Chapter 97 Byakugan: Overwhelming Pressure and Telekinesis

Kakuzu, an immortal man.

Through a secret technique called Earth Grudge Fear, he roams around stealing hearts from other shinobi. This gives him multiple lives, and he can even steal their Ninjutsu powers through those hearts.

When one of the hearts inside his body gets damaged in battle or ages over time, he simply removes it and replaces it with a fresh, vibrant one.

In this way, he has practically achieved eternal life.

Undeniably, Earth Grudge Fear qualifies as one of the top-tier Kinjutsu techniques (forbidden ninja arts) even within the entire world of shinobi. Its strength seems virtually limitless.

As the last remaining user of Earth Grudge Fear in the shinobi world, Kakuzu possesses decades of combat experience. Without doubt, his power level reaches beyond even the strongest Kage.

Comparatively,

Without entering Sage Mode, Heiyan objectively lacks the strength to match Kakuzu. Compounding matters, he is currently severely injured and barely conscious.

Therefore, the current situation looks extremely disadvantageous for Heiyan's team.

WHOOSH!

Several arrows sliced through the air like meteors, shooting toward Kakuzu and blocking his forward path.

Hiashi Hyuga drew his bow fully, unleashing full force, determined to intercept Kakuzu.

"Hmph."

Kakuzu snorted coldly. Suddenly changing direction, he altered his course and charged straight toward Hiashi.

Dodging left and right, he avoided several arrows while continuously closing the distance.

"Here we go!"

With sharp eyes and steady hands, Hiashi loosed a powerful shot—a massive arrow wrapped in layers of Explosive Tags, flying too fast for Kakuzu to escape.

However, Kakuzu remained calm. He rapidly formed Hand Seals and raised his arm to block in front of himself.

[Earth Release: Earth Spear]!

Instantly, his arm turned completely black, and his skin hardened into an extreme state. Surprisingly, his flesh-and-blood limb collided directly with the explosive arrow.

Boom!

Firelight swept across, thick smoke rose.

"Did I hit him?"

Hiashi activated his Byakugan, peering through the smoke, only to see Kakuzu crouching halfway down, one hand pressed against the ground.

It seemed... something was coming up from underground!

Alarmed, Hiashi immediately sprang backward. The next second—

Rumble!

The ground where he had stood exploded open, a black hand shooting out. Connected to its end were several dark threads.

"Just who exactly is this person? Why can his severed arm still move? What are those dark threads? How should I deal with them?"

Hiashi wore an expression of shock while his brain raced rapidly.

"Figured it out, did you? The Byakugan is indeed impressive," Kakuzu praised, not slowing his feet for a moment. With a sudden powerful push off the ground, he accelerated straight toward Hiashi.

Meanwhile, Fugaku had just regained his footing after the previous explosion. Witnessing Hiashi's dangerous predicament, he instinctively wanted to rush forward for support.

Just then, a familiar figure flashed before his eyes.

"It's you?!" Fugaku realized instantly as Black Zetsu appeared before him. Seeing the sudden appearance, he immediately understood what had happened. Shocked yet furious, he angrily cursed, "Cowardly rat scum hiding in shadows!"

Right after he finished speaking, he tried to sidestep past Black Zetsu and rush toward the battlefield.

"Hey now, why so rushed?"

Unfazed by Fugaku's insult, Black Zetsu swiftly formed hand seals and used the Summoning Jutsu.

Puff! Puff! Puff!

From a series of white smokes emerged over a dozen identical figures. Each had short green hair and pale white skin with no clothes on—truly an eerie sight.

These were the White Zetsu weapons created long ago by Kaguya Otsutsuki using Infinite Tsukuyomi, originally numbering in the hundreds of thousands.

Now, Black Zetsu summoned part of them, taking control of these White Zetsu to block Uchiha Fugaku.

"Get out of my way!"

Fugaku roared furiously. Wielding his blazing war fan, he charged forward as both sides immediately erupted into chaos.

Meanwhile, on this side of the battlefield.

When seeing Kakuzu rushing toward him, Hiashi realized at once that his Gentle Fist likely wouldn't work against this opponent who could harden its body to such extremes. Breaking through his exterior defense seemed improbable, not to mention channeling chakra into Kakuzu's system to damage his meridians.

Guess it's time to use *that* move then.

Without hesitation, Hiashi softly growled, activating the first four of the Eight Gates in quick succession.

Boom!

Like a tiger bursting from its cage, enveloped in swirling emerald chakra, he engaged Kakuzu in direct combat.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

Their fists and feet collided, producing heavy sounds. For now, they were evenly matched, neither gaining upper hand.

It won't do any good. No physical attack can hurt me.

Kakuzu said coolly during their clash. As soon as he finished speaking, he intensified his assault.

[Earth Release: Earth Spear] was the ability of his original body. Having mastered this Ninjutsu for decades, Kakuzu had perfected it to the peak. His arms turned black and solidified, serving both offensively and defensively—easily smashing through walls while resisting explosions from explosive tags.

Moreover, Kakuzu also possessed the [Earth Grudge Fear] technique, allowing him to detach his wrists and arms freely, releasing dense black threads that launched surprise attacks on Hiashi from unexpected angles.

Even with the Eight Gates open, Hiashi couldn't keep up with Kakuzu's relentless assault.

Finally, during a head-on confrontation, Hiashi suffered a critical blow and was kicked flying by Kakuzu.

Crash!

He slammed into a huge rock near the beach, spat out a mouthful of blood, and collapsed onto the ground.

Die.

With cold eyes, Kakuzu sent his arm flying once again, lightning-fast toward the powerless Hiashi, aiming to pierce straight through his heart in one fatal strike.

