Hyuga Clan's Main Family Estate.
Hiashi held a teacup close to his lips, just a few centimeters away, yet he remained frozen in place for a long time, as if he had been caught in the Nara Clan's 'Shadow Possession Jutsu.'
Neji, sitting across from him, looked nervous.
After a long while, Hiashi slowly said, "The Akatsuki are truly audacious. At a time like this, they still dare to infiltrate the Hidden Leaf and stir up trouble!"
Neji just listened without saying a word.
Finally, Hiashi brought the long-held teacup to his lips and took a sip, "However, this is an opportunity for the Hyuga Clan!"
Neji leaned forward slightly, "What do you mean?"
"Information about the Akatsuki is the most sought-after right now. Anyone who can obtain Akatsuki's information can sell it for a high price!" Hiashi paused, then said, "Of course, the Hyuga Clan doesn't lack money, but…"
Hiashi's eyes gradually narrowed as he spoke.
Unlike the Uchiha Clan, the Hyuga Clan had always shown respect to the Hokage and the village. However, a few years ago, during the incident where a shinobi from Hidden Cloud tried to kidnap Hinata from the Main Family Estate, the way the Third Hokage handled it left the Hyuga Clan bitter.
That incident was clearly a provocation by Hidden Cloud, an attempt to kidnap the heir of the Hyuga Clan's Main Family.
For a prestigious clan like the Hyuga, which possessed dojutsu and a strong bloodline, this was nothing short of a grave insult!
Upon discovering this, Hiashi, as the head of the clan, struck in anger and killed the Hidden Cloud shinobi who tried to kidnap Hinata.
Later, not only did the village fail to uphold the Hyuga Clan's dignity, but they also pressured the clan into complying with Hidden Cloud's demands—to hand over Hiashi, the clan head, in a life-for-a-life exchange.
Had Hizashi not stepped in to sacrifice himself in Hiashi's place, Hiashi, as the head of the clan, would have been thrown out to appease Hidden Cloud's wrath.
After this incident, the Hyuga Clan's prestige plummeted both within the village and throughout the shinobi world, turning them into a laughingstock.
Hiashi naturally harbored resentment.
But he knew that the Hyuga Clan could not oppose the entire village, so he kept that resentment buried deep within, never showing it.
With the Uchiha Clan's destruction, Hiashi suddenly realized that the so-called prestigious clans with dojutsu meant nothing to the village's higher-ups.
It was well known that the Uchiha Clan was superior to the Hyuga Clan in terms of overall strength and reputation—they were regarded as the most powerful clan in the Hidden Leaf!
Despite that, the village eliminated them just like that, leaving Hiashi both shocked and furious, and further suppressing his hidden resentment.
However, the more he suppressed it, the harder it became to let go, and so, upon learning that the Akatsuki had infiltrated the village and attempted to recruit Neji, he had other thoughts.
If Neji could join the Akatsuki, it would mean that the Hyuga Clan possessed information that the village urgently needed, giving Hiashi leverage to negotiate with the village's leadership.
After a long moment of contemplation, Hiashi asked, "Neji, does anyone else know about this?"
Neji replied, "After confirming that they left, I reported to you immediately."
"Good!" Hiashi nodded slightly, "The identity of the person who approached you is still uncertain. For now, do not report this to the village."
Neji responded, "Understood!"
Hiashi said, "As for the test, the clan will help you pass it, so you don't need to worry."
Neji breathed a sigh of relief, thinking, "Phew, at least I've completed leader's instructions."
As if he had thought of something, Hiashi added, "Considering past events, there must be a reason beyond the Byakugan for the Akatsuki wanting to recruit you. You must remain vigilant and try to find out the real reason why they want you."
This was one of the reasons why Hiashi chose not to report to the village.
In his view, there wasn't anything about Neji that would draw Akatsuki's interest. Even if it were for the Byakugan, they had better options. Therefore, there had to be another reason why they were recruiting Neji—a reason that could potentially relate to the Hyuga Clan.
Hidden Cloud's temporary base.
With hurried footsteps, a Hidden Cloud communications shinobi entered the Fourth Raikage's office and reported, "Raikage-sama, we just received information—the Sensor Unit detected Yugito's chakra!"
Whoosh! The Raikage stood up abruptly, "What?! Where?!"
Not only the Raikage, but Killer Bee, Cee, and the other Hidden Cloud higher-ups in the office also stood up, looking towards the communications shinobi.
