New Life and Undercurrents

In the Land of Fire, in a forest a few dozen miles from the northeastern border, a group of four people were heading northeast.

Three of the Jōnin wearing Forehead Protector from Kumogakure, and in the middle of them was a ninja whose body was bound by ropes; this was Hizashi Hyuga, who was impersonating Hyuga Hiashi.

"Let's hurry, we're only a few dozen miles from the border. Raikage-sama has sent people there to meet us."

The leader, a Kumogakure Jonin, spoke up.

"Um."

"Hurry up!" Another Kumogakure Jonin shoved Hizashi Hyuga, rudely telling him to move faster.

"Hey, Chloe, don't do that. This is the head of the Hyuga clan, after all. Don't treat him like this." The leading Kumogakure Jonin stopped his companion's behavior.

"He's just a prisoner. If he goes to our Kumogakure, do you think he'll still..."

The Jonin named Chloe Jōnin somewhat disdainful, because he believed that Konoha would never agree to hand over the Hyuga clan leader. However, Konoha had backed down, which meant that the losses Konoha suffered in the Third Shinobi World War were much greater than anyone had imagined. Otherwise, why would Konoha compromise?

"Enough!" The leading Kumogakure Jonin shouted sternly, then pulled Chloe aside and whispered a reminder, "Although Konoha has compromised, don't forget that we're still within the Land of Fire. There are Konoha's sentries everywhere. If Konoha goes back on their word, they can kill the three of us at any time. It's a small matter if we die, but if the Raikage-sama doesn't get Byakugan, then this plan will have completely failed."

They could have chosen to gouge out the Hyuga Clan Leader's eyes as soon as they left Konoha, but that would have been too obvious.

Moreover, none of them are Medical Ninja and do not know Medical Ninjutsu. If they damage the meridians around the eyeball during the process of gouging out the eye, or if the Byakugan dies due to improper preservation, then they will have paid the price of three Jōnin in vain.

Of course, on the other hand, they were also giving Konoha some face, at least waiting until the Hyuga Clan Leader was brought out of the Land of Fire before taking action, so as not to touch the Hyuga clan's fragile nerves again.

As they left, dozens, even hundreds Hyūga clan members wished they could tear them apart alive.

"I understand," Chloe, clearly still somewhat unconvinced. However, she knew she couldn't humiliate the Hyuga Clan Leader too much or challenge Konoha's bottom line. Although she thought Konoha was full of cowards with no bottom line, she kept quiet.

The group of four maintained their current pace, continuing their journey without stopping.

An hour later, the stone monument standing beside the border of the Land of Fire came into view.

"Where are the people sent by Raikage-sama to meet us?" Chloe looked around.

"It should be just ahead, let's hurry." The leading Kumogakure Jonin reminded him. At first, he was in a leisurely manner, but now that they were about to leave the Land of Fire, and their Third Raikage would obtain the Byakugan and become even stronger, he became excited.

"Let's go!" another Kumogakure Jonin urged Hizashi Hyuga.

Hizashi Hyuga walked forward with a calm and composed demeanor, head held high and chest out.

Once he crosses the border, he will use Chakra to strike the Caged Bird Curse Seal in his brain. At that time, the leaders of the Hyuga Main Family in Konoha will activate the Caged Bird Seal, completely destroying his brain and eyes.

Seeing his demeanor, even Chloe, who looked down on Konoha, couldn't help but look at the Hyuga Clan Leader with new respect.

To be able to face death so fearlessly and calmly is something not every ninja can do.

Especially considering he was the head of the Hyuga clan Konoha, holding a high position, yet he remained composed even after being reduced to a prisoner. It's hard not to admire him.

If he resolutely refuses to go to Kumogakure, Konoha will probably have no choice but to First Shinobi World War Kumogakure for the sake of the Hyuga clan, which is not the purpose of their trip.

Ultimately, the fact that someone like the Hyuga Clan Leader chose to sacrifice himself to avoid war is indeed a sign of weakness on the Konoha High-Level, but it also demonstrates his own spirit of self-sacrifice.

Such a spirited clan leader, such a powerful Ninja Clan, how wonderful it would be if they belonged to the Kumogakure.

