After their sparring match ended, Zou Hyuga and Oto Uchiha bumped fists, symbolizing the Seal of Reconciliation.
"Say, Oto Uchiha..." Zou Hyuga glanced at the short sword at her waist. "You were trying to kill me just now, weren't you? That sword was only 0.01 centimeters from my neck!"
"No, no..." Oto Uchiha waved her hands emphatically.
Zou Hyuga watched her with an amused expression and pursed his lips. "You really were trying to kill me. So my destiny really is just to awaken your eyes, Miss Oto...
"Once you awaken your Mangekyō Sharingan, I hope you won't forget Zou of the Hyuga Branch Family." Zou Hyuga struck a dramatic pose.
"I absolutely... absolutely have no intention of killing you!" Oto Uchiha folded her arms and said solemnly, "If anyone tries to kill you, I'll kill them! No matter who they are!"
"Is that so..." A little touched, Zou Hyuga gazed at Oto Uchiha's face for a long time.
It was the first time he had ever heard such tender words. He even wanted to cry for an entire day, but unfortunately, his tear ducts weren't well developed, so tears didn't come easily.
"You've been staring at me for so long. Has my Sharingan mutated?"
Caught off guard by Zou Hyuga's stare, Oto Uchiha felt her cheeks grow hot. She shyly lowered her head and glanced up at him.
"Your Sharingan hasn't mutated."
Zou Hyuga shook his head and said with a perfectly straight face, "But your clothes and hair are soaked through, and you're showing quite a bit right now..."
"Ah, well..." Oto Uchiha buried her face in her clothes and used the Body Flicker Technique to leave the lake's surface.
"A tsundere Uchiha through and through. What a shame..."
Zou Hyuga looked toward her hiding place behind a tree and sighed. He had spoken his true feelings just now. Given their bond as comrades, Oto Uchiha might awaken her Mangekyō Sharingan if he were killed someday.
She was actually the Uchiha Clan's true genius, strong enough to be sent outside the village.
If he hadn't teamed up with Oto Uchiha, he might have stayed in Konoha forever, becoming a village-bound shut-in.
Ten minutes later, Zou Hyuga walked over to the tree where Oto Uchiha was hiding.
Through the wonders of ninjutsu, Oto Uchiha had steamed her clothes dry and combed her hair back into place.
After a few huffs, Oto Uchiha looked at Zou Hyuga, her cheeks puffed out slightly.
"We're done with today's taijutsu practice. Isn't it time you told me about the actual business?"
"Don't you dare tell me that getting me into that state was your so-called actual business..."
"Otherwise, I'll lose all respect for you!"
"I wouldn't go that far..." Only after the words left his mouth did Zou Hyuga realize he seemed to have said the wrong thing. Still, Oto Uchiha appeared to accept his explanation.
Since Oto had already made her position clear, it was time to tell her about his recent discoveries.
She already knew most of the secrets behind the black markings anyway. Without her help, his research wouldn't have progressed so quickly.
For the Hyuga Clan and the Uchiha Clan, who had still been enemies a few decades ago, the people who understood them best happened to be their enemies.
Much of his research into the Byakugan had relied on her.
"You're saying you can give animals chakra now?"
Oto Uchiha looked incredulous. She even reached out to feel Zou Hyuga's forehead. "Doesn't seem like a fever. Your temperature's perfectly normal!"
"I'm perfectly clearheaded right now... No, I've always been perfectly clearheaded."
Zou Hyuga protested. After glancing at Oto Uchiha, he caught a wild rabbit nearby and performed the experiment right in front of her.
Once infused with natural chakra, the wild rabbit's strength and speed increased dramatically.
"So it really is true. Zou, you've gained another ability..."
Oto Uchiha threw a kunai, pinning the rabbit dead against a tree trunk, then went over to retrieve it.
"Yeah. If this ability becomes stable, maybe I could supply you with chakra directly."
Zou Hyuga lit a fire, deftly set up a roasting rack, and placed the rabbit on it.
"It's still unstable, right? What help do you need? I'll do everything I can..." Oto Uchiha moved closer to Zou Hyuga and sprinkled a handful of pepper salt over the rabbit.
"I do need some help..." Zou Hyuga looked troubled.
He had experimented on both ordinary wild animals and the beasts in the Forest of Death, but the results had been unsatisfactory.
Although those beasts could withstand natural chakra, absorbing it left them so weak that they couldn't move for days.
For beasts living in the wild, being unable to move was fatal enough.
Oto Uchiha sighed. "So you want to use my connections to find summoning beasts to experiment on?"
Zou Hyuga nodded gently. There were no wild animals in the Forest of Death suitable for becoming summoning beasts. Any ninja beasts that qualified had either already contracted with someone or were hidden deep in remote mountain forests.
Unwilling to leave the village, he could only ask Oto Uchiha for help.
As for the Hyuga Clan...
First, they had no contract with a ninja beast family.
Second, he was only a member of the Branch Family, and Branch Family members had no rights whatsoever before the Main Family.
"That's certainly no easy task, but I should just about be able to manage..."
Oto Uchiha put on a helpless expression, looked into Zou Hyuga's eyes, and asked, "Are you sure giving them natural chakra won't harm the summoning beasts?"
"It won't!" Zou Hyuga was completely serious now. If he hadn't been certain, he wouldn't have come to her.
"All right." Still dubious, Oto Uchiha split the roasted rabbit in half. "When do you plan to experiment? Tomorrow or the day after?"
"Today." Zou Hyuga took the roasted rabbit, bit into it, and sprinkled on some cumin.
He preferred cumin to pepper salt. As for what sort of creature he was roasting, he didn't particularly care.
"Are you sure?" Oto Uchiha glanced at the setting sun near Kage Rock, then back at Zou Hyuga, and finally nodded.
"Summoning Technique!" Oto Uchiha slapped her palm against the ground.
With a pop, white smoke rose from the ground.
Once the smoke cleared, a cat wearing a bell appeared before them.
Zou Hyuga found the cat familiar, so he pointed at the cat and asked Oto Uchiha, "Is this one reliable?"
"With Bell Cat, it's not a question of reliability..."
Oto Uchiha wiped her mouth, rubbed her stomach, and let out a satisfied burp.
"This is a very rare, very obedient kitty who can handle all kinds of tasks. Except turning into a human."
Zou Hyuga gave Oto Uchiha a disdainful look. What kind of upbringing had led her to behave like this?
Who was it?
Who on earth was it?
Who stole away the once obedient, tsundere young lady of the Uchiha Clan?
You're the one who taught me all of this!
Oto Uchiha silently cursed, then said, "Fine. I signed a contract with Bell, so I can summon Bell over anytime, whether Bell wants to come or not."
"Now I understand." Zou Hyuga nodded and gave Bell Cat a meaningful look. "Bell, would you like some roasted rabbit?!"
Bell Cat sensed danger and backed away a few steps, only to see the kunai behind the cat.
Bell Cat regretted being bribed with dried fish into signing a Summoning Contract a few days ago.
After seeing this man, Bell Cat had a strange feeling that those leisurely days were gone for good, and what awaited instead was a hell like Dog Country.
Goodbye, my dear homeland, Cat Village.
Bell Cat might never be able to fish with that tail again.
Before you continue