Chapter 37: Hinata Hana's Hope, Danzō's Victory, and Hiiro's New Beginning
Hinata Hana watched from the stage as even some capable civilian ninjas began testing the blades, feeling increasingly anxious. She was even afraid that in the end, clan head Hinata Tenmei wouldn't let them try.
Ever since she had been branded with the Caged Bird Seal, she had grown more and more hopeless. But when she saw Naraku's forged ninja blades, she always felt a faint sense that this could be her chance to change her fate and escape the cage. This made her desperately want to grasp this last, illusory straw.
Perhaps sensing Hinata Hana's urgency, Hinata Tenmei spoke to some of the branch family academy students: "All of you go try. Remember—don't be rude."
Naraku also noticed Hinata Hana, his classmate. In his memories, this little girl had been very cheerful and cute before receiving the Caged Bird Seal. Unfortunately, after the seal, she had become completely silent and invisible.
Hearing this, Hinata Hana relaxed slightly, then grew tense again. She wasn't sure if she could be compatible with the ninja blades. And even if she could—what about escaping the cage?
Until the people ahead had all failed, Hinata Hana carefully picked up One-Cut Killer [Muramasa]. The result was that this blade was completely unsuitable for her.
She felt even more despair—until later, Hinata Hana picked up March of the Dead [Yatsufusa].
The same scene repeated. One second… two seconds… three seconds.
March of the Dead [Yatsufusa] remained firmly held in the girl's hand. She seemed unwilling to let go, gripping the ninja blade tightly.
Hinata Tenmei saw this scene and felt extremely conflicted. He had originally brought branch family members to oppose the elders a little and recruit talent. He never expected this situation. Now he was thinking about how to shift the blame.
Hinata Tenmei kept telling himself internally: This is a necessary action to protect Hinata Hana.
Beside him, Danzō's killing intent was almost overflowing. He had originally thought the entire village of Konoha had only him as compatible with this Teigu—unexpectedly there was an accident, and from the Hyūga branch family no less.
Danzō immediately decided: if this girl dared to perform better than him in the second round, later he would either kill her and take the blade or… No—using his position as Root leader and Konoha elder, he could directly demand it from the Hyūga. Surely the Hyūga clan wouldn't be so unwise!
Naraku watched Hinata Hana with interest. He hadn't expected the Hyūga clan to have someone compatible with a Teigu. He was even thinking that perhaps he could use this to obtain the Hyūga clan's Byakugan bloodline.
Unfortunately, Danzō was staring hungrily. Naraku knew that no matter what, he couldn't let Hinata Hana pass the second-round assessment—otherwise, whether she would see tomorrow's sun was already in question. Moreover, the Hyūga clan's turtle-like tradition might very well force Hinata Hana to surrender the Teigu.
So he could only wrong Hinata Hana for now. Naraku spoke kindly to her: "Put down the Teigu and stand beside me."
Hinata Hana obediently stood next to Naraku.
Afterward, until the very end, no second compatible person appeared.
Naraku felt this was normal. Being able to dig up two treasures this time already made him very happy. He hadn't expected unknown ninjas later to possess such special aptitude. Naraku guessed they might have been extinguished among the masses or died directly in battle for various reasons.
Moreover, Naraku believed that people chosen by Teigu must possess some kind of talent waiting for him to develop.
Later, without question—since no second person could be compatible with One-Cut Killer [Muramasa]—Uchiha Hiiro became its master. Naraku solemnly handed One-Cut Killer [Muramasa] to Uchiha Hiiro: "From now on, you are the master of One-Cut Killer [Muramasa]. I hope you become a powerful ninja!"
Uchiha Hiiro nodded blankly.
Then Naraku spoke to Danzō and Hinata Hana: "Next, the two of you will conduct the second-round test. Inject your chakra into the Teigu March of the Dead [Yatsufusa]. Whoever's Teigu glows brighter is more suitable for March of the Dead [Yatsufusa]."
In truth, this was all Naraku making up. The actual compatibility assessment was not judged by the brightness of injected chakra at all.
Danzō grabbed March of the Dead [Yatsufusa] and frantically poured chakra into it. March of the Dead [Yatsufusa] emitted powerful black light in his hand.
Then Hinata Hana timidly picked up the ninja blade and slowly injected chakra. Naraku saw the even darker but weaker light in Hinata Hana's hand and knew the person in front of him was truly the most suitable for March of the Dead [Yatsufusa].
Danzō looked at the faint light of March of the Dead [Yatsufusa] in Hinata Hana's hand and burst into loud laughter.
Naraku also said to Danzō: "Lord Danzō, clearly you are more suitable for March of the Dead [Yatsufusa]."
Before Naraku could finish, Danzō snatched March of the Dead [Yatsufusa] from Hinata Hana's hand.
Hinata Hana only felt a sense of emptiness. In her heart she comforted herself: It's okay. After being branded with the Caged Bird, there was never any hope anyway, right!
Afterward, Hinata Hana left the venue like a lost soul, returning to her clan group. Her steps were unsteady, as if she had lost all strength, her face pale as paper.
Back among the clan group, Hinata Hana's body trembled slightly, her lips unconsciously pursed tight, as if desperately suppressing her emotions.
Later, Naraku began explaining the flaws and other abilities of March of the Dead [Yatsufusa] to Danzō in detail: "Yatsufusa possesses the 'Durability' and 'Sharpness' traits, with strong chakra conductivity—this is a common characteristic of my forged ninja blades, so I won't go into detail. Additionally, Yatsufusa provides reinforcement to single-attribute chakra. The flaw of Yatsufusa is that during activation, the more corpses controlled, the greater the reduction in the wielder's own abilities. In other words, it suppresses the wielder's attributes, such as consuming chakra and stamina. So you must make your own choices."
Danzō was startled hearing Naraku's words, but after thinking carefully, he realized it wouldn't affect him much. As long as he used this ninja blade to kill a few powerful ninjas and had them fight in coordination, he wouldn't need to act personally at all.
Next, Naraku asked about Uchiha Hiiro's situation: "One-Cut Killer [Muramasa] is extremely dangerous—even as its master, the same applies. If you cut yourself, you will die instantly. So you must be very careful. Does your family have anyone who can teach you swordsmanship?"
Uchiha Hiiro shook her head.
Naraku felt speechless. How come the ninja world was so lacking in parents? Thinking of Team 7—four people in one class, plus Sai and Yamato later—that made six people, and you could still scrape together one set of parents.
Naraku said seriously to Uchiha Hiiro: "From now on, stay by my side. I will teach you swordsmanship properly!"
Uchiha Hiiro thought for a moment and agreed.
Naraku was thinking about how to cultivate Uchiha Hiiro into his trusted confidant. He planned to try the feeding method later to see if he could enter this girl's heart.
Of course, Naraku was also worried about someone trying to steal the Teigu, so he wanted to keep her close for protection.
Naraku hadn't checked his Shinigami Hall for a long time, but he knew the number of people inside had been steadily increasing.
Naraku planned to take some time to go take a look.
--------------------------
You can support me here patreon.com/inkshield
Your support boosts my motivation and confidence, helping me focus and release chapters more consistently.
Every bit of support inspires me to keep creating better content.