Chapter 32: Undercurrents

Chapter 32: Chapter 32: Undercurrents

Hyuga Kagami’s expression changed at those words, but he quickly regained his composure and replied respectfully, "The assessment went smoothly. The Third has already arranged for me to join the ANBU."

He had only just finished the Special Jōnin assessment, yet Orochimaru had already learned about it. That came as something of a surprise to Hyuga Kagami. Evidently, he wasn’t the only spy Orochimaru had planted in the village.

Orochimaru set down his sake cup. His expression sharpened as he stared intently at Hyuga Kagami.

"Kagami, your recent growth has exceeded my expectations somewhat. Do you have some kind of secret? Or has your research into the Byakugan finally borne fruit?"

Hyuga Kagami’s recent improvement in strength had been extremely noticeable.

Those who didn’t know him well might simply assume that it was the natural awakening of his bloodline. After all, Hyuga Kagami was at precisely the age when a ninja’s strength could improve by leaps and bounds. Guy, Asuma, and the others had also been growing rapidly during this period, seemingly changing from one day to the next.

But Orochimaru was different.

He knew Hyuga Kagami extremely well, and he knew that Kagami was not the sort of ninja blessed with extraordinary natural talent.

That was precisely why Hyuga Kagami’s recent performance had aroused his suspicions.

Naturally, Hyuga Kagami wasn’t about to admit anything. He shook his head.

"Research into a kekkei genkai isn’t something that can produce results overnight. You should understand that better than anyone."

Orochimaru narrowed his eyes noncommittally.

"Is that so..."

Orochimaru knew that Hyuga Kagami had only been involved in research for a few short years. It was highly unlikely that he could have produced any meaningful results in such a short amount of time.

Moreover, Orochimaru had personally inspected Hyuga Kagami’s laboratory before. It contained nothing but the most basic genetic testing data, with absolutely nothing involving experiments on living subjects.

Without even conducting live-subject experiments, there was naturally no question of achieving any significant breakthroughs.

Of course, what Orochimaru didn’t know was that Hyuga Kagami had, in fact, conducted one live-subject experiment.

And the subject of that experiment had been none other than himself.

Naturally, there had been no experimental data left behind.

After a moment, Orochimaru smiled.

"It seems I misjudged you before. Not only do you have the potential to become a researcher, you also have the potential to become an excellent ninja."

"I’m honored by your praise."

As though suddenly remembering something, Orochimaru’s smile took on a different edge.

"I recently encountered an interesting fellow. He asked me about you."

"Who?"

"Sasori of the Red Sand."

Staring directly at Hyuga Kagami, Orochimaru slowly enunciated each word.

"Have the two of you met?"

Hyuga Kagami nodded without the slightest trace of unease.

"We did cross paths once."

It was obvious that during this period, Sasori and Orochimaru had both joined the Akatsuki one after the other.

And with Orochimaru being one of Konoha’s legendary Sannin, it was only natural that Sasori would approach him for information about Hyuga Kagami.

Hyuga Kagami had already anticipated this possibility, so he showed no surprise.

Seeing that Kagami’s expression remained unchanged, Orochimaru continued, "He seems quite eager to kill you. Just how did you manage to offend him?"

Hyuga Kagami knew that with Sasori’s pride, there was no way he would have told Orochimaru the details of how he had suffered a setback at Kagami’s hands. So Kagami briefly recounted the operation in which Konoha had attempted to purge him, leaving out only the part where he had unexpectedly seized the Third Kazekage human puppet.

After finishing his explanation, Hyuga Kagami smiled.

"A nobody like me managed to escape from his hands with my life. Perhaps he simply found that humiliating."

Hearing this, Orochimaru did something rare—he burst out laughing.

What Hyuga Kagami didn’t know was that although Orochimaru and Sasori had temporarily been paired together, the two of them did not get along particularly well.

Both were obsessed with immortality, but they had chosen entirely different paths.

One pursued it through biotechnology, while the other pursued it through mechanical technology. Moreover, both had already reached the threshold of immortality within their respective fields.

It wasn’t difficult to imagine just how fiercely their views on science clashed.

After laughing for a while, Orochimaru said, "I didn’t tell him anything about you, but he undoubtedly has other sources of information. So you should be careful. He’s an obsessive fellow, and I certainly don’t want to see you among the puppets in his collection someday."

