After two days of rest, Hyuga Kagami finally recovered his energy, a clear sign that spending a whole night engraving sealing techniques was no simple task.
The artificial Tailed Beast's shell had already been shaped. The next challenge now facing Hyuga Kagami was how to leave the village quietly and unnoticed.
Escaping the village in itself wouldn't be difficult for someone with his former ANBU status. However, this wasn't a short outing—he would be gone for a considerable time. After all, Konoha and the ruins of Roran were separated by thousands of miles, with the journey alone requiring substantial time. Thus, he needed to leave a Shadow Clone at home to handle any unexpected issues.
The trouble was, more than half of his chakra was currently being used to maintain the puppet of the Third Kazekage. If he divided the remaining chakra to create a Shadow Clone, his true self wouldn't have enough chakra left to break the Fourth Hokage's seal on the Dragon Vein.
After pondering for a while, Hyuga Kagami decided to invite Shisui over.
"Senior, is there something you need from me?" Shisui asked curiously.
Hyuga Kagami nodded. "Yes, there's something I'd like your help with. But first, I need to ask you something else."
"What is it?"
"I mentioned to you before that the Nine Tails attack was caused by someone controlling the beast using a Sharingan. Have you noticed any suspicious individuals around the Uchiha district lately?"
Shisui thought carefully, then shook his head. "Aside from the Root agents monitoring us, I haven't noticed anyone suspicious."
Since the Nine Tails incident, the Uchiha clan had been increasingly isolated, and most villagers avoided their district altogether.
Then Shisui suddenly paused, his expression turning thoughtful.
"Did you remember something?" Hyuga Kagami asked.
"Well, there has been something odd. Do you remember Jinichi? Lately, he's been acting strange—he goes outside the village to train every day."
Hyuga Kagami stroked his chin. "That's not so unusual, is it?"
He didn't recall Jinichi well. During their sparring match, he had defeated him so quickly with a trick that he hadn't left a lasting impression.
Shisui continued, troubled, "What's odd is that the Root ninja who was monitoring him disappeared without a trace. Danzo has been at odds with our clan leader over it. If the Third Hokage hadn't intervened..."
"No wonder Danzo hasn't been bothering me lately," Hyuga Kagami muttered.
He had been wondering why Danzo hadn't sent anyone to spy on him recently. It now made sense—Root had encountered another incident.
If Danzo hadn't taken action against Jinichi, that likely meant they had no evidence tying him to the disappearance.
Though he couldn't conclude anything based on Shisui's vague account, Hyuga Kagami kept the matter in mind.
With the Uchiha matters updated, Hyuga Kagami turned the conversation to his own plans. "Shisui, I need to ask a favor."
"Of course, Senior. Anything you need."
"I need to leave the village for a while and don't want anyone to notice. I'd like you to create a Shadow Clone that stays in my house and acts as my cover."
The reason Hyuga Kagami asked Shisui was simple—only someone with a Mangekyo Sharingan could transform a clone so convincingly that even the Third Hokage might not notice the difference.
Shisui was stunned. "What are you planning to do, Senior?"
"Don't worry. It has nothing to do with the village and won't endanger its interests. It's just a personal matter."
Knowing Shisui's loyalty to Konoha, Hyuga Kagami had to clarify. Shisui was the type who would rather die than betray the village, even if betrayed by the village elders.
After hesitating for a moment, Shisui finally nodded. "If that's the case, then alright."
Hyuga Kagami smiled. "It might be hard on you—this won't be a short trip."
"How long will you be gone, Senior?"
"If everything goes smoothly, I'll be back in about two weeks. If not... I can't say for sure."
Shisui jumped to his feet. "What!?"
Even for someone like Shisui, maintaining a clone for twenty days would be a serious challenge—especially since the Third Hokage might summon Team 11 during that time. Fooling the Hokage with a clone would be dangerous.
Hyuga Kagami patted him on the shoulder and pushed him back down into his seat. "You already agreed, remember? No backing out now."
"But..."
"Don't worry. Help me this once, and I'll do everything I can to resolve the conflict between the Uchiha and the village."
Tempted, Shisui lowered his head in thought. "Okay, but I can only maintain the clone for 20 days, no longer."
"Twenty days should be enough," Hyuga Kagami thought.
Although he had lost the Third Kazekage puppet, the Tenseigan Chakra Mode still allowed him to fly. In fact, his speed in this form surpassed that of the puppet.
After reaching an agreement, Shisui left behind a Shadow Clone that looked nearly identical to Hyuga Kagami.
With his stand-in in place, Hyuga Kagami wasted no time. He slipped out of the village unnoticed.
Having already scouted a remote route during his earlier travels, he quickly entered Tenseigan Chakra Mode and flew in the direction of the Land of Wind.
To avoid detection, he kept his altitude just below the treetops, weaving through the dense forest like a spirit gliding on the wind...