Buzz.
Ryuji Hyuga extended his palm and was about to close his fingers around the black sphere. In the next moment, his movement froze, and the corner of his eye twitched as he looked toward another direction.
He had escaped. Yes, that guy Hiruko had actually run away without a second thought, using Swift Release to flee on the spot. If Ryuji Hyuga tried to chase him, he truly would not be able to catch up.
It was the first time Ryuji Hyuga had met someone so shameless. A so called senior finished talking tough, took one punch, then activated his Kekkei Genkai and fled in panic, something even the life loving Orochimaru would not do. The man was like a sharp nosed rat, running the instant he sensed danger.
"What a pity."
Ryuji Hyuga sighed and rubbed his stinging, throbbing eyes, thinking, "I wanted to test my newly gained ability. If nothing else, I could have asked Hiruko to carry my regards to dear Lord Orochimaru." With that thought, he lifted his head and looked at the panel before him.
[Bloodline: Otsutsuki Clan (6.8% → 9.8%)]
Bloodline Inheritance: Tenseigan Phase Two (22.3% → 30.2%) [Abilities: Mental Puppet, Chakra Beads]
Seeing that his Otsutsuki Bloodline had reached 9.8%, Ryuji Hyuga's gaze flickered as he thought, "No wonder Toneri Otsutsuki could awaken Tenseigan so quickly after transplanting the Pure Byakugan." After all, Madara Uchiha endured almost his entire life after transplanting Hashirama Cells before awakening Rinnegan near death, so even with strong blood, Toneri Otsutsuki should not have awakened Tenseigan in just a few days.
Now it seemed likely that the reason was that Giant Tenseigan, which gathered the Dojutsu Power of all members of the Otsutsuki Clan. Although the connection to the lunar Giant Tenseigan had already been severed, the feedback from Dojutsu Power still greatly accelerated his awakening of Tenseigan, and Toneri Otsutsuki must have relied on that same Giant Tenseigan to awaken it.
"Still, Hiruko did remind me of something." Thinking of the Chimera Technique, Ryuji Hyuga reflected, "Logically speaking, if I have the Otsutsuki Bloodline, I should be able to awaken other Kekkei Genkai as well." For example, Shikotsumyaku, or perhaps Wood Release.
So what was missing now?
"Just a key." A smile appeared at the corner of Ryuji Hyuga's mouth. "The Chakra and cells of a Bloodline Inheritance ninja."
As long as the dormant gene fragments in his body were activated, with the purity of his current bloodline, he should be able to awaken other Kekkei Genkai. Moreover, this might also complete his Otsutsuki Bloodline, since Toneri Otsutsuki was never the endpoint of that bloodline.
"Ryuji Hyuga!"
A tense voice from ANBU came from the distance, likely because they had noticed Ryuji Hyuga falling behind and came looking for him. Ryuji Hyuga snapped out of his thoughts and moved toward the direction of the voice.
If the Ninja World continued to maintain this fragile and false peace, he would have no chance to leave the village to set up plans, let alone seize a Bloodline Inheritance ninja from another village. Therefore, war was needed, and war was a necessary condition.
At the same time, after Ryuji Hyuga rejoined the group and explained that he had been observing distant battle aftereffects with the Byakugan, a woman unfolded a summoning scroll inside a cave at the border between the Land of Grass and the Land of Rain.
Bang.
As smoke burst out and dispersed, the disheveled Hiruko appeared. The woman's expression changed at once as she hurried forward to support him, only to be knocked aside by a wave of Hiruko's hand.
"Damn it, damn it. Just a brat from the Hyuga Clan…" Hiruko cursed bitterly. As he fumed over his own sorry state, a mocking voice suddenly echoed from deeper in the cave.
"Heh heh." The laughter sounded neither clearly male nor female, with two voices mixed together. "Our Lord Hiruko is really in a sorry state."
Hiruko jerked his head up toward the depths of the cave. He saw the twisting black silhouette approaching and smelled that special, heavy odor, his face filling with unconcealed disgust.
Someone who often experimented with rats and snakes naturally knew what that smell was. A female snake in heat would secrete a brown, sticky substance with a strong odor from its cloaca to attract males. That was exactly the smell of that secretion.
"Orochimaru." Hiruko said coldly. "If you are in heat, go outside and deal with it. Do not disgust me here."
"Heh." Orochimaru replied in a flat tone. "Is your soul any different from mine, just as ugly and disgusting."
Late morning, nearing noon, inside the Hokage's office.
Thin sunlight streamed through the half open window and fell on the redwood desk, only to be blocked by piles of documents stacked like a small mountain. A soft rustling sound followed as Hiruzen Sarutobi sat in his chair, flipping through files with one hand while holding his pipe with the other.
"Huff."
Hiruzen Sarutobi brought the pipe to his mouth, the tobacco glowing faintly as he inhaled, and wisps of white Ao smoke rose and drifted out the window. After taking too deep a breath, he coughed hoarsely, his brows knitting together.
Even after the irritation passed, he did not stop and took another draw. "Cough. Hiruzen, have you been smoking too much these past two days?" Homura Mitokado said from a chair against the far wall, keeping his distance from the window. "I know the pressure is heavy, but you should at least take some care of yourself."
Hiruzen Sarutobi did not answer. He only lowered his head and silently reread the letters delivered yesterday, letters he had already gone through countless times, yet his mind would not settle.
It had been three days since the escort carrying Hiashi Hyuga's body left Konoha. Normally, the journey from Konoha to the border took no more than two days, something confirmed by the message Tangdong Akimichi sent back by ninja beast a day earlier.
In the first letter, Tangdong Akimichi said the escort team was close to their destination. In the second, he mentioned they had run into a group of Iwagakure deserters along the way, explained that the team was safe with no losses, and even praised Ryuji Hyuga's ability and temperament.
While Hiruzen Sarutobi was glad that Ryuji Hyuga might shoulder great responsibility in the future, the sudden appearance of Iwagakure deserters made him uneasy. Now a full day had passed since the last message, and that was not normal.
Could Iwagakure be interfering as well?
At the thought, Hiruzen Sarutobi's face showed worry as he took a hard drag on his pipe. Just as Homura Mitokado was about to urge him again to smoke less, hurried and unsteady footsteps sounded outside the Hokage's office door.
Hiruzen Sarutobi's heart sank as he looked up and saw a masked member of ANBU enter. "Third Hokage! The escort team has returned, but…"
The ANBU member clutched a scroll soaked in blood. Before he could finish, Hiruzen Sarutobi vanished and reappeared in front of him, snatching the scroll away.
He opened it and scanned it quickly. His pupils shrank, his aged face turning pale as fear and anger surfaced together.
"What happened?" Seeing Hiruzen Sarutobi's hand trembling as he held the scroll, Homura Mitokado sprang to his feet in alarm. "Hiruzen, what happened? Say something."
"War, war. How could this happen…" Hiruzen Sarutobi's face shifted between ashen and white, and he raised a hand to clutch his chest, his voice hoarse. "The Fourth Ninja World War is coming."
"What?" Homura Mitokado froze for a moment, then his expression changed.