Chapter 189: Orochimaru spy
Ikeizumi Uchiha did not want to make the same mistake twice.
If the tragedy of Sarutobi Sakura were to happen again, his [Absolute Justice] would seem laughable for not learning from its mistakes.
Right now, the Hyūga Main House had only a few women and children left, barely supported by a Main House Special Jōnin.
If some brainless Branch House ninja were to target them.
Seven-year-old Hinata would definitely not survive.
As for whether there would truly be a brainless person in the Hyūga Branch House?
Ikeizumi Uchiha firmly believed there would be! In this twisted and pathological shinobi world, there were always people with particularly bizarre thought processes and morals.
It might sound cynical, but not all victims were innocent or kind—this was a conclusion Ikeizumi Uchiha reached after personally witnessing countless distorted human natures.
His cold words caused Hinata Hyūga, with a bit of ramen broth still on her lips, to be completely stunned.
Hinata timidly peeked at Ikeizumi Uchiha.
Faced with the "order" from this terrifying man who had locked her father in the Konoha Military Police prison.
Hinata dared not refute or refuse.
Just like she didn't dare to refuse being treated to so much ramen earlier.
"But..."
However, Hinata's face was also filled with conflict. She intertwined her fingers under the table, mustering all her courage to speak in a voice as soft as a mosquito's: "I... I can't leave Hanabi behind. She's my younger sister, five years younger than me."
"She's only two years old now and needs to be taken care of. She needs someone to teach her how to live. Normally, Father takes care of her, but Father has already... Ah!"
Hinata was frightened by her own slip of the tongue.
Her voice grew a little louder, and her words sped up.
"I didn't mean to say anything bad about you, and I'm not saying it's a bad thing that you arrested Father... I just wanted to say that I need to take care of Hanabi, so..."
"Bring your sister along."
Ikeizumi Uchiha interrupted emotionlessly: "And bring the other few women and children from the Hyūga Main House as well. Come find me at Ichiraku Ramen before eight tonight."
Hinata was taken aback.
Although the terrifying man's words weren't scary, his calm tone made Hinata even more nervous. Plus, this was a person even her father couldn't handle.
"Gulp..."
Secretly swallowing, Hinata nodded like a pecking chick.
"...Okay."
She couldn't refuse.
"Go to school now." At Ikeizumi Uchiha's words, Hinata shot up instantly, as if the chair beneath her was a hotplate.
"Okay!" Hinata exclaimed hastily, running out of Ichiraku Ramen without looking back, heading toward the Ninja Academy.
Anyone watching would have thought a man-eating beast was chasing her.
Watching the flustered girl run away.
Kijirō muttered, utterly confused: "Meow, Hiashi Hyūga must have abused her, right? Otherwise, how could a child so small eat so much? How long has she been starving? Maybe she hasn't eaten for a month, meow?"
Kijirō was deeply shocked today.
It shook its head. Just as it was about to say something to Ikeizumi Uchiha, Kijirō suddenly froze. It stared at Hinata Hyūga's receding figure, its cat eyes narrowing slightly.
"Ikeizumi-sama..."
Kijirō said, "It seems there's a 'tail' following that brat. And they don't look like they're from the Hyūga clan."
"A rat that snuck into Konoha." Ikeizumi Uchiha stood up. He looked at the very conspicuous red square above the person's head, placed the money for the ramen on the table, and said slowly: "But, it's a somewhat useful rat."
Kijirō was a little confused.
Then, it heard Ikeizumi Uchiha continue: "It seems to be a new spy sent to Konoha by Orochimaru. He's cut from the same cloth as Orochimaru and was an unforgivable villain in the past."
"And for the future evil..."
Ikeizumi Uchiha paused, then continued: "He is trying to help Orochimaru acquire the Hyūga Main House's Byakugan. He doesn't want to take anyone alive; he wants to kill his targets, dig out their Byakugan, and then flee Konoha."
Kijirō's face dawned with understanding.
It licked its paw, then gently ran it across its cat face, and said in a human voice: "Perhaps we can use him to find Orochimaru. Ikeizumi-sama, you've been watching Orochimaru for a very long time now."
'Hmph... First, I'll use genjutsu to control Hinata Hyūga, then use her to find her sister, Hanabi Hyūga. After that, I'll kill both of them, dig out their Byakugan, and escape Konoha.'
'Only then can I safely leave Konoha. Otherwise, with two little brats, I won't be able to run fast or far before I get caught by Konoha ninja.'
'If I get a chance to contact other Hyūga Main House members during the process, I'll kill them too... The more Byakugan I bring back, the more Orochimaru-sama will favor me.'
'At that point, I won't be a mere tool for Orochimaru-sama but his right-hand man!'
The spy ninja, who was covertly following Hinata Hyūga from a distance, was currently calculating a slightly crude plan.
