Beneath the dark sky, Hyūga Shinichi sat quietly on the veranda of his room, carefully sensing the chakras rapidly approaching the Hyūga compound.
Since mastering Sensor Ninjutsu, Shinichi often released his sensory field during training to familiarize himself with the chakras of his neighbors around the Hyūga compound.
The chakras rapidly approaching the Hyūga compound now were completely unfamiliar to Shinichi. He judged that these were likely the people he had been waiting for tonight.
One question had always bothered Hyūga Shinichi: what methods did the Cloud ninja use to break through the Branch Family's layers of defense, precisely locate Hinata's room, and abduct her? How foolish did the Hyūga Branch Family have to be to fail to notice the attacker, requiring Hiashi, the Clan Head, to personally intervene to resolve the matter?
Shinichi had overlooked one crucial point: the unified Hyūga Clan he currently lived in was fundamentally different from the clan in the original timeline where Hinata grew up.
True, the Caged Bird allowed the Main Family to control the Branch Family's lives, but that didn't mean the Branch Family would willingly comply with every command.
Otherwise, why would the conflict between the Main Family and the Branch Family exist? Hinata was not the overwhelmingly talented Hyūga Shinichi, who had shown immense potential early on. The Branch Family was dissatisfied with her as a future Hyūga heir. Was Hizashi's family the only one harboring resentment?
Hinata's very existence, in fact, somewhat exacerbated the Branch Family's sense of unfairness and resentment.
Could it be that the Branch Family guards truly did not notice the Cloud ninja's attack? Unlikely! Perhaps they saw an opportunity in the lapse, hoping to replace the Hyūga heir. The Caged Bird was not the Kotoamatsukami.
The Branch Family could not directly attack the Main Family, but the difference between performing a duty sincerely and performing it half-heartedly was immense. Even if Hiashi realized this afterward, he couldn't use that as a reason to activate the Caged Bird.
However, the current situation of the Hyūga Clan was entirely different. The ninja world was ultimately a world where the strong ruled.
Hyūga Shinichi's displayed talent and strength suppressed the Branch Family's internal resentment. It was precisely because Hyūga Shinichi was so exceptional that the underlying conflict between the Branch Family and Main Family was suppressed.
This allowed the Hyūga Clan to project an image of harmony and unity. Although the conflict might erupt at some point in the future, it was certainly unlikely to happen now.
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
The sound of wooden clappers suddenly rang out. A Hyūga guard had detected the anomaly and signaled the alert to the clansmen.
Ever since the assassination attempt on Shinichi a year ago, the Hyūga Clan had been highly vigilant. Even though they were in the core area of Konoha, they never lowered their guard. The incoming enemies were elites; there was no doubt about that. But how could they easily conceal their movements from the Hyūga Clan's Byakugan?
Hearing the sound, Hyūga Shinichi's expression turned serious. He had initially expected the enemy to have some means of easily penetrating the Hyūga defenses and directly reaching the Main Family compound.
He was surprised that they were detected just by approaching. This level of infiltration was quite disappointing. Shinichi had been prepared to personally meet the attack, but now it seemed unlikely that the enemy would reach him easily.
"Clang—"
The door to the room next to Shinichi's bedroom was suddenly slid open. Kakashi and Shisui rushed out. Their sleep was clearly interrupted by the clapper's warning. Seeing Shinichi sitting on the veranda, both looked confused.
"Shinichi, I thought you went to bed long ago?"
"Why are you sitting here?"
"What's happening?"
Kakashi didn't think Shinichi, like them, had just been awakened by the noise. Shinichi was wearing tight training clothes and had a ninja tool pouch strapped to his waist, clearly ready for battle. It seemed he had... anticipated something would happen tonight and deliberately waited here? Kakashi suppressed his confusion and asked.
"It's probably nothing major... It's the alert signal for the guards. It seems some strangers were detected approaching the compound."
"If something serious were truly happening, the sound wouldn't just be..."
However, before Shinichi could finish his explanation, a piercing whistle suddenly came from the southeast direction of the compound—an enemy attack signal, meaning something entirely different from the clapper's warning.
"There are intruders!"
A look of solemnity flashed in Hyūga Shinichi's eyes. The moment he spoke, a brilliant flash of lightning lit up the direction of the whistle. Accompanied by a massive roar, thick smoke billowed up from a corner of the Hyūga compound under the night sky.
"..."
Hyūga Shinichi used his Byakugan to look toward the source of the lightning flash. Penetrating the layers of courtyards, he saw a section of the compound that was a wreckage of ruins.
In the center of the battlefield, three Branch Family members lay weak among the debris. Although he could still see chakra flowing in their bodies, the flame of chakra in their core was like a candle in the wind, ready to be extinguished at any moment.
In the center of the battle area, a group of fifteen ninjas, completely shrouded in clothing, quickly converged. They seemed to have an excellent sensor ninja among them. After eliminating the guards, they paused briefly, then rushed rapidly toward Hyūga Shinichi's location.
The intruder team numbered fifteen people. The moment they penetrated the Hyūga compound, the Branch Family ninjas also tracked their location and were rapidly moving to encircle them.
"They're coming for us."
"Brother Shisui, Senior Kakashi, prepare for battle."
Hyūga Shinichi frowned slightly. The number of enemies exceeded his expectation, and their movement was fast and their objective clear.
Although the Hyūga ninjas had pinpointed their location, their speed was inferior to the intruders. Intercepting them would be difficult.
"Clang—"
A moment later, the enemies had already launched their attack on the Main Family compound. However, this group was fiercely intercepted by the Branch Family guards. Only four ninjas managed to successfully breach the outer defense and land in the main courtyard. The rest were held back by the Branch Family guards outside.
Ostensibly, the Hyūga Clan's defense system was working, but in Shinichi's eyes, the Branch Family elites seemed to be tied down by the enemy's pawns.
"Whoosh—"
A tearing sound rang out. As the four black figures flew over the courtyard wall and landed in the garden, Uchiha Shisui and Kakashi immediately drew their swords and moved to shield Hyūga Shinichi, firmly protecting him behind them.
The four were burly men with masked faces, only their eyes visible. At just a glance, their eyes locked onto Hyūga Shinichi, who was shielded by Kakashi and Shisui. Shinichi's clear pearl eyes glowed slightly in the darkness. It was clear that the intruders had located one of their targets.
Just as they were about to act, a deep, elderly shout suddenly rang out from mid-air.
"Who goes there!!!"
As the voice faded, Hyūga Shin, the Clan Elder, wearing sleeping robes, flew down and blocked the path in front of the three. His face was stern as he looked at the black-clothed figures in the courtyard. Simultaneously, the veins at the corners of Hyūga Shin's eyes bulged—he activated his Byakugan.
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