Ōnoki's Attention

After reading the file, Ōnoki said, "This Chiba Shun has been to Konoha?"

"Has he met Hiruzen Sarutobi? Didn't Shimura Danzō kill him?"

The adviser named Saka replied, "Yes. As the head of Kumogakure Ninja Academy's exchange delegation, he went to Konoha."

"However, it is uncertain whether he met Hiruzen Sarutobi. He probably did."

"Because after he went to Konoha, Kumogakure formed an alliance with Konoha."

Ōnoki thought for a moment and said, "The White Fang's death last year was suspicious in every way. Kumogakure actually knew beforehand that the White Fang would commit suicide!"

"The problem may lie in Chiba Shun's trip to Konoha!"

Saka asked, "Should we send someone to assassinate him?"

Ōnoki considered it and said, "He certainly has to die, but we cannot do it ourselves. Konoha is at the height of its power right now; it is not suitable to go to war with Kumogakure."

"That brute, the Third Raikage, wants to secure his position. There must be people within Kumogakure who disagree with him!"

"Contact the people left behind by the Second Raikage and have them do it!"

Saka nodded, then said, "What if they are unwilling to act?"

Ōnoki thought for a moment. "Then put up a bounty at the underground bounty office. We'll offer ten million ryō!"

"I believe someone will be interested in ten million ryō."

"If those people in Kumogakure do not want to do it themselves, they can pass the information on to rogue ninjas."

"Yes." Saka answered and went off to make the arrangements.

Five months later, outside a hospital room controlled by ANBU in Kumogakure Hospital, Chiba Shun, A, and the Third Raikage were waiting.

Chiba Shun looked around in surprise. He had not seen either of the two elderly advisers.

He could not help but wonder whether the Third Raikage was keeping the existence of these Hyuga Clan bloodlines hidden from those two advisers.

He could not be blamed for thinking so. Even he had been summoned by A, which meant Yanoi's delivery had not been intended as a secret from everyone.

And since the Third Raikage himself had come, if Adviser Yukio knew about this, he should have come as well.

Could there really be conflict among the higher-ups?

Had what he casually told Hiruzen Sarutobi in Konoha actually been true?

That was right. Yanoi was giving birth in that hospital room.

Just as Chiba Shun's thoughts were running wild, the cry of a baby finally came from inside the room.

After a while, a medical ninja emerged from the hospital room carrying a child.

The Third Raikage, A, Chiba Shun, and the others all looked toward the child.

More precisely, they were looking at the child's eyes.

Chiba Shun frowned slightly. They were indeed Byakugan, but they were not pure.

There were faint grayish-white streaks within the originally pure white eyes.

The grayish-white area was not large, looking somewhat like an impurity.

The Third Raikage also frowned, apparently considering what level these Byakugan could reach and whether they could awaken like normal Byakugan.

A moment later, the Third Raikage came back to his senses and said to an ANBU member, "Check this child's talent in a few days."

The ANBU member acknowledged the order and said nothing more.

At that moment, Chiba Shun interjected, "Lord Raikage, what should this child be named?"

The Third Raikage turned toward him in confusion, thinking, It's only a name. Does it matter?

Chiba Shun explained, "The given name is not important. The family name is. Should he take Hyuga as his surname?"

The Third Raikage frowned and thought for a moment before asking, "What are you thinking?"

Chiba Shun said, "We need these children to develop a sense of belonging toward the village. The best way is to make them hate the Hyuga main family in Konoha."

"The more they hate the Hyuga main family, the more grateful they will be to the village for giving them freedom."

"Only by making them see themselves as the same kind as the Hyuga Clan in Konoha can that hatred reach its peak."

"So, I suggest that they retain the Hyuga surname."

The Third Raikage considered it, then slowly nodded. "Then it will be done this way."

Neither of them cared about the circumstances of Akira Hyuga and the other Hyuga branch family members.

After confirming the condition of the Byakugan, the Third Raikage left.

Before leaving, the Third Raikage made Chiba Shun's task of brainwashing Akira Hyuga and the other Hyuga branch family members clear: another S-rank mission!

Chiba Shun held the child and played with him for a while. Once the people inside the room had finished their work, he entered and returned the child to Yanoi.

Chiba Shun said, "Lord Raikage agreed that the child may use Hyuga as his surname. Give him a name."

Yanoi did not care about the name first. Instead, she looked at the child's eyes.

As she examined them, she asked, "Is there a problem with these Byakugan?"

Chiba Shun said, "He should be able to use them, but they are not as pure as his father's."

Yanoi was already deeply satisfied. She held the child and refused to let go for a long time.

Only after quite a while did she react and say, "Call him Hyuga Jun."

Chiba Shun and A exchanged looks and both nodded.

The two watched Hyuga Jun for a while longer, then left as well.

After leaving the hospital, A said, "Shun, don't you think Yanoi's expectations for Hyuga Jun are too high?"

"This child's talent definitely will not match Akira Hyuga's, and Akira Hyuga is only an ordinary Jonin."

"The village only values the child's Byakugan."

A worried that Yanoi's excessive expectations would affect the child's growth.

Chiba Shun thought for a moment and said, "Having greater expectations is a good thing. The talent of this kind of dojutsu ninja is largely tied to the expectations of their parents."

"The greater the expectations, the greater the child's potential."

"If they are allowed to grow up carefree, this dojutsu ninja will probably be useless."

