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It took more than ten minutes to return to the Hokage building's office. The Third Hokage examined the office wall where a s2ord mark bore evidence of a recent struggle.
"What happened?"
Hiruzen turned to the four Anbu ninjas who had appeared before him, inquiring about the recent events.
"Hokage-sama, someone has stolen information from here," responded one of the Anbu who had repelled the intruder earlier.
"Did you catch the intruder?" Hiruzen asked for key details.
"I managed to cut the enemy in half, but they appeared to be immortal. Even after being severed, they showed remarkable vitality and vanished into the ground," the Anbu reported, regret evident in his voice. "I apologize, Hokage-sama. Despite our efforts to track them, the intruder swiftly moved through the soil and evaded us."
"Get up. It seems our intruder possesses unique abilities," the Hokage mused. An immortal body and the ability to traverse walls and floors, while eluding close pursuit by Anbu, was indeed formidable.
Hiruzen walked to his desk, surveying the scattered documents that included details on Jōnin Squad members, mission records, recent execution squad reports, and various expired orders. Amongst them, Hiruzen noticed a magazine with a suggestive bikini cover.
Hiruzen felt a moment of embarrassment, discreetly tucking the magazine into a nearby drawer. As Hokage, even he needed occasional breaks yo relieve his stress.
"Hokage-sama, what should we fo next?"
"I don't think there's much to be concerned about. These documents don't contain the village's most critical secrets..."
However, leaking such documents to an unknown entity posed a threat to the village, albeit not a catastrophic one. Yet, the intruder's identity and motive remained unknown, making any decisive action impossible. Hiruzen could do little more than acknowledge this frustration. He could only let it go.
"We'll leave it at this for now and exercise more caution in future operations."
Hiruzen refrained from blaming the Anbu; their presence was justified as the files in this office didn't involve Konoha's most sensitive secrets. Deploying a larger security detail here would be inefficient and risk depleting resources needed elsewhere.
Still, Hiruzen found it confusing. If the intruder's goal was Konoha's secrets, the information obtainable here was minimal. Highly classified information about Anbu members, research materials, forbidden techniques, and other core secrets were housed in more secure locations. The Anbu stationed there were highly skilled, their techniques drawn from rare secret methods, complemented by sensory ninjas to prevent the enemy from sneaking in.
Hiruzen chose not to indulge in speculative guesses regarding the intruder's motives.
◎
One day later...
A cruise ship, departing from Land Of Rainbow's port, sailed toward the Land of Fire's port. On the ship's deck, passengers enjoyed various activities or admired the vast, blue sea.
"Kare-sama, it's not safe for you to show your face here. Let's return to our room"
Two adult male ninjas with pale, white pupils urged a white-eyed ninja who stood on the deck gazing at the seascape.
The ninja they addressed as "Kare" was a handsome young man, bearing the Konoha headband, revealing his identity as a Konoha ninja. The three's pure white eyes marked them as members of the prestigious Hyuga clan.
The Hyuga clan ranked among the wealthiest ninja clans, and their relationship with the outside world was complicated. The three had embarked on this journey to establish ties with Land Of Rainbow and attend to business matters on behalf of the Hyuga clan's Chamber of commerce.
Given the necessity of having individuals with the appropriate status present, the clan had dispatched a Hyuga clan member, Hyuga Kara. With two branch Hyuga ninjas served as his escorts.
While not full-fledged Jōnin, the two escorts, when working together, matched or even surpassed a standard Jōnin in combat. Hyuga Kare, at only twenty years old, was renowned as a prodigious talent within the Hyuga clan and the strongest among the three.
With this team configuration, they could easily handle hundreds of Chunin-level opponents or escape if needed.
"No worries; I'm here to relax. Our family's business in the Land Of Rainbow is complete. No need to be so uptight," Kare reassured the two Hyuga branch ninjas, flashing a warm smile.
"Even so, given your status..." One of the branch ninjas began but quickly realized the need to be discreet, avoiding further comment upon noticing that bystanders weren't paying attention.
"You two, please don't be overly formal with me; let's keep it casual," Kare replied, his smile extending warmth to his escorts.
"Of course, Kare-sama."
Although Kare, the clan representative, expressed such leniency, the two branch ninjas remained firmly within the confines of their roles.
Their upbringing had instilled the notion that the clan was paramount from childhood into adulthood.
Even in dire situations, the safety of a ninja's life had to be guaranteed. This resolve was deeply ingrained in their genes, often leading to subconscious actions taken to protect the clan.
Kare couldn't help but sigh at their restraint, which only fueled his suspicions further. But even if an unforeseen incident occurred, with the combined strength of the three of them...
