Chapter 156: Orochimaru: “ikeizumi, Long Time No See!”
Uchiha Ikeizumi did not want the same mistake to be made a second time.
The tragedy of Sarutobi Sakurako in the past, if it were to happen again, would make that Absolute Justice that failed to learn from its mistakes seem ridiculous.
Nowadays, the Hyuga Main Family only has a few women and children left, all barely supported by one Main Family Special Jonin acting as the pillar.
Once a Branch Family ninja with a muddled head makes a move against the women and children.
The seven-year-old Hinata absolutely would not survive.
As for whether there really is someone in the Hyuga Branch Family with a muddled head?
Uchiha Ikeizumi firmly believed there would be! Because in this twisted and sickly Ninja World, there are always people with exceptionally bizarre thought processes, and always people with extremely deformed views and morals.
Though it sounds a bit realistic, not all persecuted people are innocent and kind—this was an answer Uchiha Ikeizumi arrived at after personally witnessing countless twisted human natures.
His cold words made Hinata Hyuga, whose mouth still had a bit of soup stain, completely stunned.
Hinata Hyuga timidly glanced quietly at Uchiha Ikeizumi.
Facing the “order” from this terrifying man whom Father had dragged into Konoha Prison.
Hinata Hyuga did not dare to refute or refuse.
Just like she had not dared to refuse being invited to eat so much ramen earlier.
“But…”
But Hinata’s little face showed hesitation; her hands were under the ramen table, fingers twisting and intertwining back and forth. She mustered great courage before saying in a voice as weak as a mosquito’s: “I… I can’t abandon Hanabi. She is my sister, five years younger than me.”
“She is only two years old now and needs someone to take care of her, and someone to teach her how to live. Usually, Father takes care of her, but Father he already… ah!”
Hinata was startled by her own slip of the tongue.
Her voice grew a bit louder, and her speaking speed quickened a bit.
“I don’t mean anything bad about you, nor that it was a bad thing for you to arrest Father… I just want to say, I need to take care of Hanabi, so…”
“Take your sister with you.”
Uchiha Ikeizumi interrupted expressionlessly: “And the rest of the Hyuga Main Family’s women and children, take them all with you. Meet me at Ichiraku Ramen Shop before eight in the evening.”
Hinata was stunned.
Clearly, this terrifying man’s speech was not scary, but that flat tone made Hinata even more nervous. Plus, this was a man even Father could not deal with.
“Gulp…”
Hinata, who had quietly swallowed hard, nodded like a chick pecking at rice.
“…Okay.”
She did not dare to refuse.
“Go to school.” Uchiha Ikeizumi’s one sentence made Hinata spring up instantly, as if the chair under her butt was a hot iron.
“Okay!” Hinata shouted hurriedly, then ran out of Ichiraku Ramen Shop without looking back, heading toward Ninja Academy.
Those who didn’t know might think there was a man-eating beast behind her.
Watching the little kid’s panicked back as she ran away.
Kijiro muttered in full confusion: “Meow, Hyuga Hiashi must have abused her, right? Otherwise, how could a kid this small eat so much? How long has she been hungry lately? Could it be a month without a meal, meow?”
Kijiro was greatly shocked today.
It shook its head, and just as it wanted to say something to Uchiha Ikeizumi, Kijiro suddenly froze. It stared at Hinata Hyuga’s increasingly distant back, its cat eyes narrowing slightly.
“Lord Ikeizumi…”
Kijiro said: “This little kid seems to have a ‘tail’ behind her, and it doesn’t look like someone from the Hyuga Clan.”
“A rat that sneaked into Konoha.” Uchiha Ikeizumi stood up, looking at the extremely conspicuous bright red frame above the other’s head while placing the ramen money on the table, and slowly said: “However, it’s a somewhat useful rat.”
Kijiro was a bit puzzled.
