It was already late at night in Konoha.
The last of the dim moonlight was obscured by clouds, and almost all the lights had been extinguished, leaving only one lamp shining brilliantly in the night.
The plane tree leaves rustled in the night wind. The Root ninja, codenamed "Owl," hid his form in a tree, watching the lit window in the distance.
Through the gaps in the study's blinds, he could see the kid named Hyuga Kumo hunched over a desk, writing. The warm light of the desk lamp reflected off the surface of the diary.
According to intelligence, the other party had maintained this habit of writing in a diary for many years.
"Meow."
The faint sound of a cat's meow came mixed with the chirping of insects. "Owl" frowned warily and followed the sound, only to see two black shadows humping up and down. Two cats were meowing vigorously.
"..."
"Owl" silently averted his gaze, complaining to himself that he must be going crazy; the target was just a child.
Although he thought this, his mind couldn't help but think of "Kamaitachi," of his tragic appearance after losing an arm, and a chill ran down his spine.
Never underestimate anyone. I don't want to end up like that.
Just then, he saw Hyuga Kumo suddenly stop writing, look up at the clock, rub his red-rimmed eyes, clip his pen into the leather buckle of the diary, and get up to leave the study.
Click.
With the soft click of the bedroom door closing, the light was also turned off, and the entire residence plunged into darkness.
"Owl" made no move, quietly hiding in the bushes.
Only after he heard clear snoring from the distance did he finally release his hand signs and the sensory ninjutsu he was using. Like a leaf blown by the wind, he silently appeared outside the window.
The opened window made a faint sound. "Owl" silently slipped into the study. First, he stored the diary in a scroll, then he began to search the study silently.
He did not try to assassinate Hyuga Kumo as "Kamaitachi" had. Finding nothing unusual in the study, he finally decided to just take the diary.
He restored everything to its original state. Just as he was about to climb out the window...
"Who!"
A sudden shout reached his ears. "Owl's" pupils instantly shrank.
The next moment, before he could react, the piercing sound of wind came from behind him, like the shriek of a demon in the wind.
"Wind Release: Wind Cutter Technique."
Tss!
"Owl" only had time to dodge to the side with all his might. A moon-shaped wind blade blew past him. Drops of blood splattered on the wall, leaving an irregular arc. A line of blood gradually spread and lengthened on his arm.
Splurt!
Blood gushed out as if it had broken a dam, and his arm slid off at the shoulder, thudding to the ground.
"Owl" let out a muffled grunt, his body trembling slightly. He didn't bother to pick up the severed arm and jumped out of the window without hesitation.
However, he did not see that just after he left...
In the distance, the black cat humping on top of another calico cat froze. Its white pupils looked in the direction "Owl" had fled. It stretched out a paw and slapped away its foolish companion who was trying to get closer.
"If you want to take something, you have to leave something behind."
In the bedroom, Hyuga Kumo lowered his hands from their hand signs, a faint smile on his face, quietly waiting for the system's prompt.
Meanwhile, "Owl," clutching his arm, soon arrived at a cliff face. After opening a mechanism, he walked into the dense, heavy shadows.
As he went deeper underground, traces of water and moss gradually covered the dark corners, enveloping him in a warm, moist air. But he did not feel suffocated by it; instead, he felt a sense of security, as if he had returned home.
"That guy's strength is indeed not simple. No wonder Kamaitachi fell at his hands."
Looking at the severed arm that was continuously gushing blood, "Owl" gritted his teeth, his heart a mixture of fear and alarm.
In the vast, enclosed underground space, the lighting was as bright as day.
There was even a laboratory with a huge observation window, where figures in white lab coats and masks could be seen bustling about.
Rows of glass refrigerators displayed all sorts of materials, many unidentifiable reagents, and petri dishes containing cell tissue.
Next to them were some glass containers filled with a transparent green solution, soaking strange plant specimens and some animal torso specimens—bloody organs like eyeballs and kidneys.
And on the other side of the observation window, Danzo Shimura stood with a blank expression, his narrow left eye filled with a deep darkness, staring intently at the busy figures before him.
No, it would be more accurate to say he was staring at the thing on the experimental table.
It was a thumb-sized piece of white flesh, cell tissue from the "First Hokage."
But soon, a researcher turned around and gently shook his head at the man.
Seeing this, Danzo Shimura's face darkened, and he reached up to touch his bandaged arm.
"A bunch of useless trash. Without Orochimaru, are you all incapable of doing anything?" he felt the increasingly strong erosion of the Hashirama cells and cursed in a low voice.
Danzo's arm had once been severely injured in a battle. So in the eyes of others, including Hiruzen Sarutobi, the way he usually kept his arm in a sling was an injury from that battle. They had no idea that this arm was no longer his.
Even Danzo didn't know where this arm came from. That bastard Orochimaru had been surprisingly tight-lipped about it, only saying that it was a byproduct of his Wood Release cultivation experiments.
Danzo, hungry for power, naturally chose to have it transplanted, taking out all of his Sharingan reserves. But what he hadn't expected at all was that the erosive nature of the Hashirama cells far exceeded his expectations.
In just a few years, the Hashirama cells had gradually eroded this arm, and they still hadn't figured out how Orochimaru had managed to make this arm bear the Hashirama cells.
No one had been able to do it; they had only discovered that the Sharingan could suppress it.
But if this continued, the Sharingan he currently possessed would not be enough to suppress the Hashirama cells. "Damn it!" Danzo cursed inwardly. "If 'Kinoe' hadn't been snatched away by Hiruzen, maybe I could have had him snatch that Sharingan from Kakashi Hatake."
