Drip... drip...
No matter the world, early spring weather was always so fickle.
Just moments ago, Konoha had been basking beneath a clear sky. In the blink of an eye, it had changed its face.
Fine rain fell like threads, unceasing. The damp air carried the scent of earth and fresh grass as it swept over them.
And this dreary, rainy night happened to reflect the Great Elder's mood.
The veranda was quiet.
So quiet that only the sound of rain remained, along with the nearly solid air between the two of them.
The Great Elder sat at the edge of the veranda, his aged figure seeming even more hunched beneath his gray kimono.
His cloudy Byakugan stared fixedly at a willow tree in the courtyard, its branches drenched by the rain.
Leaves fluttered down, falling into the mud.
"Qinglan, it's so late. I hope I'm not interrupting your training?"
The Great Elder gazed at the light rain pattering beneath the night sky, his tone casual and flat.
"No... Great Elder. You can come by anytime you like."
Hyuga Qinglan bowed from three paces away, his manner respectful and humble.
He just hadn't expected the visit to come sooner than he'd thought.
He had assumed the old geezers would keep watching him for a few more days. He hadn't expected them to show up right after Danzo finished trying to recruit him.
Hyuga Qinglan lowered his head and waited quietly for what came next.
"Very well..."
The Great Elder's tone suddenly grew heavy. His words took an abrupt turn, without the slightest transition.
"Do you know about the Tenseigan?"
Those cloudy Byakugan fixed on Hyuga Qinglan at once, as if trying to see right through him.
"The Tenseigan?"
Hyuga Qinglan blinked. A hint of confusion appeared in his pure white eyes.
"What kind of eyes are those?"
"Some new Kekkei Genkai?"
"..."
The Great Elder fell silent for a moment. His gaze lingered on Hyuga Qinglan before passing through the curtain of rain and settling on the open doorway.
Did he really not know?
Or was he... pretending?
"Qinglan."
"Yes."
"Can I... trust you?"
"Great Elder, I would never dare conceal anything I know from you."
Hyuga Qinglan's expression was solemn, his gaze frank.
But inwardly, he shook his head.
Danzo had brazenly infiltrated the Hyuga Clan Compound and planted a spy, yet these Main Branch bigwigs weren't thinking about how to deal with the "culprit" who had stolen the scroll.
Instead, they were interrogating a Branch Family member like him from every angle, playing their political games.
"Cowards who bully the weak... That really suits the Hyuga Clan..."
Hyuga Qinglan chuckled inwardly.
If that was how they wanted to play it, he'd add another log to the fire.
Let the flames blaze out of control.
With that in mind, his consciousness quietly slipped away.
"Excellent..."
The Great Elder slowly nodded, his tense expression seeming to relax for an instant.
"Qinglan, I hope you won't take offense at what I'm about to propose."
"After all... it's all for the sake of the Hyuga Clan..."
But the instant those words fell—
A bone-chilling killing intent suddenly burst from the darkness at one end of the veranda!
"What?!"
The Great Elder's heart jolted. The hairs all over his body stood on end, and a lifetime of instinct as a shinobi made his pupils contract.
He whipped around to look at Qinglan, only to see the boy suddenly lunge toward him!
Even the guards who had been keeping a close eye on the Great Elder froze at almost the same time.
"Qinglan is trying to kill me?!"
Almost reflexively, the Great Elder formed the Ram hand seal with one hand.
His Byakugan activated at the same time, and his vision instantly transformed into a black-and-white world of unobstructed sight.
In that instant, the Great Elder finally saw where the killing intent was really coming from.
A ball of energy radiating blinding golden light was hurtling toward his face at an unbelievable speed!
And Hyuga Qinglan was lunging toward it, using his own body to stand between the Great Elder and death.
"Damn!"
"Qinglan's trying to protect me!"
The realization struck like a bolt from a clear sky, but his body couldn't move as fast as regret.
The Ram seal was already complete.
"Eight Trigrams Palm: Rotation—"
The vast chakra within the tenketsu throughout Hyuga Qinglan's body spun wildly. A translucent chakra dome rapidly took shape around him.
But the instant it formed, the chakra dome collapsed with a crash.
Boom—!
The golden ball of energy exploded.
The blast's shock wave sent Hyuga Qinglan flying.
With a bang, his back slammed hard against a pillar, producing a dull thud.
Blood trickled from the corner of Hyuga Qinglan's mouth. His expression shifted again and again.
From surprise to disbelief, and finally to acceptance.
"Great Elder... so..."
"You still... wouldn't trust me..."
His pure white eyes slowly closed.
Then they fell still.
The Great Elder stood frozen beside the shattered veranda, staring at the younger clan member whose defenses he had personally destroyed, though the boy had been trying to protect him. His hands trembled uncontrollably.
"Qinglan... you..."
"What a truly astonishing performance."
A voice rang out without warning, laced with a hint of mockery and a great deal of amusement.
The Great Elder jerked his head up, his heart nearly leaping into his throat.
A figure in a loose black robe sat motionless atop the courtyard wall.
The raindrops bounced silently away as they neared the shadow, as though striking an invisible, hemispherical barrier. Not one drop touched the robe, black as ink.
The hood was pulled low, hiding the entire face. Only a strange pale-blue glow flickered deep within the shadows.
"Chakra was meant to connect everyone, yet you've abused it, turning it into a weapon and a shackle."
The stranger murmured to himself, his voice low and hoarse, with a deep-seated disgust.
"The Ninjutsu Sect Hagoromo founded... It really was a mistake from the very beginning."
"No. It was Kaguya's mistake."
Kaguya?
Hagoromo?!
The Ninjutsu Sect?!
The words sent shock waves through the Great Elder's heart.
He didn't know the name Kaguya, but he knew all about the Sage who had founded ninjutsu.
According to legend, the person who founded the Ninjutsu Sect... was the Sage of Six Paths...
Was this person connected to the Sage of Six Paths?
No... The story of the Sage of Six Paths founding the Ninjutsu Sect was common knowledge. Perhaps it was just a coincidence...
He told himself that, yet a hint of unease still lingered deep in his heart.
After all, no one had ever silently infiltrated the Hyuga Clan Compound and launched a surprise attack before.
The Great Elder forced down his doubts. The veins around his Byakugan bulged as he assumed a defensive Gentle Fist stance.
"Who are you?! You trespassed into the Hyuga Clan Compound and even injured a Branch Family prodigy!"
"Are you another thief coveting the Byakugan?!"
His roar echoed through the rainy night, jolting the Branch Family guards who had stood frozen in the courtyard.
They quickly came to their senses and flashed into position behind the Great Elder.
Some went to help the wounded; others formed a defensive line.
"Hehehehe..."
The shadow on the courtyard wall chuckled softly.
The laughter wasn't loud, but it carried a composure that sent a chill through the listeners.
He made no attempt to stop the shinobi below from moving. He didn't even raise an eyelid, much less take their defenses seriously.
Beneath the hood, the pale-blue glow rippled gently with his laughter.
He looked down from above at the Great Elder, as insignificant as an ant below.
"Since when did the Byakugan become yours?"
"Besides... shouldn't I be the one calling you thieves?"
His voice suddenly turned cold, radiating pride and contempt.
"You scroll-stealing... bastards."
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