Konoha: Starting with Sage Mode

The enemy was practically a meat grinder on the battlefield, and the kind that came and went like the wind. They often charged into their rear alone, making full use of their terrifying mobility and causing huge trouble for the Konoha and Amegakure allied forces.

If it weren't for the presence of two Kage-level powerhouses, Hattori Masanari and Uchiha Chizuru, from Amegakure, at the main camp, the Allied Forces' rear area might have been destroyed by the enemy long ago.

Even so, the Third Raikage of Kumogakure still puts enormous pressure on the Allied Forces. If no one can restrain him in the upcoming decisive battle between the Allied Forces and Kumogakure, the Allied Forces will be in a very passive position.

After all, the Third Raikage wasn't the only one in the Hidden Cloud Village who mastered the Lightning Release Chakra Mode; there was also his son and eight Jinchuriki, including Brubi.

On the other hand, although the Allied Forces had more Kage-level shinobi than the Cloud Village, without Kirito's intervention, no one was confident they could restrain the three Kage-level shinobi who had mastered Lightning Release Chakra Mode.

The enemy, relying on its superior mobility, had three Kage-level fighters who played a more significant role than the four Kage-level fighters of the Allied Forces.

Now, they are finally going to send out Kirito, their ace, to face the enemy's general.

"Ahem, there's one more thing to mention. According to our intelligence agents, there are unusual movements in Iwagakure and Sunagakure. We must be even more careful in our final battle against Kumogakure."

Seeing that the people present were not tense enough, Tsunade immediately dropped a bombshell.

The moment the bomb was thrown, it caused a dramatic change in the expressions of the Konoha ninjas present, and the tension that had subsided surged back into their hearts.

Then, a group of Konoha ninja began to curse:

"Damn Iwagakure, they're definitely doing this on purpose. As soon as they saw us fighting Kumogakure, they immediately tried to take advantage of us."

"Wasn't Sunagakure crippled by our Konoha? These desert peasants never learn. Their Third Kazekage has only been dead for a short time, and they're already trying to come back to die."

"Lord Kirito, if the people of Sunagakure dare to make another move, please teach them a lesson once again."

……

Kirito listened to the words of the Konoha ninja present, but just smiled and remained silent, continuing to act as a mascot in the meeting, seemingly distracted.

He wasn't going to waste his time on this boring strategy meeting; he had something more important to do: create opportunities to get a lot of Byakugan from Hyuga Kazuma.

Ever since he obtained a lot of clues about the main family's Byakugan from Hyuga Tennin, he has been trying to infiltrate the Hyuga clan and try to lure Hyuga Kazuma out.

Unfortunately, Hyuga Kazuma himself is like a hamster, hiding deep within the Hyuga clan's territory every day. Even when the Hyuga clan encounters any problems, he only lets the branch family members of the clan solve them, never taking action himself.

Kirito, despite his superior skills and daring, was confident he could capture Hyuga Kazuma in Konoha. However, reason prevailed, and he refrained from causing a ruckus in Konoha while Madara Uchiha was eyeing the village with hostility.

Fortunately, after a month of effort, he successfully implanted a soul seed into an old and frail elder of the clan and completely took control of his body.

Next, he only needs to find a suitable opportunity to subdue Hyuga Kazuma with swift and decisive action.

And today, the opportunity has arrived.

Today is the annual ancestral worship day for the Hyuga clan at the clan's shrine. As the clan leader, Hyuga Kazuma will spend some time alone inside the shrine doing things that only the clan leader knows about.

On the other side, in Konoha, at the Hyuga clan's ancestral home, the Hyuga Shrine.

Hinata and Ma entered the shrine alone, and then continued to descend deeper underground through the shrine's secret passages.

Soon, he arrived at a spacious underground space, where a stone statue with two horns on its head came into view.

Chapter 278: Otsutsuki Hamura

"Hamura Otsutsuki!"

Hinata Kazuma looked at the stone statue in front of him and quietly thought of that name.

He knew this name because it was information passed down from generation to generation by the head of the Hyuga clan. He first heard this name from his father, Hyuga Tennin, and also learned about a history that was like a myth.

The goddess of the rabbit ate the fruit of the divine tree and gave birth to the ancestors of mankind, Ōtsutsuki Hamura and Ōtsutsuki Hagoromo. Later, the goddess of the rabbit tried to destroy the world, but Ōtsutsuki Hagoromo and Ōtsutsuki Hagoromo joined forces to seal the goddess of the rabbit to the moon.

