HSU: Ch. 345

A spiritual connection is a mutual process.

Through this connection, Kaguya was able to view Masashi's memories. At the same time, she also opened some of her own memories to him. Masashi's attitude toward her changed mostly because of this. He discovered that the world was even more screwed up than he had originally imagined.

The Naruto world is big, yet somehow tiny. Big, because no one has explored its edges. Tiny, because everyone fusses over the small patch of land they know, always fighting about trivial things.

People of the Land of Water never wonder what lies across the ocean. People of the Land of Wind and the Land of Earth never question whether there might be a new world beyond their endless deserts. If even the great nations are like this, there's no need to mention the small ones. Small nations have only one task: survival.

The era of hidden villages accelerated technological accumulation and gave most people a relatively peaceful life, but it also nailed everyone's attention and efforts to their tiny plots of land.

When it comes to the issue of Kaguya, nations are the most unreliable factor, and the hidden villages aren't much better. Only the ninja clans can be counted on. The selfish nature of the clans is an advantage in this matter. Aside from the Uchiha, the first clan he chose was the Hyūga.

"Could you tell us the reason you don't want the village to select a Fifth Hokage?"

After a brief moment of surprise, Hiashi asked the question. As clan head, although he had seemed like a background character at first, once he spoke, the elders of the main house fell silent.

The clan head represents the clan externally. Even though the elders sometimes clash with the clan head internally, they do not display that conflict in front of outsiders.

And the elders were just as curious about this issue. It wasn't exactly a secret that Masashi wasn't interested in the Hokage position. They weren't fixated on him alone.

Every Kage-level ninja is observed on this matter. Among all the ninja villages, only Konoha actually elects its Kage. If any Kage-level powerhouse objects, that becomes a village risk. A Kage-level ninja having no interest in the position isn't unusual. Many are like that. But someone who is actively opposed? Only Masashi. And considering he is an Uchiha, that is extremely abnormal.

No one believed the rumor that he simply thought being Hokage was too tiring. He is an Uchiha. Every child knows what the Hokage position means to the Uchiha clan. After working for his clan for so many years, would he refuse the Hokage seat that was practically being handed to him for such a flimsy reason?

"Of course. I came here specifically to tell you all about this," Masashi said. He was not like Hagoromo. He didn't hide everything.

"The Hyūga clan is probably the only ninja clan that still retains some attachment to the Ōtsutsuki name. But Kaguya-hime, as a true member of the Ōtsutsuki clan, has told me many of their secrets."

At this, the Hyūga all perked up. It was late at night, but they were suddenly wide awake. Not only awake, they felt like eating a midnight snack. Their spirits were so high and the atmosphere so perfect that Masashi felt he could drop the bomb now.

"The true Ōtsutsuki clan is harmful to this world," Masashi began dropping bombs in succession. "And she defeated her own clansmen back then, saving this world from being devoured. Oh, by the way, her real identity is the Rabbit Goddess from myth, the common ancestor of the Hyūga, Uchiha, Senju, Uzumaki, and several other clans."

The excitement still lingered on their faces, but the Hyūga's expressions froze. They had no emotion left. The reversal was too fast. They couldn't keep up. Everything had been perfectly normal, and suddenly he started talking about mythology, then pointed at a living person next to him and said she was their ancestor.

Oh wait, not just their ancestor, but several clans' ancestor.

If anyone else had said this, they would've been beaten into a pancake on the spot. But the speaker was Masashi. Everyone knew he said many things, but he never talked nonsense.

So since they obviously couldn't punch the person in front of them, the Hyūga were forced to digest it. Then they took a look at Kaguya.

Setting aside the daytime encounter of Hiashi and Hizashi, something they had not hidden from their clan, out of basic courtesy they did not activate their Byakugan while looking at her.

Still, she didn't look like someone dug out of a grave. Even less like someone revived with Edo Tensei.

You couldn't blame the Hyūga for thinking strangely. After all, the entire village knew that Masashi had obtained the jutsu archive of Muzo, who was famous for playing around with dead bodies.

But if she was alive, then how could she be their ancestor?