Boom!
An abrupt explosion shattered the moment. The massive cruise ship's hull trembled violently, shaking amid the boundless sea. Kare and the two branch ninjas swiftly channeled chakra into the soles of their feet, clutching the ship's railing to regain their balance on the deck.
The passengers on the deck had panicked during the previous tremor screamed in panic, and an air of fear and chaos now engulfed the cruise ship. On the blue sea, huge waves surged into the sky, attacking the vessel relentlessly.
The cruise ship was swaying on the sea, nearly capsizing its immense hull several times.
"What... what's happening?!"
"It appears our journey back to Konoha won't be smooth sailing."
Despite the chaos, Kare remained composed on the deck. His Byakugan penetrated the surging waves and spotted over a dozen enemies rapidly approaching the cruise ship.
"Water Release · Water Dragon Ball!"
A resounding cry echoed through the air, followed by a spectacle as a huge water dragon, created from vast quantities of water, charged towards the cruise ship with overwhelming force.
Kare looked at the extremely frightened tourists on the deck, frowned, and jumped with both legs towards the air, Chakra repelled from the body's acupuncture point, spinning like a top.
"Revolving Heaven!"
Boom!
The water dragon collided with the enormous chakra sphere created by Kare's rotation. The water dragon collapsed into a huge amount of water, drenching the cruise ship's deck. Several tourists were accidentally washed overboard, their cries for help filling the air.
Withdrawing from the air, Although Rotation successfully blocked the water dragon from ramming the cruise ship and prevented the cruise ship from being smashed by the water dragon, the surging force hit his body. Kare's face had paled from the tremendous impact.
"Follow me, don't fight here!"
Kare realized that their enemies cared little for the hundreds of lives aboard the cruise ship. Engaging in battle here would only make their situation more dangerous. He jumped off the deck, stood upon the sea, and immediately ran away.
"Yes!"
The two branch ninjas promptly followed Kare, ensuring that the battle didn't spread to innocent bystanders, even though they were unsure where it was headed.
"Lord Kare, who are these..."
"Their Water Release is formidable, but their attire doesn't resemble Kirigakure's."
The attire of these people bore no resemblance to standard ninja clothing. They wore coarse, unremarkable linen garments, a stark contrast to typical ninja attire.
"Do they change clothes?"
"That's a possibility."
As Kare pondered, an expansive white fog suddenly rolled in over the sea without warning. The fog enveloped an area with a one-kilometer radius.
This unexpected white fog emitted an immensely powerful chakra. While Byakugan's insight remained active, perceiving through the fog consumed a bit more chakra than usual. Nevertheless, for the three Hyuga ninjas, this amount of chakra was nothing at all.
"The Hidden Mist Technique. It effectively obscures the Byakugan's vision, but our Hyuga's Byakugan still surpass it in terms of insight."
Kare showed no fear of this potent Mist Technique. Within the Byakugan's purview, they could foresee the number of assailants, their direction of approach, and pre-determine the most suitable counter techniques.
Senseless killings were not unusual in the ninja world, yet these dozen or so unidentified ninjas charged forward with terrifying murderous intent, clearly targeting the three of them. Perhaps it was their unique bloodline limit—the all-seeing Byakugan.
"Water Release · Water Dragon Jutsu!"
The same jutsu was unleashed by six attackers simultaneously. Six huge water dragons converged, carrying enough force to crush human bodies. The three Hyuga ninjas had extremely grave expressions. The intensity of the impact rendered the Rotation technique useless.
It would have been ideal if the two branch families had mastered the Rotation technique as well. Kare couldn't help but sigh inwardly. If all three of them could execute it, they could at least defend themselves against such an attack, even if they sustained some injuries.
Sadly, only the main clan and exceptional branch ninjas were eligible to learn the top-secret Rotation technique, an absolute defensive technique. Many Jounin from the branch family lacked the qualification to study it, including the two special Jounin guards accompanying him.
The concentrated shockwave from the six water dragons hit him head-on, and the least severe consequence was severe injury. Thus, the three of them continued to retreat, exploiting the increased distance to diminish the water dragon's impact.
However, the enemy appeared well-versed in the Hyuga clan's techniques. Furthermore, this was an endless sea, an environment dominated by water release ninjas. With the regular chakra volume, water release techniques could be performed here with only half the usual chakra.
If the same amount of chakra was used, the power of the water release technique doubled. In this watery venue, there was no more favorable setting for water release jutsus. Attempting to fight water release ninjas with expansive ninjutsu in this sea was a disadvantageous proposition.
