Chapter 524: Demon Fox

Chapter 524: Chapter 524: Demon Fox

Carefully observing the changes in the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan within his eye sockets, Kagami gradually arrived at several conclusions.

First, the most significant change was that the ocular power of these Sharingan had increased. Moreover, this increase was substantial enough to be clearly perceptible. According to Kagami’s own estimation, the improvement was approximately 30%.

Second, a relatively obvious rejection reaction had appeared.

Third, the Yin Release chakra within the Sharingan was attempting to influence the Fire Release clone.

After recording these conclusions one by one in his experimental log, Kagami fell into deep thought.

The sudden appearance of a rejection reaction in this pair of Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan surprised him somewhat, as no such phenomenon had existed before.

Therefore, it was reasonable to conclude that the sudden rejection reaction was related to the substantial increase in the ocular power of the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan.

Perhaps it was precisely because of this dramatic increase in ocular power that this pair of Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan, which contained the soul characteristics of the Uchiha brothers Hideki and Ryota, had acquired a slight ability to resist their new host.

And for Kagami, this was not a bad thing.

After all, it meant that this pair of Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan had indeed undergone a transformation after absorbing the Yang Release chakra contained within the First Hokage’s cells. They were now fundamentally different from what they had been before.

It could be said that they had already reached an intermediate stage between the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan and the Rinnegan.

As for why they had failed to successfully evolve into the Rinnegan, Kagami suspected that either the quality of the Yin Release or Yang Release chakra was insufficient, or their quantities were inadequate. Alternatively, the environment used to nurture them might not have met the necessary requirements.

After all, Shisui, who had undergone the First Hokage’s cell transplantation surgery, was not the original owner of this pair of Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan.

Taking Uchiha Madara as a reference, even someone like Madara, who had already stood at the pinnacle of the shinobi world, had only barely managed to evolve his Rinnegan several decades after transplanting the First Hokage’s cells.

This demonstrated that the amount of chakra required to evolve the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan into the Rinnegan was likely enormous.

"Perhaps I’ll need to design a special ritual to provide the amount of chakra required for the evolution..."

With this thought in mind, Kagami, who was currently controlling his Fire Release clone, sealed his Yin Release true body into the storage scroll he carried with him before setting off toward Konoha...

...

Inside a dim underground base.

Naruto was noisily slurping down noodles, showing absolutely no awareness that he was a hostage. Hinata, who sat beside him, behaved much more like one. She ate in small bites, her eyes constantly darting around their surroundings in fear.

Just then, a figure emerged from the shadows.

Hinata was startled. She hurriedly grabbed Naruto’s clothes and lowered her head, hiding behind him.

Naruto, however, shouted at the figure without a care in the world, "You big snake freak! I’m not afraid of you!"

The figure emerging from the shadows was none other than Orochimaru, who had abducted Naruto and Hinata.

Having heard Anko call out Orochimaru’s name back in the shelter’s passageway, Naruto had simply taken to calling him the ’big snake freak.’

Unlike Naruto, who knew absolutely nothing, Hinata, as the eldest daughter of the Hyuga main family, had heard of Orochimaru’s reputation.

She knew very well just how terrifying Orochimaru, one of the Legendary Sannin, was. As a result, she didn’t even dare raise her head to look at him.

"Heh heh..."

After letting out a couple of sinister chuckles, Orochimaru walked over, seemingly unconcerned by Naruto’s nickname for him.

Naruto hurriedly shielded Hinata behind him. "You big snake freak! What do you want?"

Orochimaru grabbed Naruto by the collar and casually tossed him aside. Then, reaching out, he lifted Hinata’s chin and began examining the flawless white Byakugan in her eye sockets.

Hinata desperately wanted to break free, but intimidated by Orochimaru’s overwhelming presence, she didn’t dare move a muscle. Large tears spilled from her eyes, rolling down her cheeks before dripping onto the ground.

"You big snake freak! Let her go!"

Seeing Orochimaru grab Hinata, Naruto, overflowing with his sense of justice, hurriedly scrambled to his feet and shouted as he prepared to charge forward.

"Ah... A snake!"

He had barely taken a step when he discovered that something had bound his arms and legs, leaving him unable to move.

Looking down, he saw that a large snake as thick as a man’s arm had somehow coiled itself around him. The sight left him terrified and completely at a loss.

Meanwhile, Orochimaru stared at Hinata’s Byakugan, which displayed nothing particularly extraordinary, and curled his lips in disappointment.

"The Byakugan, huh? Hmph, so this is all there is to it!"

With more and more Uchiha possessing the Mangekyo Sharingan becoming active throughout the shinobi world, coupled with the emergence of the overwhelmingly powerful Rinnegan, an increasing number of people had begun to believe that the Byakugan was undeserving of its reputation.

Previously, the Byakugan and Sharingan had been regarded as Konoha’s two great dojutsu kekkei genkai.

Orochimaru himself had once researched the Byakugan, but his interest had quickly shifted toward the Sharingan.

After all, aside from its reconnaissance capabilities, the Byakugan truly had little else that stood out. It certainly possessed nothing comparable to the Sharingan’s Susanoo, a powerful dojutsu that combined offense and defense.

After releasing Hinata, Orochimaru recalled the snake that had restrained Naruto.

Naruto immediately rushed to Hinata’s side. Shielding her protectively, he forced himself to put on a brave front and declared:

"It’s fine if you capture me, but do you have any idea who she is? Her family is one of the most prestigious clans in the village! Y-you’re gonna be in big trouble!"

Naruto hadn’t originally understood much about prestigious clans or powerful families. But after spending so much time with Sasuke, constantly hearing him boast that the Uchiha were Konoha’s most prestigious clan, he gradually came to understand that children like Sasuke and Hinata were different from ordinary children like himself.

They were born into privilege, important people whom ordinary villagers wouldn’t dare provoke.

Looking at Naruto’s earnest expression, Orochimaru suddenly recalled the Fourth Hokage—the man who had taken the position of Hokage from his grasp.

For some reason, the corners of his mouth curled upward.

"Boy, do you know who your parents are?"

Naruto’s spirits immediately sank. Like an eggplant wilted by frost, he quietly nodded.

"He knows?"

Orochimaru was surprised.

Could someone in the village have disobeyed the old man’s orders and told him about his origins?

Concealing Naruto’s parentage had been an order personally issued by the Third Hokage. Orochimaru hadn’t expected anyone to dare openly defy it.

He suddenly became interested in whoever had revealed Naruto’s origins. That person must have had some ulterior motive to deliberately disclose such a secret to the young Naruto.

"Who told you?"

Naruto absentmindedly kicked a small stone near his feet.

"Everyone says so..."

Orochimaru frowned. "Who are your parents?"

Naruto answered in a small voice.

"... demon fox."