Konoha: Start from untying the caged bird

Page 204

This energy, which would be fatal to most living beings, is now flowing in Hyuga Yuzuru's blood, an inseparable part of him.

Hyuga Yuzuru originally thought that the power he would possess in the next stage was the power of the legendary Sage of Six Paths, that is, the 'Six Paths level' that would allow him to go toe-to-toe with Kaguya Otsutsuki.

But with the current evolution, we are about to reach the final stage.

He was taken aback when he realized it.

The direction he wanted to evolve in was not the Six Paths Mode he originally envisioned.

Instead, it's a sage mode that has never existed in this world before!

The Six Paths Mode relies on chakra. In a sense, if you devour all the chakra in the world, you can become Kaguya Otsutsuki.

However, Hyuga Yuzuru's Sage Mode doesn't require that much chakra. What he needs is more natural energy, which comes from the sun, moon, and stars, from the earth beneath his feet, from the breath of the trees, from the rise and fall of the tides...

He could even feel that the chakra within his body was actually gradually decreasing.

Perhaps, in the final stage of evolution, the chakra within him will completely disappear, replaced by a completely new energy, namely... natural energy!

But is Kaguya Otsutsuki able to resist this power?

Hinata Yuzuru's answer was very confident.

Absolutely not!

Chakra is formed from the condensation of life forms on the planet.

Natural energy, however, is generated and produced by this planet.

Are living things not just part of this planet?

Whether it's quality or quantity...

Hyuga Yuzuru looked at the sleeping tanuki in the petri dish in front of him and smiled slightly: "No need to rush, I still need some time. As long as I can figure out the basic ideas within this year."

Afterwards, I will personally go to the moon and revive the Ten-Tails.

"Moon...Moon!?" Kabuto Yakushi was momentarily stunned.

Hyuga Yuzuru nodded slightly: "Hmm... You should try to do it first. If you don't have any ideas, that's okay. When the time comes, I will personally solve the problem of the Ten-Tails."

Turning my gaze away, I realized that it was only now, from within Gaara's body, that I heard Shukaku's voice.

"This little guy... I can clearly feel its presence."

Its voice sounded faintly excited.

Hyuga Yuzuru crossed his arms in front of him: "After all, in a sense, it's your child too... Of course, considering that most of its body is still made up of me... perhaps, I can be its grandfather?"

Shukaku was momentarily stunned. When he came to his senses, he roared and cursed, but Hyuga Yuzuru slapped Gaara in the stomach, silencing him and sealing him away.

He smiled, looking at Gaara's embarrassed face, and said, "Gaara, if you ever want to separate from this guy, just say so... Now that artificial tailed beasts have reached this point, I am confident that I can safely separate the jinchūriki from the tailed beast at any time."

Gaara paused for a moment, nodded, and said in a low voice, "Lord Yuzuru, I... haven't decided yet."

Hyuga Yuzuru smiled and said, "It's okay. If you two can get along well, I think it's better than just bringing it out directly—so it won't cause any trouble."

Gaara unconsciously breathed a sigh of relief. He reached out and gently touched his stomach, mentally soothing the angry One-Tailed Shukaku inside him. He felt a little reluctant to let go... Ever since Shukaku was given a good beating, his mindset had changed.

This annoying thing inside his body had vaguely become a half-friend to him.

At night, Shukaku no longer caused him insomnia; on the contrary, occasionally before bed, the two would chat in their spiritual world...

Hyuga Yuzuru turned and left the laboratory.

Since its birth, the little tailed beast has been sleeping all day long. Let's wait until it grows up a bit and develops some basic intelligence before we get to know it properly.

Back in his office in Konoha, Hyuga Yuzuru sat in a chair, staring blankly out the floor-to-ceiling window.

Hinata Kaoru was used to this and obediently handled the documents for him, but in fact, Hinata Yuzuru was looking at his system notifications and sorting out his recent gains.

Completed Achievements:

Name of the Shadow: Officially assume the position of Shadow in one of the Five Great Ninja Villages. (Completed) Gained 10000 Free Experience Points.

