Chapter 275: Investigation

Chapter 275: Chapter 275: Investigation

Orochimaru’s aggressively appraising gaze swept up and down Hyuga Kagami’s body. The corners of his mouth curled slightly upward as he murmured to himself, "Perfect bodily proportions, extraordinary beauty and bearing, highly potent chakra, and a vitality brimming with life. More importantly, there are those mesmerizing Sharingan! Heh, looks like my luck is pretty good today!"

Orochimaru’s gaze was less like he was looking at a person and more like he was admiring a work of art that had caught his fancy.

Hyuga Kagami said coldly, "You followed me all this way. Don’t tell me it was just to pay me a couple of compliments."

Orochimaru stared into Hyuga Kagami’s eyes and licked his lips. "As reluctant as I am to admit it, I have to say... the bloodline of you Uchiha truly is fascinating."

Hyuga Kagami was speechless.

He could now confirm that Orochimaru had genuinely set his sights on this Fire Release clone of his.

Orochimaru’s obsession with the Sharingan had undergone a clear progression.

At first, he had been interested in all kinds of Kekkei Genkai, and the Sharingan’s ocular Kekkei Genkai had merely been one among many.

Later, after witnessing the extraordinary talent Itachi had displayed at such a young age while still in the village, and then hearing, after his own defection, about Shinichi awakening the Mangekyo Sharingan and wreaking havoc throughout Konoha, Orochimaru’s fascination with the Sharingan truly began to turn into an obsession.

And in the original timeline, after Orochimaru attempted to ambush Itachi shortly after Itachi joined the Akatsuki, only to be instantly subdued by Itachi’s genjutsu, his shock and fury pushed his obsession with the Sharingan to its absolute peak.

It was from that point onward that he began his series of schemes to lure Sasuke into his grasp.

In this timeline, although Orochimaru had never lost to Itachi, he had lost to Hiruko, who had fused the Sharingan’s ocular Kekkei Genkai into himself.

Compared to losing to Itachi, who had awakened the Mangekyo Sharingan and displayed extraordinary talent from a young age, losing to Hiruko—someone who had once been inferior to him in every respect—was obviously far more difficult for Orochimaru to accept.

As a result, Orochimaru’s current state of mind was remarkably similar to how he had felt after losing to Itachi in the original timeline. He had already developed an almost pathological obsession with the Sharingan.

"Give it up. Whatever you’re planning, it will ultimately end in failure."

Hyuga Kagami’s expression remained indifferent, his tone calm and even, as though he were merely stating an obvious fact.

Hyuga Kagami’s indifference immediately infuriated Orochimaru. His expression twisted viciously. "You little brat who’s still wet behind the ears—it’s time you learned just how vicious the shinobi world can be!"

With that, Orochimaru extended his right hand toward Hyuga Kagami.

In an instant, a venomous snake as thick as a man’s wrist shot out from his sleeve.

In the blink of an eye, it wrapped itself tightly around Hyuga Kagami’s entire body.

Having succeeded in a single strike, Orochimaru grinned. "Your body is mine!"

Caw! Caw!

Just then, Hyuga Kagami’s body suddenly burst apart into countless black crows, which began circling through the air.

For a moment, the entire forest echoed with the cries of crows.

Orochimaru’s gaze sharpened, and he slowly withdrew the venomous snake back into his sleeve.

The flock of black crows gathered together once more in midair, revealing the upper half of Hyuga Kagami’s body.

At this moment, the eyes in his sockets had already transformed into a pair of scarlet three-tomoe Sharingan. His expression remained as calm and indifferent as ever, and coupled with his extraordinary beauty and bearing, he gave off an air that was both elegant and unfathomably mysterious.

Orochimaru frowned. "Crow Clone Technique?"

The Crow Clone Technique was a ninjutsu that combined aspects of the Summoning Technique and the Clone Technique.

