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"Lord Danzo, there are signs of fighting here." A Root ninja wearing a bird mask knelt on one knee beside Danzo and reported.

"Did the tracking continue?"

"This subordinate is incompetent. The insects' trail ended here."

"Keep searching! Find Hyuga Kei at all costs."

Endless greed flashed in Danzo's eyes. The evolved bloodline limit of the Byakugan—if he obtained those eyes, along with Shisui's Mangekyo, becoming Hokage would be effortless.

"No need to search. I'm right here."

A voice came from above their heads. Everyone looked up to see Hyuga Kei standing on the railing atop Konoha's Military Police Force headquarters.

"Attack. Kill him," Danzo shouted without hesitation.

In an instant, several Root members appeared on the rooftop and launched attacks on Hyuga Kei at the same time.

Hyuga Kei calmly activated his Tenseigan. An illusory Eight Trigrams Seal rose beneath his feet, enveloping the Root members within it.

"Gentle Fist Style: Eight Trigrams: 128 Palms." Hyuga Kei vanished from where he stood and appeared before the Root ninjas. Every ninja had a Hyuga Kei standing before him.

Hyuga Kei continuously struck the acupoints around each ninja's body. In an instant, every Root ninja coughed up blood and collapsed unconscious. Hyuga Kei was the only one left standing on the rooftop.

He returned to the railing and held out his hand toward Shimura Danzō below. "If you dare lay a hand on Neji, Konoha had better prepare for destruction as well."

The moment he finished speaking, Shimura Danzō felt his body being blasted away, only to be caught by the Root ninjas behind him working together.

With that, Hyuga Kei hoisted Uchiha Izumi from the ground onto his shoulder and used the Body Flicker Technique to leave Konoha.

Meanwhile, at the Hokage Building.

Kakashi reported the intelligence they had just uncovered. "Lord Hokage, we found three surviving members of the Hyuga clan. They had gone to the night market together and escaped disaster. When they returned to the Hyuga compound, they happened to witness Hyuga Kei leaving and exchanged a few words with him."

"Hyuga Kei did not kill the three of them. One is Hyuga Kei's younger brother, while the other two are Hyuga Hiashi's daughters from the Main Branch."

Sarutobi Hiruzen took a deep breath. "You've worked hard. From now on, guard the three closely and prevent Hyuga Kei from coming back to kill them."

"Yes!"

Although Hyuga Kei had already left Konoha, there was no guarantee he would not do something insane for the sake of revenge.

Inside Konoha's secret chamber, the last three members of the Hyuga clan stood there at a loss.

Neji Hyuga's mind was a tangled mess. Why had his brother destroyed their clan? For power? No! His brother was not someone who pursued power like that.

Then it had to be for revenge. He had also witnessed the Hyuga clansmen's disgust toward Hyuga Kei, but those innocent people had done nothing wrong!

He had to uncover the truth and bring his brother back.

Hinata and Hanabi, meanwhile, were in tremendous pain. Keeping his promise to Hiashi, Hyuga Kei had used the Sharingan to alter their memories, making them believe that Hyuga Kei had always been the brother by their side—gentle and kind.

Hinata in particular suffered greatly. Hyuga Kei was the one who had rescued her from Kumogakure three years ago, and she had once harbored feelings for him. It was hard for anyone to accept that the great hero who had saved them had suddenly become their enemy.

They were both deeply confused and pained by Hyuga Kei's destruction of the Hyuga clan.

Neji interrupted their thoughts. "Believe it or not, there must have been a reason my brother destroyed the Hyuga clan. Otherwise, why didn't he kill us too?"

Fortunately, Neji had spent relatively little time being taught by Hyuga Hiashi. He had merely been instilled with the idea that he needed to protect Hinata and Hanabi, so he did not feel much attachment to the Hyuga clan.

Hyuga Hinata shook her head with tear-reddened eyes, then nodded.

"No matter what you say, no matter what reasons he had, my sister and I will kill that man and avenge our parents." Hyuga Hanabi was stronger. She resolutely took her sister's hand.

"I'll stop you. My brother must have had his reasons. I'll uncover the truth."

The three of them formed a strange resonance, all displaying feelings of both love and hatred toward Hyuga Kei.

Elsewhere.

A vortex appeared in the forest beside Naka Shrine, and Uchiha Obito's figure emerged once more.

