Crow Forest.
This forest lay at the rear of Kirigakure's encirclement, which meant that reaching it was equivalent to crossing straight through the middle of Kirigakure's oval-shaped blockade.
The advantage was that there were barely any enemies along the way.
The disadvantage was that although Crow Forest was called a forest, it was exceptionally dry. The trees were all withered branches and rotten leaves, spaced far apart, with no tree paths to support a ninja's mobility.
In other words, once he reached this place, Hyuga Yu would no longer be able to rely on tree-path movement to widen the distance between himself and the dozens of Kirigakure ninja pursuing and converging on him from behind.
He would be trapped here.
Without reinforcements, he could only wait for death.
And after racing here at full speed using the Chakra enhanced by the Byakugan mutation—
Hyuga Yu had no more hidden cards left.
Thirteen full years of accumulation, finally coming to fruition.
Byakugan: Invisibility Jutsu, research into and application of Byakugan chakra principles, Wind Release: Vacuum Blade, the Third Gate of the Eight Inner Gates, Eight Trigrams Gate of Life Burst, and more than ten Medical Ninjutsu copied through the Byakugan.
That was everything Hyuga Yu possessed as a ninja.
At this moment,
Within Crow Forest.
"Whew... whew..."
Hyuga Yu leaned against a bare banyan tree, taking a brief rest to settle the racing heartbeat brought on by his intense exertion.
After recovering some of his strength, he pulled out handfuls of Military Rations Pills from his ninja tool pouch and stuffed them into his mouth.
At the same time, he closely monitored the changes in his body and remained ready to fight at any moment.
At this moment,
The mutation in his new pair of Byakugan continued.
After absorbing the Blue Chakra generated by the Caged Bird Cursed Seal, Hyuga Yu quickly gained his first new ability—
Observation Eye.
It was neither Far-Sight Eye nor Insight Eye, but dynamic vision similar to that of the Sharingan.
Of course, this dynamic vision was not especially powerful. It was roughly equivalent to a one-tomoe Sharingan, enough to clearly see most ninjutsu and taijutsu movements, but not enough to copy them perfectly.
Was it useful?
Of course it was. In fact, it was precisely the ability Hyuga Yu needed most at this stage.
With this dynamic vision, Hyuga Yu's Byakugan combined Observation Eye, Insight Eye, Far-Sight Eye, and X-ray Vision in one. It could greatly assist him in mastering taijutsu, improving his throwing techniques, and even more than doubling the accuracy of his arrows.
And soon,
Hyuga Yu gained a second brand-new ability—
Chakra enhancement.
Through the Byakugan's internal vision, Hyuga Yu discovered that the chakra within his body was steadily changing from its ordinary sky-blue color into Blue Chakra, one that carried an air of mystery, depth, and clarity.
It somewhat resembled the Tenseigan Chakra that surrounded Otsutsuki Toneri's body when he transformed into Tenseigan Chakra Mode.
Hyuga Yu did not know whether it truly was the same thing, but one thing was certain: this chakra was clearly of a higher quality and level than ordinary chakra.
Ninjutsu released with this chakra would be far more powerful.
Lastly,
There was the change in chakra quantity.
Everyone in the village said Hyuga Yu had poor talent, and even Hyuga Yu himself believed so.
So just how poor was that talent?
It could be understood this way: the amount of chakra he could refine was only one-tenth that of his peers.
Hyuga Yu had been born with half a golden spoon in his mouth. His family circumstances were absolutely not poor. His parents had been Branch House higher-ups who shared a life-and-death friendship with Hyuga Takahiro, an elder of the Main House.
The basic training resources Hyuga Yu enjoyed from childhood were essentially equivalent to those of the Hyuga Main Family.
Expensive medicinal baths, sufficient nutritious food, professional foundational ninja instruction...
Even while training in both Konoha Steel Fist and Hyuga Clan Gentle Fist, and working hard enough to earn Might Duy's tearful approval,
Hyuga Yu's chakra quantity had only been around 2 in Spirit.
Even after forcibly opening the Third Gate of the Eight Inner Gates, clearing the blockages in his Meridians, and turning all his past effort and money into tangible results,
It had only reached 5 in Spirit.
But now—
That situation was undergoing a heaven-shaking reversal!
His base chakra quantity alone had rapidly risen from 2 in Spirit to 4 in Spirit after the Byakugan mutation.
This level was already enough to support many ideas Hyuga Yu had considered in the past but had been unable to carry out due to insufficient chakra.
Moreover, Hyuga Yu could feel that the change was still continuing. It had merely shifted from crashing tidal waves to a silent trickling stream.
