Konoha Hospital was currently overcrowded.
The Konoha Crush plan had left many injured in Konoha.
"Otogakure and Sunagakure jointly attacked the village? And Kimimaro participated? How could this be?"
Lying in the hospital bed, Naruto, who had recovered after a good sleep, was shocked when he heard the news.
"From the current information, it seems so. However, apart from seeing Kimimaro take action to block the Anbu when rescuing Orochimaru at the end, no one else saw him join the battle."
Kakashi said.
All three of his students were hospitalized, so of course he had to come and check on them.
Hearing Kakashi say this, Naruto calmed down a bit, but he still felt a little uncomfortable in his heart.
He didn't have many friends, and Kimimaro was one of them.
Although they hadn't interacted much, Naruto could feel that Kimimaro had goodwill towards him.
How could such a person attack Konoha?
Sasuke, on the other hand, wasn't as sentimental as Naruto. What came to his mind was Kimimaro's powerful fighting style and Naruto's terrifying strength when fighting against Gaara.
Among his peers, he seemed to have been left far behind, and the arrogance he had just gained from learning Chidori had vanished.
Thinking of this, Sasuke couldn't help but clench his fists.
"What am I doing? Playing ninja games? When will I be able to kill that man like this? Otogakure..."
Sasuke couldn't help but touch the cursed seal on his neck.
Recalling the terrifying power when the cursed seal first erupted, his heart stirred.
He suddenly felt that Orochimaru, who had killed the Third Hokage and launched the Konoha Crush plan, might be his best choice.
Especially Kimimaro's strength made Sasuke further understand Orochimaru's teaching ability.
His desire to join Orochimaru became even stronger.
Meanwhile, at the Hyuga Clan Estate...
Hiashi Hyuga looked solemnly at Kimimaro, who had somehow appeared in his house.
"You dare to show up here!"
"Uncle Hiashi, don't worry, this is just a shadow clone I left in Konoha. It will automatically disappear after I finish talking to you, and no one will notice."
"What else do you want to say to me! I trusted you so much, but you betrayed me! Not only did you collude with Otogakure to attack Konoha, but you also took Neji away.
What are you trying to do! Do you want Neji's Byakugan? If that's the case, I will never forgive you!"
Hiashi said angrily.
"Uncle Hiashi, I'm also just a guest in Otogakure. I have no power to stop what Orochimaru wants to do. Everything I do is just for survival. As for taking Neji away, it's also to help the Hyuga clan."
"Nonsense! When Otogakure attacked Konoha, I could still consider that you were forced to do it. But as for Neji, you dare say it's to help me?"
"Uncle Hiashi, don't get agitated yet, let me explain slowly."
"Alright! Let's see what kind of reasoning you can come up with!"
Although Hiashi was angry, he couldn't do anything to a shadow clone, so he might as well hear Kimimaro out.
"Uncle Hiashi, if you want to change the Hyuga clan, the first thing you need is a strong helper. Hinata is weak-willed, Hanabi is still young, only Neji has both talent and the right mindset. He's your best choice, isn't he?
If I'm not mistaken, you're going to tell Neji the truth about Hizashi's death and ask him to let go of his hatred and protect the main family, right?"
Hiashi remained silent. He didn't expect Kimimaro to even guess this.
He did have that intention.
"Continue."
"If Neji stays in Konoha, you know how fast he will grow. With your father around and the Konoha elders, the Caged Bird Seal cannot be removed, and his growth will be greatly restricted. And at Neji's age, this is the time when a ninja grows the fastest.
Three years, I'm confident that I can make Neji a Kage-level powerhouse within three years. But with you, he'll at most be a newly promoted Jonin."
Hearing this, Hiashi's heart stirred.
It had been many years since the Hyuga clan had produced a Kage-level powerhouse.
If Neji could really break through to Kage-level within three years, the Hyuga clan's reform could be rapidly advanced.
"Neji was taken away by Otogakure. His identity cannot be considered a missing-nin. This leaves the opportunity for him to return to Konoha in the future. As for how to operate this, Uncle Hiashi should know better than me."
Hearing this, Hiashi's anger had subsided significantly.
"You've done so much for the Hyuga, what do you want? Although I haven't known you for long, I can see that you wouldn't go to such lengths without any benefit."
"Uncle Hiashi truly understands me. What I want is simple, I want the Hyuga clan's half of the stone tablet!"
Kimimaro revealed his purpose.
"What do you want the stone tablet for?"
Hiashi was puzzled.
"The Kaguya and Hyuga were originally one family, and the two stone tablets were originally one. I want to know the complete contents of the stone tablet. It's useful for my bloodline disease."
Hiashi carefully examined Kimimaro and understood his intentions.
His previous words sounded nice, but in reality, Neji was now a hostage.
If Hiashi didn't agree to let Kimimaro see the stone tablet, Neji might never come back.
"Can you guarantee that your previous promises are true?"
"Of course. This isn't our first collaboration, Uncle Hiashi, you should know that I'm a man of my word."
"Alright! I'll let you see the stone tablet."
Only the caster could control the Caged Bird Seal, so Hiashi wasn't afraid of Kimimaro knowing the control method.
It wouldn't matter if he let Kimimaro see the stone tablet.
For Neji's life, he had no other choice.
Hearing this, the corners of Kimimaro's mouth slightly curled up.
It was done.
Otogakure.
Kimimaro's main body was sitting in meditation in his room, reconstructing the Yin Seal.
This trip to Konoha had yielded great gains, but the Yin Seal was the only thing he had lost.
More than a year of hard work had gone to waste, and Kimimaro felt quite distressed.
Fortunately, with his previous experience, the second reconstruction of the Yin Seal was much easier.
"The Yin Seal stores one's own chakra, and the cursed seal also has the function of storing senjutsu chakra. If I could combine the two..."
A new idea formed in Kimimaro's mind.
Just then, the shadow clone dispersed, and he gained another set of memories.
"I've also obtained the contents of the Hyuga's half of the stone tablet."
After seeing the contents of the Kaguya clan's half of the stone tablet, Kimimaro became very interested in the Hyuga clan's stone tablet.
Because what was recorded on the stone tablet was none other than the cultivation method for Yin-Yang Release!
The Kaguya clan's stone tablet recorded the Yang Release method, and the Hyuga clan's stone tablet recorded the Yin Release method.
Combining the two was Yin-Yang Release.
After merging the two into one, Kimimaro frowned, then revealed a helpless expression.
"As expected, this thing isn't easy to cultivate."
(End of Chapter)