Compared to the straightforward Shadow Clone Technique, the Crow Clone Technique could borrow chakra from the summoned ninja crows, so the amount of chakra consumed was far lower than that of the Shadow Clone Technique. It was an extremely convenient yet bizarre branch of clone techniques.

The main reason the Crow Clone Technique was so rare, with so few shinobi capable of using it, was that the technique involved complex coordination between summoning and clone techniques, while also demanding extraordinarily precise chakra control.

Furthermore, anyone wishing to use the Crow Clone Technique needed a flock of specially trained ninja crows.

Thus, throughout the entire shinobi world, only a handful of members of the Uchiha clan and a very small number of other shinobi were capable of using the Crow Clone Technique.

In a sense, the Crow Clone Technique was the very definition of a technique used to show off one’s skill.

Without exception, nearly every shinobi capable of performing the Crow Clone Technique was a technical fighter with tremendous confidence in their chakra control.

Hovering in midair, Hyuga Kagami looked down at Orochimaru and said, "I already told you. Whatever schemes you may have, before these Sharingan of mine, they’re nothing but clumsy and laughable tricks."

Orochimaru’s expression turned exceptionally ugly. "When did you notice? And when did you cast the Crow Clone Technique?"

Hyuga Kagami replied indifferently, "Your desire for the Sharingan is written all over your face. Shinichi and I had already noticed it back on the mountaintop."

He paused before continuing, "What I’m curious about is this—what gave you the confidence to come after me alone?

"Greed... or stupidity?"

Orochimaru’s expression darkened.

"Uchiha En... I’ll remember you."

Faced with Hyuga Kagami’s deliberate humiliation, an overwhelmingly intense killing intent flickered in Orochimaru’s eyes.

Hyuga Kagami said, "I’m afraid I won’t remember you, though..."

As he spoke, the flock of crows that had gathered into Hyuga Kagami’s form began to slowly scatter.

After being repeatedly made a fool of, Orochimaru glared hatefully at Hyuga Kagami in midair. If he hadn’t known that the figure before him was nothing more than a Crow Clone, he probably would have lunged at him immediately.

Far away.

After receiving the information transmitted back by the Crow Clone, Hyuga Kagami, who was standing atop a large tree, smiled faintly.

Then, with a flicker of his figure, he sped off in the direction of Konoha.

Hyuga Kagami had already known what Orochimaru was plotting. With one side prepared and the other completely unaware, using a Crow Clone to lure Orochimaru away naturally wasn’t difficult at all.

And this was with Hyuga Kagami not being particularly skilled in genjutsu.

Otherwise, if Orochimaru truly dared to make a move against an Uchiha possessing the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan, his fate would probably be absolutely miserable.

Before long, Hyuga Kagami quietly returned to the village.

After using the Transformation Technique to assume his original appearance and returning home, Hyuga Kagami did nothing else. He devoted all of his attention to summarizing what he had gained from this trip.

For anyone else, observing Hiruko’s Kekkei Genkai fusion ritual might have been nothing more than an opportunity to broaden their horizons and watch an extraordinary spectacle.

But for Hyuga Kagami, it had been an exceptionally rare live experiment.

That was precisely why Hyuga Kagami had been willing to take the risk of infiltrating the Akatsuki just to observe Hiruko’s Kekkei Genkai fusion ritual firsthand.

Poof...

Just as Hyuga Kagami was organizing everything he had gained from the trip, a cloud of white smoke suddenly billowed into existence.

The one-eyed viper slowly poked its head out from the smoke, a scroll held in its mouth.

"Just as I expected!"

Hyuga Kagami smiled. He immediately took the scroll from the one-eyed viper’s mouth, unfurled it, and gave it a quick read.

The contents of the scroll were simple.

Orochimaru wanted Hyuga Kagami to thoroughly investigate an Uchiha clanswoman in the village named Uchiha En.

However, the wording Orochimaru used in the scroll lacked his usual composure.

On the contrary, it seemed rather urgent...