After collapsing due to a sophisticated Sealing Jutsu, Yun Muyan awoke to find himself in the lowest level of the Yun Mu Clan's underground palace, his hands bound behind his back by Ninja tools, and his Chakra almost completely stagnant.
It took him a long time to change from a side-lying position to a cross-legged one, sitting upright to quietly observe his surroundings.
A strange, deathly silence enveloped the area. A few flickering candle flames barely illuminated the ground, but the ceiling above remained shrouded in darkness, like the gaping maw of a giant beast, ready to pounce and devour him at any moment.
Countless runes extended and intertwined beneath him, forming a massive black net that held him firmly captive.
A faint light emanated from a deep cave entrance opposite him, accompanied by approaching footsteps.
The face he had seen countless times in his nightmares gradually emerged from the darkness, looking much older than when he last saw him, yet still bearing the same greed as before.
Yunmu Yin forced a false smile, his face full of wrinkles, and said, "Ayan, how does it feel to have wandered outside for so many years?"
Yun Muyan did not reply, only watching him with caution and disgust.
As if he had expected no response, Yunmu Yin placed the candlestick on the table and sighed to himself.
"Well, I've already let you enjoy freedom for so long. There should be no regrets if you die now, right?"
He turned to look at Yun Muyan, who remained silent, and spoke in a gentle, fatherly tone: "Our little Ayan is truly clever. To have escaped before becoming a sacrifice and hidden for so many years."
"I suppose your Secret Technique has advanced to another level, hasn't it?"
"That's why, after obtaining your heart, the Yun Mu Clan will have hope of becoming one of the top Ninja Clans in the Ninja World!"
Yunmu Yin envisioned the future, as if the Yun Mu Clan's dream of controlling the world was already within reach.
His foolish and short-sighted demeanor made Yun Muyan sneer repeatedly.
"With just you all?"
After many years of struggling outside, he wouldn't even dare to claim a correct understanding of the contemporary powerhouses in the Ninja World, let alone the Yun Mu Clan, which had almost become a Merchant family.
Their mastery of Ninjutsu was probably inferior to that of low-level Ninja in the great Ninja Villages.
And yet, they still deluded themselves into thinking that a mere heart could bring prosperity to their clan. It was truly a pipe dream.
The Yun Mu Clan had not fought against true Ninja for too long; they simply did not know the extent of what the most powerful Ninja could achieve.
Since he likely couldn't escape anyway, why not provoke his opponent before he died?
"Have you ever considered," Yun Muyan asked with a puzzled expression and a sincere tone, "that a Konoha Jonin-led squad could capture me? Am I really that strong?"
Yunmu Yin froze in place, while Yun Muyan continued to ramble.
"Did they tell you that the Uchiha who finally sealed me looked like he wasn't even ten years old?"
"That is truly powerful Blood Release. Compared to the Uchiha Sharingan, what use could my heart possibly be?"
"Ultimately, using a heart as a raw material to increase the probability of Blood Release awakening, isn't that just false information you got from who knows where?"
"Silence!!!"
Yunmu Yin's rough, hoarse roar echoed through the entire underground space, followed by his hurried gasps and his condemnation of Yun Muyan's "ignorance."
"What do you know! That was reliable intelligence I bought with a lot of silver in the black market!"
"Isn't it just the Uchiha?! Once all of us in the Yun Mu Clan awaken Blood Release, a mere Uchiha will be nothing!"
"I've changed my mind. I originally intended to let you live a few more days, until that important day... but it seems unnecessary!"
Yunmu Yin pulled a short knife from his Pregnant and kicked Yun Muyan, who was still staring at him with a mocking gaze. He then leaned down, raised his right hand high, and was about to stab down.
Clang—
A flash of cold light. The short knife was deflected by a projectile that flew from unknown origins, leaving a long, deep cut on his palm, and blood immediately flowed.
"Who?!"
Yunmu Yin ignored his injury and quickly scanned his surroundings, trying to find the attacker.
Yun Muyan sat up, and the next moment, he felt someone lightly pat his shoulder. He reflexively glanced to his side.
The person was about his height, wearing a loose black robe that completely covered their body. Only the hand on his shoulder suggested that the person was likely a slender, fair-skinned young man.
The hood concealed the person's entire face in shadow. Feeling the gaze, the person turned their head, and a white mask on their face was exposed in the candlelight as they moved.
The mask had no patterns, only two human-eye-shaped holes for the eyes and a horizontal slit for the mouth. When viewed from below, the curves on either side of the mouth were downturned, like the corners of a sad person's mouth.
Perhaps completely unafraid of fighting Yunmu Yin, the person showed no intention of concealing their Chakra or launching a sneak attack. They simply stood there, waiting to be discovered.
The patting sound was very faint, but in Yunmu Yin's ears, it was like a clap of thunder.
He quickly turned to the direction of the sound and, upon seeing the mysterious visitor who seemed to have appeared out of thin air, his heart pounded and his hands and feet began to sweat.
To have silently infiltrated the heavily guarded underground palace, this person's strength was not to be underestimated.
--Could he be after Yun Muyan's heart, wanting to claim it for himself?
"How did you get in here, you bastard!"
While thinking, Yunmu Yin roared, clapped his hands together, and was about to activate Ninjutsu to test the intruder, but found his body suddenly stiff, unable to move even a single finger.
What terrified him even more was that his internal organs were faintly aching, and all his Chakra was extremely chaotic.
Having controlled Yunmu Yin, the young man chided Yun Muyan, "That was very dangerous. I almost didn't make it."
His voice was slightly muffled by the mask, but it still couldn't hide the teasing tone that permeated it.
"Are you just giving up?"
"Pretty much," Yun Muyan shrugged casually. "There's no other way, so I might as well mess with him."
"You're so calm. Aren't you afraid I'm here to kill you?"
"Doesn't look like it."
"Hmm, congratulations, you guessed right."
The young man's voice carried a smile as he patted Yun Muyan's shoulder once more.
Immediately, the Ninja tool shackles on Yun Muyan's hands loosened and shattered, and the Sealing Jutsu that had bound his body also lost its effect.
Yun Muyan stretched his limbs. Out of politeness to his savior, he still asked, "You don't mind if I kill him, do you?"
"Be my guest."
The young man tilted his head slightly and gestured for him to do as he pleased, even thoughtfully asking, "Do you need me to release the Ninjutsu so you two can have a fair fight?"
"No, it feels kind of disgusting."
Just imagining himself and Yunmu Yin mutually slaughtering each other while tearing out each other's hearts made Yun Muyan's skin crawl. He gave the young man a speechless look.
"You shouldn't need me to prove my strength with him, right?"
"Of course," even with his expression hidden behind the mask, his unique aura conveyed that the young man was smiling, "I know Ayan is super strong."