Chapter 592: Hanabi: Save Some for Me

"Sorry, Hanabi. I underestimated your clan. Apparently the Hyūga really are Konoha's strongest."

After hearing the full story from Hanabi, Kushina was overwhelmed with emotion.

"The Uchiha only managed to produce one Uchiha Itachi. I never imagined the comparatively small Hyūga clan could produce two such… outstanding inheritors of the Will of Fire at the same time."

For such a modest clan to produce both Neji and Hinata really was impressive.

The Hyūga were apparently hiding dragons and crouching tigers everywhere.

"Waaah, Lady Hokage, please stop praising us!"

Hanabi pleaded through her tears.

"Neji-nii has already been captured, so we need to hurry and stop Nee-sama!"

"Don't worry. I'll send someone to tell Hinata immediately that Neji has already been brought to justice."

Kushina patted Hanabi reassuringly.

"And you don't need to panic too much. Hinata isn't Itachi. With her strength, there's no way she can wipe out the entire Hyūga clan by herself."

Itachi had only succeeded in exterminating the Uchiha because several very specific conditions had lined up.

First, his Mangekyō Sharingan completely overwhelmed ordinary Sharingan users.

Second, he had Kushina—the Hokage—helping him.

Third, the one person in the clan who might have been able to resist him, his father and clan head Uchiha Fugaku, chose not to fight back.

Could Hinata reproduce any of that?

Of course not.

The Hyūga all had ordinary Byakugan.

She had no support from the Hokage.

And Hyūga Hiashi certainly wasn't going to calmly let her massacre the clan.

"No, Lady Hokage! You're wrong!"

Hanabi shook her head desperately.

"Nee-sama really can do it!"

"She has these strange eyes now. She said they're called the Tenseigan!"

Kushina's expression changed.

Hanabi hurriedly continued.

"Nee-sama told me that years ago, she suggested Father establish an enforcement hall inside the clan."

"She personally took the roles of executioner, burial officer, and the person responsible for destroying recovered Byakugan."

"And she did all of that because she wanted to deal with Hyūga clan members herself and absorb the power of their Byakugan!"

"For years, she's been getting closer and closer to evolving her eyes."

"Before Neji-nii kidnapped her, she was already just one step away."

Hanabi's voice trembled.

"After she escaped and returned to the compound, she immediately executed one of the branch-family members who lived near Neji-nii."

"And then her eyes evolved."

"After that, she started fighting her way through the clan."

Hanabi was practically sobbing now.

"She even told me to run!"

"She said I should flee, become stronger, and only come back to find her once I had the same eyes she did!"

"But if Nee-sama kills everyone in the Hyūga clan, where am I supposed to get enough Byakugan to evolve mine?!"

"Waaah! Lady Hokage, please hurry and stop her!"

Hanabi's crying was enough to make anyone who heard it feel miserable.

Except…

The longer everyone listened, the more something seemed slightly off.

Was Hanabi really crying because she was worried about the lives of her clansmen?

Or was she mainly terrified that Hinata would kill them all before leaving enough resources for her to evolve the Tenseigan too?

Kushina fell silent.

She had clearly underestimated the Hyūga.

Neji and Hinata alone had already seemed like an absurd pair.

Apparently there was a third expert hiding in the clan.

"Fine. Then we're leaving now."

Kushina immediately stood.

"We'll stop Hinata together."

She turned her gaze toward Naruto and the others.

"As for all of you, I'll deal with you when I get back."

Golden Nine-Tails chakra erupted around Kushina.

A giant chakra hand extended outward, scooped up Hanabi, and then Kushina launched herself toward the Hyūga compound.

Naruto was equally alarmed when he heard that Hinata intended to destroy her own clan.

There was no way he could simply wait here.

He had to stop her.

He absolutely refused to sit by and watch one of his friends make an irreversible mistake.

And that alone showed just how deeply Naruto was beginning to immerse himself in the game.

Earlier, he had still been reminding himself that Engraved Tsukuyomi was merely an illusionary world.

He could remain detached.

That distance was gradually disappearing.

Though, truthfully, there was another reason.

Naruto's Talk no Jutsu addiction was acting up.

In the real shinobi world, every time Naruto tried to launch into one of his grand speeches, someone inevitably interrupted him.

He'd barely had any opportunities to properly use it.

Surely no one would interrupt his speeches inside Engraved Tsukuyomi, right?

