As long as a ninja exists in this world, they will inevitably form countless tangled connections with it—the only thing that distinguishes how well they are hidden is their stealth capabilities as a shinobi.
Without a doubt, Hiruko—who hailed from Konoha's formal training track, belonged to the same era as the Sannin, and possessed an intellect rivaling Orochimaru's—had maxed out his reconnaissance and counter-reconnaissance skills to the absolute limit of a conventional ninja.
To find someone as adept at hiding as Hiruko, Hyuga Yu could only choose to place his trust in the highly specialized expert beside him—the ninja world's top bounty hunter, Kakuzu.
"Are you saying the one we're looking for is that short, white-haired brat who attacked you last time?"
On February 18th, at 7:00 AM, braving a light drizzle, two figures—one tall, one short—walked out of the gates of Amegakure, clad in black rain cloaks and straw hats.
Listening to his new employer's instructions, Kakuzu knit his brows tightly in deep thought. "The first time that guy surfaced was in the already collapsed Kirigakure. Multiple cases of stolen corpses belonging to shinobi with Kekkei Genkai occurred within the Hidden Mist Village. Unsurprisingly, they were likely all the work of that short, white-haired bastard."
"After that, it was at Oyamashiro's black market. The shorty went there on his own initiative and obtained intelligence that you were heading to the Land of Hot Springs. I arrived shortly after..."
"Wait, Hiruko appeared in Kirigakure, but he got intel on me from Oyamashiro?"
Hearing this, Hyuga Yu raised an eyebrow, a flicker of gravity passing through his eyes as he vaguely perceived a blind spot in this sequence of events. Oyamashiro was a massive underground black market and overseas capital distribution center established by En Oyashiro, the last descendant of the Chinoike clan.
After the collapse of Kirigakure—an event orchestrated entirely by Hyuga Yu—the Mist Village fell into chaos and its defenses were left completely hollowed out. It was perfectly understandable that Hiruko, dedicated to his research on the Chimera Technique, would seize such a precious opportunity to infiltrate Kirigakure and steal Kekkei Genkai.
It was also understandable that Yu's own actions to contact Rin Nohara had been exposed early on, drawing the gaze of Madara Uchiha from the shadows, who then dispatched someone to cause trouble for him.
But the crucial point was: how did Madara Uchiha induce Hiruko to make a move against him? Did he possess something so valuable that Hiruko would risk exposing his incomplete technique just to strike early?
Thinking of this, Hyuga Yu immediately recalled the inorganic sphere generated by Yang Release—a byproduct of Tenseigan chakra that he had left behind in the Kirigakure Yang Release laboratory.
Hiruko might have "accidentally" obtained that remnant and realized the immense technological value within it, which was why he targeted him.
But why at Oyamashiro?
Hyuga Yu quickly connected this to the incident in the Valley of Hell in the Land of Hot Springs right before the Third Shinobi World War—where En Oyashiro slaughtered the entire Chinoike clan and forcibly broke through the guard post of the Uchiha clan stationed there, causing heavy casualties to the Uchiha.
If one linked these events together, it wasn't hard to deduce that Madara Uchiha might have taken note of En Oyashiro long ago, or rather, the specific group of Uchiha clansmen guarding the Valley of Hell.
The Valley of Hell incident seemed far from simple, and En Oyashiro's underground black market had been established right under the nose of Madara Uchiha, who controlled the Land of Water. Yet, Madara had done nothing to the culprit who harmed his own clan. In other words, En Oyashiro's actions only had the leeway to occur because of Madara Uchiha's deliberate tolerance.
Combined with En Oyashiro's deep understanding of Sasuke Uchiha's Mangekyō Sharingan and his incredibly peculiar attitude toward the sole Uchiha survivor in Sasuke Shinden, which took place after the Fourth Shinobi World War...
Madara Uchiha and En Oyashiro... could there be some hidden connection between them that outsiders knew nothing about?
Hyuga Yu was somewhat uncertain. However, if the one who came last time hadn't been Kakuzu but En Oyashiro himself, back when Yu hadn't yet awakened his dōjutsu and gained its ocular power and genjutsu resistance, he probably would have genuinely met his end in the Land of Hot Springs...
The thought sent a slight chill down Hyuga Yu's spine.
