Aburame Ryūma believed he had already regarded Hyuga Yu highly enough,
From the moment Hyuga Yu's résumé and commission letter were intercepted from the Hokage Building and delivered to him, he had sensed that something was off.
That little brat seemed to be hiding something, but in truth, there was nothing about him worth hiding.
The Byakugan, Taijutsu, and Medical Ninjutsu—
Those three things formed outsiders' assessment of Hyuga Yu's value—
A stubborn ninja of poor aptitude who fancied himself clever and desperately wanted to become a Chunin.
Next,
Aburame Ryūma retrieved the recording of Hyuga Yu's arena battle during last year's Chunin Ninja Exams.
From the recording, it was clear that Hyuga Yu had indeed given it his all. Whether in Taijutsu or weapon throwing, his performance was no worse than Uchiha—Obito before awakening his eyes.
Furthermore, during the Chunin Ninja Exams, he had used his most powerful technique, Gentle Fist Style: Eight Trigrams Thirty-Two Palms, nearly sealing all of Uchiha Obito's chakra points. It was only because he ran out of chakra that he failed to land the final few palms. Instead, he had been rendered incapable of fighting and lost the match outright.
Judging by this, within the Shinobi World's conventional framework of evaluating ninja through mission performance, Hyuga Yu's "value" ended there.
However,
That was merely an evaluation of a conventional ninja. If he were evaluated according to Root's training standards, which existed outside the normal ninja system,
Hyuga Yu's value would instantly increase more than tenfold!
In solo operations, intelligence gathering, stealth assassinations, dismantling enemy tactics, turning the tide of information and battle, and interrogation under torture, Hyuga Yu had displayed an abundance of "value" far beyond that of an ordinary ninja.
He was like a proud lion cut off from the pride.
As though he had been born to become a ninja who wandered through the darkness!
To be honest,
Aburame Ryūma was somewhat "delighted to find a worthy opponent."
It was the subtle emotion that arose upon finding someone worthy of receiving every skill he would eventually take to the grave—skills that could never see the light of day—then watching helplessly as that person surpassed him step by step, went farther and farther down the path of the darkness of the shinobi, until even he could no longer see the other's back.
But,
That still wasn't enough.
If that was all there was, then even with Aburame Ryūma's help to resolve part of his lack of chakra,
The person ultimately cultivated would be nothing more than a second Aburame Ryūma.
The second-in-command of Root.
He—Hyuga Yu—would still be separated from Root's leader, from that old monster directly named the "Darkness of the Shinobi World," by an insurmountable chasm!
He had to become dirtier, more shameless. He had to cast aside more things and dig deeper into his own potential!
He had to... demonstrate greater value!
At that moment,
Even though he had already acknowledged Hyuga Yu's performance in this mission deep down and decided to bring him under his command,
Aburame Ryūma still kept those emotions restrained. Then, after letting out a mocking chuckle,
He looked at Hyuga Yu expressionlessly and gave his answer:
"Not enough."
"Your value is still insufficient for Root to take you in. You should understand your identity—"
"A member of the Hyuga Branch Family who could leak secrets and be controlled by others at any time."
"Unless..."
Hyuga Yu smiled as well and repeated, "Unless?"
Aburame Ryūma said blandly, "Unless you still have something hidden, a trump card you haven't revealed."
"And..."
"You must prove that you possess the... capital to resist the Caged Bird!"
Hyuga Yu drew a deep breath, straightened his back slightly, and looked at Aburame Ryūma seriously.
"Then, does this count as Root's formal employment interview?"
The eyes beneath Aburame Ryūma's sunglasses narrowed. He seemed unable to determine what Hyuga Yu was getting at. Then he let out a muffled chuckle and said indifferently,
"Don't try to provoke me with such a petty trick."
"You're a smart man, and an ambitious ninja as well. But sometimes, when one's value cannot match one's ambition, the result is only utter misery."
"You know very well that an auxiliary member of Root is nothing more than a chess piece that can be sacrificed at any time."
"And if you want to change that, you have only one choice: demonstrate greater 'value' to Root."
"It's like a balance scale. On one side lies the Hyuga Clan's Byakugan. On the other stands you, with your ulterior motives."
Aburame Ryūma paused. A tangible killing intent rose in his eyes as he looked at Hyuga Yu, and he spoke indifferently:
"Let me put it more clearly—"
"This is an investment."
"If you want to use Root to escape the Main House, that's fine."
"If you want to use Root to increase your strength, that's fine too."
"What Root can give you will even exceed your imagination!"
"But if the value you display isn't enough to offset your identity, and your strength isn't enough to match your ambition..."
"Then—"
"I'll kill you immediately."
As his voice fell, Hyuga Yu felt a chill run down his back. He clearly sensed the ironclad killing intent in Aburame Ryūma's words, as well as the alienation from this world that came with the feeling that he could die at any moment, with nothing more than a thought from the other man.
However, Hyuga Yu merely raised his head and cast all that discomfort aside, looking calmly at Aburame Ryūma.
"Then what's the standard for this interview?"
"Bring back the Byakugan."
"Fine."
Hyuga Yu agreed to Aburame Ryūma's absurd demand at once, without the slightest hesitation.
There were two meanings behind "bring back the Byakugan."
First, despite knowing that Ao of the Mist was ahead, along with the sensory Chunin on Ao's team, the [Explosive Blade] Jinin Akebino and [Long Blade] Kushimaru Kuriarare combination from the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, and Kirigakure squads numbering no fewer than twenty people, he had to reach Hyuga Genko, a member of the Main House.
Second, while enduring the Cursed Seal of the Caged Bird, which could rob him of his ability to resist at any moment, he had to dig out Hyuga Genko's Byakugan.
At the same time, Hyuga Yu had a goal of his own to accomplish.
He had to rescue Hyuga Natsu while fulfilling all the conditions above.
And Hyuga Yu, who had to complete all of this,
Was merely a Genin.
Under such circumstances, Hyuga Yu felt neither fear nor lost his sanity. Instead, he racked his brains, thinking frantically about how he could accomplish something so impossible.
Then,
He did the first thing—
Hyuga Yu took two steps forward and came before Kurenai, who was in so much pain that she was nearly unconscious. Using the last of his remaining chakra, he condensed a mass of ghostly green light in his palm.
"Curse Removal Technique!"
This was a medical technique that separated toxins and pathogens on the cellular level. To master this B-rank Medical Ninjutsu, the user needed diagnostic abilities capable of identifying the affected area, incision skills, and absolutely precise chakra control.
But everyone knew that
When Medical Ninjutsu wasn't used for healing, it often produced unexpected results.
For example, the Chakra Scalpel could be used like Hyuga Gentle Fist when employed in a fight.
Likewise, since the Curse Removal Technique could strip away substances at the cellular level, it could naturally peel away certain other things perfectly.
Kurenai's eyes widened.
"Wait, you... what are you going to do again?!"
"No, don't, don't!"
"Gyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!!"
Before you continue