Shinji didn't fly far. After moving away from the ritual site, he stopped in a snow-covered valley.
The black smoke, which followed him like a shadow, arrived in the blink of an eye, pouncing on Shinji overwhelmingly.
Shinji put away his smile, his expression becoming a bit serious.
Facing a Hegemon, even if it was just a part of its power, he couldn't afford any carelessness or underestimation, because he couldn't bear the consequences of failure.
"Shinra Tensei!"
Raising his hand, Shinji unleashed the dojutsu against the incoming black smoke.
He mainly wanted to test if his dojutsu would be effective against this seemingly intangible black smoke.
Whoosh...
With the emission of a majestic repulsive force, the wind and snow in the entire valley seemed to stop. And the black smoke attacking Shinji was no exception; it was all wrapped in the repulsive force and fiercely repelled away.
"Eh!?"
Shinji let out a soft sound of surprise.
He guessed his dojutsu could counteract the Hegemon's power, but he never expected it to be so effortlessly easy.
"Tch, trying to trick me?"
Then, Shinji thought to himself. He felt the Fear Hegemon must be playing dirty, deliberately showing weakness.
Thus, he flipped his hand and unleashed a 'Bansho Ten'in', gathering all the repelled black smoke into a ball, pulling it in front of him. Then, without a word, he directly activated the 'Lamp' at his waist, using the lamplight to purify this black smoke.
Sizzle sizzle sizzle...
Violent corroding sounds exploded in front of Shinji. Listening closely, one could even faintly hear vicious curses, painful wails, and whispered sobs mixed within these sounds.
Not just sounds, the black smoke being purified by the 'Lamp' was struggling frantically, like a ferocious beast caught in a trap, releasing its ferocity madly in an attempt to break free from confinement.
However, no matter how this ball of black smoke struggled or tried to break through, it couldn't escape the binding of Shinji's 'Bansho Ten'in'. Tightly constrained into a ball, it shrank bit by bit under the bright lamplight, dissolving little by little, until it completely disappeared.
"Is that it?"
Watching the black smoke being purified bit by bit by his 'Lamp', the seriousness on Shinji's face was gradually replaced by astonishment.
The reason he moved far away from the ritual site and chose such a secluded valley was to prevent the great battle from affecting the outside world.
Unexpectedly, the so-called great battle was entirely his own wishful miscalculation.
The power infiltrated by the Fear Hegemon seemed menacing, but under his dojutsu, it had no resistance at all and was handled by him casually.
Composing himself, Shinji recalled the scene just now, then laughed and shook his head: "It seems I made a mountain out of a molehill."
He always maintained awe for the Hegemon, but he obviously forgot that more than half a year had passed since the battle in the Six Rings World.
In this half-year, he not only consumed two more 'Chakra Fruits' successively but also used 'Susanoo Tomoshibi' to control the 'Golden Eyes' and 'Blue Rinnegan', causing his pupil power to skyrocket by a large margin.
It could be said that his current strength was more than double compared to when he confronted part of the Reproductive Hegemon's body in the Six Rings World!
Under such circumstances, dealing with the Fear Hegemon, which could only infiltrate a small amount of power, was naturally a piece of cake.
Moreover, this was the Shinobi World, and Shinji was the genuine 'Lampbearer' of the Shinobi World. Fighting against a Hegemon in this world, the entire world would support him, so he effectively occupied all advantages of timing, geography, and harmony.
Looking down at his own hands, Shinji muttered to himself: "Unknowingly, have I become this strong already?"
After consuming the second 'Chakra Fruit', he hadn't encountered any well-matched opponents. A 'Six Paths Level' combatant like Owl who awakened Shinjutsu could only serve as a target to help him test the power of new techniques.
And after swallowing the third 'Chakra Fruit', Shinji had even less chance to unleash his power, so even he himself wasn't sure how strong he was now.
"Within the spatial barrier, I should have a certain advantage against a Hegemon that can only use part of its power. As for outside the spatial barrier..."
Thinking of this, Shinji shook his head.
Considering confronting a Hegemon in the universe now was still too early. At least he had to advance to the level of 'Kekkei Mora' (Bloodline Encompassing) before making appropriate attempts; otherwise, it would be suicide.
Ritual Site.
As the fear in Yamada Juichi's heart was completely absorbed by Shinji using 'Aya', Yamada Juichi lived up to expectations and successfully walked out of the cocoon.
At this moment, his appearance had changed like Owl before him. A pair of horns appeared on his forehead, his skin became pale, and at first glance, he looked just like an Otsutsuki.
Observation Area.
Amado nodded with satisfaction. Yamada Juichi's Otsutsukification was even more obvious than Owl's, indicating that after several improvements and optimizations, the effect of this ritual was stronger than the previous ones.
Yamada Juichi arrived at the observation area at this time. He tried to restrain the aura around him and bowed politely to Amado and others.
Seeing Yamada Juichi approaching, the leaders of each group were initially a bit apprehensive. Seeing Yamada Juichi bow and salute now, their moods instantly relaxed a lot.
Orochimaru laughed secretly: "He's a smart person!"
Sasori still had a face full of indifference.
Tsunade frowned slightly.
She disliked arrogant bastards like Owl, and she also disliked guys like Yamada Juichi who hid their emotions.
Clearly, Yamada Juichi was not a grateful person. The reason he bowed to the researchers in the observation area was merely that he didn't want to follow in Owl's footsteps and be disposed of inexplicably.
Amado asked at this time: "How do you feel?"
Yamada Juichi nodded: "Very good!"
Amado said: "According to regulations, after completing the ritual, we will implant a cursed seal on you to prevent rebellion. Do you have any objections?"
The leaders of other groups seemed not to expect Amado to ask so directly, each sweating secretly in their hearts.
Orochimaru, with a smile on his lips, stared at Yamada Juichi with interest.
Tsunade and Sasori were secretly on guard, preventing Yamada Juichi from rebelling on the spot.
Being questioned by Amado in front of everyone, Yamada Juichi's expression was uncertain. But in the end, he concealed the anger in his eyes, smiled and nodded: "Since it's the Research Institute's rule, I, Yamada Juichi, will naturally comply!"
"Very good!"
Amado said no more and directly signaled Sasori to prepare for implanting the cursed seal.
The well-prepared Sasori immediately called his team members forward and implanted several cursed seals into Yamada Juichi's body.
After completing the implantation of the cursed seals, Sasori said to Yamada Juichi: "Even if you survived the ritual and gained new life, you can't resist the cursed seal I just implanted. If you don't believe it, you can try!"
Yamada Juichi hurriedly said: "I, Yamada Juichi, will never betray the Research Institute!"
Sasori said: "No need to tell me this, I don't care!"