Hearing the sudden voice, Hiruko was startled.
"Who are you?!"
The man had appeared behind him, and he hadn't noticed a thing.
If the intruder had intended to strike, he'd be a corpse already.
"Who am I?"
"Look a little closer."
As Uchiha Mirai spoke, Hiruko stared at him for a long moment.
Then, his eyes widened in shock, words tumbling out of his mouth in disbelief.
"Y-You... you're Uchiha Mirai?!"
Mirai smiled and nodded. "Correct."
A sinking feeling spread through Hiruko's chest.
Being targeted by Uchiha Mirai… meant today was likely the end of the road for him.
Damn it!
He had been so close!
"You look frustrated."
"Of course I'm frustrated!" Hiruko gritted his teeth. "I was this close… just one more step, and I could've become the most powerful shinobi in the world…"
Mirai let out a quiet chuckle, then said lightly, "Go on then. I'd love to see where all that confidence of yours is coming from."
"You'll find out soon enough."
Hiruko's heart leapt.
To his surprise, the provocation had actually worked.
Uchiha Mirai was going to let him complete the ritual.
But when he still didn't move, Mirai frowned.
"What's the hold-up? Aren't you starting?"
Though he was reluctant to reveal details about the Chimera Technique, Hiruko knew he couldn't let Mirai lose interest.
"The ritual needs specific conditions to be met. The time hasn't come yet."
Mirai yawned. "What a boring, tedious technique."
Hearing his hard-earned jutsu dismissed so casually, Hiruko clenched his fists in fury.
Just wait. Once the technique was complete, he'd show Mirai real power.
Time passed. The sun was finally swallowed up by darkness.
Violent winds swept across the land as Hiruko quickly formed hand signs and activated the Chimera Technique.
Countless tendrils erupted from the ground, instantly devouring the four bound shinobi tied to the stone pillars.
Inhuman screams pierced the night—and then, silence.
The ritual was complete.
Hiruko had finally obtained the power he had dreamed of.
"Yes! The Chimera Technique worked!"
Feeling the overwhelming force surging through his body, Hiruko couldn't help but laugh maniacally.
After all his planning and effort… success was his.
Now, there was no one left who could stand against him!
"You look like someone who just finished."
Mirai's voice pulled him back to reality. Hiruko's eyes narrowed as he glared at him.
"That's right. And now… it's time you paid for your arrogance."
With those words, Hiruko charged at Mirai with absolute confidence.
In terms of offense, he had Storm Release.
In terms of speed, he possessed Swift Release—fast enough to disappear from the naked eye.
For defense, he had Steel Release—capable of turning his body into solid metal, immune even to explosive tags.
And beyond all that, he could wield Dark Release, allowing him to absorb enemy jutsu and send them back in retaliation.
He had no weaknesses.
In a one-on-one fight, no one could beat him!
That dream of invincibility lasted only a few seconds.
As he neared Mirai, a sudden crushing pressure slammed into his body.
Bang!
He was thrown to the ground like a ragdoll.
It felt like a mountain had landed on his back—so heavy he couldn't move a muscle, no matter how hard he tried.
"What… what is this power?!"
Hiruko gasped.
He tried to activate Dark Release—but nothing happened.
Still standing calmly in place, Mirai looked down at him with cool detachment.
Hiruko was overwhelmed with disbelief.
He hadn't even made a move… and he'd already lost?!
"To come up with a jutsu like that is impressive," Mirai said. "But your vision is far too narrow."
His gaze bore down coldly.
"Hiruko. Will you come back to Konoha with me?"
"You're not… going to kill me?" Hiruko asked, stunned.
"Ahahahaha…"
Mirai burst into laughter.
"Why would I go to all this trouble just to kill you?"
"You'll understand once we're back. That power you're so proud of? It's really not much at all."
Hope flared in Hiruko's heart. There was a chance he might live.
"Lord Mirai, I—I'm willing to go with you!"
"Good."
Mirai raised a hand and summoned a space-time portal with Yomotsu Hirasaka.
"Let's go."
And with that, he vanished.
The crushing pressure on Hiruko's body instantly lifted.
He looked at the dark portal in front of him and didn't hesitate for a second—he stepped through.
...
In the blink of an eye, he was standing in the middle of a dense forest.
"A space-time ninjutsu…"
"This is… Konoha?"
Hiruko was stunned.
The place where he'd performed the ritual was thousands of miles from here—yet Mirai had brought him across that distance in one step.
Compared to that, his joy at completing the Chimera Technique now seemed laughable.
Following Mirai deeper into the woods, Hiruko soon arrived at a massive underground facility.
His eyes went wide at the sight of the rows upon rows of high-end lab equipment and rare materials.
This—this was the kind of lab he'd always dreamed of working in.
After a while, they encountered someone familiar.
"Orochimaru!!!"
Seeing the man, Hiruko's breath caught.
It was him—the one who had filled his head with ideas like "geniuses and ordinary people live in completely different worlds." It was those ideas that had driven him to become the twisted person he was now.
He had developed the Chimera Technique to prove to Orochimaru—and the others—that he wasn't inferior.
"Hiruko. It's been a while."
Orochimaru, on the other hand, didn't seem too affected by the reunion. He simply nodded and turned to Uchiha Mirai.
"Mirai-kun, shall I take over from here?"
Mirai nodded. "Yeah. He's been out of the shinobi world for too long. Bring him up to speed."
Orochimaru smiled, tongue flicking out briefly. "Of course. We're old friends, after all. I'll take good care of him."
Not wanting to be overshadowed, Hiruko quickly spoke up.
"Lord Mirai, I can hand over the Chimera Technique technique right now."
Mirai waved a hand. "That's between you and Orochimaru. I spared you because I value your research skills."
"Make good use of this chance. Don't disappoint me."
----------------
Pls Drop some Power Stones
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