Ōnoki's Attention

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

"Did he meet Hiruzen Sarutobi? Didn't Shimura Danzō kill him?"

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

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"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 pondered for a moment and said, "The White Fang's death last year was suspicious in every way. Kumogakure actually knew in advance 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 thought for a moment before saying, "He definitely has to die, but we cannot make the move ourselves. Konoha is at the height of its power right now. It is not the time to go to war with Kumogakure."

"That brute, the Third Raikage, wants to secure his position as Raikage. 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 asked, "What if they refuse to act?"

Ōnoki considered it and said, "Then put out a bounty at the Underground Bounty Office. We'll offer ten million ryō!"

"I'm sure someone will be interested in ten million ryō."

"If those people in Kumogakure do not want to act themselves, they can pass the information to Wandering Ninjas."

"Yes." Saka answered, then went off to make the arrangements.

Five months later, outside a hospital room under ANBU control in Kumogakure Hospital, Chiba Shun, Yozuki A, and the Third Raikage were all waiting.

Chiba Shun looked around in surprise. He had not seen either of the two older advisors.

He could not help but speculate inwardly. Was the Third Raikage hiding the existence of these Hyuga Clan bloodlines from those two advisors?

Chiba Shun could hardly be blamed for thinking so. Even he had been called over by Yozuki A, which meant Yanoi's delivery was not meant to be kept secret from everyone.

And the Third Raikage himself had come. If Advisor Yukio knew about this, he should have been here too.

Could there really be infighting among the upper ranks?

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

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

Just as Chiba Shun's thoughts began to wander, the cry of a baby finally came from inside the room.

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

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

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

Chiba Shun's brows drew together slightly. They were Byakugan, but not pure ones.

There were traces of grayish white within the originally pure white eyes.

The grayish white did not cover much area, looking somewhat like impurities.

The Third Raikage also frowned, seemingly considering just how powerful such Byakugan could become and whether they could be awakened like ordinary Byakugan.

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

The ANBU member answered yes, then fell silent.

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

The Third Raikage turned to him in confusion, thinking, It is only a name. Does it matter?

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

The Third Raikage furrowed his brow and thought for a moment, then asked, "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 Konoha's Hyuga Main House."

"The more they hate the Hyuga Main House, 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."

"Therefore, I suggest they retain the Hyuga surname."

The Third Raikage considered it, then slowly nodded. "We'll do that."

Neither of them cared about the circumstances of Akira Hyuga and the other members of the Hyuga Branch House.

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

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

Chiba Shun held the child and teased him for a while. Only after the room was done with its work did he enter and return the child to Yanoi.

Chiba Shun said, "Lord Raikage has agreed for the child to take Hyuga as his surname. Give him a name."

But Yanoi paid no attention to the name. Instead, she first looked at the child's eyes.

As she examined them, she asked, "Is something wrong with these Byakugan?"

Chiba Shun said, "They should be usable, but they are not as pure as his father's."

Yanoi was already quite satisfied. She held the child for a long time, unwilling to let go.

Only after quite a while did she come to herself and say, "Then call him Hyuga Jun."

Chiba Shun and Yozuki A exchanged glances, then both nodded.

The two watched Hyuga Jun for a while longer before leaving as well.

After leaving the hospital, Yozuki A said, "Shun, do 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."

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

Chiba Shun thought for a moment and said, "Higher expectations are better. The talent of this kind of ocular technique ninja is largely tied to the expectations of the parents."

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

"If they are allowed to grow up carefree, this ocular technique ninja will probably be ruined."

Yozuki A did not understand the logic, but he did not pursue it. Chiba Shun would be responsible for the child's training in the future anyway, so there was no need for him to worry.

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

Chiba Shun considered it and said, "Perhaps. If the Hyuga Clan bloodline in his body can be developed to his father's level, the Byakugan should be purified."

"However, the Hyuga Clan's ocular bloodline limit is very different from those Kekkei Genkai formed by fusing two attributes. Developing its bloodline power may be difficult."

Yozuki A nodded. Kumogakure did not have many bloodline families, and they had little research in this area. He did not know much either.

The two walked for a while. 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?"

Yozuki A recalled the tone his father sometimes used when speaking of Kirigakure's numerous bloodline families, then said, "Probably. But every major ninja village protects its own bloodlines very carefully."

"Besides, taking another village's bloodlines could easily trigger a war."

Chiba Shun heard that and probed, "What about the Uzumaki? Whirlpool Nest Village has already been destroyed. There should be Uzumaki Clan members scattered outside."

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

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

Chiba Shun was not worried about that. He only feared that the Third Raikage might reject the Uzumaki too strongly.

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

Yozuki A nodded. "Father told me the whole story behind it."

"It began with the Second Shinobi World War."

"In the early stages of the Second Shinobi World War, Konoha was besieged by the four major Shinobi Villages while also fighting Amegakure. Their situation was terrible."

"Of course, while besieging Konoha, the four major Shinobi Villages also fought each other, though not much."

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

"However, just as Konoha was about to lose, the Uzumaki Clan entered the war. No one knew what benefits Konoha had offered them."

"In truth, the Uzumaki Clan joining the war 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 Sannin."

"The rise of the Sannin was the key reason our four major Shinobi Villages withdrew."

Chiba Shun understood that point. Before then, each major Shinobi Village had only one, at most two, Kage Level experts.

But Konoha suddenly had six Kage Level experts!

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

If Mito Uzumaki were included as well, that would be seven—a despairing number!

Yozuki A continued, "The brutal Second Shinobi World 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 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 countless members during the Second Shinobi World War, was declared extinct."

"We also divided up the Uzumaki Clan's legacy."

"The village obtained part of the Uzumaki Clan's Sealing Techniques and perfected its Tailed Beast sealing."

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

Chiba Shun was startled. He had not expected Yozuki 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?"

Yozuki 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, an incident involving the Nine-Tails running rampant happened to erupt in Konoha."

"The Nine-Tails is the strongest Tailed Beast. I heard Konoha suffered significant losses that time."

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

After a pause, Yozuki 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 also 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 were Konoha's allies, but judging from the outcome, Konoha betrayed the Uzumaki Clan!"

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

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

Yozuki A stared at Chiba Shun with a rather strange expression for quite a while before finally saying, "I'll go tell Father right away!"

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

Yozuki A did not doubt Chiba Shun's brainwashing ability in the slightest. Anyone who had visited the Ninja Academy and seen those children would know why.