To keep up with Kushina's Nine-Tails Chakra Mode, Naruto had no choice but to activate his own.

His body immediately shifted into its fox-eared, tailed female form.

"Whoa!"

Guy and Kakashi, who had still been clinging to each other, stared upward as Naruto shot into the distance.

"No wonder Naruto likes small animals!"

Guy exclaimed.

"So he's basically a furry himself!"

After witnessing Naruto's transformed appearance, Kakashi and Guy exchanged a look.

Then both of them immediately showed expressions of disgust—

At each other.

They released one another at the same time.

A person could endure darkness only until they had seen the light.

Naruto's fox-like form had shone into the gloomy world of suspicious bond-type shinobi like a ray of sunlight.

For the first time, Kakashi and Guy suddenly realized just how sordid their old worldview had been.

And how wonderful small animals could be.

Slowly—

Both men turned their attention toward the little dog Kiba had lent Naruto.

"Don't even think about anything weird!"

Ino immediately got goosebumps when she saw their expressions.

She took several steps backward and pointed accusingly at them.

"That dog belongs to Kiba! He only lent it to Naruto!"

"Kiba?"

Kakashi raised an eyebrow.

"Ino, don't treat us like idiots."

"Kiba hates dogs more than anyone. If he lent one to Naruto, wasn't it obviously because he wanted to see what Naruto would do with it?"

Then Kakashi smiled reassuringly.

"Don't worry."

"We wouldn't mistreat a dog."

"Everyone knows I'm a ninja who has contracts with ninken."

"There's nobody who loves dogs more than I do."

Kakashi bent down and reached toward the dog.

A gust of wind suddenly blasted past him.

Might Guy, taking full advantage of his superior taijutsu speed, moved after Kakashi yet somehow arrived first.

He scooped the dog into his arms.

"Kakashi!"

Guy declared righteously.

"You already said your summons are ninken."

"So just use your own."

"This one is mine."

"You have a ninja tortoise."

Kakashi gave him a flat look.

"Same thing."

"My ninja tortoise is male!"

Guy replied with absolute seriousness.

"After Lady Hokage's teachings, I have reflected deeply and completely reformed myself."

"I refuse to remain a bond-type shinobi!"

"Then I'm the same!"

Kakashi immediately countered.

"All my ninken are male too."

"I've also decided to leave my old ways behind!"

"…"

"Heh heh heh…"

A familiar, raspy voice suddenly came from the doorway.

"Kakashi. Guy."

"It seems I've arrived at an inconvenient time."

Everyone turned.

"Orochimaru?!"

Kakashi instantly became alert.

He drew a kunai and stepped in front of Ino, Neji, and the others.

"What are you doing here?!"

"Me?"

Orochimaru smiled faintly.

"I came here to—"

Then he stopped.

"Kakashi…"

Orochimaru's expression slowly changed.

"What is with that look?"

Kakashi's gaze had shifted.

The caution and vigilance gradually vanished.

In their place appeared something far more intense.

"Orochimaru…"

Kakashi looked him up and down.

"I never realized you had this kind of charm."

"Indeed!"

Guy nodded enthusiastically.

"As expected of one of the Legendary Sannin. Such remarkable elegance!"

For perhaps the first time in Orochimaru's life, he truly understood what the word disgusted meant.

Yes, after using Living Corpse Reincarnation, Orochimaru's current body was biologically female.

But outwardly, he still looked male!

And those kinds of lines would have made at least some sense if someone had said them upon seeing Tsunade.

Why were Kakashi and Guy saying them to him?!

"I returned to Konoha to carry out the Konoha Restoration Plan."

Orochimaru immediately changed the subject, unwilling to continue dealing with two people who somehow made even him uncomfortable.

"My objective is to restore this filthy, decaying Konoha to the village it once was."

"What?"

"The Konoha Restoration Plan?"

Then someone suddenly shouted—

"Wait! Neji, what are you doing?!"

Everyone turned.

At some point, Neji had quietly picked up the dog Guy had just set down.

Inside Neji's head, only one thought remained.

'Lady Hokage hates bond-type shinobi.'

'I still have a chance.'

'I can still prove I'm not one of them.'

'This is my only opportunity!'

And so—

Neji copied Naruto.

Using the exact same logic Naruto had employed earlier, he began his own desperate attempt to prove his innocence.