Ignoring the gag speeds and exaggerated depictions found in the manga, a normal ninja's mobility while tree-hopping (continuously using chakra to leap) or moving in a standard battle can reach speeds of 20m/s (Reference: Tree-climbing Setting Book). That translates to a speed of 72km/h.
With the enhancement of chakra, this speed can go even higher. For instance, the Body Flicker Technique can momentarily exceed the speed of sound. However, once that threshold is reached, the vision of an ordinary ninja can hardly keep up.
A ninja who lacks specialized dynamic vision—or hasn't undergone specific training on how to fight and control their body at such ultra-high speeds—will only expose fatal openings if they recklessly move faster than they can manage. They'd likely end up with a kunai buried in their throat.
Even so, this was a displacement speed that far surpassed any sprinting champion from Hyuga Yu's previous world.
At this moment, the whistling wind whipped past his cheeks, and the hair at his temples and neck danced backward along the wind's trajectory.
In just about an hour, Hyuga Yu had covered nearly a hundred kilometers, crossing the Konoha training grounds and the Forest of Death to arrive at an unnamed forest on the eastern side of the Hidden Leaf Village. Continuing at full speed for another four hours would bring him to the Kusami Coast.
However, Yu came to a halt in a clearing within the forest.
"Hah... hah..."
He took a couple of heavy breaths, adjusting his respiration while retrieving a Military Rations Pill from the pouch on his lower back and tossing it into his mouth.
Despite his meager chakra—roughly at a Stamina (精) 2 level (half that of Hinata as a young child)—this amount was still sufficient to support Yu in a full-speed sprint for over three hours.
The reason he stopped now wasn't due to a lack of chakra. It was because he felt a sensation of "being watched."
Sensory ninja can perceive one another. For example, when Sasuke crashed the Five Kage Summit, the Cloud Ninja C and Karin sensed each other's presence. The only difference was that Karin used Kagura Shigan (Mind's Eye of the Kagura) to pinpoint his location instantly, while C required a period of careful sensing to confirm hers.
[Note: This excludes non-chakra driven perception. For example, when a Byakugan user and a standard sensory ninja perceive each other, the Byakugan user can see the opponent and feel the opponent's chakra-based search. However, a standard sensory ninja cannot detect the gaze of a Byakugan user falling on them from over a kilometer away. The Inuzuka clan's sense of smell works similarly.]
For Hyuga Yu, who was even more sensitive than an average sensory ninja—to the point where he could feel "gaze" as an abstract tactile sensation—this feeling of being watched was no less jarring than someone suddenly pulling open his pants and throwing a crocodile inside.
Yu immediately tilted his head up slightly, the veins around his eyes bulging with intensity.
"Byakugan!"
His "God's Perspective" vision expanded instantly, covering a one-kilometer radius. At a fork in the forest path about a kilometer away, he saw—as expected—a squad of Hidden Mist ninja.
This Mist squad consisted of a Jonin with sensory skills, a "strange" Chunin, and a Genin who gave him a slight feeling of "discomfort."
As for how Yu distinguished their ranks? It wasn't difficult.
The distinction between Chunin and Genin was whether they wore the village-issued flak jacket. The Mist jackets were a relatively more stylish grey, lace-up plate style compared to Konoha's.
As for distinguishing between the jacket-wearing Chunin and Jonin, you looked at their shoes.
Though Yu didn't know why such a bizarre custom existed in the Naruto world, typically, the heels of the ninja boots worn by Chunin and Genin are closed, while the heels of a Jonin's boots are exposed.
Furthermore, a ninja who could sense him from outside his own range was someone whose mastery of sensory jutsu had reached the limit of a conventional ninja—at the very least, a Special Jonin level powerhouse.
At this moment, in this "wrong place at the wrong time," the reactions of the two parties sensing each other were quite different.
Hyuga Yu immediately put on an expression of "shock and horror." His body trembled slightly, and his feet "uncontrollably" took two steps back, looking exactly like someone who wanted to flee immediately.
On the other side, the Mist Jonin who had sensed Yu also looked taken aback.
"Wait, where did this kid pop up from?"
Beside him, the "strange" Chunin asked in a low voice, "Kensuke, what's the situation?"
"Ao-sama, I've discovered a member of the Hyuga clan. His chakra fluctuations are very weak; he looks like a student who just graduated from the Academy."
Ao frowned immediately. "A Hyuga?"
Kensuke, the Mist Jonin, reported immediately: "Yes. Using the Byakugan, he's discovered us as well. It looks like he's planning to run."
Ao fell into thought.
For the hunt of the Hyuga Head House, he had arranged an ambush shaped like a funnel. However, their squad wasn't the vanguard meant to distract the enemy. They were a core team composed of three elite sensory ninja, meant to locate the Hyuga Head House and carry out the actual capture.
Now, a Hyuga Genin who had accidentally passed through this area had stumbled upon them.
If they went out of their way to hunt him down, it would inevitably delay the plan. But if they let him run back to Konoha, he would surely run into the Hyuga Head House party, causing a leak in the capture intelligence.
If that happened, the first squad acting as "bait" in front of the Head House team would likely lose its effectiveness. If the Head House realized there were more than two squads of Mist ninja on the route, they would certainly become wary. Upon seeing the bait squad at the "tail of the funnel," they might see through the entire plan and immediately abandon the mission to return to Konoha.
Thinking of this, Ao felt a slight headache. He turned his head slightly to look at the Genin beside him, who only came up to his waist.
"Ranmaru, can you deal with this kid?"
The Genin being addressed was a boy about twelve or thirteen years old with purple hair. His eyes were covered by a black cloth. Hearing Ao's question, he remained silent for a moment before speaking:
"I can."
"But the Hyuga Head House is arriving soon."
Ao immediately ordered: "Then use your Ketsuryūgan [Note: Referring to Ranmaru's unique dōjutsu, often translated as 'Red Eye'] to create chakra images within the vision of his Byakugan. Make him see that we have 'avoided' him."
"Let this Hyuga brat keep moving forward."
"Once he gets close, you confirm his identity. Make sure this really is just an accident!"
"Understood." The boy with the black cloth over his eyes nodded. He slowly raised his hands and untied the cloth from behind his head, revealing a pair of amber pupils.
In the next instant, those pupils were stained with the color of blood, turning a glowing crimson!
The boy tilted his head slightly, looking in Hyuga Yu's direction. Invisible ocular power followed the visual field sensed by both parties, beginning to spread, expand, and fabricate—subsequently manipulating the contents of the vision belonging to the "Byakugan" Bloodline Limit.
On the other side, Yu's heart jolted when he saw the composition of this Mist squad.
Aside from the Jonin who could sense him in reverse, that "strange" Chunin looked more and more familiar. After pondering for a moment, it hit him with a shock.
Wasn't this the very ninja who had come to hunt the Head House, capture a Byakugan, and eventually transplant it into himself?
Ao!
Damn, a dignified Jonin actually masquerading as a Chunin—he had no shame!
But just a moment later, Yu's surprise at running into the enemy boss was suppressed by something even more terrifying.
The Genin standing next to Ao had removed his blindfold, revealing a pair of eyes known as the Ketsuryūgan!
Wait, what?
Hyuga Yu subconsciously swallowed. This time, he was genuinely panicking.
Shit. It's bad enough entering the boss room early, but why does this boss have a 'Specialized Weapon' specifically designed to hard-counter me?
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