Chapter 77 — Filling in the Weakness
Let us rewind to the moment when Batō had just left the laboratory.
In the now empty underground lab, Namikaze Yami's true body quietly appeared.
Meanwhile, the "Chinoike clansman" that Batō had carried back slowly began to change shape, its appearance gradually reverting to Yami's own.
The truth was simple.
After pawning the real Chinoike clansman through the system, Yami had left behind a carefully disguised bone clone in his place.
This plan had worked flawlessly, allowing his "eyes and ears" to be brought straight into the hidden laboratory.
As for his seemingly obedient departure earlier—
That had merely been a delaying tactic.
Yami had noticed the tracking ninja following him long ago. Once he confirmed that the tracker had returned to report his departure, he immediately used the Flying Thunder God mark to teleport back to Hell Valley.
That was how, during the brief window when Batō had left to confront Yashiro, Yami was able to activate the Flying Thunder God technique placed on the bone clone—
And cross space directly into this secret laboratory.
---
The moment he arrived, the sight before him made his breath pause.
Across the walls of the dark laboratory floated countless Ketsuryūgans, glowing with an eerie crimson light.
The scene was enough to send chills down one's spine.
On the experiment table lay the Sharingan Batō had casually set aside earlier.
Yami's pupils shrank slightly.
Among them, one pair of three-tomoe Sharingan had been placed in a specially crafted container, clearly Batō's most prized specimen.
"Three-tomoe Sharingan of the Uchiha…" Yami murmured softly.
The information transmitted from the bone clone had already given him a clearer understanding of Batō's research.
This Uchiha squad leader had secretly been conducting a deranged bloodline fusion experiment.
"Looks like not all Uchiha are conservative traditionalists after all," Yami said with a faint cold smile.
Time was running short.
Yami acted immediately.
While activating the system scan, he simultaneously expanded Kagura's Mind's Eye to confirm that Batō was still confronting Yashiro at the tunnel entrance.
[Scan Complete. Pawnable items detected:]
Chinoike clansman corpses (damaged) ×6 — Value: 30 points each
Uchiha clan corpses (damaged) ×2 — Value: 30 points each
Chinoike bloodline products (Ketsuryūgans) ×10 — Value: 50 points each
Uchiha bloodline product (Three-Tomoe Sharingan) ×1 — Value: 50 points
Uchiha bloodline product (Two-Tomoe Sharingan) ×1 — Value: 30 points
Crude bloodline fusion research notes ×5 — Value: 0 points
A sharp glint flashed in Yami's eyes.
He hadn't expected Batō's years of secret accumulation to be this substantial.
What surprised him even more was the discovery of two Uchiha corpses deeper within the lab.
Those must have been the original owners of the Sharingan.
"Pawn them."
[Current Pawn Points: 7575]
Considering he might soon face Uchiha Batō directly—and that the man's strange Sharingan clearly had some success and could potentially exploit Yami's weakness in genjutsu—
This opportunity was perfect.
Like a pillow arriving just as someone grew sleepy.
Yami immediately redeemed the system's newly refreshed item:
[Uchiha Beginner Bloodline — Cost: 100 points]
"Redeem."
The moment the bloodline fused into his body, a cold chakra spread throughout him.
But it wasn't enough.
His gaze fell upon the three-tomoe Sharingan taken earlier from Danzo's collection.
[Uchiha Bloodline Product (Three-Tomoe Sharingan) — Cost: 100 points]
"Redeem."
A tearing pain exploded within Yami's eyes.
His newly obtained beginner Uchiha bloodline struggled to fully support the power of the three-tomoe Sharingan.
His vision flooded with crimson.
Chakra rampaged violently through the meridians surrounding his eyes.
Just as he struggled to adapt to the new eyes—
Before he could even open them—
The system notification sounded again.
[Chinoike bloodline tracing complete. Traits analyzed…]
[Automatic assembly generated — Ketsuryūgan]
The next moment—
An indescribable agony erupted from his eyes.
It felt as if two separate pairs of eyes had been forcibly crammed into his sockets.
Two different crimson powers collided violently within his pupils.
The powers of the two dōjutsu bloodlines clashed fiercely.
Yami couldn't help but let out a scream.
That scream was exactly what Batō heard from the tunnel entrance.
---
At the laboratory entrance, Batō's expression changed drastically.
Without even glancing at the unconscious Yashiro lying on the ground, he rushed toward the depths of the laboratory at full speed.
When he burst inside—
The sight before him made his eyes nearly split with rage.
Every specimen on the walls had vanished.
All the precious Ketsuryūgans and Sharingan were gone.
And the Chinoike clansman who should have been unconscious—
Had disappeared as well.
Instead—
Standing calmly in the center of the laboratory—
Was a very familiar figure.
The same civilian ninja from Konoha whom Batō had just driven away.
"Boy… what did you do?!" Batō's voice trembled with fury.
Yami slowly turned around.
A crimson glow leaked between his fingers, glaring in the dim laboratory light.
A pair of unprecedented Sharingan rotated within his eyes.
The whites of his eyes carried the crimson hue of the Ketsuryūgan, while the pupils remained the deep black of the Sharingan.
Three tomoe glowed ominously within.
"Captain Batō… you hid your secrets quite well," Yami said calmly.
Batō's three-tomoe Sharingan spun rapidly in rage.
Yet when he attempted to cast a genjutsu—
He was horrified to discover his ocular power had no effect whatsoever.
"Impossible… How could you—?!"
Yami simply stood there.
The tomoe in his eyes rotated slowly, yet Batō found himself utterly powerless.
Then—
The tomoe in Yami's eyes suddenly accelerated.
The three tomoe faintly aligned into a single line, forming what looked like a dark ring encircling the pupil.
Batō felt his entire body freeze.
His chakra and even his blood seemed to stagnate.
Even forming the simplest hand seal became unbearably difficult.
"Your research was valuable," Yami said coldly, a hint of mockery in his voice.
"But not that valuable."
Batō desperately forced his chakra into motion and formed hand seals.
"Fire Release — Great Dragon Fire Technique!"
But despite struggling with everything he had—
The fire dragon never fully formed.
With a single glance from Yami—
The technique collapsed.
His own chakra backlashed violently through his body.
"It's useless," Yami said as he stepped forward slowly.
"Before these eyes, all resistance is meaningless."
The blood-red ring in his eyes turned slowly.
Batō realized in despair that the ocular power he had spent years researching—
Was completely insignificant before Yami.
His gaze locked onto Yami's pupils, filled with the despair of shattered belief.
"Your… your eyes… what are they…?" Batō asked painfully.
He could only watch helplessly as Yami approached step by step.
Unable to resist.
Unable to struggle.
Even at the moment of death, he failed to stir the slightest ripple.
"Sharingan are indeed quite good."
"Pawn."
With Yami's words, the final trace of Uchiha Batō vanished from the world.
Having filled the final weakness in his genjutsu abilities—
Yami now feared no one.
At this stage of his growth, aside from super-Kage level monsters, ordinary Kage-level fighters were nothing more than whetstones on his path forward.
His heart still stirred from the battle when—
Several unfamiliar chakra signatures rapidly approached.
Within the perception of Kagura's Mind's Eye, the one leading them was unmistakable.
A had returned.