He had awakened another Kekkei Genkai, possessed long-range attack capabilities, and had even learned Ninjutsu.
This phenomenon had likely already aroused the wariness of the Main House.
This meant he could completely pose a threat to the lives of the Main House from outside the range of the Caged Bird Seal.
But... what was Hyuga Hiashi's intention in passing on that message? He was also a member of the Main House!
No matter how fierce the political struggle, they should present a united front against a threat capable of shaking the Main House.
Aokawa shook his head.
Since he couldn't figure it out, he stopped thinking about it.
He looked up at Hinata Iruha: "Have you received any other news from the clan?"
"No!" Hinata Iruha shook his head. "This message was passed to me privately by the Clan Chief through other channels."
"Other channels?"
"Yeah!" Hinata Iruha muttered noncommittally, showing no intention of elaborating.
Aokawa nodded, understanding that it was likely something inconvenient to state openly. He then said, "I understand. Thank you!"
"Then I'll take my leave!"
"Alright!" Aokawa stood up to see Hinata Iruha to the door.
Watching the latter walk away, Aokawa closed the door to the Barracks.
He sat back down in the room and took out the scroll he had gotten from Orochimaru.
Only now did he notice there was a small Seal on it.
Aokawa frowned; Orochimaru hadn't mentioned that the scroll was locked.
He tried the hand Seal method Orochimaru had given him when he took the explosive tag runes last time.
Click.
The sealing runes on it quickly receded.
Aokawa slowly unfurled the scroll and quickly scanned its contents.
A moment later.
He let out a sigh of relief.
According to Orochimaru's data on the Caged Bird Seal.
The Caged Bird Seal was divided into three layers of Curse Seals.
One layer was on the eyes, preventing the Byakugan of the Branch House from being taken by others; meanwhile, this Seal would automatically activate upon death to destroy the Byakugan.
The other two layers were on the brain and the Soul, respectively.
The main purpose of these two layers was to respond to the activation of the Main House's Curse Seal, making it easier for the Main House to control the Branch House.
Aokawa hadn't expected the Curse Seal to involve the Soul.
The Main House intended for the Branch House to be under their control for generations to come.
No wonder Hyuga Hizashi still had the Bird in a Cage Curse Seal on his forehead when he was reincarnated via Edo Tensei during the Fourth Great Ninja War, even though he had already died.
This also explained why Orochimaru said even he had difficulty cracking the Caged Bird Seal.
Because it involved the Soul, the difficulty would increase exponentially.
Orochimaru having the data on the Caged Bird Seal was likely more out of a mad scientist's curiosity; researching it once was enough.
But to truly expect him to spend effort cracking something that offered him no benefit and would consume time for other experiments was asking too much of him.
However, this hardest layer was actually the easiest for Aokawa.
Because he was a transmigrator.
The Caged Bird Seal engraved on the previous body's Soul had long since vanished along with it, whether that Soul had reincarnated or shattered.
As for him, he was a new Soul.
His Soul was clean, without any of those messy things.
Furthermore, according to Orochimaru's research data.
The Curse Seal on the eyes and the ones on the brain and Soul were, in terms of style and technique, products of two different eras.
In other words, the Seal used to protect the eyes and the one used to punish the Branch House were not developed by the same person.
That was very interesting.
It was understandable to engrave the Caged Bird Seal to protect the Byakugan from being coveted.
In fact, this was why the Hyuga Clan hadn't had their eyes plucked out everywhere like the Uchiha Clan.
The only eyes that were stolen were those of the Main House.
However, the engraving of the Bird in a Cage Curse Seal to punish the Branch House was likely a rule established by a certain generation of the Main House during the course of their Legacy.
But in any case, since the Curse Seal on the eyes was only for protection.
Then he only needed to resolve the Bird in a Cage Curse Seal on his brain.
In this regard, Orochimaru had actually already provided some ideas.
It was only because a part of it overlapped with the Curse Seal on the Soul that Orochimaru did not continue his in-depth research.
Now that Aokawa was free of that constraint, he could follow this line of thought and continue his research.
For the next seven days, Aokawa stayed behind closed doors, hiding in his Barracks to study the Caged Bird Seal technique.
Orochimaru also tacitly refrained from assigning him any missions.
This continued until Minato Namikaze returned with new reinforcements.
Along with him came a transfer order for Orochimaru.
In the previous battles, Orochimaru had acted willfully to reclaim lost territory, completely ignoring the situation where the Main Camp was being ambushed by the enemy.
Although Aokawa saved some people, many clan juniors suffered significant casualties during this Kumogakure ambush.
These families one after another approached Hiruzen Sarutobi to complain about Orochimaru's unscrupulous methods, while also implicitly demanding an explanation from Hiruzen Sarutobi.
It was perfectly fine for you, Hiruzen Sarutobi, to want these Genin to gain experience on the Battlefield.
They accepted that there would be casualties once they were on the Battlefield.
But for your student to completely disregard the lives of these Genin, with only victory in his eyes, that was going too far.
Amidst the public indignation, Hiruzen Sarutobi had no choice but to order that the commander of the Kumogakure Battlefield be replaced by Minato Namikaze.
At the same time, Orochimaru was relieved of his duties and returned to Konoha Village to report on his work.
In the camp headquarters.
Orochimaru silently packed his things, but there was no expression of disappointment on his face; he still wore that gloomy and eerie smile.
He gave Aokawa an inscrutable look and silently walked out of the tent.
Only Minato Namikaze and Aokawa remained in the tent.
"Aokawa!" Minato Namikaze took out a transfer order and handed it to Aokawa. "This is a transfer order from the Hyuga Clan. The Hyuga Grand Elder, Hyuga Ieyasu, requires you to return to the clan within five days to await further instructions."
"Recalling me at a time like this?" Aokawa asked in surprise.
Minato Namikaze gave a bitter smile. "The Hyuga Clan has sent three more Hyuga Jonin to replace you."
"Three?" Aokawa was startled.
Even for the Hyuga Clan, there weren't many Jonin.
Sending three at once was to prevent any gossip about the Hyuga Clan deserting the Battlefield.
They were determined to have him return.
At this moment, Aokawa also realized.
He realized what the message Hyuga Hiashi had Hinata Iruha pass on meant.
It meant he should use the tense battle situation as an excuse to refuse returning to the clan.
Conversely, it meant that if he did return to the clan, something would definitely happen, and this event was something Hyuga Hiashi did not want to see.
In fact, the Main House Elders wanting him back was nothing more than his abilities threatening the status of the Main House.
It was just that Hyuga Hiashi, as a member of the Main House, did not present a united front on this issue...
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