"Good morning, Minister."

"Morning, Saya. Morning, Ayame."

Inside the ANBU Minister’s office, Hikaru greeted the two women with an easy smile.

Maybe it was because he had spent the past month and a half sleeping rough and living out in the field, but now that he was back in Konoha, everything felt unusually pleasant.

Especially when he thought about everything he had gained during that trip.

It had been one hell of a harvest.

Thinking back to his final battle with Obito, once Black Zetsu had slipped away beforehand, there had been no one left to warn Obito.

So Hikaru took advantage of the gap in Obito’s vision and hid a shadow clone underground in advance.

After that, he deliberately recreated something very close to Minato Namikaze’s method, all to provoke that brat Obito.

Thankfully, Obito had taken the bait exactly as planned.

And even without Flying Thunder God, Hikaru’s Body Flicker under Nine-Tails Chakra Mode had been enough to leave anyone speechless.

Once his right arm had been severed, Obito lost all desire to continue fighting.

He had only glared at Hikaru with naked fury before his body twisted into a vortex and vanished.

As for Hikaru, he had spent quite a while sweeping the area with his sensory ability to make sure Black Zetsu truly had no tricks left behind.

Only after confirming that did he seal away half of Black Zetsu’s White Zetsu body, take the severed arm Obito had left behind, and leave Kirigakure as fast as possible.

Honestly, that trip had completely ruined whatever fragile goodwill Obito might have had left.

Not that Obito was the only one.

The damage Hikaru had inflicted on Kirigakure itself was beyond imagination.

He did not have precise numbers yet, but he could estimate well enough.

After all, the battlefield had been inside Kirigakure.

True, it had been near the edge of the village.

But his Tailed Beast Bomb had been aimed straight at the Mizukage Building.

There were always plenty of people around that area—civilians and shinobi alike.

And beyond that, the central district housed most of the village’s upper ranks.

With a little luck, he might even have taken out more than a few of Kirigakure’s higher-ups in the blast.

And that was not all.

The shockwaves caused by his clash with the Fourth Mizukage’s Tailed Beast Bomb had been devastating too.

A large number of reinforcements had reached that battlefield by then.

Even if Kirigakure did not keep an especially large standing force in the village itself, they still had more than enough active shinobi available.

It was only because those shinobi had gotten in the way of the blast wave that the central district hadn’t suffered outright annihilation.

If that shockwave had rolled all the way through the center of the village unchecked, the result would have been far worse than heavy casualties.

Of course, by now, what Kirigakure had suffered was no longer just a simple military defeat.

The political implications alone were enough to make anyone despair.

The Mizukage Building had been reduced to total rubble.

That kind of blow to Kirigakure’s prestige was catastrophic.

Add on top of that the sheer number of dead, and if the other four great villages ever decided to move together, it was entirely possible Kirigakure would be pushed out of the ranks of the Five Great Shinobi Villages altogether.

Really, Kirigakure ought to thank Obito.

If not for his "closed-country" policy, Hikaru’s actions would have spread across the entire shinobi world through spies and rumor networks by the very next day.

"I’ll have to be extra careful if I ever go back to Kirigakure," Hikaru thought. "Whether as myself or using that mask."

Though he had beaten Kirigakure so badly they were probably still numb from the shock, Hikaru knew very well what came next.

Every village knew how to weaponize hatred.

Especially after suffering humiliation and devastation on that scale.

If they redirected internal contradictions outward and used revenge to inflame their shinobi, the effect would be tremendous.

And this world really did resemble a certain country from his previous life—one famous for selectively forgetting history.

Konoha was a perfect example of that.

Hardly anyone in the village still talked about Senju Hashirama or Uchiha Madara anymore.

Forget them—even the legacy of the Second Hokage was rarely discussed now.

When the memory of Hikaru’s assault was eventually stripped down to nothing more than "a monster who devastated Kirigakure" and a burning, unforgettable hatred, then the next time he went after the Six-Tails, what he would face would be a true fight to the death.

