Working with Hyuga Aya

The figure gradually emerged from the darkness.

"Aya? What is it?"

Yusuke's voice was calm, but he had already activated Sensory Ninjutsu and was probing the area around him.

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Hyuga Aya had changed out of her combat gear and was wearing simple everyday clothes.

The pure white moonlight fell across her pale eyes and her already somewhat pallid skin, giving her a touch of ethereal beauty.

Hyuga Aya did not answer at once. She stepped closer, her gaze sweeping over the greatsword in Yusuke's hand.

"Your strength doesn't seem like that of a Chunin."

"Taking out a Root squad is beyond what even an ordinary Jonin could do."

Yusuke's gaze sharpened. He had no idea what she was after.

If this got out and she became a witness, Danzo would definitely use it as an excuse to brand him a traitor.

He still needed Konoha as a platform. This was no time to burn bridges.

He had thought that since Inuzuka Go and Hyuga Aya had helped him kill Root members, making them accomplices, they wouldn't go out of their way to cause trouble.

It seemed he had been wrong after all. He had placed too much faith in his own judgment.

Yusuke's chakra stirred silently, locking onto Hyuga Aya.

If she made even the slightest move, he would strike without hesitation, ending everything before she could send a signal.

Hyuga Aya seemed to sense that faint trace of killing intent, but there was no fear on her face. Instead, she smiled slightly.

She was usually so cold that seeing her smile like this was rather striking.

"Don't worry. I won't report you."

"Why?"

"Reporting you might be a chance for the Hyuga Clan to curry favor with the higher-ups."

Yusuke asked, his tone still cold and probing.

"Curry favor?"

"Whom would we be currying favor with? Shimura Danzo? Or the Main Family, who treat those of us in the Branch Family as tools?"

The mockery at the corner of Hyuga Aya's mouth deepened. She slowly raised her hand and removed her Forehead Protector, the motion weighed down with emotion.

The moonlight fell unobstructed, illuminating her smooth forehead.

The blue-green mark was laid bare, clear as day.

Her usually icy, indifferent face now showed pain and hatred she could barely conceal.

"I came to you because I want to ask for your help."

"Help me break this seal."

Hyuga Aya's voice dropped, trembling slightly.

Yusuke watched her in silence. He knew how terrifying the Caged Bird mark was. With a single thought, the Main Family could make a Branch Family member's brain die.

"Why should I help you? And what makes you think I'm capable of it?"

There was little emotion in Yusuke's voice.

Hyuga Aya met his gaze, her pale eyes sharpening.

"I've been watching you for a long time—longer than you think. I started after Lady Tsunade carried you back."

"You dared to stand against Danzo, the Hokage Assistant. You're not someone who's content to accept things as they are."

"You need allies, especially allies with influence among the higher-ups."

She paused, then continued, "The Caged Bird is a powerful Sealing Jutsu."

"But I don't believe that the man known as the 'Master of Forbidden Jutsu,' Tobirama Senju, never studied it."

"His notes from before he died might be in Lady Tsunade's hands, or among the Senju Clan's collection."

"So your real goal is to use me to get a connection to Tsunade?"

Yusuke understood what she was thinking. This woman was clever, and she had a keen mind.

"Yes." Hyuga Aya admitted it without hesitation.

"I need Lord Tobirama's notes as a reference."

"I also need the help of Lady Tsunade, a top medical ninja. That's the only way we might find a way to break the Caged Bird."

"My parents were forced by this mark to take blades meant for the Main Family. They died because of it."

"Until the day they died, they were nothing but shields for the Main Family."

"I don't want to share their fate."

Her gaze drifted into the distance, as if she had fallen into a memory. Her voice carried a cold hatred.

Silence settled between them for a moment.

From her words, Yusuke could easily infer that she had people backing her.

Most likely, they were Hyuga Branch Family ninja who refused to be controlled by the Main Family until the day they died.

He quickly weighed the pros and cons. Hyuga Aya's offer carried risks, but its potential gains were enormous.

A Hyuga Branch Family prodigy free of the Caged Bird's control, along with a group of Branch Family members.

If he could help them overthrow the Main Family and make them allies, their value would be immeasurable.

"The world is cruel, Hyuga Aya. Just because you're weak and your life is miserable doesn't mean people will help you for free."

"What can you offer in exchange for your freedom?"

"Show me what you have to bargain with."

"Empty promises won't get you the Senju Clan's secret notes or Tsunade's help."

Yusuke laid out the bare facts.

Hyuga Aya seemed to have come prepared. She tied her Forehead Protector back on, covering the mark of her shame.

"First, I'll help you now. I'll keep what happened with the Root squad to myself."

"And on our upcoming missions, I'll be your most reliable blade."

"We can watch each other's backs and deal with Danzo's schemes."

"Second, I'll help you in the future. If you help me break the Caged Bird, I, Hyuga Aya, will help you with things that can't be done in the open."

"I can be your sharpest spear or your strongest shield."

"Third, information on the Hyuga Main Family. I know many of their secrets, their weaknesses, and the dealings they want kept hidden."

"That should be useful to you when you face the Konoha High Command in the future."

"Fourth, the friendship of the Hyuga Branch Family—or, after we win the civil war, the friendship of the Hyuga Clan. We can support Lady Tsunade's rise to the position of Fourth Hokage."

She spoke with conviction, but Yusuke was left speechless.

On the surface, her terms were specific and substantial.

She was offering support in battle now, a powerful fighter in the future, inside information on the Main Family, and support for Tsunade's bid for the Hokage position.

But in reality, she was trying to get something for nothing. All the benefits she promised would only come after they successfully broke the Caged Bird Seal.

This woman really thinks I'm an idiot. Yusuke was almost laughing with anger.

But he was still prepared to agree. He was trying to get something for nothing too.

In that sense, they were evenly matched.

Yusuke spoke. "I can try bringing this up with Tsunade."

"But I can't guarantee I'll get the notes, or that she'll agree to help."

"That's enough."

Relief flashed across Hyuga Aya's face as she smiled. "As long as you're willing to try."

"Remember what you said today."

"I hate betrayal. If I find out you have other intentions, or you turn on me halfway through..."

Yusuke's tone turned cold. He left the rest unsaid, but the icy killing intent made his meaning clear.

"Those in the Hyuga Branch Family hate betrayal more than anyone." Hyuga Aya spoke solemnly.

In her eyes, the Hyuga Main Family had betrayed the entire Hyuga Clan. For the sake of their damn bloodline purity, they enslaved a Branch Family twenty times their size.

Hyuga Aya said no more. She turned and melted into the night, vanishing from sight.

Yusuke stood where he was, the moonlight stretching his shadow long across the ground.

This trip to the Land of Whirlpools had turned out to be more troublesome than he'd expected. Danzo's threat remained, and now he had been dragged into the Hyuga Clan's internal feud as well.

"Caged Bird... Caged Bird..."

He murmured under his breath, his fingers brushing the Flying Thunder God Kunai in his ninja tool pouch.

"Perhaps this really is an opportunity—a fulcrum to shift Konoha's established order."