Chapter 158: Konan: “juzo Biwa Has Defected?”
Evening.
Hinata Hyuga returned to the Hyuga Clan with tense and uneasy emotions.
As she entered the clan compound, she didn’t dare make a sound the entire way, nor did she dare lift her head.
She could clearly feel the abnormal gazes cast by many branch family clan members, which heightened her unease to the extreme, making her wish she could bury her little head into the cracks in the ground beneath her feet.
“Young Mistress of the Main Family, heh…”
A Hyuga Branch Family clan member who brushed past Hinata Hyuga sneered. He glanced back at Hinata’s increasingly fast retreating back and said disdainfully, “From the moment the main family fell from grace, no one wanted to call her ‘Hinata Young Mistress’ anymore!”
Not far away nearby, another branch family ninja stared at Hinata’s back and said, “We branch family members all have the Caged Bird Seal engraved on our foreheads, but hers is completely clean and empty.”
“How about…”
A hint of an intriguing glint flashed in his eyes: “We find an opportunity to engrave a Caged Bird Seal on her forehead! And her sister too, she must also get a Caged Bird Seal! And the modified kind by the main family, so that once activated, it brings endless pain, as if the head is about to split open.”
It seemed he was recalling the experience of being tormented by the main family with the Caged Bird Seal in the past.
This branch family ninja already had an eager-to-try posture.
“The main family not caught and thrown into Konoha Prison isn’t just these two sisters. Engrave the Caged Bird on the other main family members too, that way it shows fairness between the main family and branch family.” Someone else said.
“Speaking of which, if we select someone to replace the main family, will one of the two heirs they give birth to need to be engraved with the Caged Bird Seal? Or both?”
Waves of discussion voices came from behind, many targeted at Hinata Hyuga.
It scared Hinata so much that cold sweat had already soaked her palms.
She finally understood why that terrifying man had told her to take Hanabi and the main family clan members who hadn’t been thrown into prison away from the Hyuga Clan.
If they continued staying in the Hyuga Clan, who knew what terrifying fate awaited them.
But Hinata, who had been trotting quickly along the way, suddenly froze for a moment.
“Those words they were gossiping about me behind my back… were they things they experienced before? In other words, Brother Neji and Uncle Hizashi also went through this kind of pain. That’s why Brother Neji has such a big grudge against Father, and is also very resentful toward the Hyuga Main Family clan members…”
This doubt was murmured from Hinata Hyuga’s mouth.
She silently stopped in her tracks, pursing her slightly pale lips.
The seven-year-old Hinata finally realized belatedly the inside story that outsiders grasped at first glance; as one of the “parties involved,” she was the last to wake up.
At that moment.
Hinata Hyuga ran into a main family youth with exhaustion and worry all over his face. He was none other than the only Special Jonin left in the Hyuga Main Family. Upon seeing Hinata, he immediately perked up, forcing a smile to make himself seem less exhausted.
“Hinata Young Mistress, I was just about to prepare some food for Hanabi Second Young Mistress for the evening. She’s only two years old, and I just learned that some things adults can eat, she can’t…”
“Uncle Keizuka, let’s leave the Hyuga Clan Compound!” Hinata Hyuga mustered her courage, looked up at Hyuga Keizuka, and said.
Uncle…
I’m only twenty years old…
Hyuga Keizuka was silent in his heart for half a second, then asked with some doubt, “Why do we need to leave the Hyuga Clan Compound?”
“It’s… it’s…”
Hinata Hyuga said weakly, “It’s what that man named Uchiha Ikeizumi told me. He said—take my sister with you, take the others too, then meet him at Ichiraku Ramen Shop at eight in the evening.”
Uchiha Ikeizumi!!!
Hyuga Keizuka’s heart jolted, suddenly feeling a dry mouth and tongue, unable to say any words of firm refusal. Because most of the main family’s elders had all been sent to Konoha Prison by him!
In Hyuga Keizuka’s eyes, he was the most terrifying person in Konoha!
Defying his “order” would probably have extremely serious consequences.
After taking a deep breath.
Hyuga Keizuka, already scared into a cold sweat by this name, forced a smile and said, “Since that man said so, he must have his reasons. Moreover, he believes in Absolute Justice, so he shouldn’t have any intentions of harming people. In that case, if our main family does as he says, there shouldn’t be any problem.”
“Eight in the evening, right?” Hyuga Keizuka couldn’t hide his nervous expression as he muttered to himself, “There are still two hours left, but we can’t make that man wait for our Hyuga Main Family; that would make us seem too impolite.”
“So we need to go early, wait for him ahead of time, that way it shows our Hyuga Main Family has sincerity, no dissatisfaction with Absolute Justice, and no resentment at all.”
“Right! That’s how it should be!”
Hyuga Keizuka hurriedly said, “Hinata Young Mistress, please notify the main family clan members separately from me. Let’s aim to assemble outside the Hyuga Clan Compound gates ten minutes from now.”
“…Okay.”
Hinata nodded.
