A Failed Possession

Hiugo drained Hyuga Ao's Chakra with wooden vines, then wrapped him up and strangled him to death before tossing his corpse aside.

Hyuga Ao had controlled the Explosive Tags with Chakra. The advantage was that he could detonate them directly with Chakra; the disadvantage was that they shut down once he ran out.

The Explosive Tags were a decent resource, but to avoid the possibility of a trigger mechanism being hidden among them, Hiugo simply used his wood to toss them far away.

With that done, Hiugo shot a branch at Hyuga Zhi's head. Thanks to that unknown Aburame ninja, he knew some people's hearts were on the right side, so he always aimed for the head to make sure they were dead.

Hiugo went over to Senju Shinji and helped him up.

"How are you? Still alive?"

Senju Shinji was bleeding from the stomach. His face pale, he said, "I'm fine. I won't die. Hiugo, I can walk on my own. You don't have to help me..."

As soon as he finished speaking, Hiugo vanished from the spot and used his vines to search Hyuga Zhi's body.

Senju Shinji nearly fell to his knees. At the last second, he managed to steady himself by bracing a hand against a nearby tree.

"Hiugo, what are you doing?"

"It's strange. They have Byakugan and could've avoided us, but they acted like they were being chased by the Senju and were desperate to catch me. I'm checking to see if they hid anything."

"But you're not checking the other one?"

Hiugo looked at Senju Shinji speechlessly. "They're all Explosive Tags. What am I supposed to look at? Their artistic merit?"

"..."

Senju Shinji silently swallowed a pill without saying a word. The Sage of Six Paths had given him information, so he knew this man had supplies on him. But now that Hiugo had found them, there was no chance he could keep them for himself.

As the two talked, a vine picked up a scroll and opened it by channeling Chakra into it. Inside was a pile of things.

Hiugo's expression grew more and more puzzled. It was strange. The two Hyuga had come out of nowhere to fight him, and they were carrying supplies, too.

Honestly, if Senju Shinji and the other guy hadn't both been badly injured, Hiugo would've suspected they had some kind of special deal going on. This wasn't a game where enemies dropped loot when you beat them.

"How do you want to divide the supplies?"

"Do you want the truth or a lie?"

Senju Shinji grew interested. "What's the lie? And what's the truth?"

Hiugo smiled. "The lie is that I kill you and take all the spoils."

In a gentle voice, the boy spoke cruel words.

"And the truth?"

"One share for you, one for me, and one for the clan."

Senju Shinji's mouth twitched. He had a feeling that if he refused, the truth might turn into a lie.

After they divided the supplies, they returned to the clan's territory. Since Hiugo's Wood Style had drained the Byakugan's source Chakra, there was no point in removing the eyes.

Senju Shinji had managed to suppress his injuries, but he still needed treatment as soon as possible, so they headed back without further delay.

After the two had gone some distance, Black Zetsu came over to investigate. He had been watching the fight and had sensed that something went wrong when Hiugo took care of Hyuga Ao.

Hyuga Ao's Explosive Tags posed little threat to him. After possessing Ao, Black Zetsu had quickly noticed that the young man's body was weak and had lost something important.

Ordinary people wouldn't have noticed such a thing, but it was easy for one of Kaguya's three sons to tell.

Black Zetsu checked Hyuga Zhi as well and found the exact same situation.

"Wood Style that can drain someone's source Chakra... I never knew it could do that."

Black Zetsu was overjoyed. He felt it was a gift from heaven. There were plenty of ninja around Hiugo, including sensor types, but no one had ever reported anything unusual about him. That meant he also had some kind of ability to devour and absorb.

What would happen if he kept devouring? Could he awaken the Sharingan?

Black Zetsu couldn't wait to investigate. The best way was to possess him.

To keep his identity hidden, he decided to wait until night, when everyone was asleep, and give it a try.

That night, after a "long" wait, Black Zetsu slipped into Hiugo's room.

Seeing Hiugo fast asleep, it immediately possessed him. In an instant, branches shot out and rapidly grew.

"It's no use. That kind of ninjutsu won't work on me. I'm one of Kaguya's three sons."

Black Zetsu thought this to himself as he quietly sensed everything about the young body. Suddenly, it felt a pull.

"What?"

Black Zetsu sensed that some of its power was being drained. The amount was slight, but it was real, and the pull was growing stronger.

The black liquid surged, quickly retreating from Hiugo. As it watched the boy drool in his sleep, Black Zetsu felt a flicker of fear.

"Is this really the ninja I created?"

Black Zetsu began to doubt itself, but the next second, it fled the room. For some reason, one gaze fell upon it, followed by a second, a third, a fourth... Then they vanished in an instant.

What was going on...

Black Zetsu hated being watched. It had only lasted a moment, but it could feel that it had been locked onto. That gaze came from eyes just like those of its brother in name, Otsutsuki Hagoromo.

The Rinnegan...

Was it just my imagination? How could that be?

Black Zetsu had been monitoring the Warring States period. It was impossible for someone to have the Rinnegan without it noticing. Besides, the Rinnegan wasn't easy to awaken.

"That kid is strange. I'd better avoid getting too close and find another way to test him."

Wariness showed in Black Zetsu's eyes. As a schemer, it had no easy way to deal with such a strange, unknown situation.

If things had been within its expectations and under its control, it would have killed Hiugo without hesitation. But Indra's reincarnation was still growing, and its plan to "save Mother" was still far from complete.

If it erased this variable now, what would it do if Indra's reincarnation and Asura's reincarnation later killed each other and it needed his power?

So, for the sake of Mother, it could only let this variable live a little longer.

Even if Hiugo grew stronger, it didn't matter. How long could a ninja live? He would eventually die of old age, while Black Zetsu had an endless lifespan.

It was an "invincible" being, a child destined to fulfill the mission of saving Mother.

For now, Black Zetsu slipped in again and possessed Senju Shinji.

In his dream, Senju Shinji was furious about what had happened that day and had begun to doubt the Sage of Six Paths.

The Sage of Six Paths didn't care. It was well acquainted with the process: ninja were greedy for benefits and responded to danger with anger and fear.

It simply told him that he would receive a gift from it once he woke up.

The next morning,

Senju Shinji woke up to discover that he had broken through to the peak elite jonin level in his sleep.

He had broken through to elite jonin years ago, but had never been able to find a path to the peak. He hadn't expected to break through so naturally after being badly injured the day before.

At the peak elite jonin level, he would be among the clan's top fighters. He could attend the clan's highest-level meetings and would become a target for the various factions to recruit, giving him a significant boost in status.

And if he had the ability, he could even try to become the third clan leader. Those were privileges that elite jonin weren't qualified for. His anger toward the Sage of Six Paths faded away completely.