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The fierce battle raged on for three full hours. By the end, most spectators had grown weary and left, unwilling to continue craning their necks to watch.
After all, staring upward for so long made their necks unbearably sore.
Only a handful of Hyūga clan members remained, harboring a glimmer of hope. If their clan head could unleash his full power and achieve a grand victory, their safety would be assured.
Unfortunately, they were destined for disappointment.
After hours of anticipation, the result was anticlimactic: the two combatants calmly descended back to the ground, unharmed.
Judging from their postures, it seemed neither had any intention of continuing the fight.
"Release them," Hyūga Tenjin commanded with a wave of his sleeve, his expression anything but pleasant.
In contrast, the Senju clan leader, Hashirama, maintained his ever-present smile as he instructed his subordinates to untie the captured Hyūga members.
"Elder brother," Tobirama began, as if about to object, but Hashirama shot him a sharp glare. Sulking, Tobirama clamped his mouth shut and turned away in frustration.
Despite the prolonged clash, neither side had been able to land a decisive blow, and the battle seemed to stretch on endlessly.
No matter how much Hashirama's strength had advanced, he couldn't rely solely on his Wood Dragon technique to defeat Tenjin,, who had activated the Tenseigan Chakra Mode.
The truce, in the end, was not due to a lack of effort but rather mutual understanding because Tenjin had realized he couldn't suppress the young Senju leader before him.
Likewise, Hashirama couldn't defeat Tenjin either, as his attacks had proven equally ineffective.
Over the course of three exhausting hours, Tenjin had burned through seventy percent of his chakra reserves, yet Hashirama still appeared as vigorous as ever.
The result was clear: Tenjin knew in his heart where he stood.
Adding to the weight of defeat, his clan members had all been captured. By every measure, the Hyūga had lost this conflict.
"Thank you, Clan leader Hashirama," Tenjin muttered with veiled gratitude before leading his subordinates away from the battlefield.
The inability to overcome Hashirama left Hyūga Tenjin deeply frustrated.
Not long ago, he had been able to suppress the Senju leader completely. Yet now, in such a short span of time, Hashirama had grown to the point where he could fight him to a draw.
For the proud Tenjin, this was an unacceptable outcome.
Unfortunately, at his current level of strength, even small improvements posed an immense challenge.
Hard work alone wouldn't suffice. The only viable path forward was the further evolution of his Tenseigan.
This thought turned his gaze toward his disciple, whose expression remained an impenetrable mask.
Tenjin was well aware that his disciple had recently awakened the Tenseigan. Nothing on the battlefield escaped his keen perception.
If he were to absorb his disciple's ocular power, could his own eyes achieve further evolution?
This prospect filled Hyūga Tenjin with anticipation.
However, on second thought, he decided against acting impulsively.
Absorption was inevitable—after all, to Tenjin, it was only natural for the branch family to make sacrifices for the main family's leader.
But he needed to wait patiently. Once his disciple surpassed the initial development stage, her ocular power would increase by tenfold. Absorbing it then would yield the greatest benefit.
With this in mind, Tenjin hypocritically offered encouragement: "You've done well. Keep up the good work."
"Yes, Master." Yayoi, his disciple, bowed with her usual respectful demeanor. Her humble and deferential attitude only strengthened Tenjin's trust in her.
---
That night, Hyūga Tenjin sat alone in his tent, replaying the details of his battle with Hashirama in his mind.
Suddenly, a shadow materialized before him, silent and still. The visitor was none other than Black Zetsu, the ancient schemer.
"Kehehehe." An eerie laugh echoed in the silence, nearly provoking Tenjin into an attack.
"If you laugh like that again, I'll crush your skull with a single palm strike," Tenjin snapped, his irritation rising as he glanced at Black Zetsu's inhuman form, and his irritation only deepened.
Damn it, does this thing even have a skull?
Tenjin's words were blunt and cutting, and any ordinary person would have taken offense or retaliated on the spot.
But Black Zetsu was no ordinary being. It didn't care—after all, it wasn't human.
"Do you wish to gain the power to defeat Senju Hashirama?" It wasted no time, striking at the heart of Tenjin's desires.
Caught in a moment of frustration, Tenjin found himself unable to resist the allure of such a promise.
"I thought you said before that these eyes couldn't grow any stronger," Tenjin replied coldly, recalling Black Zetsu's earlier, confident claims.
And now, only a few years later, it was contradicting itself?
In Tenjin's mind, Black Zetsu was already labeled as untrustworthy.
Black Zetsu responded simply, "Kehehe—ordinary methods won't suffice, of course."
The truth was, Kyosuke's arrival had not only disrupted the Uchiha and Senju clans but had also deeply impacted Black Zetsu.
The strength of the Tsukigakure clan had left it deeply shaken. Their human puppets, capable of fighting without chakra threads, seemed far superior to its White Zetsu army.
What fascinated Black Zetsu even more was their unique ability to grow in numbers through battle—it was a feature that filled it with envy.
It envisioned an unstoppable army, one it could wield alongside its mother after her resurrection, to conquer other worlds.
By that point, the Ōtsutsuki clan would likely be the ones fearing them.
This thought promoted Black Zetsu to take a second look at Tobirama Senju's Edo Tensei technique.
Initially dismissive of the technique, it had since undergone a drastic change in perspective.
Why? Because of a single, unexpected event.
For a long time, Kyōsuke's existence had been a constant thorn in Black Zetsu's side.
Surveillance was indispensable. Even if it couldn't track his space-time movements, it could at least grasp his general whereabouts.
Through this vigilance, Black Zetsu became aware of Hyūga Yayoi's presence and, through her scientific research, uncovered the immense potential of the Edo Tensei technique.
Infiltrating the Senju clan to steal their forbidden jutsu or pilfering Yayoi's research results posed no challenge at all for the cunning schemer.
By combining the two, Edo Tensei finally gained true strategic value.
For Black Zetsu, the implications were even more profound. Over the centuries, it had encountered countless powerful individuals, many of whom possessed rare Kekkei Genkai abilities.
Amidst a series of cold chuckles, Black Zetsu's form writhed and stretched, sprawling across the ground.
All of this unfolded beneath Hyūga Tenjin's unblinking, watchful gaze as a cloaked figure silently emerged from Black Zetsu's writhing form.
Although it couldn't envelop living beings, an Edo Tensei body lacked any characteristics of life, making it particularly convenient for transport.
"What… is this thing?" Tenjin frowned deeply, immediately sensing the unnatural nature of the Edo Tensei body.
"Hmph. It is, of course, something that can assist you greatly," Black Zetsu said with a sinister laugh. "With it, you can forcibly complete your evolution."
After a brief silence, Tenjin asked in a low voice, "What price must I pay?"
He knew his visitor was no philanthropist. If Black Zetsu had sought him out, it surely had its own agenda.
Without conditions, the offer would seem too good to be true.
"I want you to help me kill someone."
"Who?"
"Uchiha Kyōsuke," Black Zetsu finally revealed its goal.
Before Tenjin could respond, Black Zetsu swayed its form and spoke first, cutting him off.
"I know your concerns. Rest assured, I will create the perfect opportunity for you."
"Who knows," it continued slyly, "you might even reclaim what should have rightfully been yours in the first place."
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[Chapter End's]
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