Dual Crisis

The Hyuga Clan Grounds were terrifyingly silent in the dead of night.

Xiao sat cross-legged on the tatami in the Branch House dormitory. Spread before him were three scrolls—one was a copied record of the Main House meeting that Tokuma had risked delivering, one contained herbal formulas excerpted from ancient texts, and the last was a map of the Land of Rice Paddies border he had drawn himself.

The candle flame flickered, casting shifting shadows across his face.

"Refuse the mission, and the Caged Bird Seal activates immediately." Xiao lightly tapped the edge of the tatami, his voice too low for anyone but himself to hear. "Accept the mission, and thirty Branch House elites plus me will all be buried at the Land of Rice Paddies border."

He closed his eyes, the words from the meeting record surfacing in his mind:

"Mission Rank: S."

"Objective: Eliminate a group of rogue ninjas at a suspected Orochimaru base on the Land of Rice Paddies border."

"Mission Leader: Hyuga Main House Elder, Tetsushin Hyuga."

"Members: Thirty Branch House Elite Ninjas and Special Elite Ninjas."

"Note: The intelligence on this base is questionable and may be a trap. However, to demonstrate the Hyuga Clan's loyalty to Leaf Village, the mission must be carried out."

A cold curve tugged at Xiao's lips.

Demonstrate loyalty?

It was nothing more than a polished excuse for murder by proxy. The Main House wanted to use this mission to purge the most promising members of the Branch House, while conveniently burying him, an "unstable factor," along with them. As for the intelligence about the so-called "suspected Orochimaru base," there was an eighty percent chance it was bait planted by the Main House itself.

The candle crackled as a blossom of flame burst from the wick.

Xiao opened his eyes. His pure white pupils gleamed like jade beneath the dim yellow light.

"System," he silently called out.

[Fate-Breaking System activated]

[Detected: Host is facing a dual crisis]

[Crisis One: Main House purge plan. Probability of death: 98.7%]

[Crisis Two: Mitaraishi Anko's Curse Mark rampage countdown: 71 hours, 42 minutes]

[Emergency mission issued: Stabilize Anko's Curse Mark within 72 hours]

[Mission reward: Curse Mark suppression technology fragment ×1, Byakugan purity +2%, Destiny Points +500]

[Failure penalty: Anko dies. Host loses the opportunity to intercept this Fate Node. Risk of Leaf Village investigation rises to "Critical"]

Xiao's gaze swept over the mission panel before settling on the herbal formula scroll.

He had found this formula in a fragment tucked away in a corner of the Hyuga Clan's ancient archive. It recorded a secret remedy used by Hyuga ancestors during the Warring States Period to suppress rampaging chakra within their bodies. Most of the herbs in the formula were common, except for the key ingredient—Evening Primrose.

It only grew beside the White-Eye Spring, the Hyuga Clan's forbidden ground, on nights of the full moon.

And tonight was a full moon.

Xiao rose and walked to the window. Through the gaps in the paper screen, he could see the Main House residence brightly lit in the distance, several Main House elders discussing matters in the courtyard. Farther away, the outline of Konoha Hospital flickered in and out of view through the night. Anko was there, her life slowly being devoured by the Curse Mark.

There was not much time.

He needed Evening Primrose. He needed to make the suppressant. He needed to stabilize Anko's condition before leaving for the Land of Rice Paddies. And all of it had to be done before dawn.

Xiao took a deep breath and began to move.

First, he dragged an inconspicuous wooden box out from under his bed. When he opened it, various bottles and jars were neatly arranged inside—medicinal ingredients and tools he had secretly collected over the years. He took out a mortar, an alcohol lamp, a set of silver scalpels, and more than a dozen labeled porcelain bottles.

Then he changed into a dark gray night outfit, tightly wrapped his palms with bandages, and finally took a thumb-sized black pill from the bottom of the box.

"Shadowveil Pill." Xiao held the pill between his fingers, his gaze calm.

This was a secret medicine he had spent three months compounding. After taking it, it could greatly reduce fluctuations in his chakra for three hours. Combined with the Hyuga Clan's Gentle Fist Breath-Concealment Technique, it was enough to evade the senses of most sensory ninjas. The price was six hours of weakness after the effects wore off.

But it was worth it.

