Offering loyalty and the Chimera Technique.
Each word seemed to be forced out of Hiruko's throat, carrying the taste of blood.
Menma watched Hiruko silently, the corners of his lips beneath the white three-eyed fox mask twitching faintly for a fleeting moment.
The invisible, suffocating killing intent receded like a tide, as if it had never existed.
"Very good." These two simple words marked the end of this transaction.
Hiruko collapsed to the ground, gasping for breath, his entire body drained of strength. Cold sweat had completely soaked through the bandages beneath his straitjacket, clinging to his cold skin.
Soon, Menma brought Hiruko back to the Star City using the Flying Thunder God Technique.
Inside a heavily guarded underground prison built of solid rock, the heavy iron door creaked open with a dull grinding sound.
Menma walked in with the disheveled and still-pale Hiruko.
The prison cell was spacious but sparsely furnished, containing only a simple stone bed, a table, and a chair. The dim lighting cast long shadows, and the air carried the earthy scent of stone along with a faint trace of sealing technique energy.
"Stay here for now." Menma's voice was devoid of emotion, as if stating something trivial.
Hiruko lowered his head, but deep in his eyes flickered unwillingness, resentment, and a trace of barely concealed hope.
His submission had been nothing but a last resort...
Footsteps echoed from the depths of the prison, and a slender figure slowly emerged from the shadows.
Hikari stepped forward to face the two.
She wore the signature dark blue high-collared attire of the Uchiha Clan, embroidered with the flame-fan crest on her chest.
Her long black hair cascaded smoothly over her shoulders, a few strands framing her pale cheeks. Her delicate features carried an almost translucent coolness, and her pitch-black eyes, like deep pools, calmly observed Hiruko.
"Where's Kakuzu?" Menma glanced around but didn't see the gloomy figure of Kakuzu, the captain of the Anbu usually responsible for prison oversight.
Hikari explained, "Gato is heading to the Land of Water… there seems to be some trouble with the company there. I sent Kakuzu to accompany him."
"Hmm." Menma nodded. Although Gato had been implanted with the [Blood Oath Seal], he was still defenseless against powerful Ninjas.
Whenever Gato traveled to inspect the various business companies across nations, Kakuzu was typically assigned as his bodyguard.
The two also had private dealings, as Gato would hire Kakuzu to eliminate troublesome individuals or business rivals, and Kakuzu was happy to earn some extra money.
As the two conversed, Hiruko raised his head and looked at Hikari. At first, he was slightly stunned, but the glimmer of hope in his eyes quickly turned into overwhelming absurdity and a barely suppressed disdain.
'A little girl... from the Uchiha Clan?'
Even if he recognized her as a member of the Uchiha Clan, he was surprised to see a Konoha's Uchiha Clan's member appearing in the Land of Stars, serving under Shura.
But Hiruko still felt a little contemptuous.
After all, the girl before him looked no older than fourteen or fifteen, looking slender, even somewhat frail.
'Was this child really meant to guard me?'
'Is Shura overly confident, or did he simply look down on me?'
As a contemporary of the Sannin, Hiruko had never witnessed the might of Madara or the Uchiha Clan's golden age.
His understanding of the Uchiha Clan was limited to them being the foremost Ninja Clan possessing the elite Kekkei Genkai, the Sharingan.
He quickly scanned the prison interior and found the guards at the entrance didn't seem particularly tight.
As for the girl in front of him, he couldn't sense any overwhelming pressure from her.
'Perhaps this was just the typical arrogance of the Uchiha?'
'Maybe this is my chance-'
'If I could subdue this girl, I could use her status to my advantage!'
This thought spread through his mind like a venomous vine.
The humiliation of being crushed by Shura and the anger of forced submission now fueled his reckless desperation.
He needed an opportunity… a way to reclaim control over his fate!
Hiruko forced a humble smile onto his face, slightly bowing as he inched imperceptibly closer to Hikari.
His eyes slithered over her like a venomous snake, searching for an opening, a moment to strike.
Menma, as if oblivious to his scheming, walked straight up to Hikari and handed her the ancient scroll containing the core secrets of the Chimera Technique.
"Keep this safe and hand it over to the Medical Division later." Menma's voice remained indifferent, "The matter over there isn't resolved yet… I need to head out again."
"Understood." Hikari extended her pale hand and silently took the scroll.
Her movements were light, as if afraid of disturbing something, yet her gaze never left Hiruko.
It was at this very moment, when Menma handed over the scroll, his attention seemingly divided, that Hiruko struck!
A vicious glint flashed in his eyes.
'Now!'
His hidden hands shot out from his sleeves, bandages whipping through the air as his body lunged forward like an arrow loosed from a bow… straight toward the seemingly defenseless Hikari!
As fast as a ghost, his attack aimed directly at her neck!
He wanted to subdue her in one move and take her hostage!
However, just as Hiruko made his move, Hikari's black eyes, which had always been calm and as deep as a pool, underwent a terrifying transformation!
Like black night torn asunder by blood-red lightning!
The three tomoe in her scarlet pupils spun wildly, stretching and warping into an intricate, sinister pattern… the Mangekyo Sharingan!
Those eyes seemed to gaze straight from the abyss, instantly dominating Hiruko's entire field of vision and slamming into the depths of his soul!
All his forward momentum, every ounce of gathered Chakra, every murderous thought… in the split second they met those eyes, they were frozen solid by an indescribable, star-spanning ocular power!
Time itself seemed to stand still.
His mind plunged into absolute blankness, his body locked mid-lunge in midair, his face frozen in a comical expression of shock.
No earth-shattering explosion, no dazzling Ninjutsu light… just silent, absolute domination.
Hikari stood motionless, the patterns in her Mangekyo Sharingan slowly spinning.
She didn't even make a single unnecessary movement, and simply looked at Hiruko.
While Hiruko's stiff body still maintained the action of attacking, his eyes rolled back, drool trickling from his mouth as his limbs twitched involuntarily… his consciousness utterly lost in the Tsukuyomi World constructed by those eyes.
All his ambitions, all his schemes… before the power of the Mangekyo Sharingan, they shattered like glass.
Only then did Menma turn away, as if having just dealt with some trivial matter, and walk toward the prison exit without a backward glance.
His footsteps never faltered, as if everything that had transpired was only to be expected. He tossed back just one casual remark:
"Don't kill him."
The heavy iron door groaned shut, sealing away all sound from within the cell.