"Sizzle—!"
The air crackled as corpse energy and flames collided violently.
"Qiu Sheng—ink line!"
"Got it! Catch, Master!"
Suppressing his fear, Qiu Sheng hurriedly pulled the ink line from his bag. He and Uncle Jiu each grabbed an end—
The line, soaked in black dog's blood and cinnabar—
Snapped outward.
In an instant—
Two green zombies trying to break through the glutinous rice barrier were bound tightly.
Sizzle—!
The ink line burned like molten iron—
Sinking deep into their flesh.
The zombies froze—
Shrieking—
Unable to move.
—
So this…
Is the Taoist art of this world.
Uchiha Hideki's Sharingan rotated faintly.
Capturing everything.
Analyzing.
External tools.
Ritual mediums.
Channeling energy through form.
Complex—
But highly effective.
At the same time—
His body moved.
Effortlessly.
A white zombie lunged—
He sidestepped.
A casual slash—
Kunai flashed—
Its foot severed cleanly.
The zombie collapsed instantly.
Neutralized.
Against white zombies—
No techniques were needed.
Taijutsu alone—
Was enough.
The real problem—
Was the green zombies.
—
"Lin Jiu, correct?"
"That's right."
"I'll handle the green zombies."
"You support from the side. Preserve your strength."
Before the words fully settled—
Uchiha Mo was already moving.
He appeared beside a green zombie—
His kunai crackling with lightning—
Driving straight into its joint.
Uncle Jiu reacted immediately.
"Qiu Sheng! Support with talismans!"
The two shifted into a mobile formation.
Peachwood sword.
Talismans.
Coordination.
Meanwhile—
Hideki moved like flowing water—
Weaving between enemies.
—
Zombies fell.
One after another.
But—
The pace…
Was wrong.
Subtly controlled.
Uchiha Hideki split his focus.
One part—
Studying Uncle Jiu.
Talismans.
Hand seals.
Energy flow.
The other—
Watching the real battlefield.
—
Uchiha Mo vs the hairy zombie.
That was the core.
Flames surged.
Explosions roared.
Fireballs crashed repeatedly—
Forcing the monster back.
Its miasma churned violently—
Distorted—
But not broken.
Mo moved within the firelight—
Switching between ninjutsu and taijutsu.
Fast.
Precise.
Yet—
Never decisive.
—
Uncle Jiu noticed.
That hairy zombie—
Was terrifying.
If it were him alone—
Death would be certain.
And now—
In his eyes—
Uchiha Mo was losing.
The claws struck again and again—
Each attack barely avoided.
The foul wind alone—
Withered nearby plants.
Mo's Fire Style was strong—
But always—
Just short.
"I need to finish this and help him!"
Uncle Jiu gritted his teeth.
His attacks grew sharper.
Faster.
But—
Something felt off.
Every time he tried to accelerate—
The flow shifted.
A green zombie would suddenly block him.
Hideki would need assistance.
Qiu Sheng would get in the way.
Again.
And again.
"…Strange."
Uncle Jiu frowned.
He couldn't explain it.
—
The battle dragged.
Unnaturally.
Like an invisible hand—
Was controlling everything.
—
Then—
It changed.
"ROAR—!"
The hairy zombie roared.
Its miasma exploded outward—
Breaking through the fire.
At the same time—
Uchiha Mo faltered.
His movement slowed—
Just slightly.
Too slight.
But—
Enough.
A claw—
Struck his shoulder.
Blood—
Burst out.
"Not good!"
"Qiu Sheng—Five Thunder Talisman!"
Uncle Jiu's heart clenched.
No time to think.
That talisman—
A secret technique.
Powerful—
But not his specialty.
—
At that exact moment—
A green zombie lunged.
Forcing him to defend.
His focus shifted.
Toward Hideki.
Hideki—
Was "struggling."
Multiple enemies pressing him.
A green zombie—
Broke through.
—
That moment—
Was fatal.
—
The hairy zombie attacked relentlessly.
Claws falling like rain.
Uchiha Mo retreated—
Step by step.
Blood soaking his clothes.
Worse—
The wound—
Darkened.
Purple-black.
Spreading.
Visible.
"Corpse energy has entered his body!"
"The poison of a hairy zombie—!"
"If untreated, it will reach the heart within half an hour!"
"He'll become a zombie!"
Uncle Jiu's voice carried urgency.
But—
He was pinned.
—
Hideki watched.
Carefully.
The wound.
The spreading energy.
The symptoms—
All correct.
But…
Slow.
Too slow.
Mo was sweating.
Breathing unevenly.
Everything matched poisoning.
And yet—
Something didn't feel right.
A hairy zombie—
At most—
Equal to a taijutsu-focused jōnin.
Even without genjutsu—
Mo should handle it.
So—
Was this…
A test?
Risking death?
Just to probe him?
Why?
Hideki's brows furrowed.
He himself—
Had only hidden a three-tomoe Sharingan.
Some restraint.
That was all.
Was this level of testing necessary?
Or—
Was Mo truly this weak?
No.
Impossible.
"…Enough."
"If I can't understand—then that's fine."
"No need to take it this far."
His gaze shifted—
To Mo.
To Uncle Jiu.
To Qiu Sheng.
Then—
He made his decision.
—
Same clan.
Same origin.
Same path.
Yet from the start—
It was all suspicion.
Mo tested him.
Hideki hid.
In a world like this—
Was that necessary?
If Mo wanted to see—
Then fine.
He would show him.
Someone—
Had to take the first step.
—
The moment the hairy zombie lunged again—
Uchiha Hideki moved.
This time—
No restraint.
His figure blurred—
Afterimages trailing like ghosts.
His hands formed seals—
Faster than before.
Sharper.
More decisive.
Lightning surged—
Across the ground.
"Lightning Style: Ground Walk!"