Then he heard Uchiha Ikeizumi continue: “It seems Orochimaru sent a new spy to Konoha. Birds of a feather with Orochimaru, once an unforgivable villain in the past.”
“And the future sin…”
Uchiha Ikeizumi paused, then continued: “He plans to assist Orochimaru in seizing the Hyuga Main Family’s Byakugan. He wants no survivors; he intends to kill the targets, gouge out the Byakugan, and then flee Konoha.”
Kijiro suddenly understood.
It licked its paw, then gently rubbed its cat face with the paw, and spoke human words: “Perhaps we can use him to dig up Orochimaru. Lord Ikeizumi has been targeting Orochimaru for a long time now.”
……
‘Huff… First use Illusion Technique to control Hinata Hyuga, then use her to find her sister Hyuga Hanabi. After that, kill these two little kids directly and gouge out their Byakugan.’
‘Only this way can I safely leave Konoha. Otherwise, taking two young kids, I won’t run fast or far before being caught by Konoha ninjas.’
‘During the process, if there’s a chance to contact other Hyuga Main Family clan members, kill them too… The more Byakugan I bring back, the more Orochimaru will value me.’
‘Then, I won’t be just a tool planted by Orochimaru in Konoha, but his left and right hand!’
The spy ninja trailing far behind Hinata Hyuga unnoticed was currently plotting a somewhat crude plan.
Now that most of the Hyuga Main Family has been imprisoned, probably no one is paying attention to Hinata Hyuga and Hyuga Hanabi, so the success rate is quite high.
Even though he knew the crude plan might lead to failure, delaying further would make it harder to act later.
He, with an unremarkable appearance, had a hint of a sinister cold smile at the corner of his mouth, but this smile was clearly deliberately imitating Orochimaru: “Little kid, when you die, don’t blame me or Lord Orochimaru; blame that Uchiha Ikeizumi.”
“After all…”
“After all, without me, Orochimaru wouldn’t covet the Hyuga Main Family’s Byakugan, because the success rate wasn’t high. But I imprisoned most of the Hyuga Main Family ninjas in Konoha, giving Orochimaru a great opportunity.”
“—You’re trying to say that line.”
“Right?”
A sudden voice rang out not far behind the spy ninja, instantly making his hair stand on end, pupils contract sharply, cold sweat rapidly form on his forehead, and every muscle in his body stiffen.
Exposed? Why? When? Doubts flashed through his mind like lightning.
The moment he spun around like a bristling cat, he saw the man he least wanted to see.
The spy ninja’s breathing hitched.
Nearly scaring him into a heart attack!
“Uchiha…”
“Ikeizumi!!!”
……
Land of Rain.
Rain fell from the overcast sky, quickly soaking Juzo Biwa and Uchiha Ikeizumi’s Wood Style Clone completely.
Juzo Biwa spat out the standard wild grass stem from his mouth and said: “This is the Land of Rain; out of more than three hundred days a year, nearly three hundred are rainy. Places like the Land of Water are already rainy, but compared to the Land of Rain’s rainfall, the Land of Water is like it never rains.”
“And the Akatsuki headquarters is in the Land of Rain. Of course, you probably already knew that intel.”
Juzo Biwa paused and asked: “Is Akatsuki, in your eyes, an organization full of sin?”
“Yes.”
Rain flowed from his forehead into his eyes, but Uchiha Ikeizumi’s Wood Style Clone didn’t even blink.
It said coldly: “Even without mentioning the twisted will Akatsuki pursues, just their actions of inciting wars between small countries everywhere in the Ninja World to profit from it mean Akatsuki is an organization gathering the Evil of the Ninja World.”
Juzo Biwa chuckled in disbelief: “Should I be glad I’m just a rookie and not too deeply involved with them? Otherwise, wouldn’t I have been dead the moment I first met you?”
“Yes.”
The Wood Style Clone’s answer was so frank and straightforward.
Juzo Biwa’s face stiffened slightly.
