Although he had given up on trying to regain the trust of the village higher-ups, that didn’t mean Inaba Hyuga was abandoning himself to fate or giving up on saving his own skin.
Having transmigrated and gotten a second chance at life, he cherished his existence now more than anyone.
Inquiring about Orochimaru’s movements was precisely his first step toward self-preservation—he desperately needed a powerful backer to help him weather this most perilous period.
Otherwise, with the eyes of both Anbu and Root fixed dead on him, and his own clan washing their hands of him, there was no telling when he might end up inexplicably sacrificed on the battlefield.
Though well-versed in the original story and fully aware that Orochimaru would defect from Konoha shortly after this Great Ninja War ended, Inaba couldn’t afford to worry about that far ahead right now.
“I just need to buy myself a few years.
Just a few more years!” As he muttered these words internally, Inaba discreetly glanced down at the bottom right of his field of vision.
Floating there was a status panel visible only to him— [Inaba Hyuga Age: 17 Base Stats: Ninjutsu: 6, Taijutsu: 7, Genjutsu: 3, Intelligence: 10, Strength: 5, Speed: 7, Stamina: 6, Hand Seals: 8 (Ninjutsu: Mastery and proficiency in ninjutsu; Taijutsu: Mastery and proficiency in taijutsu; Genjutsu: Mastery of and resistance to genjutsu; Intelligence: IQ, thinking speed, and knowledge base; Strength: Explosive muscular force including arms and legs; Speed: Movement and reaction speed; Stamina: Quantity of chakra; Hand Seals: Mastery and speed in forming hand seals) Kekkei Genkai: Byakugan (Flawless): 3897/4000 Chakra Natures: Lightning (Lvl 3): 21/4000 Yang (Lvl 2): 1854/2000 Wind (Lvl 2): 1651/2000 Water (Lvl 2): 483/2000 Earth (Lvl 2): 394/2000 Fire (Lvl 1): 12/1000 Yin (Lvl 1): 8/1000 Ninjutsu: (Collapsed) Taijutsu: (Collapsed) Free Attribute Points: 0] This stat and proficiency interface had been his greatest asset since his transmigration!
It was precisely by relying on this system that he had quickly become a renowned genius among the Branch House’s current generation.
And without anyone’s knowledge, he had quietly grinded his flawed Branch House Byakugan into a flawless state, fully equal to that of the Head House!
When he had first transmigrated, the Kekkei Genkai displayed on his panel was merely: Byakugan (Defective).
Just like every other member of the Branch House, Inaba’s Byakugan had originally possessed flaws.
It was only after spending two and a half years grinding proficiency to upgrade it twice—first evolving it to Byakugan (Complete), and then evolving it again right before the war broke out—that it reached its current state: Byakugan (Flawless)!
Compared to the Sharingan, he was already at the level of a Three-Tomoe user—at the very least possessing the potential of a Jonin!
Out of caution, however, he had never exposed this fact.
Because a flawless Byakugan was capable of largely neutralizing the controlling effect of the Caged Bird seal.
If the Head House found out about this, it would be a guaranteed death sentence for him.
So returning to the village was out of the question!
Under no circumstances could he go back!
The only way to survive was to align himself with Orochimaru.
As long as he could lay low for a few more years and keep upgrading, his Byakugan might even have a chance to evolve into the Tenseigan!
When that time came, once the power of the Tenseigan was unleashed, everything would turn out fine!
At the moment, however, Nanaha Uchiha knew very little about Orochimaru’s whereabouts.
“Our Uchiha squads receive orders directly from the Patriarch.
I’m not sure where Orochimaru went.
Do you want me to ask around for you?” Inaba politely declined Nanaha Uchiha’s kind offer.
“No need.
I’ll ask around myself.
Thanks for caring, but I should get going.” Leaving the tent after speaking, he left Nanaha Uchiha behind, muttering with puffed cheeks, “Who cared about you?!
Don’t flatter yourself!” Inaba heard her and couldn’t help but smile faintly before executing a Body Flicker.
He didn’t have the heart to expose her textbook tsundere behavior, but he quietly noted her concern in his heart.
