104 Chapter 104

Tsunade knew her single decision would decide whether the child would live or die. As a hokage, her mind urged her to just kill the bastard regardless of the losses, but as a human, her heart couldn't condemn an innocent infant to such an unfair death.

"Have you found Ryu yet?" Tsunade questioned while keeping her gaze locked on Kenshi, to which the ANBU commander just shook his head in denial.

Tsunade took a deep breath, finally making a decision. She was not a heartless woman. Just as she was about to step forward, she felt someone hold onto her leg. It was the old man from the Hyuga whom she had just saved. He looked at the Hokage with tear-filled eyes. "Please, Senju, spare the child. You can take my life in exchange for the atrocities of the madman," the old man pleaded, his words carrying the weight of desperation. Though the old man did not speak much, Tsunade could understand the pleading in his eyes. He was willing to stake his life in exchange for Hanabi's survival.

Almost simultaneously, all the Hyuga present knelt down. Even the main family members were no exception. It was as if the request of the old man was the collective will of the Hyuga. Seeing the Hyuga's action, Kenshi couldn't help but smile in victory.

While everyone waited with bated breath for Tsunade's decision, Kenshi couldn't contain his impatience. "So, what is it going to be, Hokage-sama?" he questioned, his voice laced with both anxiety and defiance. He had been watching every action of Senju carefully, continuously using his Byakugan since the start to ensure he wouldn't be caught off guard. Kenshi desperately wanted to collect the eyes of the fallen main family members, but he dared not move even a step closer towards Tsunade.

The Hokage finally sighed, pulling out a black fuinjutsu tag and throwing it in front of Kenshi. She watched him closely, her anger barely contained. "You can use the tag to bypass the new barriers. But don't have any ideas; the tag is a one-time-use item. Waste it, and you will not have a second chance," Tsunade stated firmly, her tone leaving no room for negotiation. She knew Kenshi was cunning and had taken precautions regarding his escape route. She feared he had more tricks up his sleeve.

Kenshi wasn't entirely convinced. He scrutinized the fuinjutsu tag carefully, searching for any hidden flaws. Despite his caution, he couldn't find anything wrong with it. Reluctantly, he reached out and took the tag, his mind still racing with uncertainty about its true function.

"Let go of the child; you have your way out," Might Guy interjected, unable to remain silent as Kenshi moved with Hanabi still in his arms. Tsunade's fears were realized—Kenshi seemed unwilling to release Hanabi despite securing his escape route.

"Leave the child behind; that was the deal. You already have placed a seal on the child, so you shouldn't have any issue," Tsunade retorted, her frustration evident as she gritted her teeth. She knew she could crush Kenshi like a bug if not for the child in his arms, but his precautions regarding his escape route made her wary.

"Now, now, Hokage-sama, how much of a fool do you think I am?" Kenshi responded, his tone dripping with cunning. "You have a fuinjutsu grandmaster hidden somewhere. How long do you think it takes for a grandmaster to break the contract seal? A few moments at best? And what if the contract is broken before I exit the village? Then wouldn't I be a sitting duck?" Kenshi was meticulous, viewing Hanabi as his insurance for escape.

However, Tsunade wasn't a pushover herself. Although the tag worked as she claimed, it also had a hidden function. The tag was a special creation by Kazuki, and the moment it interacted with a barrier, Kazuki would be notified.

"Oh, and Hokage-sama, I become nervous when others follow me, so I hope that you can keep your shinobi in check," Kenshi casually remarked, turning toward the exit.

Under the hateful gaze of the most elite Shinobi in Leaf, Kenshi flickered while moving towards the village exit. With the new barrier covering more area than the old barriers, he had to traverse a much longer distance to exit the village. Kakashi wanted to pursue, but a quick gesture from Tsunade stopped him. She signaled for him to "Clean up everything here. Subdue the conflicts in the rest of the areas. I will have someone else pursue him." Tsunade, with one last look at the now broken Hiashi, turned to leave the Hyuga devastation behind. As the Hokage, she had yet more work to do, especially since the main perpetrators behind this tragedy still remained. With the internal threat neutralized, her sights were now set on the Daimyo faction. She was determined to deal with them in the most cruel of ways.

Kenshi was now beyond glee; with his Byakugan active, he did not see any Leaf Shinobi following him. He finally had a chance to grow stronger. He had one of the purest Byakugan at hand. Originally, he only needed three pairs of Byakugan for his ritual to try and evolve his Dojutsu to the next stage. He would still leave his own Byakugan as a backup, just in case. Soon enough, he would transplant the little Hyuga princess's eyes with his own and then perform the ritual. He couldn't wait for the day when his Byakugan would evolve into the next stage.

Kenshi couldn't help but marvel as he traversed through the village towards the exit. He had to cross multiple barriers that isolated different areas, but fortunately for him, he had the black tag to let him bypass the barriers. The new barrier covered almost ten times the area compared to the old.

"Hehe, such morons, especially that old bimbo Tsunade! Did they really think that I would let go of an extra pair of Byakugan? Or maybe I should raise her to be my personal slave," Kenshi murmured with a cruel glint in his eyes while eyeing the infant in his arms as he finally exited the last barrier.

"Did you just insult my sensei?" A devil-like whisper echoed within Kenshi's ears, causing his heart to skip a beat. He had let his guard down for an instant because he had exited the last barrier. Before he could react and create a safe distance, a blinding pain shot through his shoulders. His right arm, which was holding Hanabi, was severed at the elbow. Originally, Kazuki wanted to sever the Hyuga's head with a single strike, but at the last moment, he noticed the contract symbols on the infant's body. So, he decided to save the child first because killing the enemy while the contract was still active would kill the infant in turn.