The thrill of stepping one foot into the gates of hell and pulling it back made him feel uneasy all over.
Juzo Biwa thought for a moment and revealed the intel he had held back: “That woman told me that as long as I return to the Land of Rain, go to a location she told me, and she would be waiting there for me. I think she wants to guard against Uchiha Obito and privately obtain intel at that location.”
“Then go.”
The Wood Style Clone said.
……
Konoha Village.
Hinata Hyuga ran back to Ninja Academy panting, out of breath, leaning against the wall to recover for a while, even sneaking a glance back during that time.
Only after confirming that terrifying man really hadn’t followed did Hinata Hyuga finally breathe a sigh of relief.
“Hey, you’re that Hinata Hyuga?!”
A sudden voice rang out not far from Hinata’s side.
The already startled her shuddered and quickly looked over, seeing two upper-year Ninja Academy students, both a head taller than her.
Hinata Hyuga saw them walk over and stand in front of her, looking down arrogantly.
“…Yes.”
Hinata nodded.
“Heh, I heard your entire Hyuga Main Family has been arrested by Uchiha Ikeizumi. That Uchiha Plague God only arrests heinous criminals, right? Your father, as the Hyuga Clan Leader, was also imprisoned, so he must not be anything good!”
One Ninja Academy student spoke mockingly and forcefully tapped Hinata Hyuga’s head with a paper fan folded from origami in his hand.
“The daughter of a bad guy must be a born bad seed too. Who knows, one day you might go on a killing spree in the academy and become a heinous murderer!”
Hinata Hyuga realized she was being bullied. She remembered when she was even smaller, some Konoha Village kids had bullied her too.
But back then, someone named Uzumaki Naruto had saved her.
Hinata Hyuga instinctively tried to find Naruto’s figure.
But couldn’t find him.
She could only purse her lips aggrievedly, not daring to look up at the two Ninja Academy students, and said softly: “I… I won’t kill anyone… and I’m not a bad seed…”
“You say you’re not, so you’re not?” The other Ninja Academy student pursed his lips and said: “Bad seeds can’t be seen as such until their true colors are revealed. But you’re different; your father is a bad seed, so you definitely are too.”
“I…”
Tears welled up in Hinata Hyuga’s eyes and flowed uncontrollably; she tried to defend herself properly again.
But the question was, was she really not a bad seed?
After all, Father had been arrested.
But if she were a bad seed, why didn’t that terrifying man arrest her, and instead arrange to take her and Hanabi out of the Hyuga Clan to protect them?
“Hinata Hyuga, you…”
Just as the two in front of Hinata tried to say more, a sudden whooshing sound approached from afar.
Followed by an “Ah!” of painful scream.
Hinata looked up in shock.
She saw one of them clutching his occiput in pain, squatting on the ground. The other hurriedly turned around, only to wail in pain too, clutching his head and squatting down, body trembling in pain.
Hinata also saw two objects fall down; on closer look, they were two wooden kunai. The dulled tips of the wooden kunai had a faint trace of blood.
These two strikes probably cracked their heads open.
“You’re still so timid.” A familiar voice reached Hinata Hyuga’s ears; she saw Neji Hyuga walk over.
“Brother Neji…”
Neji Hyuga ignored the two Ninja Academy students clutching their heads; he stood in front of Hinata Hyuga, expressionless, and said: “No one can protect you forever, not even justice finds it easy. If you don’t want to be bullied, discard the Young Mistress of the Main Family airs, and abandon that meaningless ‘don’t want to hurt others’ timid idea.”
With that, he slightly lowered his head to the two and said: “Next time, if I see you verbally bullying academy classmates again, it won’t be as simple as cracking your heads with wooden kunai.”
The two Ninja Academy students had recognized this as the academy’s top genius, Neji Hyuga.
