"I thought you'd choose a different way to deal with the Caged Bird, Yuu-kun."
The figure who appeared from the shadows spoke with a smile.
"Orochimaru-sama," Hyuga Yuu replied calmly. "A crude technique like the Caged Bird isn't worth serious study—for either of us. Wouldn't it be better to let others rack their brains over dismantling it?"
He didn't look surprised by Orochimaru's arrival, keeping his focus on carefully extracting Hyuga Hisanobu's Byakugan.
This underground laboratory was built near Konoha's main encampment—far beyond what Yuu could arrange at his current level.
Its owner was Orochimaru.
"Undoing other people's Caged Bird Seals doesn't interest me," Orochimaru said softly. "But undoing yours, Yuu-kun… that, I find very interesting."
"So you still haven't given up on pulling the information straight out of my head?" Yuu asked without looking up.
"No one enjoys obtaining information passively."
Orochimaru stepped up to the operating table. He stared at the two eyeballs Yuu had already sealed into separate containers and slowly licked his lips.
"A Main House Byakugan," he murmured. "Excellent research material."
Yuu picked up one of the containers and handed it over. Orochimaru accepted it with a knowing look and produced a scroll in return.
"This is the Edo Tensei," Orochimaru said. "If you're going to put your plan into motion, you'll need it."
Yuu took the scroll—and sweetened the deal himself.
"The Byakugan can evolve, just like the Sharingan. The condition is fusion with the Ōtsutsuki clan's Byakugan on the moon. Unfortunately… that's something neither of us can accomplish."
Another piece of hidden truth.
Orochimaru was clearly pleased. For him, a hint was often enough—once the paper-thin veil was pierced, results followed naturally.
Still, the words can't accomplish made him frown slightly.
"'Impossible,' hm?" he said. "That's a rare note of hesitation from you, Yuu-kun."
"Without the power of the God of Shinobi," Yuu replied, shaking his head, "it's not worth considering."
He ignored Orochimaru's teasing tone.
To evolve the Byakugan into the Tenseigan—as Toneri would later explain—you needed Ōtsutsuki blood from the moon.
And that was exceedingly hard to obtain.
The moon-dwelling Ōtsutsuki were indeed powerful—but not because of individual strength.
It was the colossal Tenseigan.
Starting a war recklessly could end with the moon being hurled down onto the shinobi world, annihilating everything below. That kind of threat required patience and long-term planning.
"I'm genuinely curious where you get your information from," Orochimaru said idly while studying the Byakugan. "I once reanimated a Hyuga Main House member. All he knew was that there were distant Hyuga relatives on the moon watching their Byakugan. He had no idea about evolution."
There was meaning behind his casual words.
The boy before him had approached him at twelve years old, trading secrets of the Uchiha and Senju clans for guidance.
At the time, Orochimaru had nearly abandoned his Wood Release research.
That conversation changed everything.
Uchiha and Senju—both descendants of the Sage of Six Paths—shared the same origin. Their powers complemented each other.
That revelation reignited his experiments… and even produced a monster.
Yet compared to secrets already uncovered, the boy himself was far more fascinating.
"With your current strength," Orochimaru added gently, "you no longer need to maintain a self-destruct technique in your mind. It's dangerous."
Back then, twelve-year-old Hyuga Yuu had been vastly weaker than Orochimaru.
If not for the mental failsafe Yuu had implanted—a trigger that would destroy his eyes, activate the Caged Bird Seal, and obliterate his nerves and memories the moment foreign chakra invaded his mind—Orochimaru would have already seized control and rifled through his memories.
As for killing Yuu and interrogating him through Edo Tensei?
That would be an unforgivable waste.
This boy was likely the most talented Hyuga of his generation.
Just the fact that Yuu's Byakugan had nearly double the visual range of ordinary Hyuga proved it. He was the perfect subject for studying the clan's power.
"Being around you is still stressful," Yuu said evenly.
His hand slowed as he examined the Edo Tensei scroll. His body tensed.
Orochimaru had too many methods. Even if Yuu's value and leverage kept him safe for now—and even with a final trump card—complacency would be fatal.
"I wouldn't lay a hand on a companion," Orochimaru said with a helpless smile.
You didn't stop me today, Yuu thought dryly. And for the sake of gathering Sharingan, you even swapped defense zones with Jiraiya. 'Wouldn't hurt a companion,' my ass.
He finished his internal grumbling, then suddenly looked up.
"Orochimaru-sama. Do you have a sacrifice for Edo Tensei?"
Orochimaru casually took out a scroll and released a captured Mist-nin, clearly unconcerned about Yuu wanting to verify the technique.
Tobirama's Edo Tensei was still an incomplete version. Reanimated shinobi were pitifully weaker than their living selves—no threat to him.
And Orochimaru already had ideas on how to improve it.
Using it as a bargaining chip cost him nothing.
"Do you have the target's personal information?" Orochimaru asked. "Or are you planning to use that Main House Hyuga?"
Yuu didn't answer.
Under Orochimaru's puzzled gaze, he drew the Edo Tensei array onto a blank scroll—then sliced his own palm and pressed his blood onto it as the personal link.
"Summoning Technique—Edo Tensei!"
Yuu clasped his hands together.
Gray-white paper talismans spread across the Mist-nin's body, reshaping it into something small—
A childlike form, as if newly born.
Yuu watched quietly and thought:
So that's how it is. From the moment of 'birth,' you live by stealing another's name. Reincarnation, rebirth, fusion with the original… nothing but self-deception.
It worked.
On the first try.
Orochimaru's expression hardened.
Using one's own blood to summon someone else?
Was Hyuga Yuu a reincarnator—like his own Living Corpse Reincarnation?
"You really do keep surprising me, Yuu-kun."
Yuu dispelled the Edo Tensei, sending the newborn soul back to the Pure Land, and said softly:
"Orochimaru-sama, it seems our cooperation can last a long time. After all—if I die, Edo Tensei becomes useless."
"…That does seem to be the case."
Orochimaru returned to his usual composure, eyes glinting with interest.
"There are quite a few Hyuga Branch House shinobi on the Mist front. Who will you sacrifice? Shall I assist?"
"Let them choose for themselves."
Yuu's voice turned cold.
"Some people have been kneeling for so long they've forgotten how to stand. If that's the case… then they can stay kneeling forever."
Just as he'd told Hyuga Hisanobu, Yuu personally felt no urge to take revenge on the Main House.
But whether the Main House could survive the shock—before and after the Caged Bird was undone—that was another matter entirely.
…
Starting the next day, some Hyuga shinobi began dropping dead the instant they encountered the enemy.
The rumor that Kirigakure had obtained the Caged Bird Seal spread like wildfire through the camp.
As the overall commander of the Mist front, Orochimaru made his decision immediately.
—All Hyuga shinobi are to withdraw to Konoha at once.
Naturally…
That order included Hyuga Yuu.