"Madara, this is bad! This is bad! Your plan is about to be ruined!"
The White Zetsu clone had a long-range connection to the original, and since Nohara Rin was a crucial part of Madara's plan, more than one White Zetsu had been deployed around her. As soon as one clone sent its report back, others were positioned to monitor from different directions.
One particular White Zetsu was tasked with contacting Obito, prompting him to delay his pursuit of Kakashi and Rin. This wasn't difficult—just create some wounds or induce a rejection reaction, and Obito could handle that easily. At this point, Obito wouldn't even notice such small actions since he had just recently fused with a White Zetsu clone.
"What's going on? Speak quickly."
Obito was a critical part of Madara's plan. After observing the Uchiha clan for a long time, White Zetsu had found a suitable Uchiha to carry out the plan. At such a critical moment, Madara would never allow the plan to fail.
The White Zetsu clone, now serious, recounted what it had witnessed, leaving out unnecessary details since the situation was dire. Normally, White Zetsu would be more talkative and drag on with trivialities before getting to the point, but not now.
After hearing the report, Madara, who had aged to the point where fighting was difficult, looked perplexed. A bright light had appeared, and the girl Obito had been so focused on was gone—this was truly strange.
"Who did this?"
"Madara, your plan is on the verge of failure. If Obito arrives and doesn't find the girl—"
Madara abruptly cut off White Zetsu's words.
"Don't worry. Once Obito sees the darkness for himself, he'll carry out my plan without hesitation."
"And besides, I had acquired the chakra of this Nohara Rin. Now it's coming in handy."
Madara then called for one of White Zetsu's clones to carry out his will and take his place in pushing Obito further down the path of darkness.
Although Rin had vanished, as long as Madara had her chakra, he could create countless copies of her.
With Obito's ocular powers, he wouldn't be able to detect White Zetsu's transformation techniques.
"Ugh, doing this will break my clone," White Zetsu complained. "Ah, sounds so tragic."
"Stop complaining, just get to it."
For extra precaution, Madara had hidden his Sharingan and inserted a genjutsu into it. This would allow the White Zetsu clone carrying his will to arrive at the battlefield between Kakashi and the Mist shinobi before Obito and use the genjutsu to make Obito witness the very image he most feared.
This would not only push him deeper into darkness but would also stimulate his Sharingan to evolve further.
"This must be part of Madara's ultimate plan. Luckily, Ayaka stumbled upon it. We're getting a free pass here; otherwise, if the Three-Tails had been under the Mist's watch, it would have been difficult to pull this off."
Hyuga Mirai was in a good mood, knowing that Ayaka Uzumaki had successfully rescued Nohara Rin and brought her back. He casually shared this story with her, though he only had a rough understanding of the situation—he was confident the details weren't far off.
"Is that so? That poor girl, Nohara Rin…" Ayaka glanced down at the unconscious Rin, who, upon being taken away, had triggered the power of the Three-Tails due to her emotional state.
But Ayaka had used a Four Symbols Seal to suppress the Tailed Beast chakra that had started to leak out. The seal on Rin's body had clashed with the Four Symbols Seal, causing her to faint.
Ayaka asked, "Lord Mirai, should we remove the Three-Tails from her?"
"Not yet. There's nowhere to place it for now." Mirai had thought about this, and had it been a few months ago, he would have extracted the Three-Tails and used it to help Unit 18 build an infinite energy furnace.
However, with Unit 18's advances in nanotechnology and the creation of the Star Stone Energy Furnace, it was now nearly as effective as an infinite energy furnace.
Aside from Unit 18, only Unit 19 and Ayaka herself could house the Three-Tails. But even if the Three-Tails were sealed inside Ayaka, it wouldn't significantly enhance her abilities—at most, it would only increase her chakra reserves.
"Let's seal it for now. Hand her over to Unit 18 to be checked for any hidden dangers. We'll handle the rest once I've thought things through."
After giving his instructions, Mirai ended the call.
