If Hyūga Shigeo had wanted the Hokage's life, he would have taken it long ago. He wasn't keeping Konoha alive for the sake of the old Third—it was for Tsunade-sensei, who had shown him kindness. The Third wouldn't live many more years anyway. Shigeo intended to keep the village intact until Tsunade could succeed him as Hokage. And yet these people still dared to try trapping him with petty schemes?
Did they really think he was still a child?
Years ago, it had been Black Zetsu's plot that framed him—hoping he'd lose all reason, lash out, and become the common enemy of the Five Great Ninja Villages. But Shigeo had outplayed them, striking Konoha and vanishing completely for over a year.
Their plan failed, so they turned their eyes to Nanmoku Kuni (South Ink Nation), where Shigeo had settled. They believed that with the Six Paths of Pain leading the charge, the entire country would be annihilated. Yet, in just one year, Shigeo not only healed his own eyes but awakened the Invisible Rinnegan, equaling Pain's power—and he had already foreseen Akatsuki's invasion.
He didn't just save Nanmoku. He moved the entire battlefield and destroyed Amegakure (Rain Village) itself.
Because of that, Akatsuki had now ceased all outside activity, focusing on recovery. Restoring Amegakure's power would take at least two years.
Orochimaru, too, had already laid out his plans: leaving Akatsuki, killing the Third Hokage, and finding a new vessel.
They all wanted to throw the ninja world into chaos. But Hyūga Shigeo would never be their weapon.
"If others don't harm me, I won't harm them. But if they strike first—I will strike back."
After saying this, Shigeo turned to the boy.
"Let's go, Kodomo."
The child wiped his tears and ran to him, clinging to Shigeo's leg.
"Sensei, my dad said I found a good teacher. If not for you, I'd have ended up like him—a test subject, drained of blood! His arms turned purple from all the experiments, there wasn't a single patch of healthy skin left. He said dying was freedom, Sensei... he said death was better..."
The boy, usually strong and stoic, broke down sobbing.
Shigeo looked at the countless serpent corpses around them, gently lifting him into his arms.
"It's alright. Don't cry. You still have your grandfather. Let's go home."
With that, he raised his hand—Bakuton (Explosion Release) flared forth.
The entire island erupted, followed by Katon (Fire Release) sweeping across it in waves of roaring flame.
Hakkaku Island, Orochimaru's base, was annihilated. Nothing remained but burning ash.
After Shigeo's departure, Orochimaru's surviving subordinates crept out of hiding and began to scour every inch of the island, searching the ruins meticulously.
Out at sea, Orochimaru sat in a wheelchair, staring longingly toward the smoke-covered horizon. Beside him, Kimimaro pushed the chair and asked softly,
"Sensei, what are they looking for? The battle is already over."
"For hair," Orochimaru replied.
He had risked summoning Shigeo here for one reason—to obtain a single strand of his hair. If he could find even one strand with a follicle, he could extract the DNA and cultivate its cells. With enough success, he might create a vessel capable of merging with Shigeo's abilities.
That thought made him tremble with excitement. But Shigeo's hatred of him ran too deep. Not only had he destroyed the island, but he'd burned it completely afterward. Would his men even find anything left beneath that sea of ash?
Kimimaro's eyes widened. "All this… just for a single strand of hair?"
What kind of being had Hyūga Shigeo become?
At last, one of Orochimaru's men shouted. In the mouth of a dead serpent, they found a single long, dark strand—unmistakably Shigeo's hair.
Orochimaru's eyes gleamed. He took it as if it were treasure, sealed it carefully inside a container, and brought it back to his laboratory.
He didn't sleep all night.
He began tests immediately, isolating and studying the genetic material.
When the results came, even he was horrified.
It wasn't human. The DNA pattern didn't belong to anything that should exist in this world. In all his life, Orochimaru had never seen such a structure.
For the next six months, he worked tirelessly to cultivate cells from Shigeo's hair sample. Every experiment failed. Each time, he consumed another fragment of the follicle's genetic material. Eventually, he used it all up.
The final cell decayed before his eyes.
"I need more of his body's cells… more!"
Orochimaru slammed his hands on the table, eyes burning with obsession. At that moment, he truly envied the boy Kodomo—to be Shigeo's disciple, to stand beside him.
If Shigeo would only allow it, Orochimaru would give anything—anything—to be near him again.
Three years passed.
During that time, Hyūga Shigeo continued managing Nanmoku Village and the Blue Gate (Ranshōmon) organization. His life was peaceful.
Under his leadership, Nanmoku Nation flourished.
The protective barriers had increased from one layer to three.
Its maritime exports grew rapidly—fishing, trade, and commerce all expanded. Checkpoints were built across the third barrier to regulate traffic and ensure no unauthorized entry.
In the southern region of the main island, a new city was founded—Shincheng (New City)—with a population of over ten thousand. It became an agricultural and production hub.
The Ninja Village itself grew stronger, fortified with walls and filled with life.
Libraries, power stations, waterworks, refineries, and housing developments all flourished. Even the Ninja Academy doubled its students.
Outside the country, Ranshōmon evolved from a small bounty group into a major underground organization, taking only A-rank and above missions.
Its four elite vanguards—U, Gangfū, Zhenqi, and Junchu—became renowned across the ninja world.
From obscurity, Ranshōmon had become a powerful, hidden network. The Five Great Ninja Villages even launched investigations—but found nothing beyond a legitimate mercenary guild that took high-tier contracts.
And so the matter was dropped.
As for Akatsuki—though publicly silent—they had not entirely vanished. Occasionally, sightings of White Zetsu and Black Zetsu were reported near Nanmoku's outer barrier. They lurked at the edge, watching, waiting.
But for now, they did not act.
(End of Chapter)
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