A devastated rocky wasteland.
Thud.
Hiruko broke free from Hyuga Yu's grasp, falling flat on his face. He lifted his head from the gravelly earth in a daze. As soon as he looked up, he was shocked to see a massive, bottomless rift stretching out before the three of them—Hyuga Yu, Sasori, and himself. The chasm originated right where a palm strike had landed and extended all the way into the vast deserts of the Land of Wind, reaching even beyond the limits of his vision.
He swallowed hard, staring with horrified eyes at the Byakugan-wielding youth who had single-handedly created all of this.
Ten'nin, Hyuga Yu!
Less than a month had passed since their last encounter, yet Hiruko was terrified to discover that Hyuga Yu had grown to a level he couldn't even begin to comprehend!
This terrifying rate of growth could no longer be explained or described by a ninja's "golden period of development." It wasn't just an improvement brought about by an increase in chakra, physical strength, or the mastery of new ninjutsu. It was a generational gap—a vast, insurmountable chasm in sheer technique between Hyuga Yu and himself!
At this moment, any lingering hopes Hiruko had harbored completely vanished into thin air.
He scrambled up from the ground, dusted off his belted white robes, and looked at Hyuga Yu with a mix of caution and uncertainty. Pointing at Sasori, who was still looking dazed nearby, he asked, "You're not here to kill me? Are you trying to recruit me, just like you're recruiting him?"
Seeing that Sasori wasn't responding for the moment, Hyuga Yu turned to look at Hiruko and nodded. "That's right."
"Hiruko, you are also one of the candidates I've been seeking."
Hyuga Yu said calmly, "I originally intended to extend the invitation to you last time, but... an accident occurred. That is also why I didn't kill you outright back then."
Hiruko frowned and asked, "So that sword strike back then... you missed on purpose?"
"Correct."
Hiruko suddenly fell silent. After a long while, he spoke up hesitantly, "But... I have already defected from the Hidden Leaf. And in the current Hidden Leaf, there's no place for me to stand..."
"It doesn't matter," Hyuga Yu said, looking at him calmly. "As long as you are willing, I can vouch for your return to the village."
With Hyuga Yu's current standing—candidate for the Fourth Hokage, successor to Root, and the esteemed Ten'nin—accomplishing this would not be difficult for him.
Hiruko, originally a Leaf shinobi himself, clearly understood the village's bureaucratic system of mutual protection. He suddenly muttered, "That's not what I meant..."
Looking somewhat sheepishly at Hyuga Yu, Hiruko's mouth twitched into a slightly awkward smile. "Going back to the village with you isn't the problem."
"It's just that... before leaving the Leaf, I used my status as Orochimaru's assistant to take out nearly two hundred million ryo in loans from the village's major banks, completely ruining his credit. I also... stole about fifty million ryo worth of medical equipment from the Medical Department, which was under Tsunade's command at the time."
"If I return to the village now, those two will probably beat me to death."
"Moreover, because I bought intel about you from Oyashiro earlier, right now... I'm broke."
Hearing this, Hyuga Yu's expression stiffened. Visibly, his breathing quickened for several beats.
However, upon seeing the hesitant, uneasy, and slightly nervous look on Hiruko's face, Hyuga Yu quickly understood.
Hiruko bringing this up wasn't entirely because he was strapped for cash and wanted to avoid the village. That was only a part of it. The real reason his instincts resisted was that he didn't know how to face the reality of returning to the Hidden Leaf.
Nor did he know how to face the friends and colleagues he had once betrayed.
Hiruko had defected on the eve of the Third Great Ninja War, taking advantage of the chaotic preparations. Three or four years had passed since then.
Before that, Hiruko had been a shinobi of the same generation as the Sannin. His talent was not as abysmal as he often claimed—he had even managed to climb to the rank of Jonin as a civilian ninja. His relationship with the Sannin had been quite close. However, as a civilian Jonin, he neither possessed a Hokage for a sensei like the Sannin did, nor did he have the powerful secret techniques or Kekkei Genkai of the major ninja clans. He could only watch helplessly as the gap between his friends and himself widened more and more. Out of sheer unwillingness to be left behind, he secretly began researching the fusion ninjutsu: the Chimera Technique.
