BAM!!
In the forest, a figure hurtled backward as if hit by a freight train. Its limbs twisted grotesquely, pinwheeling through the air before smashing through several trees and embedding itself in a trunk.
"..."
A flame-like blue-green aura radiated from Hyūga Kumokawa's body. Raindrops sizzled into steam upon contact with his scorching, feverish skin.
Looking at the figure he had just sent flying with a single punch after opening the Gate of Life, an utterly baffled thought crossed his mind.
Is this guy some kind of comedian?
This Shadow Clone had been completely out of chakra. But since the guy had just been standing there at a distance, blabbering on and on, his main body had slipped on the Shadow Robe and stealthily made its way here.
He had thought it might be someone formidable.
And this is it?
"Is your bloodline limit Steel Release?" Kumokawa asked outright. "Who gave you the courage to stand before a member of the Hyūga clan with nothing but a half-baked Steel Release?"
Crack! Crunch!
In the distance, Hiruko reached out, braced against the sides of the crater, and wrenched himself free from the tree trunk.
His skin bore a dark, metallic sheen, but the left side of his torso was visibly sunken, clearly indicating his internal organs had been pulverized from within.
And that was only because he had instinctively twisted aside. Otherwise, it would have been his heart that was blown to pieces.
However, hearing Kumokawa's scornful tone, the already insecure and sensitive Hiruko was so enraged that a metallic, bloody taste surged up from his throat. Even his ragged breaths carried the scent of blood.
"Damn it! I knew that bastard Orochimaru wasn't being generous!"
With just that one blow, Hiruko realized the person before him was nothing like the easy mark Orochimaru had described.
The Chimera Technique—this was the forbidden jutsu he had developed. It allowed him to merge his body with other shinobi or summoning beasts, even fusing with the chakra of bloodline limit users to steal their Kekkei Genkai.
The bloodline limits he currently possessed were Steel Release and Swift Release. His physical defense could easily reach the point of being impervious to blades, and his normal speed matched that of the Body Flicker Technique. Ordinary taijutsu specialists were no match for him.
But the guy in front of him... was nothing like a normal Hyūga.
Having once been a Konoha ninja himself, Hiruko was somewhat familiar with the village's Hyūga clan. He had been standing well outside the standard Gentle Fist range. Who knew this guy could launch his attacks from a distance?
He could feel his stomach, intestines, and liver had been utterly shattered. The Steel Release he had painstakingly fused with was a complete joke against the penetrating force of that single punch.
This was no "lucky waste of space" as Orochimaru had called him. This was a freak of nature from the Hyūga clan.
"Oh?"
Hearing Hiruko mention Orochimaru's name, Hyūga Kumokawa instinctively raised an eyebrow and smiled. "I see. So Lord Orochimaru is still alive. I thought he'd already curled up and died like a dead snake in some dark corner."
Given the man's highly distinctive appearance, Kumokawa naturally recognized him.
Hiruko. Konoha's A-rank missing-nin. Childhood companion of the Legendary Sannin. His natural talent, however, did not match theirs. Plagued by insecurity, resentment, and jealousy, he had secretly conducted human experiments to develop the "Chimera Technique" to compensate for his innate shortcomings.
He had been discovered by Hiruzen Sarutobi, who dispatched the Sannin to hunt him down. Yet Hiruko had managed to escape.
Kumokawa simply hadn't expected Hiruko to be connected to Orochimaru. But thinking about it now, their research directions were indeed quite similar, so a connection wasn't surprising.
In his early years, Orochimaru had also focused on physical research. It was only later, after breaking into the forbidden archives and studying the Scroll of Seals, that he shifted his focus to the realm of the soul.
"So, how is Lord Orochimaru these days?" Kumokawa asked with a smile.
"..."
Hiruko narrowed his eyes but didn't answer, his gaze sweeping over Kumokawa.
He had originally thought Orochimaru had ended up in that monstrous state because of the Third Hokage...
But now, remembering how Orochimaru had gritted his teeth, barely able to contain his venomous hatred when he mentioned this kid, the true culprit who turned Orochimaru into that monstrous, neither-human-nor-ghost state was probably this very brat.
'But why?
Just because of this kid's Byakugan?'
"No... it can't be. At the very least, it must be..."
At this thought, Hiruko instinctively glanced into the distance, towards the direction from which Hyūga Kumokawa's main body had come.
He, of course, didn't know that was Hyūga Kumokawa. But he had felt that terrifying aura that chilled the soul even from over ten miles away. As a rat who had been constantly on the run, he was far too familiar with the aura of an apex predator. That's why he had abandoned his original target without hesitation and chosen to pursue Hyūga Kumokawa instead.
'If I could possess power like that... the Sannin, even the Five Kage, would have to kneel at my feet.' Greed sprouted in Hiruko's heart.
It has to be said, Hiruko's personality was deeply twisted. While he envied the three Sannin, he couldn't hide his own sensitive inferiority complex. When a person makes another their obsession, they invariably cloak that person in glory, even deify them.
That's why Hiruko's behavior was always so high-profile and flamboyant. Even later, after perfecting the "Chimera Technique," he didn't think to lay low and develop quietly. Instead, he openly declared to Konoha in broad daylight that he would start the Fourth Great Ninja War.
From an outsider's perspective, it seemed utterly stupid.
But if Hiruko didn't act this way, he wouldn't be Hiruko, and he probably couldn't have developed a jutsu like the "Chimera Technique" in the first place.
Greed is, after all, carved into human bones. It's precisely because of desire and greed that humanity has managed to survive in such a cruel environment.
The essence of the "Chimera Technique" is endless devouring—a reflection of these very desires lurking in the depths of Hiruko's heart.
What he craved was "significance." He wanted "recognition" from others. He wanted to be "noticed." Only in this way could he mask the inferiority within.
Even when declaring he would start the Fourth Great Ninja War, he still called himself "the shinobi of Konohagakure, Hiruko."
"That power… it doesn't belong to you."
Hyūga Kumokawa's Byakugan was already active. Observing the murky chakra swirling within Hiruko's body, he narrowed his eyes slightly, his tone flat.
Hearing this, Hiruko's head snapped around. After a stunned moment, his pale face contorted into a grotesque mask.
"This is my power!" His entire face twisted. "It is my power, Hiruko's power!"
"No," Kumokawa replied, still calm. "It's power you stole."
BANG!!
"You're asking to die!"
The voice, dripping with humiliation turned to rage, reached his ears just as Hiruko's figure vanished from its spot, leaving behind only a nearly invisible blur and the sharp, piercing crack of breaking air.
The ground where Hiruko had stood fractured, stone shards splashing into the air, dust blossoming like a flower.
Kekkei Genkai: Swift Release.
Hyūga Kumokawa had already extended a hand, as if to grasp something. A black orb coalesced in his palm.