"Orochimaru, you've never heard what my Mangekyō Sharingan can do, have you?"
Before Orochimaru could ask, he revealed the answer, his voice carrying an eerie menace.
"My ability is called [Rationalization]."
"As long as I don't forcibly violate someone's deepest principles, I can silently, gradually manipulate their thoughts, perceptions, and actions."
Uchiha Sen spoke with unmistakable pride.
Orochimaru stiffened at those words. Genuine wariness finally surfaced in his eyes, and his voice was cold and hoarse.
"What a terrifying ability."
"Silently infiltrating the heart, subtly rewriting thoughts... before anyone realizes it, you can completely influence and control a person's entire life..."
"An ability like that is far more terrifying than genjutsu."
Genjutsu briefly deceived the eyes and disrupted perception. Once someone broke free, it lost all effect.
But Uchiha Sen's Rationalization rewrote the heart at its very roots, altered choices, and twisted behavior!
Those under its control were actually following their own deepest desires and fantasies. They simply took a different route to fulfilling them.
Meanwhile, the Sky Screen high overhead broadcast this top-secret conversation in full.
The entire Shinobi World instantly erupted!
"No matter how many times I hear it, that ability still sounds ridiculously broken!"
"So Orochimaru was already in Uchiha Sen's sights years ago! Everything he did was being watched!"
"Sarada has another secret? What could it be, if even Orochimaru is going to such lengths to protect it?"
"Uchiha Sen held back all these years for Orochimaru's Immortality Technique!"
"I just had a horrible thought. No way... I hope I'm wrong."
Countless shinobi felt their scalps prickle as dread crept into their hearts.
On the Sky Screen, even the wind in the Dense Forest had fallen deathly still as the two figures faced off.
Uchiha Sen stared at the grim-faced Orochimaru and spoke slowly, his voice