…
“Orochimaru never treats human life as something precious; he only cherishes his own life. My memories were tampered with by him, and I can’t recall many confidential intel about him. I can only vaguely remember he has many life-saving techniques.”
Inside a Konoha dessert shop, Mitarashi Anko ate her three-color dango skewers with a grave expression: “In other words, killing him is extremely difficult. You never know how many life-saving contingencies he has.”
“Back then, wasn’t he able to leave Konoha safely even when surrounded by the Third Hokage, Anbu, and others?”
Izumi asked curiously.
Anko nodded heavily; the dango skewers that were originally sweet to the point of cloying now tasted a bit bland: “I didn’t even know about it at the time. By the time I realized Orochimaru had defected, it was already too late.”
“For a period afterward, I underwent strict interrogation by Anbu. They found that I had indeed been ‘abandoned’ by Orochimaru, so they ended the interrogation. But there were still people secretly watching my every move.”
“Even… when I was bathing… there was probably a female Anbu ninja staring at me from a corner I couldn’t detect.”
Anko’s expression carried a bit of gloom: “It was only in the last year or two that this surveillance was lifted by the Hokage.”
She gave a self-mocking smile: “Maybe because Anbu doesn’t have enough manpower. After all, Ikeizumi has killed quite a few evil Anbu ninjas who obstructed Absolute Justice during this time.”
Izumi pondered and asked, “Are you a bit unwilling about being abandoned by Orochimaru? Do you feel like he looked down on you?”
Mitarashi Anko was silent for half a second.
She nodded, admitting frankly, “I did have that idea before, and it lasted for several years. I felt some unwillingness and a bit of resentment toward him. But after choosing to follow Ikeizumi’s Absolute Justice, I figured a lot of things out.”
“No need to feel puzzled or unwilling because Orochimaru abandoned me; instead, I should thank him for not taking me away. Otherwise, I would only fall into an abyss from which I could never climb out.”
Izumi said seriously with her small face, “Senior Ikeizumi won’t let down your faith in Absolute Justice!”
“Yeah.” Anko smiled and said, “It’s precisely because I trust Ikeizumi’s Absolute Justice that I chose to follow him!”
“Villains like Orochimaru…”
Anko snapped the dango skewer stick in her hand, killing intent flashing in her eyes.
“Must be eliminated!!!”
“…Seems like I heard something incredible.” In an unassuming seat in the corner of the Konoha dessert shop, an Anbu ninja on vacation time casually took a bite of dessert.
He recognized Mitarashi Anko and Uchiha Izumi; these two were now publicly recognized as Uchiha Ikeizumi’s subordinates in Konoha.
Many guilty people would see them as seeing a Plague God in broad daylight.
Though they didn’t kill as wildly as Uchiha Ikeizumi.
But in this short time, they had stuffed many, many people into Konoha Prison. Even spitting on the street—if caught by them—meant being forced to clean it up and pay a heartbreaking fine!
Suppressing the shock in his heart, the Anbu ninja paid expressionlessly, then pretended to be an ordinary Konoha civilian and walked out of the Konoha dessert shop.
Then, without hesitation, he Body Flickered and vanished.
Clearly, he was rushing to report to the Third Hokage.
…
“Huff… huff…” Hinata Hyuga held her sister Hyuga Hanabi’s little hand, panting as she closely followed behind Hyuga Keizuka, with several Hyuga Main Family women and children trailing behind her.
“Ichiraku Ramen Shop, we’re here.”
Hyuga Keizuka looked up at the ramen shop sign in front of him, swallowed hard, took a deep breath, and said to the people behind him, “I’ll go in first. If I come out, you follow in. If I don’t come out…”
He paused, then continued, “Hurry and leave.”
Saying he wasn’t nervous would be a lie!
Hyuga Keizuka mustered his courage and entered Ichiraku Ramen Shop. The extremely terrifying Uchiha Ikeizumi he had imagined wasn’t there—only a few customers eating ramen and a busy hand-pulled noodle chef.
He turned back and said to the group, “Come on in!”
Hinata Hyuga cautiously walked in, led Hanabi to an empty seat and sat down, then quietly instructed Hanabi, “If you see that man later, absolutely don’t talk to him.”
She was afraid her young, naive sister would anger Uchiha Ikeizumi.
Even though she herself wasn’t much older.
Hyuga Hanabi blinked her big, watery eyes in confusion twice.
All the Hyuga Main Family clan members were uneasy, making the atmosphere in Ichiraku Ramen Shop very strange, causing the shopkeeper Teuchi’s daughter “Ayame” to show a hesitant, conflicted expression.
In the end, Hyuga Keizuka reacted first.
They were occupying seats in Ichiraku Ramen Shop but ordering nothing—cough! That was indeed a bit rude…
Hyuga Keizuka said to the group, “You can order whatever ramen you want, as much and as expensive as you like; it’s on me tonight.”
“Re… really?!” Hinata Hyuga immediately looked up.
“Really.” Hyuga Keizuka said confidently.
A Special Jonin’s mission pay was still quite substantial.
The main family now only had this many people left.
Treating them was no problem for him.