One clutched his forehead, gritting his teeth: “Aren’t you a Hyuga Branch Family clan member? Why help this Young Mistress of the Main Family? Didn’t your Branch Family already win against the Main Family? Or have you gotten used to being the Main Family’s dog after protecting her for so long?”
The other was stunned by his companion’s reckless words.
If Neji Hyuga got angry, both would definitely get beaten!
However, Neji Hyuga said calmly: “I am intervening to stop your bullying of her from the stance of 「Absolute Justice」; not protecting her as a Hyuga Branch Family clan member. There is an essential difference between the two.”
Brother Neji’s tone was a bit like that terrifying man’s; he seemed to be deliberately imitating him, but not very proficiently—such a thought flashed in Hinata’s mind.
Then.
Neji Hyuga spoke to her: “Next time you encounter something like this, come straight to me.”
Hinata watched as Neji walked around her after speaking.
It seemed…
Brother Neji didn’t resent her as much as before.
Hinata murmured in her heart.
……
“You… what nonsense are you talking about?” The innermost layer of Hagawa Sho’s clothes was soaked with sweat.
However, he was ultimately a spy carefully trained by Orochimaru, so his acting skills were naturally passable.
His facial expression showed no flaws.
He appropriately feigned a bit of fear, as if just noticing Uchiha Ikeizumi was wearing the Police Force uniform, speaking in a foreign accent, hurriedly: “Uh… I wouldn’t have accidentally violated some Konoha Village regulation, right? I’ve only been in Konoha a short time, don’t know many rules. Your Konoha Village should advocate ‘ignorance is no sin,’ right?”
“Very fake acting, meow.”
Kijiro mercilessly exposed Hagawa Sho’s lie, disdainfully: “Your micro-expressions can only fool inexperienced ninjas. To me, I can smell the emotions on you; you’re very shocked right now, aren’t you?”
“Shocked that Lord Ikeizumi discovered your tracks, shocked that Lord Ikeizumi knows you’re connected to Orochimaru, and even more shocked that Lord Ikeizumi caught you right before you could make a move on the Byakugan.”
“Meow, Orochimaru was exiled from Konoha, but he’s doing pretty well outside, sending spies over from time to time.”
Hagawa Sho, whose butt crack was sweating from tension, retreated a few steps in full terror and stared at Kijiro in disbelief.
“Cat… this cat…”
“It spoke!?”
“Lord Ikeizumi, looks like he won’t give up.” Kijiro said.
“Capture him and hand to Yamanaka Clan.” Uchiha Ikeizumi said slowly: “Have the Yamanaka Clan ninja check his memories to see if he’s a spy Orochimaru sent to Konoha.”
Hagawa Sho: “!!!”
Damn it!
Though he had heard early in Konoha that Uchiha Ikeizumi was extremely extreme, only after becoming a “victim” of Absolute Justice did he realize how outrageous he was.
Konoha’s ninjas just let this guy run wild in the village?
Konoha Village without Lord Orochimaru really was a mess!
With a myriad of thoughts flashing in his mind, Hagawa Sho suddenly bit down hard.
He directly crushed one of his molars, and in an instant, his mouth filled with black smoke. He inhaled sharply through his nose, then exhaled the black gas, instantly enveloping half the street in thick black mist.
Hagawa Sho turned and ran without hesitation!
He was confident he could exchange a few moves with Konoha’s elite jonin, but against Uchiha Ikeizumi, he had no desire to fight; this extreme Uchiha’s strength far exceeded jonin level.
Not something he could handle.
Damn…
Lord Orochimaru had just assigned him the mission, and he screwed it up; now he could only flee headlong and see if he could escape Konoha.
Whoosh—
But at that moment, an orange figure tore through the layers of black mist, chasing Hagawa Sho like a released arrow.
Kijiro’s cat paw suddenly grew enormously huge.
It swatted down at Hagawa Sho with one paw.
Bang!!!
Hagawa Sho’s body dispersed into white mist—it was a Shadow Clone.