A did not understand the logic behind it, but he did not dwell on it. Chiba Shun would be responsible for training the child in the future, so it was not something he needed to worry about.

He asked again, "Do you think Hyuga Jun's Byakugan can become pure through training?"

Chiba Shun thought for a moment and said, "Maybe. If the Hyuga Clan bloodline within him can be developed to the level of his father's, it should be possible to purify his Byakugan."

"However, this dojutsu Kekkei Genkai of the Hyuga Clan is very different from Kekkei Genkai formed by combining two natures. Developing its bloodline power may be difficult."

A nodded. Kumogakure did not have many Kekkei Genkai clans, so there had been little research in that area. He did not know much about it either.

They walked for some time, and just as they were about to part ways, Chiba Shun suddenly said, "A, has Lord Raikage ever considered taking ninjas with Kekkei Genkai, like Hyuga Jun, from other villages?"

A recalled the tone the Third Raikage sometimes used when mentioning Kirigakure's many Kekkei Genkai clans, then said, "Probably. But every major ninja village guards its own Kekkei Genkai closely."

"Besides, taking another village's Kekkei Genkai can easily start a war."

Hearing this, Chiba Shun cautiously asked, "What about the Uzumaki? Whirlpool Nest Village has already been destroyed. There should be Uzumaki scattered outside."

"They have no major ninja village behind them, so there is no need to worry about starting a war."

A was somewhat tempted as well, but he still shook his head. "Kumogakure took part in the destruction of Whirlpool Nest Village. Even if we found Uzumaki survivors, we would not dare to train them."

Chiba Shun was not worried about that. He was only afraid that the Third Raikage might be too hostile toward the Uzumaki.

So he said, "Can you tell me how the Uzumaki Clan was destroyed?"

A nodded. "Father told me the full story behind it."

"It began with the Second Shinobi War."

"In the early stages of the Second Shinobi War, Konoha was besieged by the four major ninja villages while also fighting Amegakure. Their situation was dire."

"Of course, while besieging Konoha, the four major ninja villages also fought each other, though not often."

"Even the Third Hokage and the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki went to the battlefield. Father fought the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki several times."

"Just when Konoha seemed about to lose, the Uzumaki Clan entered the war. No one knew what benefit Konoha had offered them."

"In truth, the Uzumaki Clan's participation did not directly change Konoha's disadvantageous position."

"However, Konoha gained time, and in the end, the Third Hokage's three disciples earned the name of the Three Sannin."

"The rise of the Three Sannin was the key reason our four major ninja villages withdrew."

Chiba Shun understood that point. Before then, every major ninja village had only one, or at most two, Kage Level powerhouses.

But Konoha suddenly had six Kage Level powerhouses!

Hiruzen Sarutobi, Shimura Danzō, the White Fang, Orochimaru, Jiraiya, and Tsunade.

If Mito Uzumaki were included as well, that would make seven despair-inducing powerhouses!

A continued, "The brutal Second Shinobi War finally ended, but Father and the others were unwilling to accept it."

"Then Father, the Third Tsuchikage, the Third Kazekage, and the Third Mizukage led their elite subordinates in a retaliatory war against the Uzumaki Clan!"

"In that battle, Whirlpool Nest Village was breached. The Uzumaki Clan, which had already lost many of its people during the Second Shinobi War, was declared exterminated."

"We also divided the Uzumaki Clan's legacy among ourselves."

"The village obtained part of the Uzumaki Clan's sealing techniques and improved its tailed beast seals."

After hesitating, A finally lowered his voice. "Because we obtained the Uzumaki Clan's seals, the village is planning to cultivate a Perfect Jinchūriki."

Chiba Shun was startled. He had not expected A to tell him even something like that.

He nodded to show that he understood, then asked, "What about Konoha? Did Konoha just watch Lord Raikage and the others destroy Whirlpool Nest Village?"

A said, "Konoha acted, but it acted too late."

"Later, we learned that Mito Uzumaki had grown old. After fighting Father repeatedly, she finally could no longer suppress the Nine-Tails."

"While Father and the others were besieging Whirlpool Nest Village, a Nine-Tails rampage happened to break out in Konoha."

"The Nine-Tails is the strongest tailed beast. I heard Konoha suffered considerable losses that time."

"Although the Nine-Tails was sealed again in the end, Mito Uzumaki's health also worsened."

After a pause, A said, "There is one more thing. We received intelligence that Konoha later found an Uzumaki survivor and transferred the Nine-Tails into her body."

"We once planned an operation against this new Nine-Tails Jinchūriki, but it failed."

Chiba Shun recalled the scene from the original story where Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki fell in love.

Suddenly, Chiba Shun smiled. "The Uzumaki Clan truly was Konoha's ally, but judging from the result, Konoha betrayed the Uzumaki Clan!"

"When Konoha was in crisis, the Uzumaki Clan disregarded its own safety and resolutely sent troops. Yet Konoha did not support the Uzumaki Clan when it fell into danger!"

"With that result right in front of us, brainwashing Uzumaki survivors should not be difficult!"

A looked at Chiba Shun with an odd expression for quite a while before finally saying, "I'll go tell Father right now!"

With that, he immediately used the Body Flicker Technique and left.

A had no doubts whatsoever about Chiba Shun's ability to brainwash people. Anyone who had visited the Ninja Academy and seen those children would know that.