Those Powers Do Not Belong to You

Bang!!

In the forest, a figure was sent flying as if struck by a train, limbs twisted and spinning like windmills through the air before finally smashing through several trees and becoming embedded in a trunk.

"..."

A flame-like azure aura radiated from Hyuga Yunchuan's body, and the rainwater was evaporated into white vapor by his boiling body temperature.

Looking at the figure he had blasted away with a single punch after opening the Gate of Life, an utterly speechless thought surfaced in his mind.

Was that guy some kind of comedian?

This Shadow Clone had originally run out of chakra, yet that guy had kept talking from afar, giving his original body enough time to arrive while concealed in a Shadow Robe.

He had thought it was someone formidable.

But this was it?

"Your Kekkei Genkai is Steel Release?" Hyuga Yunchuan simply asked outright. "Who gave you the courage to stand before the Hyuga Clan with nothing but half-baked Steel Release?"

Crack! Crack!

In the distance, Hiruko stretched out his arms to brace himself against both sides and pulled himself free from the tree trunk.

A dark metallic sheen covered his body, but his side was visibly caved in. The flesh inside had clearly been destroyed.

That was only because he had instinctively dodged. Otherwise, his heart would have been blown apart.

Yet after hearing Hyuga Yunchuan's mocking words, Hiruko—already insecure and sensitive—was so enraged that a sweet, bloody taste surged up from deep in his throat. Even his heavy breaths carried the smell of blood.

"Damn it! I knew that bastard Orochimaru wouldn't be kind enough to help me!"

With that single blow, Hiruko realized that the person before him was nowhere near as easy to deal with as Orochimaru had claimed.

The Chimera Technique was a secret technique he had developed. It could fuse ninja or Summoning Beasts with his own body, and could even fuse the chakra of Kekkei Genkai users to obtain their Kekkei Genkai.

The Kekkei Genkai he currently possessed were Steel Release and Swift Release. His physical defense could easily reach the point of being impervious to blades, while his normal speed could rival the Body Flicker Technique. Ordinary taijutsu specialists were no match for him at all.

But the person before him was nothing like a normal member of the Hyuga Clan.

Hiruko had once been a Konoha ninja, so he naturally knew something about Konoha's Hyuga Clan. He had clearly been standing outside their attack range, yet who could have expected this guy to release Gentle Fist attacks from a distance?

He could feel that his stomach, intestines, and liver had all been shattered. The Steel Release he had fused with had become a complete joke beneath the penetrating force of that punch.

How was this some lucky waste Orochimaru had mentioned? This was clearly a freak of the Hyuga Clan.

"Hm?"

Hearing Hiruko mention Orochimaru's name, Hyuga Yunchuan subconsciously raised a brow and smiled. "I see. I didn't expect Lord Orochimaru to still be alive. I thought he'd died like a dead snake in some dark corner."

With the distinctive appearance of the person before him, Hyuga Yunchuan naturally recognized his identity.

Hiruko, a Konoha A-rank missing-nin and childhood companion of Konoha. However, his talent was inferior to the Sannin's, leaving him insecure, unwilling, and envious. To make up for his innate shortcomings, he secretly conducted human experiments and researched the Chimera Technique.

But Sarutobi Hiruzen discovered him and sent the Sannin after him, only for Hiruko to escape.

Still, Hyuga Yunchuan had not expected Hiruko to be connected to Orochimaru. But on second thought, their research directions were indeed quite similar, so it was hardly strange that they had ties.

Orochimaru had initially researched the body as well. Only after breaking into the Forbidden Library and reading the Scroll of Seals did he begin turning toward the field of souls.

"Is Lord Orochimaru doing well these days?" Hyuga Yunchuan asked with a smile.

"..."

Hiruko narrowed his eyes without answering, his gaze sweeping over him.

He had originally believed that Orochimaru had become that way because of the Third Hokage.

But now, recalling the uncontrollable resentment and hatred Orochimaru had shown whenever he mentioned this brat, it was likely that the culprit behind Orochimaru becoming neither human nor ghost was this brat.

But why?

Could it be because of this brat's Byakugan?

"No, that can't be it. At the very least, it must be..."

