Poison Release: The Technique That Kills with a Single Whiff!

Hyuga Tenfu had indeed set his sights on the Uzumaki Clan's sealing arts, which was why he had come seeking cooperation with such great sincerity.

If Ryū could truly develop the kind of sealing technique he had envisioned, it would solve both major predicaments facing the Hyuga Clan at once. He was willing to pay any price for it.

"The principles behind that kind of sealing technique aren't difficult." Ryū pondered the matter. He had devoted his entire life to sealing arts, and after hearing Hyuga Tenfu explain the idea just once, the rough framework of a sealing technique immediately formed in his mind.

"Give me two days to deduce and study it. I should be able to develop it."

Hyuga Tenfu let out a breath of relief, while the Hyuga clansmen beside him all revealed delighted expressions.

Shusen's heart, however, sank instantly.

His own mastery of sealing arts was also extremely high. He understood that this was like solving a math problem: once one grasped the principles behind the logical formulas, one could slowly work out countless variations. He himself had developed many applications for sealing arts, combining them with Transformation Technique, Stealth Technique, Shadow Clone, and various other ninjutsu.

With his father's ability, developing a Caged Bird would be more than easy. And once the Hyuga Clan obtained Caged Bird, Shusen would be completely out of options. Even if he could break the Caged Bird, it would be useless, because it would destroy the Byakugan the instant a Hyuga clansman died, leaving him no opportunity whatsoever.

Before Shusen could grieve over his grand undertaking of transplanting eyes, his father suddenly added, "However—"

"The 'great gift' Clan Head Tenfu brought is not enough to exchange for such a sealing technique... You'll have to pay more."

Hyuga Tenfu frowned, understanding that Ryū was about to make an exorbitant demand.

"I can add another five thousand dan of grain!" he said through gritted teeth.

Ryū said nothing. His gaze fell on Hyuga Rika beside him.

"I have long heard that Clan Head Tenfu's son, Hyuga Tenjin, and daughter, Hyuga Rika, are both outstanding prodigies among the younger generation, dragons and phoenixes among men. Now that I have seen them today, the rumors were indeed true."

Hyuga Tenfu did not understand why he had changed the subject. After a moment's thought, he followed along. "That depends on who they are compared with. Clan Head Ryū's daughter Mito and son Ashina are equally renowned."

The exchange left everyone else baffled. Weren't they here to buy a sealing technique? How had they suddenly started exchanging commercial compliments?

At that moment, Shusen fervently hoped his father would make an outrageous demand—preferably one harsh enough to scare Hyuga Tenfu to death and make him abandon the idea of buying Caged Bird outright.

"Has Clan Head Tenfu's daughter ever been betrothed?" Ryū asked.

"She has not."

"My second son, Uzumaki Shusen, has not been betrothed either. If Clan Head Tenfu is willing to give his daughter's hand to him, then that, together with the conditions just mentioned, will be enough."

"..."

"..."

The moment those words were spoken, the entire scene fell silent.

Shusen was dumbfounded.

He had wanted his father to make an outrageous demand, sure, but not this kind of outrageous demand!

Was pairing Hyuga Rika with him because his father thought he was not dying fast enough?!

Shusen was no stranger to Hyuga Rika. She was also one of the foremost prodigies in Fire Country, a talented genius whose standing within her clan was second only to her brother, Hyuga Tenjin. Her status was equivalent to Uchiha Izuna of the Uchiha Clan, or Tobirama of the Senju clan.

Half a month ago, when Shusen had been gouging out eyes on the battlefield, she had sent him flying several times. There was no way he would ever marry a woman like that.

Hyuga Tenfu frowned and was about to refuse—

"Impossible!" Hyuga Rika blurted out. "I will never marry—"

"Who's there?!"

Ryū's eyes narrowed sharply. Sensing an unusual presence beneath his feet, he immediately flung out an Adamantine Sealing Chain into the ground.

Boom!

The Adamantine Sealing Chain pierced through the earth, forcing the hiding Shusen out as he leaped into the air.

"Black Zetsu!"

When Hyuga Tenfu saw who had emerged, he was greatly shocked. He had never expected Black Zetsu to have eavesdropped on his conversation with Ryū.

The next second, without hesitation, Hyuga Tenfu unleashed an Eight Trigrams: Mountain Breaker, condensing chakra into a laser beam that blasted toward Shusen.

Bang.

Shusen was struck head-on and exploded into countless fragments of stone.

"What a skillful Substitution Technique."

Ryū was rather surprised. He swiftly located Shusen's position and hurled out more than a dozen Adamantine Sealing Chains, binding him tightly.

Poof.

White smoke burst forth, and the bound figure turned into a wooden log.

"Another Substitution Technique!"

Ryū was even more astonished. The other party had used the Substitution Technique with such smooth, flawless ease that there was not the slightest opening to be seen... He had never seen anyone master the Substitution Technique to such an astonishing degree.

Looking up, he saw Black Zetsu use Wind Release, harnessing the force of the wind to soar into the sky and flee toward the horizon.

Ryū was about to strike with all his strength and bring him down when he suddenly saw Black Zetsu's cheeks bulge as he spat out a cloud of white mist.

"Poison Release: The Technique That Kills with a Single Whiff!"

Massive amounts of white mist came rolling toward them. The moment everyone heard the name of that ninjutsu, their eyelids twitched wildly. Given Black Zetsu's utterly deranged nature, it was entirely possible that he had sprayed poisonous fog!

"Retreat!"

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh.

Everyone rapidly backed away, putting as much distance as possible between themselves and the white mist.

"Ah!"

A childish scream rang out. Ashina collapsed to the ground with a face full of agony, clutching his throat tightly.

"Ashina, what's wrong?!"

Ryū and Mito hurriedly flashed to Ashina's side.

"I... I breathed in... a mouthful of poison gas..."

Ashina said tremblingly, clutching his throat even harder. Too afraid to breathe, his face had turned purple as he feared swallowing that mouthful of poison gas.

"Don't talk. I'll force it out!"

Mito said anxiously, using medical ninjutsu. A hazy green glow radiated from her palm as she placed it against Ashina's throat.

Aside from her formidable combat strength, Mito was also an outstanding medical ninja. Everyone gathered around her with grave expressions, not daring to make the slightest sound that might disturb her.

A moment later, Mito withdrew her medical ninjutsu with an odd expression. Looking at her younger brother's face, twisted in agony, she hesitated before saying, "Um... that wasn't poisonous gas. It was just ordinary water vapor..."

"..."

"..."

"Huh?"

Ashina was stunned.

Mito moved his hand away. Ashina instinctively took several deep breaths, then began gasping heavily.

"Hmph! That Black Zetsu is nothing but a deceitful scoundrel!"

Ryū flew into a rage, his face alternating between green and purple as he felt deeply humiliated.

He was the dignified head of the Uzumaki Clan!

Hyuga Tenfu and the others were equally furious, wishing they could capture Black Zetsu and burn him alive in an oil lamp.

Unfortunately, after that delay, Black Zetsu had already vanished without a trace.

Before long, Ashina finally recovered. Seeing the strange looks everyone was giving him, then recalling his performance just now, he felt so mortified that his toes wanted to claw out a three-bedroom apartment on the spot.

Black Zetsu is too hateful. If Second Brother were here, he's so smart that he definitely wouldn't have been fooled by Black Zetsu!

Ashina thought with certainty, suddenly missing his clever second brother terribly.