I bet aliens will smash you.

With his thoughts reined in, Hyuga Hane tossed out a scroll, from which seven unconscious Mist Village ninja emerged and landed on the ground.

These were the Mist ninja who had previously assisted the Seven Ninja Swordsmen, intended to serve as smoke bombs.

"Using Nine-Tails Chakra to strengthen you all is a bit of a waste."

Taking out another scroll, Hyuga Hane formed seals with one hand, watching as the ominous, blood-tinged Chakra seeped into the bodies of the seven Mist ninja.

"Aaaah!"

The seven woke up from the excruciating pain, letting out irrepressible screams.

When only half of the Nine-Tails Chakra remained, Hyuga Hane stopped.

The Second Hokage's Impure World Reincarnation could only retain a fraction of a ninja's power, with stronger ninja retaining even less. The most intuitive direction for improving this technique was, naturally, to enhance the strength of the sacrifices and their compatibility with the reanimated ninja.

The Nine-Tails Chakra that Kushina had given him was indeed substantial, but the remainder had other uses; strengthening the sacrifices to this degree was already sufficient.

Watching the scarlet eyes of the Mist ninja lose their sanity and turn toward him with fierce glares, Hane made his next move.

As blood representing personal information fell upon the heads of the seven, Hane formed hand seals.

"Summoning Technique, Impure World Reincarnation!"

Watching as the seven faces he had only recently seen stood neatly in a row amidst the fluttering paper scraps, Hyuga Hane said softly:

"From now on, you shall serve me, Seven Ninja Swordsmen."

"Awake?"

Ranmaru had just opened his eyes when he heard a familiar voice.

"Raiga-sama?"

Raiga Kurosuki, his sclera pitch-black, wore an expression of indescribable complexity, yet he managed a faint smile when facing Ranmaru.

To him, Ranmaru... was not merely eyes or a tool.

"Where is this? I remember being knocked out by that Hyuga ninja."

Ranmaru tried to stand up while leaning against the wall, but his body wouldn't allow it; seeing this, Raiga Kurosuki gently helped him up.

"This is his underground base. I am already a dead man."

He could feel that the hand supporting his shoulder was ice-cold, and combined with the pitch-black sclera of Raiga Kurosuki, Ranmaru did not let out a cry of disbelief, but simply asked:

"His purpose in keeping me..."

"He promised that as long as you assist in his experiments, he will spare your life."

"In that case, Raiga can stay with me, right?"

Raiga Kurosuki's lips moved, but he couldn't utter a word, merely nodding.

"I understand, I will cooperate," Ranmaru said calmly. "As long as I can be with you, it doesn't matter."

"Ranmaru... I am sorry..."

"It seems the reminiscing is over. Let us begin the experiment."

Hyuga Hane stepped out from the shadows, ignoring Raiga Kurosuki's complex, resentful expression, and looked at Ranmaru: "First, tell me about the various abilities of your Kurenai Eye."

"Very well."

Ranmaru patted Raiga Kurosuki reassuringly and whispered: "My Kurenai Eye can see through objects, create illusions, and perform Life Resuscitation..."

"A bit different from what I expected."

In the laboratory, Hyuga Hane looked at the data on the Kurenai Eye with an intrigued expression.

To prevent him from conducting any malicious research, Raiga Kurosuki had shared a piece of gossip with him.

The village where Ranmaru once lived had been inhabited by the Kaguya Clan; his previous mission where he encountered Ranmaru had been related to this.

"Is the Kurenai Eye, which is similar to the Byakugan, a descendant of the Kaguya? Should this be considered some kind of mutation, or perhaps an atavism?"

Regardless of which it was, it was certain that the Kurenai Eye bloodline was inextricably linked to the Byakugan.

"And Life Resuscitation, too? It is yet another ocular technique capable of resolving the Caged Bird. It is a pity that from here on, I can only let my Shadow Clones and the reanimated ninja take over the research."

With only one day left before he and the Fourth were to head to the battlefield, he had no time to deal with these matters.

Thinking of this, Hyuga Hane put down the documents and turned to walk toward the izakaya on the streets of Konoha.

Before leaving, there were a few people he needed to meet.

However, using gambling to verify the future... the Shinobi World truly had many strange things.

