Chapter 427: Deadlock

Chapter 427: Chapter 427: Deadlock

After leaving the Uchiha clan’s Naka Shrine, Hyuga Kagami gave Itachi one final instruction, telling him to stay by Shisui’s side at all times for the foreseeable future and protect him until his body had fully passed through its adaptation period.

After all, the elusive Obito and Orochimaru, who was currently staying in Konoha, were both threats that could not be underestimated.

Moreover, both of them had reasons to target Shisui, who was currently recognized as the Uchiha clan’s strongest shinobi on the surface.

Anyone who wanted to deal with the Uchiha clan would first have to get past the obstacle that was Shisui.

After parting ways with Shisui and Itachi, Hyuga Kagami strolled beneath the tranquil moonlight, slowly making his way home.

Along the way, Kagami pondered the unexpected developments that had occurred during the day while secretly feeling fortunate.

He truly did have reason to feel fortunate.

After obtaining the Tenseigan, he had not become arrogant and reckless, believing himself invincible and exposing his identity to the public—and, by extension, to the watchful eyes of his enemies.

Had he done so, he would probably be living on edge right now, constantly guarding against Obito’s schemes.

Judging from the methods Obito had used to ambush the Fourth Hokage, he was clearly the kind of person who would cast aside all scruples and resort to any means necessary to achieve his goals.

If Obito truly set his sights on Kagami, then every person and everything around Kagami could become a target to be exploited against him.

At that point, Kagami would truly find it impossible to guard against every possibility.

Fortunately, Kagami had always concealed himself extremely well, and he had kept Kamigami equally well hidden.

As a result, Obito was unlikely to pay much attention to an ordinary Konoha ANBU squad captain like him, making the chances of Obito deliberately targeting him very low.

And precisely because Kamigami remained so deeply concealed, its very existence had instead become an invisible restraint on Obito, leaving both him and Akatsuki wary of making any reckless moves.

"They’re probably searching all over the shinobi world for traces of Kamigami right now, aren’t they?"

The corner of Hyuga Kagami’s mouth curled upward as he smiled.

Before they managed to uncover Kamigami, which was always poised to take advantage of any opening, Akatsuki probably wouldn’t dare divert its attention toward dealing with the Five Great Shinobi Villages.

After all, the lesson from last time had been far too severe. Even Nagato, who possessed the Rinnegan, had nearly lost his life. No matter how reluctant Akatsuki was to admit it, they had no choice but to acknowledge that Kamigami was an existence capable of posing a genuine threat to them.

Obito probably wouldn’t have the luxury of diverting his attention toward exterminating the Uchiha clan like he had in the original timeline either.

But if they didn’t make a move against Konoha, and didn’t make a move against the Uchiha clan, then they would never be able to find any clues leading to Kamigami.

Without a doubt, this had formed a perfect deadlock.

......

Konoha Guesthouse.

Kimimaro stood by the window, staring out at the nighttime scenery, his expression shifting unpredictably.

The scenes from earlier continuously flashed through his mind. In particular, the sight of Hyuga Kagami mocking Orochimaru had been engraved deeply into his memory, causing killing intent to boil within him!

Suddenly, a dark figure silently slipped into the room.

"Who’s there?"

Kimimaro immediately spun around, his icy gaze locking onto the intruder.

The shadowy figure chuckled.

"As expected of you, Kimimaro!"

"Kabuto!?" Kimimaro’s expression darkened as he asked, "What are you doing here?"

Kabuto was Orochimaru’s research assistant and intelligence officer, while the Sound Four, to which Kimimaro belonged, were Orochimaru’s direct subordinates. Therefore, there was no superior-subordinate relationship between Kimimaro and Kabuto. They were simply colleagues, so Kimimaro naturally wasn’t particularly polite when speaking to him.

Kabuto adjusted his glasses and smiled. "I heard about what happened during the day. How did it feel defeating the Uchiha clan’s genius?"

