Chapter 57: Plans Can't Keep Up with Changes
Whoosh!
With a very faint sound of air being sliced, Byakuya returned to his bookstore.
He casually placed the things he'd prepared before leaving onto the counter,
then strode upstairs with big steps.
Right now, two organization members were still being held inside his bookstore.
One was Pakura, who now possessed the Groudon card.
Organization codename: Lilac.
The other was Guren, who now possessed the Diancie card.
Organization codename: Camellia.
Pakura had been kept here mainly because she had no teammates to carry out missions with.
As for Guren, it was to give her time to get familiar with her new power.
By now, Guren had more or less mastered it.
It was about time to let both of them out to do some work.
"Master!"
The moment they saw Byakuya appear, both women dropped to one knee in perfect unison, greeting him with deep respect.
"Mm."
Byakuya nodded expressionlessly.
"It's about time.
You two should go carry out your missions now."
As he spoke, he flicked out two mission cards.
The women quickly caught them and began reading.
The cards listed two tasks.
[Task One: Revenge.
You may choose to take revenge on the person you hate most.
However, both of you must act together.
You are absolutely forbidden from harming innocents.
Alternatively, you may choose not to take revenge.]
[Task Two: Gather all possible intelligence regarding Ōtsutsuki Isshiki.
Ōtsutsuki Isshiki — an extremely powerful being.
He was once severely wounded by Ōtsutsuki Kaguya.
Currently, he is possessing the body of a monk named Jigen.]
After reading the two tasks, both women froze for a moment.
They hadn't expected the first task to be about revenge.
But soon after, excitement lit up in Pakura's eyes.
She had wanted revenge for the longest time.
Back then, Byakuya had promised her the chance.
But the opportunity never came.
Who would've thought…
the chance was finally here.
Meanwhile, Guren standing beside her showed little interest in the task.
She didn't really carry much hatred in her heart.
After Byakuya's intervention, the memories she had once sealed away had returned.
Those memories brought her immense pain —
the time she killed her own lifesaver on Orochimaru's orders.
Later, torn between guilt and the temptation of Orochimaru's power,
she developed selective amnesia.
If she were to talk about revenge now…
it would only be against Orochimaru.
But she seemed to have moved on.
She no longer desired revenge.
"If anything happens, you can communicate through the rings on your hands."
Byakuya pointed at the rings they were wearing.
Then he tapped the magic circle in the room.
"Alright.
You may go."
"Yes!"
The two women responded in unison before disappearing together.
Byakuya watched their retreating figures and gave a small nod.
"I hope they can gather information about Ōtsutsuki Isshiki as quickly as possible…"
Ōtsutsuki Isshiki.
Not a character from the original Naruto story —
but from Boruto.
Although Byakuya had no idea whether this person would actually appear,
he still decided to prepare just in case and start collecting information.
Toward the bizarre Ōtsutsuki clan,
his sense of caution was extremely high.
After assigning the tasks,
Byakuya checked the time, then slowly walked downstairs.
He planned to wait a bit,
then head out for barbecue once it was lunchtime.
But right at that moment,
he suddenly saw a group of people hurrying toward the bookstore.
It was Kurama Yakumo, whom he had just seen this morning,
along with several Anbu.
What's going on?
Byakuya felt puzzled.
By all rights, shouldn't Kurama Yakumo still be under strict surveillance?
While he was still wondering,
Kurama Yakumo and the Anbu had already entered the bookstore.
"She said she wasn't feeling well,"
one of the Anbu explained casually,
then stood to the side to keep watch.
Seeing this, Byakuya immediately understood —
Yakumo had something she wanted to say.
So he directly activated the bookstore's invincible power,
casting a genjutsu over all the Anbu at once.
"Alright. They can't hear anything now. Speak."
"I…"
Yakumo glanced at Byakuya hesitantly before speaking in a shy voice.
"Could you… resurrect my mother first?"
"Hm?"
Byakuya frowned slightly.
"Reason?"
"I… I really miss her…"
Byakuya fell silent for a moment.
Then he slowly shook his head.
"Not yet.
Next month."
"Thank you! Master!"
Yakumo's face instantly lit up with joy.
After Byakuya released the genjutsu, she happily left together with the Anbu.
Watching their departing backs, Byakuya sank into silent thought.
He suddenly felt…
maybe he should postpone the resurrection of Namikaze Minato for a while.
Minato's matter isn't urgent anyway.
Whether I resurrect him early or late, the plot points I gain will be the same amount.
Delaying it might even reduce the impact on the overall plot.
So…
I'll resurrect Izumi's parents first~
Heh…
Plans really can't keep up with changes~
Just as Byakuya was lost in thought,
he suddenly sensed something.
In the next instant, he used a space jump and arrived in another room.
The moment he entered,
the magic circle on the floor lit up brightly.
Immediately after, two very familiar figures appeared before him.
It was Karin and Izumi, who had just returned.
"We have seen the Master!"
The two women immediately knelt on one knee and bowed respectfully.
"Mm.
How did the intelligence gathering go?"
"We haven't obtained any information about Ōtsutsuki Isshiki yet.
Nor about Jigen."
Izumi reported slowly.
"Mm."
Byakuya nodded, not surprised in the slightest.
"Alright. Here are your new mission cards. Prepare yourselves."
With that, he tossed out two new mission cards.
This time, the tasks weren't particularly difficult.
Step one: Go to the Uzumaki clan's Mask Hall in Konoha and obtain the Shinigami Mask, then force the dying person to release the Reaper Death Seal.
Step two: Resurrect Izumi's mother.
Step three: Find a beautiful, quiet village in the Land of Fire, and secretly turn it into an organization outpost.
"Master!"
The moment Izumi read the mission card,
she became visibly excited.
She never imagined that Byakuya would change the original plan just for her!
She clearly remembered that the person Byakuya originally planned to resurrect was Namikaze Minato.
Yet now…
He actually…
He's being so kind to me…
Izumi's gaze toward Byakuya grew even softer.
Karin watched Izumi's expression, feeling a complicated pang in her heart,
but she said nothing.
Meanwhile, Byakuya was completely unaware of the emotional shifts in the two women.
After giving Izumi a few simple words of praise,
he sent them off to carry out their missions.
He himself slowly walked downstairs, planning to tidy up before heading to the dinner gathering.
But at that moment,
a very strange girl knocked on the bookstore door.
"Excuse me… are you hiring here?"
Byakuya froze.
Not because the girl was beautiful.
But because…
this girl was actually White Zetsu in disguise!
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