The Decaying System Would Keep Giving Birth to New Monsters Called Pain

Meanwhile, in the Hyuga Clan Compound.

Inside a spacious Japanese-style room, candlelight flickered, stretching the shadows of the two people in the center, making them grow and shrink silently against the paper doors.

Hyuga Hiashi sat at the head of the room. He raised a hand to rub his brow, looking utterly exhausted.

"Hizashi, do you think... this really was Danzo's doing?"

He suddenly spoke, his voice thick with bitterness.

"Brother,"

Hizashi found it hard to believe as well, but after a moment's thought, he said quietly, "Elder Tianyun was killed by Wind Release. In the village, I honestly can't think of anyone else whose mastery of Wind Release is that great."

"Other than..."

He trailed off.

Hyuga Hiashi, of course, knew what his younger brother meant.

Shimura Danzō.

The Darkness of the Ninja World.

If Sarutobi Hiruzen was the fire in the open, then Shimura Danzō was the shadow lurking in the dark.

Hyuga Hiashi lowered his eyes to gaze at his reflection in the teacup, his thoughts churning.

He had to admit that, in his eyes, Danzo was capable of any evil, and seemed like the sort of person you could pin every dirty deed on.

But when it came to keeping track of the battle situation and gathering intelligence, no one in all of Konoha could match him.

He had built Konoha's entire intelligence network with his own hands.

He was probably monitoring seven or eight out of every ten important and trivial matters in the village, let alone a major clan like the Hyuga.

At the thought, a chill crept down Hyuga Hiashi's back.

Perhaps even now, their conversation was being overheard by Root's spies.

"Byakugan."

Hyuga Hiashi activated his Byakugan once more. Only after confirming that no one from Root was watching them did he let out a long breath.

"If it really was Danzo... then his motives make sense too."

Hyuga Hiashi shook his head, his smile full of bitterness.

"Brother, you mean..."

"The fighting on the front lines is fierce, and things aren't going well. Meanwhile, our Hyuga Clan is holding a grand celebration at a time like this... It would make sense for Danzo to send someone to warn us."

He picked up his teacup and took a small sip, but his fingers wouldn't stop trembling.

If that was the case, then Qinglan was a little less suspect.

The thought brought him a small measure of relief, but heavier concerns immediately smothered it.

"Brother..." Hizashi lowered his eyes. He hesitated for a long time, but in the end, he couldn't hold back. "Why are we holding this celebration? Is something important happening?"

The Hyuga Clan had always kept a low profile. They held celebrations for only two reasons.

Either a member of the Main Branch was celebrating a birthday, or something momentous had happened within the clan.

But this time, it wasn't anyone's birthday, and he hadn't heard of anything worth celebrating.

The only possibility he could think of was that the clan had produced a peerless genius.

"..."

Hyuga Hiashi didn't answer. He simply looked at him in silence.

Just one look.

Hizashi immediately fell silent, his back stiffening slightly.

"Hizashi, as a member of the Branch Family, you shouldn't ask about things that aren't your business."

"Yes."

Hizashi lowered his head, his voice muffled in his throat.

Hyuga Hiashi closed his eyes. The room fell silent for a long while, broken only by the occasional pop of the candlewick.

At last, he seemed to reach a decision.

"Let's leave this matter here for now."

His voice held no discernible emotion, only a heavy sense of helplessness.

If Danzo really was the culprit, there was nothing he could do.

Was he supposed to pit the entire clan against the village?

Or report him to the Hokage, accusing one of Konoha's elders without a shred of proof?

Neither was realistic.

Besides, the scroll hadn't provided them with any practical help.

All he could do was endure.

Unless—

Unless they could prove the method of evolving the Byakugan and successfully figure out how it worked.

But the scroll hadn't even been fully verified before it was taken, along with several secret Eight Trigrams Palm scrolls.

His greatest hope now was that Danzo would mistake it for an ordinary clan chronicle and fail to discover its true secret.

