Almost at the exact moment Otsutsuki Tetsuto descended upon the ninja world, overseas, in Oyashiro, inside a room on the top floor of a Roman Colosseum currently under construction.
An elderly man—resting his head on one hand as he dozed off on a sofa in the room, leaning against a grim reaper's scythe, dressed in a deep blue robe, with a head of withered white hair and a face full of wrinkles—suddenly opened his eyes!
Revealing a pair of cold, crimson, blood-red eyes spinning with three pitch-black tomoe!
"Hmm?"
The old man turned his head slightly, peering through the floor-to-ceiling window, past the island scenery outside, casting his gaze toward the western side across the vast ocean.
"Is that movement from the Land of Rain? No... this direction, it's the Land of Rivers."
"An aura capable of making the Rinnegan feel threatened..."
"Has someone comparable to Hashirama descended upon that place?"
"Hmph." The old man snorted coldly, the corners of his mouth curving upward slightly. "To think that more than forty years after Hashirama's death, the ninja world is actually becoming interesting again—"
"Black Zetsu, who disguised himself as my will... Tennin, who was buried in history... and now, this fellow who suddenly appeared..."
"Heh~" The old man sneered, the expression in his eyes growing even colder.
Just then, creak—the sound of a door opening rang out. From outside, a young man with long, light grey hair, dressed in a pale orange robe and wearing square tinted sunglasses, pushed the door open and entered the room.
When he looked up and saw the old man who had suddenly appeared in the room looking like a grim reaper, he was slightly surprised at first. Then, as if foreseeing his impending fate, he let out a soft sigh, closed the door, walked over to sit on the side sofa, and picked up the teapot from the coffee table to respectfully pour a cup of green tea for the old man.
"If I am not mistaken, you must be—"
"The former 'Shinobi Shura', and now, the true mastermind controlling Kirigakure from behind the scenes!"
Through his sunglasses, the man calmly stared at the old man with the terrifying identity before him—Madara... Uchiha!
"It was you who has been supporting me from behind the scenes to build Oyashiro on the borders of the Land of Water, as well as the incident in the Valley of Hell back then..."
Hearing this, Madara Uchiha looked up expressionlessly at him. "En Oyashiro..."
"You are somewhat smarter than I imagined, not that foolish."
"However, you have been enjoying this peace a bit too much!"
En Oyashiro shook his head gently, poured a cup of tea for himself, and downed it in one gulp, a smile appearing on his face. "Every gift of fate has its price secretly marked from the beginning."
"I only wish to fulfill my desires, leaving no regrets behind."
En Oyashiro knew this day would come sooner or later. Therefore, after slaughtering the Chinoike Clan and escaping the Valley of Hell, he personally built Oyashiro—the dream of his late wife—arranged a way out for his daughter, Chino Chinoike, and severed all ties with her.
He just hadn't expected this day to come so quickly. En Oyashiro looked up, a flash of determination in his eyes as he faced Madara Uchiha, and asked, "What do you need me to do?"
Madara Uchiha fell silent, staring coldly at En Oyashiro for a full ten seconds before finally letting out a cold chuckle. "To think that a trigger I casually left behind back then would end up becoming this old man's final pawn."
He raised his palm, pulled out a scroll from behind his back, and tossed it to En Oyashiro.
"This old man is about to die."
"I leave this jutsu to you to perfect. When the nine Tailed Beasts are gathered and the Ten-Tails is reborn..."
"You will be the one to awaken this old man!"
En Oyashiro nodded without making any explicit promises, and Madara Uchiha did not force any other demands upon him either.
He took the scroll and unrolled it. On the cover, the name of the jutsu was clearly inscribed—Reanimation Jutsu.
Half an hour after Otsutsuki Tetsuto descended upon the ninja world, the massive disturbance arising from the border of the Land of Wind quickly caught the attention of various factions. A colossal golden pillar of light had suddenly manifested from the heavens, splitting a vast expanse of desert and Gobi beach right down the middle.
This was followed an hour later by another massive cyan pillar of light descending once more.
The patrol shinobi stationed at the borders of both the Land of Wind and the Land of Rivers only had to look up to witness that miracle-like scene, feeling an aura of strength so terrifying that it clearly no longer belonged to a mere human!
News of what happened in the Land of Rivers spread across the ninja world like falling snowflakes. Upon receiving the reports, the major nations began speculating: could this be the doing of "Tennin," who had recently been in the Land of Rivers?
Bearing the brunt of the proximity, the Land of Wind immediately dispatched an investigation team under the organization of the Fourth Kazekage, Rasa, to probe the anomalies on the border.
However, by the next day, not a single member of the investigation team had returned to the village. This abnormal situation made Kazekage Rasa uneasy, prompting him to prepare to personally investigate the following day.
