The Cloud Village Delegation members wanted to say more, but in the end, they swallowed their words.
The key was that Third Hokage's demeanor had frightened them. If they still dared to cling to this matter and tried to extort the Hyuga Clan—
They were truly afraid that Third Hokage might lose his head and actually start a war.
If things really reached that point, they would become sinners of the Cloud Village!
The Cloud Village Delegation did not continue making trouble. After signing the peace treaty, they left immediately.
Looking on the bright side, they had not come away empty-handed this time. At the very least, they had traded two people for four Jonin and over a dozen Chunin. Not a loss!
But when they thought of how important the Byakugan was to the Cloud Village, a shadow fell over their hearts. They had no idea how Lord Raikage would punish them after they returned.
"What a waste of these ninja. They should have been handed over to Root to put their remaining value to use."
"Value? As your test subjects?" Sarutobi Hiruzen looked at Danzo with an unfriendly gaze.
"Exactly. Though these ninja were Orochimaru's subordinates, they were still ninja of the village."
Utatane Koharu seemed to recall something, and her expression darkened as well.
That was right. These people had been Orochimaru's subordinates.
After Orochimaru defected, the matter had happened too suddenly, and he had taken only a small portion of his subordinates with him.
Of those left behind, some passed the tests and reviews and remained in the village. But others were far too blindly loyal to Orochimaru. The village could not use such people, so they could only be locked away in prison.
Who would have thought they would now die over a baseless accusation?
Danzo ultimately said nothing more. The people were already dead; anything he said now was useless.
After the Cloud Village Delegation left, the village entered a long-awaited period of peace.
Yet beneath that peace, certain people were so busy they were nearly tearing their hair out.
In an underground laboratory somewhere in the Hidden Leaf Village, several ninja were fretting over a room.
More precisely, they were fretting over the "thing" sealed inside that room.
Calling it a "thing" was somewhat rude, but those studying the existence within the room had no idea what else to call it.
They had studied the thing for several days, yet had only uncovered a few superficial facts.
For example, it was immune to physical attacks. Ninjutsu that struck it could have its power weakened by as much as 99.999 percent. Even when trapped with Sealing Jutsu, it could not remain sealed for long. The sealing formula had to be maintained regularly and supplied with Chakra.
But where it had come from, what its identity was, and whether it was a living creature—
They had discovered none of that.
They were not the only ones kept busy. Ever since the Black Shadow appeared, the Hyuga Clan had sent an outstanding clansman to stand atop Hokage Rock almost every day, surveying the entire Hidden Leaf Village.
They could not possibly be standing on Hokage Rock just to enjoy the scenery, could they?
That day, Third Hokage brought some snacks and arrived at the Hyuga Clan Compound.
The Hyuga family hurriedly invited Third Hokage into their home.
Hyuga Hiashi said, "Hokage-sama is busy with countless affairs. What brings you to my Hyuga Clan Compound?"
Sarutobi Hiruzen said, "A few days ago, I abruptly left Young Miss Hinata's banquet because of the Cloud Village Delegation. I felt rather bad about it, so I brought some children's snacks to apologize to our Hyuga Princess."
Hyuga Hiashi smiled. "Hokage-sama is too courteous."
After exchanging pleasantries for a while, Sarutobi Hiruzen finally revealed his true purpose. "These past few days, I have seen members of the Hyuga Clan going to Hokage Rock. May I ask why?"
"This..."
After thinking for a moment, Hyuga Hiashi said, "Regarding this matter... I suspect that Black Shadow will not be an isolated case. A second Black Shadow may appear."
"That is why I have sent clansmen to watch over the Hidden Leaf Village day and night, to prepare for any eventuality."
Sarutobi Hiruzen frowned upon hearing this. "Is the Hyuga Patriarch not being overly concerned? It is merely a Black Shadow that was easily sealed. What is there to fear?"
Hyuga Hiashi did not waste words. He directly activated his Byakugan and looked at Sarutobi Hiruzen. "I believe Hokage-sama has already learned something about Black Shadow and knows that it is made of pure energy. If I told you that the energy comprising Black Shadow fills this world, that its birth was only the first, and that a second and third Black Shadow will be born—"
"Hokage-sama, would you believe me?"
Sarutobi Hiruzen's pupils constricted. Hyuga Hiashi had explained it very clearly, and he understood.
But the question was, why now? Why in the Hidden Leaf Village? And what kind of energy made up Black Shadow? How did the Hyuga Patriarch know?
Sarutobi Hiruzen thought of the Hyuga Clan's Byakugan. Had the Byakugan seen it?
But if Black Shadow was made of energy that existed everywhere in this world, why had it not appeared earlier? Why had it only appeared now?
No, perhaps they had appeared long ago!
Sarutobi Hiruzen thought of the Tailed Beasts. These ageless, deathless creatures made of Chakra would still revive elsewhere even if they were killed.
And Black Shadow shared certain traits with the Tailed Beasts.
"Speaking of Black Shadow, the village is preparing to invest heavily in researching its nature. We cannot do without the Hyuga Clan's Byakugan for this matter, so I hope to trouble the Hyuga Patriarch when the time comes."
Sarutobi Hiruzen spoke only after a moment of silence. One could not tell at all that he had only just thought of investing heavily in research on Black Shadow.
"Contributing to the village is every ninja's responsibility. So long as the village needs us, the Hyuga Clan will not hesitate."
Hyuga Hiashi could think of no reason to refuse.
Hyuga Hiashi was right: Third Hokage truly was very busy. He did not stay long at the Hyuga Clan Compound before leaving.
After Third Hokage left, Hyuga Hiashi let out a breath of relief.
He had not lied to Third Hokage about Black Shadow appearing again.
But what he had not said was that his daughter had told him Black Shadow might appear again.
That day, Hyuga Hiashi learned that his daughter's Byakugan had actually surpassed his own as her father.
Hinata was only three years old!
Could it be that Hinata's Bloodline Ancestor Regression was this advanced? Or were the Hyuga Clan's ancestors really that formidable?
Hyuga Hiashi did not know whether to be happy or worried.
At the same time, he was somewhat concerned about his daughter's current condition.
Ever since her birthday banquet, she had rarely opened her eyes.
Hyuga Hiashi had asked her about it, and she said—
"My eyes see too many things, so I am shutting down some functions right now. But the energy I saw this time seems especially advanced. It is rather stimulating to my eyes, so it is hard to shut down."
Hyuga Hiashi was utterly baffled after hearing that. This time? So this was not the first time his daughter had shut down functions of her eyes!?
And what did eye functions even mean? Was that something one could just shut off whenever one wanted?
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