In the shinobi world, immortality was something every powerful figure desired, but by now everyone had accepted that it was impossible. As for Orochimaru's Living Corpse Reincarnation, it had only just begun development, and the tech genius himself didn't consider the jutsu perfect. He only saw it as a transitional product while he continued searching for something better.

Kaguya, however, had no interest in these NPCs at the moment. She was watching Masashi with great interest. At last, he was showing her a small piece of his true thoughts. From her perspective, the direction of those thoughts was quite good. It aligned with her own goals in certain ways, though in truth, her goals were far grander.

That was fine. She had patience. Before anything else, her enemies were also Masashi's enemies. Her other clansmen, those were matters for the future.

In this world, she had one clansman left, an unresolved remnant of the past: Isshiki.

The biggest difference between him and her was this: she had sacrificed and suppressed part of her humanity for a greater goal, a matter of priorities.

Isshiki simply had no humanity to begin with. The reason she ambushed him back then could be described very simply. They could not get along at all.

Members of the same Ōtsutsuki harvesting squad differed in strength, but not by generations, so naturally, she didn't hold back.

And once again, reality proved that if you try to hog all the benefits for yourself, infighting is guaranteed.

Still, she was quite satisfied that Masashi had taken such a firm stance siding with her on this matter. Satisfied that he had somehow accessed a portion of her memories through the spiritual connection, even though she had not taken the initiative.

It had to be that. After all, in Masashi's memories, she hadn't seen anything related to the Ōtsutsuki clan. Encryption or not, if Masashi had known anything, there would always be traces in his memories involving her. Well, he was from a high-level civilization. This level of competence qualified him to be a teammate.

"Indeed. The man who came to this world with me long ago is still alive," Kaguya said, giving the Hyūga descendants a rare proper glance out of consideration for Masashi. "Everything in this world will serve as his nourishment. Unfortunately, the current me no longer has the power to stop him."

Honestly, she didn't think these descendants were of any use. Even though Isshiki had failed to obtain the Chakra Fruit, he was stronger than she had been before eating it.

Converting that into modern ninja power levels, if you don't have Yin-Yang Release, don't even think about fighting him.

Back then, she had done her best to track him down, but never found him. For someone who looked so straightforward and honest, he was shockingly good at hiding. After so long, his strength should have almost fully recovered. And with so many ninjas around, he had an abundance of vessels ready-made for him.

Thinking about it that way, maybe these descendants were quite useful.

"However, since you inherited the Byakugan, you may be able to find him."

Kaguya looked at the Hyūga with interest. With so many pairs of eyes, surely at least one pair could see something?

Faced with her expectation, the entire group of Hyūga exchanged awkward glances. There was too much information. Being blown away was one thing, but what she said was far too abrupt.

"Masashi, this is putting us in a very difficult situation," Hiashi finally said. "If someone truly intends to harm the world, of course the Hyūga clan is willing to contribute. But in a situation like this, there are simply too many things we need to clarify first."

"Naturally," Masashi nodded. "I will explain the entire matter to all of you in detail. If anything I say is incorrect, please correct me."

The last sentence was directed at Kaguya.

"Very well. I shall listen, for now," Kaguya replied. She didn't feel this job was necessary, but since Masashi valued it so much, she was willing to go along.

What did they say in those novels? Raising affection points requires timing.

And this was a very good moment.

Having received Kaguya's agreement, Masashi finally relaxed. Kaguya's memories were vast, with many blank or incomplete areas. Even so, the story was extremely long.

Under the serious, investigative gazes of the Hyūga, he began his explanation.

And at this same moment, in the Uchiha clan shrine, led by Fugaku, the Uchiha clan elders were also receiving visitors. Just like with the Hyūga, it was two people. Unlike with the Hyūga, these two were not exactly alive. Because the visitors were Hashirama and Tobirama.

They had spent the entire day traveling, visiting all the major families and key figures of the Sarutobi faction. Compared to Masashi, their agenda was far simpler.

---

Night finally fell quiet over Konoha.

