Offer.

Dodging another punch from Boro, I slipped into his shadow. Swiftly, my elongated nails made contact behind his neck.

This might've worked in spars, however, in a real death battle, this might not have stopped him due to his rapid and potent regeneration.

Though Code and my bodies appeared to possess incredible regeneration factors too, likely due to Shibai's DNA.

"You've gained better control over your body, that's good."

Koji nodded twice, expressing his thoughts on my battle. My shadow dimension and abilities were all an extension of my eye, which I decided to call the Darkness-eye.

"Better control over the body leads to better control over the abilities," Koji told me. It seemed like he was willing to teach me whenever he could without raising any alarms.

I understood that, as a sacrifice, I might not need excessive combat prowess.

Honestly, I think Koji is a lot like Jiraiya. He's one of the best infiltrators here in Kara, aside from Jigen, who can erase his chakra signature and change his size to that of a mosquito.

To think that his life mission is to eliminate that Jigen. As for Amado, I hate to admit it, but he's quite adept at manipulating people.

"Dodging is good and all, why aren't you attacking?"

Boro asked me as he swung his hand backward toward me. I allowed myself to slip into his shadow, dodging the backhand and moved to the front, jumping up. My fist was clenched as I punched him on the chin, sending him flying.

My karma wasn't active at the moment. I was focused on gaining my own experience rather than relying on someone else's power. Overreliance on it could leave me vulnerable if I couldn't activate it when needed.

"It's good that you're not hesitant to attack, but be aware that I allowed it," he said, got up from where he fell, and left without saying anything.

I sighed as I walked over to the chair and sat down. Koji simply nodded and departed, leaving me alone in the hideout hall.

It's a good thing that I can use the energy of the shadow I enter, or I would be completely drained by now.

This power is truly incredible, but the energy drain it causes could lead to numerous problems.

While I've been improving my control over my body in these past few weeks, I've also noticed that Jigen has been deep in thought about something for the past few days.

During these past weeks of practicing control over my body, I discovered that I could mark shadows wherever I looked, but this was only achievable when using my Darkness-eye.

I wondered if it might be possible to utilize this ability without relying on the eye, potentially reducing the energy drain.

Could I use it in a manner similar to Code, who could use his marks with or without his claws?

Without anymore thought, I drove my nails into the table in front of me. Almost immediately, I sensed a connection forming between me and the table's shadow, it was a slight surprise when I didn't experience a significant energy drain.

'Look what you've done, Amado. You've placed limiters on my body, and now I'm forced to find solutions on my own.'

I flexed my fist and then opened my palm, causing my nails to elongate simultaneously.

I swung my arm in a horizontal arc, and a diamond-shaped marking, reminiscent of the karma symbol, materialized seemingly out of thin air, marking the wall.

This diamond shape was connected to another diamond, forming an interconnected pattern that spanned from one side of the wall to the other.

"Heh. Just you wait, Code," I muttered under my breath. That guy was getting rather arrogant ever since my body was weakened by those limiters, showing off how powerful he was and such..

I slipped into my own shadow, vanishing from sight, and then reappeared using the markings on the wall.

It was a handy application of my newfound ability, somewhat similar to what Code does in the manga.

Considering that he had beaten me up just a week ago, and with my body weakened, my options were limited, and I had to rely on the karma, which he also possessed.

That cowardly bastard of a guy kept using his annoying claw marks to disappear whenever I got close to him.

Before I could delve deeper into experimenting with my newfound way of using my abilities, I heard a knock on the door, and it swung open.

"Jigen wants to see you," Amado stated, taking a drag from his cigarette. Seriously? Why did I have to deal with his bald head now of all times?

I sighed as I walked out of the room, making sure to close and lock the door. I didn't want Koji's toads snooping around my room while I was gone.

I didn't view him as much of a threat, mainly because his way of dealing with me wasn't as rough compared to Delta or Deepa.

We walked through the hallway in silence, and once we reached the designated location, Amado simply left, probably off to his own devices. Jigen was incredibly paranoid about me, I think he suspects something.

"Sit." He said from the other end of the long table, with a calm breath, I walked towards the opposite of where he was seated and sat down, now I am looking straight at him.

"Do you know why you are here?" I shook my head, indicating that I didn't. "I want to make you a once-in-a-lifetime offer," he said, locking his gaze onto mine.

"An offer?" Confused by his words, I tilted my head to the right and asked him, he nodded slowly at my words.

"You're aware that once you complete the Otsutsukification, you'll be sacrificed to the Ten-Tails as nourishment, you know that don't you?"

His calm and collected voice made it sound almost ordinary, despite the horrifying nature of his words, I nodded slowly, acknowledging my awareness of the fate that awaited me.

"I will teach you how to bestow Karma Mark, use it to mark someone and Reincarnate." I was completely flabbergasted by his words.

"Why?" I responded with a hint of suspicion, which clearly didn't sit well with him. In an instant, a chakra rod impaled my right shoulder. The excruciating pain surged through my body, and I had to clench my teeth to stifle the painful grunt that threatened to escape.

"You are not here to ask questions," he retorted sternly, his expression dark and unforgiving. He rose from his seat and departed, leaving me in silence.

I cursed under my breath as I stood up, gripping the chakra rod lodged in my shoulder. With some effort, I yanked it out using my left hand.

There was a distinct snapping sound as I clenched the rod, which broke in two. I dropped the broken pieces to the ground, still seething with frustration.

"Just you wait. Your time might come sooner than you think." I muttered with anger coursing through my veins, my killing intent filling the room.