Kazuki appeared a dozen or so meters away from Kenshi, who was now frantically looking around for his assailant. When Kazuki appeared on top of the tree while carrying little Hanabi, Kenshi finally laid his eyes on the enemy, who severed his arm.

Realizing the enemy had rescued Hanabi, Kenshi quickly started performing one-handed seals to trigger the contract. However, Kazuki was faster.

"[Keiyaku Fūin: Shōkyo]" (Contract Seal: Release) With pitch-black flames dancing on his fingertips, Kazuki plunged a counter seal into the infant's body. Kenshi was completely caught off guard by the little ANBU's action.

"You! Who the fuck are you? How did you manage to break the contract so fast?" Kenshi shouted in distress, having already blocked the bleeding from his right stump.

However, Kazuki did not pay much attention to Kenshi, who was shouting like a madman. No, his gaze was fixed into the darkness, where he detected two more presences that had just entered his detection. They had arrived abruptly, so he knew exactly who it was. Carefully, he tied Hanabi onto his back using the swaddling clothes.

"Did I not tell you? He would detect us the moment we arrived. I knew it; the kid's the one. He is the fuin grandmaster that we have been searching for," a joyful voice echoed out of the darkness.

"I suggest you sever your arm at the shoulder, or you are going to soon succumb to the corrosion," Obito, who stepped out of the darkness, followed by Tobi, directed his words to Kenshi, who had not realized that his right hand below the shoulder had already turned black, as if it were being affected by a corrosive poison.

Kenshi panicked and turned his Byakugan towards the stump, and what he saw made him realize how dire his situation was. Without a second thought, he created a chakra blade and severed the rest of his right arm right down at the shoulder.

"Tch," Kazuki couldn't help but feel annoyed. He wanted to take care of the Hyuga without Kenshi realizing it, so he had injected his Kekkei Genkai-infused chakra while severing Kenshi's arm, but Obito's timely reminder made Kenshi react and save himself.

"[Ninpo: Kuchiyose no Jutsu]" (Ninja Art: Summoning Technique). With a poof of smoke, a small black wolf materialized in front of Kazuki.

"Kuro, get to my sensei. Let her know that we have some unwanted visitors," Kazuki ordered, his eyes never leaving his opponents since the start. Now, outside the village barrier, he was not foolish enough to confront multiple enemies, especially Tobi. He was an anomaly, and Kazuki still couldn't properly estimate his strength. Extracted during the first batch of Zetsu, which was pulled out of the demonic statue by Black Zetsu, Tobi was originally a human victim of Kaguya Ōtsutsuki's Infinite Tsukuyomi, tethered to the God Tree over the course of years until transforming.

By Kazuki's initial estimate from his chakra level, Tobi should be at peak Kage level. He wouldn't even be surprised if Tobi was Super Kage level.

"That's a beautiful summon you have there, but it's a pity that it needs to die," Obito, hidden behind his mask, couldn't help but comment with a smirk on his face.

Originally, Obito wanted to infiltrate the village alongside Tobi and create chaos after Zetsu found news about the Hyuga coup. However, when he thought the time was ripe, A massive barrier engulfed the village, but luckily, they were outside its range. Otherwise, all of them would have been trapped.

Zetsu detected that the barrier was unlike any he had ever experienced, he couldn't even use his 'mayfly' technique to breach it. Even Obito's Kamui was helpless. Somehow, the creator of this barrier had locked the space coordinates within it, denying him teleportation. So, he had waited with Tobi and Zetsu nearby to understand what was happening.

"Oye, Obito, you don't have to worry. And Kuro, your little friend Zetsu can never catch up to my friend," Kazuki confidently stated. He already knew that Zetsu was lurking nearby, as he was within his Kekkei Genkai range, and Kuro was even more adept than him when it came to using shadows for travel. Just to prove his point, Kuro, who was running, dove into the ground as if he were diving into a lake. Zetsu, who was monitoring everything from a distance, was dumbstruck because even he couldn't detect where the beast went, despite being connected to the entire forest around them through the roots.

But it wasn't just the summon's actions that shocked Obito and Zetsu; the little ANBU had called Obito and himself by name. During the Fourth Shinobi War, they already had an inkling that Obito was exposed, but now even Zetsu's name had come up. Black Zetsu, especially, was considering all possible scenarios about where he might have slipped.

Obito quickly recovered from the shock, while Tobi, next to him, asked him playfully, "Obito-kun, are we going to recruit him to our group? Can he poop?" Tobi wasn't worried about Obito's reaction; he was in his own world. He was a weird character that way.

"Shut up, Tobi. This is not the time. We should retreat." Obito made a quick decision, not wanting to entangle himself, especially after realizing that the little kid in front of them might possibly be the fuinjutsu grandmaster.

"Obito, are you leaving already? I'm sure Kakashi-san would like to say hi." Kazuki couldn't help but taunt. He immediately threw a special kunai right at Obito's face as he prepared himself to teleport. Obito quickly realized the danger because he needed to materialize before he teleported, so he cancelled the teleportation, and the kunai phased through his face. But then, right at that moment, his eyes widened in shock as his mind registered what his eyes had seen. It wasn't an ordinary kunai but a kunai similar to that of his sensei, a Hiraishin marker. Obito realized his mistake too late, as Kazuki had already arrived right behind him.