Chapter 51: Fight Until the Last Moment, Slit One's Throat and Ascend to Heaven!
With a sharp, vigilant shout, a middle-aged man with Byakugan eyes stepped out from inside.
"Father!"
The little girl who had been running laps along the street outside saw the man emerge and immediately ran over to him. Then she looked at Shiromo, the unfamiliar stranger, with puzzled eyes.
Alright.
So the parents were inside, keeping watch over the child with the Byakugan active.
Seeing Shiromo staring at someone else's daughter and asking, "How is there no one here?", making him look like he was about to abduct a child,this reaction was honestly quite reasonable.
But that only made Shiromo even more unable to understand how the Hyūga clan's eldest daughter could ever have been bullied, or even called a "white-eyed monster."
The difficulty of that felt higher than some Old Wang from next door sneaking under the Hyūga household's bed, into their wardrobe, or onto their windowsill.
As for this white-eyed little girl, Shiromo naturally recognized her at first glance.
The classic method of identifying people by hairstyle.
"You're a foreign ninja here for the Chūnin Exams, aren't you? This is the Hyūga clan compound. You are not welcome here."
Hyuga Hiashi stared at Shiromo with his Byakugan and directly issued an order to leave.
"So unfriendly?"
"Hyūga Clan Head, don't be in a hurry. I'll ask one question and then leave."
Shiromo said with a smile.
"…Speak."
Hyuga Hiashi's tone was unpleasant, but he truly didn't dare to act rashly.
Shiromo wasn't wearing any forehead protector, so Hyuga Hiashi had no idea which village he came from.
If things escalated and ended up repeating what happened with his brother Hyūga Hizashi's death, that would be troublesome.
"If you saw someone outside the village possessing the Byakugan, what would you do?"
"Retrieve the Byakugan and defend the honor of the Hyūga clan."
Hyuga Hiashi answered without the slightest hesitation.
How much of that he could truly carry out, and how sincere it was, was another matter.
"What if they were born with it?"
Shiromo asked another question.
"Born with it? Then we'd carve the Caged Bird seal on them and have them join the Hyūga branch family. The Hyūga clan isn't some unreasonable family."
Hyuga Hiashi thought briefly before giving his reply.
"Alright. I understand. Goodbye."
After getting his answer, Shiromo left as promised.
Hyuga Hiashi let out a small sigh of relief, but the look in Shiromo's eyes before leaving made him feel faintly uneasy.
—
Shiromo returned to Konan's residence.
The two questions he had just asked Hyuga Hiashi were meant to test whether the Hyūga clan's main-branch and branch-family system had improved at all.
After all, by the time of 'Boruto', it seemed that the distinction no longer existed, and Hyuga Hiashi appeared quite gentle.
But clearly, that wasn't the case now.
Judging by Hyuga Hiashi's words, even if Ōtsutsuki Kaguya herself showed up at the Hyūga clan, she'd probably still be told to close her Rinne Sharingan, get a Caged Bird seal carved on her, and then leave.
Since that was the situation, and they were already here, they might as well proceed with the plan and absorb some strength.
Otherwise, the Hyūga clan would keep shouting from the very beginning all the way into 'Boruto' that "the Hyūga are the strongest clan in Konoha," only for their most eye-catching achievement to be the strongest of the younger generation, Hyūga Neji, successfully becoming Cupid and a human shield, blocking a flying stick with his own body.
Shiromo and Konan discussed things inside the room.
Karin voluntarily activated her Mind's Eye of the Kagura, scouting the surroundings to prevent anyone from eavesdropping.
"So this counts as kidnapping kids, right? Aren't you afraid Karin will hear this, think she misjudged you, and run away in fear?"
After they finished discussing, Konan asked with a slightly teasing tone.
"Huh? No, no, no."
Karin, who had been mentioned, froze for a moment, then hurriedly shook her head and waved her hands.
"What are you talking about? We're helping gifted children escape feudal patriarchal families, and at the same time stimulating them to change, otherwise, things like this will just keep happening in the future…"
"So noble."