At this moment, Kakuzu didn't overthink as Yu did. He spoke calmly, "Information comes from three sources: the living, the dead, and the flow of money."
"If, as you say, that short, white-haired brat is a ninja skilled in scientific research with achievements in the field of biological genetics, and the technique he's developing is closely tied to his experiments, then we just need to check his supply chains, and we can roughly pinpoint his location."
Hyuga Yu looked up and frowned, asking, "How do we check?"
"Hiruko's research cannot see the light of day. Most of his experimental equipment is likely purchased through underground black market channels. As far as I know, such channels don't keep records."
Kakuzu sneered. "Of course they don't keep official records, but they do keep ledgers tracking specific amounts. The underground black market of the ninja world has its own order. To control such a massive market, the necessary procedures are, frankly, not that different from those of the legitimate shinobi world."
"You just need to tell me the approximate market value of his research equipment, and I can track down the flow of money for goods of equivalent value."
Hyuga Yu shot Kakuzu a slightly surprised look. See? Now this is what you call a professional!
No wonder people say an elder at home is like a treasure. This money was incredibly well spent!
Without hesitation, Hyuga Yu immediately listed the market prices of some common laboratory equipment. "An AFM-grade atomic force microscope goes for roughly 3 million ryo. A patch-clamp system is about 2.25 million ryo. A Class A2 biosafety cabinet is roughly 325,000 ryo. A protein mass spectrometer is around 6 million ryo. A CRISPR-Cas9 gene-editing system costs..."
Kakuzu pulled a bounty list from his robes, jotted down the prices of the equipment Yu mentioned on a blank title page one by one, and nodded. "That's enough."
Hyuga Yu looked at him and asked, "Is this really all it takes? How long will it take to find out?"
Kakuzu nodded. "High-value equipment like this can only be produced in the Land of Earth. Iwagakure cracks down very severely on the illegal smuggling of such core commodities, so they can only be resold through major underground black market channels. Right now, there is only one black market in the entire shinobi world capable of swallowing such inventory."
"Oyamashiro."
At this moment, from the corner of his eye, Hyuga Yu noticed that pasted on the very first page of the bounty list in Kakuzu's hand was his own color portrait. It was actually a pretty handsome shot... making his mood instantly turn a bit surreal.
As Kakuzu spoke, he tore off the page. The list of secondhand goods recorded on the blank sheet had a face value of 100 million ryo, but through a series of complex calculations, he had computed a total actual transaction value as high as 400 million ryo. He rolled it up, stuffed his black-gloved thumb and index finger into his mouth, and blew a loud whistle. Before long, a black pigeon flew down from the sky.
Kakuzu slipped the paper scroll into the message tube on the black pigeon's leg, released it into the air, and turned around, estimating, "I'll have Funari, one of my subordinates from Shitsuya, head to Oyamashiro to investigate. The fastest we'll get results is three days. In the meantime, just wait patiently."
Hyuga Yu nodded, showing no surprise at the mention of Kakuzu's subordinate.
As the top bounty hunter in the shinobi world, Kakuzu didn't operate entirely alone. He controlled an underground organization called Shitsuya, which was responsible for gathering intelligence, transporting supplies, and laundering money for him.
In other words, winning Kakuzu's loyalty didn't just net him an exceptionally professional and highly responsible powerhouse; it also gave him control over Shitsuya, a mid-sized underground organization. The remaining 200 million ryo in illicit funds that Hyuga Yu had extorted from Iwagakure could also be rapidly laundered through this network.
This caused Hyuga Yu to marvel once more at what an incredible bargain this deal was!
Having handled the arrangements for tracking Hiruko, Kakuzu turned to Hyuga Yu and asked, "Where to next? Do you have any other leads?"
Hyuga Yu pondered for a moment, rapidly sorting through various pieces of information in his mind, before finally locking onto the country where Hiruko was most likely entrenched—the Land of Rivers.
A mid-sized nation sandwiched between the Land of Fire and the Land of Wind.
In the movie Inheritors of the Will of Fire, the Konoha ninja tracking Hiruko ultimately lost his trail at Mount Shumi, located at the border of Iwagakure and Kusagakure. That was the location Hiruko chose to perform the ultimate Chimera Technique ritual to align with celestial phenomena. However, concluding that Hiruko was currently at Mount Shumi in the Land of Grass was highly unrealistic. The Land of Grass had been plagued by years of warfare, with Iwagakure and Konoha beating each other's brains out there, and the local Grass ninja were desperately short on resources, resorting to rampant looting. The Land of Grass simply did not provide an environment suitable for clandestine research.
