The Hyuga-Uzumaki Union Has a Lot of Potential

Although we hadn't found the Box of Paradise on this trip, having this mother and daughter in our hands already made it worthwhile.

To Yugito, the descendants of the Uzumaki clan were far more valuable than the Box of Paradise.

Neji added, "I found the two of them, so I get to decide what happens to them."

"What are you planning to do with them?" Yugito asked, eyeing Neji suspiciously.

Neji coughed twice and said, a little sheepishly, "They've agreed to join the Hyuga clan. From now on, they're both mine, and as their clan head, it's my duty to protect them."

"..."

Yugito's mouth twitched. "A union between the Hyuga and Uzumaki clans has a lot of potential."

Then she seemed to realize something. A sly smile crept across her face as she poked Neji in the chest and teased him.

"You've let your tail show, you rascal..."

Neji was at a loss for words.

He hadn't done anything.

Yet she was acting as though he had.

"I'll go find them something to eat."

Unable to withstand Yugito's gaze, Neji fled the bathroom.

It was rare to see Neji looking so flustered, and the corners of Yugito's mouth lifted slightly.

Kumogakure lacked powerful bloodline clans.

The Fourth Raikage planned to spend twenty years building up a number of powerful bloodline clans, giving Kumogakure the strength to stand against Konoha.

Uzumaki blood would be a major addition to that strategy.

The only thing Yugito regretted was that the Uzumaki descendants Neji had found were a mother and daughter.

If they'd been a father and son, they could have established a bloodline clan in ten years.

Of course, that was also the main reason Yugito was willing to hand Kana and her mother over to Neji.

Elsewhere.

Ryurin stared at the Kusagakure Ninja's corpse on the ground, his brow furrowed.

There were no visible injuries on the body. Even with his keen eyes, he couldn't tell how the man had died.

He had no visual Kekkei Genkai, and he wasn't a medical ninja, so naturally he couldn't see the damage caused by Gentle Fist.

A moment later, a medical ninja finished examining the corpse and shared his theory with Ryurin. "To destroy the chest's chakra points by force while leaving the chest itself intact... As far as I know, there's only one technique in the entire Shinobi World that can do that: the Gentle Fist secret art."

Ryurin's expression changed. "You mean the intruder was from Konoha's Hyuga clan?"

The medical ninja shook his head. "I'm only saying he was killed by the Gentle Fist secret art. I can't say whether the killer was actually from the Hyuga clan."

In truth, he also thought the killer was most likely from the Hyuga clan, but he didn't dare make that call himself.

"There's no mistake. The only ones in the entire Shinobi World who are skilled in Gentle Fist are Konoha's Hyuga clan."

Ryurin was already eighty percent convinced.

Kusagakure had also collected the basic Gentle Fist techniques.

But no one had managed to learn them.

It was like the Uchiha throwing technique: it required the Sharingan's precise perception and the ability to calculate at extremely high speed, making it difficult for ordinary ninja to master.

Gentle Fist relied even more heavily on its bloodline than the Uchiha throwing technique.

Without the Byakugan, even a Taijutsu expert with profound skill couldn't learn it.

So Gentle Fist was synonymous with the Byakugan, and the Byakugan was synonymous with Konoha's Hyuga clan.

Whoosh!

Just then, a Kusagakure Ninja appeared in front of Ryurin using the Body Flicker Technique.

"Captain, someone broke into the administrative building. The scroll about the Box of Paradise has been stolen."

"What?"

Ryurin's expression changed drastically.

He thought of the unknown Fire Release user who had unleashed Great Fire Destruction earlier.

Clearly, there were at least two intruders: one had broken into the Kusagakure branch's headquarters, while the other had infiltrated the other Kusagakure branch's headquarters.

Were they after the Box of Paradise?!

The Box of Paradise was a sacred treasure passed down through generations of Kusagakure's ancestors.

Kusagakure had made enormous sacrifices trying to open it.

In recent years, the Kusagakure branch's research into the Box of Paradise had made a breakthrough.

And now Konoha had set its sights on it.

Fortunately, Mui had taken the Box of Paradise to Hozuki Castle several years ago. If Konoha's ninja had stolen it today, the consequences would have been unthinkable.

"Captain, Lord Katsushiro is awake."

An excited voice came from the wooden hut.

Ryurin immediately hurried inside. Looking at the man whom the medical ninja had managed to bring back from the brink of death, he asked, "Katsushiro, how are you feeling?"

"Cough, cough!"

Katsushiro coughed twice and said weakly, "I'm all right. Ryurin, the intruder was from Konoha's Hyuga clan."

Ryurin had already suspected the Hyuga clan. Now that Katsushiro, the only survivor who had come into contact with the intruder, had confirmed it, he had no doubts left.

"Katsushiro, the intruder came to steal the Box of Paradise in our possession."

"The Box of Paradise?"

A look of just-right surprise crossed Katsushiro's face. Then, with a sigh of relief, he said, "Thank goodness the Box of Paradise is in Hozuki Castle. If Konoha got its hands on it, we'd have failed our ancestors."

The conflict between the two Kusagakure branches stemmed mainly from the Box of Paradise.

Ryurin moved on from the subject. "The Konoha ninja took that Uzumaki mother and daughter, but this could be an opportunity. We can use them to catch the Konoha ninja."

"Oh?"

A glint flashed in Katsushiro's eyes. "Ryurin, what are you planning to do?"

"There are at least two Konoha ninja who infiltrated Kusagakure. I briefly encountered another intruder earlier. They were skilled in Fire Release Ninjutsu and extremely powerful. They stayed hidden and never showed themselves.

"But since the intruder rescued that mother and daughter, we now have a clear target to search for.

"I've sealed off every entrance and exit in Kusagakure. There's no way anyone could quietly sneak out of the village while carrying a helpless mother and daughter."

"That makes sense."

Katsushiro nodded. "Ryurin, I watched helplessly as the Hyuga ninja took that mother and daughter, and I couldn't do a thing. Let me join the search this time. My chest—"

Ryurin's eyes briefly flashed with admiration.

Katsushiro was a ninja worthy of respect.

Though the Kusagakure branches had plenty of disagreements, they were only differences in ideology.

And when facing an external enemy, they stood together like never before.

Seeing the blood on Katsushiro's chest, Ryurin hesitated. "But your injury..."

"Hey, Ryurin, don't underestimate me. I'm... cough, cough... I just want to catch the intruders as soon as possible and avenge our fallen comrades. You understand how I feel, don't you?"

Clutching his chest and coughing, Katsushiro spoke with obvious self-reproach.

Seeing him like that, Ryurin couldn't bring himself to refuse. "All right. You can guard the village entrance and inspect everyone leaving the village."

Katsushiro's assignment wouldn't require much effort.

After all, if he were an intruder, he wouldn't dare stroll out of the village through the front gate.

Ryurin already had a detailed plan. He intended to leave one section of the defenses deliberately understaffed, then secretly station men nearby and wait for the Konoha ninja to take the bait.

The corner of Katsushiro's mouth lifted in a barely noticeable smile. "I'm glad I can do something for the village. I'll follow your orders."