The dark-red flesh walls convulsed violently. Viscous purple-black fluid dripped onto Xiao's black military boots, hissing as it corroded them.
Tens of thousands of pure-white eyeballs were densely embedded in the writhing muscle tissue. They had no pupils, no focus, yet they turned at the same instant, locking tightly onto Hyuga Xiao standing in the center of the passage.
The sickly sweet stench in the air intensified tenfold in an instant.
Kabuto clutched his head as his knees slammed heavily into the slick fleshy ground. He opened his mouth, trying to scream, but only wheezing, air-leaking sounds escaped his throat. Two streams of glaring blood flowed from the corners of his eyes, dripping down his pale cheeks.
Orochimaru gripped the flesh wall beside him with his only remaining right hand, his nails digging deeply into the dark-red muscle. His body trembled uncontrollably, his golden slit pupils narrowing into a thread.
"Lord Xiao..." Orochimaru's voice was utterly hoarse, filled with undisguised terror. "This is... the Eye-Power Marsh. The White Snake Sage devoured too many members of the Hyuga Clan. The God Tree Roots couldn't completely digest Ōtsutsuki blood, so they preserved their Byakugan and mutated them into the sensory organs of its second stomach..."
Orochimaru gulped for air, cold sweat and grime running into his mouth. "Don't look at them! These eyes retain the resentment of those used as food for a thousand years. If you meet their gaze for more than three seconds, your soul will be dragged into—"
Orochimaru's words caught in his throat.
Because he saw that Hyuga Xiao not only hadn't closed his eyes, but had taken a step forward.
His military boot stepped onto the sticky flesh wall with a dull thud.
Xiao tilted his head slightly upward. The azure starlight of the Tenseigan Prototype shone