"…"
After all that talk, it was really just the "payment" for saving the Third Hokage.
Why Sarutobi Hiruzen needed to stay alive had already been made very clear to everyone by Shiromo earlier.
As long as Hiruzen lived, he could keep compromising with them.
Even Itachi knew about this.
Ignoring all the reasons Shiromo gave, the end result was "good": the Third Hokage lived, continued taking care of Sasuke, and Itachi wouldn't have to go back and intimidate Danzō again, that was good enough.
As for the plan Shiromo and Konan discussed?
The next day, at the Hyūga clan compound.
The Forest of Death exam would last several days.
The one-on-one duels the daimyōs and wealthy merchants wanted to see wouldn't begin until days later.
The parents, relatives, and friends of the genin couldn't watch either, and could only think about those participating in the Chūnin Exams.
"Father, do you think sister will pass the Chūnin Exam?"
Hyuga Hanabi, having just finished her morning training, thought of her sister Hinata and asked her father, Hyuga Hiashi.
"Pass? It would already be good enough if she could uphold the honor of the Hyūga clan."
The moment Hinata was mentioned, Hyuga Hiashi wore an expression of disappointment. He then looked at his younger daughter.
"Hanabi, instead of worrying about whether she passes, you should focus more on your own training. Don't disappoint me like she does."
"Yes, Father!"
Hanabi straightened her posture.
"And also, don't go out these days. There are too many foreign ninjas around, and countless people covet the Hyūga clan's Byakugan. It's dangerous, like that person yesterday."
Before leaving the backyard, Hyuga Hiashi reminded and warned Hanabi.
"Understood."
Hanabi nodded in agreement. Then, watched by a maid, she continued training alone in the backyard.
Crack.
Hanabi struck a tree with her palm, and the trunk snapped in response.
"Hoo…"
Her cheeks slightly flushed from exertion, Hanabi let out a breath and wiped the sweat from her forehead.
"Damaging the environment is bad."
Suddenly, a white head wearing a forehead protector popped out from the broken tree trunk.
"Ah!"
Hanabi was startled and reflexively struck with her palm.
"Ahh!"
White Zetsu let out a scream and was sent flying, landing on the ground lifeless.
"Huh?"
Hanabi looked down at her palm in shock.
When did she become this strong?
"That's too much! Give me back my second brother's life!"
Another White Zetsu emerged from underground, lunging forward with a face full of grief.
"It's an outsider Father warned about!"
Hanabi noticed the forehead protector on White Zetsu's head. Although she didn't recognize which village it belonged to, it clearly wasn't Konoha.
She calmed down, assumed the Gentle Fist stance, and prepared to fight.
Smack.
White Zetsu's waist was shattered by a single palm strike. With a choking sound, his body split in two and fell motionless.
"No! He promised me he'd marry me once this mission was over! No!"
Yet another White Zetsu appeared, crying as he rushed toward the broken body.
"Huh?"
Hanabi was stunned by what he said and reflexively struck again.
The third White Zetsu was sent flying and splattered against the wall.
"Kill me."
Another White Zetsu emerged, this time not attacking, but kneeling directly in front of Hanabi.
Hanabi hesitated.
At that moment, a palm strike came from behind her, instantly shattering the fourth White Zetsu.
Hanabi turned around, it was her father, Hyuga Hiashi, holding the stance of Eight Trigrams Air Palm. (Air Palm = Vacuum Palm)
"Father, this…"
"Hanabi, step back. Leave it to me!"
Hyuga Hiashi stepped forward, shielding Hanabi behind him.
"No… it hurts, it hurts so much…"
Another White Zetsu appeared.
Smack.
"Everyone attack together! Fight until the last moment, then commit suicide!"
Smack.
"Death isn't scary. Death is a cool summer night…"
Smack.
From initial vigilance, Hyuga Hiashi gradually became casual, and confused.
One palm per enemy. Combined with the three Hanabi had defeated earlier, a total of seven White Zetsu died tragically here.
(End of this chapter)