However.
An hour later, Hyuga Keizuka suddenly felt a bit regretful. The other main family clan members were fine—they got full after two medium bowls at most—but what was up with Hinata Young Mistress?
How many bowls had she eaten already? And every one was a large portion! The stack of noodle bowls next to her already numbered eleven!
And this Hinata Young Mistress was still eating her twelfth bowl of Ichiraku Ramen!
“Hin… Hinata Young Mistress?” Cold sweat dripped from Hyuga Keizuka; he feared if Hinata Hyuga ate something wrong, he wouldn’t know how to explain to Hiashi.
“Have… have you eaten your fill?” Hyuga Keizuka wiped the sweat from his forehead.
“Eigh… eighty percent full…” Hinata said very embarrassedly.
She felt today was the fullest she had ever eaten.
The key was that two different people had treated her to ramen.
“Eighty percent…” Hyuga Keizuka was stunned. He really wanted to ask—did Hiashi normally not let Hinata Young Mistress eat? Otherwise, why was she eating like a starving ghost reincarnated?
Of course.
He didn’t say these words outright. Though Hyuga Hiashi was already in Konoha Prison, his prestige as clan leader lingered, and he naturally didn’t dare openly badmouth him.
But…
Now there was a big problem.
Hyuga Keizuka touched his money pouch; he felt like the money he brought might not be quite enough.
This is bad.
…
“Orochimaru’s whereabouts?” After learning this from the Anbu ninja, Sarutobi Hiruzen furrowed his brows: “Ikeizumi didn’t tell me, so he probably doesn’t want me involved. He might think I’d go easy on Orochimaru…”
Sarutobi Hiruzen felt he had guessed Ikeizumi’s thoughts.
He shook his head helplessly: “Ikeizumi always assumes the worst of my actions. He thinks I’d collude with Orochimaru; he ultimately doesn’t trust me.”
“Heh!”
Koharu Utatane’s voice reached Sarutobi Hiruzen’s ears: “Uchiha Ikeizumi doesn’t just assume the worst of you; he even thinks you and Orochimaru are the same kind of people!”
Koharu Utatane had also heard the Anbu ninja’s report. She narrowed her eyes and said to Sarutobi Hiruzen, “Hiruzen, Orochimaru holds many research materials that even Danzo coveted before his death—extremely valuable stuff.”
“But since Orochimaru conducts human experimentation through extreme means, if Uchiha Ikeizumi really finds Orochimaru’s hideout, he’ll definitely destroy all the research materials without hesitation.”
“That’s originally Konoha’s property and can be used by Konoha. I absolutely won’t allow Konoha’s valuable assets to turn to ashes.”
Sarutobi Hiruzen said, “You want to find Orochimaru before Ikeizumi and take him and his research materials all down?”
Koharu Utatane said, “Exactly.”
“But… Lords.”
The Anbu ninja interjected, “I didn’t hear the specific location of Sannin Orochimaru from Mitarashi Anko or Uchiha Izumi.”
Koharu Utatane said, “I’ll send people to figure it out.”
Sarutobi Hiruzen frowned and reminded Koharu Utatane, “Koharu, don’t act recklessly; don’t use extreme methods.”
Koharu Utatane took a deep breath: “Don’t worry, I know my limits.”
…
Land of Rain, a hidden meeting spot.
Juzo Biwa shook the rainwater off his body. He stood on a cliff edge, stepping on the muddy ground.
Hesitating a bit, he cleared his throat lightly and said to Uchiha Ikeizumi’s Wood Style Clone, “The meeting spot she mentioned is here, but… I’m not sure if that woman will still show up to meet me after seeing you. She seems very suspicious.”
His subconscious implication was—you might very well get in the way.
Of course.
His strong survival instinct made Juzo Biwa not say it outright, but express it in this tactful way.
Even though it was just Uchiha Ikeizumi’s clone in front of him.
One second, five seconds, ten seconds… Seeing Uchiha Ikeizumi’s Wood Style Clone motionless, Juzo Biwa began to suspect if his “hint” was too subtle?
Maybe the clone couldn’t understand it?
“Uh… how about you…”
“No need.” The Wood Style Clone coldly interrupted him, its cold expression now looking toward a spot on the top of a broken cliff opposite the cliff—exactly where the two cliffs faced each other across the void.
“She’s already here.”
The Wood Style Clone said.
Juzo Biwa was suddenly startled. He immediately followed the Wood Style Clone’s gaze, and sure enough, on the cliff directly opposite above, there stood a slender, cold, and arrogant figure, like a flower on a high mountain peak on the cliff wall, her amber eyes full of icy coldness.
“She saw the main body without any disguise and didn’t choose to leave, so either she relies on her strength and fears nothing, or she’s not the main body here to see you either. As you just said, she’s a very suspicious person.”
The Wood Style Clone said indifferently.
…
“Uchiha Ikeizumi…” Konan stared at that unfamiliar figure.
She looked deeply at the other’s young and stern face.
“Juzo Biwa, betrayed Akatsuki?”
…
…
