The Besieged Hyuga

The Hyuga District was unusually noisy today.

Sasuke stood atop the central rooftop, watching the Hyuga surrounded by Decaying Mist. The reflected light in his eyes flickered uncertainly. "Only Hyuga Hiashi and his two daughters are missing. Every other Hyuga clansman is in the district—not a single one is absent."

"Sasuke Uchiha!" A group of Hyuga ninja glared at him furiously, and some could no longer resist trying to attack.

Cloud-like mist curled around Sasuke's hand as it lightly swept past an attacker's neck. In the blink of an eye, a dismembered mummified corpse fell to the ground, kicking up clouds of dust.

"Now!" A voice rang out behind Sasuke as a figure struck at his chest with a standard Gentle Fist technique.

"Eight Trigrams—" Unfortunately, before he could finish calling out the technique's name, a massive amount of mist suddenly surged from Sasuke's body and enveloped him. "Having to shout out your move before using it really looks stupid."

The ambusher's Eight Trigrams Palms struck the mist, and his palm immediately withered and decayed. The decay continued creeping up his arm, so he decisively severed it at the shoulder and barely saved his life.

"What is this freakish thing?!" The Hyuga ninja activated their Byakugan, yet they could not see through the strange mist at all. Their prized Bloodline Limit had failed, so it was no wonder they could not remain calm.

"Sasuke Uchiha! You dared attack ninja from the same village and provoke the Hyuga clan. Do you have the guts to bear the consequences?"

"Heh. You're really noisy." Sasuke gave a token response.

"I never intended to kill anyone from the start. I only wanted to trap you here. You Hyuga Branch House members aren't worth much even if I kill you." Sasuke looked exceptionally punchable, but he was not lying. He was merely gathering the clansmen for Neji, making it easier for Neji to act later.

The Hyuga ninja looked at the arrogant youth before them as if he were an idiot. "You dare spout such nonsense here all by yourself? You killed our clansmen—the village will never forgive you! Everyone, attack! Capture him first!"

A group of Hyuga ninja charged together with their Byakugan veins bulging. It looked rather spectacular, but unfortunately for them, they had run into Sasuke.

"Who gave you the confidence to think that having more people means you can win?" Sasuke was taking this act very seriously, and he was very good at it.

Thin mist instantly engulfed the entire Hyuga District. Every Hyuga ninja collapsed stiffly to the ground, though they were all still alive.

Sasuke curled his lips disdainfully, seeming somewhat disappointed. "That's it? Not a single worthy strong opponent. Konoha's so-called greatest noble clan is really... tsk, tsk, tsk."

If he had not been saving these people for Neji to deal with personally, Sasuke would never have given them the chance to waste his time with nonsense!

Looking at the sprawled Hyuga clansmen, Sasuke carefully observed the Curse Marks on their foreheads.

As another clan of ocular jutsu users, the Uchiha had no need for Curse Marks, because transplanting a Sharingan into an outsider came with considerable side effects, weakening rather than strengthening them.

Even for Kakashi, the Copy Ninja, it was difficult to say whether the Sharingan had improved his overall strength.

Although the Hyuga Main House often claimed that the Caged Bird existed to protect their clansmen's eyes from being dug out by outsiders and prevent their Bloodline Limit from leaking out.

Anyone with a functioning brain understood that this explanation did not hold up. The Caged Bird's primary purpose was control, with protection only secondary. Otherwise, every member of the clan should have been branded with the Curse Mark. Did Kirigakure not possess a Byakugan that had leaked out?

Moreover, the Caged Bird had one most serious flaw—it weakened the Byakugan!

It was perfectly understandable for bloodline ninja clans to develop Curse Marks to protect their Bloodline Limits, and it made sense for the Main House to preserve its exalted position.

But the Caged Bird weakened the Byakugan, which was difficult to understand. In the story, even a mere fodder ninja like Kidomaru had exploited Neji's visual blind spot caused by the Caged Bird, forcing Neji into a life-threatening crisis.

Neji was a genius and ultimately killed Kidomaru in return, but how many geniuses like him were there in the Hyuga Branch House? And how many fodder ninja like Kidomaru existed in the Shinobi World?

"What purpose did the person who originally developed the Caged Bird have? It feels full of malice." Sasuke could not help voicing his doubts.

"Maybe it was just a conspiracy." Demon's whisper sounded beside his ear. "The Hyuga ancestor, Otsutsuki, was an invader from beyond the heavens. Perhaps the Caged Bird was a sugar-coated bullet used by the local supernatural forces a thousand years ago to strike back at Otsutsuki."

Some things were harmful to the collective but beneficial to the ruling class, such as the caste system. When rulers encountered such a "sugar-coated bullet," they might not be able to resist its temptation.

"You really know how to make wild guesses." Sasuke mocked.

"After all, no one knows the truth of that history. Any speculation or imagined scenario is possible."

On the battlefield elsewhere, Hiruzen Sarutobi summoned Enma.

Aside from his monkey face, Enma's clothing, forehead protector, and every mannerism made him look like an ordinary Konoha ninja. Looking at Orochimaru's face, he said, "So it really came to this, Sarutobi. You should have hardened your heart and killed him back then."

Orochimaru rolled his eyes at that.

"Come on!" Hiruzen Sarutobi leaped into the air and shouted, "Adamantine Staff!"

"Got it!" After a puff of white smoke, Enma transformed into a staff.

Hiruzen Sarutobi caught the staff and attacked Orochimaru.

Orochimaru held the Kusanagi Sword and calmly received several blows, while Hiruzen Sarutobi was already panting heavily. Enma could directly feel Hiruzen Sarutobi's trembling hands, and even the spectator ANBU outside the barrier could see it clearly.

"Sarutobi, what's wrong with you? Were you injured earlier?" Enma asked with great concern as he looked at the seemingly exhausted Hiruzen Sarutobi.

"He's grown old." Orochimaru answered Enma with a sigh.

As time passed, Hiruzen Sarutobi's mastery of ninjutsu had only grown more profound. But as an old man, his stamina and chakra reserves were far inferior to what they had once been. He was still the Professor of Ninjutsu, but the titles of strongest Hokage and Hero of the Shinobi World had long been worn away by time.

Besides, Hiruzen Sarutobi had just faced Rasa's "self-destruction" head-on. No matter how quickly he had dodged, he could not have escaped being affected.

The strange radiation from Rasa's body had only come in a single wave, yet ordinary people could not endure it at all. Only ninja with abundant chakra could resist it.

"Heh heh." Hiruzen Sarutobi realized that he was no longer equal to the task, yet he instead gave a carefree, resolute laugh. "Orochimaru, my most outstanding disciple, let me show you once more what a true battle between ninja is like. A bloody, terrifying ninja rhythm that leaves you unable to breathe!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi pressed his palms together and began mobilizing a massive amount of chakra within his body, as though preparing something.

Watching Hiruzen Sarutobi like this, Orochimaru became more and more convinced that he had made the right choice back then.