Without hesitation, he abandoned his original target and chose to chase Yunchuan Hyuga. If he could obtain that kind of power, even the Sannin and the Five Kage would kneel before him. Greed took root deep in his heart.
Hiruko's personality was deeply twisted. While he envied Orochimaru and the others, he could not hide his own insecurity and sensitivity. When someone becomes another person's obsession, that person is dressed in splendor and even worshiped like a god.
That was why Hiruko's actions were so flamboyant and exaggerated. Even after perfecting Chimera Technique, he chose not to hide and grow quietly, but to openly declare in broad daylight that he would start the Fourth Ninja World War against Konoha. To outsiders, it looked unbelievably foolish.
But if he did not act that way, he would not be Hiruko, nor could he have created Chimera Technique. Greed was etched into human bones, and desire was the reason people survived in harsh environments. The essence of Chimera Technique was endless consumption, a reflection of the desires buried in his heart.
What he wanted was a sense of existence, the recognition and attention of others, all to cover up his inferiority. Even when declaring the Fourth Ninja World War, he still called himself "the ninja Hiruko of the Konoha Ninja Village." That alone said everything.
"Those powers do not belong to you."
Yunchuan Hyuga had already activated his Byakugan. Looking at the muddled Chakra inside Hiruko's body, he narrowed his eyes slightly and spoke in a calm tone. The words landed with quiet certainty.
Hiruko snapped his head around, stunned for a moment before a savage expression spread across his pale face. "This is my power!" he roared, his features contorting. "It is the power of me, Hiruko!"
"No," Yunchuan Hyuga replied evenly. "It is power you stole."
Boom!!
"You're asking to die!"
The enraged shout had barely reached his ears when Hiruko vanished from where he stood. Only an almost invisible afterimage remained, along with a shrill sonic boom tearing through the air. The ground where he had been standing cracked apart, shattered stone spraying upward as dust bloomed.
Kekkei Genkai·Swift Release.
Yunchuan Hyuga extended his palm as if grasping something unseen. A black sphere began to gather in his hand, dense and silent, waiting to be released.
Buzz.
Yunchuan Hyuga extended his palm and was about to close his fingers around the black sphere. In the next moment, his movement froze, and the corner of his eye twitched as he looked toward another direction.
He had escaped. Yes, that guy Hiruko had actually run away without a second thought, using Swift Release to flee on the spot. If Yunchuan Hyuga tried to chase him, he truly would not be able to catch up.
It was the first time Yunchuan Hyuga had met someone so shameless. A so-called senior finished talking tough, took one punch, then activated his Kekkei Genkai and fled in panic, something even the life-loving Orochimaru would not do. The man was like a sharp-nosed rat, running the instant he sensed danger.
"What a pity."
Yunchuan Hyuga sighed and rubbed his stinging, throbbing eyes, thinking, "I wanted to test my newly gained ability. If nothing else, I could have asked Hiruko to carry my regards to dear Lord Orochimaru." With that thought, he lifted his head and looked at the panel before him.
[Bloodline: Otsutsuki Clan (6.8% → 9.8%)]
Bloodline Inheritance: Tenseigan Phase Two (22.3% → 30.2%) [Abilities: Mental Puppet, Chakra Beads]
Seeing that his Otsutsuki bloodline had reached 9.8%, Yunchuan Hyuga's gaze flickered as he thought, "No wonder Toneri Otsutsuki could awaken the Tenseigan so quickly after transplanting the Pure Byakugan." After all, Madara Uchiha endured almost his entire life after transplanting Hashirama Cells before awakening the Rinnegan near death, so even with strong blood, Toneri Otsutsuki should not have awakened the Tenseigan in just a few days.
Now it seemed likely that the reason was the Giant Tenseigan, which gathered the Dojutsu Power of all members of the Otsutsuki Clan. Although the connection to the lunar Giant Tenseigan had already been severed, the feedback from Dojutsu Power still greatly accelerated his awakening of the Tenseigan, and Toneri Otsutsuki must have relied on that same Giant Tenseigan to awaken it.
"Still, Hiruko did remind me of something." Thinking of the Chimera Technique, Yunchuan Hyuga reflected, "Logically speaking, if I have the Otsutsuki bloodline, I should be able to awaken other Kekkei Genkai as well." For example, Shikotsumyaku, or perhaps Wood Release.
So what was missing now?
"Just a key." A smile appeared at the corner of Yunchuan Hyuga's mouth. "The Chakra and cells of a Bloodline Inheritance ninja."
As long as the dormant gene fragments in his body were activated, with the purity of his current bloodline, he should be able to awaken other Kekkei Genkai. Moreover, this might also complete his Otsutsuki bloodline, since Toneri Otsutsuki was never the endpoint of that bloodline.
"Yunchuan Hyuga!"
A tense voice from ANBU came from the distance, likely because they had noticed Yunchuan Hyuga falling behind and came looking for him. Yunchuan Hyuga snapped out of his thoughts and moved toward the direction of the voice.
If the Ninja World continued to maintain this fragile and false peace, he would have no chance to leave the village to set up plans, let alone seize a Bloodline Inheritance ninja from another village. Therefore, war was needed, and war was a necessary condition.
At the same time, after Yunchuan Hyuga rejoined the group and explained that he had been observing distant battle aftereffects with the Byakugan, a woman unfolded a summoning scroll inside a cave at the border between the Land of Grass and the Land of Rain.
Bang.
As smoke burst out and dispersed, the disheveled Hiruko appeared. The woman's expression changed at once as she hurried forward to support him, only to be knocked aside by a wave of Hiruko's hand.
"Damn it, damn it. Just a brat from the Hyuga Clan…" Hiruko cursed bitterly. As he fumed over his own sorry state, a mocking voice suddenly echoed from deeper in the cave.
"Heh heh." The laughter sounded neither clearly male nor female, with two voices mixed together. "Our Lord Hiruko is really in a sorry state."
Hiruko jerked his head up toward the depths of the cave. He saw the twisting black silhouette approaching and smelled that special, heavy odor, his face filling with unconcealed disgust.
Someone who often experimented with rats and snakes naturally knew what that smell was. A female snake in heat would secrete a brown, sticky substance with a strong odor from its cloaca to attract males. That was exactly the smell of that secretion.
"Orochimaru." Hiruko said coldly. "If you are in heat, go outside and deal with it. Do not disgust me here."
"Heh." Orochimaru replied in a flat tone. "Is your soul any different from mine, just as ugly and disgusting?"
Late morning, nearing noon, inside the Hokage's office.
Thin sunlight streamed through the half-open window and fell on the redwood desk, only to be blocked by piles of documents stacked like a small mountain. A soft rustling sound followed as Hiruzen Sarutobi sat in his chair, flipping through files with one hand while holding his pipe with the other.
"Huff."
Hiruzen Sarutobi brought the pipe to his mouth, the tobacco glowing faintly as he inhaled, and wisps of white smoke rose and drifted out the window. After taking too deep a breath, he coughed hoarsely, his brows knitting together.