[In the Forest on Konoha's Outskirts]
Rengoku threw Hanabi onto the ground.
The impact woke Hanabi from her dazed state.
She saw a person completely covered up standing not far away.
She didn't scream. Instead, she quickly looked around at her surroundings.
After confirming she was in the forest outside Konoha, she quickly figured out her situation.
"What do you want?"
Hanabi forced herself to stay calm, but she was still shocked inside. After all, this person had managed to take her from the Uchiha clan grounds.
It was obvious they had some special method or connection.
The problem now was that she had no idea what this person's goal was.
Using Obito's voice, Rengoku spoke, "Not bad. You're surprisingly calm."
He genuinely thought Hanabi was impressive. Most children her age weren't as mature as she was.
Hanabi said nothing. Although she was uneasy inside, she still appeared composed.
"Things have been quite lively in the Hyuga clan recently, haven't they?"
Hanabi's expression changed slightly. She didn't understand what he meant.
Rengoku continued, "Hyuga Hizashi, Hyuga Sota, and Hyuga Koshin have all been revived."
"But unfortunately, your father, Hyuga Hiashi, can't be revived."
Hanabi looked distracted for a moment, then lowered her eyes.
"So what?"
Her voice was somewhat low, as if she were in a bad mood.
Using Obito's voice, Rengoku said in a tempting tone, "I can bring your father, Hiashi, back."
"What?"
Hanabi was startled and delighted, but the joy on her face disappeared almost immediately as she calmed down.
She knew there was no such thing as a free lunch.
"What do you want to do?"
Rengoku let out a cold laugh, "I need information."
Hanabi's eyes shifted slightly, as though she was thinking about something. Then she calmly asked, "What information?"
"Information about the Uchiha and Konoha. Also, when Konoha plans to send troops this time."
"Why should I believe you?", Hanabi asked coldly.
Rengoku reached out, grabbed Hanabi by the throat, and lifted her up.
The intense feeling of suffocation made her dizzy. Broken sounds came from her mouth, "Uh... mm... uh..."
Rengoku spoke in a cold tone, "The fact that I brought you here means your life is in my hands."
"If I can capture you once, I can capture you a second time."
As he spoke, he threw Hanabi to the ground.
"Cough! Cough... Haa..."
Hanabi greedily breathed in fresh air, trying to help her dizzy mind recover.
"I understand. I'll cooperate with you."
Hanabi spoke with a frightened expression.
Rengoku grabbed her mouth and shoved a black object directly inside.
Then he pushed her jaw upward.
With a gulp, Hanabi swallowed it.
While sticking her fingers into her throat and retching, she spoke with difficulty, "Wh-what... did you... make me... eat?"
Rengoku said grimly, "Of course it's poison. If you don't come here every three days and deliver information, I'll leave the antidote here. If you go three days without taking the antidote..."
Fear and despair appeared on Hanabi's face as she timidly asked:
"What happens if I don't take the antidote for three days?"
"You can see a black line on your arm now. If you don't take the antidote for three days, that black line will reach your palm."
"Then blood will flow from all seven openings of your head, and you'll die. So you'd better behave."
While Rengoku was acting, his expression suddenly shifted.
He walked to the side, turned his back to Hanabi, closed his eyes, and began using the Kagura Mind's Eye.
———
A White Zetsu carrying a bead was hiding underground, circling Konoha with the Mayfly Technique.
Black Zetsu had sent him to see which members of the Hyuga clan had talent.
Hyuga clan members held important positions in Konoha's reconnaissance and defense departments.
Among those on duty every day, there were always Hyuga clan members.
Different Hyuga clan members were also among the patrols.
White Zetsu couldn't enter Konoha's inner city because various barriers had been set up there.
He could only use the Mayfly Technique underground while circling Konoha.
They were White Zetsu. They didn't have feelings about whether something was tiring or not. After Black Zetsu gave the order, they simply kept repeating the task.
If one White Zetsu ran out of energy and entered standby mode, another White Zetsu would take over.
Today, when this White Zetsu reached the forest outside Konoha, the bead finally began to heat up and turn white.
White Zetsu immediately moved toward that direction.
By the time the bead was giving off a burning temperature, White Zetsu had already discovered Hanabi in the distance.
Although Rengoku was standing nearby as well, White Zetsu's attention was entirely on Hanabi.
Using the Kagura Mind's Eye, Rengoku quickly noticed someone nearby.
"Three days from now, I'll wait for you here. If you don't come, you know the consequences."
As he spoke, Rengoku's figure flashed and shot quickly into the forest.
But he wasn't moving very fast. Anyone with some ability could definitely catch up.
Rengoku continuously used the Kagura Mind's Eye to determine whether the nearby person was following him.
But the other side didn't pursue him.
A look flashed through Rengoku's eyes, and he immediately entered Null Horizon.
Then he returned to his original position.
Inside Null Horizon, nobody could see him, nor could they sense his presence at all.
Following the perception from the Kagura Mind's Eye, he quickly found the White Zetsu that was monitoring Hanabi.
Seeing the White Zetsu's vacant expression, Rengoku knew this was just an ordinary White Zetsu, the type without emotions.
However, the bead in White Zetsu's hand caught Rengoku's interest.
When White Zetsu got close to Hanabi, the bead turned white. When he moved farther away, the bead gradually became transparent again.
So White Zetsu followed Hanabi, while Rengoku followed White Zetsu. It wasn't until Hanabi entered the village that White Zetsu stopped tracking her.
Then the White Zetsu sank underground again and resumed wandering around Konoha.
'Strange. Is that thing searching for something?'
'What's the purpose of that bead?'
Rengoku didn't alert the enemy. After discovering that White Zetsu was continuously circling Konoha in a regular pattern, he memorized White Zetsu's chakra and left.
———
[Uchiha Clan Grounds]
Hanabi returned alone, looking somewhat frightened.
She had come back to the clan grounds in the middle of the night and had expected some trouble, but this time it was strangely quiet and nobody gave her a hard time.
The patrolling Uchiha Kanichi simply told her not to train too late and to head back early.
After the patrol team left, Hanabi didn't go home. Instead, she immediately ran toward the training grounds.
At the place where she had been training earlier, Hanabi looked around.
She kept thinking about how the intruder had managed to kidnap her.
But after looking for a long time, she still couldn't figure it out.
Standing beside the wooden post, Hanabi rubbed her stomach, then pulled up her sleeve and glanced at the black line on her arm.
She turned and walked deeper into the training grounds.