Open attacks were easy enough to guard against.

The dangerous thing was always the knife in the dark.

Hikaru knew that better than anyone.

No matter how strong someone was, they could still be brought down by a backstab.

When he had fought in Kirigakure, he had ignored plenty of attacks.

But that was only because he had been in Nine-Tails Chakra Mode.

In that state, his defense was on an entirely different level.

But there was no way he was going to walk around permanently glowing like holy light.

Not him, and not even Naruto, who had mastered Nine-Tails Chakra Mode long before him.

Maintaining combat form all day, every day would be exhausting on the body and mind alike.

Stretching lazily, Hikaru let the memories of the past month and a half settle in his mind, and the smile on his lips deepened.

First there had been the unexpected gain of a Hyuga main-family Byakugan.

Then he had gotten his hands on Kimimaro.

The Byakugan, as one of the fundamental powers of the Ōtsutsuki clan, clearly carried a very special kind of mutation.

As far as Hikaru remembered, whether it was the Rinnegan, the Tenseigan, or other strange dōjutsu, all of them could ultimately be traced back to the Byakugan.

The Tenseigan was easy enough to understand.

As an extension of Ōtsutsuki Hamura’s power, it was a direct evolution from the Byakugan.

Even the Rinnegan—or more precisely, the Sharingan’s ultimate path—could be viewed as a mutation of that same base.

When Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki had witnessed Hamura’s death, he awakened a Sharingan equivalent straight at the Mangekyō tier.

Then he skipped every step afterward and went directly to the Rinnegan.

Even in later obscure records Hikaru dimly remembered skimming through, most Ōtsutsuki eye abilities seemed, at their core, to branch off from the Byakugan.

In other words, the Byakugan might very well be the root form of nearly all ocular power in the Naruto world.

It was just that over time, the Hyuga had gradually lost more and more of the bloodline purity needed to bring that power out fully.

As a result, they had ended up confining the Byakugan almost entirely to taijutsu, leaving themselves trapped in an awkward middle ground.

And even their taijutsu inheritance had decayed terribly.

Just compare Kaguya Ōtsutsuki’s Eighty Gods Vacuum Attack to the Hyuga’s modern Gentle Fist.

The difference was heaven and earth.

Of course, Hikaru also wondered whether the Hyuga had lost some specific supporting bloodline.

Or maybe something that could help them endure and awaken the true power hidden in the Byakugan.

Going by how Uchiha and Senju bloodlines could combine into the Sage of Six Paths’ power, and judging by the abilities Kaguya had displayed, Hikaru couldn’t help but wonder:

Could the Byakugan perhaps be paired with the Dead Bone Pulse?

Could that combination create the simplest, most fundamental form of Ōtsutsuki power—enough to awaken the true potential sleeping inside the Byakugan?

He did not know.

But he could certainly test the theory.

After all, his planting ability allowed him to extract the purest, most compatible aspect of any bloodline and integrate it into himself.

He really was looking forward to seeing what kind of result he might "grow" from that combination.

"Though that’s all for later. For now, all I can do is wait and let time do its work."

Hikaru smiled and accepted a document from Saya before lowering his head to read it.

Now that he was back in Konoha, his whole body felt lighter.

Konoha was still his home ground.

Back here, he could truly relax.

Even if he had not yet completely dragged Konoha into the palm of his hand, he was certain that day would come.

And aside from the joy of returning, there was also the White Zetsu body he had planted together with the Byakugan.

This time, the White Zetsu material he had obtained was of much higher quality.

One was a White Zetsu arm.

The other was half of Black Zetsu’s body.

Hikaru still was not completely sure whether that half-body and arm had once belonged to the two specially cultivated White Zetsu that Madara had refined—those rare ones who could use Wood Release.

But either way, if Obito and Black Zetsu had both used them, they couldn’t be ordinary.

More importantly, the moment he acquired them, Hikaru could already feel how much denser both the chakra and life force inside them were compared to what he had obtained last time.