At that thought, Hiruko subconsciously looked into the distance, in the direction from which Hyuga Yunchuan's original body had come.

He naturally did not know that it was Hyuga Yunchuan, but he could sense that terrifying aura that made one's heart go cold even from more than ten miles away.

As a rat that had spent its life hiding and fleeing, he was far too familiar with the aura of apex predators. Thus, he had abandoned his original target without hesitation and chosen to pursue Hyuga Yunchuan.

If I could possess that kind of power too, even the Sannin and Five Kage would have to kneel at my feet. Greed rose in Hiruko's heart.

It had to be said that Hiruko's personality was deeply twisted. While he envied the three of them, he could not conceal the insecurity and sensitivity in his heart.

When someone turned another person into an obsession, they would dress that person in splendid robes and even worship them as a god.

That was why Hiruko's behavior was so high-profile and exaggerated. Even after fully perfecting the Chimera Technique, he had not thought of quietly building his strength. Instead, he openly declared to Konoha that he would start the Fourth Shinobi World War.

From an outsider's perspective, it was simply foolish beyond belief.

But if Hiruko had not acted that way, he would not have been Hiruko, nor would he have been able to develop a technique like the Chimera Technique.

After all, Greed was carved into humanity's bones. It was precisely because of desire and greed that humanity had survived in harsh environments.

The essence of the Chimera Technique was endless devouring, a reflection of the desires buried deep within Hiruko's heart.

What he wanted was a sense of existence. What he wanted was recognition from others. What he wanted was for others to value him. Only then could he cover up the insecurity in his heart.

Even when he declared that he would start the Fourth Shinobi World War, he had still called himself "Hiruko, a ninja of Konoha Ninja Village."

"Those powers do not belong to you."

Hyuga Yunchuan had already activated his Byakugan. Looking at the murky chakra within Hiruko's body, he narrowed his eyes slightly and spoke in a calm tone.

The moment those words fell, Hiruko abruptly turned his head. After a brief stunned pause, a ferocious expression appeared on his pale face.

"This is my power!" His entire face twisted. "The power of me, Hiruko!"

"No." Hyuga Yunchuan remained calm. "Those are powers you stole."

Bang!!

"You're courting death!"

The enraged shout had barely reached his ears when Hiruko's figure vanished from its original spot, leaving behind only an almost invisible afterimage. All that could be heard was the piercing explosion of air being torn apart.

The ground where Hiruko had stood cracked apart. Broken stone fragments flew into the air, while dust bloomed like a flower.

Kekkei Genkai: Swift Release.

Hyuga Yunchuan had already extended his palm as though preparing to grasp something, and a black orb condensed in his hand.

I wrote in too much of a hurry yesterday, and readers pointed out a few issues.

① Although it felt a little strange to be able to use Truth-Seeking Orbs without the Ten-Tails, and the black sphere did not display the Truth-Seeking Orb's property of destroying all things, I had only seen Ōtsutsuki Hamura using Truth-Seeking Orbs in the anime, manga, and Data Book. Nothing mentioned what the black spheres used by Otsutsuki Toneri were called. On top of that, the fanfics I had read before also called them Truth-Seeking Orbs, so I ultimately wrote them as Truth-Seeking Orbs.

However, I saw a reader named @Lin Meng in the comments say that they were called "beads," which suddenly reminded me that the original work also had novel side stories, like Itachi Shinden. So I went to take a look and discovered that it really was mentioned there. It was not a fanfiction setting.

"Toneri used one of his Chakra Beads to create a giant birdcage and threw Hinata inside to imprison her." That was how it was written in the original.

So it has now been changed and confirmed as Chakra Beads, and the beads used by the protagonist have also been changed to two.

② I was out of it yesterday and wrote that the protagonist asked Toroi which Raikage Ai generation he was. I forgot that not much time had passed since the village was founded at this point, so I changed that too. It has been changed to asking about the Ninja Sect. Those who read early can go back and check the revised version.

Lastly, thank you all for your comments. Thank you, thank you. I read every comment, and if there are mistakes, I will revise them. I only hope you'll go easy on me QAQ.

Also, please vote with your monthly tickets. We're almost at one thousand. There will be extra chapters after it goes premium. Arigato QAQ.