Deep within the Glacial Mine Tunnel, the air was cold enough to cut skin.
Hiei Hyuga hovered in midair, his eyes covered by the Watcher Seed gleaming with an inorganic silver-white light, like two polished ice crystals. He—or rather, it—looked down below, its voice devoid of any human emotional fluctuation. "Tenseigan sample, purity 37.2%, has surpassed historical records. Immediate harvesting is recommended to prevent the sample from continuing to evolve and producing uncontrollable variables."
The instant those words fell, Hiei Hyuga moved.
It was neither the Body Flicker Technique nor taijutsu, but something far stranger—his body left several afterimages in the air, every one of them forming hand seals at the same time. Ice-blue chakra surged from the tunnel walls, condensing into countless sharp ice spikes that densely sealed off every route of escape.
"Ice Release: Thousand-Kill Ice Burial."
Hyuga Xiao's Tenseigan spun wildly, data streams cascading through his vision like a waterfall:
[Target chakra nature: Ice + Yin + unknown energy] [Attack coverage: radius of fifteen meters] [Threat level: Mid Shadow Level] [Recommended response: Spatial jump (locked) / Absolute defense (locked) / Endure head-on (survival rate 12.7%)]
Cold numbers flickered through his mind. Xiao's right hand rose instinctively, the deep-blue glow of the Tenseigan gathering in his palm into a swirling sphere of chakra. His movements were as precise as a machine, every angle and every ounce of force calculated to the limit—this was the combat instinct granted by the Tenseigan, and also proof that Divine Erosion was stripping away his existence as a "human."
"Cycle Rotation: Rupture."
The deep-blue sphere of chakra flew from his hand and collided head-on with the ice spikes filling the air.
Boom—!
The blast wave overturned the tunnel floor, sending shattered rocks and ice fragments flying in every direction. Xiao stood