"Mr. Hiashi, please." Chloe changed her previous attitude and gestured for Hizashi Hyuga to go first.

"Hmm." Hizashi Hyuga nodded and walked forward.

It was a road to death, but for him, it was also a road to freedom.

Rumble~

Just as the group was about to cross the border of the Land of Fire, the ground of the entire forest began to tremble.

"What's going on?!"

"Careful!"

"A ninja from Konoha?"

The three from Kumogakure were immediately shocked, never expecting that the Konoha ninja would go back on their word and attack them just as they were about to leave the border.

Hizashi Hyuga was stunned, somewhat confused. He didn't think the village would come to his rescue at this time, because he knew the Main Family.

Aside from his elder brother Hiashi, who might genuinely grieve over his death, the other Main Family ninjas wouldn't risk their lives for a mere branch Branch Family ninja like him.

At this moment, the ground began to be squeezed open by the newly sprouted green saplings, and these palm-sized saplings quickly grew into trees as thick as a person could hug in an instant.

The trees began to wriggle rapidly as if they were alive, completely enclosing the once dense forest and even sealing off the space above, forming a closed space made of trees. The once clear sky had disappeared, and the entire space had become dark with extremely low visibility.

Wood Release: Advent of the World of Trees!

Boom!

The thick tree trunk lashed out at the three Kumogakure Jonin like tentacles, and the three quickly dodged within the confined space.

The tree trunk containing Chakra is fundamentally different from ordinary trees. Its hardness is comparable to that of a metal weapon, and it leaves a large crater the moment it hits the ground.

A tremendous noise echoed continuously within the enclosed space of the trees.

"This is the legendary Wood Release?!"

However, as the three Kumogakure Jonin dodged awkwardly, they soon realized something was wrong. Hizashi Hyuga, standing in the center, remained motionless and showed no intention of dodging. Meanwhile, the thick tree trunks attacking them were able to avoid Hizashi Hyuga's position time and time again, often coming within ten centimeters of Hizashi Hyuga.

"Quick! Go to the hostages!" The leading Kumogakure Jonin signaled to his companions as soon as he noticed the problem.

They had initially only guessed that the people of Konoha had gone back on their word, but now they were absolutely certain that it was the people of Konoha who had done it.

Since the death of the First Hokage, the God of Shinobi, it seems that the only person in the Shinobi World who can use Wood Release Nawaki, the grandson of the First Hokage.

"Damn Konoha!"

The three cursed under their breath and quickly ran towards Hizashi Hyuga's direction.

However, just as they set off, they suddenly found themselves in complete darkness.

This is completely different from the feeling of low visibility and not being able to see things. It's like being completely blind, and a terrifying darkness has appeared.

Immediately afterwards, the three felt a profound silence around them, as if the entire space had quieted down, or as if they had suddenly lost their hearing.

"What's going on?!"

The three tried to shout, but found they couldn't make a sound. At the same time, their bodies seemed to be out of their control.

Boom!

The massive tree trunk crashed down, striking the three Kumogakure Jonin stunned. Their bodies were instantly smashed and embedded deep into the ground, their blood soaking the large patch of grass.

At this moment, a tall man shrouded in black robes and whose entire head was covered by a white mask appeared on the tree trunk. He was Shiraha's first incarnation, "Kodama".

As time went on, Kodama's mastery of Wood Release became increasingly proficient. At the same time, due to his outstanding Ninjutsu talent, he also learned some Forbidden Technique that Shiraha had obtained from the Book of Seals.

Among them is the Dark Travel Technique, Rank A Bringer-of-Darkness Technique developed by the Second Hokage Tobirama Senju. This is a high-level Genjutsu developed by the Second Hokage specifically to Sharingan of the Uchiha Clan.

It can create a dark environment and block the opponent's vision.

In the dark environment, only the caster and teammates can see and attack objects within the environment.

Under the influence of the spell, the enemy will experience visual hallucinations and be robbed of all their light.

Based on his own needs and the insights into Uchiha Genjutsu he gained from Uchiha Issei's Uchiha, Shiraha further developed this Genjutsu, upgrading it from simply depriving people of sight to depriving them of all five senses, thus affecting their sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch simultaneously.