These materials were unquestionably far superior.

So without hesitation, he stuffed them into the biggest, sturdiest trees he had prepared.

They had not shown an immediate reaction.

But Hikaru had already sensed chakra beginning to brew inside them.

And that alone was a very good sign.

He was certain that with enough time, they would give him exactly the harvest he wanted.

Of course, good fortune always came with a little trouble too.

And in this case, that trouble was Kimimaro.

There was no doubt the boy had astonishing potential.

But he was only three or four years old, and his bloodline had not awakened properly yet.

Worse, his childhood circumstances had been wretched.

When Hikaru forced Mei to help retrieve him, the boy had literally been locked inside a dog cage.

Hikaru genuinely could not understand why the last surviving holder of the Dead Bone Pulse in the Kaguya clan would be treated that way.

"Could it be because the rest of the Kaguya have already lost their bloodline powers completely?" Hikaru wondered. "Including the clan head? So instead of being valued, someone like Kimimaro became a strange outsider among them? Or maybe the clan head wanted to break him down completely and raise him like a dog—a loyal hound he could control?"

Hikaru did not know.

And he was too tired to keep guessing.

Whatever the reason, he had already taken the boy.

Now the real problem was what to do with him.

More importantly, Kimimaro’s bloodline activation was still far too weak.

Yes, the boy could produce bone, but the quality was laughable.

In the original story, Kimimaro’s bones had been hard enough to clash directly with weapons.

But right now, Hikaru didn’t even need chakra modes or enhanced strength.

He could crush those bones with his bare hand.

Trying to plant something from material that weak...

He had still done it, of course.

But his expectations were very low.

After thinking it over, Hikaru felt it would still be best to bring the boy back to Konoha.

Ideally, he would have someone trustworthy "coincidentally" find and bring Kimimaro in.

That task, he decided, would go to Internal Affairs.

At the moment, Internal Affairs was almost entirely staffed by Senju clan members.

As fellow clansmen, Hikaru did not fully trust them—but they were still more trustworthy than most others.

"Minister, you seem to be in a good mood today."

Saya’s voice sounded by his ear just as Hikaru found himself staring blankly at the document in his hands.

"I’m all right. My mood’s usually good."

Hikaru smiled and turned toward her.

"By the way, when it’s just us, you can call me Hikaru. We’re classmates. There’s no need to be so formal."

"I can’t agree to that."

Saya smiled, but gently shook her head.

"Classmates or not, rank matters inside ANBU.

"After work, I can be a little less proper.

"But on duty, I can’t.

"Ayame’s the same. At work she also calls you ’Minister.’

"And she’s your fiancée."

Hearing that, Hikaru shook his head with a faint sigh.

"Fiancée..."

Still, there was no real dissatisfaction on his face.

"To be honest, I don’t really like the idea of a fiancée as some old tradition meant to preserve clan bloodlines while ignoring whether the two people involved have any real emotional foundation.

"But if that system exists, then it exists for a reason.

"And as someone who benefits from it, maybe I’m not really in a position to complain."

"Do you dislike Ayame, Hikaru?"

"No. Ayame’s a good woman. She can handle a household, and she can handle political work too.

"It’s not Ayame I dislike.

"It’s the system."

Hikaru spread his hands.

He had been the one to bring up the topic, but he also had no interest in digging into it any further.

Ayame was a good woman—there was no denying that.

Even if she was a little cold by nature, her strengths far outweighed that.

She was beautiful too, and very much in line with Hikaru’s tastes.

But what he was chasing now left him with very little room to think seriously about beauty or romance.

Besides, he was a transmigrator.

He really couldn’t get behind arranged marriage in the traditional sense.

Still, Saya could never fully understand the way he thought.

She gave him a quiet, slightly surprised look, and some faint thought stirred in her heart.

But it was still too vague to take shape, so she buried it.

Then she glanced at the file on the desk and said softly, "If that’s really how you feel, Minister, then with your position you absolutely could do something about it.