Black Zetsu also rose from the ground. "Are you all right, Madara?"

"I'm fine." Obito narrowed his eyes. Black Zetsu had known so much intelligence that even he did not know.

After all, he was practically half of Madara Uchiha's disciple, and Madara had clearly told him that the Byakugan had no possibility of evolution.

Yet Black Zetsu, the embodiment of Madara's will, knew intelligence that even Madara did not. That was obviously highly unreasonable.

Black Zetsu was an ancient schemer as well. Knowing he had been suspected, he offered no explanation. The more he explained at this moment, the less he would be able to clear things up.

But the seed of suspicion had been planted. There would always come a season of harvest.

Elsewhere, Uchiha Itachi spoke his most classic line.

"You are not worth killing, foolish little brother. If you want to kill me, then hate me, despise me. Live ugly, keep running, keep running, cling miserably to life. And then, when you possess eyes like mine, come before me."

Uchiha Itachi had also finished his final farewell with Uchiha Sasuke. The result was that Sasuke witnessed the entire clan's deaths and awakened a Single Tomoe.

Watching everything from afar with his Byakugan, Hyuga Kei clicked his tongue inwardly. Perhaps Indra's reincarnations were different from ordinary Uchiha. Such a tremendous shock had only awakened a Single Tomoe.

Beside him, Izumi let out a soft moan, as though she were about to wake from her coma.

"It's not time for you to wake up yet." Hyuga Kei reached out and knocked her unconscious again.

Having completed his mission, Itachi also headed toward Naka Shrine.

Looking at the Root ninjas cleaning up the battlefield below, Hyuga Kei curled his lip. Are you really not going to let me consume anyone?

As he sighed, two massive chakras rapidly approached from afar. It was the Third Hokage and Danzo.

Now was not the time to make a move. If he attacked, he would definitely be captured. He was not Orochimaru, nor was he Sarutobi Hiruzen's disciple.

Against veteran Kage-level powerhouses like them, he could still easily suffer a setback.

Besides, the Third Hokage had numerous jonin-level Anbu working with him. With that thought, he hoisted Uchiha Izumi onto his shoulder again and used the Body Flicker Technique to flee Konoha.

Itachi arrived in the woods outside Naka Shrine, where Obito had already been waiting for a long time.

"Finished?"

Itachi nodded coldly.

"Then I'll take you to Akatsuki."

As they walked, Obito suddenly asked, "Do you know Hyuga Kei?"

"Who?" Itachi did not understand why Madara was suddenly asking about such an insignificant person.

"Hyuga Kei." He had only just heard of him from White Zetsu. Although White Zetsu monitored every move of the Five Great Shinobi Villages, it was impossible for him to know everything.

Itachi frowned as he answered, pondering Madara's purpose in asking. "He came to Konoha ten years ago..."

Itachi roughly recounted the information he knew about Hyuga Kei. He was also an Anbu member and had long received Hyuga Kei's guidance.

"Wait, you said he was never able to activate his Byakugan?"

"Yes. Even so, his taijutsu talent was exceptional. He created Nintaijutsu, which combined ninjutsu and taijutsu."

"Hehehe, your intelligence is wrong." Black and White Zetsu, resembling a pitcher plant, poked its head out from the side. It had only just returned from gathering intelligence.

"Not only did he awaken the Byakugan, he also wiped out the Hyuga clan and absorbed their Byakugan."

Obito wanted to know where Hyuga Kei had gone and whether he could be used as a pawn. "Where did Hyuga Kei go?"

White Zetsu answered first. "Hyuga Kei escaped Konoha with Uchiha Izumi and is currently heading toward the Land of Grass."

Hearing Uchiha Izumi's name, Uchiha Itachi suddenly turned to look at Black and White Zetsu behind him.

Sensing Itachi's gaze, White Zetsu continued explaining, "Hyuga Kei used some kind of ninjutsu to steal the bloodline limits of the dead. The entire Hyuga clan and the Uchiha of the Police Force were absorbed by Hyuga Kei."

"What a terrifying ninjutsu!"

Itachi knew Izumi might already be in danger. His brows drew tightly together, but soon relaxed again.

He had given all his love to Uchiha Sasuke. Izumi might only count as an ordinary friend to him.

"Just keep following him."

"Don't worry. His eyes can't possibly detect us. We are nature itself."