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Soon, all the Sunagakure Shinobi who had raided the camp were eliminated. After defeating the puppet-wielding couple, Ishigami Hara did not continue to attack. Instead, he stepped back and regrouped with Nawaki.
Nawaki seemed a bit dazed, especially after catching a glimpse of Ishigami Hara's eyes. He hesitated several times, unsure of how to bring up what was on his mind.
"If you have something to ask, just say it. No need to hold back," Ishigami Hara said, taking the initiative.
Hearing this, Nawaki looked relieved. Without further hesitation, he moved closer to Ishigami Hara, inspecting him intently with a puzzled expression.
"Hara, tell me the truth—how many bloodlines do you have?"
He gestured towards Ishigami Hara's eyes, his expression filled with curiosity.
"It seems you don't know much about our Ishigami clan."
"Huh?" Nawaki asked, clearly confused.
Ishigami Hara didn't go into detail, simply replying, "You can ask the Hokage when we return. The Ishigami clan is neither particularly special nor completely ordinary. I just happen to be the most unique one among them."
"Is that so?"
Nawaki smiled, though he seemed uncertain. He then gave a thumbs up and said, "Well, either way, you look pretty cool right now."
He leaned in and whispered, "One Byakugan and one Sharingan… doesn't it feel weird?"
After glancing around to make sure no one was eavesdropping, Nawaki added in a hushed tone, "I've heard the Hyuga clan has that Curse Mark: Caged Bird thing, which can seal the Byakugan in branch family members.
And the Uchiha clan… well, their tempers are kind of intense, and they're not the easiest people to talk to."
Ishigami Hara just chuckled, patting Nawaki on the shoulder without addressing the comment directly. Instead, he shifted the conversation.
"What do you think about the battle we just fought?" he asked.
Nawaki's face grew serious. "The battlefield is dangerous—really dangerous."
"It's good that you realize that. There shouldn't be any more threats here at the camp. You should stay put for now."
"What are you going to do?" Nawaki asked, concerned.
"I'm going to head to the front lines. The fighting over there hasn't ended yet," Ishigami Hara replied.
"Isn't that too risky? And with your eyes… won't they draw too much attention?" Nawaki asked, his worry evident.
Ishigami Hara shook his head. "It's fine. I've never intended to hide these eyes. Whether it's the Hyuga or Uchiha clans, they don't mean much to me. Don't worry about it."
Being the First Hokage's grandson, Nawaki might not concern himself with village politics too much, but he wasn't entirely oblivious to the potential complications. Especially now, with Ishigami Hara revealing both the Byakugan and Sharingan, it was inevitable that he would be drawn into the affairs of both clans.
How those two families would interact with Ishigami Hara was foreseeable.
However, as Ishigami Hara had said, he had no intention of concealing these abilities from the moment he entered the battlefield.
And why?
Simply because he was confident enough not to.
After unlocking the Mangekyō Sharingan, Ishigami Hara at least has the strength to protect himself in the ninja world. And this power isn't just for self-preservation—if he so desires, Ishigami Hara could even use it to change the current balance of power.
"I'm leaving," Ishigami Hara said, giving a brief farewell before disappearing in an instant.
Nawaki opened his mouth as if to speak but stopped himself. Instead, he simply shook his head, silently lamenting his own weakness.
Meanwhile, the other Konoha Shinobi were still in shock. Many of them had witnessed Ishigami Hara's eyes, and those familiar with ninja techniques quickly pieced things together, exchanging bewildered glances.
"Is that... the Sharingan?" someone murmured.
"No, it's something beyond the Sharingan,"
"What do you mean?"
"I've heard that the Uchiha clan has an advanced eye technique called the Mangekyō Sharingan, stronger than the regular Sharingan. It's rumored that the legendary Uchiha Madara possessed this power." (T/N: Isn't the news about it supposed to be a secret?)
"Hiss... How strong could that be?" Some gasped in awe.
"That boy was brought here by Lord Orochimaru. Is he an Uchiha?"
There was a member of the Uchiha clan among the crowd, but he had been silent in shock since seeing Ishigami Hara's eyes. When the others turned to him, he frowned and finally shook his head.
"I don't know. I've never seen him in our clan."
Nawaki, hearing these murmurs, stepped in. "He's Ishigami Hara."
"Ishigami?" The Uchiha's frown deepened. He asked in surprise, "You mean the Ishigami clan?"
"I've heard of them," another shinobi chimed in. "Weren't they dissolved and integrated into the village?"
"Yeah, they were. I heard they began intermarrying with other bloodline ninja clans as far back as the Warring States Period."
The Uchiha shinobi looked unsettled and muttered, "That makes sense. The Ishigami clan was notorious back then, trying to marry into various clans—even those without awakened bloodlines were pursued by them."
The group quickly pieced together the likely origin of Ishigami Hara's unique abilities.
"Hiss! So, does that mean he carries the blood of many bloodline clans? And that red hair... is he from the Uzumaki clan?"
"That's likely. His left eye is clearly a Byakugan from the Hyuga clan, and his right eye is the Sharingan..."
The conversation trailed off as everyone turned to the Uchiha shinobi.
His face darkened, and in a low voice, he warned, "Everyone, stop talking about this."
At his command, the group fell silent, understanding the sensitive nature of the situation.
Nawaki overheard this and couldn't help but feel a sense of unease.
Meanwhile, Ishigami Hara was speeding toward the front lines. As he got closer, the sounds of battle grew louder.
In his mind, Uchiha Izuna's voice resounded again, "Little boy, return to the Uchiha. Only the Uchiha clan can protect you now."
Ishigami Hara responded, "I will not join the Uchiha, nor will I join the Hyuga. No one has control over me."
"Heh, you underestimate the darkness within Konoha," Izuna sneered.
Ishigami Hara calmly replied, "No, I understand the darkness of Konoha better than you."
As they spoke, the battlefield came into view.
Corpses littered the ground, and battles raged in the distance. The battlefield spanned hundreds of meters, with ninjutsu flying in all directions, and shinobi engaged in close combat with weapons and fists. It was a brutal scene—a grinder of flesh and blood where shinobi fell or died every moment.
Ishigami Hara took a deep breath, his eyes sweeping over the battlefield, instantly grasping the situation.
In the next instant, his figure blurred and reappeared beside a fallen Konoha Shinobi. In front of him, a Sunagakure Shinobi puppeteer controlled a puppet that was rushing forward.
Without hesitation, Ishigami Hara formed a series of hand seals at incredible speed, his hands a blur.
"Fire Release: Great Fire Annihilation!" he shouted, unleashing a massive wave of fire that scorched the battlefield.