After all, it was a military base. Even though the Konoha ninja corps, led by the Hokage, granted the villagers as much freedom as possible, all commercial activity still had to shut down after two in the morning. Once the shops closed, the villagers no longer had any reason to linger in the streets. At this hour, the streets were eerily silent, no sound of footsteps, no lively chatter. Moonlight replaced the glow of thousands of household lamps.

Of course, not everyone could simply sleep so peacefully.

The Police Force had to deploy enough manpower during such nights to ensure the village's safety. And within the residences of the various ninja clans, whenever something significant was brewing, the lights in their compounds often stayed on throughout the night.

Right now, that was exactly the case with the Hyūga. Compared to most clan members who were already asleep, Hiashi and the elders of the main house couldn't sleep at all.

Masashi had finished telling his story.

Kaguya commented that he told it rather well, so well she didn't even get a chance to fill in the missing details. He'd made it too perfect. This must be the tacit understanding between allies.

Masashi truly was born to be her ally.

Having finished his tale, Masashi began sipping his tea. Even though it had long gone cold, he didn't mind. In front of him, the Hyūga were still struggling to digest this long-spanning, content-rich story.

"Is this really..." Hiashi couldn't help rubbing his eyes. He had listened so intently that they were sore.

It was simply absurd.

Their ancestors weren't even from this world? And if that were true... the Uchiha and Hyūga were somehow related?

Of course, all of this hinged on one big assumption: that it was true.

Now, only one question remained for Hiashi and the elders.

Should they believe it?

"I know it's hard to believe," Masashi said understandingly. "But reality is often this ridiculous. We've been ninjas for so many years. Strange things aren't exactly rare for us."

"I really need to think about this," Hiashi said, feeling a headache coming on.

The story was indeed outrageous. But the woman sitting right in front of him was also outrageous. And if the story was true, then the power she had displayed before him and Hizashi would make perfect sense.

The Hyūga main house elders were similarly overwhelmed. At this point, all of them instinctively looked toward Hiashi.

The Hyūga and Uchiha chose their clan heads differently. For the Uchiha, the requirement was simple: the clan head had to be strong enough to beat everyone else into the ground.

Fugaku wasn't chosen because he was rich. He was simply the strongest Uchiha of his time.

But the Hyūga were different. The title of "strongest" was basically meaningless among the Hyūga. Most of them were about the same level. Even the clan head and elders shared nearly identical authority. Thus, the true requirement for becoming clan head was the ability to respond well to unexpected situations. Hiashi was indeed one of the sharper minds in the clan. And now, the elders placed their hopes on him. They had no choice. None of them could make sense of this, let alone figure out what to think.

Masashi wasn't in a rush. He slowly drank his tea to moisten his throat. He had already said everything openly. Now all he needed to do was answer questions.

Suddenly, someone nudged him. It was Kaguya.

"What is it?"

"How did you know what I was thinking back then?" she asked curiously.

Her spiritual power was overwhelmingly strong, far stronger than other Ōtsutsuki even before consuming the fruit. She knew exactly what Masashi had seen in her mind. But the story he told matched her thoughts at the time almost exactly, yet he had not extracted those thoughts directly from her memory.

"Just putting myself in your shoes," Masashi said after thinking. "If it were me, I'd have launched a sneak attack too."

"Then how do you know that I wasn't the one who voluntarily planned to take back Hagoromo and Hamura's chakra?"

"Their chakra was innate. If you wanted to reclaim it, wouldn't you have done so much earlier? You wouldn't suddenly remember something that important out of nowhere, right?"

No matter what kind of person Kaguya was, one thing Masashi was sure of. She was someone who acted according to careful plans. Reclaiming chakra from her sons was such a major event. There was no way she would do it on a whim. That would contradict her character.

"You may deny it with your mouth, but clearly you still care a great deal about me in your heart," Kaguya said, completely satisfied. "I shall reward you."

"Rather than talking about rewards, can we maybe have a normal conversation first?"

"Masashi."

Hiashi suddenly spoke from across the room.

Masashi immediately turned back toward him.

