After seeing off Hyūga Hiashi and the other elites, Shinichi distinctly felt an air of impending trouble. This referred to both the weather and the political situation. However, Shinichi's thoughts were ultimately too optimistic.
He assumed that the departure of Hiashi and the elites wouldn't have an obvious impact on the clan immediately.
But to Shinichi's surprise, on the very night Hiashi left, the Hyūga compound became unsettled.
The night deepened, and a fine drizzle began to fall from the sky. Raindrops hit the ground's flagstones and tile roofs, making quiet, clear sounds.
Hyūga Shinichi, having finished his evening practice, turned off the lights and stepped out of the dojo. Standing under the eaves, he looked up slightly at the drizzling rain, momentarily lost in thought.
"Hmm?"
Suddenly, the surface of a puddle that had collected on the ground in front of the dojo began to ripple.
Under Hyūga Shinichi's watch, the water around the puddle quickly converged. In just a moment, a figure vaguely materialized.
The newcomer's body was cloaked in a black rain poncho. He was slender, and as he raised his head, the light from the corridor lamp reflected off the forehead protector he wore.
"Mist Ninja?"
With just a glance, Hyūga Shinichi recognized the enemy's headband. His heart sank slightly as he quickly performed hand seals and activated the Byakugan.
"To be able to infiltrate a place like this."
"The Village's Barrier Corps must be incredibly slack."
In Hyūga Shinichi's memory, Konoha seemed to be perpetually porous, infiltrated like a sieve by hostile villages, no matter the era. Years ago, Cloud Ninjas broke into Konoha and nearly kidnapped the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki. Just recently, Uchiha Obito strolled around the Village.
If Obito's feat, with his Kamui and background as a former Konoha ninja, was understandable, then Konoha being infiltrated by Cloud ninjas and losing a Jinchūriki years ago was an unforgivable mistake.
Now, even the Hyūga compound, deep within Konoha's heartland, had an intruder. Shinichi felt speechless at this level of defense.
However, Shinichi was misjudging Konoha's intelligence department. For a ninja, disguise and infiltration are essential skills. Furthermore, Konoha was an open village; even the most elite intelligence unit couldn't identify and intercept every ninja disguised as a civilian seeking a livelihood in Konoha.
Creating a false identity for a spy was not difficult for other villages.
"You seem very calm... worthy of the Hyūga."
From beneath the black poncho, a husky, low male voice emerged. As the person spoke, his mouth curled into a grin, revealing a row of saw-like teeth. The next instant, the man quickly raised his wide sleeve toward Shinichi. Six senbon, concealed by the night, shot toward Hyūga Shinichi's legs. In just the blink of an eye, they were upon Shinichi.
"Who are you?"
Hyūga Shinichi's face was composed in the face of the attack. He casually raised his hand, and a powerful surge of chakra from his palm blasted out, instantly deflecting the incoming senbon and continuing toward the black-robed man's location.
While easily blocking the enemy's attack, Shinichi casually asked a question. Although he had recognized the enemy's headband and knew his question was foolish—as he wouldn't get an answer—Shinichi asked anyway. Perhaps... perhaps the enemy was naive like Naruto and would foolishly reply?!
"BOOM!!!"
Shinichi's palm force was slightly faster than the black-robed man's senbon. The man, standing still, seemed completely surprised that a child of Shinichi's age could launch such a fierce counter-attack. He was hit directly by Shinichi's Air Palm and sent flying several meters backward, crashing into the courtyard wall.
Slowly retracting his hand, Shinichi showed no pleasure on his face. He ignored the area where the man crashed and turned his attention to the puddle in the corner of the courtyard.
"Such trivial tricks are meaningless in front of the Hyūga Clan's Byakugan."
Hyūga Shinichi stood under the eaves, his hands at his sides. As his words rang out, the puddle he was observing slowly began to rise, gathering into a humanoid shape a moment later. The black-robed man Shinichi had just sent flying simultaneously dissolved into a puddle of water, splashing onto the ground and vanishing without a trace.
Water Clone (Mizu Bunshin no Jutsu). Although the Byakugan might not be able to distinguish this variant of the Shadow Clone Technique, it didn't matter. In front of the Byakugan, any chakra reaction left a trace. As long as the enemy wasn't dead and was still lurking, they couldn't escape the Byakugan's detection.
Seeing that his movements were completely exposed, the man hesitated briefly before immediately abandoning his attack on Hyūga Shinichi. He quickly pulled out several smoke bombs from his sleeve, tossed them to the ground, and they exploded. The thick purple smoke instantly filled the small courtyard. The man leaped, quickly scaling the wall, intending to leave. Just as he was about to depart, he suddenly sensed a powerful surge of chakra erupting behind him.
The Mist ninja sensed trouble and accelerated his pace, wanting only to escape quickly. The target's ability was far beyond the intelligence provided. The moment his first surprise attack failed and the opponent determined his location, he knew the mission could not continue.
However... it was already too late to escape!
Hyūga Shinichi, who had been standing under the eaves, raised his right hand again. Chakra overflowing from his hand condensed into the shape of a lion's head. The lion's mouth was condensing a chakra sphere. The moment the black-robed man vanished over the wall, the chakra sphere in the lion's mouth shot out.
The thick purple smoke was instantly pierced by the chakra sphere. The moment the flying chakra sphere struck the courtyard wall, a large hole was blasted right through it.
On the street outside the courtyard, the black-robed man landed. The aura of death suddenly enveloped him. The moment he turned back in terror, the chakra sphere was already upon him and violently exploded.
"BOOM!!!!"
An earth-shattering explosion rang out within the Hyūga compound. A fierce white light illuminated the sky, briefly lighting up the space above the Hyūga compound. Like thunder from a clear sky, the immense sound undoubtedly woke countless sleeping villagers.
Inside the Hyūga Clan compound, the clansmen rushed toward the Main Family area, their faces filled with both anger and worry.
...
Under a certain skylight in Konoha Village.
Shimura Danzō stood on the spacious plaza, slightly looking up at the night sky. The moment the immense explosion rang out in the Village, Danzō's breathing hitched. A look of surprise flashed in his eyes before he slowly lowered his head:
"The Hyūga..."
"They are more difficult to deal with than I imagined."
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