After the meal, Kageyama Kokugetsu and Kakuzu split up to make preparations.
Kakuzu went to replenish his hearts; otherwise he had no confidence.
Kokugetsu rented a room at an inn and studied barrier techniques, specifically barriers that block the Byakugan's perception.
Such barriers are standard in ANBU bases—any place classed as confidential has them. Kokugetsu had observed them in ANBU and had already taken some basic sealing-and-barrier formulas from the regular jutsu library. With those two conditions, plus his grasp of how the Byakugan works, learning a Byakugan-screening barrier came quickly.
By the time Kakuzu returned with fresh hearts, Kokugetsu had it down and passed the barrier on to him. With Kakuzu's skill set, picking up a basic barrier didn't take long.
Once Kakuzu had learned it, Kokugetsu used his space–time ability to bring him into a quiet corner of Konoha, then went to the rendezvous to wait.
…
Hyūga compound, a grove in the northwest.
A refined two-story wooden house stood there, with six Hyūga branch shinobi guarding it inside and out.
Because it was inappropriate to use the Byakugan freely in the clan's heartland, the chief elder had temporarily moved his quarters here. And because word was that Kokugetsu had left the village on assignment, the number of guards—and their vigilance—had eased.
Even so, assigning six branch shinobi while Kokugetsu was away was already fairly diligent.
"Eh? Someone to the west?"
"No—he's charging in. Very fast. Enormous chakra."
"Unknown approaching. On alert!" the branch captain shouted.
"North, west, south—one each to intercept. The rest hold position and signal for reinforcements," the captain ordered, running out of the house.
"Yes!"
The five branch shinobi answered and moved.
In the trees, as three branch shinobi rushed him, Kakuzu—wearing a mask like a Kumo ANBU's—unleashed his full strength. Eight giant black tendrils blasted outward.
He had chosen the mask himself. Takigakure lay not far from Kumogakure and had often been bullied by Kumo. If he was hiding his identity, his first thought was to let Kumo take the blame.
The three branch shinobi hadn't been granted Rotation, but they were veterans of the front, and though startled they met the charge without panic. The gap in strength was too large. Under the strange, vicious trajectories of the tendrils and Kakuzu's own blows, all three were soon sent flying and badly hurt.
He could have killed them, but he remembered Kokugetsu's instruction to avoid killing Hyūga branch shinobi if possible. It wasn't softness—Kokugetsu was marking the restraint Hiashi and Hizashi had shown and the wisdom of backing off and warning him openly.
"This is bad. The enemy is very strong. To be safe, move the elder now," the captain decided on the spot.
Two branch shinobi ran into the house, lifted the chief elder, and tried to withdraw.
"Good form. But time's tight, so we'll do it this way."
Kakuzu released the wind, lightning, and fire masks and combined them at his right arm, aiming from range.
Earth Grudge Fear: Final Shot.
After shape and nature transformation, the whirlwind, lightning, and flame converged at a single point between the masks, becoming a beam of chakra shining pale blue, blue-white, and red-orange as it lanced out.
The captain felt the beam's power and his scalp crawled. "Move!"
Even with their backs to Kakuzu, the two branch shinobi saw it with their Byakugan. Hearing the order and recalling Hizashi's prior words, they let go of the chief elder in unison and sprang aside.
"You—"
The chief elder's eyes bulged with rage. Branch families were supposed to throw away their lives to shield the main house. Don't let me live, or else—
His thought ended there. The beam hit him and erased him to ash.
The beam scarcely lost momentum, shearing trees, punching through the garden, and hurtling toward the Hyūga's residential quarter.
Rotation.
Hyūga Hiashi flashed in, spun at speed, and poured out chakra. With a thunderous blast, the great blue dome of chakra stopped the weakened beam.
"Job's done. Go."
Seeing there wasn't even slag left of the target, Kakuzu smiled faintly and slipped away.
The blast in the clan grounds drew nearby Police Department shinobi and other Konoha shinobi, who converged at once. The Hyūga hurried in force. Outwardly, they told the police and others that the noise came from the clan head sparring with an expert. The compound was private ground; without top-level authorization or hard evidence, others couldn't enter, and they left, tamping down their curiosity.
In the agreed forest, at the agreed spot, Kakuzu formed the barrier.
A thin, glassy black hemispheric shell spread in the woods, blocking Byakugan sight and masking his trail. Kokugetsu came out of micro-dust state, opened a black-and-crimson space–time vortex, and left with Kakuzu.
Two breaths later, Hiashi arrived with a pursuit team, smashed the barrier easily, and began to search.
All those Byakugan found nothing. Hiashi's temper frayed; the pressure rolling off him made the branch shinobi around him quake.
"Brother, what's the situation?" Hyūga Hizashi flashed up, face set.
Branch shinobi kept arriving, instinctively leaving space around the two brothers as they joined the search pattern.
"The enemy deployed a barrier and then vanished. Nothing yet."
"Judging by how prepared he was, it's unlikely we'll find him."
Hiashi beckoned. The captain who had been on guard came over, shaking.
"Report everything. No omissions."
The captain glanced at Hizashi, then laid out the events—except for the part where the two branch shinobi dropped the elder and saved themselves.
Lord Hizashi had said the clan head would be happy to see the chief elder gone. If they concealed their dereliction, the thunder would be loud and the rain light.
Please let that be true. If not, the guilt today is too great.
This was Konoha, and on Hyūga ground.
"Hmph. Your fault will be tallied later. Go do your jobs," Hiashi said, face dark.
"Yes, Clan Head!"
Once they'd gone, Hizashi said gravely, "Brother, there are too many questions."
Hiashi sighed. "Yes. How the enemy entered Konoha is one problem."
"His strength was at Kage class, and his aim was so clear. It's… intriguing."
"Hizashi, find out who handled that matter for the chief elder."
"Understood."
<><><><><><>
Read Advanced Chapters on : patreon.com/Kaizo247
~ Every 150 PS = Bonus Chapter!
~ Push the Story forward with your [Power Stones]