A Turn of Fortune, Dan's Death

"Waaaaah!"

Tsunade's cries echoed through the Forest of the Land of Fire.

Orochimaru watched silently as Tsunade wept.

"How fragile human life really is," he murmured.

The four-man squad of Tsunade, Kikume Kōtō, Dan Katō, and one Jonin, combined with the squad Orochimaru led, worked together. Relying on Dan Katō's Spirit Transformation Technique, they stole the antidote to Hanzō's poison.

The antidote was successfully retrieved, but Dan Katō's body was destroyed, leaving him forever in this forest.

Yet his sacrifice was worth it.

With the antidote in hand, Konoha would soon be able to counter Hanzō.

Hyuga Ao opened her eyes in surprise. In the month she'd spent lazing around with Nawaki, she had loosened another Caged Bird Chain.

Adding the first one and the one she'd unlocked during two years of training, three of the nine Caged Bird Chains were now gone. She had already grasped the hem of freedom; with a little more effort, she could flip it open.

Hyuga Ao was drenched in sweat. She slowly slipped off her clothes, revealing smooth, rounded shoulders. Her delicate hand brushed lightly along the curves of her body, feeling her own supple skin and the modest hills beginning to take shape. A satisfied look crossed her face.

Looking pretty is the best!

Hyuga Ao nodded. Indeed, being a girl meant pleasing yourself—just looking at yourself was enough.

Too bad she still couldn't fully enjoy the pleasures of being a woman. Even though she was growing fast under intense training and nutrition, some things shouldn't be touched before the right age.

Then, Hyuga Ao grasped her budding chest and wore a troubled expression.

Was this thing really growing this fast? She liked the big-chested ladies who drew people's attention, but she only liked seeing others with big ones—she didn't want to be that big herself. Pretty was fine; no need for practicality.

Should she try using Embryonic Breathing to control nutrient flow and manage it? She didn't want to end up unable to even see her own feet. Hyuga Ao frowned in thought.

But she soon heard the sound of Nawaki's squad returning. Hyuga Ao shook her head. "Forget it, let nature take its course."

She took a quick bath and went to meet Nawaki's squad with her hair still slightly damp.

Nawaki and the others were momentarily stunned by Hyuga Ao's post-bath appearance, but the news they'd just received left no room for lighthearted talk. Nawaki's face was grim as he said, "Something's happened."

A week earlier, Konoha had been engaging Rain Ninja in squad battles.

But unknown to them, at the edge of the defensive line, two Rain Ninja had slipped through unnoticed.

In the dense jungle, a tall and a short Rain Ninja were observing their surroundings and the sky.

The tall Rain Ninja kicked down a tree as tall as a man. The kick, laced with Chakra, easily snapped the trunk.

The tree's pale, splintered break seemed to mock two ninja who had gotten lost on the battlefield.

The tall Rain Ninja spat viciously and cursed, "Damn it, why is the Forest of the Land of Fire so hard to navigate? It's been a whole day."

The short Rain Ninja came over to console him. "Forget it, let's just keep going straight and get out of here first."

The tall Rain Ninja kicked up a pile of fallen leaves, glaring around as if searching for an enemy that didn't exist.

The two Rain Ninja continued through the dense forest. Around them, white figures flickered in and out of sight.

Finally, the Rain Ninja emerged from the endless woods. Before them lay a small village in the Land of Fire.

The people working nearby paid no attention to the sudden appearance of the Rain Ninja, as if they were long accustomed to strangers showing up out of nowhere.

"You there, what are you doing?"

Patrolling samurai, noticing the Rain Ninja's different attire from Konoha ninja, came over to question them.

The Rain Ninja looked at the samurai before them, their eyes full of superiority. But slowly, a blood-red hue spread from the depths of their pupils, covering their eyes.

The Rain Ninja slowly raised their weapons and charged at the samurai.

"Rain Ninja slipped through Konoha's lines and massacred the Daimyo's hometown?" Hyuga Ao asked in shock.

No wonder she was so surprised—it was too absurd. The Inuzuka, Aburame, and Hyuga clans, all masters of reconnaissance, had set up defenses here. How could any Rain Ninja have broken through?

And just two Chunin at that!

