HSU: Ch. 303

Masashi was a man of his word. When he said he was going to visit a friend, he really did go visit a friend. He wasn't lying, he genuinely had a few close friends in the Hyūga clan.

He hung out with his old pals, relied on his solid bartending skills and abundant stash of dirty jokes, and since everyone knew he was here to help treat Hanabi's condition, it only brought them closer. As a result, he blended right into the Hyūga clan's chat circle as usual. To outsiders, the Hyūga clan always seemed traditional and uptight, but that's just because they'd never hung out with them long enough.

This clan, strict as they were on the surface, actually produced plenty of low-key eccentrics. Honestly, when it came to trading lewd jokes, he could only find true rivals among the Hyūgas, or in Ryuchi Cave.

Don't be fooled by Manda's arrogant look, that snake was Ryuchi Cave's top joke master, though every joke starred serpents. Still, he couldn't spend all day swapping dirty jokes. Besides, now that his ability to use Flying Thunder God was public knowledge, it wasn't appropriate to be zipping all over the Hyūga compound.

It just wouldn't be respectful to allies.

So, once Hiashi arranged his temporary lodging, Masashi bid his friends goodbye.

To Hiashi, his daughter's "condition" was now the top priority. He'd spent the whole day dealing with it. Masashi, on the other hand, felt it was rare to get some time off under the guise of official business, a perfect opportunity to quietly train his chakra in his room. That's how training worked, squeeze it in wherever you can.

Make it a habit, and even a pig could soar into the sky. With enough accumulation, you could surpass 99% of so-called natural talents in the world. As for the remaining 1%, forget it. That belonged to the Ōtsutsuki bloodline, a whole other species. Still, this world was pretty amazing. The existence of the Hyūga clan alone was proof of that. As long as the Hyūgas were around, they were a living mockery of the concept of reproductive isolation. And with their long-standing history, the Hyūgas had a mysterious relationship with the Fire Daimyō's family.

Mainly because the Hyūga clan's emblem bore a strong resemblance to the Fire Daimyō's family crest, both looked like a blazing flame. It made sense for the Fire Daimyō's family, they ruled the Land of Fire, after all.

But the Hyūgas? Nothing about them screamed "fire." And a ninja clan's emblem was always deeply tied to its identity.

Take the Uchiha clan, for instance, their crest was based on the fan that symbolized their fiery Sharingan legacy. As for the Hyūga family's secrets, they didn't matter to Masashi. He wasn't one to obsess over historical trivia. Staying in the Hyūga compound, all he wanted was for nightfall to come so he could find out who or what had taken over Hanabi's consciousness.

If it really was Kaguya, then there was no way Madara would be sitting idle in Setsuna's household. That guy had an insane radar for ocular powers.

So, Masashi waited patiently for night to fall. He had lunch and dinner, took a nap, and by the time Hiashi sent someone to fetch him, he was fully recharged and in top condition. When he arrived at the large house from earlier in the day, he found it surrounded by a crowd of Hyūga ninjas. But to be honest, the atmosphere wasn't tense at all.

If he wasn't mistaken, these people had all suited up in extra-padded armor, probably worried Hanabi might hurt her hands hitting them. The armor was even made of soft, elastic materials! This wasn't a team. It was a pile of bouncing balls.

"Your preparations are… quite thorough," Masashi said, feeling mildly traumatized.

If you're going to spoil your daughter, just go ahead and spoil her. Why act all cold and dignified most of the time, only to switch gears like this?

"Shameful, truly shameful, to let you see us like this," Hiashi said without an ounce of shame. "But I hope you understand, she's one of our own."

Honestly, Hiashi was one of the least armored here, probably clinging to his last shred of dignity as clan head and father.

"I understand. Totally," Masashi replied empathetically. "I often want to beat up Tetsuka too, but then I remember he's my cousin and I just can't do it."

Hiashi felt this comparison wasn't quite appropriate, but he didn't say anything. Everyone knew Masashi, Tetsuka, and Inoka had once been called the Uchiha Cerberus, a trio famous for raising hell. Their bond ran deep.