"Not far, within the Land of Fire, about a hundred kilometers from the Hidden Leaf Village!"
The communications shinobi spoke while walking to the shinobi world map on the office wall, circling a region on the map.
Cee's expression darkened, "How is that possible?!"
Killer Bee also shook his head, "Something's off!"
A hundred kilometers might be far for ordinary people, but for shinobi, especially elite jonin, this distance was nothing. If they moved at full speed, they could reach it in half a day!
So it didn't make sense for the Akatsuki to imprison a Jinchuriki so close to the Hidden Leaf.
The Fourth Raikage demanded, "Is the information reliable?"
The communications shinobi said, "The Sensor Unit has confirmed it multiple times, and Yugito's chakra is still on the move. The Sensor Unit is tracking it at full force!"
Killer Bee looked at the Fourth Raikage, "Could it be a trap again?"
Cee said, "Raikage-sama, trap or not, we have to at least try to rescue Yugito!"
"Indeed!" The Fourth Raikage nodded, then signaled to everyone, "Let's go, to the Hokage's office!"
Soon, the Hidden Cloud group arrived at the Hokage's office in the Hidden Leaf.
Hearing the Raikage's reason for coming, the Third Hokage was quite surprised, "Raikage, are you certain?"
The Fourth Raikage urged, "The Akatsuki seems to be moving Yugito. Our Hidden Cloud Sensor Unit is still tracking her, but we don't have much time!"
The Third Hokage immediately instructed the nearby Anbu, "Notify the other Kage and the advisory elders to come to the Hokage's office for a meeting!"
Shortly after, the Tsuchikage, Mizukage, and Kazekage arrived with their respective guards, and the Hidden Leaf's high-ranking officials also gathered there.
After briefly explaining the situation, the Third Hokage asked, "What do you all think?"
The Third Tsuchikage, Onoki, said firmly, "Either the Akatsuki have gone mad, or this is a deliberate setup!"
The Fourth Kazekage looked puzzled, "Do they intend to use the same trick again? Isn't that too arrogant?"
The last time the Akatsuki succeeded, it was mainly due to catching them off guard. If they planned to replicate that trap, it would be an act of sheer arrogance.
The Fourth Raikage shouted, "How long are we going to deliberate?! Even if it's a trap, we can just break it!"
The Fourth Raikage's words immediately resonated with many in the room.
The Five Great Shinobi Villages had never been treated like this before. Since the Akatsuki made a move, many high-ranking shinobi were eager to experience their strength firsthand.
Seeing that the timing was right, the Third Hokage said, "If that's the case, let's vote. Those in favor of action, raise your hands!"
As he spoke, he raised his own hand, representing the Hidden Leaf.
The Fourth Raikage raised his hand immediately.
Then the Third Tsuchikage and Fourth Kazekage followed suit.
For a moment, all eyes were on the Fourth Mizukage.
The Fourth Mizukage hesitated.
If this were earlier, he would have had no qualms about agreeing to action against the Akatsuki, but just moments ago, he received intel that the Akatsuki had infiltrated the Hidden Leaf and tried to recruit a spy he had planted there.
This sudden development made him unsure of what to do.
For Hidden Mist, the safest approach was to wait until their agent had infiltrated the Akatsuki and gathered vital information before taking action.
But now, with the other four Kage watching him, he had no choice but to raise his hand, "We, Hidden Mist, also agree."
With the consensus reached among the Five Kage, an elite joint force was quickly formed.
Without a doubt.
Hidden Cloud was the most eager. The Fourth Raikage and the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki, the 'AB' combo, set out once again, accompanied by two teams of jonin.
Given the matter concerned the safety of a Jinchuriki, Jiraiya, one of the Sannin, represented the Hidden Leaf, along with Kakashi, Asuma, Guy, and Kurenai—forming a jonin and special jonin team.
Hidden Stone sent Kitsuchi as their leader, accompanied by a team of jonin.
Hidden Sand dispatched two squads—one led by Chiyo, consisting of puppet masters, and the other led by Pakura, the 'Scorch Release' jonin.
Hidden Mist sent a team led by Zabuza, part of the Hidden Mist assassination unit.
Since they were all elites from their respective villages, the group of several dozen shinobi quickly assembled and, under the cover of night, silently left the Hidden Leaf Village, heading in the direction where the Hidden Cloud Sensor Unit had detected Yugito's chakra!
