"Proof? Hmph!"
Hiashi Hyuga took a tactical step back, his expression one of clear disdain.
Within the Hyuga Clan's library were numerous ancient mythological records detailing legendary monsters and deities from primordial times. These beings had supposedly used honeyed words to entice and confuse human hearts.
Although most Hyuga regarded these accounts as imaginative fairy tales, they nevertheless planted subtle seeds of doubt in everyone's minds—keeping all wary and vigilant toward any non-human existence attempting to manipulate hearts with deceptive words.
More importantly, Hiashi's position as the last remaining heir of the Main House was actually very awkward.
To this day, even his younger brother Hizashi Hyuga had risen to prominence, becoming a powerful regional governor across the eastern territories of the Land of Fire. In contrast, Hiashi himself could only remain quietly stationed within Konoha under the pale title of "Western District Security Commander" for the Policing Department—without true authority or genuine freedom.
Worse still, the Branch House had never stopped keeping a close watch on the Main House, deeply fearing a repetition of past events. They tested Hiashi's loyalty through subtle and elaborate methods. Always looking for signs—anything that could be used to finally rid themselves of this former heir for good.
This pressure, combined with the constant undercurrents of tension, made Hiashi's life increasingly difficult.
It was precisely this sense of confinement, together with the unbearable loneliness of having no one to share his emotions with, that enabled Hiashi to suppress his shock and instinctive urge to kill—even when facing a black sludge monster—choosing instead to exchange a few words with it.
After all, it had been ages since he'd had a real, off-duty chat with someone—about anything other than work. This longing for connection allowed him to grasp onto even such an unusual situation as an opportunity for release and communication—even if it meant conversing with an incredible sludge monster.
"Beneath the Uchiha shrine at the banks of the Naha River lies a hidden chamber so well concealed that not even the Byakugan of the Hyuga can penetrate it."
Black Zetsu had come prepared: "Inside rests the ultimate secret shared by both the Uchiha and Hyuga Clans!"
"So this is your supposed 'evidence' that the Hyuga and Uchiha originate from the same source?"
Hiashi paused, his voice edged with skepticism though curiosity flickered in his eyes. "But tell me—who exactly are you anyway?"
The sludge ball's ramblings could perhaps be ignored—but its assertion that the two greatest dojutsu clans in the Ninja World were of shared origin? That was sheer lunacy. In Hiashi's ears, it was nothing short of absurd!
"I've already told you," it replied. "I am the incarnated embodiment of the First Tennin's consciousness!"
Black Zetsu's tone was clearly impatient: "It wasn't easy for me to escape the Uzumaki Clan's seal, and I came straight here as soon as I learned about the current situation. Why are you still so stubborn-minded?!"
"Stubborn-minded?"
Hiashi Hyuga shook his head helplessly. "Do you really think I'll fall for those so-called historical stories of yours?"
"Forget it. You win. Just go away. I have no interest in fighting, but if you stay here any longer, someone might catch on. And once that happens, even I won't be able to protect you."
After some hesitation, Hiashi suppressed his curiosity and decided to let Black Zetsu leave on its own.
If he did start a fight, aside from whether or not he could subdue this mysterious being, the sudden surge of chakra would definitely alert those former members of the Hyuga Branch House who were particularly wary of him. If they got involved, he—nominally the Western District Security Commander of Konoha's Military Police Force—would surely find himself in trouble.
Especially now, when he hated getting dragged into messy situations the most!
"Don't worry! Everyone will be asleep tonight. No one will notice your presence!"
The mud-like Black Zetsu simulated a grin with its mouth wide open.
"Is that so?"
One of Hiashi's left eyelids twitched slightly. After pondering briefly, he slightly closed his eyes.
[Byakugan!]
When he opened his eyes again, blue veins bulged around his eye sockets. Every movement within his surroundings, near or far, came fully into his perception.
"Hmph!"
Just as expected, those Hyuga ninja scattered around the mansion compound were all sound asleep right now!
What was notable was that these people had long kept a watchful eye on his residence, clearly never letting their guard down. These former Branch House members had even arranged their sleeping schedules in rotating shifts, ensuring that there would always be eyes secretly monitoring the former Main House heir, who they regarded as a potential threat, leaving absolutely no room for slackness.
"They won't discover anything abnormal even after waking up. Don't worry!"
Black Zetsu was very confident about this point.
