Just moments ago, Oyakuro had been composed, calm, ruthless, and decisive. But the moment he learned Shinji was an Uchiha, he completely lost his nerve.
Clearly.
In the eyes of the Chinoike Clan, the Uchiha Clan was their natural nemesis.
They had been exiled here, and they must have tried to rebel or escape at some point. The fact that they still lived in Hell Valley meant that every one of those attempts had failed.
So the moment he encountered the Sharingan, Oyakuro's confidence naturally wavered.
But he quickly recovered. "Wasn't your Uchiha Clan already wiped out? Even now, you still won't leave us alone?"
Shinji said nothing, silently watching Oyakuro.
Oyakuro took several steps back. The quieter Shinji stayed, the more uneasy he felt.
He was one of the strongest members of this generation of the Chinoike Clan. Otherwise, he could never have fought five of his kinsmen at once and killed them all.
But in their clash just now, he'd realized that his opponent's Dojutsu was far superior to his own. His genjutsu had been dispelled the instant he used it, proving that his opponent was no ordinary shinobi.
Shinji wasn't staying silent to seem mysterious. He was assessing his opponent's Dojutsu.
From watching the fight, he could tell that Oyakuro was at Jonin level, perhaps even elite Jonin.
And Oyakuro's Dojutsu was formidable enough to break through the genjutsu immunity of Shinji's Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan. That had surprised him.
Shinobi at this level were usually difficult to keep trapped, so he couldn't understand how the Uchiha Clan had managed to suppress the Chinoike Clan in Hell Valley for so long. Or perhaps Oyakuro was an outlier among the Chinoike, someone who had grown powerful over the past decade or so.
Suppressing his many questions, Shinji focused on