Meanwhile, the cocky brat, Shisui Uchiha, let out a violent sneeze. He rubbed his nose, feeling as though someone was bad-mouthing him behind his back.
Longjian Senju, who was crouched in a corner, looked up at him with some concern.
"It's fine. Just some dust in my nose," Shisui Uchiha said softly, offering an offhand excuse with a broad smile. "Black Zetsu said we could go see Teacher Dan."
"Dan, Teacher Dan..."
Longjian Senju tilted his head and tried to remember for a moment, a hazy confusion settling over his face.
"Dan Katō. Our teacher, and your guardian. You remember him, right?"
Seeing his response, Shisui Uchiha's heart clenched. Longjian's forgetfulness and confused memories were getting worse.
The Barrier around Longjian's room was always undergoing strange changes, distorting his perception of the outside world.
Recently, the Barrier had changed again. If someone stared at the orange-red Barrier for too long, strange voices would start echoing in their mind-
"Can you really accept this? None of your efforts will ever be acknowledged... When everyone looks at you, you aren't really the one they see... Can you honestly accept that? Shisui, don't you want to kill those people who refuse to give you the recognition you deserve?"
The strange technique formula seemed capable of drawing out hidden emotions deep within a person's heart and reinforcing them over and over.
Shisui Uchiha looked away, his wariness and apprehension reaching their peak.
Watching Longjian lower his head and squeeze a crackling candy wrapper, he realized that Longjian was locked in his second struggle against Black Zetsu.
The first struggle had been the silent environment. Black Zetsu had used that method to wear down Longjian's will.
Although he didn't know whether Black Zetsu had gotten what he wanted, Longjian probably hadn't lost. He had retained