Three days passed in the blink of an eye.
Konoha Training Ground No. 10.
"Master, Master!" Little White Mouse said happily. "I can use the Summoning Technique now!"
At those words, Yui sprang to her feet, staring excitedly at Little White Mouse in the distance.
"R-really?"
"Yes, but..." Little White Mouse said dejectedly. "I don't have enough chakra. You might have to supply some."
"Also, I need a drop of your blood to help."
"Why?" Yui asked in confusion. She remembered that the Summoning Technique shouldn't require blood, especially the blood of the one being summoned.
"Uh..." Little White Mouse thought for a moment before saying, "Because we have a bloodline contract, and you're the master in that contract. To summon the master, I need the master's blood."
Yui nodded. "I see."
"All right, let's head back to the Laboratory."
With that, Yui scooped Little White Mouse up from the ground and hurried toward the Laboratory.
Konoha Seventh Street.
Few people frequented this area, and most of the surrounding buildings were workshops producing various goods. That was why Yui had bought a house here in the first place.
Yui hurried down the street with Little White Mouse. A way to rescue her original body was finally within reach, and she couldn't help feeling anxious.
As she approached the house, Yui suddenly stopped.
"Master... what's wrong?" Little White Mouse asked, puzzled by her abrupt stop.
Yui said nothing. A familiar figure stood outside her door.
She took a few steps forward, trying to get a clearer look at the woman's face.
"You..."
Once she recognized the figure, Yui turned and headed into an alley to the side.
"Ikuko Hyuga?" Yui cursed under her breath. Why was that woman here?
I didn't give anything away!
Aside from her last trip to buy ninjutsu, she had hardly ever visited crowded places.
Damn it. That must have been when she spotted me.
"Master, what's wrong?" Little White Mouse asked, confused by Yui's actions.
Their front door was right there. Why had her master detoured into this alley?
Yui raced down the alley, with no time to answer Little White Mouse.
She couldn't use ninjutsu now, either, or the woman would sense her immediately.
"Whew-"
"A dead end..." Looking at the wall at the end of the alley, Yui felt helplessness well up inside her.
It was already too late to run back. Instead, she took Little White Mouse and hid behind a pile of junk.
"Shh-"
She covered Little White Mouse's mouth, signaling for her to stay silent.
Little White Mouse seemed to understand how serious things were and didn't dare make another sound.
"Hmm... interesting."
Ikuko Hyuga had already noticed Yui. She followed at an unhurried pace, entering the dark alley.
"Perhaps this is fate." She sighed.
After all, she was a jonin. With her senses, even the slightest disturbance would catch her attention.
Let alone a whole person!
Hearing the footsteps drawing closer, Yui quickly held her breath.
"Yui Hyuga, is that you?" Ikuko Hyuga asked teasingly.
Ikuko Hyuga's words were calm, but to Yui, they sounded like a demon whispering in her ear.
When no answer came from within, Ikuko Hyuga reached the end of her patience.
She activated her Byakugan, and everything in the alley instantly became clear.
Through her Byakugan, she saw a girl curled up amid a pile of junk in the corner.
"I see you..."
At the sound of Ikuko Hyuga's voice, Yui's heart skipped a beat.
She glanced at Little White Mouse in her palm.
"Little White Mouse, I'll cover you in a moment," Yui said. "Find an opening and run out. Then go home and get some blood from my original body. After that, find Yamada Hideko. She'll help you."
Sending Little White Mouse to Yamada Hideko was a last resort. Embarrassing as it was, she was one of only two people Yui could trust since coming to the world of Naruto.
"Master..." Little White Mouse nodded to show she understood.
However slow she might have been, even she understood the danger they were in now, so she didn't hesitate.
"Yes. I'll do exactly what you said."
With that, Little White Mouse slid from Yui's palm to the ground.
"You're our last hope."
Yui stood up, shielding Little White Mouse with her body, then headed toward the alley's exit.
"Miss Ikuko, it's been a while."
Yui spoke evenly as she looked at the woman before her.
