Chapter 6: Battle Instincts
The Sharingan possesses three pillars of ability: Insight, Copying, and Hypnotism.
These are the fundamental powers granted the moment the eyes awaken.
When Ronin decided to snatch the Scarlet Eyes from Uvogin, he had already committed to using the Sharingan's third ability: Genjutsu.
The trigger for ocular Genjutsu is simple: Eye contact. As long as the target looks into his eyes, the technique can be cast.
That was why, when Uvogin dropped the head to the ground, Ronin leaped from the tree in a feigned fit of "rage," ensuring Uvogin would look straight at him.
Uvogin, arrogant and expecting an easy kill, had no reason to look away.
However, during the execution, Ronin discovered a critical problem. Affecting Uvogin with Genjutsu was incredibly difficult.
The obstacle was the layer of aura shrouding Uvogin's body.
Since the fight began, Uvogin had been maintaining Ren (Enhance). He was constantly projecting a high volume of aura.
This powerful Ren acted as the ultimate mental armor.
Genjutsu works by injecting Chakra into the target's cranial nerves to disrupt their five senses. But Nen is life energy fueled by willpower. Uvogin's aura was so thick, and his will so intense, that it acted as a barrier.
Ronin realized that with his weak, newly awakened Sharingan, he couldn't hold Uvogin in an illusion for long. He could only shake the giant's senses for a split second.
Anything more was up to fate.
Having calculated this, Ronin didn't charge in a straight line after casting the illusion. Instead, he kicked off a tree branch, diving from above at a sharp angle, aiming directly for the pouch at Uvogin's waist.
That pouch contained the Scarlet Eyes.
This trajectory had been calculated before he even revealed himself.
The Genjutsu's effect on Uvogin was even shorter than Ronin anticipated, but the Hidden Mist Jutsu compensated for it. The thick fog obscured normal vision, blinding Uvogin.
This blindness was one-sided. Thanks to the Sharingan's insight, Uvogin's massive aura shone like a beacon in the mist. Ronin could see him perfectly.
He saw Uvogin's explosive reaction. He saw the shift in stance.
Because he could see it, he didn't hesitate. Relying on the burst of speed from his Sharingan State, he successfully snatched the jar.
He also saw Uvogin redirect his punch.
He saw it, yes. But seeing and dodging are two different things. The physical gap between them was immense. Ronin barely managed to stumble out of the kill zone, looking incredibly clumsy in the process.
But Ronin knew one thing for certain: if he tripped or slowed down now, he was dead.
He gritted his teeth, suppressed the terror, and vanished into the fog, securing the pouch to his belt.
Once his hands were free, he immediately cast the Clone Jutsu.
He sent the clone running forward as a decoy, while he himself leaped upward, landing on a thick tree branch he had scouted earlier as his escape route.
He didn't dare use the Earth Style: Headhunter Jutsu again.
He vividly remembered the manga chapter where Uvogin fought the Shadow Beasts. He recalled how Uvogin destroyed Worm, the beast who specialized in underground movement.
If Ronin went underground now, Uvogin would simply smash the earth with a Big Bang Impact, crushing Ronin to death via soil pressure and shockwaves.
His judgment was correct.
Below him, the ground exploded as Uvogin decimated the area and dissipated the clone.
But Ronin was already high in the canopy, moving away.
He wasn't safe yet. He had to put distance between them and find the tracker Kortopi had placed on him.
His eyes burned. A warm, stinging sensation washed over his retinas—a sign of overuse.
But he couldn't deactivate the Sharingan yet. He needed the enhanced vision and the Chakra boost to keep moving.
His vision began to blur as he navigated the treetops, heading toward the mountains. The consecutive use of Jutsu, especially maintaining the mist, had drained his meager Chakra reserves dry.
If not for sheer willpower, he would have fallen from the trees minutes ago.
However, his persistence paid off. While running, he scanned his body and finally found the anomaly.
A small sticker on his chest. Number 31.
He ripped it off and flicked it into the darkness without breaking stride.
He couldn't dispose of it more thoroughly given the rain, but he didn't need to. He just needed it off his person.
He was grateful for the storm. The heavy rain masked the sound of his movement through the leaves, the swish-swish of his passage lost in the downpour. Without it, Uvogin's enhanced hearing might have pinpointed him already.
Safely distant, Ronin grabbed the pouch and opened it. Inside was the jar filled with preservation fluid and a pair of eyes, red as blood.
The moment he looked at them, the stinging in his own eyes intensified into a craving. His eyes were signaling a desperate need.
Consume.
But Ronin didn't know how to proceed yet.
He continued for another three minutes before finally stopping. His eyes faded from crimson back to black.
Gasping for air, his chest heaving, Ronin tried to suppress his presence. He attempted to enter a state of Zetsu.
It wasn't as easy as the anime made it look.
Especially not with his stamina depleted and his mind groggy from exhaustion.
It was normal to struggle. In the manga, even a terrifying genius like the Fourth Prince, Tserriednich, needed time and instruction to master Zetsu after learning Ten.
Ronin had awakened his Nen less than an hour ago.
He sat huddled on a thick branch, hugging his knees. A bone-chilling cold began to set in.
His clothes were soaked. Now that he had stopped moving, the wind cut through him like a knife. Even with Ten protecting his body, the cold was biting.
Panic and anxiety began to creep in.
Did I really hide my tracks well enough?
Will Uvogin find the sticker and figure out my direction?
Is he already behind me?
The fear of the unknown threatened to overwhelm him.
Ronin shook his head violently, forcing the dark thoughts away. He couldn't afford to spiral.
Instead, he focused all his attention on the jar in his arms. On the Scarlet Eyes.