Seeing Mei recognize his identity, Jie wasn't surprised at all. As the Fifth Mizukage, if she didn't even recognize her greatest threat, then she wouldn't be fit to hold the title.
"Likewise," Jie replied calmly, matching her tone. "Meeting the Fifth Mizukage at the border of Kumogakure was also quite a surprise."
As he spoke, Jie couldn't help but glance at Ao standing beside her, a sudden realization dawning on him. No wonder Kirigakure had been able to detect their arrival in advance... Mei had brought Ao along.
Ao was a Jonin of the Hidden Mist Village and Mei Terumi's most trusted aide.
During the war, by a stroke of luck on the battlefield, he had killed a ninja from the Hyuga main branch and claimed an undamaged Byakugan for himself.
From that day forward, he was known as the 'Byakugan Killer', and relying on that stolen eye, he became the Hidden Mist's most outstanding sensor ninja.
It must have been because Ao unsealed his Byakugan that he had discovered them so quickly.
'Should I take this Byakugan back?' Jie pondered inwardly, observing the thick eyepatch strapped across Ao's face.
The Byakugan was arguably the best reconnaissance ability in the entire ninja world. After all, other sensory methods were relatively easy to detect or neutralize.
Take Konoha's Aburame clan, for instance. Although their combat prowess was nothing to scoff at, they were primarily deployed as sensor ninjas due to their Parasitic Destruction Insects. However, despite the microscopic size of the bugs, experienced shinobi could still detect them.
Another example was the Inuzuka clan, who relied on ninja hounds. But as long as a target erased their scent, the Inuzuka lost their advantage entirely.
The Hyuga clan, however, was fundamentally different. No matter how powerful an enemy was, barring those with absurdly sharp intuition, it was virtually impossible to notice a pair of eyes watching from several kilometers away.
It was precisely because of the Byakugan's immense utility that the Hyuga clan had created the Caged Bird seal, preventing the eyes from falling into the hands of outsiders.
So, despite the staggering casualties the branch house suffered in every Great Ninja War, not a single Byakugan was ever lost.
The eye in Ao's socket was perhaps the only Byakugan in the entire ninja world existing outside of the Hyuga and Otsutsuki bloodlines.
As a crucial strategic resource of Konoha, Jie felt it was best to reclaim it.
Thinking this, his gaze lingered directly on the heavily wrapped eyepatch.
Sensing Jie's intense stare, Ao couldn't help but shudder. It felt as though he had been targeted by a beast.
Noticing Ao's discomfort, Mei frowned imperceptibly.
She shifted her body sideways, blocking Jie's line of sight.
"It's our first time meeting, Fifth Hokage," she said coldly. "Staring at my subordinate like this is rather inappropriate, don't you think?"
Jie acted as if he hadn't even heard her. "Under that eyepatch," he stated flatly. "That's a Byakugan, isn't it?"
Mei and Ao's hearts instantly plummeted. 'They were discovered so quickly?'
"Byakugan?"
"Isn't that the same eye as Hinata's?"
"But isn't the Byakugan exclusive to the Hyuga clan? Why would that old guy have one?"
Hearing Jie's words, the three genin immediately voiced their confusion.
Dojutsu Kekkei Genkai were notoriously difficult to keep contained, but they were also guarded fiercely by their respective villages.
Even in Konoha, aside from Kakashi, who possessed a Sharingan gifted by a fallen comrade, there was absolutely no other non-Uchiha who wielded one.
The Hyuga guarded their eyes even more ruthlessly.
The main house rarely stepped foot on the battlefield, and the branch house was secured by the Caged Bird seal. Because of this, even Hinata had never heard of a Byakugan falling into outsider hands.
Yet, the Fifth Hokage was now claiming that the eyepatch-wearing man across from them possessed one.
It was a lot for the genin to process.
Seeking answers, Hinata immediately activated her own dojutsu.
The restrictive seals on Ao's eyepatch were completely useless against the penetrative gaze of her Thousand-Pupil Byakugan. The stolen eye was instantly laid bare to her sight.
"It really is a Byakugan!" Hinata gasped.
After hearing Hinata confirm it, Ao couldn't resist. He unsealed his eyepatch and peered directly at Hinata's eyes.
Instantly, a suffocating pressure slammed into Ao's mind like a sledgehammer. He let out a muffled groan, staggering slightly.
'What is wrong with this girl's eyes?' Ao screamed in his mind, quickly resealing his eyepatch as waves of shock battered his composure.
'My Byakugan is actually trembling... like a mouse standing before a predator. This is complete bloodline suppression!'
Just what kind of monsters were they facing?
"What happened?" Mei whispered, her brow furrowing deeply at Ao's uncharacteristic reaction.
"That girl's eyes... they're not simple," Ao muttered. Given the tense standoff, he didn't dare voice his full hypothesis, summarizing the terrifying reality as best he could.
Mei's frown deepened. She turned her attention back to Jie.
"Fifth Hokage, this eye was a spoil of war rightfully claimed by the Hidden Mist Village on the battlefield," she stated, her tone laced with a faint warning.
"Even the Third Hokage tacitly acknowledged its existence with us. Are you saying you intend to go against the late Third Hokage's legacy?"
She hoped using Hiruzen Sarutobi's prior political agreements would force Jie to back down to avoid a diplomatic incident.
However, upon hearing this, Jie almost laughed out loud.
Everyone in Konoha already knew that Hiruzen Sarutobi's reputation had been thoroughly dragged through the mud. Also, that Jie Uchiha was the one who had 'killed' Hiruzen to seize the Hokage seat in the first place!
Mei's threat sounded almost laughable to Jie. Trying to use Hiruzen's name against him now was pointless. If anything, it only highlighted just how bold she really was.
Originally, Jie had held a measure of respect for this Fifth Mizukage, acknowledging the courage it took to overthrow Obito Uchiha's bloody rule. But now? He was definitely taking that Byakugan back.
"Leave the Byakugan, and I'll spare you the trouble of dying today," Jie said, his voice stripped of all warmth.
"If you expect me to back down out of respect for Hiruzen Sarutobi's name, you can drop that delusion right now. Of course, if you wish to resist... you're free to try."
Hearing the icy finality in his tone, Mei felt her heart sink.
Suddenly, the situation had spiraled into the exact nightmare scenario she had wanted to avoid.
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