Chapter 170: Child of Prophecy

Chapter 170: Chapter 170: Child of Prophecy

Weaving through the bustling streets, Hyuga Kagami appeared completely at ease, yet his movements were astonishingly fast. In the blink of an eye, he had already crossed several crowded avenues, moving at a pace that nearly matched Anko as she raced across the rooftops.

Before long, the two arrived one after another at a secluded training ground.

Looking at Anko, who was still visibly tipsy, Kagami said helplessly,

"Alright, enough messing around."

Anko stared at him.

"Why?"

"Why what!?"

Kagami was completely baffled.

"You know what I’m talking about!"

With the alcohol giving her an outlet for all the pressure she had bottled up, Anko grew increasingly emotional and shouted,

"Why can you act like a normal person and not care what anyone thinks of you?"

Kagami froze for a moment.

Then it clicked.

Only now did he understand what Anko was actually asking.

Unlike the others from their generation, both Kagami and Anko had always carried Orochimaru’s label on their backs. Because of that, it was inevitable that people in the village would point fingers and gossip about them.

The difference was that Anko had always silently endured those whispers and accusations...

While Hyuga Kagami simply didn’t give a damn what any of them thought.

Kagami let out a soft sigh.

"Anko, you care too much about what other people think of you."

Anko looked utterly confused.

"But how can you not care?"

Kagami shook his head with a wry smile, silently thinking to himself,

"Because I really was Orochimaru’s spy. Those people pointing fingers at me weren’t exactly accusing me falsely, so what right would I have to get angry? Uh... wait. That’s not quite right. Orochimaru and I should probably be considered partners now."

At that moment, Anko pulled a kunai from the ninja pouch at her waist.

"I’m challenging you. Here I come!"

Kagami didn’t try to talk her out of it anymore. He simply gave a slight nod.

"Come on."

Kagami knew perfectly well that this so-called challenge was nothing more than Anko wanting someone she could vent all the emotions she had kept bottled up for so long against.

As for why she had chosen him...

There simply weren’t many of Orochimaru’s former subordinates left in the village anymore.

Anko’s gaze sharpened as she shouted,

"Hidden Shadow Snake Hands!"

Whoosh—

Accompanied by the sharp sound of rushing wind, several long, slender venomous snakes shot out from Anko’s sleeve and lunged straight toward Kagami.

Kagami didn’t dodge.

Standing calmly where he was, he merely drew Kusanagimaru from his waist and casually flicked the blade through an elegant flourish.

In an instant, the venomous snakes flying toward him were sliced into several pieces, falling limply to the ground.

Anko froze.

Hidden Shadow Snake Hands was one of Orochimaru’s signature techniques. Not only was it fast, but it also packed considerable power. Combined with the snakes’ venom, it could often bring down an opponent in a single strike.

Anko had thought that even if this move wasn’t enough to defeat Kagami, it would at least give him some trouble.

She never expected him to dismantle one of her best techniques so effortlessly.

Kagami sheathed Kusanagimaru and smiled.

"If this is all you’ve got, you won’t be able to beat me."

Anger surged through Anko as her hands rapidly formed seals.

"Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!"

In an instant, an enormous fireball erupted from Anko’s mouth, illuminating the dim training ground in a fiery crimson glow.

Kagami’s expression remained unchanged.

His figure flickered, effortlessly avoiding Anko’s Great Fireball Jutsu.

At that moment, Anko rushed in and engaged Kagami in close-quarters combat.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The sounds of fists and feet colliding immediately echoed throughout the training ground.

Anko attacked like a woman possessed, unleashing one furious assault after another as though the person standing before her wasn’t Hyuga Kagami, but some mortal enemy she hated with every fiber of her being.

Kagami, meanwhile, dutifully played the role of her sparring partner.

He never struck back.

He simply and silently neutralized every attack Anko threw at him.

A long while later, Kagami finally knocked the exhausted Anko back and smiled.

"Feeling better now?"

Drained of strength, Anko collapsed onto the ground.

Tears slowly began streaming down her face.

Kagami asked,

"Do you need me to take you home?"

Anko lowered her head.

"I hate him!"

Kagami knew perfectly well that the "him" Anko was referring to was Orochimaru.

But instead of trying to console her, he simply asked in a calm voice,

"Do you really hate him because he defected... or do you hate him because he defected without taking you with him?"

Anko looked as though she had been struck by lightning.

Turning around and making his way out of the training ground, Kagami leisurely continued,

"If it’s the former, then you don’t need to blame yourself. It wasn’t your fault.

"If it’s the latter, then get stronger. Become strong enough to make him realize that he was the one who made a mistake!"

After leaving the training ground, Kagami didn’t immediately head home. Instead, he wandered leisurely around the village.

As he passed by a pond, he spotted Itachi sitting at the water’s edge beside a girl whose clothes bore the Uchiha clan crest. The two were chatting and laughing as they ate the village’s famous three-color dango.

Itachi, who usually wore such a serious expression, was actually showing a rare, genuinely happy smile.

"Heh... maybe I should bring some three-color dango home for Rei to try too!"

The corner of Kagami’s mouth curled upward.

Rather than going over and disturbing them, he began considering whether he should buy some dango of his own to take home. With that thought, he changed direction and headed toward the shopping district.

When he passed by Ichiraku Ramen, however, the incredibly long line outside caught him by surprise.

"Business is this good?"

And among the people waiting in line, Kagami spotted a small figure with a head of blond hair.

The little guy was fidgeting impatiently, constantly craning his neck to see how many people were still ahead of him.

The discount coupon clutched tightly in his hand had already been crumpled completely out of shape.

"Uzumaki Naruto!"

After recognizing the little guy’s identity, Kagami instinctively began surveying the surroundings.

Sure enough, perched atop a large tree not far away, he spotted an ANBU ninja whose entire body was concealed beneath a black cloak.

There was no doubt that this ANBU was responsible for personally guarding Naruto.

After all, half of the Nine-Tails’ chakra was sealed inside Naruto’s body. He was one of the village’s most important strategic assets, and nothing could be allowed to happen to him.

Kagami turned his gaze back toward Naruto and slowly activated his Byakugan.

"Hiss..."

Within his Byakugan’s vision, the chakra inside Naruto’s body resembled a fiercely blazing inferno—vast, violent, and overwhelming.

Even Kagami couldn’t help sucking in a sharp breath.

Despite having expected something extraordinary, what he saw still greatly exceeded his expectations.

"As expected of the Uzumaki Clan!"

Deactivating his Byakugan, Kagami sighed inwardly in admiration.

Even setting aside the Nine-Tails’ chakra, Naruto’s own chakra reserves alone far surpassed those of an ordinary shinobi.

From this, it was easy to see why the Uzumaki Clan deserved its reputation as a bloodline clan possessing the Sage Body, comparable even to the Senju Clan.

Kagami then thought of something else.

At this moment, besides Naruto’s own chakra and the Nine-Tails’ chakra, there were also two other reserves of chakra sealed within his body—one belonging to his father, the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, and the other belonging to his mother, the former Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, Kushina Uzumaki.

And if the chakra of Asura, whose reincarnation Naruto was, was counted as well...

That made a total of five distinct sources of chakra within him.

"The Child of Prophecy, huh..."

Naruto had already left everyone else ten streets behind before the race had even truly begun.

He was, without question, worthy of being called the Child of Prophecy...