"I've thought through everything you said just now." Hiashi sighed. "Although it's quite a shame, but..."

Is he going to refuse?

Well, fine. Looks like saving the world still falls to the Uchiha.

"But I choose to believe you," Hiashi continued.

"May I ask what exactly you meant by 'a shame'?"

"Why, the fact that the roots of both the Hyūga and Uchiha clans come from somewhere else, of course." Hiashi heaved a dramatic sigh toward the ceiling. "It's truly a pity!"

So that's the part he regrets?

The Hyūga really do think in strange ways.

"Oh, right... there's something else." Hiashi's expression shifted suddenly. "Was it Kaguya-hime who controlled Hanabi's body back then?"

"Yes." Masashi nodded.

"Then, will that have any effect on Hanabi?" Now certain of the answer, Hiashi grew tense.

"You'll have to ask Kaguya-hime. Personally, I don't think it caused any problems."

"That girl's body became stronger after I possessed it," Kaguya said. She hadn't actually remembered whose body it was at first, but Hiashi's question jogged her memory. "But I no longer have any use for her body now. Leave it at that."

The Hyūga's ears perked up.

Being possessed makes you stronger?

That sounded pretty good.

Everyone recalled that ever since that incident, Hanabi's strength had skyrocketed, almost as if some switch had been flipped.

So that was the reason?

They began to seriously consider whether they should gather all the clan's children and have Kaguya use each one of them. Since she was their ancestor, shouldn't she treat all descendants equally?

Without even noticing it themselves, the Hyūga elders were already beginning to accept Kaguya as their legitimate "ancestor." Of course, this kind of acceptance only happened because of Masashi's reputation. If someone else had said all this, the Hyūga would never believe it.

Hiashi observed everyone's reactions and knew the matter was settled. He then turned back to Kaguya. After some thought, he bowed respectfully. Then he asked, "Is there anything we can do for you?"

"Find the whereabouts of Isshiki for me," Kaguya said. "I searched for him once. He must be hiding within someone's body. Like me, he possesses an immortal constitution, so he must still be alive. His chakra is similar to mine. You can use your ocular jutsu to detect it."

"Understood. We will keep our eyes open," Hiashi replied with a nod.

"How strong is Isshiki?" Masashi suddenly asked.

"His strength..." Kaguya thought for a moment, then looked at Masashi. "I think you should be fine."

Good thing he asked.

"Hiashi, if you suspect someone, make sure you observe them from a distance, and only within the village."

"You can rest assured. That was my plan from the beginning."

The Hyūga didn't have that many people. They couldn't possibly search the whole world aimlessly. They could only investigate within the patrol range of the Police Force.

"However, since the enemy has hidden himself for so long, it would be best to determine what he currently wants. Otherwise, you may never find him," Hiashi reminded him.

"Mm, I know." Masashi had already thought of another person.

Kaguya didn't need explanation. She'd eaten the fruit. As for Isshiki, it made sense for him to be hiding. But Kaguya had been sealed for a thousand years, and Isshiki had never appeared. If he wasn't dead, then his situation must be tied to another Ōtsutsuki.

"Masashi, you're thinking of Hagoromo, aren't you?" Kaguya asked.

She had considered the possibility as well. Her children were aware of that part of her past. She'd never concealed it. After all, in her original plan, her children were supposed to be her most reliable assistants.

"He's the only one we can ask." Masashi spread his hands. "During all the years you were gone, Isshiki never showed himself. No matter how you think about it, it must have something to do with the Sage of Six Paths."

It wasn't that he looked down on Indra and Asura. But compared to Hagoromo, those two were a long way off.

At his peak, he gained power by absorbing the Ten-Tails. Yet even when he grew old and removed the Ten-Tails from himself, he did not die. His chakra remained immense across ages, capable of monitoring the world and creating the Six Paths: Chibaku Tensei used to seal Kaguya.

There was no doubt. He was a genuine, certified cheat character.

Meanwhile, the Hyūga in the room, listening to their conversation, had their mouths slightly open. These two people were they just casually talking about tracking down the Sage of Six Paths for a chat?