Ayaka had unknowingly made a huge contribution. Not only had she brought back a complete set of sealing techniques, but she had also returned with a Tailed Beast Jinchuriki.
If immortality was truly the goal, then only Kaguya, who had consumed the Chakra Fruit, had achieved it. Orochimaru's methods were about longevity but still left him vulnerable to death.
Mirai, however, sought a body like Kaguya's—something he could only achieve by obtaining and studying the Ten-Tails.
With Cloud shinobi retreating from the battlefield, the two-year-long Shinobi Great War was finally nearing its end.
The Mist shinobi were still trying some underhanded tactics, but they didn't dare launch a full-scale attack on the Land of Fire. Instead, they sent a few assassination shinobi to carry out covert operations, hoping to pressure Konoha into signing a peace treaty.
However, their plans had failed. With the Three-Tails lost and several ANBU agents killed—four of them by an unknown Konoha shinobi—the Mist shinobi found themselves in disarray.
According to their original plan, the Seven Ninja Swordsmen should have been able to hold their ground against the Yellow Flash, but the Mist never anticipated that four of them would be killed so quickly upon entering the Land of Fire. The remaining three fled in disgrace.
As the ninja forces from the Land of Hot Water were returning to Konoha, Mirai sought out Orochimaru.
"Orochimaru-sama, what are your plans after we return?"
"After we return?" Orochimaru paused, then responded, "I'll try to study Spirit Transformation Jutsu. I've been thinking, and I believe it could be more effective in resurrection research than cursed seals."
"Also, I should fulfill my promise to Danzo. Otherwise, Root will start keeping an eye on me. Heh."
Orochimaru might have hidden motives, but Mirai had no need to worry about those matters. The success of the Wood Release experiment had been due to his advice, and he knew all about Danzo's involvement. There was no need to hide anything.
Mirai nodded and then asked, "What about the position of Hokage? Aren't you interested in it, Orochimaru-sama?"
"Hokage? Mirai-kun, why do you care about that?"
Mirai waved his hand dismissively. "Just asking. Don't mind me."
"As for Hokage… I suppose I'm somewhat interested. Konoha feels like a flourishing windmill that's about to rot. If I became Hokage, I'd probably overhaul that windmill."
Orochimaru's eyes glinted with an unreadable expression. Now that he was on the verge of achieving immortality, he had the desire to do more. Besides pursuing truth, he could use his free time to make Konoha's windmill turn once again.
"Good luck, Orochimaru-sama. If you ever become Hokage, I'll help you."
Hyuga Mirai smiled and made an impossible promise. If Orochimaru had started planning for the Hokage position years ago, perhaps there might have been a chance to contend for it today. But now? Becoming the Fourth Hokage was nearly impossible.
Orochimaru had a lot of military accomplishments, but his relationships with other clans were fairly neutral at best. Forget about the higher-ups; in the event of a vote by the Jonin, only Orochimaru's followers would support him. The other clans had already made their own plans.
Perhaps Danzo would back him, but Sarutobi Hiruzen had firmly kept Danzo in check. Without the support of the clans, the other two advisors would likely follow the candidate with the most backing.
Orochimaru didn't fully understand the meaning behind Mirai's words, but he had an inkling that Mirai didn't think highly of his chances for becoming Hokage.
'Is this a reminder of the Hyuga clan's stance?'
Orochimaru thought for a moment and then shook his head, dismissing the idea. Trying to read too much into the words of this Hyuga youth was too difficult.
Orochimaru didn't see Hyuga Mirai as a mere junior, even though Mirai always addressed him with the respectful "Orochimaru-sama." In Orochimaru's eyes, regardless of their age, both he and Mirai were on the same level—equals in strength, vision, and ambition, truly like-minded individuals.
Upon returning to Konoha, Hyuga Mirai was once again greeted by a grand reception. The villagers who had lived through the war and seen Konoha victorious shared in the honor, feeling a sense of collective pride.
Many of the children and young people in Konoha, after witnessing the imposing presence of the returning ninja forces, made a decision in their hearts to play the ninja game again once they returned home, aiming to defeat the invaders in their next match.
