Deep within the Hidden Sword Village, a white main branch coiled tightly around a black longsword.
The branch itself looked frail—so fragile that without the sword supporting it, it wouldn't even be able to stand upright. A slightly heavier rain might have been enough to press it back into the mud.
From this main branch extended rows of small, lantern-like white "fruits," densely packed on both sides like a canopy of pale umbrellas.
When the wind passed through, the skins of these fruits opened and closed rhythmically.
Only upon closer inspection would one realize the truth—
These were not fruits at all.
They were pale white eyeballs.
They shifted slowly, curiously observing the surrounding world. What looked like the skins closing was, in fact, the eyeballs instinctively shutting against wind-blown sand.
This was the true core of the Byakugan Plantation Technique.
The Byakugan Divine Tree.
Of course, the current Byakugan Divine Tree was still in its sapling stage, far from the time of harvest.
At present, it served only one function:to absorb and store Byakugan Essence, transforming trace amounts of it into Byakugan Curse Marks.
The so-called aptitude tests of the Hidden Sword Village were conducted by roots extending from this tree's front yard—roots that pierced directly into the eyes of those being tested.
The tests themselves were never the true goal.
Using them as an opportunity to implant the Byakugan Curse Mark into the population was the real purpose.
Like parasites laying eggs inside their hosts, those implanted with the curse mark would train diligently. As they did, Byakugan Essence would rapidly grow within their eyes.
Half of that essence would be siphoned off and absorbed by the Byakugan Divine Tree as nourishment.
The remaining half would stay with the individual—serving as a "reward" and ensuring continuous, long-term harvesting.
This process wouldn't take long.
As the number of humans under the tree's control increased, its growth rate would naturally accelerate. In the future, even all the essence Neiki had painstakingly gathered from exterminating the Hyuga Clan over the years might not equal the Divine Tree's monthly output.
Even so, fifty thousand people in the Land of Waves were still far from enough.
Which was why planting the "Tree of Peace" across the entire world had never been a whimsical idea.
It was a concrete plan.
Though the Byakugan Divine Tree was currently weak, all great things began humbly.
Given the eerie nature of its true form, Neiki layered it with powerful Genjutsu, including Illusionary Hell, and surrounded it with multiple defensive mechanisms to ensure its uninterrupted growth.
From the mountain peak, Neiki watched the bustling scenes within Hidden Sword Village and smiled faintly.
If Hanabi wanted to play, then she could play.
The Byakugan Curse Mark would not affect a genuine Byakugan user.
Of course, from the perspective of the Byakugan Divine Tree, true Byakugan were still irresistibly tempting. If ordinary people implanted with the curse mark were seeds, then Hyuga clan shinobi like Hanabi—already possessing mature Byakugan—were fully ripened fruits.
That was why her S-level evaluation had nothing to do with ninja aptitude.
It was an assessment of her Byakugan.
Sensing something, Neiki tilted his head slightly.
"You're back…"
A wooden mask formed over his face. With a flicker, he vanished from the mountain peak.
In a private room at a dockside tavern in the Land of Waves—
"How did it go?" Zabuza asked, waving away the women around him as someone entered.
"It's begun…" Haku set down a bundle, ignoring the women's envious gazes. Her voice carried suppressed tension."Iwagakure and Konohagakure officially went to war yesterday."
The battlefield lay in the Land of Rain, west of the Land of Fire—far from the Land of Waves. That was why news of the conflict only reached them today.
Zabuza crushed his sake cup unconsciously, his eyes widening.
So that man claiming to be Hashirama hadn't been spouting nonsense after all.
The Fourth Great Ninja War was really about to erupt.
"Why?" Zabuza asked grimly.
Haku pulled a bounty notice from her robe.
"Do you remember this person?"
Zabuza glanced at the portrait and the figure printed beneath it.
Neiki Hyuga.
This bounty, issued by Konohagakure, had circulated through the black market for over half a month and had become infamous among rogue ninja.
Konoha hadn't specified his crimes—but two details alone were enough to drive countless missing-nin mad with greed.
The Hyuga Clan.
A 60 million ryō bounty.
Because of the notorious Caged Bird Seal, everyone assumed Neiki Hyuga was a member of the Hyuga main family. After all, only the main family could escape the seal's control and dare defect from Konoha.
And only a main-family Byakugan was considered worth extracting and implanting.
No shinobi from Kirigakure didn't covet the Byakugan.
Even someone like Zabuza had been tempted when he first saw the notice. Sixty million ryō didn't frighten him—it excited him.
He had assumed Neiki was just an unknown genius brat.
He believed in talent.
But he believed in himself more.
Don't let me catch you, he had thought back then.
Only now did Zabuza realize why Haku had shown him the notice.
Haku pointed at Neiki's smiling portrait, lips pressed together.
"In the future… if we ever encounter this person, we should run as far away as possible."
Zabuza stiffened.
"What do you mean?"
Haku exhaled slowly and explained:
"This war between Iwagakure and Konohagakure is only the beginning."
"Kumogakure is already preparing for war. They'll soon join the siege against Konoha."
"Sunagakure is Konoha's ally."
"As for Kirigakure—we don't have reliable intelligence, but they won't miss such a golden opportunity."
She looked directly at Zabuza.
"The Fourth Great Ninja War is about to begin, Zabuza-sensei."
"And it's all because of… this man."
Her finger tapped the bounty notice.
Then, Haku revealed the truth behind the war—and Neiki's actions in Konoha:
"Neiki Hyuga isn't from the main family. He's from the branch family. He defected after exterminating the Hyuga Clan."
"The Hyuga Clan massacre and the Uchiha Clan rebellion happened on the same day. That wasn't a coincidence—the Uchiha rebellion was orchestrated by him."
"And the second Nine-Tails incident in Konoha wasn't a rumor. All nations have confirmed it."
"The reason the Hyuga Clan massacre didn't immediately cause an uproar was because the villages were waiting."
She paused.
"And the rumor that Neiki was wanted for bombing the ninja hospital?"
"That was false."
"He didn't just bomb the hospital."
"He bombed the entire Konoha."
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