Malphegor
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HGBW: Ch. 55
🕑 Added 2025-03-06 02:14:41 +0000 UTC"I wonder how you wish to test me?"
Tanaka exchanged a glance with Orochimaru, narrowing his eyes slightly, deep in thought.
From their first meeting, the Snake Sannin had taken the initiative to approach him. Now, he had even brought out the Kusanagi Sword.
Was it really just a simple test of his abilities?
Even if he was not yet as ambitious and ruthless as he would later become during the Konoha Crush Plan, he was still someone who prioritized benefits above all else.
Few could make him back down when his interests were at stake—only a handful, like Jiraiya and Tsunade.
Clang.
Orochimaru did not speak. Instead, he grasped the hilt of the Kusanagi Sword and casually flicked it.
Whoosh.
The sword shot out of his hand, transforming into a flash of cold light as it flew toward a wall ten meters away.
Crack.
The moment the blade made contact with the wall, the solid bricks were instantly torn apart.
And then, the Kusanagi Sword embedded itself deep into the conference room wall.
"If you can grasp the hilt before me, then this sword will be yours from now on."
After doing all this, Orochimaru finally spoke to Tanaka in a leisurely manner.
The moment he said this, the eyes of everyone in the room lit up.
Gathering intelligence was a fundamental skill for a ninja—an indispensable one.
And right now, they had a golden opportunity to collect information on both Orochimaru and Tanaka.
One was a Sannin, renowned across the world since the Second Great Ninja War.
The other was a Hyūga prodigy who had broken the Caged Bird and wiped out the entire main house of his clan at just eight years old, rumored to have even developed space-time ninjutsu.
Neither enemy ninja villages nor their own Konoha ninjas could ignore such valuable intelligence.
Even Hiruzen, who had planned to make an entrance later, chose to deliberately delay his arrival.
The ANBU hidden around the conference room all pretended to be blind, deaf, and mute.
No one stepped forward to interrupt—let alone stop—Orochimaru.
Because the weight of the intelligence at stake was enough to render the ANBU temporarily "blind, deaf, and mute."
"A test? Is this Orochimaru's own idea? Or the will of the Konoha Council?"
Tanaka discreetly scanned the conference room.
Neither of the other two Sannin, Tsunade and Jiraiya, nor clan leaders like Fugaku or Shikaku, spoke up.
It was as if everyone had reached a tacit understanding.
Not only that, even though he hadn't activated his Byakugan, he knew that ANBU and Hiruzen were lurking in the shadows, watching everything unfold.
Yet, it was as if they had vanished into thin air.
"Fine."
After a brief moment of thought, he agreed to Orochimaru's challenge.
Since the ANBU had gone "missing," it meant that whether this was Orochimaru's personal initiative or the will of the Konoha Council, the Third Hokage had tacitly approved of what was happening in the conference room.
That being the case, there was no need for hesitation.
Whether it was the council, the Sannin, or the various ninja clans, the best way to deal with them was to keep a sword in hand—and make sure they knew that at any moment, you were ready to draw it and place it at their throats.
The Uchiha clan had possessed countless Mangekyō Sharingan users, yet they never used their power when it mattered. In the end, the council pushed them step by step into annihilation.
As for concerns about intelligence leaks...
Long before today, Tanaka had already placed part of his knowledge about the Op-Op Fruit on the Hokage's desk, in Danzō's Root headquarters, and before the clan leaders in this room.
All they lacked was confirmation of its authenticity.
"Go ahead."
As Orochimaru's words fell, his right hand pressed onto the table before him.
"Summoning Jutsu!"
The scene played out before the eyes of everyone in the conference room—as well as Hiruzen, watching from the shadows.
"Summoning the Kusanagi Sword?"
Seeing Orochimaru use the Summoning Jutsu, everyone secretly nodded in admiration.
Orochimaru was as meticulous as ever.
Without shedding a drop of blood, he had already obtained firsthand intelligence on Tanaka.
After all, Summoning Jutsu itself was a form of space-time ninjutsu. The only way to match its speed was with another space-time jutsu.
In other words, if Orochimaru could summon the Kusanagi Sword back from the wall before Tanaka could reach it, then the rumors of Tanaka developing his own space-time ninjutsu would be questionable.
On the other hand, if he managed to grab the sword before Orochimaru could summon it, then the intelligence regarding his mastery of space-time jutsu would be confirmed.
Now you understand, don't you?
The Hyūga have never been bound by just the Caged Bird of the main house.
The village itself is another kind of Caged Bird—one that doesn't just shackle the Hyūga, but every ninja clan.
Hizashi turned to look at Tanaka.
As the one leading the Hyūga clan, he fully understood that this seemingly abrupt and simple challenge over a sword was, in reality, the first power struggle between the Hyūga clan, the Konoha Council, and the other ninja clans of the village.
The outcome of this contest would determine how Konoha's upper echelon would treat Tanaka—and how the various clans would react to a branch house member no longer bound by the Caged Bird.
This was the reality of Konoha's political circle.
Once you stepped into it, even the smallest matters could be tied to a deeper, hidden conflict.
For the Hyūga clan to become great again, there are only two paths.
Either submit to the village's 'Caged Bird' and follow the Third Hokage's lead, just like the Ino-Shika-Chō trio...
Or become Konoha's shadow.
A flicker of anticipation, excitement, and unease flashed in Hizashi's eyes.
Having once stood alongside Tanaka and led the main house to its demise, he already knew what choice his disciple would make.
And it wasn't just Hizashi. At that moment, everyone was watching Tanaka, eyes locked on his every move.
Waiting to see what he would do next.
Especially Orochimaru.
"Show me your capabilities."
He didn't even glance at the hand he was using to perform the Summoning Jutsu.
Instead, his eyes were fixed intensely on Tanaka, unwilling to look away for even a second—afraid of missing a single frame of what was about to unfold.
Then suddenly, he felt an unfamiliar sensation beneath the palm he had pressed against the conference table.
Before he could shift his gaze, before he could even process what he was touching, his vision blurred, and a voice whispered calmly beside his ear.
"Did you see it clearly? My capabilities, Orochimaru-sama."
At some unknown moment, Tanaka had already moved to Orochimaru's side.
Holding the Kusanagi Sword in a reverse grip, he pressed the hilt against Orochimaru's summoning hand—severing the connection between his palm and the table.
