NOVEL WEB Chapter 52: Chapter 52
Before Hyuga Kagami could even finish his sentence, he caught himself, and his face darkened as he muttered, "That guy is a pig after all."
The venom sac in the snake's corpse was extremely lethal to any wild beast without chakra, and the scruffy little boar that had run off clearly had no chakra circulation in its body. If it ate the snake, it was a goner.
Still, whether it was the snake's venom killing the pig, or the pig eating the snake, it was all part of nature's cycle.
Hyuga Kagami didn't have the time to worry about such trivial matters. After safely storing the venom sac he had just collected, he immediately resumed his hunt for more poisonous creatures.
By noon, after a full morning of effort, Hyuga Kagami had collected venom sacs and glands from over a dozen different toxic animals.
On the way back, he stopped by the marketplace to buy a few white mice.
Formulating a compound toxin wasn't as simple as just mixing all the poisons together. Each venom had its own unique properties, and reckless combination could not only fail to increase potency, but might also neutralize the toxins, making the final concoction weaker.
That's why compound toxins usually required extensive live testing to gather enough data for proper formulation.
Mixing...
Testing...
Documenting...
Hyuga Kagami spent almost the entire afternoon meticulously working on this process.
But the results weren't exactly satisfying.
The poisons he'd gathered from the Forest of Death weren't potent enough to kill even the test mice instantly, let alone affect ninja with chakra.
Still, it wasn't a complete failure. He discovered that the toxin from a certain species of moth had a powerful paralytic effect, while another kind of scorpion venom greatly accelerated blood circulation.
When combined, the test mice would become instantly paralyzed.
The problem now was figuring out how to merge the two toxins without degrading their effectiveness. Kagami hadn't found a solution yet. Also, he didn't know the upper limits of such a compound poison, or whether it could affect high-level ninja. Further testing was required.
As evening approached, Rin arrived at Kagami's home with a steaming hot meal.
Seeing the small corpses of white mice strewn across the floor from his experiments, she asked in surprise, "Kagami, what are you doing?"
Still diligently recording data from the test subjects, Kagami casually replied, "I'm researching poisons."
He hadn't tried to hide what he was doing today—collecting toxins from the Forest of Death in the morning, buying test mice in the afternoon—it was all done openly.
Rin squatted beside him and asked softly, "Do poisons really help that much?"
Like most members of the Hyuga clan, Rin instinctively disliked the idea of using poisons. But having experienced war, she knew that on the battlefield, anything that led to victory was valid.
Kagami smiled. "Of course they help. Who knows, these poisons might save my life on the next mission."
After finishing his notes, he tidied up briefly and then joined Rin for dinner.
This time, Rin had also brought some news. Hyuga Hiashi had requested to meet Kagami.
Hiashi was a figure of great influence in the Hyuga clan and served as the liaison between the clan and the village. Kagami couldn't refuse such a request.
That night, at a local izakaya...
Hiashi looked at Kagami and asked with a warm smile, "Why did you choose to meet here?"
Kagami casually lied, "I'm now part of the Hokage's personal Anbu team. I need to maintain a bit of distance from the clan—for both my sake and the clan's."
The real reason, of course, was to avoid exposing his Tenseigan. The clan compound had too many eyes, and someone could activate the Byakugan at any time.
Meeting at a quiet izakaya reduced the chances of being exposed. It wasn't likely anyone would randomly activate their Byakugan in such a setting.
In truth, Kagami was being overly cautious.
Because of the Byakugan's x-ray-like capabilities, Hyuga clan members were usually discreet about using it inside the village. Using it casually could easily be seen as intrusive.
Kagami's excuse was flimsy, but Hiashi nodded in agreement. "You're right. The village elders are always wary of the noble clans."
Recent developments with the Uchiha clan had made even the Hyuga clan uneasy.
Kagami didn't dwell on that sensitive topic and got straight to the point: "Lord Hiashi, what's the purpose of this meeting?"
Hiashi got to the heart of the matter. "Next month, the village will hold a confidence vote to promote certain Special Jonin to full Jonin."
Under normal circumstances, a Special Jonin's promotion required a small-scale confidence vote. Hiashi had arranged this meeting to secure Kagami's vote.
"We have a highly qualified candidate from the clan participating. As a member of the Hokage's Anbu, you have voting rights. I hope you can support the clan."
Kagami smiled brightly. "Of course. I'll do everything I can."
In that moment, he fully realized how much his status had changed. As a wartime Chunin, he wouldn't have even been allowed to participate in such matters.
Now, even a great clan like the Hyuga needed something from him.
Naturally, Kagami also had his own reasons for agreeing so quickly.
Unlike the arrogant Uchiha, the Hyuga clan was much more composed and discreet. Their reputation in the village was far better, and many Konoha shinobi preferred teaming up with Hyuga members for missions. The clan wasn't a burden—it was a powerful resource he could tap into.
After a bit more casual conversation, the two parted ways.
The next morning, as Kagami was preparing to return to the Forest of Death to gather more venom, a figure suddenly blocked his path.
The man coldly asked, "Hey, you're Hyuga Kagami, right?"
Kagami nodded.
The man twirled a kunai in his hand and said, "I'm Uchiha Shinichi. I heard you beat Shisui recently. I'm here to challenge you. I'll make sure you understand that the Uchiha name isn't something just anyone can trample on!"
Kagami's face darkened. "Sorry, I have things to do."
Uchiha Shinichi sneered, "That's not your choice anymore!"