Return Clear Skies to the Hyuga Clan!

Hyuga Ritsu stepped forward to inspect the material. The corpse had already gone cold, but he still took out a scroll and sealed it inside. Every ninja's body was a treasure trove, let alone the body of a Kaguya Clan Jonin from Kirigakure.

Ninjas had all sorts of methods for extracting intelligence and knowledge from corpses.

After taking the body back,

Teacher Hiruko could help extract the Kaguya Clan's methods for using the Shikotsumyaku Kekkei Genkai. Even if Hyuga Ritsu might not be able to use it, it was perfectly viable as a reference.

"Next, it was time to risk my life!"

Hyuga Ritsu took a deep breath and finally made up his mind.

He did not intend to defect.

But the Main House would never let him off after he had erased the Caged Bird Seal.

So,

he had to set things right, restore the proper order, and return clear skies to the Hyuga Clan!

Hyuga Ritsu returned the way he had come, climbed the ten-meter stone wall, opened the mechanism, and crawled out through the tree hollow. By then, the sky was fully bright. Judging by the sun's position, it was around ten in the morning.

He activated his Byakugan,

and adjusted his vision to its maximum range.

Previously, his Byakugan could only see roughly eight kilometers away. Now, however, it could see the scenery around eleven kilometers away. Clearly, fusing with the Shikotsumyaku Kekkei Genkai had not only helped dissolve the Caged Bird Seal, but had also strengthened the Byakugan Kekkei Genkai.

He retraced the route he had taken to get there.

By a little past nine that night, nearly ten, he finally arrived ten kilometers outside the Frontline Camp. He stopped, activated his Byakugan, and observed the situation. The camp was still shrouded by a barrier, making it impossible to see what was happening inside.

However,

he spotted a number of hidden sentries lurking in the forests outside the camp, including a member of the Hyuga Clan's Branch House.

After waiting for about a minute and a half,

the Branch House member lying atop a tree suddenly showed a surprised expression and finally looked in Hyuga Ritsu's direction. Six kilometers apart, their two Byakugan met from afar. Both of them saw the other.

Hyuga Ritsu made a gesture that said, "Come over and talk."

After about five seconds,

the Branch House member formed the Ram hand seal and used the Shadow Clone Technique. His real body remained motionless on the tree, while the clone carefully made its way toward Hyuga Ritsu.

Six kilometers was nothing to a ninja. They could cover it in a few steps.

Before long,

the Shadow Clone arrived before Hyuga Ritsu and said anxiously, "Ah Ritsu, didn't you defect? Why did you come back? Hurry up and leave. Before Elder Hishou and Elder Daichi find you, go as far away as you can, and never come back!"

"Hayato, Elder Hishou and Elder Daichi are here?"

Hyuga Ritsu asked with a smile.

The real body of the Shadow Clone before him was named Hyuga Hayato. He was fifteen, the same age as Hyuga Ritsu, a Branch House member of the Hyuga Clan, and a Jonin. He had been Hyuga Ritsu's childhood friend since they were little.

"You can still smile?"

Hyuga Hayato's Shadow Clone was both anxious and angry. "At noon today, the Clan Head and the two elders arrived at the Frontline Camp. Before they had even settled in, Elder Hishou was already shouting for you, Ah Ritsu, to hurry over and confess your crimes. That bastard Hyuga Daisho even publicly accused you of standing by and watching him die, delaying the battle, and deliberately framing a Main House member, causing him to be surrounded and letting the mist ninja take one of his Byakugan..."

By the end, he was so furious that he could not continue.

"Just as expected."

Hyuga Ritsu was not angry.

The reason he had left in such a hurry and risked using the Chimera Technique to break the Caged Bird Seal was because he had anticipated that this might happen.

"Hayato, don't be angry. I expected this. We both know what kind of person that trash Hyuga Daisho is. If those mist ninja hadn't taken the initiative to attack me, I really would have ignored whether Hyuga Daisho lived or died."

"I'm just unwilling to accept it. How can trash like Hyuga Daisho compare to you, Ah Ritsu? You became a Jonin at eleven, while that trash only barely passed the Jonin exam this year at sixteen. Yet trash like him belongs to the Main House. It was simply, simply..."

Hyuga Hayato could not find the right words to describe his indignation.

"Yeah! I'm unwilling to accept it too."

Hyuga Ritsu's gaze turned cold.

No one liked being born inferior to others.

"Sorry, Ah Ritsu. I made you comfort me again, when you should be the angry one." Hyuga Hayato looked a little embarrassed.

"There's no should or shouldn't about it. No matter how angry I get right now, it won't mean anything. Hayato, what's the situation at the Frontline Camp now? How did Hyuga Hisho and the others react when I didn't go confess? Do you know what they plan to do next?"

Hyuga Ritsu steered the conversation toward what he wanted to know.

"Now?"

Hyuga Hayato frowned and answered honestly, "Lord Orochimaru met with the Clan Head and the two elders and told them that you, Ah Ritsu, had gone out on a reconnaissance mission. Elder Hishou was furious and nearly got into an argument with Lord Orochimaru, but the Clan Head and Elder Daichi stopped him. They're staying at the Frontline Camp now, preparing to wait for you to return."

"They'll remain at the Frontline Camp for the time being?"

Hyuga Ritsu's heart stirred.

An extremely bold idea emerged in his mind.

The Clan Head, the two elders, and a group of Branch House members fiercely loyal to the Main House were all away from the village. In other words, the clan's strength in the village was currently rather depleted. More precisely, the Main House's strength had been dispersed.

This was an opportunity!

"Ah Ritsu, why are you asking about this? You should hurry up and leave! Go as far as you can."

Hyuga Hayato did not understand why Hyuga Ritsu was asking these questions. He only urged him to leave quickly and not let the two Main House elders find him. Once Hyuga Ritsu was spotted by a Main House elder, they would probably use the Caged Bird Seal immediately.

That feeling of having his head split open by pain,

after experiencing it once, no one would ever want to experience it a second time.

"Hayato, thank you for telling me all this. From now on, just pretend nothing happened and that you never saw me. Continue carrying out your mission. I'm leaving now."

"Don't worry. How could I possibly betray you? Ah Ritsu, hurry and go! Go far away, and preferably never come back."

After saying those treasonous words,

the Shadow Clone exploded into a cloud of milky white smoke and quickly dispersed.

On a tree six kilometers away,

Hyuga Hayato lay motionless, faithfully carrying out his duty as a hidden sentry.

Hyuga Ritsu gave the Frontline Camp ten kilometers away one deep look, then turned and left without hesitation. There was no point in returning to the Frontline Camp now. He could not obtain what he wanted there. Only by returning to the village could he possibly obtain everything he wanted.

Thus,

he headed northwest toward Konoha, sprinting at full speed, faster than a galloping horse!