After this conduct was discovered by the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Sannin were dispatched to hunt him down.
At the time, with the Third Great Ninja War looming, there was no way Hiruzen Sarutobi was unaware of the friendship between Hiruko and the Sannin. It was precisely because Hiruzen had turned a blind eye that Hiruko managed to successfully flee the Hidden Leaf, go into hiding in the Land of Rivers, and accelerate his research on the Chimera Technique outside the village, free from restrictions.
At this moment, Hiruko spoke up hesitantly, "So, Ten'nin, I can hand the Chimera Technique over to you, and I can join Root, but, I..."
Hyuga Yu looked at him calmly and finished his sentence. "You don't want to return to the Hidden Leaf?"
"Yes... I could stay outside the village, in a base established by your Root..."
"Hiruko!" Hyuga Yu suddenly emphasized his tone, interrupting him.
"Ah—I'm here!" Hearing this, Hiruko tensed up immediately, looking at Hyuga Yu with a stiff expression, his sweaty palms clenching slightly.
Hyuga Yu looked at him, shook his head, and said calmly, "Have you really not realized it even now?"
"Realized what?"
Hyuga Yu looked at him and said in a deep voice, "Up until this very moment, the Hidden Leaf has never issued an official wanted poster for you."
"In other words—the Leaf has never officially recognized your status as a rogue ninja."
"And your friends have not held your past mistakes against you."
Hearing these words, Hiruko's body suddenly trembled. Lifting his head, his throat dry and hoarse, he looked up at Hyuga Yu's tranquil expression.
After a long silence, he finally lowered his head and gave a self-deprecating smile. "Is that so..."
Seeing this, Hyuga Yu struck while the iron was hot and revealed his true intentions. "Therefore, after returning to the Hidden Leaf, Root will employ you. You can officially establish the Chimera Technique as a project within Root and continue your research."
"I will pay you a salary according to standard rates. Of course, your debts are your own problem."
Hyuga Yu tilted his head, looking at him. "Any other objections?"
Hiruko's stirred emotions, riled up by Hyuga Yu's words, came to an abrupt halt. Staring at Hyuga Yu's unruffled, matter-of-fact expression, the muscles in his face twitched slightly.
Wait, so this is what you were building up to?
You stingy Hyuga brat!
Under the oppressive might of the Ten'nin, Hiruko's plans to wipe his slate clean and escape his debts went up in smoke. Facing Hyuga Yu, he held his breath for a long time but ultimately didn't dare let a single "no" slip from his lips.
"Sigh... I have no objections."
Having finished handling Hiruko's recruitment interview, Hyuga Yu turned his head and looked at the beautiful red-haired youth on the other side—Sasori of the Red Sand.
Only then did the expression on Sasori's face soften. Breaking free from his daze, he looked at Hyuga Yu with a blank and confused gaze. "?"
Looking at the dumbfounded Sasori, Hyuga Yu sighed. "It seems you didn't hear a word I just said. Let me ask you again."
"Sasori of the Red Sand, what is your decision?"
Standing to the side, Hiruko pointed at Sasori's bleeding ears and reminded him, "He's deaf. He can't hear you."
Only then did Hyuga Yu realize that Sasori did not have Hiruko's Steel Release. With a puppeteer's fragile physical constitution, his orifices had begun to bleed during the very first wave of the plasma vortex sonic boom.
Hyuga Yu immediately raised his hand, generating a cluster of green chakra for the Mystical Palm Jutsu in his palm. He reached toward Sasori's ears, intending to restore his hearing first.
But at that moment, Slap!
Sasori frowned and batted away Hyuga Yu's outstretched medical ninjutsu. "I can read lips. I heard you just fine!"