At the same time.
A shinobi from Hidden Grass used the Transformation Jutsu to take Karin's place, entering her apartment to replace her.
Meanwhile, Karin slipped out of the Hidden Leaf under Hidden Grass's arrangements.
Elsewhere.
Under the cover of Hidden Mist, Haku quietly left the Hidden Leaf and waited in the designated forest.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh.
Suddenly, with the sound of rushing wind, several figures landed in the forest.
Seeing this, Haku's heart tightened, and he stepped forward.
There were eight figures in the dark forest, all wearing the uniforms of the Hidden Mist assassination unit and masks.
Upon seeing Haku, the two leaders removed their masks. One of them, a young woman with delicate features, asked, "Are you Haku?"
"That's me!"
Haku nodded.
"I am Mei Terumi, the leader of this mission. He is Kisame Hoshigaki, the deputy leader!" Mei introduced herself, then said, "You don't need to worry about anything else. Focus on passing the Akatsuki's test—we will support you from the shadows!"
Kisame Hoshigaki grinned, "Kid, don't mess this up!"
They were not worried that the Akatsuki would discover their presence.
First of all, the participants in this mission were elite members of Hidden Mist, well-versed in silent assassination, experts in stealth.
Secondly, no matter how strong the Akatsuki were, since they were recruiting a child still in the academy, they wouldn't invest too much strength—at most, there would only be one member responsible for evaluation.
If they could stay undetected and help Haku pass the test to infiltrate the Akatsuki, that would be ideal.
But if something unexpected happened and they were discovered, they would immediately strike and attempt to capture the Akatsuki member responsible for the evaluation.
This was also why Hidden Mist had sent Mei Terumi, Kisame Hoshigaki, and six other elites.
Similarly.
Kimimaro, under Orochimaru's arrangements, easily slipped out of the Hidden Leaf.
Arriving at the designated meeting place, Kimimaro saw Kabuto Yakushi, smiling with glasses on his face.
Kimimaro didn't know much about Kabuto, but he knew that Kabuto was an important assistant to Orochimaru and was no pushover—at least at jonin level.
So it was no surprise to see Kabuto here.
Kabuto adjusted his glasses and greeted, "Kimimaro, I will fully assist you in completing this Akatsuki test!"
Kimimaro asked, "Where is Orochimaru-sama?"
Kabuto smiled, "Don't worry, Orochimaru-sama is watching you!"
Kimimaro suppressed his excitement, "Let's go!"
At the Hyuga Main Family Estate.
A branch family member approached Hiashi and whispered, "Hiashi-sama, dozens of shinobi just left the village, their destination is unknown!"
Hiashi's expression darkened, "Who are they?"
The branch member quickly replied, "It seems to be the joint force mentioned in the earlier meeting!"
"Action already?"
Hiashi was surprised.
In his experience, any attempt by the Five Great Shinobi Villages to cooperate would be fraught with difficulties, and he hadn't expected the joint force to move so quickly.
Aside from the surprise, he immediately realized this was an opportunity.
With the joint force leaving the village in secret, it was clearly a covert mission. And the target could not possibly be the Akatsuki member who had already infiltrated the village and tried to recruit Neji.
With all the attention of the Five Great Shinobi Villages focused on other actions, Neji's attempt to undertake the Akatsuki test could proceed unnoticed.
Thinking of this, Hiashi called Neji and said, "Let's go, we're leaving now!"
Neji was stunned, "You… you're coming with me?!"
Hiashi nodded.
He had weighed this matter carefully for a long time and concluded that no one else could be completely trusted to lead this mission but himself.
Moreover, his assessment was similar to Hidden Mist's.
Since the recruit was still an academy student, the Akatsuki wouldn't put too many resources into it—at most, a single member would be overseeing the test.
With his Byakugan, he had confidence in avoiding the watchful eye of a lone Akatsuki member.
Neji opened his mouth, wanting to dissuade Hiashi.
But after thinking it over, he realized that nothing he said would be convincing enough. So he closed his mouth, silently obeying Hiashi's orders, and quietly left the village.
And so, on what seemed like an ordinary night,
People from various factions showed their skills, heading in different directions, with different targets and motives, rushing forward with all their strength.
And in the darkness, a pair of scarlet eyes silently watched everything unfold.