"But for now, you should look through the file.

"This matter is no small thing."

"Mm."

Hikaru nodded with a smile, then finally focused properly on the document.

He had barely read a little when his brows rose.

Because this file was about Orochimaru.

...

Orochimaru gazed intently at the boy floating inside the experimental container before him.

The child was one of his latest test subjects.

Ever since that crushing encounter with the man who wielded the Nine-Tails’ power, Orochimaru had thrown himself into studying Hashirama Senju’s power with even greater seriousness.

At the same time, he had also continued refining his mastery of the Impure World Reincarnation technique.

The problem was that Edo Tensei was a jutsu that was easy to learn in principle, but very difficult to perfect.

Orochimaru was certain he could summon the First Hokage.

But if the version he summoned was weak, then what was the point?

And the deeper his research went, the more he realized that if he wanted to summon the version closest to Hashirama’s true strength, he had to first solve the issue of Hashirama’s cells.

Only once a vessel could bear Hashirama’s power properly would he be able to bring forth an Edo Tensei body near its peak.

And even then, if Orochimaru himself lacked the power to suppress the summoned dead, controlling them would become another serious problem.

In the end, every difficulty led back to the same point:

Hashirama’s cells.

That was why Orochimaru had no choice but to calm down and focus completely on that line of research.

Once he solved the issue of Hashirama’s cells, he could create superior vessels.

And by fully understanding those cells, he could strengthen himself too.

Only then would he truly be able to control the previous Hokage he intended to call forth.

Still, Orochimaru was a genius through and through.

Hashirama’s cells were far too violent, so he had to find something that could restrain them.

In the chaotic age of the Warring States, the only man who had ever stood equal to Hashirama was Uchiha Madara.

From that, Orochimaru arrived at a hypothesis.

Could it be that only the power of the Uchiha could suppress the power of the Senju?

Once that idea had taken root, his research naturally followed.

He secretly abducted a member of the Uchiha clan.

For Orochimaru, that wasn’t especially difficult.

Not with Danzo helping cover for him.

Even stripped of office, Danzo still possessed influence, networks, and political leverage.

Orochimaru had little respect for working with Danzo, but if the old man could be used, he had absolutely no intention of wasting the opportunity.

This was no longer just curiosity-driven research.

Now it was also a means of self-preservation.

Looking at the boy in the container, Orochimaru nodded in satisfaction.

But soon his expression changed slightly.

Because the boy inside had clearly reached the limit of what he could endure.

Branches began sprouting all over his body.

"Another failure?"

Orochimaru’s expression quickly returned to calm.

He picked up pen and paper and began recording the experiment in detail.

"The cell outbreak occurred faster than expected.

"It only took one week to fully erupt.

"That level of sensitivity suggests Hashirama’s cells truly do react strongly to Uchiha blood.

"Besides, this child lasted long enough despite failure.

"In that case..."

He paused there, face intent.

The deeper his research went, the more strongly he felt he was approaching truth itself.

"Then perhaps I can establish the following hypotheses.

"Hypothesis One: an ordinary Uchiha bloodline cannot withstand that level of force. Hashirama’s cells must be weakened further before the next stage of experimentation.

"Hypothesis Two: the Uchiha subject I captured was of poor quality. I need shinobi with stronger overall ability.

"For example... someone who has already awakened the Sharingan.

"Both hypotheses can be tested simultaneously.

"But the experimental materials..."

Here, Orochimaru’s hand stopped again, and he frowned.

Experimental materials really were the most troublesome issue.

Whether it was Hashirama’s remains or members of the Uchiha clan, neither was easy to obtain.

He still had some of Hashirama’s flesh left.

But the deeper the experiments went, the less certain he was how long that supply would last.

The only fortunate thing was that he could use that material freely.

But Uchiha subjects—especially high-quality ones—were another matter entirely.

At minimum, Orochimaru felt he now needed Uchiha with awakened Sharingan.

