Chapter 3

Early the next morning, while Hyuga Kagami was in the middle of his morning training, he heard rumors about an attack on the clan head. This confirmed that the flesh and blood sample Orochimaru had sent yesterday did, in fact, belong to Hyuga Hiashi.

Although he had already suspected it, the realization that Orochimaru could so easily injure the strongest member of the Hyuga Clan was still disappointing, even if a sneak attack had been involved.

From Hyuga Kagami's perspective, for a member of the Hyuga Clan to reach the level of the legendary Sannin through conventional training was an almost insurmountable challenge.

Moreover, in terms of talent, Hyuga Kagami was clearly on the mediocre side. This was evident from the number of activated sequences in his special genetic makeup.

Ordinary Hyuga clan members typically had about 20 out of 33 unique gene sequences activated. Exceptional individuals, like Hyuga Hiashi, could even reach 28. However, Hyuga Kagami had only 17 activated sequences, which was significantly below the clan's average.

If he followed the traditional path, then becoming a Special Jonin would likely be the peak of his lifetime achievements.

Details about Hyuga Hiashi's attack were kept strictly confidential by the clan's main branch.

Hyuga Kagami speculated that during the attack, Hiashi had probably recognized Orochimaru. Given that Orochimaru was a disciple of the Third Hokage and one of the Sannin, his status was too sensitive. The clan's main branch likely hadn't reached a consensus on how to handle the situation, leading them to remain silent.

"Orochimaru dared to attack the clan head. Clearly, he isn't worried about being exposed. This further confirms my suspicion—he's already made all the necessary preparations for his defection and could act at any moment."

After pondering for a while, Hyuga Kagami became even more certain that Orochimaru was about to defect.

Orochimaru's defection had both advantages and disadvantages for Hyuga Kagami. The advantage was that it removed a powerful figure overshadowing him. The disadvantage, however, was that he would lose a powerful backer.

"Aside from Orochimaru, everyone else who knew about my involvement in human experiments has died in the war. As long as nothing happens to Orochimaru, the village shouldn't be able to trace anything back to me."

The few who had aligned themselves with Orochimaru at the same time as Hyuga Kagami had all perished in the war. After being reassigned to the rear lines, Hyuga Kagami worked in an isolated laboratory due to the unique nature of the Byakugan. He had no contact with Orochimaru's other experimenters, and only Orochimaru himself knew the details of the experiments he conducted.

After reviewing all potential risks in his mind, Hyuga Kagami calmly resumed his morning training as if none of this concerned him.

For the next few days, the village remained peaceful—until the third night.

That evening, an ANBU operative wearing a fox mask suddenly appeared in Hyuga Kagami's home and took him into custody, transporting him to a temporary ANBU base.

The base was located in the northwest corner of the village, covering a large area and heavily guarded. Just from a brief glance, Hyuga Kagami counted at least seven or eight squads of ANBU guards.

Once locked inside a small room, Hyuga Kagami frowned slightly.

The room was tiny, devoid of furniture, and secured with sturdy iron bars. Outside, another ANBU stood guard, watching over him.

This setup resembled a temporary prison more than a base.

There was no doubt—if the ANBU had gone to such lengths, it meant Orochimaru had officially defected. The defection could have happened today—perhaps even that very night.

Relying on his Byakugan, Hyuga Kagami calmly observed everything within the temporary prison.

He was neither the first nor the last ninja to be detained. After him, many others were brought in one after another.

Without exception, all detainees were Orochimaru's subordinates. In total, there were hundreds, including several well-known elite Jonin from the village.

This wasn't surprising. During the war, Orochimaru had commanded multiple units. Over the years, accumulating a few hundred subordinates was entirely plausible. The village had mobilized thousands of shinobi for the war; if Orochimaru hadn't had at least a few hundred under his command, he wouldn't have been considered a serious candidate to compete with the Fourth Hokage.

With so many detainees and guards, the temporary prison quickly became noisy.

Unlike Hyuga Kagami, many of Orochimaru's subordinates were unaware of his defection. As a result, they were furious and confused about their sudden imprisonment.

The commotion continued until the Third Hokage appeared, at which point the noise gradually subsided.

Even though the Fourth Hokage had recently taken office, the Third still managed many village affairs. Many shinobi still instinctively regarded him as the leader.

Under the Third Hokage's supervision, the screening process quickly began.

The first to be interrogated were the elite Jonin, while those like Hyuga Kagami—who had been promoted to Chunin during the war—were of lower priority.

Three days passed in the blink of an eye.

Hyuga Kagami understood his own status. He was a wartime Chunin, promoted out of necessity. His actual strength was comparable to an experienced Genin, so he wouldn't be seen as a high priority.

Still, after being detained for three days with no one questioning him, frustration gradually built up within him.

It was clear that the village's interrogation process was not going well. Many detainees refused to believe that someone as powerful as Orochimaru would defect, making them uncooperative during questioning.

Furthermore, there were disagreements among the village's leadership on whether to use torture.

Simply questioning them wasn't enough to identify which detainees had participated in Orochimaru's human experiments and which were spies he had planted. Many of these ninja had undergone extensive counter-interrogation training and had survived a brutal war. They weren't inexperienced rookies.

However, resorting to torture would be problematic. The number of detainees wasn't just a handful—it was in the hundreds. Using torture on so many individuals, many of whom had fought heroically for the village, was not a wise decision.

On the fifth day of Hyuga Kagami's detention, Danzo arrived at the temporary prison.

He met with the detained elite Jonin one by one. Whatever he discussed with them remained unknown, but when he left, he took most of them with him.

"They've been swayed by Danzo and joined Root."

Hyuga Kagami didn't need to think long to understand what had happened.

If the village wasn't willing to torture each detainee to discern their loyalties, then these elite Jonin posed a serious security risk. Allowing Danzo to recruit them into Root was the village's only viable option.

The elite Jonin, for their part, also realized their predicament. As former subordinates of Orochimaru, they had little chance of being fully accepted by the Fourth Hokage. Since the Fourth was still young and could hold power for the next two or three decades, their future in the village looked bleak. Seeking refuge in Root, which operated independently of the Fourth Hokage, was their best option.

In the following days, Root operatives approached Hyuga Kagami with an invitation as well.

However, he politely declined. In his opinion, even defecting would be better than joining Root, a shadowy organization that specialized in dirty work and was constantly on the verge of being discarded as a scapegoat.

Fortunately, the Root operatives did not press him further. After hearing his refusal, they simply left.

Since Danzo had already recruited so many elite Jonin, the village wouldn't allow him to extend his influence too far into the ranks of the detained Chunin. This was likely why Root's recruitment among the Chunin felt more like a formality—something Hyuga Kagami had counted on when making his decision.