Chapter 98: No Wonder He Was So Good at It—He’d Practiced Already

After so many years, Uchiha Tajima's Mangekyō Sharingan finally blazed once more. The pinwheel-like pattern spun furiously, the chilling power from his eyes slowly dispelling the black mist within, and he seized back control of his body.

"Kotoamatsukami, huh… what a troublesome ability."

Yao, still attached to the old jailer's body, retreated a few steps, his fingers numb from the backlash. He raised his head to glare at the pattern in Tajima's eyes, speaking in a low, even tone.

"Haaah…"

Exhaling deeply, Tajima rolled his shoulders, the sinister glow in his eyes unwavering as he stared back at Yao.

"Your little tricks are meaningless in front of these eyes of mine."

Proud of having reclaimed Kotoamatsukami, Tajima raised his blade, ready to settle things with Yao here and now.

"I'd already decided that after today, I'd release you… and let A-Yin reunite with you."

His tone was calm, as if he'd made the decision long ago. What he hadn't expected was for Yao to keep scheming even from inside his cell, trying to turn Gin against him.

"Hah… and am I supposed to be grateful for that?"

Yao sneered, his voice echoing eerily from every shadow as the old jailer melted into the darkness to avoid Tajima's strike.

"Truly a rat in the gutter."

But Tajima, unable to find a target, didn't panic at all. Instead, he only scoffed.

"If it's for vengeance… even if I have to sell my soul to a devil, I'd do it gladly."

Yao's voice came from behind. A shadow stretched, and the old jailer sprang halfway out, dagger flashing as it stabbed toward Tajima's heart.

Clang!

Without even looking back, Tajima swung his sword and deflected the strike, sending the blade flying. The jailer hissed and melted back into the shadows once more.

"So long as shadows exist, you'll never lay a finger on me."

Peeking out from the shade of a nearby tree, Yao controlled the jailer with an almost smug satisfaction.

Shadows, huh…? Tajima's eyes flashed faintly, and he slowly sheathed his blade.

"Hmph. Too late to repent now. Drown in Wangliang's darkness."

The shadows around him began to churn, seethe, and merge into a writhing tide of black tendrils, surging toward Tajima.

"Can a glowworm ever match the brilliance of the moon?"

Facing the suffocating pressure of the oncoming darkness, Tajima stood firm, lowering his eyes with quiet arrogance.

"Let me show you… the true light of Kotoamatsukami. The ultimate genjutsu…"

As he finished speaking, Yao suddenly realized he couldn't move. A strange compulsion forced his gaze upward, through the darkness, toward the sky.

There, amidst the stormy clouds, a round moon bearing the Mangekyō pattern had appeared, casting golden light that pierced the gloom.

"What… is this?!"

For the first time, panic flashed in Yao's eye. Nowhere in the ancient records of Kotoamatsukami had he seen this before — things were slipping out of his control.

Kotoamatsukami: Radiance.

Tajima's right eye shimmered gold, and beams of that golden moonlight rained down, shredding Yao's shadow constructs as if they were nothing. The black tendrils dissolved like snow in spring, vanishing without a trace.

When the last wisp of shadow faded, the moon retreated behind the clouds, and the crushing weight on Yao disappeared.

The old man lay prone, pale and gasping for air, his own jutsu obliterated by that golden brilliance.

"So… you really… had that up your sleeve. I underestimated you…"

Defeated and drained, Yao lay flat, his single eye glinting with complex emotions. Slowly, he pushed himself up on one elbow, visibly nearing his end.

"Teacher…"

Looking down at his frail former mentor, Tajima's victorious eyes softened slightly. Whatever had come between them over the years… it was hard to believe the man who had taught him could hate him so much.

Out of a lingering sense of teacher–student bond, Tajima stepped closer.

"Ta… jima…"

As though expecting him to come closer, Yao's hidden eye flickered black, and his voice quivered faintly.

"What is it?"

Believing it to be some last words, Tajima leaned down, ear closer to listen.

"You're still not ready."

The weak old man's eye blazed scarlet, the three tomoe forming a dark, ominous triangle, unleashing a suffocating surge of chakra.

Tajima's heart clenched — too late to dodge.

A black-and-white figure burst from his own shadow, lightning fast, and slammed a pitch-black hand against the back of his head.

"Heh heh heh… this time, you're not getting away,"

Wangliang's raspy laugh filled his ear as Tajima twisted his head to see the old jailer's blackened face, mocking and triumphant.

Having already spent most of his chakra on his ultimate genjutsu, Tajima's Mangekyō faltered under the sudden assault.

"Got you at last…"

Wangliang cackled, triggering the trap he'd planted years ago.

Buried deep within Tajima's mind since the clan raid twelve years ago — when Tajima's eyes had entered a long cooldown and he was weakest — Wangliang had slipped a fragment of himself in, biding his time until now.

That was why Gin had always sensed malice clinging faintly to him.

"Gin! Why didn't you save them?!"

Now fully possessed, Tajima's voice turned feral, his bloodshot eyes locking on Gin, who stood casually nearby. Twisted memories of his family's death churned in his mind, and Wangliang's whisper drove him to madness.

"That's right… kill them all! Kill them now!"

Wangliang's grinning face emerged from Tajima's flesh, egging him on.

"Wangliang! Are you defying me?!"

Yao, who had only pretended to be dying in order to set this up, suddenly roared, wobbling to his feet, confusion and fury flashing in his lone eye as he saw Tajima wrapped in black mud.

"Heh heh… who's Wangliang? Yours is over there."

The black face now wearing Tajima's body stopped pretending, full of smugness as he reveled in having possessed the strongest man here.

Yao whipped his head around and finally saw the true old jailer — still standing silently in his shadow, expressionless, lifeless as ever.

"Wangliang… then tell me… just who the hell is he?"

(End of Chapter)

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