Half Awake, Half Mad

Hiugo had received orders from Senju Zhenyang to stay hidden after finishing off the enemy, so he hadn't gone to the battle.

Although the two Hyuga Branch Family ninjas bore the Caged Bird Seal, there was nothing wrong with their bloodlines themselves.

After absorbing them with the black branches, Hiugo found himself back in the blood-red space from his dream.

Among the many glass orbs ahead, the one depicting the Sharingan quietly shattered. A cold, sinister Chakra flowed through his body before finally entering his eyes.

For a moment, the world seemed to grow clearer. He felt as though he had gained control over his body and his ninjutsu as well.

Hiugo looked down at the puddle on the ground. In its reflection, a pair of crimson One-Tomoe Sharingan were clearly visible.

Hiugo had previously absorbed two members of the Uchiha Clan. Now, the proportions of Hyuga and Uchiha blood in him were one to one.

The reason he had awakened the Sharingan lay with Hiugo himself.

He was of the Senju Clan. His ancestor before him was Asura, and before Asura was the Sage of Six Paths, also known as Otsutsuki Hagoromo.

Both the Sharingan and Byakugan were essentially "Sage Eyes," manifestations of Yin Release.

Since his bloodline leaned more toward Otsutsuki Hagoromo's line, the power that emerged once he had sufficient Yin Release was the Sharingan.

Hiugo felt the power in his eyes, then shut them off at once.

He was in the Warring States period, when the Senju and Uchiha bore an irreconcilable hatred for each other. If these eyes appeared on him, they would surely bring endless trouble.

"Put simply, I'm just too weak. Once I'm strong enough to be a clan head, I can use whatever I want..."

Hiugo sighed to himself and waited quietly where he was.

After a while, Senju Zhenyang arrived with Tobirama. The three regrouped, rested, replenished their Chakra, and continued their mission.

Yin-Yang Shenfeng slowly woke up and glanced at the Black Toad beneath him. He sighed quietly.

"Thanks for all your hard work, buddy. Take a rest."

"Ribbit, ribbit."

The Black Toad stopped. It wasn't especially huge, standing only five meters tall, but it could carry a person without any trouble.

Yin-Yang Shenfeng looked at his hand. Three long lines—red, black, and white—ran along his wrist, each representing the general state of one of his current summoning beasts.

Among the three, the white line was already very short and dim, and looked ready to vanish at any moment.

Thanks to their unique Summoning Contract, the Onmyo Clan could summon all their beasts at once. But every beast that died permanently took a portion of its summoner's Chakra with it.

Memories of the past surfaced in Yin-Yang Shenfeng's mind, and his expression darkened.

A troublesome ninja had appeared during his previous mission, so he'd resolved to train and form a contract with a fourth summoning beast.

It was then that he sensed a giant cat demon, its body covered in blue flames and bearing two tails.

The moment their Chakra made contact, he was smashed to pieces. The contract was declared a failure, and his soul was damaged. Even his giant dog, with its healing and life-saving abilities, was left on the verge of death.

Then, under the pressure of that powerful Chakra, he went mad...

"If I could obtain its power, then given time, I, Yin-Yang Shenfeng, would surely make something of myself."

Yin-Yang Shenfeng didn't want to give up. The amount of Chakra alone told him how precious this long-dreamed-of power was. It was right in front of him now, yet he couldn't claim it.

"I have to go to the Land of Water and find Spirit Awakening Grass. It's the only way I can regain my ability to train."

Although he was lucid now, he would lose consciousness again before long and fall into madness.

"Ribbit, ribbit."

"You're saying someone's coming?"

Yin-Yang Shenfeng's eyes shifted. He immediately formed Hand Seals and shared vision with the Black Toad. Ever since the first time he'd regained consciousness and found his hands covered in blood, he'd known the clan would put out a warrant for his arrest.

"Two brats think they can hunt me down? Old buddy, poison mist!"

Yin-Yang Shenfeng patted the Black Toad's head, then formed Hand Seals.

"Wind Release: Divine Wind!"

The Black Toad spewed a mouthful of black poison mist along with the ninjutsu. The two combined into a black gust that swept toward the rear.

In the distance, the Senju duo had just found the toad's footprints when they saw a black gust rushing toward them.

It was pitch-black and obviously poisonous. Hiugo immediately swallowed a pill and snorted.

"Picking on us just because we're young. Once we're older, we won't be scared of a little poison."

Ninjas had a certain resistance to poison, and members of the Senju Clan with their Sage Body were even more resistant.

Tobirama swallowed a pill as well and warned him, "Be careful. The other guy's got a few screws loose. He cast Wind Release from that far away, so its power's already been greatly reduced."

"Clearly. He cast a jutsu from so far away that nobody could possibly miss him..."

Though they kept talking, their hands were quick. They used the Water Formation Wall together to defend themselves.

Seeing that his ninjutsu had little effect, Yin-Yang Shenfeng used the Summoning Technique.

A cloud of smoke appeared, followed by a red centipede about fifteen meters long. It burrowed straight into the ground.

The Senju duo felt the earth tremble slightly. A huge centipede head burst out of the ground and snapped at them.

They reacted quickly, leaping onto the centipede's head as they formed Hand Seals. They drew their Kunai, and water formed blades along them. The blades struck the centipede's back and slid down its shell.

The two landed and looked at the centipede's back. They had barely left a mark.

The centipede burrowed underground again, having failed to hit them, and began searching for another opportunity.

A faint tremor traveled through the ground. The centipede was moving underground, but it wasn't in a hurry to attack. Its main task was to hold the two of them back and let Yin-Yang Shenfeng get away.

Tobirama said quietly, "Water Release didn't do much just now. And with the way it's attacking, it should be a summoning beast that can use Earth Release."

Hiugo nodded in agreement. "This thing's cautious. We have to lure it out. Too bad neither of us has an earth nature, or this would be much easier."

Tobirama looked toward the direction Yin-Yang Shenfeng had fled and made up his mind. "I'll be the bait. You use Lightning Release to take it out."

With that, he ran after Yin-Yang Shenfeng. The centipede's primary task as a summoning beast was to delay the two of them, and Tobirama's move raised the priority of its attack.

The sounds around them gradually followed Tobirama. When he was no longer far away, the centipede burst from the ground again and lunged at him. Its teeth had barely touched him when the living person turned into a tree stump.

Lightning Release: Explosive Lightning Spear!

A spear of lightning struck the centipede at that very moment. The violent Chakra erupted a second later, and the centipede's remains crashed to the ground.

"An A-rank Lightning Release? Did Uncle Genma teach you?"

Tobirama looked surprised.

Hiugo rolled his eyes. What was he pretending for? He didn't believe a clan head's son wouldn't have an A-rank ninjutsu in reserve.

As Yin-Yang Shenfeng fled, he sensed the centipede's death and looked saddened.

If there were nothing wrong with him, he could use the giant dog to hold off enemies, have the centipede attack from the shadows, and let the Black Toad launch poison from a distance. That would be enough to deal with most opponents.

But now, because of the damage to his soul, he could only hold them back.