The new technique was named "All-Encompassing Darkness" by Shiraha, but it can only affect vision, hearing, and touch at present, and has not yet reached the point of truly shutting down the five senses.

Furthermore, Shiraha plans to combine this technique with the Sorcery Array, but he has no clue how to proceed yet.

Because of his innate talent, the Kodama quickly learned "All-Encompassing Darkness".

On Shiraha's orders, Kodama rushed from Amegakure to the Land of Fire. He found Hizashi Hyuga early on and followed him all the way using the Mayfly Technique until the four of them arrived at the border, where he finally killed the three Jōnin from Kumogakure.

The tree trunk, like a pair of large hands, respectfully lifted the Kodama and placed it in front of Hizashi Hyuga.

The tree trunk in the enclosed space trembled slowly, revealing some gaps at the top.

Through the dim light, Hizashi Hyuga could make out the man's attire. "Who are you? Why can you also use Wood Release?"

Hizashi Hyuga had seen Nawaki use Wood Release before, and he knew that the person in front of him was definitely not Nawaki.

Nawaki's Wood Release is not yet at this level, and it is still unclear whether the person in front of him is friend or foe.

"I'm here to save you," Kodama's deep, resonant voice rang out.

"Save me?" Hizashi Hyuga frowned. "I chose to die willingly. I don't need anyone to save me. You haven't answered my questions yet. Who are you? Why do you use Wood Release? Do you know that your actions could very well ignite a war between Konoha and Kumogakure?"

"Konoha treats you like this, and yet you still care about Konoha at a time like this," Kodama said calmly.

"Whether you want to start a war between Konoha and Kumogakure, or you want my Byakugan, I will not let you have your way. As long as I die with the ninjas of Kumogakure, Kumogakure will have no reason to attack Konoha." With that, Hizashi Hyuga Chakra and launched an attack on the Caged Bird Seal in his brain.

The Kodama asked, "What if I could grant you true freedom?"

"True freedom?" Hizashi Hyuga paused for a moment, then replied, "Death is the only way for me to gain freedom."

"No, you're shirking your responsibility. Neji? If he wants to pursue freedom, will he choose death like you?"

Kodama countered with a question.

Upon hearing Kodama mention Neji, Hizashi Hyuga's expression changed, his previous composure vanished, and he said in a deep voice, "This is none of your business! Neji will understand me sooner or later."

"You're just deceiving yourself. How can dying with regrets and lingering attachments be considered true freedom?" Kodama said in a deep voice. "True freedom is breaking the Cursed Seal of the Caged Bird Seal, allowing the Hyuga Branch Family ninjas to unite and rebel against this corrupt and decadent system. Don't you want your son Neji to eliminate his hatred and gain freedom in this new environment?"

"What did you say?! The Caged Bird Curse Seal can be broken?" Hizashi Hyuga was shocked, then looked incredulous and said, "That's impossible. The Caged Bird Curse Seal has been around for hundreds of years and can't be broken at all."

"Just because our predecessors couldn't do it doesn't mean that future generations can't." Kodama said confidently, "I have already developed a secret technique to break the Caged Bird Curse Seal, so I need to find a ninja from the Hyuga Branch Family to cooperate with me in order to verify my conjecture."

"You want me to cooperate with your experiment?" Hizashi Hyuga realized.

Kodama: "Don't you want to take revenge on the Hyuga clan? Don't you really hate this damned fate at all?"

Hizashi Hyuga hesitated. "Why should I believe you?"

Kodama: "It's okay if you don't believe me. I believe there will be other Branch Family ninjas willing to cooperate with me in this experiment. There are always people who truly yearn for freedom and want to rebel against this fate. For example, your son Neji."

"You're threatening me?!" Hizashi Hyuga Hizashi's expression changed.

Kodama said calmly, "You've already chosen death, chosen your own self-righteous freedom, so why should you care what path Neji chooses? Or do you not even have the courage to scout Neji?"

"I'll go with you!" Hizashi Hyuga made his decision, then said, "But news of the attack on Konoha Kumogakure Diplomatic Mission will soon reach Konoha. To avoid suspicion, the Main Family will immediately activate the Caged Bird Curse Seal to kill me when this information reaches Konoha. You don't have much time."

