Needle and Insect

Hyuga Tetsu ultimately chose to leave according to Hyuga Yu's orders.

Hyuga Yu's reason for this was that Hyuga Tetsu needed to quickly reach the Konoha forces' camp through the gap he had opened in the encirclement and request reinforcements from Hyuga Hizashi, who was stationed there.

What he didn't say was that this was the only way to lessen the Branch Family ninja's punishment from the Main Family after the failure of this guarding mission.

After Hyuga Tetsu disappeared from his sight, Hyuga Yu turned his head and looked at Kurenai expressionlessly.

His gaze wasn't like he was looking at a person, but more like he was looking at a piece of pork laid out on a cutting board for sale.

And at this moment, Kurenai felt a thud in his heart, a chill shot from the soles of his feet to his forehead, and his heart almost leaped out of his throat.

"What are you looking at!?"

"You think you've won?"

"Hah, a Hyuga, don't you understand the current situation yet?"

"You've already failed. Your Main Family has probably had their Byakugan dug out by now, hahahahahaha."

He laughed sternly, then gradually stopped laughing. His face turned ashen as he stared at Hyuga Yu, a flicker of uncontrollable fear in his eyes.

"What... do you want to do?"

Hyuga Yu looked at him calmly and asked faintly, "Tell me, besides the wielder of the Exploding Blade, Munashi Jinpachi, who else was involved in this mission?"

"Heh~" Kurenai sneered.

"Dream on!"

Hyuga Yu's expression remained unchanged. "Tell me, and I won't kill you."

Kurenai hesitated.

Hyuga Yu saw his hesitation and raised his hand, forming several large Chakra needles, each 20 centimeters long, between his fingers.

He calmly inserted one needle into Kurenai's facial skin, but this process did not trigger any warning of danger from the Red Eye.

Hyuga Yu stated indifferently:

"Your Red Eye is useless against me."

"From now on, all the methods I use will be Medical Ninjutsu for treating illnesses, but you should understand--"

"Even the most skilled physician can make a mistake. I could kill you at any moment."

"Likewise, some side effects during treatment are unavoidable."

Saying this, Hyuga Yu raised his hand again and inserted another needle into Kurenai's most painful spot.

The next instant, Kurenai's eyes widened sharply, and an uncontrollable pain surged within him, as if ten thousand ants were biting him all over his body!

"Ugh... hiss... Ah!"

"I'm a man of my word, so if you tell me, I won't kill you, and I don't have time to torment you further because I'm very busy."

Hyuga Yu watched him, not removing the needles, just looking at him calmly.

"You... hiss! What good can you do as a Genin?"

"Do you think... think you can change the tide of battle, uhhhhhhh!!"

"Ha... ha..."

"That's none of your concern," Hyuga Yu shook his head at him, expressionlessly raising his hand, about to insert the next giant needle.

This was a form of acupuncture, though Hyuga Yu didn't understand acupuncture, only Gentle Fist. However, he knew where to stab to inflict the most pain. Modern acupuncture wasn't as painful because the needles were refined to the micron level.

The thickened and lengthened large Chakra needles in Hyuga Yu's hand were something else entirely...

Kurenai's eyes were wide open, his body trembling. Finally, he gritted his teeth and stammered out a name:

"Kush... Kushimaru Kuriarare!"

Hyuga Yu still plunged the needle in without hesitation.

"Ahhhhhh!"

"Damn it, you bastard! I already told you, ahhhhh!"

"It hurts! It hurts! It hurts! It's killing me!"

"Please, don't stab me anymore! Please, don't stab me anymore!"

"Wuwuwuwu!!!"

Hyuga Yu stared at him expressionlessly. "Say it again."

"It's true, it's really true, ahhhhh!"

"Munashi Jinpachi always teamed up with Kushimaru Kuriarare. They were known as the 'Ruthless Duo' and were highly valued by the Third Hokage."

"Everything I'm saying is the truth!"

Hyuga Yu dispersed the chakra needles in his hand, then raised his head and looked up at a tree.

More accurately, he looked at a mass of Kikaichū wriggling in the treetop.

Hyuga Yu suddenly spoke loudly and asked:

"Lord Ryūma, are you satisfied with this answer?"

As his voice landed, the Kikaichū in the treetop seemed to react, flapping their wings and converging into a mass that fell to the ground.

Soon, it transformed into a hooded figure clad in a black, one-piece outfit.

It was none other than Aburame Ryūma, the second-in-command of Root.

At this moment, Through his dark lenses, Aburame Ryūma looked at Hyuga Yu with some surprise, but his expression remained unchanged. He evaluated Hyuga Yu with minimal words, saying indifferently:

"Barely acceptable."

Then, Aburame Ryūma frowned slightly, ignoring the trembling Kurenai beside him, and asked another question:

"How do you know my name?"

Those who joined Root had no past, no future, and even no names.

This was especially true for ninjas like Aburame Ryūma, who often carried out infiltration missions. His true name was clearly not something a Genin at Hyuga Yu's level should know.

And regarding information more important than life itself, every Root ninja was extremely sensitive to such questions.

Hyuga Yu did not answer directly, merely stating:

"I grew up in the residence of the main family elder, Hyuga Takahiro."

Aburame Ryūma frowned and pondered for a moment before moving past the question.

Root had previously made contact with the Hyuga Main Family under Shimura Danzō's orders, attempting to recruit exceptionally talented Hyuga Clan ninjas into Root. The internal issues of the Hyuga Main Family were extremely complex, with some supporting Root and others strongly opposing it. In the end, it fizzled out due to the perfunctory response from the Hyuga Main Family's Main House lineage.

Perhaps his name had been leaked during that time.

Aburame Ryūma noted this point and then looked at Hyuga Yu.

The Red Eye appearing in this incident was an unexpected development.

The Red Eye, which could counter the Byakugan, would surely pique the interest of Shimura Danzō, who was wary of Konoha's various clans. Furthermore, the identity of the Red Eye wielder as a core member of the Kirigakure Reconnaissance Unit was also valuable, potentially yielding a significant amount of intelligence.

Even without Hyuga Yu, Aburame Ryūma would have attempted to capture the individual.

However... the Medical Ninjutsu and control techniques Hyuga Yu was now displaying were extremely valuable, directly preventing the Red Eye wielder from self-destructing by destroying their eyes. At the same time, Hyuga Yu was personally recruited into Root as an auxiliary member by Aburame Ryūma himself, so Aburame Ryūma did not begrudge him a small reward.

Otherwise, given Root's completely unreasonable methods, He would have simply taken it by force.

Both were intelligent individuals, so he skipped the pleasantries and asked Hyuga Yu directly:

"What do you want in exchange for him?"

However, Aburame Ryūma heard an answer from Hyuga Yu that surprised him.

Hyuga Yu said:

"Lord Ryūma,"

"I am not making a deal with you. I am merely demonstrating my 'value' as you instructed!"

"Not the value of the Byakugan or the Hyuga Clan, but--"

Hyuga Yu calmly looked at Aburame Ryūma and said earnestly:

"The value of a ninja named 'Hyuga Yu'."

Hearing this, Aburame Ryūma smiled.