Chapter 85:
"I'm not sure why, but I've lost some of my memories. However, when I arrived at Umbrella Corporation, some of them started coming back."
Jill spoke without turning her head—after all, a sharp Kusanagi Sword was pressed against her neck.
She was fully aware that if she made any sudden moves, her head would be severed from her body. And in this four-person team, the only one with a disability was clearly the leader, meaning no one would stop Sasuke from taking action.
"What exactly did you remember?"
This place was full of eerie, unsettling vibes. Although the zombies weren't powerful, their infectious nature made them a serious threat, so Sasuke remained vigilant.
After all, one bite and it would truly be over.
"I was locked in a white room with tubes stuck in my body. It seems Umbrella did something to me. I need to uncover the truth. There are likely more places ahead that will require us to crack codes..."
After a brief moment of thought, Sasuke withdrew the Kusanagi Sword from Jill's neck.
Jill slowly turned around. The first thing that entered her field of vision was Sasuke's right eye—his uncovered Mangekyō.
"Your eye..."
Jill murmured, her expression momentarily dazed—but only for an instant.
Genjutsu from the Sharingan had no effect on zombies, who were already corpses, but it certainly worked on the very-much-alive Jill.
Cautiously, Sasuke sealed Amaterasu into Jill's eyes. If he so wished, the black flames of Amaterasu could erupt from them at any moment, engulfing her.
"Let's go."
Sasuke walked ahead, brushing past the stunned Jill.
"Maybe I was just imagining things..."
Jill muttered to herself, dismissing what she had just felt as a hallucination.
"This is Lab 1, a Level 1 hazard lab," Jill said as she caught up. "Looks like the power system's down."
They passed through a decontamination corridor and entered a pitch-black lab where they couldn't see a hand in front of their face. The five of them moved forward cautiously. Affected by the ominous atmosphere, everyone held their breath and tread lightly.
At times like this, even the smallest noise seemed deafening.
"Feels like a zombie could jump out from some dark corner at any second..."
Suigetsu murmured from just behind Jūgo, practically glued to his back.
"Don't jinx it, Mitsuki—Sasuke! There's something following us! It's fast!"
With her sharp sensory abilities, Karin immediately picked up on something approaching from behind.
At her warning, Sasuke instantly turned around. "Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu!"
A massive fireball burst from his mouth, lighting up the darkness—and revealing three Lickers crawling rapidly across the ceiling toward them.
As the fireball faded, darkness once again swallowed their surroundings.
"Lickers! Run! This environment's too unfavorable for combat!"
Jill bolted ahead. Spurred into action, Suigetsu followed closely behind.
Karin hesitated for a split second, tempted to run as well, but forced herself to stay still. She stared at Sasuke, who hadn't moved, while Jūgo remained calm and unmoving as always.
"We should run too."
Only after Sasuke issued the command did Karin finally exhale in relief.
She had been seriously worried Sasuke would try to take on the three Lickers head-on. Even if they were only fast and nothing else, one bite from them would be a major problem.
Eventually, the five of them reached another decontamination corridor. This one was clearly open, and the floor was littered with rotting chunks of zombie flesh.
"Hurry! The Lickers are gaining on us!" Karin shouted. She didn't understand why Jill had stopped—especially when the Lickers were so close.
"Wait. Something's not right," Jill said, frowning. "What's with all this zombie flesh? It's too strange."
As she spoke, the three Lickers closed in. Under the corridor's faint light, the group once again saw the grotesque exposed brains of the Lickers.
In a split second, Sasuke swapped places with the lead Licker without any warning. Unable to stop itself in time, the Licker charged straight into the corridor, triggering a trap.
It collided with the laser grid and was instantly sliced into pieces.
Karin and Suigetsu instinctively gasped.
At the same time, Sasuke—now in the Licker's former spot—stared at the two remaining creatures. "Amaterasu!"
Black flames ignited across their bodies.
The constant use of his eyes had begun to wear Sasuke down.
"Sasuke, are you okay? Quick—bite me!"
Karin rushed to support him, extending her pale arm.
"It won't help. This is ocular fatigue, not chakra depletion."
Though biting Karin could restore his chakra, it wouldn't replenish his drained ocular power.
"Who... who are you people, really...?"
Jill raised her submachine gun—a scientific ninja tool—aiming it at the four of them with a trigger-happy stance that said she wouldn't hesitate to open fire.
"Calm down. Now's not the time to fight. All you need to know is that we share the same goal."
Jūgo spoke.
"...You're right. This world's crazy enough. A few more freaks won't make much difference," Jill said, lowering her weapon. "Now we need to figure out how to get through here. The keypad on this end is broken, but the one on the far side is still functional. If one of us can make it across, we can disable the trap."
"In that case, there's a way. Suigetsu."
Sasuke looked over at him.
Thanks to his Hydrification Technique, Suigetsu didn't fear laser traps.
"Me?"
Suigetsu pointed to himself.
"Stop whining and get in there!"
Karin shoved him into the corridor, triggering the trap.
Suigetsu turned back to complain but saw Karin raising a clenched fist at him.
"The password is—8, 6, 6, 5, 3, 4, 7..."
Using his Hydrification Technique, Suigetsu safely made it to the other side and input the password Jill had given him, pressing the confirmation key.
"It's done!"
Hearing Suigetsu's voice from the other side, Sasuke didn't move right away. Instead, he looked to Jill.
The message was clear—he didn't trust her, and wanted her to go first.
Jill didn't protest. She simply stepped into the decontamination corridor ahead of them.
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