So...this is the end.

Hiashi looked despairingly ahead. In his final moments before death, a flood of memories flashed through his mind vividly, one by one.

He was the eldest son of the Hyūga clan—the future clan head destined for the brightest future.

If only he'd refused Heiyan's invitation back then, hadn't accepted this mission, he wouldn't be facing certain death like this now.

But he didn't regret it.

I've already done...everything I could.

Thinking this, his gaze softened peacefully as he calmly accepted the imminent death.

Just then—

Swoosh!

A figure arrived via the Flying Thunder God Technique, appearing just in time in front of Hiashi and blocking Kakuzu's black-threaded punch with his own body.

It was… Heiyan!

Puu!

Kakuzu's black hand mercilessly pierced through Heiyan's heart.

At that moment, time seemed to stretch endlessly — as if it had been frozen in place.

Hiashi Hyuga's face was stunned from extreme shock. In his eyes, the entire world turned into pure white; everything vanished except for Heiyan's back view slowly collapsing before him.

In the distance, Fugaku Uchiha had just finished repelling White Zetsu's attacks and happened to witness this scene.

At this very moment, the rumor that Heiyan was the "Omen of Misfortune" seemed finally to have come true.

"No!"

Fugaku screamed furiously, deeply shocked. Within his pair of crimson Sharingan eyes, the triple-tomoe quickly became blurred, evolving into a new pattern.

He was about to succeed!

Seeing this, Black Zetsu was ecstatic. Immediately, he commanded White Zetsu to retreat, preventing them from interfering with Fugaku Uchiha.

At this exact moment—

His enemy—Heiyan—was dead; his pawn—Fugaku Uchiha—had triggered the awakening of Mangekyou.

And the best part was that it was Heiyan's death that had stimulated Fugaku Uchiha's awakening.

For Black Zetsu, this wasn't double pleasure anymore—it was tenfold, even hundredfold pleasure.

Indeed, everything was proceeding exactly according to plan—without the slightest flaw.

However, right after having this thought, Black Zetsu got an immediate slap in the face. He noticed that the Sharingan in Fugaku's eyes had actually stopped midway during its transformation and eventually—

Regressed back to the original triple-tomoe pattern.

The awakening of Mangekyou had failed.

"Is the emotional trauma insufficient? Or is his Mangekyou ability too special, causing the difficulty of opening it to suddenly increase?"

Black Zetsu immediately frowned, falling into deep thought.

Just then, he suddenly sensed a powerful Yin Release energy coming from behind.

What was going on?!

Filled with surprise and doubt, Black Zetsu turned around and looked toward the distance. The next second, his whole body shook violently because what he saw was incredibly shocking:

Far away, Hiashi Hyuga, without anyone noticing when, had risen three feet off the ground, floating midair. His hair floated gently in midair, and his Byakugan eyes had transformed into a never-before-seen pale purple hue.

His expression was cold and stern. He looked down upon Kakuzu like a deity observing a mortal.

"This… could it possibly be…" A rare expression of shock flickered across Black Zetsu's face as a chilling realization began to form.

Kakuzu also sensed something unexpected was happening.

He could feel an unfamiliar change in Hiashi, and instinct screamed—don't give him time to understand it.

So he repeated the maneuver, manipulating the black threads to drive his arm straight into Hiashi's chest once more.

Almost the very moment Kakuzu attacked, a powerful mental wave radiated from Hiashi's left eye, spreading Yin Release chakra like ripples through water.

[Byakugan: Oppression!]

What… is happening? My body… won't move.

Kakuzu felt as if he had been struck by a paralyzing technique. His entire body froze in place, unable to move no matter how hard he struggled—not even a single finger could budge.

It was as if the space around him was compressing inward, squeezing the air from his lungs and rendering him completely immobile.

"That's right... it's the Byakugan: Oppression—a power once used by Kaguya Otsutsuki," murmured Black Zetsu from afar, watching the scene unfold.

Kaguya Ōtsutsuki could unleash tangible pressure using her Byakugan alone—enough to immobilize those nearby, cause unconsciousness, or, in its most terrifying form, reduce someone to dust.

This ability was identical to what Hiashi Hyūga was now employing.

"For Heiyan."

Hiashi whispered softly. With a sweeping palm strike toward Kakuzu, he launched a dense chakra shockwave straight at his opponent's heart.

[Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm]

Puh!

The blast pierced through Kakuzu's chest, exiting from his back and mercilessly tearing open a massive hole.

Hiashi had chosen the very same method as Kakuzu—striking straight through the heart, avenging Heiyan.

Thud!

Kakuzu's green eyes dulled lifelessly. After Hiashi released the oppressive power of his Dojutsu, Kakuzu fell backward like a rigid corpse.

After eliminating Kakuzu, Hiashi remained suspended in midair using a jutsu. He turned his body and shifted his gaze toward Fugaku.

Then, from his right eye, a pulse of psychic energy surged outward.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Suddenly, beside him, the arrows resting within their black iron quiver on the ground shot into the air. Accelerating rapidly, they rocketed toward Black Zetsu and the group of White Zetsus.

Uh-oh… things are getting bad!

Startled, Black Zetsu quickly sank into the earth while ordering the White Zetsus to scatter in all directions, dodging the arrows before preparing for a counterattack.

However, contrary to his expectations—

Once the arrows missed their initial targets, they abruptly changed direction as if guided by sight, locking onto the White Zetsus once again.

Like they were being controlled remotely.

Puh! Puh! Puh! Puh!

Within ten seconds, every last White Zetsu had been pierced through vital points and collapsed lifelessly.

This marked the second evolution of Hiashi Hyūga's Byakugan:

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