As the sun rose again, the town's bustle returned to its usual liveliness.
Although this was just a small town in the Land of Rice, its location, with Konoha to the front, Kumogakure behind, and other small nations bordering it, ensured smooth logistics.
It served as an uncontrolled black market and a haven for criminals. The Land of Rice was a mere name, with the Daimyo having no ninja village under his command.
Perhaps there was one once, but it was wiped out by the continuous conflicts between Konoha and Kumogakure.
At this moment, a red and black vortex suddenly appeared in the sky, from which Jigen, wearing slippers, emerged and looked down at the area.
"Hope my luck is better today."
Jigen landed on a rooftop, observing the moving crowd below without rushing to find the "master" Ji Bba spoke of.
Jigen's primary goal was to find a suitable vessel and implant a Karma on it, enabling him to fully resurrect, rather than being in this half-dead state.
Everything else could wait; it had to make way for finding a suitable vessel. But he had searched for so long, failed so many times, and killed countless people, yet not a single successful test subject had been found.
Jigen didn't care how many people died, as long as he could find a successful test subject. Even if everyone on this continent died, it wouldn't matter.
After all, they would all become fertilizer for the Divine Tree later.
"Perhaps finding a so-called scientist to work for me would save a lot of effort."
Jigen retracted his gaze. The requirements for a vessel were very high, or rather, the Karma had very high requirements. It was incredibly difficult to find someone who could completely unseal and withstand his full power.
These adults were out of the question, which was why Jigen's attention turned to children.
Upon arriving at the black market, the sellers had already neatly arranged their "goods" for him to choose from.
"This one, and this one... I'll take them all."
Jigen pointed to several children confined in cages. He could tell these children were different from ordinary people, but whether they could become test subjects would require further study back at his base.
After all, he had experimented on hundreds, if not thousands, of subjects over the past millennium, and all of them had failed without exception.
The chosen children included a boy with six arms, twins with two heads, an unusually plump child, and a little girl with red hair.
"You have a discerning eye, sir. These are all top-quality items. I'll give you a discount, just for you..."
*Squelch!*
A black rod appeared from nowhere and pierced the vendor's heart. Jigen said expressionlessly, "So annoying!"
Did he look like someone who carried a wallet, dressed in slippers and a bathrobe?
Such a lack of perception!
Just as Jigen was about to transfer the four children to an alternate dimension, he heard faint footsteps from behind.
"You are Jigen, aren't you?"
Jigen turned around gracefully, glancing at Ji Bba and his two companions hiding in a corner. He spoke slowly,
"Are you the 'master' they spoke of? I'm sorry, but I'm not interested in you right now. Can you wait until I'm done with my business?"
Jigen hadn't expected to find four good test subjects this time, and his interest in the so-called "master" had greatly diminished.
The three-tomoe Sharingan in Itachi's eye sockets fixed on Jigen, and he said coldly, "That's not for you to decide."
"Is that so..."
Jigen remained expressionless and waved his right hand at Itachi. Three black rods seemed to teleport and pierce through Itachi's body.
No, it was as if they had always been embedded within Itachi's body.
"Then I'll have to ask you to die!"
Ji Bba and the others in the distance turned ashen. Their master had been instantly defeated?!
They should run!
*Thump...*
Itachi, pierced by the black rods, dissolved into a puff of smoke and disappeared. Jigen looked up at a nearby utility pole, where a pair of sinister Sharingan were staring intently at him.
"Mangekyo? Such a low-level trick."
Jigen extended his hand towards Itachi again, and four more black rods abruptly appeared around Itachi.
So fast!
Even with the enhanced visual acuity of the Mangekyo, Itachi couldn't entirely dodge a black rod that grazed his shoulder, blood dripping down his black robe.
Itachi's eyes were filled with shock. He hadn't expected that even after using a substitution jutsu to observe the opponent's abilities beforehand, he still couldn't evade.
Where did these black rods, appearing out of nowhere, come from?
Itachi's Mangekyo, hidden beneath his mask, spun frantically.
"Amaterasu!"
A black flame instantly enveloped Jigen, striking him perfectly.
But Jigen remained expressionless, completely unfazed by the black flames on his body.
"So this is the flame that doesn't extinguish until the target is completely burned?"
Black patterns appeared on Jigen's hand, and the eternally burning black flames were absorbed like water. Not even Jigen's clothes were scorched.
Itachi's eyes widened in disbelief. What kind of ability was this, that it could even absorb Amaterasu?
Itachi forced himself to calm down. Such an unknown and powerful enemy required a calm approach.
"Is it over? Then it's my turn."
As soon as he spoke, Jigen moved as if teleporting, appearing in front of Itachi. He delivered a heavy kick to Itachi's chest. The sound of cracking bones could be heard by Ji Bba and the others nearby, deepening their dread!
Their master seemed to be completely outmatched. What should they do?
*Bang!*
Itachi had no time to cry out in pain. He was shot into the wall like a cannonball, smashing through several houses, leaving behind a cloud of dust.
"What's going on?"
"What happened? Why did my house collapse!"
"Which idiot is fighting here? Don't they know whose territory this is!"
The huge commotion caused by the two attracted the attention of the surrounding people, especially the owners of the collapsed houses. Still half-dressed, one man, wearing only underwear, roared at Jigen in the air.
"Hey! Was it you! Don't think you're Superman just because you're suspended by a wire!"
"What era is this? Do you think you're filming a movie? I'm telling you, if this isn't resolved with a million ryo, we're not done!"
Facing the incessant chatter of the ants below, Jigen merely raised his hand, and a black rod shot directly towards the burly man.
But a bizarre scene unfolded. The black iron rod twisted in mid-air and then vanished.
"Huh?"
Before Jigen could be surprised, a whooshing sound came from his ear, and a chakra-infused katana entwined with flames slashed towards his head.
*Clang...*
Jigen dodged sideways and flicked the blade with his finger. The katana shattered into pieces.
"Fire Style: Majestic Fire Dragon Jutsu!"
Scorching flames instantly engulfed Jigen's body. Normally, close-range fire style ninjutsu like this would be unbearable for anyone.
But the next moment, the ferocious flames were sucked into Jigen's palm like a receding tide, causing no damage whatsoever.
"Another one?"
Jigen looked expressionlessly at the man in front of him wearing a mask with strange patterned lines. He waved his hand.
Shisui's expression changed. He knew the strangeness of the opponent's move, but he had no choice; he was too close!
*Squelch!*
Several black rods pierced through Shisui's body, through his heart and head, but Jigen showed no sign of triumph. He slowly lowered his head, looking at the three figures standing side-by-side amidst the ruins.
And where they had stood, there was only a tree branch pierced by a black rod...
The Uchiha Trio, gathered here!