Just as he was pondering where to get more Sharingan...
The masked "Owl" appeared at his side, holding the scroll in his hand, and knelt beside Danzo, his voice trembling. "Lord Danzo."
Smelling the strong scent of blood, Danzo Shimura's expression instantly hardened. He frowned and looked at "Owl's" arm.
"Why the arm again?"
Danzo Shimura, who also had an injured arm, felt his face twitch. He felt as if he was being targeted, but he quickly shook off this inexplicable thought, took the scroll, and waved his hand.
"Owl" quickly retreated to treat his injuries, while Danzo opened the scroll and scanned it.
The reason he had someone bring back Hyuga Kumo's diary was to get a detailed understanding of this "failure" of the Hyuga clan and whether the other party had any value for him to recruit.
The diary's contents were mostly trivial daily matters. Danzo Shimura read it quickly, and a character profile formed in his mind.
A child who was once timid and useless, but after his father was forced to his death by his own kin, began to yearn for power.
Yearning for power is good.
He was only afraid that the other party would be the type with no desires.
Danzo soon saw the "testimonial" Hyuga Kumo had written for Hiruzen Sarutobi, but his reaction to it was a snort of contempt and even some bitterness and jealousy.
That hypocrite Hiruzen doesn't deserve such an evaluation at all.
Only the part of the "testimonial" about the "roots of a tree" made Danzo Shimura pause his gaze for a moment.
However, when he turned to the next page, his hand suddenly stopped. He stared intently at a sentence in the diary, his expression slightly moved.
[...Perhaps, my heart is like a tree. The more it yearns for the light above, the more its roots must reach downwards, into the soil, into the depths of darkness.]
At the same time, in Hyuga Kumo's bedroom.
The system's prompt sounded in Hyuga Kumo's mind as he had wished.
[Ding! Your lie has been judged as [Sweet Words]. Danzo Shimura has experienced an emotional fluctuation, reaching the level of [Kindred Spirit]. 400 Manifestation Points obtained.]
"Who would write a real diary?" Hyuga Kumo smiled and recited silently in his mind, "Manifest Ninjutsu - Lightning Release Armor."
[Cost: 1000 Manifestation Points. Manifest?]
"Yes."
[1000 Manifestation Points deducted. Remaining Manifestation Points: 10593]
Very good, still a ways from ten thousand. Thanks to Lord Danzo for the points.
Hyuga Kumo lay back on his bed and slowly closed his eyes. Memories of the "Lightning Release Armor" began to flood into his mind.
However, as he closed his eyes, a question that he had been pondering before popped into his head again.
"Since I can manifest ninjutsu..."
"Then is it also possible to manifest abilities from other worlds?"
However, Hyuga Kumo had already tried directly manifesting abilities from other worlds that were different from the ninja world, and it definitely didn't work.
The system's manifestation was based on the rules and logic of the world it was in. It seemed that it couldn't create other systems out of thin air, aside from chakra.
But Hyuga Kumo had always had a theory.
"What if I imitate and create abilities from other worlds based on the existing abilities of the ninja world, such as soul, body, natural energy, and chakra?"
There was no doubt that if he could really create something from nothing, if he could really shatter everyone's worldview and make everyone believe in the existence of this unfamiliar power...
Then the Manifestation Points he could harvest would be no small number.
In fact, Hyuga Kumo's design for Orochimaru was to verify this theory.
For example, if the old Sage of Six Paths could create the Pure Land, could he also, through lies and points, create a ninja world version of "Hueco Mundo"?
Hueco Mundo was a product of another world, "Bleach," located in the crevice between the human world and the Soul Society. It was a region where "Hollows" lived, and "Hollows" were evil spirits and怨灵 that humans transformed into after death. They could gain great power by devouring their own kind.
Hyuga Kumo wanted to use the methods of "grafting" and "substituting one thing for another" to graft his fabricated "Hueco Mundo" onto the real "Pure Land."
A pure lie is not believable.
Three parts falsehood, seven parts truth—that's how you deceive people.
After all, sooner or later, he would have to face the old Sage of Six Paths. It would be best if he could seize a part of the other's authority.
However, to perfect this idea, he still needed the help of the beloved Lord Orochimaru.
He imagined that under the guidance of that scroll, Orochimaru, who already had deep achievements in the field of the soul, would definitely be able to create a self-consistent theory and logic.
At that time, Hyuga Kumo could transform that theory and logic into a real "rule" in reality.
He would become like the Sage of Six Paths, possessing an independent small world and controlling numerous powerful souls.
=== === ===
I found that Boruto is really ridiculous. That Shin Uchiha, it says his constitution is very special and won't have any rejection reaction to any tissue transplanted into his body. Therefore, Orochimaru transplanted many of the Sharingan that Danzo Shimura had collected during the Uchiha massacre onto Shin, and then gave Shin's right arm, which had already been transplanted with various Sharingan, to Danzo as Danzo's new right arm.
But, damn it, that's complete nonsense. Itachi Uchiha was 13 when he became an Anbu captain, and only then did he slaughter the entire clan. Several years had already passed since Orochimaru defected, and Danzo's look with the bandaged arm and Sharingan was already established when Orochimaru defected.
I can only borrow the setting a little and try to rationalize it as much as possible. I'm really at my wit's end. The contradictions in the anime, manga, and official databooks are enough to make my scalp tingle, and now there's Boruto on top of it. I can't not write about it, as a lot of the content is related to the earlier Naruto story.