“Huff… huff…”
In a hidden alley corner of Konoha, Hagawa Sho, drenched in cold sweat, slowly exhaled, full of lingering fear.
‘The ninja cat by that monster is also a monster; if that slap hit me, it would’ve turned me into meat paste.’
Just as he thought he had temporarily escaped danger.
A crisp voice rang from his side: “What are you sneaking around here for? You look a bit unfamiliar! And you have a scent that’s very familiar to me.”
Hagawa Sho: “!!!”
He immediately looked toward the voice and saw a short-haired Konoha kunoichi walking toward him. Behind her was a female ninja in Uchiha Police Force uniform.
“Is it my imagination?”
Mitarashi Anko’s beautiful eyes narrowed deeply as she stared at the unremarkable man before her, boldly saying: “I smell a scent on you just like mine. Or rather… this scent comes from Orochimaru!”
This guy…
Is Mitarashi Anko! Lord Orochimaru’s disciple in Konoha!
Hiss!
That means the Police Force kunoichi following her is Uchiha Ikeizumi’s subordinate, Uchiha Izumi?
Bad!
“Anko, wait!” Uchiha Izumi called out to Anko from behind; one hand already on her ninja sword, eyes locked on Hagawa Sho, and quickly warned Anko: “This isn’t your imagination. You didn’t smell wrong; he does have Orochimaru’s scent. He’s Orochimaru’s spy!”
Hagawa Sho: “???”
No way.
Uchiha Ikeizumi seeing through me at a glance is one thing, but how did you see through me too? Is ‘spy’ written plainly on my face?
He was dumbfounded!
“Heh heh, no need to act anymore.” A sinister voice rang out: “Once targeted by Uchiha Ikeizumi, you can’t escape.”
An extremely small and slender White Snake slithered out from Hagawa Sho’s sleeve.
And along his arm.
Climbed to his shoulder.
The very next second after the White Snake spoke, Uchiha Ikeizumi’s voice rang behind Hagawa Sho: “Orochimaru, long time no see. Though I can only hear your voice, it still stirs my killing intent as always.”
“Senior Ikeizumi!”
“Ikeizumi?”
Izumi and Anko also noticed Uchiha Ikeizumi.
The tiny White Snake raised its upper body, its scarlet eyes deeply sizing up Uchiha Ikeizumi, and spoke again: “Ikeizumi, you still hate me so much? I never offended you; is it still because of your so-called 「Absolute Justice」?”
“Heh heh, your killing intent toward me is useless. Even if you kill me, how much change can you bring to the irredeemable Ninja World? Your ninja way can’t save this twisted world.”
The White Snake paused, flicking its tongue, and continued: “Speaking of which, you really exceeded my expectations. Somehow, you turned my former disciple into your lackey.”
Mitarashi Anko clenched her fists, gritted her teeth, and interjected: “Orochimaru, where exactly are you hiding?!”
“Not calling me Teacher Orochimaru? Really disappointing, Anko.”
The White Snake said teasingly: “I’ve never been hiding; it’s just that Konoha lacks the ability to find my traces.”
With that, it looked at Uchiha Ikeizumi again.
“Ikeizumi, your talent shouldn’t be wasted on useless time. If you’re willing to cooperate with me, I’ll show you what the true essence of a ninja is, and what a powerful ninja should truly pursue.”
“Heh heh, you must…”
Swish—
A flash of blade light, and the snake head, only slightly larger than a thumb, flew high.
Uchiha Ikeizumi had no patience for Orochimaru’s nonsense; he stepped forward.
Single-handedly gripped Hagawa Sho’s throat.
While the other widened his eyes in suffocation, he slashed open the other’s top, revealing a large eerie Curse Mark on his chest.
Uchiha Ikeizumi released the ninja sword, curled his chakra-infused fingers slightly, and slammed them heavily into Hagawa Sho’s chest.
“Ninja Art…”
“Adamantine Seal Release!”
……
……
