Not a Stepping Stone for Reincarnation

Fugaku's knees gradually bent.

He wanted to remain standing.

But the pressure grew heavier and heavier.

It was as if an invisible hand were pressing down hard on his shoulders.

"I'm not willing to accept this."

Fugaku spoke in a low voice.

"I am also a Mangekyō Sharingan wielder."

"I have the status of clan head, as well as sufficient combat experience."

"Why is it that before you, I don't even have the right to resist?"

Lie Yang looked at him, his voice utterly flat.

"Because you treated the Mangekyō Sharingan as power."

"And I treated it as strength."

Fugaku's breathing caught.

Lie Yang withdrew his ocular power.

The pressure shrouding the bath vanished instantly.

Fugaku swayed, catching himself against the edge of the pool with one hand before he could fall.

The water began to flow again.

The Shadow Clones outside the door loosened their hands at the same time.

Fugaku lowered his head to look at the water, his expression ugly beyond compare.

He had already lost.

He had not lost in ninjutsu.

Nor had he lost in combat experience.

From the moment their eyes first met, he had never truly stood a chance.

They were both Mangekyō Sharingan wielders.

Yet the difference in their strength was as vast as heaven and earth.

Lie Yang had not even revealed his complete ocular technique. With nothing more than the most basic ocular pressure, he had utterly stripped Fugaku of the ability to resist.

Fugaku remained silent for a long time.

At last, he walked before Lie Yang and dropped to one knee.

Ripples spread across the water beside his knee.

"I apologize for my earlier proposal."

"Fugaku..."

The Shadow Clones outside instinctively spoke.

Fugaku raised a hand to stop them.

He kept his head lowered, his voice slow but