Xiao swallowed the pill. A chill slid down his throat into his stomach, then spread through his limbs and bones. He felt as though a thin veil had wrapped around his chakra, making it faint to the point of near absence.

He pushed open the window, and the night wind rushed in.

Like a falling leaf, Xiao flipped out the window and landed without a sound. He moved along the shadows at the base of the wall, his pure white pupils faintly glowing in the darkness—Byakugan, activate.

His vision shifted instantly.

Within his three-hundred-and-sixty-degree field of X-ray vision without blind spots, the chakra flow throughout the Hyuga Clan Grounds was crystal clear. Seven intense clusters of chakra glowed in the direction of the Main House residence; they belonged to Main House Elite Ninjas standing night watch. The forbidden White-Eye Spring lay deepest within the clan grounds, covered by three layers of barriers. Two Branch House guards stood at its entrance.

Xiao calculated his route.

From the dormitory to the forbidden ground, he would need to cross three patrol routes and avoid four sentry posts. The best time was two in the morning, when the guards changed shifts and there would be a twenty-seven-second gap.

He crouched in the shadows, motionless as a statue.

Time ticked by second by second.

Moonlight spilled through gaps in the clouds, coating the Hyuga Clan Grounds' buildings in silvery white. Xiao could hear insects chirping in the distance, feel the dampness of dew forming on blades of grass, and smell the sandalwood carried on the wind—that was the incense constantly burned in the Main House ancestral hall.

These subtle sensory details intertwined in his mind, forming a three-dimensional map.

He waited.

When the moonlight reached the third branch of the century-old cherry tree in the courtyard, Xiao moved.

There was no sound and no chakra fluctuation. Like a shadow melting into the night, he sprinted close to the wall. In his Byakugan vision, the two Branch House ninjas patrolling ahead had reached a corner, their backs turned toward him.

Xiao swept past them from three meters behind, and the wind he stirred did not even move the corners of their clothes.

After crossing the first corridor and vaulting over a low wall, Xiao arrived at the training ground in the center of the clan grounds. It was empty, save for wooden stakes and targets standing silently under the moonlight. He did not pause, charging directly toward the bamboo grove on the other side of the training ground.

Bamboo leaves rustled.

Xiao wove through the bamboo grove, his feet stepping over thick fallen leaves with only the faintest crunching sound. In his Byakugan vision, the sentry outside the grove was yawning, clearly inattentive.

Now.

Xiao leaped from the edge of the bamboo grove. In the instant the sentry turned around, he had already vaulted over the three-meter wall.

He landed, rolled, and rose.

The entire process flowed smoothly, without a single wasted movement.

The forbidden ground was right before him.

It was a courtyard enclosed by high walls. At the entrance stood a heavy wooden gate engraved with the Hyuga Clan crest. Two Branch House guards stood on either side, their gazes alert.

Xiao hid behind an ancient tree twenty meters away and held his breath.

He needed to wait for the shift change.

Another fifteen minutes passed.

When the clock pointed to exactly two in the morning, footsteps sounded in the distance. Two new guards approached and relieved the original pair. In the instant they turned to bow, their attention scattered—

Xiao moved.

Like a phantom, he crossed twenty meters in a flash. By the time the guards looked up, he had already cleared the high wall and landed inside the forbidden courtyard.

The moment he landed, he rolled to disperse every bit of impact, then quickly slipped behind a cluster of bushes.

He had succeeded.

Xiao quietly let out a breath before raising his head to survey his surroundings.

The White-Eye Spring truly deserved to be called the Hyuga Clan's forbidden ground. At the center of the courtyard was a spring roughly five meters in diameter. Under the moonlight, its waters shone with a faint milky-white glow, while visible chakra mist rose from the surface. All kinds of exotic flowers and herbs grew around the spring, and among them, one cluster of plants blooming with small silver flowers was especially conspicuous.

Evening Primrose.

Xiao hurried over and crouched down to inspect it closely. This plant had only three leaves, each marked with patterns resembling the pupils of the Byakugan, faintly glowing beneath the moonlight. He took out a small knife and carefully cut six stalks—he could not take too many, or it would be easy to notice.

After placing the Evening Primrose into a special jade box and sealing it, Xiao was about to leave when the corner of his eye caught something glowing at the bottom of the spring.

