Unsealing the Seal

Hyuga Kei sat atop the Puppet Hawk and used the Blood Seizing Technique to absorb a bag of Tsunade's blood.

As he activated the ninjutsu and sensed the changes in his Otsutsuki genes, he understood why the Senju and Uzumaki constitutions were said to be similar. Tsunade's blood could no longer even strengthen his Sage Body.

Having absorbed so much Sage Body blood, he had already reached a bottleneck.

Hyuga Kei guessed that only Hashirama's blood might allow his Sage Body to continue evolving.

But only Danzo or Orochimaru in Konoha likely had Hashirama Cells. It was indeed time to put that on the agenda.

Still, this trip had not been entirely fruitless. At the very least, he had obtained part of the Gene Chain for Wood Release. If Hyuga Kei wanted to develop Wood Release, it would be much easier now.

Now, all he lacked was the direct bloodline of the Sarutobi Clan to remove the seal of the Blood-Recognition Seal.

Hyuga Kei controlled the puppet Flying Eagle and flew straight toward the Daimyo's Mansion.

Inside the main hall of the Daimyo's Mansion, the daimyo was still discussing affairs with numerous ministers.

Hyuga Kei rode the puppet Flying Eagle and brazenly smashed through the ceiling, landing in the center of the hall.

"Protect the daimyo!"

In an instant, twelve Guardian Ninja appeared at the daimyo's side.

Hyuga Kei recalled the puppet and slowly walked out of the smoke. "It has been a long time, everyone."

"You're Hyuga Kei!" Cries of alarm rang out one after another. Hyuga Kei had met them before. They had seen his face and heard of his massacre of the Hyuga clan.

"That's right."

The daimyo stopped the Guardian Ninja who were about to swarm forward. He knew Hyuga Kei's strength; these people could not handle him. "Kei, what do you want? Money or status? I can give you either. Konoha can even revoke the bounty on you."

The daimyo had been personally installed by Hyuga Kei, so he still held some goodwill toward him and even wanted to recruit him now.

"If you're going to be so accommodating, then I only have two requests."

"First, I want some of Asuma Sarutobi's blood."

"Second, I want Kazuma's Earth Style Reincarnation Technique."

The two men named by Hyuga Kei were both deeply shaken.

Asuma kept trying to guess Hyuga Kei's purpose, but he could not figure it out no matter how hard he tried. The Sarutobi Clan had no bloodline limit. What use did he have for my blood?

Kazuma was equally confused. How did this guy know about that ninjutsu?

After a long silence, Hyuga Kei had given them more than enough time to think. Seeing that they still made no move, he began forming hand seals and activating his ninjutsu.

"Since that's the case, I'll have to take them myself. Don't blame me if I fail to hold back in a moment."

"Lightning-Wind Ninja Body Technique: Chakra Armor..." Two colors of chakra emerged from Hyuga Kei's body and wrapped around him. The floor around him shattered inch by inch as his body shot forward like an arrow released from a bow.

"Wait!" The daimyo's voice suddenly rang out, and Hyuga Kei's palm stopped before the chest of a Guardian Ninja.

"Give it to him..."

"Yes!"

The Guardians Twelve let out a long breath. None of them had been able to react to that attack just now. If they truly faced an enemy like this, they would have no chance of victory.

Especially the ninja who had nearly been killed by Hyuga Kei—he collapsed limply to the ground. This was the first time in all his years that he had felt so close to death.

"Thank you for your cooperation." Hyuga Kei took out a blood bag and handed it to Asuma, then accepted the book on the Earth Style Reincarnation Technique from Kazuma's reluctant gaze.

Asuma quickly filled the blood bag and handed it to Hyuga Kei.

"Thanks." Hyuga Kei put away the bag of blood, summoned the puppet Flying Eagle, and departed in grand fashion.

"Daimyo, what do we do now?"

"Of course we increase his bounty. Raise it to one hundred million!"