After returning to Konoha, Hyuga Mirai didn't participate in the following events but was called away by Kiyo Hyuga.
"Mirai, you... did well. The clan is currently holding a meeting, and my grandfather asked me to come and get you."
Although Kiyo had addressed him by name before, saying it in front of so many people made her feel a little shy. Perhaps with time, she'd become more natural with it.
"Maybe it's about the merits? Or perhaps it's something like last time." Hyuga Mirai casually asked.
"It's not just about that. The clan is discussing other matters as well," Kiyo responded. Upon hearing Mirai willingly pass his merits to her, she felt much lighter and spoke more casually.
"After the war, there's a lot to be decided about the distribution of benefits. The Hyuga clan's rewards from these wars have been considerable, and we need to negotiate with the other clans in Konoha as well as within our own family," Kiyo explained. "But we owe much of this to you, Mirai."
"The Hyuga clan has sent medical ninjas to the front lines before, but the results were never as significant as yours."
Hyuga Mirai nodded. "I see."
As they continued talking, they had arrived at the Hyuga clan's compound. Outside, the area was bustling with the return of the ninja forces, but inside the compound, it was quiet and serene.
The Hyuga clan's strict customs divided them from the other clans and the common folk, creating two separate worlds.
"Welcome back, Kiyo. Take a seat."
When Kiyo and Hyuga Mirai entered, the Fourth Elder gestured to the seats, speaking calmly. Two cushions were reserved for them, with one slightly further back—clearly designated for Mirai.
Once everyone had gathered, Hyuga Hizashi, the clan leader, began discussing the matters at hand.
After the war, the distribution of benefits was always a critical issue. This time, thanks to Hyuga Mirai's efforts, the Hyuga clan had earned a significant amount of merit, allowing them to secure many favorable terms from the Hokage.
The biggest beneficiaries within the Hyuga clan were, without a doubt, the Fourth Elder's faction.
The various clan elders discussed the benefits they could obtain in exchange with Konoha. A promotion to Jonin might be difficult to achieve, but they could likely secure four or five spots directly for this rank.
Jonin held considerable power in Konoha, and their status was not insignificant.
Compared to the main house, Hyuga Mirai seemed more like a mere spectator. He didn't offer any opinions and wasn't given the chance to do so.
His presence in this meeting was more symbolic—to show the branch families that, if they made enough contributions to the clan, they too could rise to high positions.
After a while, during a discussion of the clan's benefits, Kiyo finally couldn't help but speak up.
"Clan Leader, Grandfather, I think we should ask Mirai's opinion. The Hyuga clan's gains this time were largely due to his contributions."
"Ridiculous!"
Hyuga Hizashi frowned and scolded, "How can a branch family member speak before hearing the clan leader and elders?"
Kiyo's eyes immediately narrowed as she turned to face Hyuga Hizashi, about to argue. "The branch family was the one that earned the Hyuga clan so many merits."
But before Kiyo could respond, her grandfather spoke first.
"Kiyo! Hizashi is right. For all important matters, we must first listen to the clan leader."
The Fourth Elder then turned to Hyuga Mirai and said, "Mirai, sorry for calling you here right after your return. You must be tired."
If Hyuga Mirai had stayed any longer, his granddaughter surely wouldn't have let the matter go.
When the decision was made to have Kiyo Hyuga as the successor to this branch, the elders initially did so reluctantly. But as time passed and Kiyo's performance proved solid, the Fourth Elder became quite satisfied with her.
However, as her training progressed, the Fourth Elder noticed that Kiyo's personality was a bit too forceful—she firmly believed in strength above all else. Had it not been for his intervention, she would have surely argued with Hizashi on the spot.
"It's no trouble at all, Clan Leader, Elder," Mirai said, understanding their intentions. He nodded and then stood up. "I'll take my leave now."
After exiting the meeting hall, Hyuga Mirai faintly heard the voices from inside:
"Hasn't anyone taught him the Hyuga clan's etiquette?!"
(End of Chapter)
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