It seemed he could only count on Qinglan to find out where that ancient tomb was...

Or find the scroll again...

"Hizashi, you may go. Get some rest, and wait for the call to the front lines."

"Yes!"

Hizashi bowed in reply. He had just turned to leave when Hiashi called him back.

"And... tell Yumi to keep quiet. Her request to go to the battlefield is denied."

Hiashi paused, his tone growing heavier.

"Recently, no members of the Main Branch are to go to the front lines."

Hizashi parted his lips, as if he wanted to say something, but ultimately swallowed his words.

"...Yes."

Night.

A crescent moon hung over Konoha, casting silvery moonlight across a small courtyard on the edge of the Hyuga Clan Compound.

A little snake slithered out through the courtyard weeds, following the trail of moonlight as it crossed the yard and crawled over the stone path, finally stopping at the windowsill.

Inside, the air was thick with steam.

"Crackle... crackle..."

The sound of electricity drifted out through the mist billowing from the shower.

The little snake flicked its tongue in a remarkably humanlike way, tilted its pointed head, and fixed its golden, slit-pupiled eyes on the shower.

Through the mist, the person inside was clearly visible.

Purple arcs of electricity flickered across the boy's body.

Strangely, though, his fair skin was tinged with only the faintest hint of red. It looked nothing like the skin of someone whose body had been tempered with Lightning Release chakra.

Suddenly, the boy stopped training and slowly stepped out of the shower.

"Lord Orochimaru, what brings you here?"

Hyuga Qinglan held a towel in his right hand, wiping the water from his body. His face showed utter astonishment.

The little snake hissed and flicked its tongue twice, then suddenly opened its jaws wide.

Orochimaru emerged from the snake's mouth, his body covered in white slime. With an intrigued look, he stuck out his tongue and licked himself clean.

"Lord Qinglan, is this how you treat a partner?"

"..."

Hyuga Qinglan's eyelid twitched. He smiled. "No, Lord Orochimaru. I treat everyone this way."

He fastened his robe and came to sit on his knees beside the small wooden table.

"Lord Orochimaru, would you like some tea?"

Orochimaru didn't answer.

He leaned against the windowsill, arms crossed, his long hair draped over his shoulders. His golden, slit-pupiled eyes remained fixed on Hyuga Qinglan.

Without wasting a word, he got straight to the point.

"How are you going to help me become the Fourth Hokage?"

"What exactly is the method for evolving the Byakugan?"

"And most importantly... where did that scroll come from?"

Orochimaru fired off three questions in a row, his eyes locked on Hyuga Qinglan.

Hyuga Qinglan didn't answer immediately. After a moment, he raised his head and met Orochimaru's gaze calmly.

"Becoming the Fourth Hokage won't be difficult. Someone as clever as you, Lord Orochimaru, is simply too close to the situation to see it clearly... I'm only here as an outsider to point it out."

Orochimaru said nothing, waiting to hear what Hyuga Qinglan had to say.

"If you want to return to the villagers' attention, then you'll need to save the village from a crisis, Lord Orochimaru." Hyuga Qinglan looked up at him. "As for where that crisis might come from... I'm sure you understand what I mean, Lord Orochimaru."

"Is that all?"

Orochimaru was gradually losing patience.

He already understood all that.

After hearing Hyuga Qinglan's story, he was certainly disappointed.

But to him, becoming Hokage was only one step toward uncovering the secrets of ninjutsu.

It would be best if he became Hokage, but if he couldn't, he could always defect, just like the older brother in the story.

What he cared about now was...

Just how many secrets did Hyuga Qinglan have, and how much did he know?

"No. What I mean is that the story I told you wasn't made up."

"The Sage's full name was the Sage of Six Paths."

"Of course, that has little to do with him personally. The one who truly matters is his younger brother."

"His name was Otsutsuki Hamura."

The Sage of Six Paths?!

And he had a younger brother?!