Hinata Kazuma initially didn't believe this mythical history, but he began to believe it when his father said that one of the main characters was his ancestor and that there was another branch of their people on the moon.

Of course, these things were too far removed from him, and he felt they were unreal, always remaining skeptical.

It wasn't until the mysterious Kage-level powerhouse who killed Danzo appeared that he gradually began to believe that it was all true. In his heart, he already believed that the mysterious Kage-level powerhouse with the high purity of the Byakugan was a distant relative from the moon.

Otherwise, he would never have been able to find anyone in the ninja world who possessed a Byakugan bloodline limit better than that of their Hyuga main family.

Because of this mysterious Kage-level powerhouse, the Hyuga clan has been living cautiously for the past year, as their father once told them that their distant relatives on the moon harbor ill intentions towards them and are likely to be enemies.

Therefore, he strictly forbade all members of the main family from leaving Konoha, and even members of the branch family were given strict time limits, ordering them not to stay outside for long.

Perhaps his measures were effective, because the mysterious Kage-level powerhouse never came to cause trouble for the Hyuga clan.

But to his utter surprise, instead of the mysterious Kage-level expert, Madara Uchiha arrived.

This guy, who had been dead for many years, has come back to life and is even trying to take revenge on Konoha.

When he first received the news from the Third Hokage, he didn't believe it. It wasn't until he received accurate information from some branch family members who had returned from the Konoha camp in the oasis of the Land of Wind that he truly believed that Madara Uchiha had come back to life.

"These are truly turbulent times. Will the Hyuga clan be able to survive the impending catastrophe?"

After completing the necessary rituals before the statue of Otsutsuki Hamura, Hyuga and Masaki sighed deeply, their faces showing profound weariness.

After confirming that Madara Uchiha was still alive, the Hyuga clan could no longer keep most of its forces hidden in Konoha as before. A large number of Byakugan ninjas were dispatched to conduct reconnaissance, to prevent Madara Uchiha from launching a sneak attack and to try to find Madara Uchiha's stronghold.

As a result, many Byakugan ninjas lost contact within a short period of one month, and they were undoubtedly killed.

Hyuga and Masashi were having a headache over this matter, because the elders within the Hyuga clan were putting pressure on him, demanding that he stop accepting the tasks that the Third Hokage had imposed on the Hyuga clan.

Only a few people in Konoha knew that Madara Uchiha was not dead. Because it was feared that this would cause unnecessary panic, most of the ninjas in the Konoha camp who knew this news were sealed with sealing techniques.

Within the Hyuga clan, specifically Hyuga Kazuma and Hyuga Karen, this is known.

Faced with the pressure from the elders, Hyuga Kazuma had no choice but to silently endure it.

However, the deaths of so many Hyuga clan ninjas were a heavy loss for the Hyuga clan. It would be a lie to say that Hyuga Kazuma, as the clan leader, was not saddened, and at the same time, he felt a sense of uncertainty about the future of the Hyuga clan.

Because he discovered that the genius training program initiated by the Third Hokage and others clearly used members of the Hyuga clan to make up the numbers, and the only one who didn't seem to be just there to make up the numbers was Hyuga Karen, who was from the branch family.

Hinata Karen, a member of the branch family, was someone Hinata Kazuma had always paid close attention to, recognizing that she was a genius.

Unfortunately, this genius of the Hyuga clan was born into the branch family and also had a strong desire to escape the Caged Bird Seal.

What terrifies him most is that Hinata Karen's desire for freedom might come true, because behind her stands a genius sealing ninja named Tohsaka Kirito.

Moreover, this person is not just powerful in sealing techniques; his own strength is also incredibly powerful, so powerful that the Hyuga clan cannot withstand his wrath.

"The Hyuga clan must strengthen itself. If it does not find a new way out, the Hyuga clan will eventually become a second-rate ninja clan in Konoha."

Hinata Kazuma muttered to himself.

After saying that, he took out a black scroll from his body, a glint of desire flashing in his eyes.

The Hyuga clan's strength stems from the Byakugan, a bloodline limit. If they want to break through their current power ceiling, they must continue to explore the potential of the Byakugan.

Based on the Hyuga clan's long-term research on the Byakugan, they knew that the Byakugan's potential was far greater than it is now, and that the Gentle Fist developed from the Byakugan was merely a rudimentary application of this bloodline limit.

Like the Sharingan, the Byakugan should be able to continue evolving.

However, the Hyuga clan has been researching how the Byakugan should evolve for a long time but has not found a definitive answer.

"Indeed, we need to find a new way out, Chieftain."

Suddenly, a familiar voice appeared behind me.

