What was his goal? What was he trying to do?
So-called curses are nothing more than inescapable deaths.
What Haku implied was that every clan with a bloodline limit would ultimately perish. The Uchiha would perish, and so would the sages of the Dragon Ground Cave.
Those who could use Wood Release were already dead. There was the unknown Pure Eye, and perhaps, at some point in time, members of the Otsutsuki who would appear.
Though Kaede had subdued Kaguya, within the Otsutsuki she was merely one who cultivated and fed the Divine Tree. The one who once protected her had been killed by her own hand.
Because of the Wedge, he would surely reappear at some point.
Another unknown lay in the true purpose of the Otsutsuki. It was unlikely to be as simple as harvesting the ninja world's energy through the Divine Tree.
If a single Kaguya could destroy the entire ninja world, what would happen when more Otsutsuki arrived? Not even Kaede knew.
For now, he had to bring every nation under his rule, strengthen his power, and wait for the coming war.
Before that, Kaede wanted to uncover exactly what Haku's "curse" meant. Why had Haku said those words? His deliberate death troubled Kaede deeply.
Why choose Neji? Why thrust himself into the kunai in Neji's hand?
Was he trying to draw Neji's attention—or Kaede's?
Haku's behavior left him full of suspicion.
Kaede walked straight to his office and told the jōnin beside him to bring Kakashi.
Kakashi was still watching the Chūnin Exam when an Earth ninja appeared at his side, whispered a few words, and the two vanished one after the other.
On the field, the genin still fighting kept their focus razor-sharp.
But outside the ring, a silent battle was also underway: Cloud jōnin hidden as small-nation shinobi; members of Akatsuki lurking in the corners; and many of Danzo's operatives from Root disguised as civilians.
Everyone's eyes tracked the ninja from the Land of Gods who had appeared in the stands—especially Kakashi, a name that made even a whisper draw wary looks.
When Kakashi left, he drew attention from many quarters.
The Land of Gods' jōnin assigned to covert surveillance took note of every subtle shift.
Inside and out, the arena felt like the uneasy calm before a storm. On the surface, all was quiet; beneath, riptides churned.
Because of Haku's death, the matches had paused for a while.
Whether Neji would be disqualified became the main point of debate among the proctors, who were arguing fiercely.
A few ninja from the Land of Gods gathered together. Neji frowned. "What was Haku trying to do?"
"He's strong. Inside those mirrors, it felt like his own world—terrible terrain for us," Kiba said warily, his partner dog barking once.
With Naruto and Sasuke off the field and a pass token already in Gaara's hand, his job was to coordinate and secure more tokens.
At the moment, most tokens were with the Ghost Lantern brothers. Clearly, those two intended to take them all.
Gaara had already been hemmed in by the pair.
Shikamaru's group moved to surround the two next. Layers of encirclement formed on the field.
Gaara stood in the center, with Suigetsu and Mangetsu flanking him front and back.
Shikamaru, Choji, and Ino formed a triangle around the brothers.
(End of Chapter)
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