"Well then," Mitsuki said calmly, "considering the difficulty and strategic significance of reclaiming the Byakugan, when we return, I'll make sure each of you is credited with an S-Rank mission. How about that?"
Ruri didn't seem to care much — she was only interested in improving her own strength.
After all, for the Uchiha Clan, even great achievements didn't grant them the privilege of learning high-level jutsu from the Scroll of Seals.
But Shisui was different.
In his eyes, if the Uchiha could achieve significant merit on the Kirigakure frontlines, the people of Konoha might begin to change their perception of the clan—perhaps even trust them again.
Seeing that everyone accepted the outcome, Mitsuki waved his hand.
"Then I hereby announce the completion of S-Rank Mission: Reclaim the Byakugan. Hunter Squad, prepare to return!"
...
"Hey, did you hear?"
"Hear what?"
"The Byakugan Killer from Kirigakure was captured alive by a squad led by Konoha's Gale!"
"You serious?"
"Absolutely. The news has already spread through the whole village."
"Oh, I heard some insider info—apparently Shunshin no Shisui and Chidori Ruri were both part of that team."
"Ah, no wonder they managed to capture the Byakugan Killer alive."
"But I think the real credit goes to Konoha's Gale—after all, he's the squad leader."
"Yeah, without his leadership, it probably wouldn't have gone so smoothly."
"True. I feel like if those three team up, no ninja from Kirigakure could stand against them."
"Of course—they're the elite among elites of Konoha."
"Haha, Kirigakure's gonna eat dirt now."
"Konoha's victory is assured!"
After the day Mitsuki, Shisui, and the others captured Ao alive, conversations like this became common all across the Kirigakure front.
For Konoha, news of Ao's capture wasn't a secret anymore.
On the battlefield, intel about capturing high-value enemy personnel was always publicized to boost morale.
Just like Kirigakure did before—after stealing the Byakugan, they had glorified Ao and dubbed him the Byakugan Killer.
When the news of the lost Byakugan first reached Konoha, the Hyūga Clan's main branch elders held an emergency midnight meeting that nearly blew the roof off.
Some elders declared that this was the greatest shame in Hyūga history and demanded the Third Hokage to pressure Kirigakure into returning the Byakugan immediately.
Others argued to wait until the war ended and see if they could buy it back from Kirigakure.
Conveniently, no one suggested retrieving it themselves.
After all, it was common knowledge across the ninja world that the Hyūga Clan lacked true combat elites — trying to reclaim the Byakugan themselves was nothing short of a dream.
As the meeting dragged on, tempers flared.
Some elders began dredging up old records, furiously berating whoever had approved sending a main branch member on that mission in the first place.
What started as a problem-solving council quickly turned into a blame-shifting brawl.A bunch of near-ancient elders argued so hard that a few nearly passed out and had to be rushed to Konoha Hospital that same night.
In the end, the conclusion was clear: the clan head must find a way to reclaim the Byakugan — or else this disgrace would be written into clan history, and he'd be cursed by generations to come.
Whether future generations would curse him or not, Hyūga Hiashi didn't know.What he did know was that the stress was already killing him.
At the last jōnin meeting, he had subtly hinted to the Third Hokage several times about helping retrieve the Byakugan — but all his efforts were ignored, as if he'd been flirting with a blind man.
Unexpectedly, fate took a turn: the Byakugan was taken back — by none other than Mitsuki.
The entire Hyūga Clan was overjoyed. They immediately dispatched a messenger to Hizashi, instructing him to express gratitude to Mitsuki and prepare a small token of appreciation — a modest gift.
In the Kirigakure Front, Fugaku, Hizashi, and Mitsuki — three frontline leaders — were discussing how to deal with the captured Ao.
Hizashi proposed extracting all information from him and then executing him, spreading the news to intimidate Kirigakure and the other villages.
But Fugaku disagreed.He believed that after using genjutsu to interrogate Ao, they could use him as a bargaining chip to extract maximum benefit from Kirigakure.
To be fair, Fugaku's plan made more sense for Konoha's current situation. Hizashi's idea of killing Ao to send a message seemed heavily influenced by the Hyūga main branch's agenda.
Still, Hizashi had his reasons. After Mitsuki's team brought Ao back, Mitsuki had directly decided that the reclaimed Byakugan would be kept as a war trophy by Heiji.
Hizashi himself didn't care who held it, but the main branch elders certainly did. They couldn't tolerate a branch family member carrying a main branch Byakugan around — after all, the Caged Bird Seal existed precisely to prevent Byakugan leakage in case of a branch member's death in the field.
Now that Heiji held a mainbranch Byakugan without restriction, it looked terrible.
However, once Hizashi relayed that the decision came from Mitsuki, the elders had no choice but to drop the issue.
After all, Mitsuki was the benefactor who helped them wash away their clan's greatest disgrace. At worst, they'd just treat Heiji as a main branch member from now on, keep him from field missions, and make sure the Byakugan never risked being lost again.
Still, executing the Byakugan Killer was a direct order from the elders — one that had to be carried out no matter what.
The two leaders held firm to their opposing views, neither willing to yield, until both turned their gaze toward Mitsuki.
"Mitsuki, what do you think should be done?"
"Well, hmm…"
Mitsuki was, in truth, inclined to have Ao executed. He hated leaving loose ends—and this was certainly not because the Hyūga Clan had gifted him a luxurious house in the heart of Konoha.
"I believe it's better if we handle Ao ourselves" Mitsuki said evenly. "Rather than chasing small profits, we should consider the feelings of our comrades in the Hyūga Clan."
His reasoning was sound, and Hizashi immediately looked at him with gratitude. There truly were good people in the world.
Fugaku wanted to argue further, but Mitsuki quickly added:
"Kirigakure has always been infamous for its cold-blooded nature. I doubt they'd offer anything truly valuable to retrieve a man who's already lost his Byakugan. And besides—we could still trade his corpse if it came to that."
At that, Fugaku dropped the issue. It wasn't worth fighting over. As clan head of the Uchiha, he couldn't always yield to the Hyūga — but Mitsuki's words provided a balanced resolution, and he chose to go with the flow.
After all, the relationship between the Uchiha and the Hyūga had become delicate and complicated due to the Byakugan Retrieval operation. Every decision had to be made with caution.
Mitsuki's intervention provided a new opportunity — a way for both sides to reach equilibrium and resolve the matter gracefully.