The only ones who had a true motive to assassinate him were those from Konoha.
For ordinary Hidden Cloud shinobi, Neji was already recognized as a rising talent. He had proven himself in battle, earned the respect of comrades, and even gained the personal guidance of the Two-Tails Jinchūriki, Yugito Nii. To them, he was not a target, but a young asset worth nurturing.
But Konoha was a different story.
If Neji died, the two great villages—Konoha and the Hidden Cloud—might easily find themselves in conflict. The loss of a genius Hyuga to assassination would not only be a heavy blow to Cloud but could also ignite political tensions.
Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Third Hokage, might wish for Neji's silence, but his nature was weak, indecisive, bound by ideals of "balance." He would never personally act in such a reckless way.
Danzo Shimura, however…
He was different.
Danzo lived by one principle alone: everything for Konoha.
To him, eliminating Neji wasn't just about removing a potential threat. It was strategy. With Neji's corpse returned to Konoha, Danzo could spin the narrative—reopen the incident of Neji's abduction years ago, accuse Hiruzen of incompetence, and use the scandal to overthrow him. For a man like Danzo, one death could become a stepping stone toward seizing ultimate power.
He had far too many reasons to want Neji gone.
And for such a mission, his secretive organization, Root, was the perfect tool.
Every Root shinobi was molded into an emotionless weapon, brainwashed until loyalty was absolute. They obeyed orders without hesitation, without doubt, without hesitation even in death. Each of them carried the Cursed Tongue Eradication Seal, a binding placed by Danzo himself. With a single trigger, they were silenced forever, their tongues and secrets locked away in the grave.
Capturing one alive? Impossible. Preserving evidence of Danzo's schemes? Unrealistic.
Even if Neji reported the truth to the Fourth Raikage, without tangible proof, Ay could not easily move against Konoha. To stand up publicly with nothing but a child's word would invite unnecessary strife between the two villages.
Neji understood all this.
"Is this sealing jutsu something passed down from Senju Tobirama, the master of forbidden techniques? Or was it stolen from the Uzumaki Clan? Or perhaps Danzo developed it himself?" he wondered aloud.
Sealing arts were remarkable. They could bind subordinates, erase secrets, and even change the course of battles.
But Neji only sighed faintly. He wasn't envious.
He had something far greater.
Calmly, he bent down and picked up his severed left arm from the blood-soaked ground. With steady hands, he sealed it into a storage scroll for later treatment. His pale eyes then locked onto the faint trail left by the cloaked man's retreat. Without hesitation, he gave chase.
---
The Cloaked Man's Escape
At the foot of the mountain, the cloaked man staggered forward, his breath ragged. Blood poured freely from his missing arm. His steps grew weaker with each passing second, his body swaying like it might collapse at any moment.
Then—
Whoosh!
Several figures emerged from the surrounding darkness, blocking his path.
At their head stood Yume Ryūma, his sharp gaze cold as steel. He took one look at the cloaked man and spoke with disdain.
"Puppet, you look rather pathetic."
The cloaked man snorted through clenched teeth but dared not respond.
Danzo had ordered him to obey Ryūma absolutely. Even though he had been planted in the Hidden Cloud for years, carefully building a false identity and waiting for the right moment, in Danzo's eyes he was nothing more than a disposable pawn.
His original plan had been meticulous: he and Ryūma would strike together, with the support of at least fifteen elite Root operatives. With that force, even facing the Two-Tails Jinchūriki head-on, they could expect to escape intact.
But Ryūma had rejected the plan outright.
Perhaps Danzo no longer trusted him. Perhaps this mission was as much a test of loyalty as it was an assassination. Instead of an army, he had been given only four helpers.
And now, with his arm severed, his cover blown, and Neji still alive, the mission was already a failure.
Ryūma's gaze narrowed as he noticed the missing limb. His brows furrowed ever so slightly.
Hyuga Neji is only six years old… yet he managed to do this?
For Lord Danzo, that boy had to be eliminated, no matter the cost.
"Take him," Ryūma ordered curtly, gesturing to the short medical-nin beside him. "He's useless, but he can't die yet. Tend to his wounds."
"Yes!"
The Root medic stepped forward, swiftly treating the cloaked man and escorting him away.
