Darker, Deeper, More Brutal

Yuhara felt that Orochimaru had probably not yet realized what the elements that made up the "ultimate secret" of the ninja world were. However, this prized disciple of the Third Hokage had already begun collecting those elements unconsciously.

This was actually quite natural. Wood Release was extremely powerful, and it was the standard means by which the First Hokage had dominated the ninja world, so Orochimaru wanted to study Wood Release. After discovering a special individual who could use Nature Energy and learning the truth about Senjutsu, Orochimaru wanted to study Nature Energy.

As for the Three Great Dojutsu, Orochimaru was uninterested in the Byakugan, had only a temporary lack of understanding regarding the Mangekyō Sharingan, and, without having met Uchiha Itachi, did not care much about the Sharingan either. As for the Rinnegan, it was currently nothing more than a legendary object.

Things that ordinary ninja could not encounter in their entire lives were basically within reach of a high-end player like Orochimaru, as long as he stretched out his hand a little. However, although Orochimaru had first encountered the "tattoo era," he would ultimately yearn for the "contact lens era."

So the key issue now was Kou—that is, who had Tenzo Yamato in their hands?

No, who had him actually did not matter. As long as Orochimaru understood that Wood Release was feasible and replicable, that would be enough. In essence, he had already mastered the method of using the First Hokage's Cells. If an experiment could succeed once, it could succeed a second time. It was just like how, after the experiment on Yuhara had succeeded, Orochimaru had been able to let him go without a care.

To Orochimaru, everything else was illusory. Only knowledge was real.

Yuhara thought it over and felt that he might very well see an Orochimaru with an "upgraded version," though that was not certain. What if Orochimaru discarded things like Wood Release and Senjutsu as worthless? It was not completely impossible, right?

After hurriedly looking through the contents of the scroll, Yuhara rolled it back up and then collected everything of value... This was neither a library nor a reading room, but a dungeon where danger had not been eliminated. No matter how carefree Yuhara was, he could not possibly start reading and researching here.

According to Hotaru's assumptions, if Yuhara managed to get these things, he should hand them over to Konoha and obtain certain benefits. Ordinary people would have difficulty figuring out what Orochimaru was up to. Even if they happened to understand the significance of these things, they would choose to report him because Orochimaru had taken things too far.

However, Yuhara was not an ordinary person. Since these materials had corresponding value, he would certainly keep them in his own hands.

After obtaining the things hidden at the marked location on the map, Yuhara did not search this underground space any further. He trusted the professionalism of the Anbu ninja—anything even slightly useful would certainly have been taken away by them long ago.

All in all, this had been a successful exploration. Yuhara then began retracing his route. It was around eight or nine in the evening. He had acted relatively early because he felt that traveling alone too late would make him stand out more, while there were still quite a few pedestrians on the streets at this hour.

Tap, tap, tap. Moonlight scattered across the area, shadows swayed, and footsteps echoed. For an instant, Yuhara had the illusion that he was patrolling this place like Orochimaru.

Just then, as Yuhara's right foot landed and his left had yet to rise, an arm suddenly reached out from beneath the ground. Before Yuhara could react, in the blink of an eye, only his head remained above the ground...

His entire body below the head had been buried in the earth.

Earth Release: Beheading Operation of the Inner Heart. The characteristics of this technique were unmistakable, since a certain fifty-fifty ninja used it all the time.

Clang! The oil lamp Yuhara had been carrying fell to the ground and shattered easily. The flames spread across the area splashed with lamp oil.

A ninja wrapped tightly from head to toe, with a painted mask over his face, appeared before Yuhara.

Yuhara had been captured in the blink of an eye. In a certain sense, this was the greatest crisis he had encountered since Orochimaru's experiments, because the whole of Konoha might become his enemy.

Yuhara had thought he was being extremely cautious. He had waited a long time before returning to this underground space, but he had never expected that choosing this place would still leave him under surveillance.

In this narrow passage, Yuhara had become meat on the chopping block.

"Answer my questions. Who are you? Why did you come here?"

The ninja questioned Yuhara in an utterly cold voice.

"Anbu? Root?" Yuhara asked, while beginning to concentrate his Chakra with all his might.

Judging solely by the style of his mask, this ninja looked more like he came from Root. Anbu ninja usually wore masks shaped like animals, with particularly simple designs, and the difference between them and Root could be seen at a glance. Still, this could not be stated with certainty.

"Answer my question."

Yuhara's answer was far from satisfactory, so the ninja immediately raised a foot and kicked him directly in the head!

Bang!

The tremendous sound echoed through the passage, and Yuhara's neck bent dramatically to one side... If only the national football team had this kind of kicking power.

This man really was ruthless.

Fortunately, Yuhara had no intention of being courteous either.

Huh?

Before the ninja could retract his foot, he noticed something strange. The sensation had not been like kicking flesh and blood, but like kicking an iron plate... Fine, not "like." Looking down, he saw that half of Yuhara's face and one shoulder, still buried in the earth, had been covered by something pitch-black.

Then a standard small sphere gleaming with a silvery metallic luster appeared before his eyes.

"Damn..."

The ninja realized that something was wrong, but Yuhara's attack was far faster than his movements. He could only instinctively raise both arms and cross them before himself. However, this simple defense was completely useless.

Secret Technique: Mercury Lamp!

In such a narrow environment, the enemy had no way to evade an attack with such a range.

Countless sharp threads shot out in an instant. Then, under Yuhara's control, the Mercury Lamp spun around completely, leaving the ninja utterly disfigured.

Yuhara's special quality was that when he launched an attack, he did not need hand seals—not even his hands or feet. Under normal circumstances, who could have imagined that?

"Whether you're an Anbu ninja or a Root Ninja, you should have killed me immediately instead of trying to obtain information." Yuhara was not putting on an act. He was genuinely shaken, and his heart was beating absurdly fast.

This enemy had moved without making a sound. If his first strike had been a killing move, Yuhara would not have been able to evade it.

Unfortunately, there were no ifs.

Propelled by the Sword Crate on his back, he slowly arched his whole body out of the ground like a caterpillar, leaving only a large hole behind.

Yuhara reached out and rubbed his chin, feeling that his gums were a little loose. Blood also welled up from his mouth, but he kept his lips tightly shut and endured the taste of blood as he swallowed it.

He would not leave his blood at the scene.

He then retrieved the mass of mercury. Without even touching the corpse, he hurriedly left the place... He had to avoid leaving any traces as much as possible.

In only a few months, Yuhara's way of doing things had changed noticeably. On one hand, he had indeed grown somewhat numb. On the other, Jian Dong's affair had also exerted some influence. In any case...

Even when the enemy was a legitimate Konoha Ninja, Yuhara did not hesitate in the slightest when he struck to kill.

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