Since most of the Hyūga Main House members were now in prison, it was likely that no one was paying attention to Hinata Hyūga and Hanabi Hyūga. The chance of success was quite high.
Even if he knew there was a possibility his crude plan could fail, any further delay would make it harder to act later.
The ordinary-looking man's lips curled into a sinister sneer, a smile he was clearly imitating from Orochimaru: "Brat, don't blame me for your death, and don't blame Orochimaru-sama. Blame that Ikeizumi Uchiha."
"After all..."
"After all, if not for me, Orochimaru wouldn't have coveted the Hyūga Main House's Byakugan, because the chances of success would have been low. Me putting most of the Hyūga Main House ninja in prison gave Orochimaru a great opportunity."
"—You want to say that."
"Right?"
A sudden voice rang out not far behind the spy ninja, causing the hair on his body to stand on end. His pupils instantly constricted, a layer of cold sweat rapidly formed on his forehead, and every muscle in his body stiffened.
I've been exposed? Why? When? One question after another flashed through his mind.
When he turned around instantly, like a hissing, startled cat, he saw the man he least wanted to see.
The spy ninja's breathing immediately stopped.
He was almost scared into a heart attack!
"Uchiha..."
"Ikeizumi!!!"
The Land of Rain.
The overcast sky rained incessantly, quickly soaking Jūzō Biwa and Ikeizumi Uchiha's Wood Clone.
Jūzō Biwa spit out the stem of a wild plant he had been chewing on. He said: "This is the Land of Rain. For almost three hundred out of the three hundred-plus days of the year, it's raining. The Land of Water might be considered to have plenty of rain, but compared to the rainfall in the Land of Rain, the Land of Water is like a place that never gets rain."
"And the Akatsuki's headquarters is in the Land of Rain. Of course, you probably already know this information, you bastard."
Jūzō Biwa paused, then asked, "In your eyes, is the Akatsuki considered a deeply evil organization?"
"Yes."
Rain streamed down his forehead and into his eyes, but Ikeizumi Uchiha's Wood Clone didn't even blink.
Its voice was cold: "Even without mentioning the twisted ideology that the Akatsuki pursues, their mere act of instigating wars between small nations to make money means that the Akatsuki is a group that gathers all the evils of the shinobi world."
Jūzō Biwa laughed hollowly: "Should I be glad that I'm just a new member and haven't gotten too involved with them? Otherwise, would I have died the moment I first saw you?"
"Yes."
The answer from the Wood Clone was still as straightforward as ever.
Jūzō Biwa's face stiffened slightly.
The feeling of stepping across the threshold of the underworld and back made him quite uncomfortable.
Jūzō Biwa thought for a moment, then revealed the information he had been holding back: "That woman told me that once I returned to the Land of Rain, I should go to a location she told me about, and she would be waiting for me there. I think she wants to privately get information there to be wary of Obito Uchiha."
"Then let's go."
The Wood Clone said.
Konoha Village.
Hinata Hyūga ran back to the Ninja Academy, breathless and panting. She had to lean against a wall for a while to catch her breath, and she couldn't help but secretly glance back.
Finding that the terrifying man had indeed not followed her, Hinata finally let out a sigh of relief.
"Hey, are you that Hinata Hyūga?!"
A sudden voice rang out not far from Hinata.
Startled, she trembled and quickly looked in the direction of the voice, finding two older Ninja Academy students. They were both a head taller than she was.
Hinata Hyūga watched them walk over and stand in front of her, looking down at her from above.
"...Yes."
Hinata nodded.
"Heh, I heard that your entire Hyūga Main House was arrested by Ikeizumi Uchiha. That Uchiha plague god only arrests heinous criminals, right? Your father, the head of the Hyūga clan, was also locked up, so he must not be a good person either!"
One of the Academy students spoke with a mocking tone, using a paper fan he had folded to forcefully tap Hinata Hyūga's head.
"The daughter of a bad person is definitely an innately bad seed, too. Who knows, maybe one day you'll go on a rampage in the Academy and become a heinous murderer!"
Hinata Hyūga realized she was being bullied. She remembered being bullied by a few Konoha kids when she was younger.
Only back then, a person named Naruto Uzumaki had saved her.
Hinata instinctively tried to find Naruto.
But she couldn't.
She could only purse her lips in misery, not daring to look at the two students, and whispered, "I... I won't kill anyone... and I'm not a bad seed..."
"You say you aren't, so you aren't?" another Academy student pouted and said: "A bad seed is hard to spot before their true colors are revealed. But you're different; your father is a bad seed, so you must be one too."
"I..."
The tears that had been welling up in Hinata Hyūga's eyes finally started to flow. She tried to defend herself properly once more.
But was she really not a bad seed?
After all, her father had been arrested.
But if she were a bad seed, why would that terrifying man not arrest her? Instead, he wanted to arrange for her and Hanabi to leave the Hyūga clan compound to protect them?
......................
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