Hyuga Asana followed the three elders of Ryuchi Cave through a tunnel filled with stalactites and came before the White Snake Sage.
"Young one who wishes to learn Sage Arts, welcome to Ryuchi Cave!" The old woman in white robes leaned lazily against a stone bed and spoke in a relaxed tone.
"Grandma, who are you?" Hyuga Asana asked with a feigned expression of cluelessness.
"I am the White Snake Sage," the old woman on the stone bed replied with a smile.
"What is a White Snake Sage?"
"Orochimaru's disciple—how long do you plan to keep up the act? There are no Konoha ninja here."
Hyuga Asana froze momentarily, then dropped her confused act and smiled. "As expected of the White Snake Sage. You saw right through my little tricks!"
"I already understand what you and Orochimaru are planning. Honestly, compared to that guy Orochimaru, you indeed have more talent in learning Sage Arts. You're well-suited to be our next spokesperson in Ryuchi Cave. Are you interested in learning from us?"
"So, White Snake Sage, you're saying I can really learn Sage Arts?"
"Of course you can!" the White Snake Sage answered without hesitation.
"Then I'll learn!"
"Very good! Tagitsu-hime, I'll leave this girl to you."
"Yes, White Snake Sage!"
After Hyuga Asana left with Tagitsu-hime, Ichikishima-hime quietly asked the White Snake Sage, "Do you really intend for her to be Ryuchi Cave's next spokesperson?"
"You think I'm joking?"
"But she's a member of the Hyuga branch family. She has that troublesome curse seal on her forehead. In a sense, she's a puppet of the Hyuga main family. Are we really teaching Sage Arts to a puppet?"
"Hehe. Ichikishima, didn't you notice just now? Her Byakugan is different from the usual Hyuga Byakugan. Don't forget—the Hyuga are descendants of that woman too."
"You mean her bloodline has regressed to an ancestor's form?" Ichikishima-hime asked in shock.
"Your perspectives are too narrow. Though she's a Hyuga, she also carries Senju blood. The fusion of these two bloodlines has complemented her genes—this kind of thing is quite natural." With that, the White Snake Sage stopped paying attention to them and slowly closed her eyes.
Unknowingly, Hyuga Asana had been in Ryuchi Cave for nearly a week.
During that week, Uchiha Yuan visited Orochimaru daily to inquire about Hyuga Asana's condition.
For the first few days, Orochimaru didn't know much about her situation. But today, when Uchiha Yuan visited again, Orochimaru suddenly told him that Hyuga Asana had begun to learn Sage Arts.
She had specially sent a small snake to deliver the news back.
Upon hearing that she had officially started her training, Uchiha Yuan let out a long sigh of relief.
"Lord Orochimaru, generally speaking, how long does it take to learn Sage Arts?" Uchiha Yuan asked.
"That depends on the individual's talent. I heard from the White Snake Sage that some gifted people in the past could master it in just a few days.
But for most, it takes months—sometimes even a year or two—to succeed."
"I see… Lord Orochimaru, if there's any news about Asana, please let me know as soon as possible."
Orochimaru nodded in agreement.
Knowing that Hyuga Asana had successfully started her Sage training, Uchiha Yuan felt the weight in his heart lift.
He returned to Konoha and began preparing for the upcoming Nine-Tails Night.
It was now April of Konoha Year 48, and Naruto would be born in October of the same year. That meant there were only six months left before the Nine-Tails Night.
Uchiha Yuan planned to spend the next six months consolidating the Uchiha clan's internal unity—whether Hawk faction or Dove faction, he would take control of both and sideline Uchiha Fugaku as clan head.
The Uchiha clan had to be involved in the Nine-Tails Night. This would be their chance to completely change the villagers' perception of them.
Besides that, Uchiha Yuan also intended to seize the opportunity to obtain some of the Nine-Tails' chakra. With it, he could begin constructing the mini Ten-Tails.
Knock knock."Yuan-senpai, are you home?" A sudden knock interrupted Uchiha Yuan's thoughts.
"Is that you, Shisui? What's the matter?" Uchiha Yuan asked.
"Yuan-senpai, the Hokage invited me to join the ANBU a few days ago, and I wanted to ask for your opinion," Shisui said as he walked in.
Uchiha Yuan was slightly surprised. Namikaze Minato hadn't discussed this with him at all!
"Did the Hokage only invite you? Or were other clan members invited too?"
"Not just me. Two other clan members from the Dove faction also received invitations. The Hokage said he had someone inform you. Didn't you know, senpai?"
Hearing that, Uchiha Yuan suddenly recalled—Namikaze Minato did have Kakashi deliver a scroll. But at the time, Yuan's thoughts were entirely on Hyuga Asana, so he had casually set the scroll aside without reading it.
Uchiha Yuan took the scroll out from his storage ring and opened it. Sure enough, it contained information related to the ANBU.
According to Namikaze Minato's plan, he intended to create a special squad within the ANBU composed entirely of Uchiha clan members.
This was a gesture of goodwill from Minato toward the Uchiha—giving them access to a portion of ANBU authority that they had never had before.
Minato was only able to make this move thanks to the recent suppression of Danzo and the two advisors, who could no longer interfere.
"Does the clan head know about this?" Uchiha Yuan asked after closing the scroll.
"No. The Hokage said he only spoke with you about it."
Uchiha Yuan nodded and began to consider how to allocate the squad's slots.
Normally, an ANBU squad consisted of 10 members. Since Minato had already invited three from the Dove faction, there were seven spots left.
After some thought, Uchiha Yuan came up with a plan and decided to visit the Great Elder tonight to discuss it.
"Shisui, you may join the ANBU. Go tell the Hokage I've already arranged the remaining seven members. I can have the full squad assembled within three days."
"Understood. Is there anything else you'd like me to tell the Hokage?"
"No need. By the way, Shisui, you've been quite active lately—your title 'Shunshin Shisui' (Body Flicker Shisui) has even reached my ears."
"That's all thanks to your teaching, senpai."
"I only taught you the basic body flickering technique. The rest you earned through your own effort. With your strength at your age, you'd rank in the top five of Uchiha history."
"You're exaggerating, senpai. Speaking of talent, I recently met a kid whose talent is no less than mine."
(To Be Continued...)