"Stay here and think about what you've done!"
Tsunade spoke coldly.
Hyuga Akira plopped down on the floor, then quickly got up and walked to the cell door. "Lady Tsunade, if the team disbands, can I stay here?"
"Hmm?" Tsunade stopped and looked at Hyuga Akira.
Hyuga Akira and Hyuga Hiashi had now fallen out completely. If Hyuga Akira returned to Konoha, he would inevitably face severe punishment from the Hyuga Clan.
This time, it would not be as simple as his last confinement.
Glancing at the neighboring cell out of the corner of her eye, Tsunade said gravely, "You should know that some things can't be avoided."
The Hyuga Clan would not let Hyuga Akira off easily. No matter how long he stayed here, he would eventually have to return and face them.
"Lady Tsunade, one year is enough. Let me stay here for one year." Hyuga Akira treated Hyuga Hiashi in the neighboring cell as a dead man.
One year was enough for him to solve the problem of the Caged Bird Seal.
The items dropped by Amegakure ninja included a way to deal with the Caged Bird Seal, but he could only use it after his class advancement at level eighteen.
One year was enough for him to complete his class advancement and farm the item.
Once he removed the Caged Bird Seal, the Hyuga Clan would have no way to deal with him, even if he returned to Konoha.
Tsunade's gaze sharpened. Killing intent radiated from her as she stared at Hyuga Akira. "If you become a rogue ninja, I'll deal with you myself."
Still, the chances of Hyuga Akira becoming a rogue ninja were slim. The Caged Bird Seal could take his life at any moment.
"Don't worry, Lady Tsunade," Hyuga Akira replied with a smile.
He would not choose to become a rogue ninja before going through the Second and Third Shinobi World Wars.
To participate in a war with less risk, he needed a powerful backer.
And war was the best time to farm experience.
"I hope so." Tsunade frowned slightly, then turned and left.
The Chunin who had opened the door put on an innocent expression, indicating that this had nothing to do with him. He did not even lock the door all the way.
He was only a civilian ninja. He could not afford to offend anyone from the Hyuga Clan.
Chapter 34: Hyuga Akira Finally Had a Jonin Instructor, Too
"Hyuga Akira, what exactly are you trying to do?" Hyuga Hiashi's voice came from the neighboring cell.
He did not know why the other boy wanted to stay here for a year. He had heard every word of Hyuga Akira's conversation with Tsunade.
"None of your damn business," Hyuga Akira said coldly.
Was he supposed to tell him that he planned to solve the Caged Bird Seal problem over the coming year?
If he actually said it, he believed the Hyuga Clan would immediately send a squad to take him away, even imprisoning him permanently at any cost.
The Caged Bird Seal appeared to be a means of keeping others from coveting the Byakugan, but in reality, it was the Main Family's most important tool for controlling the entire Hyuga Clan.
The Hyuga Clan would not even permit the thought of removing the Caged Bird Seal.
He had no interest in dealing with Hyuga Hiashi. Even if Hiashi had done nothing, he still benefited from the arrangement. They were natural enemies.
What was more, Hiashi had already used the Caged Bird Seal on him. Now they had fallen out completely.
If Hyuga Hiashi found an opportunity now, he would definitely use the Caged Bird Seal to kill him. And if he found an opportunity, he would kill Hyuga Hiashi, too.
Hyuga Akira rubbed around his eyes. The pain from the Caged Bird Seal's first activation had faded, but a little phantom pain remained.
It was still bearable, though.
He gathered his thoughts.
Hyuga Akira looked at the skill that came with his equipment set.
[Cheap Shot]
He silently chose to use it, and a transparent circle appeared on the ground beneath his feet.
"The range is a little short." Hyuga Akira rubbed his chin.
The transparent sphere marked the range of [Cheap Shot]. At such close range, it was better suited to melee combat.
The problem was that he was a ranged damage dealer.
It seemed his previous methods would not work.
He needed to develop a new set of tactics around [Cheap Shot], preferably one that could reap enemy lives at high speed and quickly earn experience.
The neighboring cell fell silent.
Hyuga Akira sank into thought.
While Hyuga Akira was considering tactics, the door suddenly opened.
A white-haired man in a beige robe walked in. He had delicate features and looked gentle and refined.
"You're Hyuga Akira, aren't you?" The man gave Hyuga Akira a friendly smile.
Hyuga Akira stood up and tilted his head as he looked at the familiar man before him. A smile appeared on his face. "That's right. And you are?"
Even without an introduction, he knew who the man was.
Hiruko, a Jonin of Konoha.
A future boss who would research the Chimera Technique, and from whom he could farm four kekkei genkai as well as the Chimera Technique.
But Hiruko had not yet reached that level. He probably would not drop anything good.
With a warm smile, Hiruko said, "I'm Hiruko, your Jonin instructor from now on."
"Huh?" Hyuga Akira looked at Hiruko in surprise.
