Chapter 267: A Familiar-Looking Woman

Chapter 267: Chapter 267: A Familiar-Looking Woman

Looking at the genuine three-tomoe Sharingan in the young woman’s eyes, a look of surprise appeared on Uchiha Shinichi’s face.

After Shinichi joined the Akatsuki, Obito had told him many secrets concerning the Sharingan, including matters related to Sharingan transplantation.

From a technical standpoint, transplanting a Sharingan wasn’t particularly difficult.

Kakashi’s Sharingan had been transplanted under the harsh conditions of a battlefield, and the operation had been performed entirely by Nohara Rin, who at the time was still an inexperienced medical-nin.

But successfully transplanting a Sharingan didn’t mean everything was settled.

Without the bloodline of the Uchiha clan, even someone who had received a transplanted Sharingan would be unable to bring out its full power. They wouldn’t even be able to deactivate the Sharingan normally.

The young woman before him could activate and deactivate her Sharingan with ease, which undoubtedly proved that she possessed the bloodline of the Uchiha clan.

Shinichi asked suspiciously, "Why have I never seen you in the clan before?"

The young woman replied calmly, "Since Lord Kagami sent me here, there’s no reason to doubt my identity."

Naturally, the young woman calling herself Uchiha En was none other than Hyuga Kagami, currently controlling the female clone.

Hyuga Kagami simply couldn’t suppress his urge to personally observe Hiruko’s Kekkei Genkai fusion ceremony.

After all, this concerned his future Kekkei Mōra Plan. He couldn’t afford the slightest oversight.

That was why he had taken the risk of assuming the identity of "Uchiha En," intending to use Uchiha Shinichi, a member of the Akatsuki, as his way into the site of Hiruko’s ceremony.

Shinichi pondered for a moment before suddenly flickering into motion and launching two shuriken at Hyuga Kagami.

Whoosh...

The sharp whistle of the shuriken immediately broke the silence of the forest.

Clang! Clang!

Hyuga Kagami casually drew the sword at his waist only halfway, effortlessly using the exposed section of the blade to deflect both shuriken before smoothly returning it to its sheath.

At that moment, Shinichi rapidly formed hand seals and shouted, "Fire Style: Fireball Technique!"

Hyuga Kagami formed hand seals as well and called in a low voice, "Fire Style: Fireball Technique!"

Boom...

Two enormous fireballs collided, unleashing a deafening roar as crimson light illuminated the entire forest.

Before the flames had even dispersed, several kunai wrapped with explosive tags shot out from the smoke and dust, flying straight toward Hyuga Kagami.

Hyuga Kagami’s expression remained unchanged. The three tomoe within his Sharingan spun rapidly, instantly capturing the trajectories of every kunai.

His figure blurred.

Drawing the sword at his waist, he swept the blade through an elegant flourish.

Swish! Swish! Swish!

In an instant, flashes of sword light flickered throughout the forest, each gleaming with a chilling edge!

Every kunai aimed at Hyuga Kagami ultimately missed its mark, embedding themselves deeply into the trunk of the large tree behind him.

Yet the expected explosions never came.

Shinichi’s gaze sharpened. Only then did he notice that every single explosive tag wrapped around those kunai had been sliced apart by Hyuga Kagami’s sword.

Shinichi finally ceased his assault and slowly nodded.

"Mm. Not bad."

As though worried that Hyuga Kagami might take offense, Shinichi went on to explain, "Every last guy in the Akatsuki is a monster you don’t want to mess with. If you don’t have at least some strength of your own, even I won’t be able to protect you."

Hyuga Kagami nodded, indicating that he didn’t mind.

He understood perfectly well why Shinichi had done this.

The Akatsuki wasn’t an organization just anyone could casually infiltrate. It was only natural for Shinichi to test his strength first.

"Let’s go. I’ve already been away for quite a while. If we stay here any longer, they’ll start getting suspicious."

As he spoke, Shinichi put on his raincoat and began making his way toward the Land of Rain.

Hyuga Kagami didn’t waste any words either and silently followed after him.

Along the way, Shinichi asked, "Kagami should’ve already told you about the situation inside the Akatsuki, right?"

Hyuga Kagami nodded.

"Mm. I’ve more or less figured out who the Akatsuki’s members are."

After thinking for a moment, Shinichi added another warning.

"You don’t need to worry too much about my partner, Biwa Jūzō. As long as you don’t provoke him, he won’t stick his nose into other people’s business. But Sasori, Kakuzu, and Hiruko are different. You need to be especially careful around those guys. Every one of them is a lunatic, and you’re not an official member of the Akatsuki. If you catch their attention, they could attack you at any moment."

Hyuga Kagami replied, "I’ll keep that in mind."

"That masked man who calls himself Uchiha Madara is the most dangerous one!" After a brief pause, Shinichi said solemnly, "If he makes a move against you, even I won’t be able to save you."

Hyuga Kagami glanced at Shinichi. "He probably doesn’t show himself around the organization very often, does he?"

Shinichi looked somewhat surprised. "How did you know? Did Kagami tell you? It’s true that he doesn’t appear in front of the ordinary members. As far as I know, other than the leader and me, I don’t think anyone else in the organization even knows he exists."

Hyuga Kagami said, "Just tell them I’m a spy you planted inside Konoha. That way, I doubt he’ll make a move against me without good reason."

"That’s a pretty good idea!" Shinichi nodded, then asked in puzzlement, "But there’s one thing I really don’t understand. Why would Kagami send you to observe Hiruko’s experiment? With his strength, why would he care about such a half-baked experiment?"

Although Shinichi had defected from Konoha, deep down, he was still a firm believer in the superiority of bloodlines.

In his eyes, shinobi who possessed ocular Kekkei Genkai were naturally a cut above everyone else. A commoner like Hiruko, who possessed no Kekkei Genkai of his own, could never catch up to a shinobi with an ocular Kekkei Genkai, no matter how hard he tried.

It wasn’t convenient for Hyuga Kagami to explain, so he merely brushed the question aside.

"Lord Kagami has his own plans. My only responsibility is to observe and report back. As for everything else, I don’t need to know—and neither do you."

"Hmph..."

Hearing that, Shinichi snorted in displeasure.

Before long, the two entered the Land of Rain.

The moment they crossed into the Land of Rain, the sky grew gloomy, and a light drizzle began to fall. The damp air carried a faint, almost imperceptible musty smell.

After entering Amegakure, Shinichi led Hyuga Kagami to one of the Akatsuki’s secret hideouts.

The moment the two stepped inside, they came face-to-face with an Akatsuki member wearing the black cloak with red clouds.

Hyuga Kagami recognized him. It was none other than Shinno, whom he had dealt with before.

However, Hyuga Kagami’s gaze didn’t linger on Shinno. Instead, it fell upon a woman standing behind him.

She was a remarkably beautiful woman with a pair of mesmerizing eyes.

"Huh... This woman looks really familiar. Have I seen her somewhere before?"

Naturally, Hyuga Kagami wasn’t paying attention to her because of her appearance.

He simply felt that the woman before him looked strangely familiar, yet for the moment, he couldn’t remember where he had seen her.

And while Hyuga Kagami was studying her, the woman standing behind Shinno was also looking over Shinichi and Hyuga Kagami with great interest, an indescribable gleam flickering within her eyes...