Yugito Nii only felt a hollow emptiness in her lower abdomen. As the chains shattered, she let out a long breath.
Wiping the sweat from her forehead, she still felt relieved. Moriyue had not betrayed her trust. As expected, she had not misjudged him.
But when she turned her gaze to Moriyue, she realized things might not have been as simple as he had claimed.
Faced with such a powerful ninjutsu, Yugito Nii had suspected there might be side effects. She had only agreed after Moriyue repeatedly assured her that he would be fine.
Yet, seeing his entire body trembling and the Curse Mark spreading wildly across him, Yugito Nii immediately understood.
How could there possibly be such a good ninjutsu in this world? Moriyue was clearly suffering backlash.
"I'm... fine. I'll be... okay... soon..."
Moriyue forced the words out through clenched teeth. He had long known that failure with a forbidden technique came with corresponding consequences. The fact that he would not die was his greatest trump card. Mere side effects—he could grit his teeth and endure them.
The pain did not lessen with time. Instead, it grew ever more intense, as though his senses had been magnified countless times. Even insignificant dust falling on his body brought a burst of searing pain.
But as Moriyue silently endured the agony, another mutation occurred within him. Perhaps sensing the chains before him constantly expanding, the strange tentacle tattoo on his back also began to change.
Previously, the two had existed in a state of mutual balance. First came the sealing chains, then the strange tentacles. With the chains' aid, Moriyue had successfully sealed the tentacles, and the two had continued to coexist without issue.
But now, the chains had absorbed the Two-Tails' Chakra from Yugito Nii, and their momentum had