"Yes... why are there two Eugenes?"
The tomoe slowed, and the genjutsu was released. The "Eugene" grasping Manda's heart... who else could it be but Sean?!
"You're despicable..." Blood flowed from her chest. Manda hurriedly tried to stop it, but the more she plugged it, the more it flowed, and the weaker she became. Finally... thud. She fell backward, dead, her eyes wide open.
The battlefield, which had been "quite" noisy, instantly fell silent. Only the thump-thump of a heartbeat could be heard, gradually growing weaker.
Uvogin, Franklin, and Phinks, peering over the trash heap, didn't dare to breathe. Their minds were buzzing. They still hadn't figured out why that man could still be casually smoking after being shot. And—
Why did that woman shoot her own companion and then smile at her enemy?
'Did she go crazy... or are we blind?'
The three little ones looked at each other, completely baffled.
In the small cabin on the back mountain, separated by a screen, was the answer they wanted. But unfortunately, they were destined never to hear it.
"I'm not afraid of you laughing, old man, but every time I see this kid Sean's Sharingan, it makes my skin crawl," Netero said in a low voice, his eyes on that crimson red. "A normal [Hatsu] will show signs before it's activated, but 'dōjutsu'... it can be turned on at any time, seen at any time. It's sudden and very difficult to guard against, especially when one is completely unaware that Sean has the Sharingan."
"Genjutsu? If genjutsu could be predicted in advance, would it still be called genjutsu?" Maha pouted, leisurely rocking his chair. "Seeing a thunderstorm in a calm place... gradual, imperceptible change is the most terrifying thing, kid."
"Heh. I don't think it's as exaggerated as you and Father think." Zigg poured a new cup of coffee for Netero and said with a smile, "Behind all power lies a hidden price. The Sharingan's genjutsu is indeed tricky, but if the opponent's will is firm and undisturbed by external things..."
"Even if Sean wanted to invade their mind, it wouldn't be such an easy thing."
Just as Zigg said, activating the Sharingan's genjutsu also had conditions. First, one had to "see," and second, one had to enter the other's "consciousness." If the opponent's mental barrier was thick enough and their consciousness firm enough, invasion would be very difficult. But—
"To resist invasion, the subconscious must know that it is about to be invaded." Maha looked deeply at Sean in the image through the surveillance glasses. He said faintly, "Do you think that as the original author of Guo Ying Ren Zhe, that brat Sean wouldn't know this?"
"The fear is that he'll suddenly pull a fast one on you, openly repairing the plank road while secretly crossing to Chencang. He might invade your brain without going through your subconscious and forcibly modify your will."
'?!?!'
"It can't be, right?" Zigg and Netero exchanged a look, shocked!
Maha snorted coldly. "Why can't it be?"
"The moment that brat drops his pants, this old man knows what kind of shit he's going to take. It's only because his strength is insufficient right now. Wait for the day his strength is sufficient, you just watch. Sooner or later, he'll be shitting on our necks!"
Netero, Zigg: "..."
Silent.
The small cabin instantly fell quiet, almost rivaling Meteor City at this moment!
Squelch. Sean pulled out Manda's heart with a hand-chop. He casually squeezed, and the heart exploded into dregs.
The youth glanced coldly at the trio hiding in the corner, peeking.
Uvogin, Franklin, and Phinks were startled and walked out, sheepishly rubbing the backs of their heads.
"Amazing. As expected of the man Chrollo would willingly kneel to."
"Sean, I, Uvogin, am convinced!" Uvogin gave Sean a thumbs-up and forced a dry laugh, his voice cracking.
It was just that the half of his face that Tsubone had slapped was still swollen. His smile was a bit terrifying.
"Is that so?" Sean gave a noncommittal sneer. He had no time to deal with them. He ordered Tsubone to "spit out" Sarasa and handed her over to Uvogin to take back.
"The bait isn't needed here anymore." With a roar, the motorcycle, which couldn't have been happier, fled the battlefield and sped toward the church.
Sean clasped his hands behind his back, watched them leave, and then turned to a pile of trash. He reached out and lifted up a "salted fish" that was playing dead.
"Don't... don't kill me! I'm just a small-fry, just here to join the fun..."
Eugene was dead, Manda was dead. Nine out of ten companions were gone, leaving only him, Habu, as the sole survivor. Habu never would have imagined that his tried-and-true 'play dead' method would one day fail. He was so scared he wet his pants on the spot.
"[Zetsu]? A pity. If you were really dead, you might have fooled my eyes." Sean looked at Habu with a smile. "Talk. Who else participated in this kidnapping?"
Sean wouldn't believe for a second that there wasn't a mastermind behind such a large operation.
"I'll talk! I'll tell you everything! As long as you promise to let me go, I'll say anything!" Habu was babbling incoherently.
Sean wiped his hands on Habu's respectable suit and comforted him kindly, "It's just letting you go. I promise. After all, I'm not some bloodthirsty person. I'm capable of showing kindness every now and then."
"Joyce Mattel! He's the mastermind behind this kidnapping!"
"Joyce Mattel? The location?"
"It's in an abandoned repair shop ten kilometers from here."
"Very good." A sudden hand-chop sliced off Habu's head. The head flew, and blood spurted from his neck.
Habu's eyes, wide with disbelief, stared fixedly at Sean, as if to question him: 'Didn't you promise to let me go?'
However, Sean didn't even look at him. He opened the car door, slammed the gas, and drove off with a roar.
'What a joke. "Eradicate evil completely." Do I, a minor, really need to teach you, a mafia scumbag, such a simple principle?'
'Please, I have no interest in looking for trouble!'
The wind grew tighter. The smell of blood drifted far away on the wind.
Five minutes later, with a beautiful drift, Sean arrived at the abandoned repair shop. He opened the car door and got out.
Tsubone, who had driven him there, dispersed her "Nen," changed back to her original form, and stood half a step behind him in the repair shop's shed.
"Young Master, the kidnapped girls should all be here." The "pigpen" was just to the side. Tsubone whispered in Sean's ear.
Sean squinted and sneered, "Now is not the time to rescue them."
"If he doesn't nod, it wouldn't be right for us to take them. Wouldn't you agree, respected Mr. Joyce Ma-niao?"
On the sofa in the depths of the shed, the middle-aged man stood up, his face expressionless.