As the chakra transformed into Blue Chakra circulated through his meridians, it was quietly changing Hyuga Yu's physique.
Opening up the meridians that had once been blocked.
Strengthening the pathways that had once been fragile.
Causing Hyuga Yu's body to constantly evolve in an unknown direction.
With such a body and foundation, Hyuga Yu had practically been reborn!
His future path would not be limited to Chunin, Jonin, or elite Jonin.
The scenery of Kage,
Even the path of Super Kage—he was qualified to glimpse it!
But that was only if,
He still had a future.
At this moment,
Above the Nameless Forest bordering Crow Forest, a flock of birds suddenly took flight in alarm, flapping their wings as they flew far away.
Hyuga Yu took a deep breath and pushed himself upright against the tree trunk.
He did not activate his Byakugan immediately.
Although his chakra quantity had greatly improved compared to before, the enemies he faced were a Kirigakure force of at least twenty people, including no fewer than four Jonin!
He needed to conserve chakra.
He only needed to stall until Hyuga Natsu delivered the news to Root. Aburame Ryūma was a smart man; he would definitely understand Hyuga Yu's value now, as well as the purpose behind his actions.
His ninja sword had already been lost, while his bow was still hanging from a tree in Nameless Forest.
Hyuga Yu reached for his ninja tool pouch.
The pouch was completely empty.
Finally, he silently pulled out a scroll from his storage pouch, took out a sharp scalpel, and gripped it in his palm.
Hyuga Yu looked coldly toward the narrow pass of Crow Forest.
Crow Forest and Nameless Forest belonged to two separate landmasses. Between them lay a gorge filled with jagged stone spikes, and the only thing linking them was a steel suspension bridge.
If nothing unexpected happened, the enemy would attack from that direction.
Hyuga Yu rapidly calculated how he could make use of the terrain here.
However,
Just then,
"—Flap flap flap!"
Something unexpected seemed to have happened in the distant Nameless Forest. More birds were startled into flight, gathering into a dense black "cloud" as though a large group was racing in the complete opposite direction from Hyuga Yu.
Confusion flashed through Hyuga Yu's eyes.
A moment later,
The commotion in Nameless Forest ended, and from the woods beyond the cliff on the other side, a man suddenly strolled out.
A young man with long black hair, an unshaven face, and heavy dark circles stepped onto the suspension bridge and slowly walked over.
Hyuga Yu recognized the forehead protector on the other man's head as Konoha's.
Just like that, the man crossed from the other side of the suspension bridge to stand before Hyuga Yu, his face full of irritation.
He sized Hyuga Yu up, his gaze lingering briefly on the scalpel in Hyuga Yu's hand. Then he let out a muffled breath and spoke blandly.
"Let's get acquainted."
"Starting today, I'm your handler, Shigaraki Tanuki."
"Shigaraki... Tanuki?"
Hyuga Yu froze slightly. Wasn't this the Root remnant from Boruto, the Root technical specialist working on the Ox-Headed Heavenly King project?
Shigaraki Tanuki raised his brows slightly and stared at Hyuga Yu's Byakugan. Then he shook his head and said bluntly,
"You're in big trouble."
"What trouble?"
"Aburame Ryūma failed to stop Kirigakure. Kirigakure has smart people too. He's taken his men and left."
"Ao... took his men and left?" Hyuga Yu was stunned.
That should not have happened!?
Given the fanaticism Ao had displayed, the look in his eyes like he wanted to swallow Hyuga Yu alive—
Could he really calm down?
Shigaraki Tanuki gave a gloating snort and sneered.
"Soon, the whole world will know that a Hyuga Branch Family member stole the Main House's Byakugan."
Hyuga Yu's heart tightened, and he immediately asked, "Then what should I do?"
Shigaraki Tanuki thought for a moment, his gaze suddenly shifting to the scalpel in Hyuga Yu's hand.
"You know Medical Ninjutsu?"
"I do."
"How good are you?"
"Give me one year, and I can enter the upper ranks of the Medical Team."
Shigaraki Tanuki translated Hyuga Yu's words. "So you haven't mastered the three major A-rank Medical Ninjutsu. You're mediocre."
Hyuga Yu: "..."
"Still, if you were too skilled, I wouldn't dare use you. You'll do." Shigaraki Tanuki looked down at Hyuga Yu and said blandly,
"Be my assistant, and I'll protect you from the Hyuga Main Family."
Hyuga Yu was stunned, finding it somewhat hard to believe. "You?"
The future Root's greatest remnant, a Konoha wanted criminal, claimed he could withstand pressure from the Hyuga Main Family and protect him?
No, was this still Konoha?
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