He frowned and activated Byakugan: X-Ray Vision.

Deep within the spring, about ten meters below the water's surface, lay a palm-sized stone tablet. Dense ancient writing covered it, and at the tablet's center was unmistakably the pattern of a Caged Bird Seal—but it differed from the version currently used by the Main House. This design was more complex, with an extra ring of reversed runes around its edges.

Xiao's heart lurched.

This was... the original version of the Caged Bird Seal?

He nearly jumped into the spring to retrieve the tablet, but reason forcibly suppressed the impulse. Barriers surrounded the spring, and touching them would trigger an alarm. Besides, now was not the time. Anko's problem had to take priority.

Xiao gave the spring one long look, firmly engraving the tablet's location and pattern in his mind.

Then he turned and retraced his steps.

Leaving the forbidden ground went even more smoothly than entering it. The guards who had just changed shifts were clearly much more relaxed. Xiao easily vaulted over the high wall and silently returned to the dormitory along the route he had taken.

He closed the door and drew the curtains.

Xiao lit a candle and placed the jade box on the table before opening it. The Evening Primrose emitted a soft silver glow in the candlelight, its distinct cool fragrance spreading through the room.

He began preparing the medicine.

He placed the main stalks of the Evening Primrose into the mortar and carefully crushed them with a pestle, squeezing out pale silver juice. Then he added three drops of water from the White-Eye Spring—he had secretly collected a little in a special vial earlier. Next came seven supplementary herbs: Hemostatic Vine roots, Tranquility Flower powder, chakra stabilizer crystals...

The quantity of every ingredient had to be precise down to the milligram.

Xiao's hands were steady.

Like a precise machine, he followed the formula from the ancient text step by step. Candlelight cast his shadow against the wall, where it swayed slightly with his movements. The room filled with the complex mixed scent of herbs—some pungent, some sweet, and some carrying an indescribable bitterness.

An hour later, the medicine was finished.

It was a translucent pale-blue liquid, contained within a thumb-sized crystal bottle. It shimmered softly beneath the candlelight. Xiao held the bottle up to the light for a closer look, then nodded in satisfaction.

[Temporary Curse Mark Suppressant (Quality: Excellent)]

[Effect: Temporarily suppresses an Orochimaru's Cursed Seal rampage. Duration: 72 hours]

[Side Effect: Causes six hours of deep sleep after consumption]

The system provided its appraisal.

Xiao put away the medicine and began cleaning up his tools. Every used container was washed with a special solution, leaving no traces behind. The mortar and pestle were dismantled into separate parts and hidden in different places. The remaining herbal residue was burned to ash with Fire Release and scattered out the window.

By the time he finished everything, the sky had begun to brighten with the pale glow of dawn.

Xiao sat on the tatami, watching the gradually brightening sky outside the window, his eyes deep and unreadable.

He had the medicine, but getting it into Konoha Hospital and making Anko take it remained a problem. The hospital had three layers of barriers, and Anko was under tight confinement. Anyone who approached her would be recorded.

Moreover, once daylight came, the Main House would officially issue the mission order.

Before departing, he had to resolve Anko's problem while also arranging matters for the Land of Rice Paddies mission—it was not merely a purge, but also his chance to strike back at the Main House.

A plan began taking shape in Xiao's mind.

Step one: Use the clan meeting this morning to create a reasonable excuse to "go out and purchase supplies."

Step two: During the errand, use the Transformation Technique to disguise himself as a member of the medical corps and enter the hospital.

Step three: Find an opportunity to mix the medicine into Anko's nutrient solution.

Step four: Once the medicine took effect and Anko fell asleep, immediately leave Leaf Village for the Land of Rice Paddies.

As for the Land of Rice Paddies mission...

A glint of coldness flashed through Xiao's eyes.

The Main House wanted to use Orochimaru's blade to kill people?

Then he would turn that blade around and hold it to the Main House's throat.

Outside, the sky grew brighter and brighter. The first ray of morning light pierced through the clouds and fell across Xiao's face. He stood, changed into an ordinary Branch House training uniform, and carefully hid the medicine in a concealed pocket inside his sleeve.

Then he pushed open the door and walked into the morning light.

A new day had begun.

And Hyuga Xiao's war had only just begun.