Chapter 5: Restoring Justice to the Hyuga Clan!
Ritsu stepped forward to check the material's condition. The corpse had already gone cold, but he still pulled out a scroll and sealed the body inside. Every shinobi's corpse was a treasure trove, let alone the body of a Mist Village Kaguya clan jonin.
Shinobi had plenty of methods to extract intelligence and knowledge from corpses.
By bringing the body back, Sensei Hiruko could help extract the Kaguya clan's methods for utilizing the Shikotsumyaku bloodline. Even if Ritsu couldn't necessarily use them directly, they'd serve perfectly as reference material.
"Next, it's time to bet my life!"
Ritsu took a deep breath and completely steeled his resolve.
He wouldn't defect.
But the Main Family would never let him go after erasing the Caged Bird Seal.
Therefore, he had to set things right, return to the source, and restore justice to the Hyuga clan!
Ritsu retraced his path, climbing the ten-meter stone wall and opening the mechanism. He crawled out through the tree hollow. The sky was now bright. Judging by the sun's height, it was roughly ten in the morning.
He activated his Byakugan.
Adjusting his visual range to maximum.
Previously, his Byakugan could see roughly eight kilometers at most. However, now his vision extended to approximately eleven kilometers, clearly viewing distant scenery and features. Obviously, fusing the Shikotsumyaku bloodline hadn't merely helped dissolve the Caged Bird Seal—the Byakugan itself had been strengthened as well.
He followed his original route back.
Around nine or ten in the evening, he finally arrived ten kilometers from the front-line base. He stopped and activated his Byakugan to observe. The camp remained enclosed within its barrier, preventing him from seeing inside clearly.
However, he could see numerous hidden sentries lurking in the forest outside the camp. Among them was a Hyuga Branch Family member.
After waiting roughly a minute and a half, the Branch Family member perched in a tree suddenly showed surprise on his face. He finally looked toward Ritsu's direction. Separated by six kilometers, two pairs of Byakugan met across the distance. They both saw each other.
Ritsu made a gesture: "Come here to talk."
After about five seconds, the Branch Family member formed the Ram seal and executed the Shadow Clone Jutsu. His main body remained motionless in the tree while his clone quietly made its way toward Ritsu's location.
Six kilometers was nothing for a shinobi's speed—just a quick jaunt.
Before long, the shadow clone arrived before Ritsu, speaking with an anxious expression. "Ritsu, didn't you defect? Why did you come back? Leave quickly! While Elder Hisho and Elder Daichi haven't discovered you yet, go as far as possible and don't come back!"
"Hayato, it's Elder Hisho and Elder Daichi who came?"
Ritsu asked with a smile.
The original body of this shadow clone before him was named Hyuga Hayato—fifteen years old, same age as Ritsu. A Branch Family member, jonin rank, and Ritsu's childhood friend and closest companion.
"You still have the mood to smile?"
Hayato's shadow clone was both anxious and angry. "At noon today, the clan head and two elders rushed to the front-line base. They hadn't even settled into their quarters before Elder Hisho started shouting for you to come apologize. That bastard Hyuga Daisho also publicly accused you of refusing to save him, missing the opportunity, deliberately harming a Main Family member, which led to him being surrounded and losing a Byakugan to Mist ninja..."
By the end, he couldn't continue, overcome with righteous fury.
"Just as I thought."
Ritsu wasn't angry, though.
He'd left in such haste and risked using the Chimera Technique to break the Caged Bird Seal precisely because he'd anticipated this situation might occur.
"Hayato, don't be angry. I predicted this. We both know what kind of trash Daisho is. If those Mist ninja hadn't attacked me first, I genuinely planned to ignore whether he lived or died."
"I just can't accept it! How can trash like Daisho compare to you? You became a jonin at eleven. That waste barely passed the jonin exam this year at sixteen. But he's Main Family, so... it's just... just..."
Hayato couldn't find appropriate words to describe his indignant emotions.
"Yeah, I can't accept it either."
Ritsu's eyes turned ice cold.
No one liked being born inferior.
"Sorry, Ritsu. Here I am making you comfort me when you're the one who should be angry." Hayato felt somewhat embarrassed.
"There's no 'should' about it. Getting angry now won't accomplish anything. Hayato, what's the situation at the front-line base right now? How did Hyuga Hisho and the others react when I didn't show up to apologize? Do you know what they're planning next?"
Ritsu steered the conversation toward topics of concern.
"Right now?"
Hayato frowned, speaking honestly. "Lord Orochimaru met with the clan head and two elders. He told them you went out on a reconnaissance mission. Elder Hisho was furious and nearly got into an argument with Lord Orochimaru, but the clan head and Elder Daichi talked him down. They're staying at the front-line base now, waiting for you to return."
"They're staying at the front-line base temporarily?"
Ritsu's heart stirred.
An extremely bold idea sprouted in his mind.
The clan head, two elders, and a group of Branch Family members loyal to the Main Family weren't in the village. In other words, the clan's strength in the village was currently quite depleted—or more precisely, the Main Family's strength was scattered.
This was an opportunity!
"Ritsu, why are you asking this? Just leave quickly! Go as far as possible."
Hayato didn't understand why Ritsu was asking these things. He simply urged him to leave immediately before the Main Family elders spotted him. Once they saw Ritsu, they'd likely activate the Caged Bird Seal at the first opportunity.
That splitting headache—after experiencing it once, no one would willingly endure it a second time.
"Hayato, thanks for telling me this information. From here on, just act like nothing happened, like you never saw me. Continue your mission. I'm leaving now."
"Don't worry, how could I possibly betray you? Ritsu, leave quickly! Go far away. It's best if you never come back."
After speaking these treasonous words, the shadow clone exploded into a cloud of milky white smoke that quickly dispersed.
Six kilometers away in the large tree, Hyuga Hayato remained motionless, faithfully fulfilling his sentry duties.
Ritsu took one long look at the front-line base ten kilometers away, then turned without hesitation and left. Returning to the base now served no purpose. He couldn't obtain what he wanted there. Only by returning to the village could he possibly gain everything he desired.
Therefore, he headed west-northwest toward Konoha Village, running at full speed, moving faster than a galloping horse!
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