"You're saying the highest secret of the Hyuga Clan is beneath the Uchiha Shrine?"
Hiashi curled his lip faintly before asking again: "Why is that?"
"Brother turning against brother—armed conflict breaking out. This is a tragic chapter of history repeating itself!"
Without missing a beat, Black Zetsu applied the feud and entanglements between the Senju Clan and Uchiha Clan onto the Hyuga Clan.
"What about the Kaguya Clan then?!"
Hiashi's eyebrows furrowed even more tightly.
According to the Hyuga Clan records, their only distant relatives were the Kaguya Clan, also renowned for their taijutsu prowess.
"The Kaguya were a branch that split off after the death of the First Tennin in battle."
Black Zetsu kept fabricating facts without batting an eye.
Hiashi pretended to look suddenly enlightened, though deep down, he didn't believe a word of it.
"So according to you, the Hyuga, Uchiha, and Kaguya Clans all originated from the same source?"
"Well... one could say it that way."
After bending the truth and dodging logic through this round of argument, even Black Zetsu realized his rhetoric had started to show a few cracks.
Though the long river of time has buried the origins of the Ninja Clans and parts of their glorious history deep beneath layers of dust, this doesn't mean their descendants are entirely ignorant of their ancestral roots. Quite the contrary—they maintain a sense of reverence and curiosity toward the wisdom of their forebears.
Yet for over a thousand years, Black Zetsu had focused exclusively on the reincarnations of Indra and Asura, inevitably causing his understanding of the Hyūga Clan to be both biased and shallow.
Against such a backdrop, even Black Zetsu's most thoroughly crafted words were destined to reveal certain oversights in detail. And Hiashi Hyuga, already under pressure and naturally cautious by nature, remained highly alert and sensitive toward this unexpected visit and its hidden motives.
So, every attempt to hide the truth or steer him astray was quickly exposed and shot down one after another.
"Come with me. I'll show you the hidden artifacts of the Hyūga Clan."
Black Zetsu decided it was time to end this back-and-forth with his killer move. After all, he had just barely finished tampering with the stone tablet inside the sealed chamber beneath the Uchiha shrine again: "History runs too deep—even I occasionally overlook things here and there. It's better that you see it with your own eyes."
Hiashi Hyuga scanned his surroundings once more with the Byakugan, making sure no one had noticed what he was doing: "Then why didn't the Uchiha Clan take that so-called 'tablet filled with secrets' when they relocated?"
"They *could never* take it away!"
Black Zetsu remained extremely confident on this point: "That stone is a sacred site blessed by the ancestors of both clans. No one has the strength or the audacity to move it!"
"Bullshit!"
Hiashi scoffed at the idea.
Still, he pulled on his coat and followed Black Zetsu out of his house, the blob-like creature oozing forward like sludge.
The night sky was dotted with sparse stars, and as he entered the courtyard, their glow seemed to fade further. True to its muddy appearance, Black Zetsu seeped into the earth. Unfamiliar with the motion, Hiashi formed hand seals and used an Earth Release Ninjutsu technique to sink underground and leave the village.
Currently, with most ninja clans having relocated outward and hostilities among the major Hidden Villages long dissipated, the original barriers had mostly faded, making Hiashi Hyuga's subterranean escape exceptionally smooth.
Likewise, the Uchiha shrine by the Naha River remained as dark and gloomy as ever, yet completely unguarded and abandoned, appearing desolate and forsaken.
Guided by Black Zetsu, Hiashi infiltrated the underground secret chamber.
And before him stood the legendary stone tablet said to conceal ancient historical secrets.
"This is it?"
Staring at the unintelligible scrawls carved into the stone, Hiashi shook his head slightly.
In his opinion, it wasn't even worthy of being called mysterious—it was pure nonsense.
"Observe it carefully with your dōjutsu!"
Black Zetsu was well prepared: "The stronger your ocular power, the more you will see. It all depends on you!"
"Is that so?"
Hiashi hesitated briefly, but since he'd come this far, he steeled himself and forcefully activated his Byakugan!
"This!"
Within the vision of the Byakugan, the stone tablet appeared exactly as it had before—unchanged.
Yet those strange characters that looked like ghost-painted talismans somehow conveyed certain information to him:
"A deity sought peace by splitting yin and yang into two forces. Their opposition gives birth to the power behind everything in existence."
Hiashi Hyuga frowned deeply, "Can't you see anything beyond this?"
