Impure World Reincarnation

"I thought you'd choose another way to deal with the Caged Bird, Hane."

The figure that had suddenly appeared smiled.

"Lord Orochimaru, neither you nor I have any interest in researching a boring jutsu like the Caged Bird. Wouldn't it be better to leave breaking it to someone else?"

Hane wasn't surprised by Orochimaru's arrival. He simply focused on removing Hyuga Hisanobu's Byakugan.

The underground lab had been built near Konoha's main camp. Hane couldn't have built it himself.

Its owner was none other than Orochimaru.

"I'm not interested in freeing anyone else from the Caged Bird, but I'm very interested in freeing you from yours, Hane."

"So Lord Orochimaru still hasn't given up on extracting information directly from my mind?"

"Nobody likes having to obtain information by force."

Orochimaru came to the operating table and looked at the two eyeballs Hane had placed in separate containers. He licked his lips.

"The Byakugan of the Main Branch. A fine specimen for research."

At this, Hane picked up one of the containers and handed it to Orochimaru. The latter accepted it with narrowed eyes and, in turn, took out a scroll.

"This is the Impure World Reincarnation Jutsu. You'll need it for your plan, won't you?"

Hane accepted it, sweetening the deal of his own accord.

"Like the Sharingan, the Byakugan can also evolve. The condition is to fuse it with the Byakugan of the Ōtsutsuki Clan on the moon, but... we can't do that."

Orochimaru was pleased to learn another intriguing secret.

As long as he had a lead and someone lifted the veil, he could make many discoveries.

But Hane's claim that it couldn't be done made him frown slightly.

"Can't be done? This is the first time I've seen you lose your nerve, Hane."

"Don't even consider it unless you have the strength of the God of Shinobi."

Ignoring Orochimaru's teasing, Hane shook his head.

According to Toneri, evolving the Byakugan into the Tenseigan required Ōtsutsuki blood from the moon.

But that would be difficult to obtain.

The Ōtsutsuki on the moon were indeed powerful—not because of their individual strength, but because of the Giant Tenseigan.

If they started a war recklessly, the Giant Tenseigan might be activated and send the moon crashing down from the sky, destroying the Shinobi World. They would have to consider their options carefully.

"I'm curious where you get all your information, Hane. I once reincarnated a member of the Hyuga Main Family, but all he knew was that the moon had distant relatives of the Hyuga Clan who coveted the Byakugan. He didn't know anything about its evolution."

Orochimaru studied the Byakugan as he spoke with pointed meaning.

The boy before him had come to him at the age of twelve, offering the secrets of the Uchiha Clan and the Senju Clan in exchange for his guidance.

At the time, Orochimaru had nearly abandoned his Wood Release experiments. But because of that exchange, he had taken them up again.

The Uchiha and Senju were descendants of the Sage of Six Paths, their powers derived from the same source and complementing each other. This information had greatly advanced his experiments—he had even created a monster.

Still, more intriguing than the secrets he had already learned was the boy himself.

"You're strong enough to protect yourself now. You don't need to keep the Self-Destruction Jutsu active all the time. It's dangerous," Orochimaru said gently.

At twelve, Hane hadn't been as strong as he was now. The gap between them had been enormous.

If Hane hadn't set up a jutsu in his mind—one that would make his eyeballs explode if foreign chakra invaded, triggering the Caged Bird and destroying his nerves and memories—Orochimaru would have taken control of him long ago and searched his memories.

As for killing Hane and using the Impure World Reincarnation to question him... that would have been too wasteful.

The boy was probably the most talented member of the Hyuga Clan alive!

That much was clear from the fact that Hane's Byakugan could see twice as far as those of ordinary Hyuga clan members. He was the perfect subject for studying the power of the Hyuga Clan.

"I still feel a lot of pressure when I'm around you."

Hane's expression remained calm, but he slowed as he examined the Impure World Reincarnation scroll, his body tensing.

Orochimaru had too many tricks up his sleeve. Even if the information Hane possessed meant Orochimaru wouldn't touch him for now, and he had another card that could save his life, he couldn't let his guard down.

"I wouldn't attack a comrade," Orochimaru said with an amused, helpless smile.

You didn't stop me when I attacked today. And you even switched battle zones with Jiraiya to make it easier to get your hands on Sharingan. So much for not attacking a comrade. Who'd believe that?

After silently complaining, Hane suddenly looked up and asked, "Lord Orochimaru, do you have a sacrifice for the Impure World Reincarnation?"

Orochimaru casually took out a scroll and released a Kirigakure Ninja he had captured. He didn't care that Hane wanted to test whether the Impure World Reincarnation was genuine.

The Second Hokage's Impure World Reincarnation was only a prototype. The strength of the ninja it summoned was pitiful compared to their original bodies, so they posed little threat to him.

And Orochimaru already had an idea of how to improve the jutsu, so he wasn't worried about trading it away.

"Do you have personal information about a ninja? Or are you going to experiment on this member of the Hyuga Main Family?"

Hane didn't answer. Under Orochimaru's puzzled gaze, he drew the Impure World Reincarnation array on a blank scroll, cut his own palm, and pressed his blood onto it to serve as the personal information.

"Summoning Technique: Impure World Reincarnation!"

Hane brought his palms together and watched as gray-white paper gradually covered the Kirigakure Ninja, transforming him into a tiny child who seemed freshly born. He thought to himself:

As expected, from the moment we're born, we live by taking someone else's name. Reincarnation, rebirth, merging with the original soul—those are just comforting lies.

It had worked on the first try.

Orochimaru's mildly interested expression turned grave.

His blood had summoned someone else? Was Hane a reincarnated person, like Orochimaru was with his Living Corpse Reincarnation?

"You really have surprised me, Hane."

Hane released the Impure World Reincarnation, allowing the newly born soul to return to the Pure Land, then said softly:

"Lord Orochimaru, it seems our partnership can last a long time. After all, if I die, the Impure World Reincarnation won't work either."

"Seems that way."

Orochimaru regained his usual composure and said with interest, "There are quite a few Hyuga Branch Family members on the Mist Village Battlefield this time. Who do you need to sacrifice? Would you like my help?"

"Let them choose for themselves."

Hane's voice was cold. "Some people have been kneeling for so long they can't stand back up. They may as well never get up again."

Just as he had told Hyuga Hisanobu, Hane personally had no interest in taking revenge on the Main Family. But the pain of having the Caged Bird removed—and the pain of enduring the procedure—might be more than the Hyuga Main Family could withstand.

Starting the next day, some Hyuga Clan ninja suddenly dropped dead when they encountered enemies. Word that the Kirigakure might have learned the Caged Bird Jutsu quickly spread throughout the camp.

Orochimaru, commander-in-chief of the Mist Village Battlefield, immediately issued an order.

—All Hyuga ninja were to return to Konoha at once.

Naturally, Hane was among them.