Watching Tsunade and a member of the Hyuga clan betting on the size of dice in the izakaya, Hyuga Hane shook his head helplessly.

This should be the tenth person he knew, right?

And an acquaintance at that: Hyuga Miyuki.

Hyuga Hane watched for a moment and was about to step into the izakaya, but the owner at the counter saw him enter, flashed a polite smile, and pointed to the sign at the shop entrance.

Minors keep out!

Hyuga Hane said calmly, "I am here to perform official duties, by order of the Hokage."

The shop owner scratched his head and sighed, "Go on in, but don't drink any alcohol."

His tone clearly showed he did not fully believe Hyuga Hane's words.

However, Hyuga Hane had already anticipated such treatment; after all, it was like this every time.

This shop was very strict with minors, which likely stemmed from some past story...

He walked a few steps toward the table where Tsunade and the others were sitting and was spotted by a somewhat bored Hyuga Miyuki.

She immediately stood up with excitement, as if she had been granted a reprieve, "Hane-kun, you're here to see Lady Tsunade, right?"

This shop was quite unique; if Tsunade hadn't brought her in and promised she wouldn't drink, she wouldn't have been able to enter at all.

Hyuga Hane was the same age as her, so he shouldn't have any reason to be here, let alone come straight to their table.

Seeing Hyuga Hane nod, Miyuki looked at Tsunade and apologized, "Lady Tsunade, I'm sorry, I'll accompany you next time, but I must take my leave for today."

With that, she hurried out of the shop without waiting for Tsunade to respond.

Hyuga Miyuki simply couldn't fathom how anyone in the world could have such terrible luck; ten times, a full ten times, and Tsunade had lost every single one.

Yet Tsunade refused to give up, as if she were determined to win just once, leaving Miyuki with no way to voice her grievances.

Fortunately, she was free now.

Thank you, Hane-kun, I'll bring you a token of appreciation later.

"You brat."

Watching Hyuga Miyuki flee at high speed, Tsunade shot an unhappy glare at Hyuga Hane, "Forget about your official business. Since you're the reason she ran off, you'll have to take her place and keep me company."

Is this about the medical system again?

That guy Minato, I've already clearly refused him, yet he still sends his own Shadow Guard.

Hyuga Hane did not decline Tsunade's invitation, his gaze shifting between the empty wine glasses on the table and Tsunade's slightly tipsy face, "Lady Tsunade, are you troubled by something?"

"Can't I just want to win a single game?" Tsunade rolled her eyes.

"But I've heard that you lose every bet you make. If you're in a bad mood, there's no need to pursue something you can't win."

"I want to!"

Tsunade took a sip of wine and looked at Hyuga Hane with an unrefined posture, "Since you think I'm bound to lose, then find a way to make me win. In any case, I must win at least once recently!"

Is she feeling anxious because she won against Hyuga Hiashi, yet no disaster occurred, and she is trying to change that?

Hyuga Hane was silent for a moment, recalling the report Tokuma had given him a few days ago, and soon a faint smile appeared on his face, "In that case, shall we bet on whether you will have a streak of bad luck today?"

"I bet that you will choke on your wine, choke on your food, and get hit by a Moon Person falling from the sky when you step outside."

"..."

Tsunade shuddered, her drunkenness fading.

"You brat... what kind of joke is that?"

She looked at Hane with a complex expression, her eye twitching, "Are you trying to curse me?"

"Not at all, I just thought that since this is an obviously impossible bet, Lady Tsunade should be able to win," Hyuga Hane laughed.

As for what would happen if Tsunade still lost... that would be a bit terrifying.

If she lost, it would mean an Otsutsuki would fall from the sky...

Then Madara could call Tsunade the strongest in the Shinobi World!

After all, it would be the ability to summon an Otsutsuki at any time...

It must be said that Hyuga Hane's proposal did indeed pique Tsunade's interest.

Every time she won, she would lose something.

But after winning against Hyuga Hiashi previously, nothing had happened recently. Without a clue, the unease in her heart had been piling up.

She had been betting with different people lately, just to see if there was any time left.

After all, whenever bad luck was imminent, her luck had always been very good.

She didn't just bet with the Hyuga; she bet with others too, but because of Hiashi, she had sought out the Hyuga Clan more often.

And the result... was, as expected, a total defeat.