Bang!!
Inside the forest, a figure was sent flying as if struck by a train.
His limbs twisted grotesquely, spinning like a windmill in mid-air before crashing through several trees, finally embedding deep into a thick tree trunk.
"…"
Hyūga Kumokawa's entire body radiated a blazing, flame-like azure aura.
His searing body temperature evaporated the falling rain into white steam.
Looking at the figure he had blown away with a single punch after opening the Gate of Life, a baffled thought involuntarily crossed his mind.
That guy… is he some kind of comedian?
Originally, this shadow clone had already run out of chakra, yet that guy just kept standing in the distance running his mouth endlessly.
Meanwhile, Kumokawa's true body had snuck over in concealment wearing the cloak of shadows.
He thought it would be someone remarkable.
And this was it?
"Your Kekkei Genkai is Steel Release?" Hyūga Kumokawa simply asked out loud.
"Who gave you the courage? With nothing more than a half-baked Steel Release, you dare stand before the Hyūga Clan?"
Crack, crack!
In the distance, Hiruko braced his hands against the tree trunk and pulled himself free.
His skin glimmered with a metallic dark sheen, but his side was visibly caved in — his flesh and organs had been crushed from within.
And that was after instinctively dodging. If not, his heart would have been shattered by that blow.
But upon hearing Hyūga Kumokawa's mocking words, Hiruko — already insecure and hypersensitive — was so enraged that a mouthful of coppery blood surged up his throat. His heavy breaths reeked of iron.
"Damn it! I knew that bastard Orochimaru wouldn't be so kind!"
Just from that one strike, Hiruko realized the opponent before him was nothing like what Orochimaru had described.
The Chimera Technique — his secret ninjutsu — allowed him to fuse other ninja or summoning beasts with his own body, even absorbing the chakra of Kekkei Genkai users to obtain their bloodline limits.
Right now, he possessed Steel Release and Swift Release.
His body's defense could shrug off blades with ease, while his speed in a normal state rivaled the Body Flicker Technique. Ordinary taijutsu specialists were no match for him.
But the man before him… he was nothing like a normal Hyūga.
Hiruko had once been a Konoha ninja, so naturally he understood the Hyūga Clan's fighting style.
He had even been standing outside their usual attack range. Yet this guy could release Gentle Fist strikes from a distance.
He could feel his stomach, intestines, and liver shattered.
Against the penetrating force of that punch, his Steel Release was a complete joke.
This wasn't some "lucky good-for-nothing" like Orochimaru claimed.
This was a monster of the Hyūga Clan.
"Hm?"
When Hiruko mentioned Orochimaru's name, Hyūga Kumokawa raised an eyebrow and smirked.
"So that's how it is. To think Lord Orochimaru is still alive. I thought he had already died somewhere in a dark corner like a dead snake."
The man before him had such distinct features that Kumokawa immediately recognized him.
Hiruko — an A-rank missing-nin from Konoha.
Once the childhood companion of the Legendary Sannin, yet lacking their talent.
Burdened by inferiority, jealousy, and resentment, he sought to compensate for his weakness by secretly conducting human experiments and developing the forbidden ninjutsu known as the Chimera Technique.
When the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, discovered this, he sent the Sannin to hunt Hiruko down. But Hiruko escaped.
Kumokawa hadn't expected Hiruko to be connected to Orochimaru.
On second thought, it wasn't surprising — their research was similar. Orochimaru had begun with the study of the body, only later turning to the soul after breaking into the library of forbidden scrolls.
"How is Lord Orochimaru doing these days?" Kumokawa asked with a smile.
"…"
Hiruko narrowed his eyes, giving no reply. His gaze swept over Kumokawa.
He had thought Orochimaru's twisted appearance was the Third Hokage's doing.
But now, recalling Orochimaru's gnashing teeth and uncontrollable hatred whenever mentioning this brat, Hiruko realized — the one who drove Orochimaru into that ghostly state… was probably this kid.
But why?
Just because of his Byakugan?
"No… impossible. At the very least…"
His thoughts turned toward the direction Kumokawa's true body had come from.
He didn't know that it was Kumokawa himself, but even from miles away he had sensed a terrifying aura that chilled him to the bone.
As a rat who had spent years scurrying in the shadows, he was all too familiar with the presence of apex predators.
Without hesitation, he had abandoned his original goal to chase after Kumokawa instead.
"If I can obtain that kind of power, even the Sannin and the Five Kage will kneel at my feet…" Hiruko's heart swelled with greed.
Hiruko's personality was twisted. While he envied the Sannin, he could never hide his inferiority complex.
Once a man fixates on another as an obsession, he begins to clothe them in divine robes and worship them as gods.
That was why Hiruko's behavior was so flashy and exaggerated.
Even after perfecting the Chimera Technique, he didn't lay low but instead brazenly declared to Konoha his intent to start the Fourth Great Ninja War.
From an outsider's view, he was a fool.
But if Hiruko didn't act that way, he wouldn't be Hiruko. Nor would he ever have created the Chimera Technique.
Greed is etched into human bones. It is because of desire and greed that humanity has survived in this cruel world.
The very essence of the Chimera Technique was endless devouring — a reflection of Hiruko's innermost desires.
What he craved was "a sense of existence."
What he wanted was "recognition."
What he sought was "attention."
Only then could he bury his inferiority.
Even when he declared the Fourth Great Ninja War, he introduced himself as "Hiruko of Konohagakure."
"Those powers do not belong to you."
With his Byakugan active, Hyūga Kumokawa gazed at the muddied chakra swirling within Hiruko.
Narrowing his eyes, he spoke flatly.
At those words, Hiruko jerked his head around. For a moment he froze, then a ferocious snarl spread across his pale face.
"These powers are mine!" His entire face contorted. "They are Hiruko's powers!"
"No," Kumokawa remained calm. "They are stolen powers."
Bang!!
"You bastard!!"
Even before his furious words fully reached Kumokawa's ears, Hiruko's figure vanished, leaving behind only an almost imperceptible afterimage.
A sharp sonic boom split the air.
The ground where he had stood cracked open, stone fragments scattering in the air as dust bloomed like flowers.
Kekkei Genkai: Swift Release.
Hyūga Kumokawa calmly extended his hand, as if to grasp something.
In his palm, a black sphere condensed.