At this point, Shiki also felt a sense of sadness. Because he had truly placed himself in the position of an orphan from the Uzumaki clan.
"Of course, all that happened a very long time ago. My earliest memories began with my mother while we were fleeing. We lived under fake identities, never daring to trust anyone completely. We couldn't even tell if our former friends might actually be enemies. You never knew when someone you trusted could turn around and stab you in the back. That's exactly why my mother refused to come to Konoha—she couldn't make that distinction."
"So Shiki, are you complaining about how unfair fate has been to you?"
"No! Even so, I've never given up on becoming stronger. There might be moments of disappointment, but I will never accept fate's decrees without resistance.
Even with these injuries this time, I won't accept that I've become weak from now on. As long as I'm alive, there are endless opportunities. Do you believe me? Within ten years, I will still stand at the pinnacle of the ninja world."
Lee was stunned. If anyone else had said those words, he would've dismissed them as empty bragging. But this was Shiki—the one who had never failed.
That kind of intense confidence left Lee unable to doubt him.
Perhaps... perhaps he really could become strong again!
Seeing Lee's reaction, Shiki knew he was feeling much better already. He continued, "Lee, if Konoha is ever shrouded in darkness, would you be willing to break through that darkness with me and bring more hope to the people?"
Chapter 58: Provocation
Break through the darkness?
The phrase seemed abstract, almost meaningless—until Shiki said it. Then, it carried a whole new weight.
To put it grandly, Shiki wanted to wage a relentless war against Danzo—the darkness festering inside Konoha—and call upon his allies to fight alongside him for this righteous cause.
To put it bluntly, Shiki was trying to drag someone else into his schemes. And Lee, who had tremendous potential, had become his target.
Idealists tended to believe the first interpretation, while conspiracy-minded individuals usually leaned toward the latter.
As for Shiki himself, he belonged to a third category.
A scheming idealist...
"Darkness?" Lee asked doubtfully, clearly unaware of Konoha's hidden darkness until now.
Shiki knew revealing too much wouldn't be wise just yet. Sometimes, knowing too much wasn't necessarily good for Lee.
As long as he planted the seed in Lee's heart, eventually—with his upright nature—he would act alongside Shiki at the right moment.
After all, Danzo was an extreme evil whose mind had gone completely mad.
With nothing more to say, Shiki turned his attention to training.
Although he couldn't properly use his meridians, physical conditioning was still possible.
As long as he avoided opening the Eight Gates Release, didn't strain his legs, and conserved his chakra usage.
In the snow-covered field, they resumed their astonishing training routine once more. However, due to his leg injury, Shiki removed his weights,
making his movements appear even quicker and more agile than Lee's.
After two thousand staff swings, two thousand punches, and five hundred push-ups, Shiki had already stripped off his coat—yet he was still sweating buckets.
For Shiki, these were already among the few exercises he could perform normally.
"It seems this won't work out if things continue like this," Shiki muttered, glancing at his injured leg.
His one leg was temporarily disabled. Even training kicks with the other leg was impossible, otherwise his center of gravity would become unstable.
As for running and speed training, those were completely out of the question.
He couldn't help but glance over at Lee, who was practically bouncing with excitement today.
Probably because he's inspired by how I still embrace Youth! despite being injured?
Shiki watched Lee with interest.
"If in the future, I form a team similar to Sasuke's Taka Team, it might actually turn out pretty well."
Just as Shiki remained confident and envisioned his future, an unpleasant voice reached his ears.
"Heh, so this is where you've been training all along, Shiki Uzumaki?"
The mocking sneer caused Shiki to frown involuntarily. He turned and saw the familiar Byakugan—disgusting as ever.
Hyuga Ao!
Ever since Shiki had defeated him previously, the gap between them had only widened further. And without Danzo's training, he could no longer display even a trace of "genius."
What did he come here for this time?
So Shiki spoke bluntly without bothering to soften his tone. "What if I train here?"
Hyuga Ao's gaze lingered on the walking stick beside Shiki's injury, speaking disdainfully, "Someone from a minor family dared to act so arrogantly before. Now you've finally recognized your place, huh?"
So he really came looking for trouble!
Originally, Shiki still held a bit of hope toward Hyuga Ao—perhaps his foolishness wasn't quite this severe?
Who would have guessed he was truly such an "innocent" person, openly taking advantage of someone's misfortune.
Since that's the case, Shiki decided not to waste any more words.
"Aren't the Hyuga branch families always acting so high and mighty? Yet Hinata, as the main house member, seems extremely humble."
Upon hearing the mention of the main house, Ao's face clearly flashed with discontent. Immediately afterward, he stretched out his right hand, pointing straight at Shiki Uzumaki.
"Do you mean to say you look down on us branch family members?"
Hearing this, Shiki couldn't help but chuckle.
Still just a kid indeed—you seriously think you can frame me like that?
Then Shiki replied, "Wrong. I don't look down upon your entire branch—I only look down upon you!"
You bastard!
Ao became so angry that the veins on his forehead were about to bulge out. He roared, "At the end of the day, you still believe members of the main house are inherently superior to us from the branch! And what exactly is Hinata now—a useless nobody! How does she deserve to stand above me, Hyuga Ao?"
Seriously? You dare call her useless?
Now Shiki was genuinely furious. If it were merely himself involved, he wouldn't mind playing around with this brat who'd always considered him an enemy.
But when Hinata got dragged into this, Shiki snarled back.
"A real nobody like you can only bark like a dog from the bottom."
"You! You actually dare call me useless?" Ao tightened his fists fiercely. "Useless? I refuse to believe that Lord Hiashi will truly make Hinata the head of the main house! As long as I kill you—yes, kill you! Lord Danzo will surely remove the Cage Bird from me!"
"Just you wait — I'll be the new leader of the Hyuga family by then, you'll see!"
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