Ch.254 Hell Valley

After returning home, Shinji put away his Akatsuki robe and mask, then took a shower in the bathroom.

As the warm water soothed his muscles, he half-closed his eyes and began sorting through the current situation.

Throwing Mizuki out as a distraction to draw the village's attention now seemed like a brilliant move. Not only did it lead the village to lift the investigation on the academy students earlier, but it also redirected the village's focus onto the teachers working at the academy.

He noticed that Iruka was not only being monitored by ANBU but also by suspicious figures who were likely from Root.

All of this indicated that the fallout from Mizuki being exposed as a spy was still unfolding.

"I wonder where Mizuki is being held now. If he's still locked up in the maximum-security prison like in the original timeline, maybe I can do something to continue diverting the village's attention..."

Shinji's thoughts wandered.

Aside from Mizuki, a petty and cunning individual, the other teachers at the academy, like Iruka, were all loyal to the village.

No matter how strict the village's investigation was, they wouldn't find anything.

So, over time, the village's attention would inevitably shift elsewhere. Rather than letting it refocus on the students, it would be better to occasionally give the village something else to worry about.

After all, the ANBU's manpower was limited.

However, these were matters for later and didn't need to be rushed. For now, Shinji needed to focus on two things: continuing to search for dojutsu Bloodline Limits to improve the quality of his Yin Release chakra, and monitoring Karin's progress in restoring the severely damaged Mangekyō Sharingan to quickly advance the 'Rinnegan Plan.'

As for the 'Tenseigan Plan,' since Neji was still under the protective surveillance of the Hyūga clan, it couldn't be initiated yet.

Moreover, as Shinji delved deeper into exploring his Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan, he gained a better understanding of dojutsu Bloodline Limit.

In his view, the Tenseigan was fundamentally different from other dojutsu Bloodline Limits like the Sharingan, Hogan, and Ketsuryūgan that were scattered across the shinobi world.

There was a qualitative difference between them!

Simply transplanting a pair of Byakugan from a Ōtsutsuki branch family member into Neji or Kimimaro in the hopes of obtaining the Tenseigan was overly optimistic.

Even if their bloodlines were enhanced to make them closer to their ancestor, Ōtsutsuki Hamura, the success rate wouldn't be high. After all, Neji and Kimimaro weren't Ōtsutsuki Toneri!

As his own ocular power grew, Shinji had a vague feeling that the key to obtaining the Tenseigan might lie with the giant Tenseigan on the moon.

"Let's take it step by step."

Thinking about the overwhelming power of the giant Tenseigan, Shinji reined in his thoughts.

That power was on par with the 'Six Paths level,' capable of driving the moon to destroy the world. And here Shinji was, just barely at the stage of attempting to achieve the Rinnegan.

Drying his hair with a towel, Shinji stepped out of the bathroom. Suddenly, an idea struck him. He bit his finger and formed a hand seal. "Summoning Jutsu!"

Poof!

Coalball emerged from the white smoke, sticking out its tongue and sprawling on the floor like a dog.

Shinji lightly kicked Coalball. "Get up. You're embarrassing all cats!"

Coalball rolled over, refusing to get up. "I'm exhausted, let me catch my breath!"

Seeing Coalball's smug demeanor, Shinji knew it must have gathered some useful information. He quickly put on a smile and poured Coalball a glass of water. "Talk."

After lapping up some water, Coalball said leisurely, "Hey, do you know what I found this time?"

Shinji's face darkened. "If you keep playing games, your salary for this month is gone!"

"Tch, as if you even have money to pay me. You're just looking for excuses to cut my pay!" Coalball muttered under its breath, then said, "I found the Chinoike clan!"

Shinji quickly asked, "Where?"

"In the Land of Hot Water, Hell Valley!" Coalball leaned closer to Shinji. "You know, this clan has some history with your Uchiha clan. Back in the day, it was your Uchiha clan that defeated them and exiled their entire clan to Hell Valley."

Shinji said, "Go on."

Coalball recounted everything it had learned.

The feud between the Uchiha and the Chinoike clans dated back to the Warring States period, before the establishment of the hidden villages.

At that time, the Chinoike clan had offered one of their women to the daimyō of the Land of Lightning. Unexpectedly, the daimyō died of illness not long after.

The daimyō's wife, out of resentment toward the Chinoike woman, took her anger out on the entire Chinoike clan.

Back then, most major clans earned their income by accepting commissions.

The daimyō's wife, aware of the Chinoike clan's strength, hired the Uchiha clan, who also possessed a dojutsu Bloodline Limit, to defeat and exile the Chinoike clan. The entire clan was banished to a desolate place called Hell Valley in the Land of Hot Water.

Perhaps out of fear of the Chinoike clan's retaliation, or simply out of habit, the Uchiha clan had been sending people to patrol Hell Valley and monitor the Chinoike clan.

That is, until the night of the Uchiha massacre!

With the Uchiha clan wiped out, there was no one left to patrol Hell Valley.

Shinji narrowed his eyes, deep in thought.

The Chinoike clan's Ketsuryūgan was one of the dojutsu Bloodline Limit. Unlike the Byakugan and Hogan, the Ketsuryūgan, like the Sharingan, was renowned for its hypnotic abilities. As someone actively collecting dojutsu Bloodline Limit, Shinji had also been secretly investigating the Ketsuryūgan.

So, the secrets Coalball revealed weren't entirely unknown to him, but Coalball's information was more comprehensive.

"A blood feud..." Shinji murmured, then said, "Now that there are no guards, the Chinoike clan probably isn't willing to stay in Hell Valley anymore, right?"

Coalball lapped up some more water before replying leisurely, "Yeah, but before they could move, they started fighting among themselves. If I hadn't run fast, I might not have made it out alive. Look, my tail almost got burned!"

"Huh?"

Shinji was speechless.

Of all times for the Chinoike clan to start infighting, it had to be right after gaining their freedom with no one to monitor them.

As if reading Shinji's thoughts, Coalball licked its fur and said, "You've never been to that hellhole called Hell Valley. Living in a place like that for so long, it's no wonder they went crazy! And the Chinoike clan's Ketsuryūgan is really strange. It seems like they can control blood. When I was spying on them, I saw some of them using their ocular power to manipulate blood pools and perform all sorts of bizarre jutsu!"

"Hell Valley..."

Shinji mulled over the name and made a decision.