The ministers began discussing it among themselves.

The daimyo snapped impatiently, "Do you have no brains? If we drive him into a corner and he comes to assassinate me, how am I supposed to survive?"

"Increase the bounty? Do you want him to come back and kill me right now?"

"Follow my orders. Issue a recruitment decree. Ninja from any country may join the Land of Fire Guard. They will have a chance to become my personal guards and receive generous treatment!"

The ministers all acknowledged the order.

The daimyo had thought that, after witnessing Hyuga Kei's strength back then, he already held ninja power in high regard. He had never expected a powerful man like this to be able to kill him so easily, treating his guards as though they were nothing.

The lack of security left unease constantly lingering in the young daimyo's heart.

For so many years, Konoha's obedience had made the daimyo forget the power of ninja. Now, he had to have ninja of his own.

Hyuga Kei could not be bothered with any of that. He flew all the way back to the Land of Rain to bring Uzumaki Yuka and Uchiha Izumi with him. Both of them would be useful in unsealing Uchiha Hikari in the future.

With Uzumaki Yuka and Uchiha Izumi aboard, the three headed toward their destination. According to the records, Uchiha Hikari had been sealed inside a cliff in what was now the northern Land of Fire.

Guided by the map and Hyuga Kei's Tenseigan, the three arrived at their destination without much trouble.

It was a cave opening in the side of a cliff.

The three advanced while holding torches. Countless bats were startled by their arrival and flew out of the cave.

At last, they saw a stone door inside, flickering with Fuinjutsu.

Hyuga Kei asked Uzumaki Yuka, "Is this the Blood-Recognition Seal?"

"Yes."

"Then where do I spill the blood?" Hyuga Kei looked over the stone door, but there was no opening for bloodletting.

"Lord Kei, just smear the blood of the caster's blood relatives onto it."

Hyuga Kei took out Tsunade's and Asuma's blood, opened the blood bags, and squeezed the fresh blood onto the stone door.

Sure enough, the Fuinjutsu on it suddenly shattered. The stone door rumbled as it slowly opened.

Uchiha Izumi also cast a curious gaze inside, but the luxurious tomb chamber they had imagined did not appear.

A violent wind rose behind them as a massive amount of air rushed into the sealed chamber.

Hyuga Kei did not enter immediately. He opened his Sharingan and pulled Uzumaki Yuka and Uchiha Izumi into a genjutsu, letting them experience Uchiha Hikari's story from a first-person perspective until the moment she was sealed in time.

When Hikari had just been born, her father and mother held her in their arms and gave her a name.

"Our child will be called Hikari from now on!"

"The ninja world is still shrouded in darkness. I hope that she will one day walk in the light!"

Uzumaki Yuka's face filled with grief. She had placed herself in Hikari's mother's position, because if the two of them had not met Hyuga Kei, Karin would surely have become a tool of Kusagakure as well.

Though she had read the brief introduction in the records, how could it compare to Hyuga Kei's first-person genjutsu?

Uchiha Izumi, on the other hand, did not feel conflicted merely because those inside were Uchiha. She condemned the ninja world of the Warring States period without distinction and sympathized with the girl named Hikari.

"In a moment, we'll try our best to persuade her to join us. If that doesn't work, then while she's weak, we'll knock her out together. Understand?"

That was why Hyuga Kei had shown them Uchiha Hikari's story. Girls were more delicate in their thoughts and should be better at this than he was. He would use his words to persuade her afterward.

If even that failed, then he could only turn her into a mechanical puppet with the Tenseigan.

As for why he would not use the Sharingan's Soul Wash ocular technique, it was because Uchiha Hikari also possessed a Mangekyo. His ocular technique would most likely be useless against her.

"Understood!" Uzumaki Yuka and Uchiha Izumi nodded decisively.

They felt some sympathy, but they would not ruin Hyuga Kei's plans.