Chapter 76 — Fanatical Research
Inside the Uchiha camp, Yashiro strode into Batō's tent with a dark expression.
The tent was dimly lit, and the flickering lamp cast eerie shadows across Batō's face.
"That abandoned camp… and that Chinoike traitor…" Yashiro said bluntly, his three-tomoe Sharingan slowly rotating.
"What exactly are you planning?"
Batō calmly set down the scroll in his hand and looked up at him.
"In terms of experience, I became a jōnin nearly ten years before you," he said leisurely.
"And in terms of seniority, I'm your uncle."
"So tell me—why exactly do I owe you an explanation?"
"You're playing with fire!" Yashiro snapped. "If Kumogakure finds out—"
"Kumogakure?"
Batō chuckled lightly.
"That brute has already been sent away."
"Right now the Chinoike clan is still obediently serving as prisoners. They wouldn't dare make another move."
"All I need to do is deliver supplies to them periodically on Kumogakure's behalf and keep them quietly living as captives."
He stood up and slowly walked toward Yashiro.
"This outcome satisfies the village's interests and preserves the Uchiha's position."
"So what exactly are you dissatisfied with?"
Yashiro fell silent for a long moment.
From a purely practical standpoint, Batō was correct.
The Chinoike clan remained imprisoned.
Kumogakure gained nothing.
On the surface, it seemed like the best possible outcome.
"And there's also that Namikaze Yami," Batō added suddenly, changing the subject.
"Have him leave as soon as possible."
"The matter here is finished. There's no need for an outsider to remain here and get in the way."
Yashiro frowned.
"He was sent here by the village—"
"Just a civilian brat," Batō interrupted dismissively.
"So what if he has a little talent?"
"Bloodline limits are the only power that truly lasts."
"Commoners like him…"
"…will never stand on the same stage as us."
Yashiro opened his mouth as if to argue, but in the end he swallowed his words.
He knew that debating Batō now would accomplish nothing.
---
When Uchiha Yashiro found Namikaze Yami, the latter was standing atop a rocky cliff, gazing toward the Chinoike settlement in the distance.
"The mission is complete. You can return now."
Yashiro added calmly,
"We'll report the rest of the situation to the village ourselves."
Unexpectedly, Yami simply smiled—a strangely enigmatic smile.
"Alright."
His answer was so straightforward that it caught Yashiro off guard.
Yashiro had prepared many arguments, even bracing himself to become confrontational if necessary. If Batō personally came to drive Yami away, the situation might have become ugly.
Yet Yami agreed so easily.
However, as Yami turned and walked away, the faint, meaningful smile lingering on his lips left Yashiro feeling uneasy.
Still, he asked nothing more, merely watching the figure disappear beyond the borders of Hell Valley.
What Yashiro did notice, however, was a shadow following behind Yami from afar.
And Yami seemed completely unaware.
Clearly, it was Batō's arrangement—someone sent to ensure that Yami truly left the valley.
---
Half a day later, the tracking ninja returned and confirmed that Yami had indeed departed.
Only then did Batō leisurely begin making rounds through Hell Valley, putting on a show of routine inspection.
Late that night, when all was quiet, he arrived alone at the abandoned camp.
He hoisted the unconscious Chinoike ninja along with the body bag onto his shoulder.
With his Sharingan fully activated, he carefully scanned the surroundings to ensure no one was watching.
Then he stopped before a patch of withered shrubs.
Pulling the shrubs aside revealed a hidden entrance.
A long tunnel slanted downward into the earth.
---
Passing through the passageway, Batō entered a vast underground cavern.
Hidden beneath the rock layers of Hell Valley was a secret laboratory.
The scene inside was chilling.
Several Chinoike corpses were scattered carelessly across the floor.
Along the walls stood rows of jars filled with special liquid.
Floating inside them—
Were nearly ten pairs of Ketsuryūgans, glowing eerily in the dim light.
Batō ran his fingers across these grotesque "collections," his eyes shining with fanatic excitement.
He moved to a hidden compartment and retrieved a pair of crimson Sharingan.
Two tomoe slowly rotated within them.
Just as he prepared to gouge out the Chinoike ninja's eyes—
He realized the man had already awakened and was staring at him with a strange expression.
"Oh? Awake already."
Batō paused.
Instead of acting immediately, he began speaking enthusiastically.
"You know… for years I've been conducting a magnificent experiment."
Perhaps he had hidden his secret for too long with no one to share it with.
Or perhaps he believed the man before him had absolutely no chance of escaping.
Either way, Batō began boasting endlessly about his research.
"The Ketsuryūgan and the Sharingan… these two dōjutsu bloodline limits were meant to complement each other."
His voice trembled with excitement.
"As long as the correct fusion method is found, I'm certain it can break through the limits of the three-tomoe Sharingan…"
As he spoke, he opened another hidden compartment and carefully lifted out a pair of three-tomoe Sharingan, holding them like priceless treasures.
"Look at them… such perfect eyes."
"With just a little more time, I'll be able to—"
Within Batō's own pupils, the Sharingan flickered.
For a moment, a scarlet hue resembling the Ketsuryūgan surfaced within them.
Clearly, his experiments had already produced preliminary results.
---
Suddenly, Batō's expression changed.
He sensed an abnormal disturbance in the outer barrier.
"Foolish child…"
He muttered coldly.
Setting down the items hastily, he darted toward the laboratory entrance.
---
At the end of the tunnel stood Yashiro, carefully investigating the area.
He had long suspected Batō was hiding something here, and tonight he had deliberately followed him.
When Batō appeared from the tunnel, the three tomoe in Yashiro's Sharingan spun rapidly.
"So it's true."
"Tell me—what exactly are you hiding in there?"
Batō's face darkened.
"Some secrets," he said coldly, "are better left unknown."
"Then I'll see it with my own eyes!"
Confident in his own strength, Yashiro stepped forward to force his way in.
This completely enraged Batō.
The three tomoe in his eyes emitted an unprecedented pressure.
That unnatural crimson hue made Yashiro's heart skip a beat.
"This…!"
Yashiro's pupils shrank sharply.
The pressure from Batō's Sharingan was unlike anything he had ever felt before.
Not even the clan's elder, Uchiha Setsuna, had given him such an oppressive feeling.
"So you insist on uncovering everything…"
Batō's voice turned icy.
"Then don't blame me for forgetting we share the same blood."
---
His attack erupted like thunder.
Under the influence of those strange Sharingan eyes, Yashiro suddenly felt his entire body weaken.
Within just a few exchanges, his ninja blade was somehow raised against his own throat.
He sensed something was wrong and was about to speak—
But the scene before him suddenly shattered like broken glass.
Only then did he realize—
He had been caught in genjutsu all along.
"When did—"
Before he could finish the thought, Batō had already appeared behind him.
The hilt of his blade slammed heavily into Yashiro's neck.
Yashiro collapsed to the ground.
As his consciousness faded into darkness, the last thing he saw was the mad gleam within Batō's strange Sharingan.
---
Batō began considering how to deal with this troublesome clansman.
But at that moment—
A painful scream suddenly echoed from the laboratory below.
Batō's expression changed drastically.
Without another thought, he abandoned Yashiro and rushed toward the laboratory at lightning speed.