Hum!
Hyūga Kumokawa extended his palm, about to grasp the black orb.
But in the next instant, his movement abruptly halted. The corner of his eye twitched slightly as he looked in another direction.
'He ran away.'
Yes, Hiruko had actually run away. Without any hesitation, he used his Swift Release to flee.
If Kumokawa wanted to give chase, he probably couldn't catch him.
This was Kumokawa's first time encountering someone so shameless. A so-called senior shows up, spouts a few tough lines, gets punched once, and then flees for his life using his Kekkei Genkai. Even someone as self-preserving as Orochimaru wouldn't do something like that.
The guy really was a perceptive rat, scurrying away at the slightest whiff of danger.
"What a pity."
Kumokawa sighed, touching his eyes which throbbed with a stinging, pulsating sensation. 'I wanted to test my newly acquired abilities. At the very least, I could have asked Hiruko to pass on my regards to dear Lord Orochimaru.'
With that thought, he looked up at the panel before him.
[Bloodline: Ōtsutsuki Clan (6.8% → 9.8%)]
[Kekkei Genkai: Tenseigan · Second Stage (22.3% → 30.2%)]
[Abilities: Mental Puppetry, Chakra Orbs]
Looking at his Ōtsutsuki bloodline, which had reached 9.8%, Kumokawa's gaze flickered thoughtfully. 'No wonder Ōtsutsuki Toneri could awaken the Tenseigan in such a short time after transplanting a pure Byakugan.'
After all, Uchiha Madara had to endure a whole lifetime with Hashirama's cells before awakening the Rinnegan just before death. While Toneri's bloodline was powerful, it shouldn't have been possible to awaken the Tenseigan in just a few days.
It seemed now it was likely due to that Energy Vessel—it was the culmination of the ocular power of the entire Ōtsutsuki clan.
Although the connection to the Energy Vessel on the moon had been severed, the feedback of ocular power had still significantly accelerated his own Tenseigan awakening process. Toneri had probably also relied on that Energy Vessel to awaken his own.
"However, Hiruko did remind me of something." Thinking of the Chimera Technique, Kumokawa pondered.
Logically speaking, possessing the Ōtsutsuki bloodline should allow the awakening of other Kekkei Genkai.
For example, the Shikotsumyaku (Dead Bone Pulse).
Or, for another example, Wood Release.
So, what was he missing now?
"Just a key." A faint smile appeared at the corner of Kumokawa's mouth. "The chakra and cells of Kekkei Genkai users."
As long as he could activate the latent gene fragments within his body, given the current purity of his bloodline, he should be able to awaken other Kekkei Genkai.
Moreover, doing so might even help complete his Ōtsutsuki bloodline. After all, Ōtsutsuki Toneri was not the ultimate endpoint of that lineage.
"Hyūga Kumokawa!"
The grim voice of an ANBU ninja reached his ears from the distance. They must have noticed he'd fallen behind and come looking.
Kumokawa snapped out of his thoughts and hurried towards the source of the voice.
If the ninja world continued to maintain this fragile, false peace, he would have no chance to leave the village to make certain arrangements, let alone abduct Kekkei Genkai users from other villages.
Therefore… war.
'War! War is the necessary prerequisite!'
Meanwhile, as Hyūga Kumokawa caught up with the group and was explaining that he had been using his Byakugan to observe the distant aftermath of the battle…
At the border between the Land of Grass and the Land of Rain, a woman unrolled a summoning scroll inside a cave.
Poof!
A burst of smoke erupted and dissipated, revealing a thoroughly disheveled Hiruko.
"Lord Hiruko! How did you—"
Seeing this, the woman's expression changed instantly. She rushed forward to help, but Hiruko waved her away.
"Damn it! Damn it! A mere brat from the Hyūga clan…" Hiruko hissed with hatred.
Just as he was fuming over his own sorry state, a mocking voice suddenly drifted over.
"Heh heh." The laugh seemed neither distinctly male nor female, two tones mixed together. "Our Lord Hiruko is in quite a state, isn't he?"