Lord of the Ninja Kingdom: Officially assumes the position of lord of the nation. (Completed) Gains 10000 free experience points.

The Demise of Akatsuki: Destroy or indirectly cause the destruction/dissolution of Akatsuki. (Completed) Gain 10000 Free Experience Points.

[Defeat the Six Paths of Pain head-on, gain 57210 Freedom Experience Points.]

[You ended the conflict with the Rain Kingdom through a fair battle, forcing them to surrender, and gained 12100 Freedom Experience Points.]

[Current Free Experience Points: 125777]

The fact that Hyuga Yuzuru's free experience points had returned to 120,000 did not make him particularly happy. The reason was simple: to evolve an S-rank skill into an SR skill, the experience required was a staggering 500,000.

We can't gather them together without a major ninja war.

He looked away, turned his head, and looked at the television on the wall. While listening to the news, he slightly propped one hand on the side of his face.

but...

The Fourth Shinobi World War doesn't seem so far away.

"Lord Yuzuru, I feel we must take the recent actions of Sunagakure seriously... Their connections with Iwagakure are becoming too close. Should we warn them?"

Hinata Kaoru was processing documents when suddenly, her brow furrowed.

Hyuga Yuzuru simply waved his hand.

He smiled meaningfully.

"No rush... let the bullets fly a little longer."

Has the Land of Sound not replied yet?

He changed the subject, and Hyuga Kaoru, seeing that he had a plan and had obviously noticed these details, smiled with relief: "Orochimaru hasn't replied yet... He's probably debating whether to continue running away."

"Send another message: I want to see him. If he doesn't show up, I'll go find him myself."

After Hyuga Yuzuru finished speaking, Hyuga Kaoru immediately responded and went out to take care of the matter.

Hyuga Yuzuru narrowed his eyes slightly. What was difficult for others to see was the massive amount of natural energy surrounding him, which was being continuously absorbed into his body with each breath.

How much longer?

The end of my evolution, or rather... a new beginning.

Chapter 153 Orochimaru Surrenders

In the Land of Fields, in the Hidden Sound Village, or rather, in the Hidden Sound Village that has now become part of the Land of Sound, Orochimaru was in a dimly lit research room, staring intently at the chunk of White Zetsu flesh he had cloned.

Perhaps even Danzo and Obito never imagined that by simply giving Orochimaru a White Zetsu, he could find a way to clone a new White Zetsu, even if it was just flesh and blood, but that would be enough for Orochimaru.

There is simply no one in this world more suitable to be his vessel than White Zetsu—compatibility, vitality, replaceability...

Orochimaru's Reanimation Jutsu, relying on White Zetsu, has achieved multiple breakthroughs. It can be said that in the current ninja world, Orochimaru is second to none in this forbidden technique.

"Lord Orochimaru, Konoha has sent another message... You should take a look yourself."

The voice from behind forced Orochimaru to stop what he was doing. He looked up from the research table, looked at Kimimaro with a calm expression, and chuckled twice: "Looks like you've recovered quite well, Kimimaro."

"Thank you, Lord Orochimaru." Kimimaro then appeared very respectful.

Perhaps it was fate, or perhaps it was because the bloodstains on his body intrigued Orochimaru, but by chance, he eventually ended up working under Orochimaru.

Orochimaru waved his hand, and Kimimaro handed the phone to Orochimaru. Orochimaru picked it up and his face darkened.

This guy...

'The rogue ninja Orochimaru.'

You've been on the run long enough; it's time to return to Konoha, confess your crimes, and face the law.

It's never too late to atone for one's crimes and make amends.

Confession is lenient, resistance is strict.

I hope you can cooperate. Turning yourself in and being arrested are two different things. Do you understand the difference? — Hyuga Yuzuru

￣︶￣'

Orochimaru glanced at it a few times, snorted, and put down his phone.

How did this guy manage to type that final meme?

How did he get my personal cell phone number?

It seems we can't just use Konoha products casually anymore... But this thing is so convenient... It's really annoying...

Orochimaru's expression darkened slightly, while Kimimaro's face turned serious: "Lord Orochimaru, perhaps we should escape?"