And if he wanted to keep the experiments efficient, three-tomoe users would be ideal.

But Sharingan were already rare even within the Uchiha clan.

And those with fully matured three-tomoe eyes were among their true elite.

Worse, those people were not weak.

Orochimaru could not even say with absolute certainty that he could defeat them all cleanly.

Just then, the lab door opened and someone strode in.

Orochimaru only spared the newcomer a glance.

Anyone who could enter this place would, naturally, be one of Danzo’s people.

Danzo himself didn’t bother with pleasantries.

He walked up, skimmed the notes, and said flatly, "Failed again?"

"Experiments are never solved in one try."

Orochimaru replied without concern.

He set the paper aside, then finally looked at Danzo.

"But I have a direction now.

"I believe it will all become easier from here."

"A direction? Your direction is suicide!"

Danzo’s voice was low and hoarse, and it was obvious how dissatisfied he was.

"Do you know how tightly the wind is blowing outside right now?

"It was troublesome enough helping you grab one Uchiha brat.

"And now you want more?

"You’ve even set your sights on three-tomoe users?"

Danzo had naturally read Orochimaru’s notes.

And the more he read, the more irritated he became.

This madman’s demands were getting more outrageous by the day.

Danzo didn’t really object to using Uchiha as test material.

He had always hated them anyway.

Morally, he felt no pressure at all.

But now the atmosphere outside was already growing far too tense, and Orochimaru still wanted to push matters this far.

It was sheer recklessness.

"How I conduct experiments is my decision," Orochimaru said coldly.

"Whether the experiments proceed is yours.

"My responsibility is to perform the research and tell you the results.

"This is only the first time I’ve used an Uchiha in the process, yet I’ve already gotten a very promising outcome.

"Whether to deepen the experiment further—

"that is your problem, not mine."

"You..."

Danzo’s face twitched.

He stared at Orochimaru for a long while before asking in a low voice, "Are you certain?

"I don’t want accidents.

"You should understand very well that I can’t handle the Uchiha as freely as before.

"And your own situation is no better."

"The data is right here.

"Even in failure, the results are already far better than before."

Orochimaru said flatly, then turned and walked toward the exit without looking back.

"I decide the direction of the research.

"You decide whether the experiment proceeds.

"That’s all."

"I understand."

Watching Orochimaru’s departing back, Danzo finally ground out the words through clenched teeth.

"Go ahead and prepare.

"But remember this clearly.

"If this is exposed, you will be the one—and the only one—to bear everything."

"Heh..."

Orochimaru licked his lips and kept walking, utterly unconcerned.

Bear everything?

So what?

He had long since stopped caring about that sort of thing.

And there was one thing he still hadn’t told Danzo—

whether Danzo agreed or not, he fully intended to continue.

...

"An Uchiha clan member vanished, and they suspect Orochimaru was behind it?"

Hikaru tapped the desk lightly.

This matter had caught him off guard.

Or perhaps more accurately—even the Uchiha themselves didn’t know what had truly happened yet.

According to the investigation, the missing Uchiha youth had gone out on a mission and simply vanished afterward.

No—

"vanished" wasn’t even the most accurate word.

He had actually completed the mission.

The village had no return report from him, but the client had already sent back confirmation that the mission was done.

That system existed precisely to prevent shinobi from falsely reporting mission completion.

And now it had become the key piece of evidence in the matter.

More importantly, the return-entry logs into the village also had the boy’s name on them.

That was what truly caused the Uchiha clan to explode.

This could now be defined as a disappearance inside the village.

A clan member vanishing inside Konoha itself—

that was not something the Uchiha were willing to swallow quietly.

And with the rumors around Orochimaru already flying, there was no way they would remain calm.

The clan had already begun formally protesting to the Third Hokage.

At the same time, they had organized their own search teams throughout the village.

It was because of that activity that ANBU had gotten wind of the matter.

Otherwise, this file would never have landed on Hikaru’s desk.

