Interrupting the Ritual

Uchiha Shaoyu crouched at the edge of the pit, his Mangekyō Sharingan intently analyzing the faint yet inherently twisted evil energy below.

The surrounding chaotic slaughter seemed to have nothing to do with him.

Deep within the pit, that mass of energy seemed to have become more active after being infused with the blood and fear of so many sacrifices. Yet it remained weak and chaotic, instinctively craving more—and better—nourishment, especially a "vessel" capable of steadily housing it, allowing it to endure longer and perhaps even grow.

The originally chosen "vessel" had been that little boy, but now the ritual had been interrupted and the scene was in complete chaos. The energy mass seemed to feel hunger and agitation.

Just then, the old priest, forced back again and again by the infighting caused by Uchiha Shaoyu's genjutsu, retreated to a spot not far from the pit.

"Damn intruder! Lord Jashin will surely punish you! Once the ritual is complete and this old man gains divine power, I will definitely make you..."

The old priest was still waving his cane and hissing curses in Shaoyu's direction, trying to regain control of the situation—or at least bolster his own courage.

But before he could finish—

Whoosh!

A black shadow, nearly impossible to catch with the naked eye and as viscous as tar, suddenly shot out from the depths of the pit!

It moved with incredible speed, carrying a sickeningly sweet stench as it lunged at the old priest like a living venomous snake!

"Wha...?!"

The old priest only managed half a startled cry before the black shadow slammed into his chest!

"Argh—!"

The old priest's body convulsed violently as he let out a pained howl. The staff in his hand clattered to the ground.

Beneath the skin of his chest, countless tiny black tendrils seemed to writhe and spread frantically. His eyes were swiftly flooded with murky blackness, the whites vanishing, while his mouth opened uncontrollably and emitted strange, rasping sounds.

His body began to twist and swell unnaturally, as though something were rapidly growing and merging within him.

The followers still fighting or watching in terrified silence were also stunned by the sight.

The power of the evil god they worshipped had descended upon the high priest in this way?

"It... succeeded?" "Jashin... possessed him?!"

Some followers even forgot the fighting before them. Complex expressions mixing terror and wild joy reappeared on their faces, and they actually managed to briefly break free from Uchiha Shaoyu's genjutsu.

That puzzled Shaoyu somewhat. Though he had used less chakra than a Chunin possessed, a group of ordinary people had actually broken free...

Only a few steps away from the old priest, Uchiha Shaoyu merely watched this sudden development coldly. Within his Mangekyō Sharingan's vision, everything was crystal clear.

That mass of energy had forcibly invaded the old priest's frail body and was crudely merging with it.

The process was filled with rejection and agony. The old priest's life force and consciousness were being rapidly devoured and warped. Even if the fusion succeeded, what emerged would never be some "walking evil god." It would more likely be a deformed monster that had lost most of its reason, driven by primal urges to destroy and devour.

And because the vessel was unsuitable, it would most likely be extremely unstable.

"A boring trick," Shaoyu muttered.

While the old priest was still screaming, his body twisting and deforming, the fusion incomplete, and the newborn monster's consciousness and power at their most chaotic and vulnerable—

Uchiha Shaoyu moved.

There was no flashy ninjutsu, no unnecessary motion. He did not even rise. Maintaining his crouch, his right hand had somehow already gripped the hilt of the short blade at his waist.

Shing!

The cold gleam of the unsheathed blade flashed and vanished.

The next instant, Uchiha Shaoyu appeared beside the old priest as though he had teleported, the short blade in his hand tracing a simple, fierce arc of unimaginable speed!

The blade light swept across the old priest's neck.

Time seemed to freeze for an instant.

The strange rasping in the old priest's throat stopped abruptly. The painful, twisted expression on his face, gradually being consumed by blackness, froze in place.

Within those eyes, now completely black, there seemed to remain a trace of bewildered disbelief.

Then—

Splurt!

His head separated from his body, and dark red blood mixed with strands of viscous black matter spurted into the air!

The headless body swayed once before crashing heavily to the ground, its limbs still twitching unconsciously.

The head rolled aside. The blackness on its face swiftly faded, returning it to a corpse's ashen pallor. Only the terror remained frozen in its wide-open eyes.

The black mass of energy that had shot out from the pit and was merging with him seemed to suffer a heavy blow and violent backlash the instant its host was beheaded. It let out a piercing, miserable silent shriek that only those with keen energy perception could "hear"!

Like a soft-bodied creature doused in strong acid, it violently sprang from the severed neck. Its size seemed to shrink by a full circle, its color dimming considerably. It twisted and tumbled through the air in pain and panic, seeming to want to flee back into the pit yet also as though it had lost its sense of direction.

Uchiha Shaoyu flicked the foul-smelling blood from his blade and sheathed it.

After carefully examining the strange mass of energy before him, Uchiha Shaoyu considered how he might take this thing with him.

Uchiha Shaoyu stood with his blade sheathed, his cold gaze once more fixed on the black energy mass that had sprung from the old priest's corpse and was now twisting painfully in the air, its glow much dimmer than before.

Having lost its host, and apparently suffered backlash from having its forced fusion interrupted, the energy mass appeared listless. Even its sweet, rotten stench had faded considerably.

It seemed to sense Shaoyu's gaze. Its writhing slowed as it hovered in the air, trembling faintly like an injured wild beast—wary yet helpless.

Surprisingly, it did not attempt to flee back into the pit, nor did it show any intention of attacking again. Instead, it slowly and tentatively drifted a little closer toward Uchiha Shaoyu.

Shaoyu raised an eyebrow slightly. The bands of light in his Mangekyō Sharingan slowed their flow somewhat, but his perception remained as sharp as ever.

He could "see" the chaos and weakness at the core of the energy mass, and he could sense an extremely faint, primal intent it conveyed.

Not a threat, but more like an instinctive... submission?

Or perhaps fear of a stronger existence and... dependence?

Interesting. Though this thing was evil and chaotic, it was not entirely devoid of the instinct to seek advantage and avoid harm.

After pondering briefly, Shaoyu did not immediately attack it with ninjutsu or ocular power.

He drew the short blade at his waist again. This time, without infusing it with chakra, he merely used its tip to poke the black energy mass floating before him with extreme caution.

It did not feel solid, more like a viscous, icy current of air with slight resistance.

Touched by the blade tip, the energy mass contracted slightly, but it displayed no aggression. Instead, an exceedingly faint wisp of black air wound itself around the tip as though testing it.

Just as that wisp crept along the blade and was about to touch Shaoyu's hand gripping the hilt, it seemed to change targets. Like a living vine, it suddenly swayed lightly and brushed against the edge of Shaoyu's clothes.

In an instant!

Uchiha Shaoyu's body trembled slightly!

It was neither a physical attack nor an invasion of chakra.

A torrent of icy, fragmented information filled with chaotic images and whispers surged violently into his mind through that minuscule point of contact, like a floodgate forcibly thrown open!

This method of imparting information was completely different from reading memories or receiving intelligence. It was more primal and brutal, carrying the unique chaotic nature of the energy mass itself.

Had Uchiha Shaoyu not possessed the Mangekyō Sharingan and spiritual power far surpassing that of ordinary people, he would likely have been overwhelmed in an instant by this enormous flood of meaningless fragments.

He grunted, the Mangekyō in his left eye blazing brightly as he forcibly suppressed and sorted through the incoming information.