Ryūma turned back toward the forest. His eyes gleamed with calculation. "Activate the backup plan."
---
Neji's Pursuit
Meanwhile, Neji sprinted through the forest, his Byakugan scanning every inch of terrain within three kilometers. The world unfolded before his vision in white clarity—roots beneath the soil, insects crawling in the grass, every flicker of movement laid bare.
But of the cloaked man, there was no sign.
Strange…
A man missing an arm should not have been able to flee so swiftly. Unless… unless he had allies waiting.
Neji crouched suddenly, picking up a fallen leaf. A single drop of blood stained its surface. His pale eyes narrowed.
Blood trails continued faintly through the undergrowth—on roots, across blades of grass, smearing bark.
Too obvious.
Were they truly fleeing in such haste that they couldn't hide their tracks? Or… are they leaving me a trail on purpose?
Either way, this was Cloud's territory. He had no intention of retreating.
A faint smile touched Neji's lips. He retrieved a flare from his pouch, aimed it skyward, and fired.
Whoosh!
Bang!
The night sky lit up with crimson sparks. Soon, the patrol squad would come.
But Neji didn't wait. He pulled a kunai, stabbed it into the dirt, and gave it a small spin. When it stopped, its tip pointed northeast. Without hesitation, he darted in that direction, silent as a shadow.
The blood trail soon grew fainter, until at last it disappeared entirely.
Neji slowed, scanning carefully. Nothing.
Instead, three figures approached swiftly—the Hidden Cloud patrol team, drawn by his flare. They wore tight dark uniforms, short katanas at their sides, their eyes sharp with vigilance.
Neji's gaze instinctively flicked toward their left arms. All intact.
"You fired the flare?" the squad leader asked, his tone cautious as he studied Neji's pale eyes.
Not many villagers had interacted with the boy, but his reputation had spread far enough.
"Yes," Neji replied calmly. "On Amagumo Mountain, I was ambushed by a cloaked assailant. I severed his left arm and tracked him here."
The squad leader inhaled deeply, his expression hardening. The Byakugan was a treasure of immense value. To think someone had tried to steal it again…
"Keep pursuing," the leader ordered. "We'll back you up."
Together, they vanished into the trees, their shadows stretching long in the moonlight.
---
In the Shadows
Once silence returned, the earth stirred. A strange plant-like growth emerged from the ground, opening like a grotesque flower.
At its center was a man—or rather, two halves of one.
One side was pitch black, his voice low and rasping. The other was ghostly white, grinning with mischief.
White Zetsu chuckled. "So that's the Byakugan brat Cloud abducted two years ago? Tch tch… He's only six, and already a ninja?"
Black Zetsu's voice was colder, filled with contempt. "Indeed. I did not expect this development."
"The Raikage didn't use him as breeding stock, but gave him Yugito as a mentor instead. Does the Byakugan really have that much potential?" White Zetsu asked with mock surprise.
"It does," Black Zetsu answered flatly.
White Zetsu blinked, then burst into laughter. "Hah! Zetsu, since when do you joke?"
"Hmph." Black Zetsu turned away, unwilling to explain.
The Byakugan—born of the Ōtsutsuki—was a power that rivaled even the Sharingan. In the Warring States era, three clans had stood above all others: Senju, Uchiha, and Hyuga. Among them, the Hyuga produced titans.
There was once a man, Hyuga Ichizoku, who bore the Giant Tenseigan. With its might, he ascended to the moon itself and struck down the Ōtsutsuki clan dwelling there, leaving them crippled.
It was thanks to him that the ninja world enjoyed over three centuries of peace.
But that glory had long since faded.
Without strong Ōtsutsuki blood to awaken its true potential, the Byakugan had been reduced to nothing more than a reconnaissance tool.
Exactly as Black Zetsu desired.
For him, the Senju, Uchiha, and Hyuga were all cursed lineages—descendants of Hagoromo and Hamura, the treacherous sons who betrayed their own mother.
"Those beasts should burn in hell," he muttered darkly.
Then his tone shifted, eerie and commanding. "Enough. The mission takes priority. Let's go."
The pitcher plant closed, and the strange figure melted back into the soil, leaving the forest silent once more.
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