In the world of ninjas, parting in life and death was the most ordinary thing. Life had to go on, missions had to go on, and for Konoha's genin, the Chunin Exams were their mission right now. Even burdened with immense grief, the exams still had to continue.
In his soul state, Hayato had originally planned to accompany them through the second round, then take a stroll around Konoha.
He could visit places he normally could not, such as where the Book of Seals was kept, the top-secret intelligence room, the Hyuga Treasury, the women's bathhouse, and so on.
Huh, it seemed some strange things had slipped in there.
But an unexpected situation disrupted Hayato's plans, and that surprise happened to involve his soul.
Hayato discovered strange energy gathering on his forehead. Though its shape was blurry, it vaguely resembled the Caged Bird.
He remembered now. Hizashi Hyuga had still borne the Caged Bird mark on his forehead after being brought back by Impure World Reincarnation. In other words, only the curse mark on the corpse vanished after death; the Caged Bird remained engraved upon the soul. (PS)
The Caged Bird was probably far more powerful than Hayato and Orochimaru had imagined. Judging from the curse mark alone, it should not have been powerful enough to affect the soul.
So, was it the chakra used to engrave the curse mark that was powerful?
Hayato gave a bitter smile. The Byakugan was one of the three great dojutsu, a powerful Kekkei Genkai originating from Kaguya. Other than the Otsutsuki Clan and their descendants, who else possessed chakra capable of suppressing the Byakugan even in death, preventing it from finding release afterward?
Hashirama's chakra could do it, but considering the Hyuga Clan were Hamura Otsutsuki's descendants left on Earth, Hayato was more