"Sister, what's happening outside?"
"Shh, don't make a sound. Some bad people have come to the village, but don't worry, your sister won't let anything happen to you."
Reaching out to cover her younger brother Kujō Tarō's mouth, Renna's eyes held a trace of determination.
She quickly lifted a movable floorboard underfoot and said to Yūki, who was sitting by the bed, "Quick, hide inside. It's the cellar where we store herbs. Outsiders shouldn't be able to find it."
"What about you, Sister?"
"There's a forest behind this house. I'll just go out the back window and hide in the woods. That way, we can all—"
"No, it's better not to do that."
Just as Renna thought this plan would ensure everyone's survival, Yūki reached out and stopped her.
"There's no time! What's wrong with you? What's wrong with your eyes?!"
Before Renna could process the boy's words, she turned and saw a pair of pupils that seemed to emit moonlight!
Yes, Yūki's eyes were no longer their previous white color but clear, bright pupils like a bright moon, with veins bulging around them!
That's right—this was the activated state of the "Byakugan." Though currently inside the wooden house, Yūki had been observing the enemies outside with his Byakugan.
There were four Kusagakure ninjas in total: three genin and one jōnin—a standard ninja squad configuration. And around the village were traps like explosive tags and tripwire shuriken. Are these guys serious??
After figuring out the enemy's deployment and prior arrangements, Yūki couldn't help but gasp. This is too meticulous. What exactly do they want? Going to such lengths against a small village without ninjas?
But with such careful planning, escaping wouldn't be easy. If Renna quietly fled into the woods like this, she'd likely fall into an ambush or trap. Even hiding in the cellar wouldn't escape professional ninjas' searches.
"Then what should we do now?"
After Yūki told Renna what he'd discovered, the girl's expression gradually turned to despair, her bright eyes involuntarily dimming.
"Let me ask again—is there any way to quickly relieve my paralysis? If I can detoxify, I can help you out of this predicament."
Though this hope was slim, Yūki quickly asked while holding Renna's hand to calm her.
A configuration of one jōnin and three genin wasn't weak, but it might not be completely impossible for the current Yūki—provided he wasn't fighting with paralysis toxin.
After testing for a while, Yūki found the "Paralysis Mushroom's" potency far exceeded his expectations. Basically, any action could trigger temporary paralysis, rendering body parts completely uncontrollable. Fighting like this would be suicidal.
Especially since Yūki was a Hyūga, skilled in taijutsu. His ninjutsu was limited to simple clones and transformations, which were not easy to use, and he couldn't use genjutsu.
Worse, it wasn't nighttime, so "Princess Kaguya's" power couldn't be fully utilized. Combined, these unfavorable factors gave Yūki a real headache.
"It's not that there's no way at all... Among the medicines Grandma left, there seem to be some particularly potent ones. But they're all in the herb garden on the mountain. If I give you the medicine, can you really solve the problem?"
Frankly, for Renna, her grandmother's relics were all precious. She would never use them unless absolutely necessary.
"Then take me there quietly! Someone's coming!"
Just as Yūki was about to pull Renna out the back window to find the medicine, hurried footsteps suddenly sounded outside the door!
Bang! With a rough kick, the wooden door of Renna's house was flung open, and a bald man in monk robes swaggered in.
"Everyone gather in the village center. Don't try to resist, or the consequences will be severe."
Seeing three children in the room, the ninja named "Monk" spoke without hesitation.
Oh? This little girl isn't bad. But when Monk saw Renna, his cold eyes turned somewhat lecherous.
"I know. We'll go out to the assembly point."
Sensing that strange gaze, Renna's delicate body trembled slightly. She then pulled her younger brother and Yūki, who were hiding behind her, and prepared to leave.
"Wait—how old are you? Are you married?"
Instantly, Monk suddenly blocked Renna's path. The flesh on his face twitched as he spoke, as if trying to smile but looking uglier than crying.
"Hey! You bald—"
"Hey! Don't go too far! You can take whatever you want, but don't you dare lay a hand on Sister Renna!"
Seeing Monk clearly interested in Renna, her brother Tarō initially wanted to grab something to throw, but Yūki stopped him and proactively stepped forward, shielding Renna.
"Y-Yūki, you—"
"Bah! A stinking blind kid! Playing the hero?!"
Slap! A gust of wind swept by as Monk backhanded the boy who'd stepped forward, knocking him to the ground.
Blind? Wait—what's on Yūki's face?
When Yūki fell, Renna noticed his eyes were now covered with a cloth strip, truly making him look blind.
Just as Renna nearly screamed, Yūki secretly made a "shh" gesture, then unsteadily stood up.
"Tch, I've lost interest. You brats, move it."
Disturbed by Yūki, Monk could only sigh and point to the door, signaling the kids to gather outside quickly.
"Yūki, what's wrong with you? There's nothing wrong with your eyes, right? If you cover them with cloth like that, you can't see anything, can you?"
Soon, the three were herded to the village center by Monk. Walking beside Yūki, Renna whispered in his ear.
"It's fine. This cloth doesn't affect my vision, but they can't see my eyes. These eyes are somewhat famous in the ninja world."
Yūki couldn't help but smile wryly. After all, the Hyūga clan's natural eye color was quite troublesome.
The Uchiha also possessed a dōjutsu, but the "Sharingan" looked no different from ordinary eyes when inactive. The Hyūga were different—even inactive, their eyeballs remained white, practically screaming "I'm from the Hyūga clan" wherever they went.
In his current immobilized state, Yūki didn't want to reveal his ninja identity to the Kusagakure ninjas, so he covered his eyes with a cloth strip and pretended to be blind.
Though Kusagakure and Konoha were currently allied, this was the deep mountains of the Land of Grass. He'd come here without notifying anyone. If the other side really wanted him dead, his body would never be found.
"Is that everyone?"
"We've driven out everyone from the surrounding houses. Several idiots ran into the woods to get themselves killed. That should be about it."
"Alright, search the houses. I'll keep watch here."
After a while, the open space in "Kujō Village's" center was crowded with people—men, women, and children. Hannya looked them over one by one, then waved for his three disciples to search the houses.
As expected, this guy isn't simple. How to deal with him?
Hiding in the crowd with Renna, Yūki quietly observed the leader jōnin. The Byakugan hidden beneath the cloth strip emitted a strange light, filled with intense fighting spirit!
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(˶ᵔ ᵕ ᵔ˶) ‹ (TL : More Chapters @patreon.com/c/Gooberilla)