Hiashi decided to get to the point.

"It's about time. We're counting on you!"

"Don't worry. I'm just going to talk with her. Nothing bad will happen," Masashi reassured him, then walked up to the door and slid it open.

The room was dim, the lights on the walls flickering on and off. Very different from the atmosphere during the day. Now it felt more like a horror movie set.

Hanabi was crouched in a corner, trembling.

Masashi glanced back at the crowd of "fully armored" Hyūga men, all watching with gossip-hungry expressions, except Hiashi, who kept a stern face because Hanabi was looking at him.

He looked at the poor little girl… then at himself.

Yep, this was definitely a full-on exorcism scene.

Is Kaguya considered a ghost or demon? Hard to say, depends who you compare her to.

He quietly closed the door behind him.

Bunch of repressed weirdos. What the hell were they all peeking in for? No wonder the kid was scared stiff.

Seeing the door shut, Hanabi felt a bit more at ease. Of course, it was just psychological, she knew that. But still, it helped. She looked at the ninja in front of her.

Hinata had told her a lot about Team 7.

She had always envied her sister's teammates. Especially the one in front of her, a top jonin of Konoha, a one-man army.

Hinata had described him as a terrifyingly strong but kind-hearted teacher who treated his students with respect. And Hanabi had heard similar praise from older students at the Ninja Academy, where Masashi had once taught.

Their reviews were unanimous: Super strong. Super nice.

So she felt more at ease.

He gave off a much better vibe than the last person. She'd heard he was already thirty, but... She stared closely at Masashi's face.

Maybe it was thanks to his mastery of Yang Release, but he looked incredibly youthful, practically glowing with collagen. After mentally comparing him with all the greasy old men in her clan, she reached a conclusion.

"Hello, Hanabi. I'm Masashi, you could say I was Hinata's teacher," Masashi said gently, staying a short distance away as he sat down. "How are you feeling right now?"

Poor kid, no doubt terrified by all this. Better to keep some space so she wouldn't get more scared.

He imagined what she must be feeling, like being taken to the hospital by your parents, only to see a bunch of mad scientists in lab coats holding chainsaws.

Then Hanabi stood up, ran over, and sat right next to him, blushing furiously.

"Can I call you Masashi-nisan?"

"?"

Outside the room, all the Hyūga ninja who had activated their Byakugan wore weird expressions.

Hiashi's entire face had darkened. His daughter was actually showing a shy expression to an outsider so easily?

Good thing Hinata wasn't here! Wait a minute, was Hinata always like this too!?

Impossible. There's no way. It must be a Byakugan malfunction!

Masashi may have a notorious reputation for being a womanizer, he was that weirdo who went to brothels, but that was in the past. No way he'd make a move on his daughters...

The veins on his face seemed to bulge even more densely now.

Inside the room, Masashi was surprised as he looked at Hanabi. The girl didn't seem scared anymore. So it really was the creepy getup of those uptight guys outside that frightened her too much.

"You're not afraid?"

"I'm not afraid. Not when you're here."

Crack!

Masashi swore he just heard something shatter outside the door.

How ugly, Hiashi. Parental jealousy is so pitiful.

Sure, on paper you're older than me, and you've been a father longer too, but in terms of "father energy"? I'm way ahead!

Now behold me in action!

"You're such a brave child. I really wish Saeko could learn from you." Masashi showed a touched expression, then reached out and patted Hanabi on the head.

Secret Technique: Fatherly Love – Ultra Petting Hand!

With his expert skill and perfectly matched facial expression, Hanabi quickly revealed the exact same expression as Saeko.

There's no such thing as an un-pettable little girl. If there is, just pet again.

"If you ever have time, I sincerely invite you to come play at my house. I'm sure Saeko and Yosuke would love to be friends with you."

"Really?" Hanabi's eyes lit up.

Among Konoha's younger generation, there was a legend.

