Their next mission was to aid Sasuke. Every ninja still standing fought with all their strength.
This is war—a story not yet over...
Chapter 198: A Battle with Hyuga Ao
This is the battlefield.
Smoke filled the air, and every corner was a fight for survival.
The Third said calmly, "I didn't expect Gaara to betray Konoha."
Even with Kazekage's kunai at his throat, this old man still maintained the dignity of a Kage.
Kazekage spoke in a slightly hoarse voice, "Treaties are just illusions meant to make opponents let down their guard. This boring game ends here. The wheel of history shall roll forward."
"Do you want to start a war?"
The Third glanced sideways at Kazekage behind him. His tone was clearly accusatory.
Kazekage nodded. "That's right."
Sarutobi Hiruzen sighed inwardly and replied coldly, "Lord Kazekage, we should avoid violence and resolve our issues through peaceful talks."
This was the Third's final attempt—if it failed, Konoha would protect its homeland with blades.
Konoha never fears war—but always tries to avoid it.
Yet mocking whistles came from nearby, like a snake flicking its tongue.
"Lord Sarutobi! Have you grown senile in your old age?"
Orochimaru!
Sarutobi Hiruzen immediately recognized the name.
So it was him after all.
Hyuga Ao climbed out of the rubble, yet his face showed no sign of weakness—despite the immense force behind Shiki Uzumaki's last attack.
For someone in Stage One of the Cursed Seal transformation, such an attack wasn't particularly damaging.
After all, he had already endured far worse when first entering the cursed state.
He stood up—clothes torn but his body still untouched.
Looking at the wild chakra still burning around Shiki Uzumaki, thick green vapor rising ominously.
Still, he continued speaking as if uninterrupted—
Even though Shiki had struck him heavily, he would finish what he started saying.
"Perhaps you've forgotten, but I remember clearly. When I was six, I fought you for the first time. In the end, I shamefully ran away in fear. That moment became my disgrace, so later, again and again, I tried to defeat you, but failed every time."
"Then gradually I realized—not everyone within our clan thinks the same. Most of us are alike however, because we must humiliatingly obey the Main House. We're nothing more than appendages of the Main Family."
That child... who had carried such hatred and fear for so long.
An Anbu officer clad in white glanced toward Hyuga Ao and couldn't help but sigh.
The affairs of the Hyuga Clan were an open secret—an unspoken taboo within Konoha.
Bound by the Cage Bird seal (a mark that shackles their fate), destined never to become among the strongest.
"So I hate all this, yet fear it too, because a single word from Hiashi Hyuga could send me to my death!"
"I can't be like Neji. Even though he's from the Branch Family, he's still Hiashi's nephew. He can harbor hatred toward the Branch Family without being killed. But as for me, my matter won't even reach Hiashi-sama's ears before the people loyal to the Main House deal with it themselves."
"In the Ninja Academy, I repeatedly tried to defeat you to prove that I could still wield great strength. I once believed that hard work could lead to success. But in the end, this Cage Bird restricting me only allows me to become a hound for the Main House. Only Orochimaru-sama! Only he can grant me great power and give me hope!"
Shiki looked at Hyuga Ao, who appeared to have descended into madness, his expression turning cold.
Violent chakra continued surging through his body, yet he remained still, listening to everything Hyuga Ao was saying.
"Are you finished?"
Shiki looked at Ao, whose entire body was covered in linear cursed seals, speaking in a calm voice.
It felt as though something had arrived on the wind itself.
Nearby, the Anbu were all focused on the battle between Orochimaru and The Third.
Only the White-Cloaked Anbu lingered on Hyuga Ao a little longer.
"If you're done, then let me fight you properly."
Puff!
Suddenly Ao burst into action. First came an explosion-like sound in the air, followed by a series of sharp whistling noises.
Almost instantaneously, Ao had already rushed right beside Shiki Uzumaki.
At twelve years old, one hand stretched forward while the other clenched tightly into a fist, seemingly charging up energy, his thick chakra surged fiercely against Shiki's.
[Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms!]
In an instant, palm strikes infused with Sage Chakra came rushing forward.
[Sixty-Four Palms] were unleashed all at once — though in truth, it was the Hyuga Clan's signature technique to disrupt the opponent's Meridian.
The Hyuga Clan has always been renowned for their unparalleled precision with chakra, able to finely manipulate it throughout their bodies.
Yet at this moment, Ao broke away from that tradition, launching violent chakra straight toward Shiki Uzumaki.
But—
Whoosh!
A gust of wind blew past, and suddenly there was no one in front of him. His flurry of afterimages and attacks had completely struck nothing.
Shiki Uzumaki had dodged!
A bead of cold sweat trickled down Ao's forehead before rising as steam.
"What incredible speed! He's just a fresh Genin?"
The White-Cloaked Anbu silently marveled inside his heart, even though he knew the Eight Gates could greatly enhance one's Taijutsu abilities when activated.
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