Ch.257 Overbearing Fusion!

Looking at the eight small nutrient tanks lined up in front of him, Uchiha Shinji couldn't help but smile with satisfaction.

Although he had come here with the confidence of obtaining the Ketsuryūgan, he never expected to acquire so many pairs in one go.

A total of eight pairs of Ketsuryūgan were more than enough to support a variety of experiments.

As a result, he decided to postpone his return to the village and took the opportunity to personally experience the power of the Ketsuryūgan using the blood pools in Hell Valley.

After scanning the surroundings with his Byakugan and confirming the safety of the area with Yugito patrolling outside the valley, Shinji activated his Susanoo.

Immediately after, he activated the Susanoo Tomoshibi, removing the enhanced Hogan from the third pair of eye sockets in his Susanoo and replacing it with a newly acquired pair of Ketsuryūgan.

In an instant, the third pair of eye sockets in his Susanoo lit up with a sinister, blood-red glow.

"This feeling..."

Shinji's expression turned serious.

The cold, sinister aura of the Ketsuryūgan surpassed even that of the Sharingan. In some ways, the Ketsuryūgan's ocular power felt even more malevolent than the Sharingan's.

However, given Shinji's current understanding of Yin Release chakra, he naturally wouldn't dismiss the Ketsuryūgan based on its superficial evil aura.

Chakra that feels overwhelmingly evil usually falls into two categories.

The first is like that of the demonic entity Mōryō, where the chakra is filled with tangible malice and killing intent, giving off an intensely evil vibe.

The second is when Yin Release chakra is extremely polarized, creating a sense of threat. The Sharingan and Ketsuryūgan fall into this category.

Of course, overly polarized Yin Release chakra inevitably carries the host's killing intent and malice.

The pair of Ketsuryūgan Shinji had just equipped was a prime example. Its Yin Release chakra still carried the lingering, frenzied killing intent of its previous owner.

Fortunately, compared to Shinji's own Yin Release chakra, the chakra from a single pair of Ketsuryūgan was insignificant and had no effect on his mental state.

Standing by the blood pool, Shinji cut his palm and, mimicking the Chinoike clan members, let his blood drip into the pool.

Drip...

Drip...

Drip...

As the blood dripped, Shinji soon felt a strange resonance between himself and the blood pool.

With a slight raise of his hand, the iron-rich hot spring water in the pool surged upward.

"Without even forming hand seals..."

Shinji was both surprised and intrigued!

He then began forming hand seals: "Water Release: Water Wall!"

As he channeled his chakra, the water from the blood pool came alive, rising in massive waves to form a protective wall around him.

Shinji's eyes narrowed. "The effect is this pronounced?"

The Water Wall was only a B-rank jutsu, and Shinji hadn't used much chakra, yet the result was astonishing—its power was nearly two to three times that of a normal Water Wall.

Realizing this, Shinji glanced around at the various blood pools scattered throughout Hell Valley and thought, "If the Chinoike clan fought here, their combat power would likely double!"

This realization also clarified why the Chinoike clan had erupted into internal conflict over whether to stay or leave.

Despite its harsh climate and uninhabitable conditions, Hell Valley was a natural battlefield for the Ketsuryūgan.

However, it was also possible that these blood pools were the result of the Chinoike clan's long-term modifications after being exiled here.

Otherwise, it would be hard to explain why the Uchiha clan would exile the Chinoike clan to a place that perfectly suited their combat abilities.

After briefly experiencing the Ketsuryūgan, Shinji began his evaluation.

The ocular power of the Ketsuryūgan was roughly on par with that of the Tomoe Sharingan. The pair he had equipped using the Susanoo Tomoshibi was slightly weaker than a three-tomoe Sharingan in terms of ocular power.

However, this was likely due to the previous owner's lack of development.

Generally speaking, the Ketsuryūgan, Hogan, and Tomoe Sharingan were on the same level.

Additionally, after equipping the Ketsuryūgan, Shinji confirmed his earlier hypothesis: the boost in ocular power varied significantly depending on the dojutsu kekkei genkai being used.

While the Ketsuryūgan's ocular power was far inferior to that of the Mangekyō Sharingan, the boost it provided when equipped surpassed that of the Mangekyō Sharingan.

Soon, Shinji's gaze shifted to the other nutrient tanks.

With so many pairs of Ketsuryūgan at his disposal, he decided to immediately test whether he could forcibly fuse the Ketsuryūgan using the Susanoo Tomoshibi.

To do this, Shinji removed the Byakugan from the second pair of eye sockets in his Susanoo and equipped another pair of Ketsuryūgan.

"Susanoo Tomoshibi!"

After calming his mind, Shinji activated his dojutsu.

As the ocular power of his Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan surged, the second and third pairs of eye sockets in his Susanoo began to merge.

However, perhaps due to the overwhelming killing intent and malice lingering in these two pairs of Ketsuryūgan, Shinji immediately felt significant resistance during the initial stages of fusion.

"Huh?!" He frowned, his expression darkening. "You're really pushing it, aren't you?"

In an instant, Shinji poured more of his Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan's ocular power into the fusion.

The Ketsuryūgan, being on par with the Tomoe Sharingan, was clearly inferior to the Mangekyō Sharingan, let alone the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan.

Thus, even though the resistance persisted, the fusion process began to proceed steadily.

As the fusion progressed, blood tears streamed from the second and third pairs of eye sockets in his Susanoo.

Moreover, Shinji's ears seemed to fill with cries and roars, as if vengeful spirits were swirling around him. Combined with the eerie environment of Hell Valley, the scene resembled a painting of hell itself.

Yet Shinji remained unfazed. A faint, disdainful smile curled on his lips.

This level of malice and killing intent was child's play to him. It couldn't even slightly unsettle him, let alone instill fear.

The current Shinji was no longer the same as before.

His Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan had also grown significantly stronger since its initial fusion.

With a sharp gaze, Shinji tore apart the wailing spirits, reducing them to nothingness. The two pairs of Ketsuryūgan, which had been resisting the fusion, merged into one in an instant!

Whoosh!

Shinji's Susanoo suddenly opened its eyes, and within its second pair of eye sockets, a pair of even deeper, blood-like Ketsuryūgan appeared.