Orochimaru's heart jolted, but his shock lasted only an instant before he quickly regained his composure.

He knew the legend of the Sage of Six Paths, of course. It was practically common knowledge.

Anyone with even a passing interest in the history and myths of the Shinobi World knew that name.

However, as a staunch materialist, Orochimaru would never believe in the Sage of Six Paths without seeing conclusive proof of his existence with his own eyes.

What's more, he had never even heard of that so-called "younger brother."

"I didn't believe it before, either."

Hyuga Qinglan casually tossed over a copy of the scroll. Orochimaru caught it neatly, then unrolled it and began to read.

"I found this copy of the scroll by chance in an ancient tomb on the Rock Battlefield."

"It's a copy of that scroll, more or less. It records the origins of the Hyuga Clan and some stories about Otsutsuki Hamura..."

As Hyuga Qinglan explained, Orochimaru's fingers rapidly turned the pages.

The Hyuga Clan... had descended from the Otsutsuki Clan...

The Sage of Six Paths' full name was Hagoromo Otsutsuki...

His younger brother's full name was Otsutsuki Hamura...

The older brother had the Rinnegan, while the younger brother had the Tenseigan.

The Rinnegan could create and destroy, while the Tenseigan could control and attack...

Orochimaru's gaze grew increasingly intent.

But just as he reached the most important part, the scroll's contents abruptly ended.

And the method for evolving the azure Tenseigan—using... chakra... Caged Bird...

"What about the rest?!" he blurted, his voice as urgent as a child's after someone snatched away his favorite toy.

"That's all there is."

Hyuga Qinglan shook his head.

"If that's all there is... it's hard for me not to think this scroll was made up."

Orochimaru narrowed his eyes, reining in his emotions as his gaze gradually turned cold.

"Clever Qinglan, you should understand that."

"This isn't enough~"

"Hiss..."

Four or five venomous snakes poked their heads out of his sleeves and bared their fangs at Hyuga Qinglan.

"..."

Hyuga Qinglan sighed.

He had expected Orochimaru wouldn't be easy to fool, but now that it had come to this, he couldn't help feeling a little regret.

"Based on just this, it would be hard for anyone to believe it, including me..."

As he spoke, he slowly lifted the bangs from his forehead, revealing the Caged Bird Seal there.

In the moonlight, the swastika-shaped mark, which should have been dark green, had grown unusually faint.

Was this...

The seal fading?

Was this the secret behind Rotation's three-hundred-and-sixty-degree coverage...?

Orochimaru's eyes narrowed slightly.

He'd known there had to be another card hidden up Hyuga Qinglan's sleeve.

Otherwise, why would he have had the confidence to negotiate with him based solely on a scroll recording the origins of the Hyuga Clan?

"Exactly. Based on the scattered records in the scroll, I've already deciphered part of the Cursed Seal."

Hyuga Qinglan's expression was calm, his tone composed. There wasn't a single hint of a flaw in his story.

"That should be enough to prove the scroll is genuine... right, Orochimaru?"

"Heh heh heh..."

Orochimaru laughed—this time, he genuinely laughed, a trace of admiration in his smile.

But the amusement vanished in an instant, replaced by his usual cool composure.

"Hyuga Qinglan, why hand it over to me? And what exactly is your purpose in giving me this information?"

"Because you're the only one in the whole village with the ability to unravel its secrets, Lord Orochimaru."

Hyuga Qinglan tied on his Konoha Forehead Protector and looked toward the bright moon outside the window. "Besides, if the Tenseigan has a path to evolution... what about the Sage of Six Paths' Rinnegan?"

"Could it evolve too?"

"And those things will only be possible once you take the Hokage Position."

"As for my purpose..."

Hyuga Qinglan paused. His voice was soft, but every word was clear. "I hope you'll put an end to these rotten systems, Lord Orochimaru."

"As long as those decayed relics of the past remain, the monster called hatred will eventually give rise to a new 'Pain.'"

