Naruto: I, Uchiha, Just Want to Die

Chapter 84: Hysterical Laughter at the Altar – Competing to Be the Most Ruthless!

A shivering numbness climbed from the back of his neck down to his spine, like an electric surge. The Zero-Tail plunged through the open wound, slipping into Uchiha Ci's body and swiftly gliding along his spine like a great serpent.

In an instant, it settled within his abdomen, transforming into a pool of pure dark chakra, merging abruptly with his body!

Thump! Thump!

Thump! Thump!

Thump! Thump!

His heart pounded, and his blood boiled for a fleeting moment. Although the amount of chakra carried by the Zero-Tail itself wasn't vast—roughly equivalent to the reserves of an average Genin—it spread through his entire body, rekindling his ravaged form with a flicker of life, like a candle in the wind.

In a flash of insight, Uchiha Ci understood the purpose of the Zero-Tail. Now, as its jinchuriki, he gained two new abilities:

[Dark Chakra Extraction (A)] and [Dark Awakening (A)].

These abilities were straightforward. Dark Chakra Extraction allowed him to gather and condense the darkness within himself and others, forming dark chakra. The deeper one's internal darkness, the more dark chakra could be extracted.

Dark Awakening, on the other hand, infused his body with the extracted chakra, granting a state similar to that of a jinchuriki enveloped in the Tailed Beast's cloak. However, using this ability also meant losing one's sanity, becoming arrogant, and unleashing the darkest aspects of one's soul.

In essence, it was a diluted version of the Tailed Beast cloak—no armor, no Tailed Beast chakra transformations, no flashy abilities like Tailed Beast Bombs. It was a desperate power, one forged by humans craving the strength of a Tailed Beast, even if it came with a "diminished intelligence" debuff.

---

At this moment, in the grand hall before the cross, Hidan raised a pitch-black spear, slowly pressing it down toward his abdomen.

Beside him, the Jashin cult's high priest, Hayato Tōgō, grinned with mad excitement, eyes wide with a sickly gleam. With arms spread wide, as if embracing the agony, his eyes shone with a fervent, twisted devotion. He cried out in ecstatic prayer:

"Yes, indeed! Yes, indeed! God loves humankind, and so he suffers with us!"

His eyes bulged, his mouth stretching almost to his ears:

"God says: All who are born are rooted in folly, arrogance, and blindness! From this moment forward, the three of us shall connect our souls, merging body and mind! Stab, torment, loathe! Destroy others, destroy yourself! Cast aside the prejudice and arrogance of the mortal world, and plunge into the divine embrace! Believe in Him! Love Him! Hate Him! This distorted love shall be more unshakeable than knowledge, more resistant than respect, more enduring than disgust!"

Amid this fanatical chanting, Hidan's hands trembled, his mouth twitching as he looked at Uchiha Ci with terror in his eyes. His mind burned, unable to fathom that Hayato Tōgō would control him to kill the very person he'd risked everything to protect.

"No, no!" Hidan choked, crying out in helpless despair, "Uchiha Ci!!! Open your eyes! I beg you, open your eyes! I'm… I'm about to kill you!"

As Hidan's anguished plea echoed, Hayato Tōgō's grin grew even more twisted, Hidan's desperate wails sounding like heavenly music to him, releasing a flood of dopamine in his mind, masking his own deeply rooted agony with an expression of twisted pleasure.

The spear inched downward, slicing through cloth, piercing flesh, blood beading up!

Yet, at that very moment, a sinister, cold aura exploded from Uchiha Ci, bound to the cross! His eyes snapped open, revealing crazed, blood-red pupils swirling with two black tomoe, a deranged smile curving his lips.

Suddenly, he threw his head back and laughed maniacally:

"Hahaha, ahahaha, AH-HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

The laughter was dripping with mockery. His eyes snapped onto Hayato Tōgō, glaring with disdain:

"You think you can kill me?"

"A piece of garbage, a worthless insect like you dares to think you can kill me? Hahahahaha!" Even bound to the altar, helpless, stripped of power, he laughed wildly!

Hayato Tōgō and Hidan were stunned. Hayato Tōgō's fervent smile froze as he muttered to himself, "God, I've never seen an Uchiha laugh on the altar before..."

Though as a high priest of Jashin, he'd seen his share of desperate, hysterical people at the end of their rope, none had been quite this extreme.

Quickly regaining his composure, Hayato Tōgō's gaze hardened as he prepared to command Hidan to strike down the boy with a spear! However, before he could act, Uchiha Ci sneered coldly at Hidan, barking out in a tone brimming with menace:

"Hidan, listen to me! Stab me!"

Hidan blinked in shock. "What are you doing? Brother, have you lost it? A single stab—never mind if it hurts you—will hurt me like hell!" Still, out of loyalty to Uchiha Ci, Hidan clenched his teeth, abandoning his resistance to Hayato Tōgō's control and thrust the spear deep into his own abdomen!

In an instant, three bleeding wounds appeared.

Hah… Hah… Hidan gasped, his eyes widening in agony.

Ignoring the fresh wounds in his abdomen, Uchiha Ci locked his blood-red eyes onto Hayato Tōgō. And there it was—a wound appeared in Hayato Tōgō's stomach too!

Seeing this, Uchiha Ci grinned derisively, coughing up a mouthful of blood:

Cough! Splutter!

Blood dripped from his lips into the blood pool below. The intense pain didn't change his expression; he simply looked up and laughed uproariously:

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

"So that's it, that's your plan!"

His laughter rose in layers, starting as low mocking chuckles, then roaring out loud, almost choking on the laughter, tears nearly spilling from his eyes. Then, he lifted his gaze to Hayato Tōgō, sneering:

"With these eyes—I've seen through you completely!"

"You're nothing but trash!"

A flame of rage surged from the depths of Uchiha Ci's soul—a rage born from despair at the absurdity of this world. It burst forth, transforming into black, dense dark chakra, embodying justice to rewrite tragedy.

Boom!

The chakra erupted, snapping ropes, shattering nails, and bursting chains!

Hayato Tōgō, stunned, couldn't comprehend why this boy bound on the altar suddenly exploded with such power. Where had he found this strength? What had he seen? What was he trying to accomplish? He didn't know—couldn't understand.

A sense of shock gripped him—a sudden, violent interruption to his meticulously crafted plans. He hated this, despised this abrupt change.

It was for this very reason that he spent countless sleepless nights, bloodshot eyes wide open, researching forbidden arts—to rid the world of such uncertainty. This was his lifelong obsession.

Focusing his gaze, Hayato Tōgō channeled more chakra, ordering Hidan to stab his own heart. Hidan might die, the ritual might fail, but that didn't matter. Sacrifices could be replaced, rituals could be redone.

But this unpredictable factor—he had to eliminate it immediately!

Through the Cursed Technique: Death Controlling Possessed Blood, he would pierce this boy's heart, killing Uchiha Ci!

[Hayato Tōgō harbors extreme murderous intent toward you!]

However, Uchiha Ci, his blood-red eyes fixed on his opponent, saw that murderous intent as well. Grinning, he taunted:

"I told you, with these eyes, I've seen through you completely!"

"You want to compete in ruthlessness, huh?"

"Then let's do it!"

Uchiha Ci immediately turned to Hidan, his voice booming:

"Hidan, kill me! Pierce my heart and end me!"

"Now, do it—kill me!!"

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