"Is that the Nara Clan's 'Shadow Imitation Technique'?"
Chiba couldn't move, but through the Tenseigan's superior 360-degree vision, he could still see Nara Shikaku on the other side of the line connected to his shadow.
"Looks like this is one drawback of using the 'Eight Trigrams: Kaiten Air Palm' in Sora."
If he had used that move on the ground, it would not have been so easy for Nara Shikaku to restrain him with the Shadow Imitation Technique.
"But now it is Mu-irrelevant."
Having quickly regained his composure, Chiba was not overly concerned about his current predicament. "With my current abilities, breaking free from the Shadow Binding Technique won't be difficult."
"But one of my Shadow Clones has already infiltrated the Hokage Building to steal... retrieve the Scroll of Sealing."
"My real body can draw the Third Hokage and the others' attention here and buy it time."
The reason he had not used a Shadow Clone to attract attention while his real body retrieved the Scroll of Sealing was because Shadow Clones were too fragile. They would basically disperse as soon as they were hit.
Besides, if his real body were not here, how could he activate Tenseigan Chakra Mode later?
"Wood Release: Silent Strangulation Technique!"
At that moment, the Anbu ninja in the Cat Face Mask beside Sarutobi Hiruzen—Yamato, who was still serving in the Anbu—summoned several long wooden branches from his right arm, binding Chiba's limbs and body.
Chiba could clearly feel the wooden branches on his body absorbing his Chakra.
Restricted in terms of Chakra, Chiba's body gradually descended to the ground.
"Wood Release: Four Pillars Prison Technique!"
Taking advantage of this, Yamato summoned wooden pillars around Chiba, forming a wooden prison that trapped him inside.
"You've done well!"
After nodding in praise at Yamato, Nara Shikaku, and the others, Sarutobi Hiruzen turned to Chiba and fired off three questions in succession. "Who are you? What is your relationship with the Hyuga Clan? Why did you attack me?"
Chiba did not answer directly. Instead, as though he had sensed something, he said, "My identity? You'll find out soon enough."
Sarutobi Hiruzen froze at those words. Then an Anbu appeared before him in a Body Flicker, dropped to one knee, and respectfully reported, "Lord Hokage, this person is Hyuga Chiba of the Hyuga Clan's Branch Family."
"Because he was born without eyes, he was never branded with the Caged Bird. But for some reason, he displayed a pair of Mysterious Blue Eyes today and gained immense power."
"Hyuga Branch Family, born without eyes, blue eyes?" Sarutobi Hiruzen, Yamato, Nara Shikaku, and the others were all left dumbfounded.
There was nothing strange about those words individually, but put together, they were utterly baffling.
A moment later, another Anbu ninja appeared before Sarutobi Hiruzen in a Body Flicker and further reported, "Lord Hokage, I have confirmed it with the Hyuga Clan. For some unknown reason, Hyuga Chiba has awakened the Tenseigan spoken of in Hyuga Clan legends."
"It is an eye said to rival the God's Eye, the Rinnegan, possessed by the legendary ancestor of shinobi, the Sage of Six Paths."
"The Hyuga Clan is Mu-powerless to deal with Hyuga Chiba and does not know his true objective. They request that Lord Hokage capture him!"
"If necessary, he may even be killed on the spot!"
"The Tenseigan, an eye rivaling the God's Eye?" This time, Sarutobi Hiruzen, Nara Shikaku, and the others were completely shocked.
To them, the Sage of Six Paths and the Rinnegan were practically myths and legends.
If the Hyuga Clan had not provided this information, they would never even have heard of the Tenseigan.
"No wonder Hyuga Chiba, who should have been born blind and unqualified to become a shinobi, suddenly possessed Kage Level strength."
Yamato could not help but sigh. "If it is the Tenseigan, an eye on the same level as the God's Eye, then it isn't strange."
"Who would have thought that the Hyuga Clan's Byakugan hid such powerful potential?" Nara Shikaku said with a grave expression.
If the Hyuga Clan's title as the Strongest Shinobi Clan of Konoha had seemed somewhat undeserved before this, then once Hyuga Chiba, who possessed the Tenseigan, returned to the Hyuga Clan and became its pillar, the title would truly be well deserved.
By then, even if the extinct Uchiha Clan were resurrected, they would likely be unable to compare with the Hyuga Clan.
Which raised a question...
"Since you possess such a powerful Tenseigan, you are fully qualified to become the true leader of the Hyuga Clan. You could even reform the Main Family and Branch Family system, lead them toward a new golden age. So why did you come to the Hokage Building and attack the Hokage?"
Sarutobi Hiruzen asked Chiba in great confusion.
"Heh, you already know the answer!"
Chiba deliberately wanted to stall for time, and he did have some thoughts on the matter. He immediately sneered disdainfully. "What need is there for me to wholeheartedly lead a decaying clan that was completely Mu-unaware of the destruction of the Uchiha Clan, which possessed three pairs of Mangekyō Sharingan, yet started calling itself the Strongest Shinobi Clan of Konoha and used the Caged Bird system to limit its own development?"
"As for why I came to attack you? There are plenty of reasons."
"But the one most closely related to me is that you forced Hizashi Hyuga to his death. He had cared for me many times, and he had also cared for my parents during the Third Shinobi World War!"
"In other words, I came to avenge him!"
"Hizashi Hyuga?" After hearing Chiba's final words, Sarutobi Hiruzen's expression turned complicated. "I did not want to see him sacrifice himself for the village either."
"But at the time, the Cloud Village used Hiashi Hyuga's killing of their envoy as an excuse to demand that we hand over Hiashi's corpse so they could obtain the Byakugan of the Hyuga Clan's Main Family. Otherwise, they would declare war on Konoha."
"At the time, Konoha had successively gone through the Third Shinobi World War, the Nine-Tails Rebellion, Orochimaru's Defection, Jiraiya and Tsunade leaving, and various other events. We no longer had the strength to fight another war."
Sarutobi Hiruzen could have also said that Hizashi Hyuga had stepped forward of his own accord to die in Hiashi Hyuga's place.
But that was not public knowledge, nor would it fit his image.
"Hahaha, how laughable!"
Chiba did not conceal his contempt in the slightest. "Those who seek peace through struggle will preserve peace; those who seek peace through compromise will lose peace."
"The more you compromise, the easier it becomes for your enemies to push their luck."
"After the Cloud Village obtained Hizashi Hyuga's corpse and failed to obtain the Byakugan they wanted, why did they not continue making trouble?"
"Was it because they had no further excuse? Was it because of your cowardly compromise?"
"No. It was because after the Third Shinobi World War and the Third Raikage's death, their national strength had been damaged, and they themselves did not want war."
"For a war that was never going to happen in the first place, even when you were in the right, you forcibly drove one of Konoha's own people to his death."
"Where the leaves of Konoha dance, fire burns on without end?"
"What a laughable Will of Fire. It sounds so noble, yet in the end, it is nothing more than burning others' lives to illuminate your own selfish ideals."
Before you continue