"But that's what happened." Shikaku frowned deeply. "Now the Daimyo has ordered Konoha to drive the Rain Ninja out of the Land of Fire within a week. We can't keep stalemating like this."

Shikaku slammed his fist into his thigh in frustration. "Damn it, why did it have to happen right now?"

Hyuga Ao was silent.

Indeed, why now?

Thanks to Nawaki, many of Konoha's top secrets were no secrets within the squad.

So they knew that Konoha had already developed a preliminary countermeasure against Hanzō of the Salamander's poison. But the method was extremely costly and demanding, usable only on elite ninja.

And even then, it could barely suppress Hanzō's poison in battles at the Kage level, preserving combat effectiveness—though with severe side effects.

At this moment, demanding an immediate full-scale assault from Konoha would be something they could accept, but the casualties would be heavy, and the battle would be extremely difficult.

The timing was too delicate. Hyuga Ao kneaded the strands of hair hanging over her forehead, catching a strange scent. The figures of certain white creatures flashed briefly through her mind.

Hyuga Ao shook her head. These weren't matters for her to consider now. She asked Nawaki, "What's Konoha's next move?"

But Nawaki shook his head and said, "I don't know either. This operation is top secret. Only the Hokage, a few advisors, and the commander know."

Now Hyuga Ao was truly surprised. Over the past month, she had come to understand what it meant to be the Hokage's grandson.

Konohamaru had really kept a low profile. Perhaps Hiruzen Sarutobi, seeing Nawaki's fate, didn't want his grandson to be too conspicuous.

As things stood now, Nawaki could go anywhere and be recognized on sight. Anyone with even a modicum of power or status knew him.

Unless it was something absolutely classified, he would be informed. If Nawaki even said he wanted to see the Scroll of Seals, the Third might consider it and let him look—Nawaki just didn't need to.

Even the proud Uchiha Clan dared not bristle at the sight of Nawaki now.

Because Nawaki was the last known male of the Senju Clan that people remembered. Though he hadn't inherited the Senju name, in the eyes of the villagers and the ninja clans, he was the final Senju.

One could say the rise and fall of the Senju rested entirely on his shoulders.

Now that Nawaki said he didn't know, the next operation might truly be one that decided the war's course.

Seeing Hyuga Ao and Shikaku Nara lost in thought, Nawaki clapped his hands. "Alright, alright, Ao'er, Shikaku, don't overthink it. Just focus on preparing for battle."

"Mm." Nodding, Hyuga Ao returned to her tent and continued practicing breath-holding.

After a long while, Hyuga Ao exhaled stale air and regulated her breathing.

On the battlefield of the Land of Rain, Hanzō's poison was lethal to grunts on contact.

To guard against the day Hanzō might wander nearby and release poison, Hyuga Ao had been training in breath-holding.

Now she could replace the air inside her body, refining the breath she stored to near-pure oxygen levels.

Then, using some tortoise-breathing techniques, she reduced her body's consumption. At its peak, she could achieve a deathlike state of suspended animation for a full day, without breathing, her heartbeat barely audible, relying entirely on bodily instinct—but she would lose consciousness.

Alternatively, she could sit still for three hours on a single breath, but during high-intensity combat, she only had twenty minutes of fighting time. After twenty minutes, she had to exchange air.

So if she ever truly fought Hanzō of the Salamander, and couldn't kill him quickly, she would need to leave herself time to escape the poison mist.

Fortunately, twenty minutes was still fairly generous.

"Hah." Hyuga Ao finished another round of breath-holding training and set down the scroll she had borrowed from Nawaki again.

In the early stages, Hyuga Ao would focus mainly on Taijutsu. She borrowed scrolls from Minato and Nawaki to lay the theoretical foundation for the path of the Shadow later.

The Shadow of Hyuga needed to sense various fields and different types of Chakra, but that was a path for practical combat.

There was also a purely enlightenment-based path: read many books, read many books about Chakra and ninjutsu, and absorb the insights of different people.

Then, read a hundred times, and the meaning would reveal itself!

From this, one could comprehend the domain and leap into becoming the Shadow of Hyuga.

Hyuga Ao was walking both paths now.

After all, coming to the world of Naruto without understanding the mysteries of ninjutsu and Chakra would be far too regrettable, wouldn't it?