Then, staring at Hyuga Yu, he spoke frankly, "Since I can't beat you, I don't have a choice. I'll follow you. Wherever you're going, let's go."
Hearing this, Hyuga Yu looked surprised. "You're unexpectedly reasonable."
Sasori's face darkened slightly, a resolute glint flashing in his eyes as he looked at Hyuga Yu. "I merely want to know—who exactly are the thirteen seated members of the 'Root' you plan to establish? Hiruko and I aren't the only ones you intend to recruit, are we?"
"And with such terrifying power, what kind of scheme do you have that requires recruiting so many 'research-type shinobi' who are so vastly different from ordinary ninja?"
Sasori let out a long breath. He turned his head slightly, first looking at the profound, twenty-thousand-meter-long rift stretching across the Land of Rivers and the Land of Wind behind him. Then, he turned back, staring at the golden halo surrounding Hyuga Yu. Sasori spoke solemnly, "Just like your ninjutsu—"
"Answer me, Ten'nin!"
At this moment, Hiruko also realized this. Frowning slightly, he asked, "Indeed, with your current strength, the number of opponents you have left in this land can likely be counted on one hand, right?"
"What is the ultimate goal of the plan you are trying to accomplish by recruiting us? I am quite curious about this myself, Ten'nin."
Hearing this, Hyuga Yu nodded in acknowledgment and spoke calmly, "Since you've asked, I will briefly inform you of our future operational plans."
"Next, I will take you back to the Hidden Leaf to participate in the election for the Fourth Hokage."
"However, campaigning for the position of Hokage is not my true goal. What I really want to push for through this election is the establishment of a laboratory dedicated to the research of Yang Release, genetic fusion, and cutting-edge bio-medical technology. This will serve my first objective—"
Hearing this, the expressions on Hiruko and Sasori's faces froze simultaneously. "Your first objective?"
Hyuga Yu nodded. He raised a hand, pointed to his Byakugan, and said calmly, "I want to push these eyes to evolve into their ultimate form."
"The ultimate ocular jutsu bloodline limit, on par with the legendary Sage's eyes, the Rinnegan."
"The Tenseigan!"
"With this, alongside some other methods, I will seize a power great enough to ascend to the pinnacle of the ninja world!"
Sasori frowned, looking at Hyuga Yu's Byakugan in confusion. "The pinnacle of the ninja world? Is that a place? Or does it merely refer to a certain level of power?"
Hyuga Yu lifted his head slightly, looking at the azure sky, and said faintly, "It means both. It is a physical zenith, and it is also the endpoint of a shinobi's power level."
"But ultimately, it points to an ultimate weapon capable of upending the entire ninja world."
Hyuga Yu paused and said in a deep voice, "The Ten-Tails!"
Hiruko frowned. "A Tailed Beast? But that's one I've never heard of..."
Hyuga Yu explained indifferently, "Since ancient times, there existed a Divine Tree that pierced through heaven and earth. Its manifested true form is the monster known as the Ten-Tails."
"It is the pinnacle of the Tailed Beasts, and simultaneously, it can materialize as a catalyst to unlock the limits of human evolution."
"People from beyond the heavens come in pairs. By sacrificing one, the Divine Tree is forced to bear the 'Ultimate Fruit'."
"And my ultimate goal is to nurture this monster and make this Divine Tree bear fruit, by endlessly hunting down..."
"Those people from beyond the heavens!"
Hearing the legend Hyuga Yu had so succinctly introduced, Sasori and Hiruko quickly extracted all kinds of horrifying information from the brief message.
Their pupils shrank abruptly. Hiruko looked completely lost. "Divine Tree? Ultimate Fruit? People from beyond the heavens? What... what is all of this?"
Sasori, however, immediately latched onto the underlying meaning in Hyuga Yu's words, deducing his true motive. "Are you saying... there will be extraterrestrial visitors invading our world?"
"And you... Ten'nin, you are constantly pushing yourself to become stronger specifically to fight them?"
