Ch 43 : Trap

Hizashi slowly stepped out of the Hokage Building, only to find the sunlight outside unbearably dazzling, making his vision blur and go black for a moment.

Gradually, his sight recovered, like thick, vibrant ink spreading over a piece of black cloth.

He stood there motionless for a long time, his mind unable to settle.

"Yo, Hizashi!"

Someone called out to him from not far away.

Turning his head, he saw it was someone familiar from the village.

A flicker of unease crossed his face, but he took a deep breath and forced a smile.

"Ah, it's Harutaka."

Harutaka walked up to him and started chatting casually.

"I heard you encountered enemies during your mission yesterday."

Hizashi replied, "Yeah, we ran into some Kiri-nin on our way back. Renji was lost in the fight."

At the mention of death, the conversation suddenly grew heavy.

Harutaka sighed, then lightly patted Hizashi on the shoulder.

"Renji won't have died in vain. We will avenge him."

"We definitely will."

Hizashi then asked, "Do you have business here?"

Harutaka smiled and said, "I came to report to Lord Hokage."

"Then you'd better go quickly. Don't delay."

"Alright, see you later."

After parting with Harutaka, Hizashi couldn't help but glance back in the direction of the Hokage Building.

It seemed like someone in the high office was watching him.

Hizashi refrained from using his Byakugan to check and silently turned around to leave.

But he hadn't walked far before he ran into another familiar figure.

He immediately stepped forward and bowed. "Lord Orochimaru."

"Ah, Hizashi."

Hizashi's heart rippled with unease, but he forced himself to stay calm as he asked, "Is Lord Orochimaru here to see Lord Hokage?"

Orochimaru's lips curled into a faint, enigmatic smile as he said,

"Regarding the matter of the traitor, I seem to have found a clue.

I've come to discuss it with Sarutobi-sensei."

Hizashi said, "This is a serious matter."

Orochimaru replied, "Indeed, it's a serious matter—one that concerns the future of the village. Hizashi, are you ready?"

Hizashi was momentarily stunned, not immediately understanding what Orochimaru meant by being ready.

But after a brief moment of thought, he responded,

"Lord Orochimaru, I have always been ready."

Orochimaru chuckled faintly, said nothing more, and walked past him without another word.

Hizashi felt his heart pounding in his chest.

He bowed once more toward Orochimaru before quickly leaving.

.....

A somber night.

Hiashi arrived as agreed in the forest ten kilometers outside Konoha.

The sound of the river rushing nearby filled the air.

Hiashi's Byakugan remained activated, alert to everything around him.

Suddenly, a burst of firelight flared up.

Someone holding a torch emerged from the depths of the forest.

This made Hiashi's expression change slightly, as his Byakugan had seen nothing before the firelight appeared.

The number of abilities in the ninja world capable of concealing something from the Byakugan could be counted on one hand!

"Hiashi, who are you waiting for?" The figure spoke slowly.

The familiar voice and face caused Hiashi's pupils to contract sharply.

Orochimaru!

In his hand, Orochimaru dragged an unmoving person—like a corpse—with a forehead protector tied to their head that bore the insignia of Iwagakure.

A sense of foreboding welled up in Hiashi's heart, an instinctual feeling that something was very wrong.

"Lord Orochimaru..." Hiashi tried to speak.

"Hiashi, why did you betray Konoha?"

Orochimaru asked, his lips curling into a smile as he spoke.

Whoosh—

A cold wind swept through, carrying a bone-chilling chill in the silent forest.

Hiashi's expression changed instantly.

"Lord Orochimaru, you mustn't make such baseless accusations!"

Panic began to take root in his heart.

He even considered turning and running back to the village immediately, but the person standing before him was Orochimaru!

"Oh?" Orochimaru's smile deepened.

"Didn't you come here to conspire with this Iwa-nin?

Luckily, I caught you in the act.

When you realized your plan was exposed, you tried to resist.

I had no choice but to kill you both."

Hiashi exclaimed in shock, "I came here..."

But his words stopped halfway, his face breaking into a cold sweat.

He suddenly recalled the note, the kunai, and those pale eyes...

It was a trap—a trap!

The veins at the corners of Hiashi's eyes bulged even further as he strained his Byakugan to its limits, his breathing and heartbeat pounding in his ears.

His vision swept rapidly across the surroundings in the pitch-black night.

"Don't bother," Orochimaru said, his voice calm yet chilling.

"The air here is filled with a special chakra-infused dust of my creation.

Your Byakugan is useless."

Despair crept into Hiashi's heart.

How could he escape this place?

His opponent was none other than Orochimaru...

Hiashi forced himself to stay calm. "Lord Orochimaru, why are you doing this?"

Orochimaru replied unhurriedly, "Because what I intend to do requires your life as a stepping stone."

Hiashi asked, "The traitor in the village—was it you all along?"

"Oh my, you figured it out," Orochimaru said, his tone feigning surprise before breaking into a raspy, sinister laugh.

"Now I definitely can't let you leave alive."

Hiashi quickly blurted, "Lord Orochimaru, I can keep this secret!"

Orochimaru let out a sinister laugh.

"Of course, you'll keep this secret.

After all, I don't think anyone else in the world has mastered the art of making a dead man talk."

Hiashi's heart sank even further, but he refused to give up.

He said, "Lord Orochimaru, whatever you want—those Byakugan can be my gift to you. If you have any demands, just say the word.

The Hyuga clan will do everything we can to fulfill them and fully support you as the next Fourth Hokage!"

He knew he was no match for Orochimaru, and the chances of escaping were pitifully slim.

His only option was to stall for time and try to strike a deal.

But his words only elicited louder, more unrestrained laughter from Orochimaru.

"Everyone is the same in the end, aren't they, Hiashi?" Orochimaru's voice was raspy.

"Why fear death so much? Don't think of death as the end.

You'll live on in my shadow. Who knows? One day, I might even bring you back from the Pure Land to walk the living world again."

Listening to Orochimaru's mad ramblings, Hiashi understood one thing clearly:

Orochimaru was determined to kill him!

"Is it really necessary to talk this much to him?"

As Hiashi's thoughts raced, another voice suddenly echoed through the forest.

A small, thin figure emerged from the darkness.

By the light of the torch in Orochimaru's hand, Hiashi finally saw the newcomer clearly.

Makoto.

Hyuga Makoto!

Hiashi's eyes widened in despair, endless regret filling his chest.

For a brief moment, he thought of activating the Caged Bird Seal, but seeing Makoto's forehead exposed and unmarked by a forehead protector, his heart plummeted into the abyss.

A wild card.

This was the wild card!

He should have killed him long ago!

During their previous mission, he had assumed Makoto would die at the hands of the Kiri-nin and had chosen not to act.

Now, all that remained in his heart was an overwhelming sense of regret.

Orochimaru let out another low, chilling laugh.

"Don't you have anything to say to your former clan leader?"

Makoto replied coldly, "I have no interest in talking to the dead."

He lifted his head and glanced at the moon hanging in the night sky.

A cold, solitary moon.

"The people from the village should be arriving soon."

He took the torch handed to him by Orochimaru, then turned and walked back into the darkness from which he had come.

Without any further hesitation, Hiashi turned and bolted toward the village at full speed.

Orochimaru's smile gradually faded, and his figure vanished into the night.

The shadows of the trees stretched and twisted.

The night grew deeper, the forest grew quieter, and the wind grew colder.

------------

End of chapter

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