Shinichi's talent for studying Sensor Ninjutsu was truly exceptional. His level of excellence even surprised Kushina. As a member of the Uzumaki Clan, Kushina's own talent for Sensor Ninjutsu was far above average, but Shinichi's learning speed was still superior to hers.
In just one afternoon, Shinichi had grasped the essentials of Sensor Ninjutsu. His very first attempt brought light to his previously dark internal world, and he was even able to sense the Nine-Tails sealed within Kushina. After an afternoon of familiarization and repetitive practice, Hyūga Shinichi's sensory range could already cover Konoha Village's bustling downtown area.
Namikaze Minato, as the Hokage, lived in a residence that, though not large, was in the central area of Konoha Village, with a direct distance of less than a kilometer from the Hokage Tower. This was the true heart of Konoha, and the fact that Shinichi's sensory field could cover the downtown area meant his sensory radius had already exceeded three kilometers.
Having this range on only the first day of practicing Sensor Ninjutsu, when his proficiency was still low, implied that once Shinichi fully mastered the technique and continued to delve deeper into it, his sensory range could potentially match or even surpass Kushina, who was an Uzumaki.
As Shinichi's sensory range expanded, his perception of the Village also elevated to a new level. Within his sensory field, he detected many powerful chakras he had never sensed before. These powerful chakras gave Shinichi different feelings: some were warm and gentle, others were cold and malevolent. Based on the location, Shinichi could roughly determine where these powerful individuals were currently active. The Hokage Tower, the Uchiha compound, the bustling streets, and even one chakra located within the cemetery.
"Huh?!"
The Konoha Cemetery? As the setting sun cast a fiery red glow across the sky, Shinichi, using his Sensor Ninjutsu indoors, suddenly paid closer attention to the powerful chakra emanating from the direction of the Konoha Cemetery.
Upon closer inspection, that chakra emitted a chilling aura, a feeling extremely similar to the few chakras he sensed within the Uchiha compound.
"Could it be..."
While contemplating, Hyūga Shinichi formed a hand seal, and the veins at the corners of his eyes bulged—he activated his Byakugan. Concentrating his gaze toward the Konoha Cemetery, the scene in Shinichi's vision rapidly shifted. As his sight penetrated layer after layer of obstruction, the scene within the cemetery soon appeared in Shinichi's vision.
It was evening, and the cemetery was empty, save for a child of similar height and age to Shinichi, who stood blankly in front of the Memorial Stone. Shinichi looked at the boy's back, noting the Uchiha Clan crest on the back of his clothes.
"Hmm?!"
"It's not that guy?"
Shinichi had initially thought that the powerful chakra appearing in the Konoha Cemetery at this time would be Uchiha Obito. Based on his memories from his past life, Obito had already been secretly lurking in Konoha for a long time before Kushina's delivery, beginning to make his moves.
According to the intelligence Shinichi possessed, Uchiha Obito had two objectives for remaining hidden in Konoha: one was his inability to let go of his deceased beloved, Rin Nohara, who often visiting the Konoha Cemetery. His other goal was to confirm the veracity of the Moon's Eye Plan told to him by Uchiha Madara.
The young Uchiha Obito's dōjutsu power was naturally incomparable to that of the peak Uchiha Madara. Thus, even now, Obito had not successfully deciphered the contents of the stone tablet "left by his ancestor" in the Shrine. Whenever Obito felt his dōjutsu power had increased, he would secretly infiltrate the Shrine and attempt to decipher the tablet's contents. However, he had not yet been able to confirm the truth of the Moon's Eye Plan. As of now, Obito had not yet acted on the so-called Moon's Eye Plan, remaining only in the plotting and observing phase.
Although Hyūga Shinichi knew that the contents of the Uchiha stone tablet had already been rewritten by Black Zetsu, this was information he could not reveal to others. Furthermore, even if Obito learned the truth, it wouldn't matter much because his heart had already been placed under a curse seal by Madara after he was rescued. Black Zetsu and White Zetsu were both assisting Obito and simultaneously monitoring him on behalf of Uchiha Madara.