"Who are these people, and where are they?"
Sasori revealed an astonished expression, pressing further. "And when... will they descend?"
Just as Hyuga Yu was about to placate Sasori and tell him to be patient, his heart suddenly and inexplicably skipped a beat. A foreboding premonition surged in his chest!
The invisible seal placed in his mind to restrict the evolution of his Byakugan—the Flame Seal—suddenly trembled violently. A sliver of cyan chakra poured into Hyuga Yu's eyes, unlocking for a brief instant the power of his Dojutsu: Jippo.
Hyuga Yu snapped his head up to look at the sky, his pure white pupils instantly turning cyan. It was as if some ultimate organism standing at the end of time had cast a glance downward at that very moment. Through a void in the river of time, countless god-like gazes landed in Hyuga Yu's eyes. Then, his vision blurred, and his entire perspective began to spin wildly.
Soon, his vision stabilized at a slightly lowered angle. He saw a colossal temple, exactly like the one from The Last!
He saw the end of the temple's magnificent pillars, where a resplendent, gigantic eye shone like an artificial sun!
He also saw a middle-aged man with withered white hair, his body coiled in an ominous aura and exuding a terrifyingly extreme presence. He was staring madly at the giant Tenseigan, and then, he heard him speak: "The power of the Golden Wheel Reincarnation Explosion has reappeared in the ninja world!"
"I cannot wait any longer, Toneri! Stay here safely. I will immediately use my one and only chance to open the astral passage between the Earth and the Moon!"
The withered-haired man turned his head, abruptly revealing eyes filled with madness—azure eyes that had evolved almost to their complete form. "This time, I must find that thief, gouge out his eyes, drink his blood, and suck his marrow dry to perfectly supplement the last sliver of power these eyes lack!"
"And then..."
"Toneri, I, Otsutsuki Tsugishiki, will recreate a brand-new world for you!"
Seeing this scene and hearing these lunatic words, a chill shot straight to Hyuga Yu's heart!
And immediately after, something even more chilling occurred. The "live broadcast" scene before his eyes began to collapse, and another scene started to reassemble!
It was a world made entirely of countless cyan light dots, cyan lines, and cyan planes.
Anchored by the Dojutsu: Jippo, a future world that was destined to happen appeared before Hyuga Yu's eyes.
In other words, at a time when Hyuga Yu was completely powerless to resist, unable to predict, and even unable to comprehend, his future—and the future of this world—had once again been anchored through these eyes by that ultimate organism existing at the end of time!
At this moment, the scene began to clear up.
Hyuga Yu found himself standing atop the Hokage Rock in the Hidden Leaf Village.
Below him, beneath the fourth head of the Hokage Rock, countless Leaf villagers were fleeing frantically into shelters, illuminated by river-like cyan flames. Meanwhile, numerous ninja silhouettes were rapidly congregating in another direction!
Hyuga Yu tilted his head up slightly. He saw what had put countless Leaf shinobi on high alert: up in the zenith of a cloudless, clear night sky, countless meteorites trailing dazzling tails of fire were crashing down!
High in that burning starry vault, an ominous, blood-red light grew increasingly grand and radiant!
It looked as if a red moon, burning with raging flames, was plunging down into the mortal world!
At this moment, caught in a hazy trance between the present and the future, a cool, clear voice tinged with a hint of worry suddenly rang in Hyuga Yu's ear. It was Sasori's voice: "What's wrong? Ten'nin? Hyuga Yu? Boss? Why are you spacing out?"
"Those extraterrestrial visitors you spoke of—when will they descend?"
Hyuga Yu's vision snapped clear, and he returned to the present, back to the desolate rocky desert in the Land of Rivers where he currently stood.
Facing Sasori's question, his expression grew stern. Furrowing his brows deeply, a flash of struggle passed through his eyes. Finally, Hyuga Yu took a deep breath, turned his head with absolute seriousness, looked at Sasori, and answered with three words:
"Right now!"
————
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