With his own arm injured, Danzo Shimura's face twitched slightly, as if he felt singled out. He quickly shook off the thought, took the scroll, and waved him away.
"Owl" hurried off to treat his wounds, while Danzo opened the scroll and scanned its contents.
He had ordered Yunchuan Hyuga's diary brought back to carefully assess this "waste" of the Hyuga Clan and see whether he was worth recruiting.
The diary was mostly trivial daily matters. Danzo Shimura read quickly, forming a rough image in his mind.
A child who was once timid and weak, but after his father was forced to death by his own clan, began to crave power.
Craving power was good.
He feared only those who wanted nothing at all.
When Danzo Shimura reached the "tribute" written to Hiruzen Sarutobi, his reaction was a snort mixed with bitterness and jealousy.
That hypocrite Sarutobi did not deserve such praise.
Only the part mentioning the "tree" made Danzo Shimura pause for a moment.
But when he turned the next page, his hand froze. He stared at a single line in the diary, his expression subtly shifting.
[Perhaps my heart is like a tree. The more it longs for the light above, the deeper its roots must grow, down into the soil, into the depths of darkness.]
At the same time, in Yunchuan Hyuga's bedroom, the system's prompt finally sounded in his mind.
Ding. Your lie has been judged as "sweet talk." Danzo Shimura has experienced emotional fluctuation and reached the level of "kindred spirit." You have gained 400 Reality Points.
"Who even writes diaries seriously?" Yunchuan Hyuga chuckled, thinking to himself. "Manifest ninjutsu, Lightning Release Armor."
The cost is 1000 Reality Points. Do you wish to manifest?
"Yes."
1000 Reality Points deducted. Remaining Reality Points: 10593.
Good. There was still a way to go before ten thousand, and he silently thanked Lord Danzo for the points.
Yunchuan Hyuga lay back on the bed and slowly closed his eyes as the memory of Lightning Release Armor poured into his mind.
As he did, a question he had been pondering resurfaced once more.
"If ninjutsu can be manifested, then can abilities from other worlds be manifested too?"
He had already tested direct manifestation of abilities unrelated to the shinobi world, and it clearly did not work.
The system's manifestations were based on the rules and logic of this world, and aside from Chakra, it could not create entirely new systems out of nothing.
Still, Yunchuan Hyuga had a lingering guess.
"What if I imitate and recreate abilities from other worlds using the existing foundations of soul, body, natural energy, and Chakra?"
If he could truly create something from nothing, if he could shatter everyone's understanding of the world and make them believe in this unfamiliar power, then the Reality Points he could gain would be enormous.
In truth, his design involving Orochimaru was meant to test this very idea.
Pure lies were not convincing.
Three parts false and seven parts true were what fooled people.
So to perfect this plan, he would need the help of the respected Lord Orochimaru.
With the guidance hidden in that scroll, someone as deeply versed in the soul as Orochimaru would surely be able to weave a self-consistent theory and logic.
At that point, Yunchuan Hyuga could turn theory and logic into real rules that existed in the world.
He would become an existence like the Sage of Six Paths, ruling over an independent small world and commanding countless powerful souls.
kacha.
Wearing a green skin-tight outfit, Might Guy stepped out of his house with a bun clenched between his teeth. Warm sunlight fell on his face, and even the always energetic Might Guy could not help letting out a sound as he stretched. He looked relaxed, like the morning itself was pushing him to move.
The flowers planted along the street were already in full bloom, bright and colorful. Just one glance was enough to lift his mood.
"Of course, morning is the best time for youth to bloom!"
Might Guy took a deep breath, stuffed the bun into his mouth in a few bites, and shouted through a mouthful of food, "Facing the sunrise of Konoha, let sweat and petals fly together!"
With that, he swung his legs and ran toward the commercial district, kicking up dust as he went. Halfway there, he noticed more and more people walking in the opposite direction, and the wide road began to feel crowded.
"Huh?"
Might Guy stopped, scratched his head, and jumped up lightly to a higher spot. He raised a hand to block the sunlight and looked toward the flow of people on the distant streets.
The hurried crowd gathered like ants, moving in small groups toward Konoha Village Gate. The scene felt unusual, and it drew his attention without effort.
"What happened?"
Curiosity flickered in Might Guy's mind, but he only hesitated for a moment. He then continued against the crowd, heading toward the clan grounds of the Hyuga Clan.
Time passed quickly, and two months slipped by in the blink of an eye. During this period, Konoha remained peaceful and calm, and the ordinary people knew nothing about the conflicts on the borders of the Land of Fire.
It was not until the higher-ups of Konoha announced that Kumogakure would come to Konoha to sign an alliance that the public finally realized something had been happening. Shock quickly turned into joy, as they were amazed that their Third Hokage had done something so significant in secret.
Calling it an "alliance" sounded nice, but was it not just coming over to cling to a stronger leg? Faced with the submission of a former great enemy from the days of the Ninja World War, everyone in Konoha felt proud.
However, someone like Might Guy, a minor chunin with no background, naturally had no idea what had happened at the border. He trained every day and did not even know that Kumogakure was coming to Konoha to sign an alliance.
What he did know was that his training partner, Yunchuan Hyuga, had completely vanished over the past two months. Every time he went to the Hyuga Clan grounds to look for Yunchuan Hyuga, he was stopped by a Branch Family clansman with a complicated expression.
That person would politely, even unusually courteously, inform him that Yunchuan Hyuga was in closed-door cultivation and to come back after two months. Closed-door cultivation for physical training made no sense at all.
Might Guy knew very well that Yunchuan Hyuga was no less hardworking and disciplined than himself. His first reaction was that the guy was lying, but the clansman's expression did not seem fake.
That was when Might Guy began to wonder if something had happened inside the Hyuga Clan. Now, two full months had passed since that day.
"Yunchuan should be opening his door today, right?"
Because Kakashi Hatake had joined ANBU and was busy every day, and with Yunchuan Hyuga gone as his only training partner, Might Guy had been stifled training alone for two months. When the agreed time arrived, he naturally rushed over without delay.
When Might Guy reached the clan grounds of the Hyuga Clan, the person on duty happened to be the same Branch Family clansman who had once been taught a lesson by Yunchuan Hyuga. This time, the man did not stop him or glare coldly, but politely let him pass.
The attitude had changed, and it had clearly changed for a reason. That kid Yunchuan must have quietly done something big.
"Yun, chuan!"