Furthermore, while tracking Hiruko, Naruto encountered the Fifth Kazekage, Gaara, who had come to intercept him. This implied that aside from Konoha, who bore primary responsibility for producing the rogue ninja Hiruko, Sunagakure was the secondary party responsible for the escalation of the Hiruko incident. Since Iwagakure shinobi were not involved in that event, it was easy to deduce that Hiruko's rise relied on exploiting the resources and blind spots of both Konoha and Sunagakure.
Hyuga Yu's mental gaze soon settled on the Land of Rivers on his map of the shinobi world. "The Land of Rivers. Let's head there first."
Besides, apart from Hiruko, he might find some other unexpected windfalls in the Land of Rivers...
Kakuzu didn't press for details. He merely nodded silently, fell back half a step behind Hyuga Yu, and followed him as they changed direction, walking toward the southwestern border of the Land of Rain.
The Land of Rivers wasn't far from the Land of Rain; taking the southwestern highway, it would only take about a two-day journey on foot to arrive.
The moment Hyuga Yu and Kakuzu stepped out of Amegakure, several ninja lurking on the outskirts detected the news, immediately scattering to transmit the intelligence as fast as possible.
Messenger pigeons, summoning hawks, mechanical puppet beasts, and winged serpents carrying intelligence dispersed in all directions toward the Land of Wind, the Land of Rivers, the Land of Water, and the Land of Earth. Among them, the strangest was an ordinary-looking man who resembled a traveling merchant. Holding an old-school brick cell phone, he quickly dialed a number. "Hello?"
"Yes, my lord. I have sighted the 'Tennin.' He is currently leaving the Land of Rain, heading in the direction of the Land of Rivers."
"His intentions are unknown for now. However, according to my investigations, it is confirmed that a civil war did break out in the Land of Rain. Yet, no clear victor emerged between Iwagakure and the Tennin, and they seem to have weirdly reached some sort of consensus."
"His eyes?"
"They look like completely ordinary black eyes. As for his Byakugan? That... is currently unclear. Yes, the Tennin hasn't gone mad, nor is he slaughtering people indiscriminately."
"Very well, I understand."
"I will immediately notify the Chairman that we will gradually leak out the technologies developed by the Outer over the years, per your instructions."
"However... isn't it a bit too early to begin cultivating the 'Karma'? Ah! Forgive me, my lord, I overstepped my bounds!"
"Tennin Hyuga Yu, Hizashi Hyuga who calls himself the Tennin, Nagato, and... Shisui Uchiha? Understood. We will continue to closely monitor their movements."
Ending the call, the ordinary-looking man, who possessed the dark-skinned traits typical of the Land of Lightning, lowered the brick phone. He gazed at Hyuga Yu and Kakuzu, who had already vanished from ordinary sight, and blinked. In the center of his eyes, a circular slit spiraled open, from which an electronic eye resembling a camera lens emerged. Utilizing infrared imaging, it penetrated numerous obstacles to re-acquire the figures of Hyuga Yu and Kakuzu, who had dwindled into two tiny dots.
As the numerous messenger pigeons and summoning beasts scattered, the outcome of the Land of Rain's civil war landed on the desks of the leaders of the great nations and various individuals closely tracking the Tennin. The major powers, and even the shinobi lurking in the dark, began to reassess Konoha's military strength, the power of the Tennin, and their subsequent courses of action.
Among them, the most noteworthy reactions came from two individuals residing within the Land of Rivers who had received the intelligence.
In the western part of the Land of Rivers, near the border of the Land of Wind, within a hidden laboratory, a Chimera beast brought back the intelligence. Upon receiving it, a handsome, white-haired youth sitting on an iron laboratory table suddenly underwent a drastic change in expression and bolted upright. His body was completely wrapped in blood-soaked bandages, his skin and complexion were deathly pale, and he had a distinct beauty mark right between his eyebrows.
"What the hell is that guy coming to the Land of Rivers for?"
"Crap, don't tell me he's coming after me?"
This white-haired youth was none other than Hiruko!