"Since I've come to you, I'm confident I can resolve this matter. As long as I conceal your Chakra and Cursed Seal, the Hyūga clan will believe you're dead," Kodama said. "However, from today onward, Hizashi Hyuga is dead. From now on, you'll have to adopt a different identity and live a different life."

"A different way of living?" Hizashi Hyuga murmured to himself, savoring Kodama's words.

Kodama threw a white spiral-shaped mask and a vial of medicine at Hizashi Hyuga.

"Put on the mask and drink the potion; this is the first step on your path to freedom."

Hizashi Hyuga looked at the light green potion and the white mask, and without the slightest hesitation, tilted his head back and drank the potion, then put on the mask.

The next second, a piercing pain spread throughout his body, finally drilling into his brain.

"Ah!"

Hizashi Hyuga screamed and fell backward, but his body was caught by the Kodama and carried to Kodama.

Snap!

With a clap of Kodama hands, the enclosed space formed by the giant trees vanished rapidly. The giant trees that had grown shrank at a visible speed, taking the corpses of the Kumogakure Ninja with them and shrinking back underground.

Rumble~

As the ground trembled, the numerous tree holes that had appeared around the tree were filled in one by one.

When the Konoha outpost ninjas arrived at the scene, they only saw the bloodstains left behind, nothing else.

In the last few days of Konoha Year 51, the Shinobi World was far from peaceful.

First, the leader of the Kumogakure Delegation died in Konoha, and the murderer turned out to be Hiashi Hyuga Hiashi, the head of the Hyuga clan.

Under pressure, the Hyuga clan handed over their 'clan leader', but when the envoys from Kumogakure arrived at the border, they were attacked along with the Hyuga Clan Leader, leaving no trace of their bodies.

The Kumogakure Village issued a strong condemnation, while the Konoha Hyuga Clan Leader ' had also disappeared.

Afterwards, Konoha made some compromises on trade, and the two sides shook hands and made peace.

Another major event shocked all the factions in the Shinobi World.

The Priestess Shion of the Demon Country was revealed to be the illegitimate daughter of Yagami Shiraha, the leader of the Uzumaki Clan, and was kidnapped by ninjas from Iwagakure. The Third Tsuchikage, Ōnoki, publicly apologized and stated that he was unaware of the situation beforehand.

At the same time, in order to reconcile, he was willing to pay the Uzumaki Clan 500 million taels as compensation, and also offer them supplies worth 1 billion taels.

They also expressed that Iwagakure is willing to coexist amicably with the Demon Country and the Uzumaki Clan, and to engage in trade with them.

There was considerable discontent within Iwagakure regarding this move, but after witnessing the tragic state of the Five-Tails Jinchuriki, the higher-ups all fell silent.

They weren't the reckless brutes from Kirigakure who dared to attack the Uzumaki Clan.

High-ranking officials from various countries know what kind of person Ōnoki is. The only reason he would bleed so much money is that he is afraid of Yagami Shiraha.

Although the Third Raikage is currently recognized as the strongest among the Five Kage, in terms of sheer destructive power, the Third Tsuchikage, Ōnoki, possesses the Dust Release, which is unparalleled in the world and guarantees death upon contact.

Even Tailed Beast are no exception, yet he compromised with Yagami Shiraha.

It's easy to imagine that things are not that simple.

There were even rumors that Ōnoki was severely injured by Yagami Shiraha and almost died.

Of course, Iwagakure refused to answer this question.

Because this incident occurred around the same time as the Kumogakure Delegation's mission to Konoha, it caused a great uproar in Konoha as well.

When faced with injustice, the Uzumaki Clan was much more resolute than Konoha.

In terms of overall strength, Konoha is not necessarily weaker than the Uzumaki Clan, but the way they handled things was truly disappointing to all the Ninja Clan.

Why don't the Third Hokage and these high-ranking officials dare to fight against Kumogakure?!

Look at Yagami Shiraha, he dared to directly confront Iwagakure for the sake of an illegitimate daughter.

In comparison, the difference is obvious.