"Your Byakugan's power has limits. Seeing even this much is already quite impressive!"
Black Zetsu continued speaking according to his prepared script: "And this proves once and for all that the Hyuga and Uchiha both come from the same origin!"
"I don't share that view."
Although this stone tablet indeed seemed mysterious, Hiashi still refused to believe a single word coming from this sludge-like monster.
The truth was, he came here out of curiosity—plus, he had nothing else going on anyway.
"I know you won't trust me,"
Black Zetsu wasn't persistent though, because over so many years, patience had become his greatest virtue: "But remember, the Main House (the ancestral core) is truly the root of the Hyuga Clan. This comes from ancient ancestral teachings. Without the Main House, the Hyuga would inevitably fade silently into oblivion."
"Perhaps. But what of it?"
Hiashi remained seemingly unmoved.
"I've said my piece, so we'll end it here for today."
Black Zetsu had already laid sufficient groundwork. He then seeped into the ground preparing to leave: "Use your eyes to observe this world carefully, then check the secret records in your clan library. You'll eventually gain some insights."
"When you finally see the truth… I'll return for you."
As for how things would develop afterward and whether acceptance might grow, that would be left entirely to time.
After all, the seeds had been planted. All that remained now was to let time do its work and allow those seeds to grow!
Through Black Zetsu's deep and unfathomable ability to manipulate hearts and minds, he understood perfectly well that merely sowing subtle seeds of doubt within someone's heart field could trigger an unstoppable inner storm.
This force would drive its victim to indulge in rich imagination and speculation without realizing it, their thoughts seemingly guided by invisible hands, tirelessly filling every tiny crack until they eventually constructed a seemingly flawless logical system within their own mind.
This inner process—built and refined from within—left a mark far deeper than any outside brainwashing ever could. It not only reached into people's emotional and cognitive core, but also stimulated their personal pursuit and verification of self-belief, making each tiny detail acquire extraordinary meaning and rationality.
"Wait—"
Just as Hiashi intended to ask him to stay, Black Zetsu vanished completely.
He sighed deeply.
Inside the secret chamber, Hiashi repeatedly used his Byakugan to examine the stone tablet, desperately trying to discern additional content.
"Teacher, are we moving house?!"
Returning to Konoha from Ryuchi Cave (Longdidong), Orochimaru appeared somewhat distracted, while Anko Mitarashi kept buzzing excitedly around him.
"There will be a good place," Orochimaru said gently, ruffling Anko Mitarashi's hair as he spoke softly: "And at your new home, you'll also have many playmates."
"Really? That sounds wonderful!"
Although Anko was always cold and ruthless when performing dissections, she was still just a little girl at heart, so it was natural for her to have some hopes for the future. "Then, can I use snakes as gifts?"
"That won't be necessary," Orochimaru replied with a chuckle. "After all, not everyone can withstand the venom of Ryuchi Cave's ninja snakes."
"Will there really be people who become my friends then?" Anko persisted eagerly.
Orochimaru set down his tools and turned around. "Everything will come, and everything will be alright." He said, "Go out for a moment; I have something to attend to."
"Okay."
Anko keenly sensed the subtle shift in the atmosphere and immediately moved toward the door, pondering inwardly about this sudden oddity.
After Anko left, Orochimaru's gaze locked onto the wall ahead.
"Not ready to come out yet?" His tone clearly showed displeasure. "Jiraiya! How long do you plan to keep hiding!"
"Whoa!"
The wall began to ripple, and Jiraiya stepped out from a seemingly solid wall, grinning broadly. "Didn't expect that, huh? Your sensor abilities have improved quite a bit!"
"Don't you think this is rather impolite!" Orochimaru's tone remained icy. "If I activate the barrier, you might not die—but you'd definitely lose a layer of skin!"
"Come on, we've known each other for years now," Jiraiya kept grinning, showing no signs of taking it seriously.
But when he noticed something off about Orochimaru's expression, he finally turned serious and said, "Sorry, but I had no choice—it was the Great Sage from Mount Myoboku who sent me to find you."
Orochimaru frowned even more deeply.
<><><><><><><><>
Thank you for reading! Your support will keep me updating!
~ Every 50 Powerstones = **4 Bonus Chapters** this weekend!
<><><><><><><><>
~ 100+ Advanced Chapters Available on Patreon!
~ More *Free* Chapters and Books Available on Patreon!
patreon.com/Tansnovel
<><><><><><><><>