"Hanabi, you're too naive. Don't be fooled by a stranger's false sincerity—no matter what he says, it doesn't explain why those Amegakure ninja appeared at our Hyūga Clan!"
As the situation grew increasingly dire, Hyūga Hiashi began to panic. After speaking to Hanabi, fearing that Bai Mo would retort, he turned to Bai Mo, his hand trembling as he pointed:
"And the day before, you came to the Hyūga Clan, saw Hanabi training alone, and said, 'Why is no one here?' When I discovered you, you asked a strange question to change the subject before leaving!"
"That happened too?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi frowned, looking at Bai Mo.
"Oh, then can Clan Head Hiashi recount to your Hokage-sama what I asked?"
Bai Mo remained calm.
The calmer Bai Mo was, the more uneasy Hyūga Hiashi felt.
Hearing Bai Mo's words, Hiashi racked his brain to recall, but found nothing amiss with yesterday's question.
Looking up to meet the Third Hokage's gaze, he could only comply.
"He asked me yesterday what I would do if I encountered someone with a natural Byakugan who was living outside the clan.
I said I would bring that person back to the Hyūga branch family."
"Is there a problem?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at Bai Mo again.
"Is that child still alive?"
Bai Mo, however, didn't answer, but instead looked "sadly" at the White Zetsu with the severed arm beside him.
The White Zetsu with the severed arm slit its abdomen and pulled out a small White Zetsu with a Byakugan.
"Th-this is?!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi and Hyūga Hiashi were both startled.
"That's right. During the Third Ninja World War, one of them had a relationship with a man from the Hyūga Clan.
Due to their secret arts and the chaos of war, the child's development was incomplete, so it had to be continuously stored inside them in rotation, absorbing nutrients and slowly developing.
Because of this, each of their bodies became extremely fragile."
"I asked Clan Head Hyūga that question yesterday because I wanted to know how Clan Head Hyūga would treat this child.
After I went back, I told them.
I didn't want the child to be branded with the Caged Bird Seal by your ruthless Hyūga Clan as soon as it was born, but they believed family affection was most important and went to find you today without consulting me, and the result..."
Bai Mo stopped there, not continuing.
Hyūga Hiashi stood there stunned.
Little Hanabi's mouth hung open, tears gradually welling in her eyes.
"Waaah—I didn't mean it! Little baby, don't die~"
Hanabi cried out and ran to the Zetsu baby, reaching out to touch it, but afraid of harming it.
"Clan Head Hiashi, don't even think about destroying this child's eyes. The secret arts we practice cause our bodies to completely vegetate after death, and the Byakugan will be no exception."
"Also, little sister, it's not your fault. It was your father's blow..."
The White Zetsu with the severed arm opened its mouth to "comfort" Hanabi.
"No, if it weren't for my instinctive attack, if I had just listened to them..."
Hanabi shook her head, full of self-reproach.
"Sigh, what do you all want to do?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi sighed.
His words were an admission that they were indeed in the wrong this time.
"What to do? You Konoha should have precedents for handling such matters, so there's no need to ask us, is there?"
Bai Mo smiled faintly.
"You?! You really do know about the Kumogakure's incident. You came prepared, with a premeditated plan!"
Hyūga Hiashi, hearing this, immediately snapped back to reality, his Byakugan bulging with veins, staring intently at Bai Mo.
"You're overthinking it, Clan Head Hiashi. If we truly wanted a Byakugan like the Kumogakure, we wouldn't have thought of bringing the child. Isn't the Byakugan on the child's body a Byakugan?
If we just hid it and didn't tell you, could you really chase after us and engrave the Caged Bird Seal on the child's head?"
Bai Mo's single sentence once again left Hyūga Hiashi speechless.
He had kept his Byakugan activated the entire time due to his anger.
His Byakugan examination of the child's eyes revealed no abnormalities, and indeed, the Byakugan only gradually disappeared after the child stopped breathing, completely consistent with what the other party said.
In other words, if the other party, like the Kumogakure, wanted a Byakugan, there was truly no need for them to appear at all.
"So what exactly do you want? Is it like the Kumogakure ninja back then, do you want Hiashi's corpse?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi tapped his pipe on the table.
"Our Amegakure is very fond of peace. What would we do with a corpse? Just let Clan Head Hiashi come to us and work for a few years."
"Oh, right. If you're worried about us coveting the Byakugan, Clan Head Hiashi can engrave the Caged Bird Seal on himself to prevent us from stealing your Byakugan."
Click.
Hyūga Hiashi clenched his fists upon hearing Bai Mo's words.
Although the other party wasn't asking for his death, how was this different from death?
"Father, let me go!"
Little Hanabi suddenly took a step forward, stepping out.
"Hanabi, you..."
"Father, I am the cause of this incident, and I must take responsibility."
Hanabi stubbornly raised her head, looking at Hyūga Hiashi.
"Sirs, this matter is of great importance. Please allow us a few days to discuss it. How about we give you an answer after the Chūnin Exams conclude?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi spoke in time, interrupting the impending argument between the father and daughter.
"No problem."
Bai Mo expressed indifference.
In fact, he had guessed from the beginning that Hiruzen Sarutobi would eventually choose to stall for time.
Firstly, to investigate the current strength of Amegakure.
Such as intelligence on whether Hanzō was still alive.
Such as the authenticity of Jashin's Ritual: Blood Manipulation.
Secondly, to stabilize Hyūga Hiashi first, to prevent the Hyūga Clan from becoming disloyal when the Tsuchikage and Mizukage cause trouble during the Chūnin Exams.
Especially since Amegakure, an Iwagakure-Kirigakure ally, suddenly had such a conflict with the Hyūga Clan today, forcing Hiruzen Sarutobi to suspect that Iwagakure and Kirigakure were indeed brewing some conspiracy.
He had to be cautious.
—
Outside Konoha Village.
Bai Mo took out the scroll he had retrieved, which sealed seven White Zetsu corpses, and handed it to the White Zetsu with the severed arm.
The meaning was to take them back to Amegakure and bury them in peace.
"There's no one left."
Little Karin, who had followed, spoke.
"Release them."
"Yes."
Under Bai Mo's command, the White Zetsu with the severed arm released the scattered White Zetsu corpses from the scroll.
Bai Mo stepped forward and pressed on one of the corpses. The corpse began to rapidly restore, and then a White Zetsu successfully "resurrected."
Bai Mo couldn't heal Mei Terumī and Kurotsuchi's wounds before, not because too much time had passed, but because the wounds had already scabbed over and healed, undergoing "changes."
It was like Bai Mo couldn't touch a person and directly turn them back into a fertilized egg.
Crazy Diamond's ability isn't time reversal; it's repair.
Similarly, Crazy Diamond cannot resurrect a person who has completely died.
Because for a person who has completely died, their soul has already left the body. Even if the body is repaired, it is merely a living corpse that can survive for a period of time.
But White Zetsu are different.
White Zetsu have no souls.
Therefore, Bai Mo, adhering to the traditional virtue of "diligence and frugality," successfully repaired and resurrected all eight White Zetsu actors this time.
Why eight?
Because there was also that little Byakugan baby.
The severed arm of the White Zetsu with the severed arm also recovered.
These are all future labor for the factory; they cannot be lost carelessly.
....
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