue him so effortlessly.

Touching the wound on his throat and staring at the crimson blood staining his fingertips, Orochimaru’s expression became terrifyingly gloomy.

The thought that he—a member of Konoha’s Legendary Sannin who had roamed the shinobi world for decades—had actually been saved by some sixteen- or seventeen-year-old girl from the Uchiha Clan filled him with a sense of humiliation unlike anything he had ever experienced before.

"The Sharingan..."

Orochimaru turned his gaze toward Hiruko once more, staring intently at the three-tomoe Sharingan in his eyes. The wariness on his face grew increasingly pronounced, while his obsession with the Sharingan only deepened.

"That’s enough!"

Just as Hiruko was preparing to attack again, Pain’s cold voice rang out.

Hiruko hurriedly protested, "I’m about to finish the two of them off!"

Pain was clearly displeased, and his voice grew even colder.

"Stop. I’ve seen enough of your ridiculous performance. There’s no need to keep wasting everyone’s time."

Pain was somewhat disappointed by the strength Hiruko had displayed after completing the Kekkei Genkai fusion ritual.

Although he knew that Hiruko’s strength had undergone a tremendous transformation after the ritual, the fact that he couldn’t even defeat two peripheral members of the Akatsuki—two young girls, at that—made Hiruko look utterly pathetic and ridiculous.

Sasori let out a soft chuckle. "Looks like we placed a little too much hope in you."

The other Akatsuki members shared similar reactions. Some wore mocking smiles, others looked disappointed, while still others regarded Hiruko with open disdain.

Although every one of these Akatsuki members was highly experienced, they were ultimately only spectators. None of them were personally standing on the battlefield and experiencing the tremendous pressure Hiruko was exerting at that moment.

All they could see was that Hiruko couldn’t even take down two inexperienced young girls.

Although the performance of the two girls on the battlefield had indeed exceeded their expectations, Hiruko had previously boasted about the Kekkei Genkai fusion ritual as though it were something unparalleled.

Yet now, this was all he had to show for it.

Naturally, the others couldn’t help but look down on him.

Only Shinno still wore that same false smile.

Unlike the other Akatsuki members, Shinno knew Orochimaru’s true identity. And precisely because he knew the truth, he understood just how terrifying the current Hiruko truly was.

Standing on the battlefield, Hiruko was both anxious and furious!

At this moment, he simply had no way to explain himself. He was suffering an injustice he couldn’t even put into words!

He desperately wanted to shout at everyone that the two women before him were each more troublesome than the other, each more cunning than the other.

But then he remembered that they were supposedly nothing more than two peripheral members of the Akatsuki—and young, inexperienced girls at that.

No matter how he tried, he simply couldn’t bring himself to voice such an excuse.

Looking at the disdainful and contemptuous gazes of his fellow Akatsuki members, Hiruko felt a sense of frustration and humiliation unlike anything he had ever experienced before...