The vast Pioneer's Memorial Plaza had little to catch the eye apart from the towering monument that rose over ten meters high and the Prototype machine built by Belobog Heavy Industries.
As the first machine designed by Khors Belobog for operations within the Hollows, the Prototype wasn't exactly known for stellar performance. But because it had pioneered the field, it was thanks to this very machine that hollow-operating machinery eventually became a regular sight.
However, Zhong Yan hadn't come to retrieve the Prototype for Belobog Heavy Industries. He was here to find the Sacrifice—and, if possible, eliminate it.
If luck allowed, he also wanted to determine whether the Sacrifice had any connection to the Exaltists. If so, his investigation would take a major leap forward.
With that in mind, Zhong Yan slowly walked toward the monument. Under the power of his Sharingan, he could clearly see the nearby Ethereals surging into the monument at an alarming rate.
Such commotion was obviously caused by the Sacrifice, but for some reason, it was trapped inside the monument and unable to move.
"Time to put you out of your misery." Without hesitation, Zhong Yan summoned Susanoo, activating its armored form. At the same time, he placed the Prototype machine in a safe location, ready to end the Specter with a single arrow.
Yet just as he nocked the arrow and drew the bowstring, a precision-guided ether bomb suddenly shot out from a nearby corner, crashing hard against Susanoo's surface.
The violent explosion expanded with dense ether energy and smoke, disrupting his aim completely. The force of it rivaled, perhaps even surpassed, the power of Yasaka Magatama.
Faced with the sudden ambush, Zhong Yan's expression remained calm—but the chill in his eyes clearly reflected how foul his mood had become.
He hadn't noticed it before, but now he saw it—aside from the ether energy pouring into the monument, there was another source of formidable ether nearby.
It had seemed insignificant at first, so Zhong Yan had dismissed it.
Now, it appeared to be a person.
Someone capable of containing that level of ether... aside from the Exaltists, he couldn't think of anyone else.
Those bastards had actually shown up.
"What terrifying presence. But that thing is favored by my god, so no matter what, I can't let you destroy it." A crisp voice echoed from the rubble. Then, a young man, no more than his early twenties, slowly emerged from the shadows.
His pupils resembled the core of an Ethereal in both shape and color. The overwhelming pressure radiating from his body far surpassed that of any normal Ethereal, leaving no doubt he was one of the Exaltists.
"Seems like this trip wasn't a waste after all."
That thought was likely the one thing both of them had in common.
Zhong Yan had come to find the Sacrifice, but also to track down the Exaltists. Meanwhile, the young man had been sent to retrieve the Sacrifice, and if possible, to scout for potential test subjects.
See? A win-win.
The only question was—could that guy handle it?
"The Exaltists are interested in the Sacrifice too? Don't tell me... this thing is also one of your experimental products?" Zhong Yan's gaze was as cold as an ice cellar. If illusions worked on beings so saturated with ether, he would've killed him with a single glance by now.
"With our level of experimentation, making something half-man, half-monster like that is completely pointless. But... since you know so much about us, could it be... you were the one who destroyed that base?"
The destruction of one of their strongholds in Hollow Zero had already caused major uproar within the Exaltists. Every member, especially those ranked highest in power and status, was dying to know the identity of the attacker.
Capturing the mysterious assailant and handing them over to their god for experimentation had become the collective goal of all Exaltists.
So, when the young man realized that the figure in the deep-blue shell before him might be the very target he'd been sent to find, he couldn't contain his excitement.
Bringing him back would surely earn the favor of their deity—and more power. The thought alone was enough to make his heart race.
"Looks like I'm just a trophy waiting to be claimed, huh?" Seeing the wicked excitement in his opponent's expression, Zhong Yan immediately understood—this guy was here to earn accolades by capturing him.
Apparently, his reputation among the Exaltists was far greater than he'd imagined. Just a hunch, and the guy was already giddy.
Fine, then. Let's show this arrogant bastard that in the face of Uchiha power, the Exaltists were nothing but trash.
The next second, while his enemy was still preparing to attack, Zhong Yan's pupils flashed. A jet of black flame suddenly surged along his line of sight and erupted into a blazing inferno on the young man's body.
The sudden assault clearly threw him off. Gritting his teeth against the scorching heat, he staggered back a few steps, pain etched across his face. When he realized the flames couldn't be extinguished, a wave of dread swept over him.
What the hell is this stuff?!
Still, he was no rookie. Upon confirming that the fire would keep burning him indefinitely, he made a brutal decision—his arm morphed into a sharp blade, and with one clean stroke, he sliced his body in half.
The sight was even more disturbing than self-mutilation. Zhong Yan's brows twitched, but he quickly understood why his opponent had done it.
The half consumed by the black flames dissipated into the air at an alarming speed. Then, under Zhong Yan's stunned gaze, the other half began to regenerate.
The regrown body no longer carried the black flame, but its ether energy was visibly draining.
Still, this was the Hollow. If there was one thing it didn't lack, it was ether. The lost energy was quickly replenished.
Sacrificing ether to regenerate the body—this ability was practically immortal.
Once again, Zhong Yan was reminded how twisted the Exaltists truly were. Who knew what freakish powers the stronger ones might possess?
But based on his past encounters with them, decapitating them should be enough to kill them. And in that regard, Zhong Yan happened to have the perfect technique for lopping off heads.
Beneath his mask, he closed his right eye, and focused his left eye directly on his opponent's neck.
A glimmer of ghostly light flickered deep within his left pupil. The next moment, space twisted, and a swirling vortex formed around the young man's neck.
"Kamui!"