To lose all perception of one's surroundings is a terrifying thing indeed!
Prolonged exposure to such a state would drive anyone mad.
Shinji was no exception.
He felt so wretched he could have retched blood.
Yet he forced himself to calm down and began seeking a way to break free from this technique.
Though his five senses were sealed away, his mind suddenly felt far sharper than usual.
This was only natural.
Cut off from all means of receiving external signals, he was completely undistracted by anything outside himself.
If only he could cast away every stray thought, it felt akin to that old saying—becoming one with the universe, aligning oneself with the natural way of things.
Of course, for now, this was all happening to him, not by his choice.
In this extraordinary state, he quickly grasped a crucial point: he could not hear his own voice, but that did not mean he had lost the ability to speak!
Being unable to speak and being unable to hear oneself speak were two entirely different matters!
He immediately summoned a vast amount of cursed energy and channeled it into his throat.
Cursed Speech: Supreme Verse — Fate Yields to Me!
Faint patterns began to form at the corners of Shinji's mouth. The familiar symbol—a circle enclosing a triangle—traced its way along a thin black line into his mouth.
When he opened his lips, a clear image of a scale was visible, etched right onto his tongue.
"Restore Sight!"
The enemy's curse was formidable, yes—but any effect wrought by cursed energy could be undone by another curse.
And the power of Cursed Speech was undoubtedly the key to unraveling it all.
Snap!
The invisible force of his words shattered the chains binding him. In an instant, his vision returned, and he saw everything before him once more.
Standing right in front of him was Uxas, in the form of a young boy. A cruel glint in his eyes, he had already cut open Shinji's chest with Hidan's Scythe of Bloody March, and was now reaching in to tear out his heart.
Shinji stood there motionless, blank and unresisting, letting the enemy do as he pleased.
Even though Hidan was screaming himself hoarse, there was no reaction from him at all.
"You idiot Shinji! Have you lost your mind?! He's right in front of you—cut him down, damn it!"
Uxas seemed to savor every second. As he slowly worked to extract Shinji's heart, he explained in a cold, cruel tone: "It's no use. I sealed away all five of his senses earlier. Even if I slice him into ribbons right now, he won't feel a thing, and he certainly won't hear a word you say."
Hidan immediately unleashed a torrent of abuse at him, every word harsher than the last.
It wasn't just to vent his rage—he was trying to provoke the enemy, to buy Shinji time.
He knew that if anyone could find a way out of this, it was that stubborn fool Shinji.
Annoyed by the insults, Uxas shot Hidan a cold, sharp glare. "Be patient. Once I've finished with him, you're next."
"Restore Sight!"
"Hahaha! This guy really is something else. Does he think shouting a few lines is going to change anything?"
Uxas was still laughing. He could already see Shinji's heart, beating steadily in his chest.
But just as he reached out to take it, he noticed Shinji suddenly throw a punch.
"Huh?"
He moved to react, only to see the fist strike nothing but empty air. His laughter grew louder and more mocking.
Sealing the senses did not rob a person of movement. They could still run, throw punches, speak, blink—do anything physical.
But without information from the world around them, every action was nothing more than blind flailing. Even if they got lucky and landed a hit, they wouldn't even know it.
What was the point?
Uxas paid it no mind at all. Instead, he watched with amusement as Shinji threw punch after punch into thin air.
To him, this man was nothing but a clown, put there solely to entertain him.
Until suddenly, a shower of sparks erupted right before his eyes.
"What's this? Where did these black sparks come from?"
"Black Flash!"
BOOM!
With merciless precision, Shinji unleashed a Black Flash straight into Uxas's face.
The impact warped and twisted his features, and sent him flying backward, crashing hard into a wall.
Having played the part of the blind man long enough, Shinji immediately unleashed a string of Cursed Speech commands.
"Restore Hearing!"
"Restore Smell!"
"Restore Taste!"
"Restore Touch!"
In that single moment, every sense that had been taken from him came rushing back.
Using Cursed Speech in such rapid succession took a heavy toll on him, but it was infinitely better than the feeling of being cast out from the world itself.
And let's not forget—he was no longer the person he used to be.
"Reverse Curse Technique — Heal!"
First, he mended the wounds on his own body. Then, expending a great deal of energy, he restored Hidan completely.
If he left Hidan in his previous state, he wouldn't be able to protect him later on.
So even though using so much power now might cause problems for the fight ahead, saving him was the priority.
"I knew you weren't gonna die that easily! You were just pretending the whole time, weren't you!"
Back in one piece, Hidan punched Shinji hard in the chest, his face blazing with excitement.
Pretending my ass, Shinji thought to himself. If it hadn't been for Cursed Speech, he might very well have died here today.
But he saw no need to say that out loud.
"I'm running on fumes right now," he said instead. "You'll have to watch your own back from here on out. If he hits you with that trick again, you're on your own until I can get back to you."
To conserve his strength, Shinji released the state of Cursed Speech: Supreme Verse — Fate Yields to Me, keeping only Scale-Skin Surge: Sustain active.
Hidan's expression hardened. He gritted his teeth and growled, "Fine, fine—I admit I let my guard down before. But it won't happen again. I'm gonna tear that little brat apart, smash him to bits, grind him into dust and paste!"
"Save the boasting for when you've actually done it," Shinji replied.
He kicked up the Scythe of Bloody March that had fallen when Uxas was knocked back. Hidan caught it in mid-swing, radiating murderous intent.
But in that instant, their enemy vanished.
"He must have the ability to merge with darkness. He could even be moving freely through the shadows. This place is terrible for us."
Shinji kept his guard up, using the faint light left from earlier to scan their surroundings.
What made things worse was the crowd, still running about in panic, not stopping until they had calmed down on their own.
Every one of them was another variable.
The enemy could easily hide or move unseen, using the darkness and the chaos to his advantage.
Shinji saw only two options before him: abandon the people here and head outside, where the bright sunlight would weaken the enemy's power; or stay put and wait for Tobi to return—with enough light sources, they could pin him down just as well.
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