The Lone Bird and the Stars

Hua Yue was truly at a loss for words regarding this disgusting teacher who had no concept of personal boundaries, especially since the man had chosen to disguise himself as a woman to approach him.

"Did I fail? I relied on this face to lure the previous Eight-Tails Jinchuriki into losing control, or perhaps you prefer a slightly younger woman, Hua Yue-kun?"

As the skin peeled away, Orochimaru's cold, sharp features were revealed. His vibrant red lips transformed into his usual thin, pale purple ones, and the smile at the corners of his mouth was filled with curiosity.

"How exactly did you please the White Snake Sage to leave Ryuchi Cave unscathed—a place only madmen visit, where countless others seek the power of the Sage?"

"Could it be that you have obtained the power I have always desired to master—the power of a Sage?"

Under Orochimaru's inquisitive gaze, Hua Yue smiled without a word. After a long silence, he asked a profound question in return.

"Ah, la la, isn't Teacher Orochimaru's dream to learn every jutsu in the world? By the way, the Sage Mode mastered by the three great sacred sites are all quite different existences."

"Human life is limited; even if one exhausts their entire life, it is but a hundred years. Even if one learned a forbidden jutsu every month, one could only master twelve hundred in a lifetime."

"Not to mention the countless ninjutsu, secret arts, and forbidden arts that have vanished throughout the long river of time. Anyone with eyes can see what your goal is."

The wind whistled as the Immobilization Genjutsu slowly faded. Orochimaru stared deeply at the young man who rested his chin on his hand, seemingly tireless and never revealing a single flaw.

His snake-like vertical pupils showed a rare flicker of excitement—a look of total insight that did not exist among the common fools.

This was an existence that truly understood him, one walking a similar path. He was a disciple whom Orochimaru had always treated with gravity, yet had never been able to see through.

"Then..."

"Do not misunderstand. Just as you could never die for the village, I have no interest in becoming a stepping stone on someone else's path to immortality."

"Enough, the idle chatter between master and disciple ends here. What exactly did you come to find me for?"

Cold, ruthless, and leaving no room for negotiation, this excellent disciple who seemed more like a cold-blooded animal than he did himself—Orochimaru gathered his thoughts and spoke slowly.

"Konoha Village's current defensive capabilities are extremely hollow. Inside the village, Sarutobi-sensei... the Third Hokage has tasked you with containing Onoki of the Two Scales."

This time, it was Hua Yue's turn to twitch his lips. He really has opened his Mangekyo. To send him to deal with the prototype of the Imperial Release: Nine-Clan Erasure Technique—you really are something, Third Hokage.

"A Kekkei Tota, a user of Dust Release, Onoki of the Two Scales? Should I marvel at the Third Hokage's trust in me, or should I pray to the gods right now that I never encounter him?"

"Hehehe, my proudest disciple, with your deeply hidden power, even if the opponent is the Third Tsuchikage, you cannot be said to have no chance of winning. I have an unimaginable amount of trust in your strength."

For once, Orochimaru did not depart using his snakes, as if he had merely come to see how Hua Yue had escaped the White Snake Sage and to pass on the village's mission.

Has the Tsuchikage joined the war? That means as the war between Konoha and the Land of Earth draws to a close, the Third Shinobi World War is also nearing its end...

The malice that was tightly fixed on Obito has also vanished without a trace. As expected, he is already prepared to choose a successor for his will.

The night rain fell in silence, with faint, hazy starlight filtering through the clouds.

Meanwhile, in another vital area in the central region of Konoha Village, inside the main residence of the Hyuga Clan.

Members of the Hyuga main house and the branch family were gathered together. Everyone's expression was grim. Faced with those accusatory glares, the branch family members remained silent.

"Why distinguish between the main house and the branch family? The distinction exists to prevent the Hyuga Clan's Kekkei Genkai from falling into the hands of outsiders, yet what has happened now?"

"You of the branch family failed to fulfill your duties, causing the main house's Kekkei Genkai, the Byakugan, to fall into the hands of the Mist Village!"

Sitting in the center, the Hyuga elder, Hyuga Toen, spoke in a deep tone, while many members of the main house cast looks of skepticism.

"Wait, it was Hyuga Monfu who acted recklessly and on his own initiative, causing many clansmen to die on the battlefield..."

The elder slammed his hand against the floor and turned to scold them.

"Silence! Regardless, the responsibility lies with your branch family. Why did you not keep an eye on him, allowing the Byakugan to fall into the hands of the Mist?"

One by one, the members of the Hyuga branch family were too angry to speak, forced to turn their pleading gazes toward the current head of the branch family, Hyuga Hizashi.

"Hyuga Monfu's death was his own doing. The seven branch family members responsible for protecting the main house were all killed in action, and the Byakugan was lost. It was he who failed to fulfill his duty as a member of the main house."

"Anything can happen on the battlefield. Do you expect the entire branch family to protect him and ignore the mission assigned by the Third Hokage?"

Hyuga Hizashi argued his case, only to be met with the elder's cold and heartless words.

"If you could retrieve that lost Byakugan, it would be worth it even if you all died. That is the responsibility of the branch family: to guard our precious Kekkei Genkai!"

The suppressed dissatisfaction and hatred could only be stored within their hearts. The curse seal engraved on their foreheads, which sealed away their freedom and light, throbbed with pain, yet they dared not show a hint of it.

"Since things have come to this, I have no choice but to ask the Hokage and the experts of various clans to kill that detestable Mist jonin, Ao, and reclaim the precious Byakugan."

"You members of the branch family, remember: in the coming war, you must not lose a second Byakugan, even if it costs the lives of the entire Hyuga branch family..."

The meeting ended on a sour note. The current head of the Hyuga clan, Hyuga Hiashi, looked at his brother—born only moments after him, yet living a life of such stark contrast—and fell into silence.

After the meeting dispersed, in the gathering place of the Hyuga branch family, many members were gnashing their teeth in fury, their faces twisted. Seven of their own had died in that battle, including an underage boy; was that not worth mourning?

Was it acceptable for their entire branch family to be wiped out just for the sake of a reckless main house member who sought his own death?

In the heavy silence, no one could speak for a long time. Hyuga Hizashi remained tight-lipped, and after the others had left, he walked aimlessly through the streets alone.

At some unknown hour, on a training ground used for drills on the outskirts of Konoha, Hizashi slowly looked up. He frowned as he stared at the figure in black robes, a person who seemed to possess no presence at all.

"What do you intend to become?"

The figure turned his head. The three-eyed demon fox, woven from red and white, looked like a spirit wandering through Konoha, aimless and adrift.

"Become what?"

"A lonely bird with broken wings, imprisoned in a cage? Or a star that tears through the night with fangs and blood, burning with the fire of blood?"

"What do you intend to become?"