Changes in the Eyes

Setting out with the main force was the least worrying option. With Orochimaru leading them and over three hundred combat-capable Ninja, Hyuga Mirai would be perfectly safe unless the Third Raikage personally led an elite squad deep into the Land of Fire.

To ensure safety during the march, Ninja from the Hyūga Clan took turns scouting outside the formation. If enemies approached, they would definitely be discovered in advance.

Hyuga Mirai had also been assigned to scout for enemy intelligence. He did not want to expose his relationship with Orochimaru, so Orochimaru gave him no special treatment and assigned tasks according to Hyuga Mirai's abilities.

His team was a standard enemy reconnaissance squad. During the three days of marching, Hyuga Mirai's three-man team spent more than two days scouting, resting only a few hours along the way.

Ninja possessed exceptional physiques, but without sufficient rest, their minds would still grow weary.

Fortunately, their five-hundred-man force soon arrived at Kikyo Castle. Once they were settled in, they could finally rest for a while.

The ordinary Ninja could rest, but the commanding Jonin responsible for strategy and tactics still had to continue meeting and discussing matters.

Kikyo Castle's Commanding Jonin Meeting

Orochimaru was the overall commander of the Suna-nin front line, with Nara Shikaku, the patriarch of this generation's Ino-Shika-Cho, as his deputy.

In a hoarse voice, Orochimaru said, "Report on the situation at the front line."

"Yes, Lord Orochimaru."

Kikyo Castle's former commanding Jonin began reporting the recent intelligence on the Suna-nin.

"The Suna-nin have been gathering more and more manpower at the front line. Sandstorm Town was raided by the Third Raikage's elite troops some time ago. Although the Fourth Kazekage led a force to repel them, they still suffered some casualties. Because of that, however, it is now difficult to get close enough to gather detailed intelligence."

"The number of Suna-nin in Sandstorm Town has already exceeded one thousand. Moreover, while the Third Kazekage was still alive, they continuously stockpiled strategic supplies in Sandstorm Town. At this point, I fear..."

After hearing the report, Orochimaru pondered for a moment before looking over the map again.

"Shikaku, how many Exploding Tags and Healing Tags did we bring?"

"One hundred thousand Exploding Tags and one thousand Healing Tags. Lord Orochimaru, are you planning..." Nara Shikaku considered it briefly, and surprise appeared on his face. He had roughly guessed Orochimaru's intentions.

Orochimaru gave a hoarse laugh. "Just as you thought, Shikaku. If even you find it surprising, the Fourth Kazekage will never see it coming."

Nara Shikaku paused before saying, "But taking the initiative would affect Konoha's reputation..."

"What I want is victory. As long as we achieve sufficiently great results, that is enough. Shikaku, I am not that fool Jiraiya!"

Orochimaru's golden vertical pupils shifted as he swept his gaze across the Jonin in the room.

"Distribute the strategic supplies within a day, then await orders."

"Finally, I can get some rest. I've kept my Byakugan active nonstop these past two days, and especially in this environment, it feels like my vision has gotten a little blurry."

Hyuga Mirai lay down directly inside the erected tent, then took out some eye drops and prepared to put a couple of drops in his eyes.

When Hyuga Kiyomi saw Hyuga Mirai preparing to use eye drops, she slightly raised a hand as if to say something. However, her pride made her swallow the words that had reached her lips.

"Kiyomi, do you want some? I made these myself, and they work pretty well." Hyuga Mirai caught Hyuga Kiyomi's movement from the corner of his eye and assumed she wanted to try the eye drops as well.

This place was close to the Land of Wind, and the environment had already become somewhat harsh. It was said that farther ahead, the Land of Wind was covered in vast deserts. When the wind blew, even Ninja would find it hard to keep their eyes open in that environment.

Perhaps it was the environment, but whenever Hyuga Mirai activated his Byakugan, he felt that his vision would occasionally blur before returning to normal.

Yuhi Kurenai entered the tent at that moment and said with a smile, "Mirai-kun, let me help you put in the eye drops."

"That won't be necessary. I can just put them in myself."

Hyuga Mirai decisively refused. He did not particularly like being too close to others. Though he knew Yuhi Kurenai and Hyuga Kiyomi could not possibly discover his secret, he instinctively rejected it.

Yuhi Kurenai was not disappointed by the refusal. Instead, she sat down and asked Hyuga Mirai, "All right, then, Mirai-kun, do you know what mission our team will be assigned next?"

"Probably another reconnaissance mission. But given Lord Orochimaru's personality, he probably isn't the type to sit around and wait to be attacked..."

After applying the eye drops, Hyuga Mirai rubbed his eyes and spoke slowly.

"I heard that nearly half the Suna-nin are Puppet Masters. The poisons on their puppets might not even be treatable by antidotes made at Konoha Hospital. After all, the current antidotes were formulated based on intelligence from the Second Shinobi World War. The Suna-nin may have already developed even deadlier poisons."

"In any case, you both need to be careful. You must remember—"

"Staying alive comes first. Mirai-kun really does like nagging people like a father!"

Yuhi Kurenai said with a smile and waved her hand. If she did not stop him, Mirai-kun would definitely be met with Kiyomi-chan's frowning scolding.

"What exactly is wrong with your eyes?"

Hyuga Kiyomi asked with a frown. It had only been a short while, yet he was using eye drops again.

"I don't know. Maybe I really did squint too much. They're a little itchy."

Though Hyuga Mirai said that, he had already begun to suspect that his Byakugan Kekkei Genkai had undergone a change.

He had fused the Gene Sequence of Hashirama Cells, along with portions of the genes from the Main Family and other Branch Family members. Using the sequence information inherited from the ancestor as a reference, his Byakugan should have been growing increasingly perfect.

Could the Gene Sequence of the Hashirama Cells have acted as a catalyst?

Hyuga Mirai pondered inwardly. He could thoroughly study his own Gene Sequence, but once Chakra was involved, unexpected changes could occur.

However, after carefully sensing it, Hyuga Mirai found that his Byakugan was not in a bad state. Otherwise, he would have gone to Orochimaru for help long ago.

"It should be nothing. Maybe it's just my first time keeping the Byakugan active for such a long period, so I'm not used to it yet."

Hyuga Mirai offered a reassuring explanation.

The two girls found the explanation fairly reasonable. After all, apart from missions outside the village, they had rarely seen Hyuga Mirai use his Byakugan in the past. After he joined Konoha Hospital, he went on even fewer outside missions.

"Don't forget the foundation of the Hyūga Clan. If word of your condition reaches other people, they will cause trouble for you."

Hyuga Kiyomi spoke with a snort. She had wanted to comfort him, but without realizing it, her tone had changed into something else.

And Hyuga Kiyomi was not wrong. Although Hyuga Mirai had earned considerable prestige for the Hyūga Clan, he was from the Branch Family!

It was not a good sign for the Branch Family's reputation to surpass that of the Main Family.

Not every member of the Main Family was like her. Hyuga Kiyomi thought of the conversation between Grandfather and Jonin Sosuke back then, as well as the things she had recently heard during sparring matches among the Main Family's disciples. That was why she gave him this warning today.

Hyuga Mirai smiled and said, "I understand, Kiyomi. I'll practice the Gentle Fist more in the future."

Why did a flash of blue light pass through Mirai-kun's eyes?

A trace of doubt crossed Yuhi Kurenai's mind, but she continued watching Hyuga Mirai for quite some time. Everything remained normal, with no further changes.

Yan Zu, cast a vote early in the morning!