Chapter 50: Guren: I Am Willing to Offer Everything to the Master! Hinata's Request
"For the sake of a tiny ant like Orochimaru, you would throw away your life!?"
Guren froze on the spot when she heard those words.
The statement felt far too exaggerated.
In her heart, Orochimaru-sama was the strongest existence.
She had willingly become his subordinate precisely because she was captivated by that overwhelming power.
But…
Such a powerful Orochimaru-sama… being called an ant by the Holy Master?
"Hmph!
Even though you beat Orochimaru-sama until he was gravely injured, and your strength is clearly greater than his…
Still!
It's not that much greater!"
Guren silently retorted in her mind.
Byakuya didn't care at all what Guren was thinking.
Once the contract was signed, he would hold absolute control over her life and death.
If she disobeyed, he could erase her with a casual thought.
Then revive her after a month.
Repeat the process a few times — she'd learn obedience soon enough.
"Place your hand on mine.
This means you are willing to join the organization and form a contract with me.
With this contract, I can control your life and death at will."
Saying so, Byakuya extended his right hand.
Guren hesitated for a brief moment.
Then Orochimaru's face flashed through her mind once more.
For Orochimaru-sama…
Even if I die, so be it!
Gritting her teeth, she firmly placed her hand on his.
Buzz~
A mysterious power shimmered between the two.
Moments later, an "X"-shaped tattoo appeared on the back of Guren's right hand.
"Choose a plant to serve as your organization codename."
While speaking, Byakuya took out the Diancie card.
The compatibility slot that once read "None" had now changed to "Guren."
Just as he had initially predicted.
This Crystal Release ninja was indeed a perfect match for the card.
"Camellia…
Camellia it is!"
For some reason, Guren ultimately chose this codename.
"Good."
Byakuya nodded.
He casually flicked the card onto her body.
At the same time, he gently released the seal on a portion of Guren's own sealed memories.
After finishing everything,
he picked up the still-unconscious Itō Hiroshi and left the room.
"Didn't expect someone with such thick eyebrows to have such a black heart~"
Byakuya glanced at Itō Hiroshi and couldn't help but mutter.
This man was nothing more than a tool he had prepared to break the Dead Demon Consuming Seal.
Because the soul of the Fourth Hokage, Namikaze Minato, was sealed inside the Reaper's stomach,
he couldn't simply revive him directly.
The seal had to be broken first.
And the moment the Dead Demon Consuming Seal was undone, the performer would become the sacrifice.
That was why he had specially searched for this utterly detestable tool.
As for the fact that the man wasn't even a shinobi…
That wasn't an issue at all.
With a few casual chakra-boosting pills,
the man named Itō Hiroshi officially became a ninja.
Next…
He only needed to wait for Izumi and Karin to return.
Then use genjutsu to control this man,
and have him perform the technique.
…
Guren quickly regained consciousness.
The moment she woke up, she immediately sensed the changes in herself.
Her eyes widened abruptly.
"This… this power…"
She subconsciously clenched her fist, feeling an overwhelming surge of strength flooding her body.
And moreover…
Clink~
Looking at the Crystal Release she had just unleashed, her eyes lit up completely.
In the past,
her crystals had merely been hard red quartz.
But now…
Every single crystal had transformed into diamond!
Staring at the shimmering pink diamonds and sensing the "Phantom Beast" within her body,
Guren's ego instantly inflated.
"Hmph!
Orochimaru?
He's just an ant!
Compared to the Holy Master, he's nothing!
So that's why the Holy Master didn't kill him — he simply couldn't be bothered to lift a finger!
And here I used to think Orochimaru-sama was so strong…
How embarrassing!"
After sighing emotionally in her heart, Guren felt an intensely fervent loyalty toward Byakuya ignite within her.
"I am willing to offer everything I have to the Master!"
At this moment, her eyes burned with blazing flames.
…
Byakuya didn't pay much attention to Guren's thoughts.
Right now,
he was meeting someone he hadn't seen in quite a while — Hinata.
"I… I…
During this time, I was… undergoing special family training…"
Hinata was still the same as always.
Barely two sentences in, her face flushed bright red and she began to stammer.
"Why are you telling me all this?"
Byakuya looked at her with a faint smile, deliberately teasing.
"I… I… I…"
Hinata was completely flustered.
Her face burned crimson.
Her two index fingers kept poking each other nervously.
For a moment, she had no idea how to respond.
She had only instinctively wanted to explain why she hadn't come to see him for so long.
She never expected…
Byakuya would suddenly throw such a question back at her.
"Alright, alright~
Just teasing you."
Byakuya gently patted Hinata's head.
Then he smiled and said, "Come on, let's go eat.
Ichiraku Ramen, let's go~"
Being patted on the head by Byakuya, Hinata's face turned an even deeper shade of red.
Fortunately, she had already experienced this a few times before.
Otherwise, she might have fainted on the spot again.
"O-… Okay…"
Hinata gave a shy little nod and silently followed Byakuya toward Ichiraku Ramen.
Lately, Byakuya had been rather free.
Sasuke had taken his advice and begun training like a madman.
Sakura and Ino had been busy helping out at home.
Although Orochimaru's Konoha Crush plan had ultimately failed,
it still caused considerable destruction to the village.
So the two girls had been quite occupied recently.
Naruto had left with Jiraiya to search for Tsunade.
Kakashi was still lying in the hospital.
Shikamaru occasionally dropped by to play shogi with him.
Everyone else… he hadn't seen for a while.
Those who once came asking how to train powerful shinobi
had disappeared after that one public lesson.
So yes — Byakuya was genuinely quite idle lately.
"Um…"
The current record holder for Ichiraku's Big Eater Championship — the girl who once finished 46 bowls in 30 minutes, Hyūga Hinata —
had only eaten half a bowl before she shyly put down her chopsticks.
Instead, she looked at Byakuya with a troubled expression.
"Something wrong?"
Byakuya casually slurped a mouthful of noodles and asked somewhat unclearly.
"I… I feel like… Kurenai-sensei is acting a little strange lately…
Could you… maybe go check on her?"