Lying on the cold operating table, Ranmaru felt a surge of unease.
Glancing at the deformed failures locked in cages nearby, his heart tightened.
"Will I end up like them?"
The thought took root in his mind, lingering relentlessly.
But soon, he withdrew his gaze, his expression hardening with resolve. "The worst that can happen is death!"
For someone like him, disabled and surviving this long, that was already a stroke of luck.
If he could avenge Kurosuki Raiga, that would be ideal. But if he couldn't, leaving this cruel shinobi world early wouldn't be such a bad thing either.
At that moment, Hiruko, now dressed in surgical attire, approached the operating table. "No need to worry. You're different from them!"
Ranmaru knew the 'them' Hiruko referred to were the failed experiments in the cages. He asked, "How am I different from them?"
"They're consumed by fear, but your heart is filled with hatred!" Hiruko paused, a mocking grin on his face. "The Kimyaro seed won't submit to a weak soul, so you have a much higher chance of surviving the transplant!"
"I see!"
Ranmaru nodded, thoughtful.
Hiruko continued, "As long as you can successfully accept the Kimyaro seed, I'm confident I can guide you through the ritual. By then, your minor disability will be nothing—everything about you will be elevated, and you'll become like me!"
Suppressing his excitement, Ranmaru asked, "Why are you helping me like this?"
His suspicion wasn't a whim.
Having always stayed by Kurosuki Raiga's side, Ranmaru knew well that the bonds between Akatsuki members were tenuous at best.
Kurosuki Raiga and Hiruko were partners in name, but they had no real connection. Hiruko wouldn't be helping him out of loyalty to Raiga. After all, judging by the setup in this laboratory, the ritual's cost was far from trivial.
Hiruko smiled. "Of course, I'm not helping you for free. If you survive the ritual, you'll be my greatest asset in the organization. Besides, haven't you forgotten? We share a common target to hunt!"
"Uchiha Shinji!"
As he chewed on that name, the uncertainty in Ranmaru's Hogan eyes was gradually replaced by hatred.
Having lived a life of constant displacement and uncertainty, Ranmaru had no sense of right or wrong. His mindset was simple: Uchiha Shinji killed Kurosuki Raiga, so he would take revenge!
Convinced by Hiruko's explanation, Ranmaru calmed down, awaiting the transplant surgery.
Hiruko, meanwhile, turned to prepare the surgical tools, a faint smirk curling his lips.
That explanation was only part of why he chose to help Ranmaru. The real reason was his desire to explore the limits of the 'Kimyaro no Jutsu.'
When he first created the 'Kimyaro no Jutsu,' it was out of resentment toward the unfairness of fate, a way to seize the Bloodline Limits he envied in others.
But after the ritual, when his fused Three-Tomoe Sharingan unexpectedly evolved into a Mangekyo Sharingan, he realized the potential of the 'Kimyaro no Jutsu' far exceeded his initial expectations.
Fusing Bloodline Limits wasn't its only function—the technique was capable of far greater feats.
Thus, behind the Akatsuki's back, he began a new round of experiments.
However, the results were far from ideal. Most test subjects couldn't even survive accepting the Kimyaro seed, let alone complete the ritual.
The ones locked in the laboratory's cages were the lucky few who survived the seed's implantation. Most others were torn apart by the seed the moment it was implanted, reduced to mangled flesh.
This outcome had stalled his experiments.
Now, with Ranmaru—a rare possessor of a dojutsu Bloodline Limit—delivering himself to his doorstep, Hiruko couldn't have asked for a better test subject!
Soon, everything was ready.
Hiruko picked up a syringe containing the 'Kimyaro seed' and said to Ranmaru, "Whether you survive this depends on how strong your hatred is! Remember what I said: the Kimyaro seed thrives on hatred, so indulge it fully!"
"Here we go!"
Ranmaru glanced at the writhing 'Kimyaro seed' in the syringe and nodded firmly.
Hiruko plunged the needle into Ranmaru's neck, injecting the seed directly into his body without any safety measures or suppression.
"Aaaargh!"
Instantly, Ranmaru cried out in agony.
His screams filled the laboratory, echoing in the vast space and unsettling the failed experiments in their cages.
As the 'Kimyaro seed' burrowed through Ranmaru's body, Hiruko shouted, "Hate! This isn't enough—far from enough! Cast aside kindness, cast aside humanity, and hate with all your being! Let that hatred please the Kimyaro seed!"
Under Hiruko's goading and the torment of his body, Ranmaru descended into madness. His Hogan eyes turned blood-red, and his entire demeanor shifted.
At that moment, Hiruko activated his Mangekyo Sharingan.
"Aya!"
With a murmur, Hiruko unleashed his right-eye Mangekyo dojutsu, 'Aya,' on Ranmaru.
This was his right-eye Mangekyo technique, capable of absorbing extreme emotions—fear, anger, hatred—to enhance or restore his own dojutsu power.
Soon, Hiruko felt a surge of pure dojutsu power nourishing his Mangekyo Sharingan, his face lighting up with joy and obsession.
Undoubtedly, his goading of Ranmaru's hatred and anger wasn't just to please the Kimyaro seed—it was to feed his own desires!
Satisfied, he quietly deactivated his Mangekyo.
He had never revealed the abilities of his left and right Mangekyo dojutsu to anyone, not even the Akatsuki's leader, Nagato. He brushed off inquiries with the excuse that he hadn't fully mastered his Mangekyo Sharingan.
Nagato didn't care—or rather, he was too dismissive to probe into his subordinate's petty secrets. His sole focus had always been the Ten-Tails.
Nagato's indifference allowed other members to avoid pressing the issue.
Hiruko kept his abilities hidden because both his left-eye dojutsu, 'Yumota,' and his right-eye dojutsu, 'Aya,' possessed astonishing powers. For his own safety, he guarded this secret closely, even on the Hidden Leaf battlefield, where he had only used the Susanoo dojutsu.