"Damn!"
While the dozen or so enemies displayed considerable skill, they weren't keen on engaging in close combat. Instead, they relied on long-range and extensive water release jutsus, leveraging the vastness of the sea to slowly drain the physical stamina of the three Hyuga ninjas.
A single hit from one of these water release techniques could lead to severe injuries. If this continued, it was only a matter of time before the trio succumbed to exhaustion and fell into the hands of the enemy.
"Lord Kare, please, you must leave this place. These individuals possess formidable strength! We'll stay here to hold them off!"
The two branch ninjas, both at the special Jōnin level, sought to create an opening for Kare to escape. The significance of the Byakugan to the Hyuga clan was self-evident. If this pure bloodline ability fell into the wrong hands, it would pose a grave threat to both Hyuga and Konoha.
Kare glanced at the two determined ninjas, recognizing the willingness to lay down their lives in their eyes. He nodded in agreement and promptly fled in the direction where no enemies obstructed his path.
Whether he liked it or not, the true purpose of branch ninjas was being realized in this very moment. Their duty was to fight for the lives of the ninjas of the main clan, not to allow them to die while they escaped.
Kare was no stranger to such situations, and he accepted it as a matter of course. He knew he had to protect his precious and proud Byakugan from falling into enemy hands, making the sacrifice of the two branch ninjas a worthy endeavor.
Several kilometers away from the battlefield, a mud-caked figure with khaki skin emerged from the sea. The ugly, humanoid form stood limply on the water's surface, twisting irregularly.
Then, it formed hand seals and pressed both palms onto the sea's surface. Accompanied by billowing white smoke, Shiraishi, clad in a white hooded coat, was summoned from the distant Konoha.
"This reverse-summonning jutsu is incredibly convenient. Thank you for your efforts."
Shiraishi regarded the "idiot son" standing beside him. On numerous occasions, he found the lad's presence quite advantageous.
But in Shiraishi's initial conception, he hoped to make him a powerful rock doll for use in combat.
However, due to the fact that the technology and sage arts have not yet formed, he could only let him stay by his side as a lurker.
General Tu mumbled an array of incomprehensible words, and the mud-caked figure disappeared, submerging back into the sea.
After the figure had vanished, Shiraishi crouched down and extended a finger towards the sea's surface. A sweeping wave of perception spread outward in all directions.
His target was none other than Hyuga Kare.
"In that direction? But what's happening in this skirmish? Could someone else be involved?"
Shiraishi appeared confused.
Upon reflection, it made sense. The Byakugan was an exceptionally strategic tool, especially during ninja war. Possessing such an ocular ability could inexplicably reveal the enemy's plots.
In Shiraishi's perception, the two opposing factions were split into two camps: one with three members and the other with thirteen.
One of the three was likely a Hyuga clan ninja, and the individual presently withdrawing from the battlefield was probably Hyuga Kare. He seemed to be using the branch ninjas to buy time for his own escape.
"Ambushing the enemy isn't straightforward, but with them detaining me, I won't need to concern myself with the two separate guards."
Shiraishi smiled slightly, and his figure disappeared from the spot, rushing towards the direction in which the Hyuga Kare escaped.
The perception range of the Spiritualization Technique is quite wide, and this is a sea without any obstacles, which means that as long as Shiraishi's speed is better than the opponent's, Hyuga Kara cannot escape his pursuit.
In fact, Shiraishi was exceedingly confident in terms of speed. Even if his opponent is a famous genius Jonin of the Hyuga clan, it will only be a matter of time before he caught up.
About five minutes later, Shiraishi spotted a young ninja dressed in the traditional Hyuga clan style racing across the sea's surface. The ninja had also noticed Shiraishi swiftly approaching and he seemed somewhat surprised.
Although he was aware of someone approaching rapidly, he hadn't expected it to be a Konoha ninja. He recalled seeing this face before, vaguely recalling that he was a medical ninja on Sakumo's Joinin team.
Why was he here?
And how did he possess such incredible speed, surpassing that of a renowned Hyuga clan Jōnin?
Had he undergone a transformation?
However, under the observation of the Byakugan, there was no indication of a transformation. Moreover, even if he had transformed, there was no reason to assume the appearance of an unrelated individual.
Kare's eyes filled with suspicion.
"Wait, you—"
He attempted to speak, but Shiraishi didn't allow him the opportunity to respond. Instead, he retrieved several projectiles from his ninja pouch and launched them into the air.