The child Shinichi saw in the cemetery was not Uchiha Obito, but the person he saw was also a member of the Uchiha Clan. Though it was his first time seeing him, Shinichi recognized the person at first sight.
"Uchiha... Itachi!"
Shinichi wasn't sure why the young Uchiha Itachi was standing blankly in front of the Memorial Stone. Of course, Uchiha Itachi likely had his own reasons; after all... this man was evaluated by the Third Hokage as having "the mentality of a Hokage at the age of a child."
But for Shinichi, he truly did not want to have much contact with Uchiha Itachi. A guy who could slaughter his own parents and clan... Shinichi genuinely had no interest in dealing with him. Uchiha Itachi's ideals were fundamentally different from Hyūga Shinichi's.
If it was to protect his family, Shinichi would not spare any enemy! No matter if the opponent was a high-ranking Konoha official, anyone who threatened his family was absolutely unforgivable. But Uchiha Itachi was far more "noble" than Shinichi; for the sake of the so-called Village, he was willing to strike down his closest relatives. Shinichi truly could not understand what kind of existence Uchiha Itachi was guarding.
Was the Village not a "refuge" where weak ninja clans gathered to ensure their family's continuation, and weak individuals gathered to survive the chaotic world? Joining the Village was for continuation, but if one was willing to discard their family for the sake of the Village, wasn't that putting the cart before the horse?! In this regard, Hyūga Shinichi's thoughts were somewhat similar to those of Uchiha Madara back then.
Uchiha Madara co-founded Konoha with Hashirama to protect his family and friends. But looking back... he found that Hashirama was willing to abandon friends and family to protect the Village. That was the very definition of putting the cart before the horse.
Looking at the young boy zoning out in front of the Memorial Stone, Shinichi's thoughts were scattered.
It was at this moment that Kushina, sitting nearby, seemed to notice Shinichi's abnormality. She waved her hand in front of Shinichi's eyes and teased:
"Kid, why did you use your Byakugan? Were you zoning out again, huh?"
Kushina's words pulled Shinichi back to reality. Deactivating his Byakugan, Shinichi seemed to have thought of something and spoke:
"Sensei Kushina, I wasn't zoning out."
"When I was using Sensor Ninjutsu, I sensed a powerful and malevolent chakra, so I used the Byakugan to check."
As he spoke, a flash of light crossed Hyūga Shinichi's eyes. He had made his decision. The person he saw standing in the cemetery was indeed Uchiha Itachi, but... what he claimed to have seen was entirely up to him, wasn't it?!
"A powerful and malevolent chakra?"
Kushina looked confused. She closed her eyes slightly and tried to sense it, but she didn't detect anything unusual. Although she didn't sense the abnormal chakra, Kushina didn't doubt Shinichi's words. This boy was a genuine genius and the future heir of the Hyūga Main Family. In front of her, Shinichi did not need to lie about such a thing. At least... in Kushina's mind, this was the case.
"You used your Byakugan? What did you see?"
As Kushina asked the question, Shinichi couldn't help but smile inwardly.
"Hmm... that person seemed to notice my gaze and disappeared immediately when I looked at him."
"However... that person was wearing a tiger-striped mask, and beneath the mask was a Yin-Yang face; half of his face was normal, and the other half was disfigured."
As he spoke, Hyūga Shinichi's gaze seemingly inadvertently swept across a desk in the living room where photo albums were kept. Then, feigning surprise, he pointed to one of the photo frames:
"Huh? The intact half of that person's face looks very much like the person in that photograph!"
Hearing Hyūga Shinichi's words, Kushina followed the direction Shinichi was pointing and found that the photo frame contained a picture of Minato and the three members of Team Minato. The four people in the photo were Namikaze Minato, Uchiha Obito, Hatake Kakashi, and Rin Nohara...
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