He was actually being assigned a Jonin instructor. Every ninja received one after graduating from the Ninja Academy, but unfortunately, he had been summoned straight to the Hyuga Clan and had never received one.
As for Tsunade, she was their team leader. Their team was an officially organized unit.
The ninja leading an officially organized unit was only responsible for taking people on missions, not guiding their development.
Their relationship was merely that of superior and subordinate.
He had never expected to have an instructor himself, let alone a Jonin.
That was not treatment just anyone could receive.
But if it was Hiruko...
"Teacher Hiruko, I look forward to learning from you," Hyuga Akira immediately said sincerely.
Even if Hiruko turned evil in the future, that had nothing to do with him. Hiruko knew plenty of ninjutsu.
One of a Jonin instructor's duties was to teach ninjutsu.
Hiruko smiled and nodded. A subtle gleam appeared in his eyes as he looked at Hyuga Akira's Byakugan, then quickly vanished.
"Where did you put the Sealing Scroll you were asked to bring?" Hiruko asked.
"Oh, right." Hyuga Akira realized what he had forgotten. He reached out and made a show of slapping the ground, releasing the smoke he had prepared beforehand.
As the smoke rose, a schoolbag appeared on the ground.
"The Summoning Technique?" A trace of confusion crossed Hiruko's face. Something about Hyuga Akira's Summoning Technique felt wrong, but he could not figure out what.
He soon put his doubts aside, stepped forward, and slung the bag onto his back.
"Come with me." Hiruko headed for the door.
Hyuga Akira glanced at the tightly shut door of the neighboring cell. It seemed his confinement was over.
He had barely spent any time there at all.
What good luck.
Hyuga Akira followed Hiruko and walked beside him. "Teacher, I wanted to ask: were we the transport team, or the bait?"
Hiruko gave Hyuga Akira a surprised look. He had not expected the child to think of that question. After considering it, he explained, "You were the transport team. The teams led by Orochimaru and Jiraiya were the bait. After all, who would imagine that three Genin and one Jonin would be escorting important supplies?"
Hyuga Akira understood.
It was psychological warfare. The seemingly least likely team was carrying the most important supplies.
That was why so few ninja had intercepted them.
Most of the enemy had been intercepting Orochimaru and Jiraiya.
Inside the command tent.
Jiraiya and Orochimaru sat in their seats, looking somewhat battered.
Their armor had suffered quite a bit of damage.
"This time, we drew out most of the foreign ninja inside the Land of Fire," Jiraiya said casually. "I'm exhausted. Tsunade, you have no idea..."
As they listened to Jiraiya ramble on, Orochimaru and Tsunade were both thoroughly exasperated.
"Enough. Now isn't the time for that." Tsunade slapped the table, cutting Jiraiya off.
"What we need now is intelligence on the Land of Rain."
The Land of Rain was a key territory that had to be contested in war. Neither Iwagakure nor Sunagakure would give it up easily. Once war broke out, they would inevitably attack the Land of Rain.
Intelligence from within the Land of Rain offered the easiest way to analyze the two nations' movements.
"Just send a few people to gather intelligence," Jiraiya said unconcernedly.
Beside him, Orochimaru said helplessly, "Amegakure controls most of the intelligence within the Land of Rain. Getting it from them won't be easy."
Jiraiya scratched his head.
Ninja specialized in stealing intelligence, but they were also the best at protecting it. Getting intelligence from Amegakure ninja would indeed be difficult.
Moreover, Amegakure's ninja had all gone into hiding. Finding them would not be easy, either.
They, too, sensed that war could break out at any moment.
"Then what do we do?" Jiraiya was out of ideas. He was not good at this sort of mental work.
Orochimaru unconsciously licked his lips. "We need to send an undercover agent into Amegakure to steal intelligence from them."
Just then, Hiruko lifted the tent flap and walked in with Hyuga Akira.
Tsunade glanced at Hyuga Akira, then looked away.
Hiruko smiled at the three of them. "None of the supplies are missing. There's enough to handle an emergency."
Seeing all three still frowning, he asked curiously, "What are you discussing?"
Chapter 35: Hyuga Akira: My Role Was Decided Just Like That?
"We need intelligence from Amegakure to learn the movements of Iwagakure and Sunagakure," Orochimaru said gently.
Hiruko sank into thought. As one of the temporary commanders here, he understood what the three intended.
Naturally, Konoha had spies in both Iwagakure and Sunagakure. Learning their movements was not difficult, but the intelligence they sent back came with a delay.
And in the current tense atmosphere, even a slight delay could have serious consequences.
As territory all three sides had to contest, the Land of Rain was the easiest place to obtain information on the other two sides' movements. And since the Land of Rain itself was Amegakure's territory, the village would inevitably be watching all three sides.
The intelligence in their hands was crucial, and it would not come with much delay.
"Amegakure has gone completely into hiding now. Finding them won't be easy."
After all, Amegakure was the ninja village of a small nation. It would not dare confront the ninja villages of the three great nations head-on.
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