"You!?"
Hiruko's expression froze, the faint smile that always lingered on his lips solidifying in an instant.
He had considered this possibility before, but the thought was quickly dismissed.
After all, he had encountered shinobi using Transparency Release in front of him before. With the keen insight of his Mangekyo Sharingan, Transparency Release was riddled with flaws and could never deceive him.
Yet the scene before him shattered his understanding of Transparency Release.
Ranmaru had approached within a meter of him without being detected. If it had been an enemy, Hiruko would have surely suffered a critical blow.
Indeed.
Among the four Bloodline Limits Ranmaru had fused, one was the Transparency Release that Hiruko had scoffed at.
Before the ritual, Hiruko had repeatedly urged Ranmaru to replace Transparency Release with Storm Release to enhance destructive power.
But Ranmaru had stubbornly chosen Transparency Release!
In his words, he only aimed to kill one person, so he had no need for a large-scale offensive Bloodline Limit like Storm Release!
At this moment, Ranmaru, his body wrapped in bandages, spoke in a hoarse tone. "I succeeded!"
Hiruko, wary, took two steps back and asked uncertainly, "When you approached me from behind just now, you used Transparency Release?"
"Yes!"
Ranmaru nodded.
Hiruko pressed, "Why didn't your Transparency Release leave any trace?"
Ranmaru shook his head. "I'm not entirely sure."
Hiruko narrowed his eyes, sizing Ranmaru up.
After the ritual, Ranmaru had visibly grown taller, now resembling a normal fourteen- or fifteen-year-old boy. His physical deformities had also been completely repaired by the Chimera Technique.
From his appearance alone, Hiruko felt that Ranmaru's fusion degree might even surpass his own.
It seems the ritual enhanced his fused Bloodline Limits…
Hiruko quickly came to a conclusion.
Having developed the Chimera Technique himself, he knew that a sufficiently perfect ritual could significantly boost the strength of the fused Bloodline Limits.
However, a perfect ritual existed only in theory, which is why he hadn't considered this possibility earlier. Now, it seemed Ranmaru's ritual had gone exceptionally smoothly, with his Transparency Release receiving a substantial enhancement.
Ranmaru, meanwhile, was reveling in his newfound physical strength.
Having been bound by illness his entire life, he had never experienced such a robust physique. After briefly sensing it, a smile spread across his face. "Lord Hiruko, this is the ritual you created—it's… it's simply unbelievable!"
Hiruko suppressed the wariness in his heart and smiled. "You didn't disappoint me!"
Ranmaru eagerly asked, "With my current strength, can I avenge Lord Kurosuki Raiga?"
"Of course!" After a pause, Hiruko stared intently into Ranmaru's eyes and asked a question that deeply concerned him. "Has anything changed with your Hogan?"
"Changed!?" Ranmaru paused to sense it, then shook his head. "It doesn't seem like anything's different."
Hiruko couldn't help but press further. "Not even a little?"
"No."
Ranmaru shook his head again.
Hiruko frowned, then said, "Let's leave this place for now! Though the ritual succeeded, you'll need time to adapt to the fusion. Stay in the lab and don't wander around during this period."
Ranmaru lowered his gaze, responding obediently as always. "Yes!"
After Hiruko flashed away from the ritual site, Ranmaru's pupils contracted, a glint of cunning flashing in his eyes.
Undoubtedly.
During his time with Hiruko, the sharp-minded Ranmaru had long sensed Hiruko's unusual interest in his Hogan.
So, while assisting Hiruko with the ritual preparations, he began to observe carefully.
His efforts paid off. One day, when Hiruko was away, Ranmaru sneaked into his study and found a note in the trash detailing Hiruko's secret plans for an eye-transplant surgery, seemingly to graft another pair of eyes onto himself.
Given Hiruko's fixation on his Hogan and the fact that Hiruko already possessed a Mangekyo Sharingan, Ranmaru realized that ordinary eyes wouldn't interest him. The eyes Hiruko coveted had to be some form of dojutsu Bloodline Limit.
Thus, when Hiruko asked about changes to his Hogan earlier, Ranmaru deliberately lied!
Soon after.
Ranmaru followed Hiruko back to his underground laboratory in the Land of Iron.
As Hiruko prepared to give Ranmaru a full physical examination, a caw-caw sounded, and a black crow flew into the lab.
Hiruko glanced at the crow, his face darkening.
"I'm heading out. Stay here!"
After giving Ranmaru the order, Hiruko followed the crow out of the lab.
"Phew…"
Ranmaru let out a breath.
He knew the black crow was a summons from the Akatsuki. Normally, the organization didn't restrict its members' movements, but a summons meant a major operation was afoot.
Considering Hiruko had lost his partner, for the Akatsuki to call him under these circumstances likely meant the target was a place Hiruko knew well—Hidden Leaf Village.
"Hidden Leaf…"
Recalling that heart-wrenching moment from the past, killing intent surged in Ranmaru's eyes.
Ignoring Hiruko's instructions, he activated Transparency Release, turning invisible, and with a flash, followed Hiruko.
...
On the Other Side.
Following the black crow, Hiruko traveled south.
Thanks to his Swift Release, his speed matched the airborne crow, and soon he reached the border between the Land of Iron and the Land of Fire.
In light rain, he followed the crow into a secluded grove.
Hidan, who had been waiting in the grove, complained, "Hey, you're too damn slow! I've been waiting forever!"
Hiruko ignored Hidan's jab and scanned the grove. Aside from the leader, nearly all the Akatsuki members were present.
Another operation?
Hiruko thought to himself, then stood under a large tree, silently letting the rain soak him.
...
In the Distance.
Seeing Hiruko enter the grove, Ranmaru activated his Hogan and observed. In his vision, the chakra of the Akatsuki members blazed so intensely it seemed it could overturn the entire grove.
As expected of the Akatsuki!
Not daring to deactivate Transparency Release, Ranmaru found a tree to shield him from the rain and hid.
Just when he thought he'd gone unnoticed, a cold voice suddenly rang in his ear. "What are you looking at?"