"This?"
Rasa lifted his head.
He saw the shinobi standing before him with a small figure cradled in his arms.
A little boy.
His clothes were ragged and torn, and two very distinctive marks were exposed on his forehead.
"The Caged Bird Cursed Seal?"
Rasa recognized it at once.
The shinobi across from him said, "Kazekage-sama, our patrol found a large wooden box standing in the desert. When we opened it, this child was inside."
"Besides the child, there was also a letter."
"We did not open the letter."
"There was also some gold placed beside him. It was worth quite a bit."
Rasa looked at the letter handed over to him and tore it open.
"Kazekage-sama, though we have never met, I have heard many things about you. You are a hero—a true hero. To lead a Sunagakure like that out of the mire is no ordinary feat."
"Though we stand in different camps, my respect for you is genuine."
"Please forgive me for being unable to reveal my true name."
"I wish to entrust this child to you."
"As a member of the Hyuga branch family, he was born beneath an unfortunate fate. And he, in particular, is even more unfortunate than most children of the Hyuga branch family, for he is Hizashi's child."
"I have heard that you are willing to accept all those who sincerely pledge themselves to Sunagakure. I believe that as long as you trust this child, this child will surely repay your trust."
"I hope his Byakugan can bloom with the radiance it deserves in Sunagakure."
"My deepest thanks!"
Rasa looked again at the child in the shinobi's arms, his expression turning strange.
"Hyuga Neji?"
This was something Rasa truly had not expected.
Someone from the Hyuga had actually sent Hyuga Neji to his Sunagakure?
For Sunagakure, this was not a bad thing.
Hyuga Neji was different from Uchiha Itachi. He was not the sort whose mind contained nothing but Konoha.
Neji was dissatisfied with the Hyuga main family. Given the current situation, he would also be dissatisfied with Konoha itself.
Such a person could be used by Sunagakure with relative peace of mind.
The only problem was that Neji was a branch family member. If he encountered someone from the Hyuga main family, the other party could directly use the power of the Caged Bird Cursed Seal to deal with him.
However, there were very few members of the Hyuga main family. As long as Sunagakure controlled the situation properly, it would be difficult for him to run into them.
"How many people know about this?"
"Reporting to Kazekage-sama, only the four members of our squad."
"This information must not leak out in the slightest. Not to your families, not to your friends, not to your comrades, and not even to your superiors. You have rendered great service. I will find another opportunity to reward you."
The shinobi before him brightened with joy.
"Thank you, Kazekage-sama."
Then he immediately thumped his chest and guaranteed it.
"Kazekage-sama, we will definitely keep it secret. We won't tell anyone."
Rasa nodded.
"Leave this child here for now."
"Yes, Kazekage-sama."
Rasa studied Hyuga Neji, recalling the information related to him.
"Among the Hyuga clan, he could be considered a genius. He comprehended a technique like Rotation on his own and reached jonin-level strength at a young age. Among the Konoha Twelve, his strength ranked near the top."
"But because the author didn't favor him, he became the only one among the Konoha Twelve to die."
"If not for the Caged Bird Cursed Seal, he would have become even stronger."
"For Sunagakure, he has many uses."
"First, when facing non-Konoha shinobi, he can use the Byakugan without concern and provide intelligence to his comrades. As long as his disguise is handled well, the enemy would find it very difficult to imagine Sunagakure possessing a Byakugan."
"Second, after he grows up, he can marry and have children in Sunagakure."
"Children born to members of the Hyuga branch family are not born with the Caged Bird Cursed Seal."
"In other words, Sunagakure can eventually possess Hyuga descendants without the Caged Bird Cursed Seal."
"It would be equivalent to creating a Hyuga main family within Sunagakure."
"However, even inside Sunagakure, his identity should normally be hidden."
"Both the Byakugan and the cursed seal need to be concealed."
"Have Senior Chiyo make a hood…"
"No…"
Rasa thought of someone more suitable.
At present, Chiyo was fighting for Sunagakure on the front lines. Even if Iwagakure was putting in work without exerting real effort, they would not act too blatantly. Battle and killing would still happen.
As for Sasori of the Red Sand, he had nothing much to do.
This matter could be handed entirely to Sasori of the Red Sand.
"Make an adjustable hood. It shouldn't become unusable just because he grows older."
Not long after, Hyuga Neji woke up.
The person who had sent him over seemed to have fed him some kind of sleeping drug. The entire operation had also not been explained to him, so the first thing Neji felt upon waking was utter confusion.
The second was vigilance.
"Where is this?"
"Who are you?"
Neji stared fixedly at Rasa, instinctively backing away until he reached the corner and had nowhere left to retreat.
"This is Sunagakure. I am Rasa, the Fourth Kazekage of Sunagakure. It seems you still don't know what happened, so I'll tell you. You were sent here to me by someone."
"I don't know who that person was, but they should have taken pity on you."
"Because of what happened to your father, you could no longer stay in Konoha."
"That person begged Sunagakure to shelter you and gave me some gold."
"But that is not enough."
"I need to see your value."
"If you give me value, I can shelter you. If the value you give me is great enough, I can even avenge you."
"You want revenge very badly, don't you?"
At the mention of revenge, Neji's eyes reddened sharply.
Coming here had been too sudden. For a moment, Neji could not fully process everything.
Even so, he forced himself to calm down and took a deep breath.
Then he came before Rasa.
Thud!
Both knees hit the ground. He lowered his head and kowtowed.
"Kazekage-sama, I will train hard and awaken my Byakugan. At that time, I will be useful to Sunagakure. I hope Kazekage-sama can give me a chance."
"I will do everything in my power to complete any order Kazekage-sama gives me."
"In this life, I will be loyal only to you, Kazekage-sama. If I ever betray this oath, may I die a miserable death!"
As Neji spoke, he gradually understood his current situation.
Everything had happened suddenly.
But this was also an opportunity for him.
In Konoha, he would only be suppressed and targeted. He would either die, or live like a slave. He would never have any hope of turning his fate around, let alone revenge.
But in Sunagakure, things were different.
He would still need to obey orders.
But above him, there would no longer be the Hyuga main family.
And he would have the chance to obtain vengeance.
"Hiruzen Sarutobi!"
"Hyuga Hiashi!"
"I will never let you go!"
"One day, I will kill you with my own hands!"
"I will avenge my father!"
Neji's small fists clenched tightly.