Hiruko's head jerked up, looking towards the depths of the cave. He saw the shadowy figure writhing its way closer and caught a whiff of that distinct, pungent odor. An expression of uncontrollable disgust spread across his face.
Having frequently used rats and snakes for his experiments, he knew exactly what that smell was.
A female snake in heat secretes a brownish, sticky discharge from its cloaca with a particularly strong odor to attract males.
That was the smell of that brownish, sticky discharge.
"Orochimaru." Hiruko said coldly. "If you're in heat, go rut outside. Don't disgust me right in front of my face!"
"Hehe…" Orochimaru's tone was indifferent. "Aren't our souls the same? Just as ugly… and just as foul."
____
10:00 AM, approaching noon. Inside the Hokage's office.
Pale sunlight streamed through the half-open window onto the mahogany desk, but was completely blocked by the mountainous pile of documents stacked high upon it.
Flip, flip.
Sitting in his chair, Hiruzen Sarutobi leafed through the files on the desk with one hand, while the other skillfully held his smoking pipe.
"Hmm."
Hiruzen brought the pipe stem to his lips. The tobacco within glowed faintly. As he inhaled and exhaled, several wisps of white-blue smoke rose, carried out the window by the breeze.
"Cough! Cough-cough!"
Hiruzen, having taken a deep drag, choked slightly. He frowned, emitting a somewhat hoarse cough.
But once the itch in his throat subsided, he took another puff without pause.
"Ahem! Hiruzen, haven't you been smoking a bit too much these past two days?"
Homura Mitokado sat in a chair against another wall, keeping his distance from the window constantly drawing out the smoke. "I know you're under a lot of pressure, but you should still pay some attention to your health, shouldn't you?"
"..."
Hiruzen didn't have the mind to respond. He silently lowered his head, reviewing the letters delivered yesterday. In truth, he had already read these letters hundreds of times, but he couldn't shake a persistent uneasiness.
It had already been three days since the team escorting the body of Hyūga Hiashi left Konoha. Normally, the journey from Konoha to the border would take at most two days. The letter Akimichi Chōza sent back via his summoning beast a day ago had confirmed this.
In the first letter, Chōza stated the escort team wasn't far from their destination. But in the second letter, he mentioned encountering a group of Iwagakure missing-nin along the way.
He not only assured that the team was safe, with no losses, but also praised Hyūga Kumokawa's abilities and character.
While Hiruzen was pleased that Kumokawa might indeed be capable of shouldering great responsibility, the unexpected appearance of Iwagakure missing-nin made him uneasy. And now, a full day had passed without any word since the last letter.
It shouldn't have taken this long.
'Could it be that Iwagakure is also getting involved?'
This thought deepened the worry lines on Hiruzen's face, and he took another deep, sharp drag from his pipe.
Thump! Thump-thump!
Just as Homura was about to remind Hiruzen again to cut back on the smoking, hurried, slightly frantic footsteps suddenly sounded outside the Hokage's office door.
Hiruzen's heart instantly sank. He looked up to see an ANBU ninja, mask in place, enter the office.
"Lord Third! The escort team has returned, but…"
The ANBU ninja clutched a scroll stained with blood. Before he could finish, Hiruzen vanished from his seat, reappearing instantly before the ANBU to snatch the scroll.
Unfurling it and rapidly scanning the contents, Hiruzen's pupils contracted. His aged face paled slightly as terror and rage simultaneously surfaced.
"What happened?"
Seeing Hiruzen's hand holding the scroll trembling, Homura, who had been observing, immediately sensed something was terribly wrong. He rose quickly. "Hiruzen! What is it? Say something!"
"War… war… How could this happen…"
Hiruzen's face turned from green to white, even showing signs of pain as he raised a hand to clutch his chest. His voice was hoarse. "The Fourth Great Ninja War… is upon us!"
"What?" Homura was momentarily stunned, then his expression shifted drastically.