"The Uchiha clan’s genius? Hmph, he was no match for me!"

Since the victory had come far too easily, Kimimaro felt no sense of accomplishment whatsoever.

Kabuto casually remarked, "True. Compared to Hyuga Kagami, who betrayed Lord Orochimaru, that Uchiha brat really isn’t worth mentioning."

The moment Kabuto mentioned Hyuga Kagami, Kimimaro’s expression immediately darkened.

Kimimaro could ignore insults directed at himself, but he could never turn a blind eye to someone insulting Orochimaru.

And Hyuga Kagami had not only betrayed Orochimaru, he had even mocked Orochimaru right to his face. That was something Kimimaro simply could not tolerate no matter what.

After a moment, Kimimaro seemed to make up his mind and asked, "You should know where he lives, right?"

Kabuto looked startled. "What are you planning to do? This is Konoha!"

Kimimaro said coldly, "Tell me his address. You don’t need to concern yourself with anything else!"

Kabuto hesitated for a long while before finally handing Kimimaro a slip of paper with a worried expression. He then warned, "Be careful. If you don’t get an opportunity, absolutely do not make a move!"

Whoosh...

Kimimaro indifferently took the slip of paper without saying a word, then turned and vanished from the room.

After Kimimaro left, a strange smile appeared on Kabuto’s face.

Just as Kimimaro harbored jealousy and resentment toward the Uchiha, Kabuto similarly resented Hyuga Kagami, who had once served as Orochimaru’s research assistant.

Every time Orochimaru mentioned Kagami in front of him, that resentment grew a little deeper.

Just then, a hoarse voice suddenly sounded from behind Kabuto.

"Kabuto, I don’t recall ever giving you permission to do something like this."

Kabuto’s entire body stiffened as though he had been struck by lightning. Trembling, he slowly turned around before dropping to one knee and respectfully saying, "Lord Orochimaru!"

Orochimaru slowly emerged from the shadows.

"Don’t you think you owe me an explanation?"

Layer after layer of cold sweat appeared across Kabuto’s forehead and cheeks. Swallowing hard, he explained, "Lord Orochimaru, I... I only wanted to eliminate a traitor for you."

"Is that so?"

Orochimaru smiled before turning his gaze toward the window.

"Get up."

Seeing that Orochimaru apparently had no intention of blaming him, Kabuto breathed a sigh of relief.

As he rose to his feet, however, he also realized that if Orochimaru had truly opposed what he had done, he would have intervened just now. There was no reason for him to wait until Kimimaro had already left before revealing himself.

Gazing out at Konoha beneath the night sky, Orochimaru said indifferently, "It wouldn’t hurt to test him. Even I’m starting to have trouble seeing through that fellow Kagami."

Originally, Orochimaru had planned to use the Impure World Reincarnation during the alliance ceremony to summon the First and Second Hokage and give his sensei, the Third Hokage, a nasty surprise.

Just imagining his sensei, the Third Hokage, being forced to fight his own senseis—the First and Second Hokage—and the spectacle of three Hokage battling within Konoha filled Orochimaru with incomparable excitement.

For Orochimaru, aside from pursuing the secret of eternal life, destroying everything his teacher, the Third Hokage, held dear had become one of the few pleasures he had left.

However, he hadn’t expected Konoha’s defenses to be even tighter than his spies had reported.

On top of that, several of the representatives from Sunagakure, Kusagakure, and Takigakure were also quite powerful.

Thus, Orochimaru ultimately decided against taking the risk of launching his attack during the ceremony.

After all, the reanimated bodies of the First and Second Hokage were still in the experimental stage, and even Orochimaru himself had no idea exactly how much combat power they could unleash at their limits.

......

Meanwhile, on the streets of Konoha.

Kimimaro’s entire body transformed into a dark blur.

Avoiding the moonlight...

Avoiding the pedestrians...

He swiftly raced through the darkness...