Honestly, Hikaru himself was puzzled when he read it.

In the original story, Orochimaru’s obsession with the Uchiha came after seeing Uchiha Itachi’s talent.

But right now, Itachi shouldn’t even have his Sharingan yet.

So why had Orochimaru suddenly started moving against the Uchiha already?

"Your clan head’s son is called Uchiha Itachi, right?"

After a moment’s thought, Hikaru decided to probe a little.

"Yes. Uchiha Itachi."

Saya nodded, then looked puzzled.

"Why ask?"

"I’ve heard that kid’s a genius.

"With the Uchiha facing this kind of trouble, tell your family to keep a close eye on him."

Then Hikaru asked the real question.

"Has he awakened the Sharingan yet?"

"I understand. I’ll make sure my family pays attention.

"As for the Sharingan—probably not."

Saya considered briefly, then answered with confidence.

"If he had, I don’t think the clan head would choose to hide it.

"From a political standpoint, a son that talented would only benefit him.

"And from a family standpoint, it would be something to take pride in."

Hikaru nodded.

Her analysis matched his own.

Fugaku Uchiha might prefer to keep a low profile in many ways, but as clan head, there were certain things he simply had to think about as a political leader.

And to the Uchiha, awakening the Sharingan was absolutely something worth celebrating.

There would be no reason to hide it.

So if there was no information within the clan, then Itachi clearly had not awakened it yet.

That, in turn, told Hikaru one thing:

If Orochimaru really was behind this, then Itachi was probably not the reason.

"But what reason is there, then?"

Hikaru tapped the desk again, still puzzled.

He was even beginning to wonder whether Orochimaru might not be the culprit after all.

Still, after turning it over a few times, he found himself trusting ANBU intelligence on this point.

And really, in all of Konoha, Orochimaru remained the one person with the strongest motive.

In the end, Hikaru decided he still had to treat Orochimaru as the primary suspect.

And if it really was him—

then this would be a true "amputation" of Hiruzen Sarutobi’s arm.

Recently, Hikaru had noticed he was getting unusually fond of cutting off people’s hands.

He had chopped off Obito’s arm twice already.

And while he had never actually severed Orochimaru’s arm in battle, driving Orochimaru out of Konoha would absolutely count as cutting off one of Hiruzen’s hands.

Still, when he thought about it, sometimes cutting off a hand was more terrifying than killing the person outright.

Once that thought crossed his mind, Hikaru stopped dwelling on it.

After all, when it came to punishing an enemy, not killing them—while still shattering their ability to take revenge—was often far more satisfying.

That kind of thing, Hikaru liked very much.

"Send people to investigate Orochimaru more thoroughly.

"And also investigate the areas ANBU was previously forbidden from probing."

After thinking it through, Hikaru gave the order directly.

Saya immediately took up her pen and began recording.

"Kakashi and I passed near those places before, but Root personnel blocked us.

"According to ANBU’s internal talk, they’re hidden laboratories.

"We don’t know exactly what kind of experiments were being done there.

"Now, we should find out."

He paused, gave the matter one final thought, then continued:

"And if Root personnel interfere, subdue them immediately.

"If they resist, kill them.

"Don’t show them any courtesy."

As he said this, Hikaru still wore his usual smile.

But the killing intent in his voice was unmistakable.

"I understand."

Saya faithfully wrote down every word, then offered a suggestion.

"In that case, Minister, I recommend assigning minister Kakashi and Agent Pakura to work together on it."

"Those two?"

Hikaru nodded slowly.

"That’s actually a very good idea.

"Then let it be those two."

There was no chance Kakashi or Pakura would show mercy.

Of that, Hikaru had no doubt.

He wanted to see whether Orochimaru truly was behind it.

And if he was—

then Hikaru did not mind making sure that when Hiruzen finally tried to rebuild Root,

not a single experienced veteran would still be left for him to use.

◇ One bonus Chapter will be released for every 150 Power Stones.

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