Dark Chakra not only possessed the Power of the Heart, paired with the regenerative power of Medical Ninjutsu.
It also possessed a certain degree of nature transformation and shape transformation.
In other words, it could perform routine moves such as releasing techniques from a distance and firing energy blasts.
Ordinary ninja could use techniques such as Fire Style, Water Style, and Lightning Release.
Mingren, who possessed Dark Chakra, could naturally release Dark Chakra as well.
That Chakra transformed into attacking force.
It did not need to be too strong. As long as it could blow Shikahide Nara away, it could directly break the Shadow Binding Technique.
Black energy turned into a visible hurricane and struck Shikahide Nara.
Sure enough, Shikahide Nara nearly fell backward, and his shadow instantly retracted, releasing the binding technique!
The next second.
Mingren charged over and punched Shikahide Nara in the head.
Shikahide Nara instinctively raised an arm. The beads of sweat on his forehead and the fear in his expression were clearly visible.
No matter how high his intelligence was.
When he saw this Land of Rain youth performing like a monster...
Especially when he faced that icy expression and those eyes burning with Black Fire, it was impossible for him to remain calm.
Crack!!
A power of 7.5 struck home in a single blow.
Shikahide Nara's head slammed viciously into the wall.
The body beneath his neck shook violently several times, like a broken doll.
Though he had blocked it with his palm.
The immense force that penetrated through directly shattered his fingers.
Then.
Mingren raised his right fist and threw another punch.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
With every strike, violent thunderous echoes reverberated through the dark passageway.
Shikahide Nara finally could not endure it any longer. The complete comminuted fracture of his palm and the pain of his skull splitting apart made him scream miserably.
Seeing this.
Tetsuya Senju's face immediately turned pale. His lips trembled, and all ferocity vanished from his eyes.
Like a shivering little rabbit, he sat on the ground and watched his companion scream.
Asuka, standing nearby, felt each punch set off her heartbeat, as though the blows were hammering against her own heart.
"Heh heh... heh heh heh heh...!!"
Watching the rock wall crumble and hearing Shikahide Nara's screams.
Shennong let out a strange, low laugh.
There was the exhilaration of revenge, the despair of having seen through this damned Ninja World and the truth of human existence.
And there was also excitement at discovering that his disciple truly was the best candidate to inherit Dark Chakra.
Once Shikahide Nara's screams faded away.
Pitch-black negative thoughts, visible only to Shennong and Mingren, once again flowed out of the corpse and were drawn into Mingren's body.
[Power... 7.7!]
Seven. Forgiving Them Was the Sage of Six Paths' Business
His power had increased by 0.2 at once.
Mingren felt himself becoming stronger!
"That extra only gave me 0.1. This Nara Clan guy gave me 0.2..."
Mingren's mind raced as he considered it.
Dark Chakra was the Power of the Heart.
The increase in Mental Energy did not merely raise Mingren's power, speed, Chakra reserves, and other attributes.
It also made his mind run more smoothly.
The obscurity and confusion of the past were like clouds parting to reveal the sun, as the thick mist began to disperse.
With his mind working faster, Mingren quickly reached a conclusion.
Killing stronger opponents allowed him to obtain more Negative Mental Energy.
Because clearly, the stronger a ninja was, the stronger their Chakra, Mental Energy, thoughts, and willpower would be—more stubborn and persistent.
Thus, the greater the enhancement he could receive.
Besides...
If he tortured the other party with cruel methods and made them suffer unbearable pain, just as his own rage had caused his power to surge earlier, he would gain even more Negative Mental Energy.
He walked over to Tetsuya Senju.
Shennong urged him, "There isn't much time. Kakashi could arrive at any moment..."
"I know."
Mingren merely gave a cold reply.
Then, beneath Tetsuya Senju's terrified gaze, he extended his right hand...
"D-damn it... If you dare kill me, our Senju Clan will never let you go..."
Threats made at death's door were probably nothing more than self-deception.
But Mingren was quite interested in making it real.
If Tetsuya Senju died horribly enough, the Senju Clan might take an interest in hunting down him, the murderer.
"The Senju Clan? Bloodline Theory? Just trash!"
As Mingren spoke, he knocked over the oil lamp set into the wall.
Under Asuka's shocked gaze.
Fire Oil splashed over Tetsuya Senju's body.
With a roar, flames surged upward.
Tetsuya Senju... had been set on fire.
That was not the most horrifying part.
The most terrifying part was... to prevent Tetsuya Senju from saving himself, using Earth Style or some other Ninjutsu to put out the flames, or perhaps escaping.
Mingren chose the most reliable method.
He stepped forward and directly wrapped his arms around the burning Tetsuya Senju.
"Ahhh~~~~!"
Tetsuya Senju's screams sounded like a living hell.
The scalding Fire Oil set Mingren's body ablaze as well.
Whether the other man tried to use Earth Style to flee or anything else, Mingren, who held him tightly, would move along with him.
"Madman! You madman!!!"
Tetsuya Senju screamed.
The searing heat of the flames did not draw any reaction from Mingren.
Five years and three thousand human experiments of every scale, all conducted on himself, had given Mingren an inhuman tolerance.
Their skin curled and peeled back, their fat sizzling as it burned.
Watching Tetsuya Senju struggle and scream frantically.
Mingren merely held him tight, his gaze as cold as before...
"..."
Seeing this, Asuka could not help pressing her lips together and taking a deep breath.
Even she, a ninja who had undergone rigorous training since childhood.
Had never seen such a scene.
The shock of these brief dozen or so minutes was more profound than anything she had experienced in the past thirteen years...
She had never imagined that ninja could fight like this...
And because of that, she became even more curious about Mingren's identity.
Just what... had he gone through? What kind of person had made his expression so cold...
"Forgive me... It was my fault!!! Kill me, kill me already...!!" Finally unable to endure the pain any longer, Tetsuya Senju cried out.
A ninja's formidable strength also brought stronger vitality.
And abundant vitality meant they would not die easily.
At that moment, pain became torment.
"Forgive?"
Hearing that word.
Mingren's gaze turned even colder.
It was as if a forbidden switch had been triggered.
It reminded Mingren of someone forgiving Obito Uchiha.
"Forgiving invaders like you is the Sage of Six Paths' business. What I have to do... is send you to meet the Sage of Six Paths!"
Asuka: "!!"
Those words seemed to possess magic, deeply etching themselves into Asuka's mind and shaking her soul.
In truth...
As time passed, the beliefs she had upheld since childhood had indeed wavered at times.
Faced with the deaths of countless people.
Doubt was inevitable.
Her grandfather, Hanzo of the Salamander, had even said: after war, nothing remained—only death as far as the eye could see...
Feeling her grandfather's air of old age, and his lost ambition.
Asuka could more or less understand how he felt.
If even her grandfather, who had experienced three Ninja World Wars, said so...
Then.
If one day, her grandfather also lost his fighting spirit.
What path would Amegakure... take then?
Asuka fought amid confusion and worry.
Yet...
The words of this youth she had never met before had suddenly opened her eyes.
Yes...
Forgiving invaders was the Sage of Six Paths' business.
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