A new... Pain?

Orochimaru studied Hyuga Qinglan's clear, calm eyes, and a faint smile stirred within him.

So that was it...

Another child yearning for freedom?

Heh.

He hadn't laid all his cards on the table... but he was worth taking a chance on.

Then I'll accept your offer.

"I understand."

Orochimaru looked away and took a scroll from his sleeve.

"These are some of my notes on Lightning Release nature transformation. Consider them a gift to welcome you."

"Work hard to improve your strength..."

"This little white snake will be our means of contact from now on."

The moment he finished speaking, Orochimaru vanished from the room without warning, leaving behind a quiet reminder and a small, pure-white snake.

The little white snake flicked its tongue with a soft hiss, then slithered nimbly out of the room and disappeared into the grass outside the window.

"..."

After a long while.

Hyuga Qinglan stood silently by the window, unmoving.

Only after he was sure Orochimaru's presence had completely faded did he finally let out a slow breath.

"The Sannin really are the Sannin..."

He murmured silently to himself, then turned and began tidying up the somewhat disordered room.

He had a fairly good idea of his current strength.

For now, gradually training in the skills from his previous life would be enough.

"...At least I managed to bluff Orochimaru."

Hyuga Qinglan lay back on the bed, gazing at the dim ceiling.

The Tenseigan...

The Otsutsuki's chakra... and pure Byakugan...

He gently touched his eyes, his fingertips lingering on his eyelids for a moment before he finally sank into a deep sleep.

The next morning.

"Miss, Lord Hiashi was the one who forbade you from going to the battlefield..."

"It's not that we're stopping you. Please don't make things difficult for us..."

Four or five Branch Family guards desperately tried to stop Hyuga Yumi. They wanted to intervene but feared hurting the Main Branch young lady, leaving them all flustered and caught in a bind.

"Bang!"

"Bang!"

Hyuga Yumi wouldn't listen. She immediately assumed the opening stance of the Eight Trigrams Palm and neatly knocked aside the two Branch Family guards in her way.

"A bunch of good-for-nothings! Get out of my way!"

She shook off the remaining guards and stormed out of the training ground in a fit of anger.

Just as she stepped outside, she ran straight into Hyuga Qinglan coming out of his room.

"Hyuga Qinglan?!"

"Didn't you say my talent was good enough?!"

Her clear Byakugan now blazed with fury.

"How dare you lie to me?!"

Before the words had even left her mouth, she thrust out a palm wreathed in murderous intent, aiming straight for Hyuga Qinglan's chest.

But to Hyuga Qinglan, her all-out attack was as slow as a child's play.

"Smack!"

Hyuga Yumi froze, staring at her own hand in disbelief.

He'd... caught it just like that?!

"Miss Yumi." Hyuga Qinglan held her wrist firmly with one hand and spoke in an even tone. "The power of hatred is strong, but it won't take you far."

"The way you're acting right now, honestly... it's an embarrassment to Elder Tianyun."

"How dare you bring up Grandpa?!"

Hyuga Yumi snapped back to her senses, and the anger that had just been suppressed by the gap in their strength surged up again.

Whoosh!

She swung another palm with her right hand, but before the force of her strike could reach Hyuga Qinglan—

"Ah!"

Her vision suddenly spun.

Hyuga Yumi felt a deft force lift her whole body, sending her spinning out of control. She was just about to be flung away.

Her vision abruptly returned to normal.

"Thud!"

Then a palm strike, barely forceful at all, landed on her. It toppled her with perfect timing, taking advantage of how the spin had already thrown her off balance.

Hyuga Yumi braced one hand against the ground and held her forehead with the other. Fighting the nausea roiling in her stomach, she stared up at Hyuga Qinglan in a daze.

Hyuga Qinglan looked down at her, his expression blank.

"Hyuga Yumi, do you think your strength right now is really enough to take revenge on the culprit who killed Elder Tianyun?"

"Can you really go to the battlefield?"