Yet, on the night of the second day, the entire investigation team unexpectedly appeared at the gates of Sunagakure.
What puzzled the gateguards of Sunagakure, however, was that all dozen or so returning Hidden Sand shinobi had completely blank expressions, as if their minds had suffered severe trauma, leaving them in a daze. Even more horrifyingly, though they were clearly living people, their movements... were mechanical and stiff, exactly like puppets controlled by a puppet master.
And following the investigation team into Sunagakure was a figure with deathly pale skin and a noble demeanor, resembling royalty.
On the third day, some sort of internal upheaval seemed to have occurred within Sunagakure. The Fourth Kazekage, Rasa, suddenly announced that Sunagakure would lock down the village and seal its borders. On the same day, the Daimyo of the Land of Wind also announced that to allow the country to recuperate and stabilize its national strength, all foreign trade would be banned.
The Land of Wind's isolationism quickly drew widespread attention, but by then, another matter that had been leaked ahead of time completely diverted the focus of all major factions across the ninja world—Tennin was about to return to Konohagakure!
February 23, Year 50 of Konoha. News that "Tennin"—the one who had secured a massive advantage for Konoha and achieved monumental feats during the late stages of the Third Shinobi World War—was about to return to the village spread like wildfire through every street and alleyway. But soon, a question began passing from mouth to mouth among the villagers: "Who exactly is Tennin?"
"How old is he? Is he a man or a woman? Which ninja clan does he belong to, or is he a civilian shinobi like Minato Namikaze? What achievements has he made, and on what grounds is he running in the Fourth Hokage election?"
This was not the work of Root.
Unlike Root's propaganda which was confined strictly to shinobi and noble circles, this wave of public opinion "coincidentally" sprouted among the common folk. Soon, answers began circulating rapidly throughout Konoha: "Tennin's name is Hyuga Yu, male, fourteen years old, a shinobi of the Hyuga Clan."
"During the Third Shinobi World War, he successfully executed the Kirigakure Collapse Plan that no one favored, suppressed the civil war in the Land of Rain, signed an alliance treaty between Konoha and the Land of Rain, and is about to participate in peace talks with Iwagakure to completely end the Third Shinobi World War..."
The legend of Tennin instantly invigorated the villagers of Konoha. No one doubted his combat prowess. In fact, when comparing him to Orochimaru and Minato Namikaze, a certain feeling faintly arose in everyone's minds—
"Wait a minute, isn't Lord Tennin's combat power a bit too exaggerated? He crippled an entire hidden village single-handedly. Is Lord Minato, who killed fifty Iwagakure shinobi in a single battle, really his match? And could Lord Orochimaru, who once needed the combined effort of the Legendary Sannin just to fight the 'Demigod' of the Hidden Rain Village, actually defeat him?"
"Tennin directly suppressed the Land of Rain and drove the 'Demigod' Hanzo of the Salamander right out of the Hidden Rain Village!"
"The only one who could probably trade blows with Lord Tennin is our 'Strongest Hokage', the Third Hokage himself!"
"In that case, doesn't that mean Tennin is already the strongest shinobi in Konoha?"
"Of course! If he wasn't, why would those nobles of the Land of Fire bet their entire fortunes to support Tennin's bid for Hokage? Do you think they have more money than brains?"
But soon, as discussions about Tennin grew broader, some sharp, critical voices began to surface. "But if Tennin is so strong..."
"Why is the Hyuga Clan, which raised Tennin, supporting Lord Minato instead?"
"Why do only the Land of Fire's nobles support him? What about the esteemed shinobi? Why aren't they choosing him?"
"Lord Tennin is clearly the stronger one, right?"
Finally, someone steered the public narrative in a different direction, telling everyone: "I heard it's because..." "Tennin, Hyuga Yu, is a member of the Hyuga Clan's branch house."
"And the lives of the Hyuga branch house members are entirely held in the hands of the main house due to the existence of the Caged Bird!"
"Choosing Tennin is equivalent to handing over your own life, wealth, and future entirely to the Hyuga main house!"
"Are you willing to surrender your future to a bunch of stubborn, archaic traditionalists?"
The public discourse completely exploded.
The various rumors exposed and ignited the dark truth between the Hyuga branch and main houses, causing the trust of Tennin's supporters to plummet, leading many to demand answers from Danzo Shimura.
The past conflicts between Tennin himself and the Hyuga main house were also dug up once again, brought to the table for large-scale debate.
Each rumor acted like a gleaming blade, stabbing between Tennin and the Hyuga main house, instigating conflict between the two! It also completely and precisely drove a wedge between the Hyuga branch house and main house!
Meanwhile, inside Konoha Village, within the Hyuga Clan compound, at a gathering place for the branch house.