The moment Hyuga Kazuma heard the sound, he immediately activated his Byakugan and turned around with lightning speed to unleash a Gentle Fist: Bagua Empty Palm.

A powerful, high-density chakra shockwave appeared instantly.

But the next moment, Hyuga Kazuma's eyes widened, and a look of shock appeared on his face. The reason was that the person in his Byakugan also used the Gentle Fist: Bagua Palm, but his Bagua Palm lost.

In his Byakugan vision, the chakra shockwave formed by his opponent's Bagua Palm was clearly smaller in size than the chakra shockwave of his own Bagua Palm, yet it easily shattered the chakra shockwave of his own Bagua Palm.

Moreover, the chakra shockwave generated by the opponent's Bagua Palm was extremely fast.

Hyuga Kazuma decisively used the Reincarnation Technique to defend himself. A surge of chakra instantly erupted from all the chakra points in his body, forming a rapidly spinning chakra ball under his control, successfully blocking the enemy's attack.

Hyuga Kazuma felt no joy at all, because he discovered that he had used up nearly a quarter of his chakra in order to block the enemy's Bagua Palm attack.

Hyuga Kazuma finally saw the enemy's appearance clearly and exclaimed in shock, "Father!"

At this moment, the enemy appearing in front of him was actually his father. Moreover, he discovered through his Byakugan that the enemy not only looked exactly like his father in his memory, but also had the same chakra.

"Impossible, Father is dead, who are you?"

Hyuga Kazuma quickly regained his composure, then roared in anger.

"I'm sorry, Chief Ma, I can't tell you my true identity for now. Please forgive me for communicating with you in this form for the time being."

Kirito answered, controlling a White Zetsu clone.

He possessed Hyuga Tennin's soul, so he could naturally extract Hyuga Tennin's chakra from it. He then had the White Zetsu clone use this to perform a disguise technique, directly replicating Hyuga Tennin.

If Hyuga Tennin hadn't actually died, Hyuga Kazuma would never have discovered that he was an imposter.

Upon hearing this, Hyuga Kazuma said coldly, "Hmph, there's nothing to talk about between us. I advise you to leave as soon as possible. This is Konoha, not a place where you can act recklessly. Even if you kill me, you won't be able to escape."

"It seems you've misunderstood, Chief Ma. I have no intention of killing you. I just want to take something from you. Also, please stop your pointless tricks. I've already set up a sealing barrier here. The outside world can't know what's going on here for the time being, and you can't get out either."

Kirito, not wanting to waste any more time, got straight to the point.

When Hyuga Kazuma heard Kirito say that, he didn't believe it and rushed towards the passage without saying a word. However, as soon as he approached the stone steps leading up, he was blocked by an invisible chakra wall, which did not show any damage no matter how hard he tried to hit it with Gentle Fist.

Suddenly, a huge crisis came from behind. Hyuga Kazuma quickly dodged and narrowly avoided the attack of a humanoid monster wearing a mask with the character "雷" (thunder) and composed of a large number of black lines.

"It's you!"

Upon seeing the monster, Hyuga Kazuma instantly recognized it as a Jigan-yu puppet and finally realized who his enemy was.

It was the mysterious Kage-level powerhouse who killed Danzo back then.

Sure enough, the other party was a distant relative from the moon.

Kirito nodded and said, "It's me. I think you should understand why I've come here now."

Through the memories of the main family elder to whom he had planted his soul seed, he learned that the Hyuga main family mistakenly believed he was a visitor from the moon. That's why he deliberately brought out a Jigan-yu puppet to let Hyuga Kazuma fill in the blanks in his mind.

"I don't know what you're talking about. Although you and I may not be from the same Hyuga clan, we are both descendants of Otsutsuki Hamura and both possess the Byakugan bloodline limit. We shouldn't be enemies."

Hinata and Kirito admitted it, their faces grim.

To be honest, he really didn't know what Kirito wanted, but he had decided that if Kirito's request wasn't too unreasonable, he would agree to it, try to win Kirito over, and then try to get more information about the Byakugan from him.

He believes that the reason why Kirito's Byakugan is more demanding than that of the Hyuga clan is because it is the result of the Hyuga clan's research on Byakugan over the years.

"Sigh~, then I'll be blunt. I came here because of the white eye you're holding."

Kirito stopped speaking in riddles and stated his request.

"If that's your request, then take it from my corpse. If you can do that, the Hyuga clan's Byakugan will absolutely not be allowed to leak out."

Hinata Kazuma refused without hesitation, his eyes filled with determination.