Since Konoha and Yugakure were allied villages, Might Guy and his team relaxed after confirming the other party was a Yugakure ninja. With that settled, the four of them no longer needed to hide and jumped out from behind the large tree where they had been concealed.
Seeing Might Guy and his team suddenly appear, the Yugakure ninja was clearly startled.
"Konoha... people," he said.
Seeing the forehead protectors on Might Guy and his team, the Yugakure ninja was first surprised, then spoke with unexpected recognition:
"I didn't expect Konoha to send people so quickly. I thought we'd have to wait a while longer."
Tenten and the other two were slightly taken aback by the Yugakure ninja's words. It seemed like he had been waiting here specifically for people from Konoha.
Hearing this, a glint of determination flashed in Might Guy's eyes as he stepped forward:
"I'm their jounin squad leader. What does your Yugakage want?"
"This is something Yugakage-sama asked me to give you. I hope it will be of some help."
The Yugakure ninja pulled out an intelligence report from his chest and handed it to Might Guy.
After completing this task, the Yugakure ninja immediately turned and left without any further conversation.
Might Guy raised an eyebrow slightly and carefully examined the scroll. After confirming there were no traps, he gently opened it.
The scroll contained a map of the Land of Hot Water, with a specially marked location on it.
"It seems we don't need to go to Yugakure after all."
Might Guy looked deeply at the marked location on the map, a smile appearing on his face as he turned to address Rock Lee and the other two.
Morning sunlight streamed through the cave entrance into the interior.
The bloody scent that had been floating in the air had largely dissipated after a night had passed.
Yuto walked to the cave entrance and stretched.
Outside the cave, aside from the dark red bloodstains on the ground, the beast carcasses had all disappeared—Neji had clearly cleaned them up.
"Yuto-sama, you're awake!"
Just then, Neji's voice called out from a distance.
Following the direction of the sound, Yuto turned his head.
He saw Neji approaching with a bundle of wild fruits in his arms.
"Other than the bed being a bit hard, it wasn't a bad sleep."
Seeing Neji standing before him, Yuto reached out and took a wild fruit, speaking with a light smile.
"Yuto-sama, what should we do next?"
Neji looked at Yuto, who had a smile on his face, and asked quietly.
Yuto didn't answer immediately. Instead, he gazed into the distance, and after a long while, suddenly spoke:
"Neji, do you think the Hyuga clan's system of Main House and Branch House is necessary?"
Neji was clearly caught off guard by Yuto's sudden question and didn't know how to respond for a moment.
"Haven't figured it out yet? In that case, tell me when you have."
"Having gone through the 'Bloody Mist' era, Kirigakure's true ninja clans are few and far between. In my view, the Hyuga clan would be a good choice."
Seeing Neji's silence, Yuto smiled lightly, not particularly concerned.
The Hyuga clan?
Kirigakure!
If Neji hadn't understood what Yuto's sudden question meant at first, now, with Yuto's final words, Neji's entire mind went blank.
Yuto-sama wanted to rebuild another Hyuga clan in Kirigakure!
If anyone else had proposed this, Neji would have mocked them.
But if Yuto-sama was the one doing it, there might actually be a chance of success!
At least in Neji's view, only Yuto-sama could lift the "Caged Bird" seal.
Neji couldn't help but swallow hard, his body beginning to tremble slightly.
Rebuilding an entirely new Hyuga clan couldn't possibly rely on just him alone.
In other words, Yuto-sama intended to make a move on Konoha's Hyuga clan, or perhaps separate a portion of the Hyuga clansmen.
Neji's eyes flickered involuntarily. Although Yuto-sama hadn't said much, Neji thought of deeper implications.
If Kirigakure was truly going to establish a brand new Hyuga clan, who would become its clan head?
Neji's breathing became rapid.
When he first entered Kirigakure, Neji only wanted to become strong enough.
But now, an ambition had unknowingly taken root in Neji's heart!
The head of the Hyuga Main House was Hyuga Hiashi, and Neji's father was Hiashi's own brother. In terms of blood lineage alone, throughout the entire Hyuga clan, aside from Hyuga Hinata and Hyuga Hanabi, no one could compare to Neji—and Neji himself was male!
For ancient ninja clans that valued tradition, becoming clan head required not only powerful strength but also bloodline, which itself represented cohesion and so-called legitimacy!
Of course, Yuto naturally couldn't do this right now—not only because of the current situation in the ninja world and Konoha's issues, but also many other matters waiting for Yuto to handle.
Yuto glanced at Neji from the corner of his eye, a slight smile appearing at the corner of his mouth.
The reason Neji came to Kirigakure was simply because Yuto could give Neji powerful strength—nothing more.
How could Neji, as an outsider, possibly feel a sense of belonging to Kirigakure?
But now, this thing called "ambition" would firmly bind Neji to Kirigakure's ship.
"Oh, they've finally arrived? At least staying here one night wasn't in vain."
"Konoha should be under Tsunade and Jiraiya's control now. It seems these two are smarter than I imagined."
Just then, Yuto suddenly raised his head to look toward a certain direction in the distant forest, his voice carrying a hint of amusement.
Someone?
Neji, who had been deep in thought, reacted upon hearing Yuto's words, quickly raising his head to look in the direction Yuto was gazing.
"Byakugan!"
Neji gave a low shout, and dense veins emerged around his eye sockets.
In the depths of the forest across from Yuto and the others.
Several figures were extremely well-hidden among the lush foliage of a large tree.
"Guy-sensei! I found them! There are two people, and one of them is Neji!"
The Hyuga genin had a surprised expression on his face as he hurriedly reported to Might Guy and the others beside him.
"It seems the map given by the Yugakure ninja is accurate."
Might Guy's heart tightened slightly, his voice carrying a serious tone.
[
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