In the Uchiha clan, there existed a mythical game: Cat Climbing.

Super fun.

Even though Hanabi had aged out of the toddler circle, this remained one of her biggest regrets.

Climbing a tailed beast, that was the dream of every ninja.

---

Outside the room, Hiashi's face was expressionless.

Masashi could get so familiar with his daughter so easily. Not that he was jealous, of course not. The Uchiha clan had a tailed beast. That was a force of nature. He just didn't have one. And his daughter just wanted to climb one!

"How much time is left?" he asked a nearby clansman.

The clansman gave him a strange look.

"Wwe're already past the time…"

Hiashi blinked in surprise. Not convinced, he peered inside again. Sure enough, Hanabi seemed perfectly normal.

Huh? Why won't it show up for Masashi? It came every other day before!

"What's going on? Why not today of all days?" He was a bit angry. That thing had no sense of commitment.

"Isn't that a good thing?"

"How can this be good? What, you expect Masashi to stay in our home forever? The man has no time for that." Hiashi's face clearly said: Do not approach.

Suddenly, with his Byakugan, Hiashi noticed Hanabi's chakra rapidly increasing, and at an alarming rate.

"It's coming!" He perked up, even with a hint of anticipation.

---

Inside, Masashi sensed it earlier, and understood it more clearly. When a consciousness took over someone's body, the physical body remained the same, but chakra changed.

Because chakra was formed from spiritual energy, and this spirit belonged to the possessor, not the host.

Orochimaru's Living Corpse Reincarnation used a similar principle, the difference was that he invaded the host's body with his own cells to retain his chakra.

The entity possessing Hanabi clearly had terrifying spiritual energy; her chakra flared up quickly, surpassing even jōnin level. Unfortunately, her body was too weak to handle such overwhelming spiritual power.

Shisui suffered a similar fate, he pushed his spiritual strength too far and paid the price.

Masashi pretended to notice nothing and maintained his "Fatherly Love" posture. But Hanabi had already begun to change. Her hair turned silver. The innocence in her Byakugan eyes disappeared, replaced by a gaze filled with stories and depth.

Their eyes met.

"What's wrong, Hanabi?" Masashi said kindly. "Feeling unwell?"

Hanabi's body trembled slightly. In the next moment, her chakra exploded outward without restraint.

---

Outside, the well-prepared Hyūga ninja saw their entire field of vision engulfed by chakra. Doors and windows were ripped apart instantly by the internal wind pressure.

This wasn't ninjutsu, just raw chakra density reaching the point of creating Wind-Release-like effects.

BOOM!

With a thunderous crash, the roof was the next victim. Two figures flew out simultaneously.

"Lady Hanabi!" a Hyūga ninja shouted instinctively.

It wasn't that they hadn't expected this, it just felt weird not to shout something in this kind of situation. But… she had gotten even stronger!

"Hanabi!" Hiashi was purely panicked now.

Every time Hanabi was possessed, her chakra became stronger, and it terrified him. Chakra was supposed to be a fair power, the result of exchange. But this immense chakra was coming from Hanabi's own body. And now, the chakra had fully materialized, forming a barrier that no one could approach. The Hyūga clan knew about materialized chakra, but this kind of chakra was clearly untouchable.

Knowing it was one thing, dealing with it was another. And currently, there was no one in the Hyūga clan who could deal with it.

Under the cold moonlight, chakra streamed endlessly from Hanabi's body. In it, chakra fists began to form.

Two Susanoo arms burst from the chakra stream and braced themselves, lifting Masashi, protected by the ribs of his Susanoo, away from the chakra blast.

Below, chakra fists flickered into visibility.

"This isn't the place to fight," Masashi said calmly. "Wanna take this somewhere else?"

Hanabi's face was far too cold for someone her age. She stared at Masashi silently, but the fists below grew more solid. Sensing she was doing her best to control the chakra and not harm him, Masashi knew the time was now, he activated Flying Thunder God.

Just now, he had petted her head like it was nothing? Was he the kind of man who acted so casually?!