"At least you know what's good for you."
Seeing Yui come out, Ikuko simply deactivated her Byakugan.
But just as she did, her eyes caught the figure of a small animal.
A mouse?
She wondered briefly, but after looking around at her surroundings, she thought no more of it.
Dark alleys always had filthy things like that.
"Ah..."
She sighed as she looked at the girl before her.
"Yui, wouldn't it be better to accept your fate?"
"Why insist on resisting?"
Yui let out a scornful laugh.
Fate again? Of course. That seemed to be the norm in the Hyuga Clan. Almost every member used that same line.
"Miss Ikuko, I remember you're not from the Branch Family!"
"So why would you believe in fate?"
Ikuko Hyuga's expression froze, as though she hadn't expected Yui to argue back.
She fell silent for a moment, then shook her head.
Shaking her head? What did that mean? Had I guessed wrong? Was she from the Branch Family?
But there was no Caged Bird Seal on her forehead.
Ikuko Hyuga's bangs covered half her forehead, leaving the other half exposed, so Yui had assumed she belonged to the Main Family.
"There are barely a dozen or so members of the Main Family. How could I possibly be one of them?"
Ikuko Hyuga took a deep breath, raised her right hand, and lifted her bangs to reveal the hidden half of her forehead.
"That's..." Yui said uncertainly.
On the other half of Ikuko Hyuga's forehead was a blue-green Cursed Seal.
Unless her eyes deceived her, there was only half a Caged Bird Seal.
"Well? Do you still think I'm from the Main Family?" Ikuko Hyuga raised an eyebrow.
Yui shook her head, but she still wondered why the woman had only half a Cursed Seal.
"You're wondering why I only have half a Cursed Seal, aren't you?" Ikuko Hyuga asked with a smile.
Yui froze, not expecting her to guess even that.
She nodded, admitting it.
Ikuko Hyuga chuckled. "Then I'm not telling you."
She seemed to be toying with her.
Seeing Ikuko Hyuga act like this, Yui sneered inwardly.
Keep stalling. Keep stalling. Better yet, stall until Little White Mouse gets out of this area.
When Yui didn't reply, Ikuko Hyuga grew a little bored. She looked up at the sky.
"It's getting late," Ikuko Hyuga said. "You should stop wandering around out here."
"We can talk about this again when you come out in a few years!"
Oh? So she's dropping the pretense now? Yui thought.
In that case, she had no choice.
Veins bulged around her eyes as she activated her Byakugan, her hands forming hand seals.
"Tiger, Rabbit, Snake."
"Wind Release: Gale Palm!"
A powerful blast of air shot from Yui's palms.
It hurtled straight toward Ikuko Hyuga's lower abdomen.
That was the dantian where chakra was stored. A hit there would disrupt her opponent's chakra.
That would buy Yui some time.
Seeing Yui's crisp, decisive attack, an approving smile appeared on Ikuko Hyuga's lips.
"Not bad. Your ninjutsu has improved, and you're targeting your enemy's most vulnerable point. You really do have the makings of a fine ninja."
As the powerful ninjutsu attack rushed toward her, Ikuko Hyuga didn't dodge. Instead, she moved to meet it.
"But that's not how you use the Byakugan."
"Eight Trigrams Palm: Rotation!"
Through her Byakugan, Yui saw chakra erupt simultaneously from every chakra point in Ikuko Hyuga's body. With the movements of her hands, the chakra formed a rapidly spinning, hemispherical defensive barrier.
When Yui's attack struck that defense, it turned straight into a stream of chakra and merged into Ikuko's technique.
Their fusion only strengthened her opponent's defense.
"Damn it..." Yui cursed under her breath. Using such an unfair technique right from the start-she really thinks highly of me.
The Rotation dissipated, leaving Ikuko Hyuga standing quietly in place.
"Yui, let me teach you how to use the Byakugan!"
As she spoke, Ikuko Hyuga activated her Byakugan as well.
The instant her opponent activated her Byakugan, Yui felt an overwhelming sense of danger wash over her.
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