"Where to?" Orochimaru countered, saying, "Research funding keeps increasing, and the prices of all kinds of research materials keep rising. Without the financial support of Otogakure, the research will come to a standstill..."

His eyes flickered as he picked up his phone and began typing: "Let's see what Hinata Yuzuru really wants to do first."

Although his voice was hoarse yet calm as he spoke, and he appeared as composed and unhurried as ever, how could Kimimaro possibly know...?

Orochimaru was still a little scared at this moment.

If Hyuga Yuzuru really came knocking on his door, he didn't think he could escape unscathed.

And most importantly... if I'm being chased all over the ninja world, how can I concentrate on my research?

Or, should we go to the territory between Kumogakure and Iwagakure?

Orochimaru seemed to be deep in thought, but he was still vaguely annoyed. To be honest, he did not object to cooperating with Kumogakure and Iwagakure, and had even cooperated with them many times before. But honestly, he did not like getting involved in these troublesome matters.

He knew very well that in this situation, if he dared to side with Iwagakure and Kumogakure, he would be narrowing his options.

Others may not know Hyuga Yuzuru's abilities, but how could he not?

He was a monster like the Sage of Six Paths—he would believe it if you said he was the reincarnation of the Sage of Six Paths.

He just wanted to live peacefully for a few hundred years, or even a few thousand years, or better yet, to live forever... so there was no need to get involved in those troublesome things, right?

He looked thoughtfully at the body of the White Zetsu in front of him, feeling the surging life force in his body now that he had been reborn into the White Zetsu body through the Reanimation Jutsu. He couldn't help but fall into deep thought.

He canceled the text message he originally intended to send and quickly edited a new one, which he then sent to Konoha.

"To the Fifth Hokage, Yuzuru Hyuga..."

After writing it, he considered it for a moment and revised the text again: "To the esteemed Fifth Hokage, Hyuga Yuzuru, it has been several years since we last met..."

Orochimaru's words were ornate and flattering, fully demonstrating his cultural background from years of reading. But the whole text, when condensed, roughly meant: If we go back, how do you plan to punish me?

He put down his phone, looking at Kimimaro who remained completely unaware of his decision, and pondered—judging from certain actions, the Fifth Hokage was also a research-oriented ninja who greatly enjoyed new things. Perhaps sacrificing his 'cherished' subordinates might allow him to atone for his sins...

The phone vibrated quickly, and Orochimaru picked it up and raised an eyebrow.

"We'll talk about it when you get back, depending on how you perform."

These eight short words made Orochimaru snort coldly again. He tossed the phone to Kimimaro and bowed his head again on the research table.

Kimimaro glanced at it, his expression indignant. Although he held the Fifth Hokage of Konoha in high esteem, now known throughout the ninja world, compared to his most respected Lord Orochimaru...

"Lord Orochimaru, we..."

Orochimaru raised his head and interrupted Kimimaro with a cold gaze. After a long while, his hoarse voice finally rang out: "Get ready. We're going to Konoha tomorrow."

Kimimaro looked at Orochimaru in disbelief, but Orochimaru simply said quietly, "Bring Karin and the others along too."

Are we going to take action?

Kimimaro's heart tightened, and he suddenly felt unusually nervous, but he didn't hesitate for a moment: "Yes!"

As Orochimaru's most trusted subordinate and weapon... he will not back down.

After Kimimaro left, Orochimaru murmured softly after a long while, "Fool."

He could easily see through Kimimaro's thoughts, but that's precisely why he found it laughable.

Having been by my side for so long, how come I still can't see the true nature of this ninja world?

In this ninja world, there are only three types of people.

One type is the ordinary person, like a weed, whose life is short and meaningless.

Another group is the ninja, who possess great power but whose lives are still short and meaningless.

The third type... is a monster like Hyuga Yuzuru.

A monster that has vaguely transcended the existence of the human species.

Orochimaru's eyes showed a hint of longing, but he couldn't help but shake his head. He was now just a second type of trash. Although he could achieve immortality in the ordinary sense by relying on White Zetsu, it was still far from the eternal life he pursued.