Hyuga Kagami immediately gave a wry smile.

"Being targeted by someone that powerful really isn’t a pleasant experience."

Uchiha Clan Compound

The moment Itachi spotted Shisui, he hurried over from where he had been waiting by the roadside.

"Brother Shisui, did the assessment go well?"

Shisui gently ruffled Itachi’s hair.

"Yeah, it went fairly smoothly."

"So that means you’re already a Special Jōnin, Brother Shisui?" Itachi’s face lit up before he immediately asked, "What was the assessment like? Hurry and tell me about it!"

Shisui began recounting some of the interesting things that had happened during the Special Jōnin assessment.

Itachi listened attentively for a while before suddenly asking, "You must have beaten all your opponents pretty easily, right, Brother Shisui?"

Shisui’s expression stiffened.

Then he gently shook his head.

"I lost to my opponent in the final round. But Lord Hokage felt that my overall performance was exceptional, so he still granted me a special promotion to Special Jōnin."

Itachi stared at him in shock.

"You lost? H-How is that possible?!"

Shisui’s reputation as the Uchiha clan’s number-one genius wasn’t something the Uchiha had simply proclaimed behind closed doors. It was a reputation backed by his actual achievements.

The fact that Shisui possessed the strength of a jōnin had also long been universally acknowledged within the Uchiha clan.

That was why Itachi had never imagined that someone participating in a Special Jōnin assessment could actually defeat Shisui.

"I didn’t expect to lose either." Shisui smiled helplessly before continuing, "You know the person who defeated me too. It was Senpai Kagami from the Hyuga clan."

Realization dawned on Itachi.

"Senpai Kagami..."

Even from a young age, Itachi possessed perceptiveness far beyond that of an ordinary person. With his keen powers of observation, he could always notice subtle details that others overlooked.

And it was precisely because of this that, during their previous encounter with Kumogakure’s Two-Tails Jinchūriki, he had keenly noticed that Hyuga Kagami did not seem particularly afraid of her.

At that moment, Itachi had already suspected that Hyuga Kagami was no ordinary chūnin.

Shisui’s expression turned serious.

"Itachi, powerful shinobi are constantly emerging throughout the village. We must never allow the power of the Sharingan to blind us. We must always remain humble."

Itachi only half-understood what he meant, but he still nodded earnestly.

Glancing at the clansmen coming and going in the distance, Shisui asked in a subdued voice, "What do you see in them?"

Itachi carefully observed them for a while before answering,

"Pride!"

"That’s right. They’re proud to have been born into the Uchiha clan." After a brief pause, Shisui continued solemnly, "But there’s too much of that pride now—more than we can bear!"

In his earlier match against Hyuga Kagami, Shisui had not only refrained from using the abilities of his Mangekyō Sharingan, he had even held back when it came to his conventional techniques.

And the reason he had done so was not merely because he had sensed the village’s growing suspicion toward the Uchiha.

More importantly, he could clearly feel the undercurrents stirring within the Uchiha clan itself.

Even the other hidden villages were aware that Konoha had been severely weakened. Naturally, there was no way the Uchiha clan, who lived within Konoha itself, could possibly remain unaware of it.

The Uchiha clan had never lacked ambitious individuals.

Previously, however, the village had possessed far too many powerful shinobi—the Sannin, the Fourth Hokage, the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki, and others. Faced with such strength, the Uchiha could only keep their ambitions suppressed and bide their time.

But now, of the Sannin, only Jiraiya remained—and even he spent most of his time away from the village.

The Fourth Hokage and the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki had both died as well.

The only people left in the village who could still make the Uchiha wary were the Third Hokage, Danzo, and the rest of the older generation.

As a result, the ambitions of many within the Uchiha clan had begun erupting uncontrollably.

Shisui did not have the power to extinguish the flames of ambition that were now raging throughout his clan.

All he could do was try his utmost to restrain them.

That was why he had chosen to lose to Hyuga Kagami during the selection exam.

His goal was to make his clansmen understand that Konoha still had countless powerful shinobi hidden within its ranks, and that blind ambition would only lead to the complete destruction of the Uchiha clan...