Buzz!
Hyuga Kumokawa extended his palm, about to seize the black sphere.
But in the next instant, his movement suddenly froze. His eyes twitched slightly as he glanced to the other side.
Gone.
Yes—Hiruko, that bastard, had fled. Without a shred of hesitation, he had simply used Swift Release to escape.
If he wanted to chase, Kumokawa truly couldn't catch up.
This was the first time Kumokawa had ever met someone this shameless.
To think that a so-called senior, after trading harsh words and then taking just one punch, would abandon his Bloodline Limit and flee in disgrace… Even Lord Orochimaru, for all his love of life, wouldn't stoop this low.
That guy really was a keen rat. The instant he caught the faintest scent of danger, he bolted.
"What a pity."
Kumokawa sighed, rubbing the stinging pulse of his eyes. He thought to himself:
I wanted to test out this new power a little more.
At the very least, I could've let Hiruko deliver my regards to my dear Lord Orochimaru.
With that in mind, he lifted his head and glanced at the panel before him.
> [Bloodline: Ōtsutsuki Clan (6.8% → 9.8%)]
[Kekkei: Tenseigan · Stage Two (22.3% → 30.2%)
(Abilities: Puppet Sphere Curse, Jade Wheel Spirit-Devouring Explosion, Chakra Prayer Beads)]
Looking at his Ōtsutsuki bloodline now at 9.8%, Kumokawa's eyes flickered thoughtfully.
So that's why Toneri Ōtsutsuki, after transplanting pure Byakugan, could awaken the Tenseigan in such a short time.
After all, even Uchiha Madara, after transplanting Hashirama's cells, had to endure an entire lifetime and only at death's door did his Rinnegan awaken.
Toneri's bloodline was strong, but awakening the Tenseigan in mere days? Impossible.
Now it seemed it must've been thanks to that colossal Tenseigan on the moon—the one formed by the combined ocular power of the entire Ōtsutsuki clan.
Though the connection to that giant Tenseigan had been severed, its feedback of ocular power had still accelerated his own awakening tremendously. It made sense that Hamura, too, had relied upon it.
"Still… Hiruko reminded me of something." Kumokawa recalled the Chimera Technique, musing. "By rights, since I have Ōtsutsuki blood, I should be able to awaken other Kekkei Genkai."
For example—Shikotsumyaku.
Or Wood Release.
So what was missing?
"Just a key." Kumokawa's lips curled into a faint smile. "The chakra and cells of a Kekkei ninja."
If he could activate the dormant genetic fragments in his body, with his current level of bloodline purity, he too should be able to awaken other Bloodline Limits.
And perhaps that way, he could further complete his Ōtsutsuki lineage. After all, Toneri Ōtsutsuki was not the end of that bloodline.
"Kumokawa!"
From afar came the heavy voices of ANBU, clearly realizing he had fallen behind and coming to find him.
Kumokawa snapped out of his thoughts and followed the direction of the sound to rejoin them.
If the ninja world remained trapped in this fragile, false peace, he'd never get the chance to leave the village to prepare his moves.
Nor would he ever be able to seize Kekkei ninja from other villages.
So—war.
War! War was the necessary prelude!
---
Meanwhile, as Kumokawa caught back up to the unit and explained he had been using his Byakugan to observe the lingering aftermath of distant battles—
At the border between the Land of Grass and the Land of Rain, inside a cavern, a woman unfurled a summoning scroll.
Bang!
With a puff of smoke, the battered and disheveled Hebiuru appeared.
"Lord Hiruko! What happened to you—"
The woman's face changed instantly. She rushed forward to help, but Hiruko slapped her away with a snarl.
"Damn it! Damn it! To think a mere brat of the Hyuga Clan…" Hebiuru spat through clenched teeth.
Just as he cursed his own disgrace, a mocking voice echoed through the cave.
"Hehehe." The laughter was oddly androgynous, two voices mingling in one. "Our Lord Hiruko looks rather pitiful, doesn't he?"
Hiruko jerked his head toward the cave's depths.
From the shadows emerged a black figure slithering forward, its body twisting unnaturally. The stench reached him first, and Hiruko's face twisted in visible disgust.
As someone accustomed to experimenting on mice and snakes, he knew that smell all too well.
It was the stench of the viscous brown discharge released from a female snake's cloaca during mating season, meant to lure males.
That was the stench here.
"Orochimaru." Hiruko's tone was cold as ice. "If you're in heat, then get the hell outside and rut. Don't disgust me by doing it here in front of me!"
"Heh." Orochimaru's voice was indifferent, slithering, "And yet… your soul is no different, is it? As filthy and repulsive as mine."
---
10 a.m., nearing noon. Inside the Hokage's office.
Thin sunlight filtered in through the half-open windows, but the massive mountain of documents stacked on the mahogany desk blocked it entirely.
Rustle, rustle.
Sitting in his chair, Hiruzen Sarutobi leafed through the papers with one hand while the other habitually held his pipe.
Whoosh!
He drew the pipe to his lips. The tobacco flared briefly, releasing a curl of white smoke. Wisps floated out the window with the breeze.
Cough! Cough, cough!
Hiruzen choked a little, frowning as a raspy cough racked his chest. But even with the itch lingering in his throat, he didn't stop—he took another long drag.
"Cough! Hiruzen, haven't you been smoking too much these past two days?"
Koharu Utatane's partner, Homura Mitokado, sat on a chair against the far wall, as far from the smoky window as possible. He frowned. "I know the pressure you're under, but shouldn't you at least take care of your health?"
"…"
Hiruzen didn't respond. His eyes remained fixed on the letters before him, his head lowered. He had already read these reports a hundred times, but unease gnawed at him.
It had been three days since the unit escorting Hyuga Hizashi's body left the village.
Normally, the journey from Konoha to the border would take no more than two days. A day earlier, Akimichi Doto's messenger beast had returned with a letter, confirming that fact.
The first letter had reported that they were near their destination. But the second had mentioned an encounter with a group of rogue Iwagakure shinobi.
Though Doto had written that the unit remained unharmed, even praising Hyuga Kumokawa's ability and character, Hiruzen could not shake his unease.
That sudden appearance of Iwa-nin defectors had troubled him.
Now, a full day had passed without any further letters.
It shouldn't take this long.
Could it be… Iwagakure intends to meddle?
The thought made Hiruzen's face darken. He drew on his pipe hard, exhaling smoke through clenched teeth.
Thud! Thud-thud!
Just as Homura prepared to caution him again about his smoking, urgent, panicked footsteps echoed outside the office door.
Hiruzen's heart lurched. He raised his head just in time to see a masked ANBU stride in.
"Lord Third! The escort unit has returned, but—"
The ANBU clutched a scroll, stained through with blood.
Before he could finish, Hiruzen vanished in a blur, reappearing before him and snatching the scroll from his hand.
He unfurled it, his eyes racing across the contents. His pupils shrank.
His aged face paled. Shock and fury surged through him at once.
"What happened?!"
Seeing Hiruzen's hand trembling as he held the scroll, Homura's stomach sank. He jumped to his feet. "Hiruzen! What is it? Speak!"
"War… War… How could this be…"
Hiruzen's face went pale, then green, then white. He clutched his chest in pain, his voice hoarse as he rasped:
"The Fourth Great Ninja War… is coming!"
"What?!" Homura froze for a moment, then his face blanched in horror.