The air on the back mountain was noticeably colder.
The deeper they went—
The more twisted and withered the trees became.
No birds.
No insects.
No sound.
Only—
A suffocating silence.
Uchiha Hideki followed half a step behind Uchiha Mo.
Behind his lenses—
His Sharingan activated silently.
In that crimson vision—
The world changed.
Light and color faded into the background.
Instead—
Energy became everything.
The wind in the air…
Wasn't just wind.
It was laced with strands of gray-black energy—
Like drifting smoke.
Slow.
Irregular.
Alive.
Carrying a suffocating aura of death.
"…Yin energy… or corpse energy?" Hideki thought.
This energy was completely different from chakra.
Chakra—
Was vibrant.
Alive.
This—
Was stagnant.
Rotting.
The Sharingan's sensitivity allowed him to see even more—
Wherever those gray-black strands touched plants—
Their vitality dimmed.
Withering.
Decaying.
"Mo. I found something."
Uchiha Mo stopped instantly.
Turned.
Hideki raised his hand and pointed ahead.
"There are residual energy traces. Very faint."
"Combined with the death energy on the footprints… and the flow in the air…"
"They all converge there."
"Something has been active there recently."
"Or it's still there."
"..."
"Well done, Hideki."
Uchiha Mo's eyes turned crimson.
His perception wasn't as refined—
But with guidance—
He could feel it.
And he already knew—
What awaited them.
If this was the world of Mr. Vampire—
Then that thing—
Was a zombie.
A creature born from yin energy.
From death.
From resentment.
Even if this was a low-level world—
It couldn't be taken lightly.
A thought crossed his mind—
"Does corpse energy count as natural energy… or biological energy?"
Either way—
Observation came first.
Then contact.
—
The two fell silent.
Their presence dropped to its lowest point.
They moved.
Slowly.
Using terrain as cover.
The closer they got—
The stronger the energy density became.
Like a vortex—
Invisible.
But real.
And—
A smell.
Damp soil.
Rot.
Decay.
At ten meters—
They stopped.
Ahead—
The shadows were thicker.
Darker.
And—
Moving.
Slowly.
Pulsing.
Then—
Two dull, lifeless lights ignited.
Eyes.
A low, gurgling sound followed—
As if something rotted struggled to breathe.
From between the rocks—
A figure emerged.
Stiff.
Twisted.
Dragging its steps.
Its robes—
Torn.
Official.
Ancient.
Its skin—
Shriveled.
Bluish-green.
Its face—
Rotten.
Distorted.
Its nails—
Black.
Sharp.
And around it—
That gray-black energy—
Burned like black flames.
Filthy.
Ominous.
A zombie.
Uchiha Mo's pupils shrank.
"Fall back! Keep your distance!"
The moment his voice rang out—
The zombie reacted.
It smelled them.
Its head snapped toward him—
Its cloudy eyes locking on.
Then—
It moved.
Fast.
Too fast.
Its stiff body exploded forward—
Charging straight at Uchiha Mo—
Dragging a wave of foul wind and bone-chilling cold.
—
As for Uchiha Hideki—
He had already retreated over ten meters.
Before the warning even finished.
His hands formed a seal.
Snake.
Ready.
Always ready.
Uchiha Mo reacted instantly.
He didn't clash head-on.
Chakra surged beneath his feet—
He retreated sharply.
At the same time—
His hand moved.
Whoosh—
A shuriken shot forward.
A paper tag tied to it.
Explosive tag.
It pierced straight toward the zombie's chest.
Uchiha Mo formed a one-handed seal.
"Explode!"
Boom—
Fire erupted.
A violent shockwave burst outward.
The explosion shattered the mountain's silence—
Sending dirt and debris flying.
Fire—
Yang.
Zombies—
Yin.
Natural opposition.
But—
In their vision—
The black miasma surged.
Writhing.
Not dispersing—
But becoming more violent.
"ROAR—!"
The zombie burst through the smoke.
Its chest—
Charred.
Cracked.
Its robes—gone.
Yet—
It didn't slow.
It didn't hesitate.
It lunged again.
As expected.
Explosive tags—
Too weak.
Too brief.
They could suppress—
But not purify.
And its body—
Tempered by corpse energy—
Was abnormally tough.
Even the flames—
Were resisted.
Uchiha Mo understood instantly.
He shifted sideways again.
"Hideki! Fire Style—continuous suppression! Burn the miasma!"
"Understood!"
Hideki was already prepared.
Hands locked into a seal.
Tiger.
His chest expanded—
Chakra surged—
Heat gathered.
"Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu!"
A massive fireball burst forth—
Like a miniature sun.
Boom—
It exploded on impact—
Transforming the battlefield into a sea of flames.
The zombie's path—
Blocked.
The heat—
Intense.
Overwhelming.
Yang energy flooded the area.
The zombie shrieked—
Instinctively recoiling.
It paced at the edge of the flames—
Restless.
Unwilling to cross.
"ROAR—!"
The fire burned—
Consuming the miasma.
Weakening it.
Bit by bit.
"Now!"
Uchiha Mo moved.
Hands flashing through seals—
Faster.
Sharper.
More violent.
"Fire Style: Dragon Flame Jutsu!"
A concentrated stream of blazing white fire—
Shaped like a dragon—
Shot forward.
Piercing through the burning air—
Straight toward the zombie—
Now trapped—
Its miasma weakened.
Its movements slowed.
And—
For the first time—
Vulnerable.