Hearing that Hyuga Yu was heading in a straight line toward his hiding spot in the Land of Rivers, his face twitched uncontrollably. The afterimage of a dazzling, forty-meter-long cyan giant sword involuntarily flashed through his mind. Hiruko could not help but feel extremely conflicted. On one hand, he coveted the "ultimate ratio for the Chimera Technique" that Hyuga Yu possessed. On the other hand, he knew all too well that he was no match for Hyuga Yu. Now, hearing that Yu was coming to the Land of Rivers made him as skittish as a startled bird, completely at a loss for what to do, terrified that Yu was coming specifically to exact revenge on him!
"No way... I have to run! I have to abandon this lab, too! Maybe I should just flee overseas to the Land of Snow. The ministers over there are pretty foolish; they might actually fund my research!"
Holding the intelligence document, Hiruko's mind raced in a panic, but he soon noticed the subsequent contents of the report, and his expression suddenly froze. "Huh?"
"Wait... it says here that Hyuga Yu's eyes have been replaced with ordinary ones? He doesn't have his Byakugan anymore?"
Seeing this, Hiruko sucked in a breath, his face full of doubt and hesitation. Last time, it wasn't so much Hyuga Yu's cyan giant sword that defeated him, but rather the fact that upon making contact with the Chimera beast, Yu had absorbed its massive life force, causing his eyes to undergo a qualitative mutation. They had transformed from ordinary Byakugan into cyan-white eyes with a bizarre, snowflake-like hexagonal pattern. Utilizing a power born from those eyes, he had manifested that giant sword, which ultimately overwhelmed Hiruko.
In his normal state, Hyuga Yu was at best a fifty-fifty match against him; in fact, after neutralizing Yu's Wind Release, Hiruko had even gained the upper hand.
Hiruko knew very well that the key to Hyuga Yu's fluid-dynamics Wind Release lay entirely in his ability to use the microscopic vision of the Byakugan to micro-manage air pressure.
Now that Hyuga Yu lacked that pair of Byakugan, didn't it mean he had not only lost that extraordinary power but had even lost his Wind Release?
"A Hyuga Yu like that... is nothing to fear!"
But...
Looking at the report, Hiruko quickly fell back into an anxious knot. "That S-rank rogue ninja from Takigakure, the old monster of the underground black market, is accompanying Hyuga Yu? The two of them have formed an alliance?"
"Tsk, without assistance, I probably still won't be able to take down the Tennin... Whatever... I should still lie low for a while."
However, just as Hiruko was thinking this—
Knock! Knock! Knock!
Outside the iron door of this core laboratory, which was completely unknown to anyone and surrounded by traps and barriers, a rhythmic knocking suddenly echoed.
Hiruko's expression completely changed. He found it impossible to imagine that someone could break through the layers of misdirection and camouflage he had established, directly locating his hidden core laboratory in the Land of Rivers.
To possess such methods, it had to be a troublesome individual who was extremely experienced and as cunning as a fox!
"Who is it?!"
"No, now is not the time to think about that. The laboratory door uses the latest liquid-alloy technology; it's impossible to open without the internal passcode. Dammit, how did the usually deserted Land of Rivers become so dangerous?!"
"I have to get out of here!"
Having made up his mind, Hiruko immediately prepared to get up and flee through the laboratory's built-in secret passage.
However, right at that moment—
CLANG! CLANG!
Following two incredibly sharp, booming crashes—as if countless iron filings were suddenly bombarding and grinding inside the laboratory door's mechanism—the heavy door was forcibly prying open!
Hiruko's face twisted in alarm. He immediately dropped into a half-crouch on the laboratory table, leveling his palms at the slowly swinging iron door. Simultaneously, he activated his four Kekkei Genkai—Swift Release, Steel Release, Storm Release, and Dark Release—bracing himself for battle!
The doors parted slowly to the sides. Revealing himself behind the threshold was the figure of a youth dressed in a high-collared brown robe, wearing a deep hood that completely obscured his face, save for a few stray strands of red hair dangling loose.
Tilting his head slightly, he peered through the gap of the doorway into the laboratory's interior. Completely ignoring the heavily guarded Hiruko, his gaze swept over the various valuable, high-end secondhand equipment. Curling his lips into a slightly thrilled, cold sneer, he lifted his ten fingers as if dancing them over invisible puppet strings.
"This place... belongs to me. Including you."
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