The smoky mist expanded more rapidly than the fog concealment technique, covering an area with a diameter of over 30 meters. The smoke had a distinct dark purple hue, prompting Kare to change direction abruptly. He didn't dare to smell these strangely colored mists, and dived directly into the sea.
He intended to wait until the strange mist dissipated before returning to the surface.
Unexpectedly, after holding his breath in the sea for about two to three minutes, these toxic mists displayed signs of slowly dissipating.
Just when he was about to exhale a sigh of relief, Shiraishi retrieved several more projectiles from his ninja bag and continued dispersing them over the sea.
Under the observation of Byakugan, Kare looked at Shiraishi's ninja pouch, and there were many such projectiles in it.
"..."
If this continues, his ultimate fate would be to drown in the sea, ending the battle in a most unfavorable manner.
If he tried to move within the sea, his enemy would undoubtedly follow suit.
In a last-ditch effort, he swam upwards, and at the right moment, he would use Rotation to generate a powerful current to disperse the poisonous mist for fresh air.
Shiraishi also knew what Kare was thinking, and took out the kunai from his ninja bag. This kunai had a string of five detonating talismans hanging on it, and showed a kind smile to Kare.
In essence, Shiraishi was telling him not to contemplate cowardly evasions but to face him head-on.
To be honest, Kare got a little annoyed and had the urge to curse.
Why did this person defy the typical ninja fighting style? Judging by his speed, he appeared to be a Taijutsu specialist. Shouldn't he be relying on his formidable physical combat skills for close-quarters combat?
At this moment, in his field of vision, another foreign entiy broke in.
It was a khaki-yellow figure made of mud. It swam up from the deeper dark seabed. The dark eyes radiated a pale golden light, which was especially bright in the bottomless darkness. A terrifying atmosphere.
He twisted his extremely strange body and sprinted towards this side at a speed that Kare felt abnormal, much faster than Kare running on land.
Kare's expression shifted to one of shock.
Upon closer observation , he found waterproof tags attached one by one to the creature's body, with each tags bearing the word 'explosive.'
These were waterproof detonators.
While the individual power of these detonating tags might be lesser than standard explosive tags, the cumulative effect of a detonation, no matter how minor, could shatter bones.
The Mud Man was rapidly slicing through the seawater, giving Kare no time to strategize.
After swimming to the sea, this weird mud man will definitely catch up to him first and detonate the tags on his body.
In desperation, Kare used Rotation within the seawater, churning the water's flow to create distance between himself and the Mud Man.
Boom!
A muffled explosion resounded through the sea, creating a massive cavity on the ocean's surface. Blood spurted from Kare's mouth, soaring into the air as he struggled to open his eyes.
Although the sea's poisonous mist had dissipated due to the colossal explosion, he had severe injuries.
This bastard! He didn't adhere to the principles of a true ninja in any way.
Meeting such a despicable and disrespectful individual ignited a desire in Kare to execute thoroughly.
"Rotation!"
Spotting Shiraishi moving towards him, Kare clenched his teeth and shot a glare filled with anger and malice at Bai Shi.
He channeled most of his remaining chakra into his body, using Rotation with his utmost might. He wanted to let him know that even so, he remained no match for a Hyuga clan ninja.
'Die!'
A stunned expression appeared on his face, but he didn't turn around.
Before he could react, Shiraishi had seized his arm and flung him towards the sea. His body collided forcefully with the seawater, compelling him to spit a mouthful of blood as he looked at Shiraishi with a bewildered expression.
"How... How did you break it?!"
"Why are you so shocked? I've witnessed Rotation performed by individuals much more powerful than you. In my eyes, your Rotation is fundamentally flawed."
The person Shiraishi referred to was Ayane. He had witnessed Rotation executed by Ayane, noting that her version surpassed Kare's in terms of power, speed, and resistance to impact. In Shiraishi's view, Kare's Rotation could only be cracked by surpassing him in speed.
It wasn't an accomplishment worth boasting about.
"You... Are you truly that medical ninja from the Sakumo Jonin team? You're a Konoha ninja as well. Why are you doing this...?"
In response to Kare's question, Shiraishi didn't explain anything
Confronted by Shiraishi's indifference, Kare's eyes harboured with resentment. However, his weakened body could not support him, his head growing increasingly heavy as he slipped into unconsciousness.
Shiraishi hoisted Kare onto his shoulders, casting an eye at the khaki mud fragments scattered nearby. The Mud Man was slowly reassembling itself.
Its head, the only relatively intact part, mouthed incomprehensible words. It seemed to take great pleasure in having participated in the battle, even if it was presently incoherent.
Now that it was gibbering, it was savoring the joy of its actions.
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