Members of the Hyuga branch house, each sporting the Byakugan, bustled to and fro, quickly delivering pieces of intelligence upward. An elderly branch house member named Hyuga Tokuji stepped into a luxurious mansion, walking briskly through a complex corridor before entering a quiet room.
Inside the quiet room, there sat only a young man with a mature demeanor, kneeling on a cushion with his eyes covered by a black cloth.
With a look of anxiety, Hyuga Tokuji entered the quiet room. Without raising his head, he placed the new reports on the desk before him, knelt down, and slowly read aloud, "Lord Hizashi, according to your arrangements, we have disseminated the news through various channels, successfully sparking intense discussion among the villagers."
"It's just..." Hyuga Tokuji looked at the young man, hesitating to speak.
"Just what?" asked Hizashi Hyuga calmly, his eyes still bound by the black cloth.
"Lord Hizashi, is it really wise for us to instigate a rift between 'Tennin' and the main house like this?"
Upon hearing those words, Hizashi Hyuga's face instantly turned freezing cold. His expression twisted into something violent and ferocious, and the veins around his eyes suddenly bulged out intensely!
"Tennin? What 'Tennin'?"
"There is only one Tennin in the Hyuga Clan, and that is me! It can only be me!"
"That dead man, Hyuga Yu... Root merely slapped that title onto him ahead of time!"
"He was almost cursed to death by the main house using the Caged Bird—what kind of Tennin is he supposed to be?!"
"A piece of trash like that, even if he carries the fake title of 'Tennin,' is nothing more than a dog at the mercy of the main house!"
Faced with such a volatile Hizashi Hyuga, Hyuga Tokuji fell instantly speechless, not daring to utter another word.
Ever since Hizashi Hyuga used the methods previously demonstrated by Hyuga Yu to bypass the Caged Bird and forcibly transplanted "those eyes," he had become increasingly irritable and violent... routinely beating, cursing, and insulting his clansmen. He had even laid hands on his wife, who was currently pregnant with Neji.
Hizashi himself was aware of this, leaving him no choice but to confine himself to the quiet room.
Yet, even in this state, the power Hizashi displayed... completely transcended the comprehension of everyone in the branch house!
Because that... truly was the power of the "Hyuga Tennin"!
Precisely because of this, the Hyuga branch house at this moment had completely come to view Hizashi Hyuga as their final hope for breaking free from the shackles of the main house!
At this moment, realizing that his actions and words had been a bit too extreme, Hizashi Hyuga took a deep breath, trying hard to calm his emotions. He raised his hand, a ruthless glint flashing across his face, and in the next instant—Slap!
He slapped himself hard across the face, forcing himself to calm down!
Then, he looked up at Hyuga Tokuji and consoled him, "Tokuji, don't be afraid. These are just some side effects from the assimilation period of these eyes. Rest assured, I am still myself."
Seeing that Hizashi had genuinely calmed down, Hyuga Tokuji let out a massive sigh of relief, thinking to himself, Thank goodness, he slapped himself this time, not me...
Then, he asked cautiously, "Then, about this matter..."
Hizashi breathed heavily, suppressing the violent urges constantly surging in his heart, and spoke coldly, "I still need a bit of time to adapt to the power of these eyes. The main house has probably almost noticed what I've done!"
"The theft of a massive amount of Byakugan... will definitely make them tense. They will launch an investigation and move against me, so at a time like this, I absolutely cannot be exposed!"
"Therefore, we can only use that brat Hyuga Yu to divert the main house's attention away from me!"
"Let them tear into each other for a while first!"
"In the end, once I have completely mastered the 'Power of Tennin,' I will be the one to dissolve all of these conflicts!"
Hyuga Tokuji's heart stirred, thinking that this was indeed an excellent strategy. Furthermore, there was already a deadly feud between Tennin and the Hyuga main house. As long as they operated carefully, even Root would assume it was the main house's doing and wouldn't dig deep enough to uncover them.
With this in mind, he looked at Hizashi Hyuga once more and asked respectfully, "Then, Lord Hizashi, for the next step... what should we do?"
Hizashi took a deep breath, pondering in place for a brief moment before a sinister smirk curled upon his lips. "Hyuga Natsu!"
"That brat did the exact same thing as me!"
"But she is even more ruthless and venomous than I am!"
"Next, to completely trigger the conflict between Hyuga Yu and the main house, we will utilize the previous incident along with the leverage we hold over Hyuga Natsu—"
"We must make everyone realize that the Hyuga Clan can only have one Tennin!"
————
Supporting me on Pa-treon to gain early access to advanced chapters and enjoy expedited updates. Your support is greatly appreciated.
pat-reon .c-om/Dragonhair
(Just remove the hyphen - and space, to access Pa-treon normally.)