To think that both Anbu and Root, representing the will of the village’s high command, had targeted him at the same time, practically longing to put him to death, while the clan responsible for bringing this upon him showed complete indifference.
In the end, the only person left who truly cared about him was an Uchiha.
Even if tsunderes had fallen out of fashion, how could he bear not to cherish such a true friend?
What did it matter if she was an Uchiha?
As long as he survived, he would surely find a way to change the established story!
Shortly after, he arrived at a nearby small town.
Situated inside the Land of Fire, the town had now become a temporary outpost for Konoha shinobi on the front lines.
The good news was that the local residents of the Land of Fire were more than willing to provide services for the Konoha shinobi, finally allowing the ninja, accustomed to sleeping in the wild, to enjoy a bit of rare comfort.
The bad news was that this indirectly exposed Konoha’s current decline—they were no longer capable of keeping the enemy outside their nation’s borders.
Compared to the First and Second Great Ninja Wars, Konoha’s defensive line had pushed back far too much.
As commander of the front lines, Orochimaru would surely rather sleep out in the elements than retreat his defensive line into the Land of Fire.
But he had no choice.
Insufficient manpower, inadequate resupply, shortage of materials, and on top of that, the major ninja clans on the front lines each had their own selfish motives.
The stupidity of the Hyuga Clan a while ago had made him want to draw his Kusanagi Sword and slaughter someone right then and there.
Thus, when Inaba Hyuga finally obtained an audience with Orochimaru after going through multiple channels, the commander’s face was visibly dark.
The slitted pupils fixed upon him held not a trace of warmth, resembling a king cobra with its hood raised, ready to strike a deadly blow at any second!
Just standing before him made the hairs on the back of Inaba’s neck stand on end!
Still, he had to steel himself and report: “Lord Orochimaru, I am Inaba Hyuga.” “Inaba-kun, what brings you to me?
If this is a pointless request that wastes my time, I might not be able to stop myself from asking you to help me with a few experiments.” At that moment, Inaba realized that Orochimaru was looking at him as if looking at a lab rat that had delivered itself to his doorstep.
He swallowed hard, feeling that Orochimaru didn’t look like he was acting…
Composing his emotions, he knew he had no other options left!
“Lord Orochimaru, my previous teammates have all fallen in battle.
I have come today hoping you might reassign me to a new squad.” “You shouldn’t need to come to me for such a matter.
Didn’t your clan make arrangements for you?” Orochimaru said impatiently, his eyes narrowing further.
*They did, but dodging my clan’s arrangements is precisely why I came to you…* “Rather than my clan’s assignments, I would prefer to follow your dispatch, Lord Orochimaru.” “And your reason?” “Because you are the commander of the front lines.” “Heh!” Orochimaru gave an enigmatic, cold chuckle.
However, the chilling, suffocating atmosphere in the room eased slightly.
It seemed Orochimaru was finally somewhat intrigued.
This also showed the limitations of Orochimaru’s position as commander.
Although the hidden ninja villages of this world were violent organizations boasting formidable military martial vigor, their organizational structure resembled a loose mercenary coalition more than a strictly managed military unit.
The authority of a front-line commander was actually limited.
More often than not, a commander’s decisions had to be negotiated with the representatives of the noble ninja clans.
This was why the Hyuga Clan had previously been able to bypass Orochimaru and issue direct commands to all Branch House ninja in the war zone.
The clans enjoyed a high degree of autonomy!
Not just the Hyuga, but all major ninja clans possessed such privileges.
For instance, the Uchiha Clan had never mixed into squads with other comrades to this day.
As Nanaha Uchiha had mentioned earlier, their orders were always issued by their clan head, and Orochimaru could only command them indirectly by negotiating with Fugaku.
Now, Inaba Hyuga was effectively breaking the tacit agreement that had long existed between the village and the ninja clans.
Orochimaru took a long, deep look at Inaba Hyuga bowing his head before him, the corners of his mouth curling up bit by bit.
“Intriguing.” Orochimaru offered his evaluation, and in the next moment, he reached a hand out toward Inaba Hyuga— In an instant, countless venomous snakes shot out like lightning!