Chapter 176: Orochimaru's Ambition!
"Heh heh, he killed Uchiha Itachi... interesting." In an underground research base somewhere in Konoha, Orochimaru's expression was one of curiosity and interest. He mused to himself, "Sensei Hiruzen, your tolerance for Uchiha Ikeizumi makes me jealous!"
Clearly, one of the spies Orochimaru had recently placed in Konoha had used a special jutsu to transmit fragments of information to him.
Orochimaru even knew that Jiraiya and Tsunade were currently in Konoha.
This made him click his tongue in annoyance, then an insidious smile twisted his lips. He said in a husky voice, "It seems I'll have to delay the plan slightly."
He lightly moved his hand away, revealing a sheet of paper beneath his palm on which the words "Konoha Destruction Plan, Second Edition" were written.
He crumpled the paper, but another sheet remained beneath it.
It read: "After killing Hiruzen Sarutobi, how to pressure the various factions in Konoha to seize political power, and use Konoha's strength to research the secret of eternal life..."
Dense lines of text piled upon one another, containing many questions to which Orochimaru still lacked answers.
Orochimaru stared at it for half a second, then tucked it into a scroll.
"But Jiraiya and Tsunade are not my biggest obstacles."
"My biggest obstacle is instead the vessel I value most."
"Heh heh..."
"Uchiha Ikeizumi, you're becoming more and more troublesome!"
His smile grew colder.
And filled with dangerous killing intent.
...
"Orochimaru, he must be at odds with many people in the Akatsuki. Though I'm new to the organization, I can occasionally spot who the most anti-social members are."
Jūzō Biwa, carrying the Kubikiribōchō, spoke. "Clearly, Orochimaru was that anti-social member."
Jūzō was starting to get hoarse. Normally, he was the most aloof person in a team.
However.
After realizing someone was even more aloof than him, he couldn't tolerate the atmosphere of dead silence.
"Why aren't you saying anything?" Jūzō couldn't help but ask. "Don't tell me you're not interested in Orochimaru. I've heard what he's done. In your Absolute Justice's eyes, he must be on your list of people to kill, right?"
"Your information is useless," the Mokuton clone said indifferently. "You should say things I don't know."
Jūzō Biwa: "..."
Embarrassingly, as a member of the Akatsuki, he realized he didn't possess as much intelligence about the organization as Uchiha Ikeizumi did. It made him feel like the outsider.
"You..."
Just as Jūzō was about to say something, he suddenly caught a scent of bloodlust and killing intent. His pupils contracted sharply.
Jūzō quickly drew the Kubikiribōchō and blocked it in front of him.
Clang!
Clang!
Clang!
Three shuriken, flying in from an unknown direction, all struck the back of the Kubikiribōchō, sparking three faint bursts of flame.
"Tch!" Jūzō's eyes turned icy. He simultaneously warned the Mokuton clone beside him, "Someone's targeting us. Or rather, targeting me. It shouldn't be Uchiha Obito and those two humanoids; if it were them, I'd already be injured."
The moment his words ended, layers of white mist suddenly erupted around them. The dense fog made Jūzō suddenly grin.
"Ha! I know who it is..."
"Kirigakure's Blood Mist ninja! Looks like they want to clean up a rogue."
"Hey!"
Jūzō suddenly remembered something important. "You're just a Mokuton clone. Don't tell me I'll have to be distracted protecting you?"
"No need."
The moment the clone uttered the two short words, it instantly drew the ninja sword from its waist and easily deflected a sharp kunai that had flown in from an unexpectedly tricky angle.
...
Ding
The kunai plunged deep into the ground, sticking less than ten centimeters in front of Jinsuke Hyūga's feet. If it had been slightly closer, it might have pierced his foot.
Jinsuke, shaken and terrified, looked up at Uchiha Ikeizumi ahead.
His frail, aging body couldn't help but take a step back.
"How is this possible..."
He had explicitly restricted all Hyūga clan members to the compound so the branch house couldn't involve Uchiha Ikeizumi. This was also to buy Jinsuke Hyūga more time to evacuate Konoha.
But why...
Why did Uchiha Ikeizumi appear? And why did he happen to be standing right outside the door as Jinsuke was leaving?
Wait!
"Neji Hyūga!!!"
Jinsuke suddenly saw Neji Hyūga following Uchiha Ikeizumi, and next to Neji was the other Branch House junior the grandson of Kōgari Hyūga, the branch elder who had 'died of sickness' last night!
He understood.
The realization hit him instantly.
Neji Hyūga and Kōgari's grandson had colluded to inform Uchiha Ikeizumi of this matter!
Jinsuke Hyūga's aged face became a canvas of complex emotions.
There was rage and annoyance directed at Neji, mixed with shock and dread at the sight of Uchiha Ikeizumi. Though he was a Hyūga Main House elder, he felt not an ounce of confidence or security when facing Uchiha Ikeizumi.
"Neji Hyūga, you betrayed Elder Jinsuke?!"
At this point.
The Main House Tokubetsu Jōnin tasked with protecting Jinsuke yelled at Neji, his face full of disbelief. "Do you know what you are doing? The Branch House's destiny is to protect the Main House! Yet your actions are attempting to murder a Main House elder!"
"What is your status in the Hyūga clan? What is your seniority? Did your father not teach you how to selflessly protect the Hyūga clan as a Branch House ninja?"
Neji, who had been expressionless, now showed a flash of hatred on his young face upon hearing these words.
Neji took a deep breath.
He used to believe that once you were caught in destiny, you could never break free.
That was until he personally witnessed how Uchiha Ikeizumi, with his immense power, forced the Hyūga clan to bow their heads.
It was that very witnessing that sparked a rebellious thought in the sealed-off recesses of Neji's heart: the destiny and cage imposed by the Main House upon the Branch House could be broken!
And after actively learning about Absolute Justice, Neji realized a truth: the Hyūga Main House's act of binding the Branch House with the Caged Bird was, in itself, an act of injustice!
Neji didn't know the deep meaning of the Caged Bird, but he knew only what he had seen and heard: Branch House ninja tormented and oppressed by the Caged Bird.
The Caged Bird seal left every Branch House ninja breathless.
They didn't even dare to harbor the thought of resistance.
In the past.
His father merely showed a momentary killing intent toward the heiress, Lady Hinata, and without even attempting to act upon it, Hiashi still decisively activated the Caged Bird seal.
"Is so-called selfless protection just being the Main House's scapegoat for generations, to be imprisoned in a cage for eternity, to be a bird that can never fly free?"
Neji clenched his jaw. He slowly ripped off the bandage covering his forehead.
He proudly displayed the Caged Bird curse mark.
"I am not here to discuss family law with your Main House," Neji turned to the Branch House junior next to him. "This is the man who killed your grandfather, correct?"
"...Yes."
The Branch House junior nodded weakly.
Neji exhaled, gritting his teeth. "I am here to demand justice for the Branch House elder you murdered! What right do you have to steal his life? Are the lives of the Hyūga Branch House merely consumables in the eyes of your Main House?"
He paused, then declared with conviction, "And I firmly believe that Uchiha's Absolute Justice will judge every wicked person! It will ensure justice for the innocent, allowing the guiltless to rest in peace in the Pure Land!"
...
(End Of Chapter)
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