The Hyuga clansman's body stiffened, and cold sweat drenched his back.
He opened his mouth but couldn't speak.
The Konoha shinobi holding him was one of the Third Hokage's former personal guards, an Anbu he recognized but wasn't close to.
"Don't close it," the Anbu said again in a low, icy tone.
"What?" the Hyuga clansman instinctively asked.
"Your Byakugan, don't close it," the Anbu's command was cold and firm. "Tell your clansmen to do the same. Keep watching every prisoner. Don't miss any unusual Chakra activity."
As those words entered his ears, the Hyuga clansman's vague suspicions instantly became clear.
So it was all planned.
From the humiliation of being paraded through the streets, to the Konoha shinobi's so-called mistake earlier, to this specific command.
This was a trap.
A death trap prepared for the three thousand Kumogakure prisoners.
His lips turned pale, and his body trembled uncontrollably.
He had seen what he shouldn't have seen and heard what he shouldn't have heard.
He had already stepped into the snare.
Hiruzen still stood at the back of the procession, appearing unaware of the dark current beneath the surface.
His mask hid all emotion.
Without a word, his hand made a few subtle gestures.
They were Anbu command signs.
As his signals fell, nearly a hundred Konoha shinobi in the escort subtly shifted positions.
These were all Hiruzen's trusted subordinates.
Under the hidden commands, they quietly surrounded the Kumogakure prisoners whose Seals had been tampered with.
The other four hundred uninformed Konoha shinobi were unknowingly separated, continuing to guard the prisoners whose Seals were intact.
The entire formation adjustment was completed amidst the noise of curses and movement, executed so smoothly that no one noticed.
Only the ten Hyuga clansmen, watching through their Byakugan, saw everything clearly.
Night gradually fell.
Campfires flickered to life across the campsite.
But that faint warmth could not drive away the chill in the air.
The humiliation was still escalating.
The prisoners' dinner was deliberately made watery and mixed with dirt.
The Konoha shinobi responsible for distributing food slammed the wooden bucket to the ground.
"Want to eat?"
He pressed his boot against the bucket's edge, his dirt-stained foot nearly touching the food.
Looking at the hungry prisoners, he crooked his finger mockingly. "Crawl over here, and I'll give you a bite."
Provocation.
Provocation taken to the extreme.
A prisoner in the inner circle trembled all over.
Rage burned inside his chest, scorching every nerve.
He clenched his teeth so hard that his gums bled, filling his mouth with the taste of iron.
His lips quivered, wanting to curse the man in front of him and smash that mocking face with his fist.
But he didn't dare.
Reason told him that resistance was useless.
So he lowered his head, hiding his bloodshot eyes.
The rage trapped inside him found no release. It turned into wild Chakra that surged violently through his body.
Finally, unable to hold it in, it slammed against the Seal on his lower back.
It was only an unconscious act of venting. He didn't expect anything to happen.
But in the next instant...
Crack.
A faint sound echoed from the core of the Seal.
The prisoner froze.
The Seal that had defied all his efforts before had cracked.
He was stunned for a moment, then ecstasy filled his heart.
So it wasn't unbreakable.
Hope flared within him.
Without hesitation, he gathered his remaining Chakra and struck it again with all his might.
Boom.
The Seal shattered completely.
A long-lost surge of power exploded inside him.
After all the humiliation and rage, he could no longer think clearly.
Clang.
With one violent motion, the shackles binding his strength and dignity snapped apart, scattering pieces of metal onto the ground.
"What?" The Konoha shinobi who had been provoking him widened his eyes in fake shock.
He stepped back, feigning surprise and panic.
"He broke free!"
The prisoner didn't give him a chance to react. All his fury burst out at once.
With a roar, he lunged forward like a wild beast.
Bang.
The Konoha shinobi barely blocked the punch with his forearm. The impact numbed his entire arm and sent him staggering backward.
Damn it, he's really strong, the Konoha shinobi thought.
The prisoner didn't care. He closed in again, driving an elbow toward his opponent's face.
The Konoha shinobi bent backward just in time to dodge, but the gust scraped his cheek and cut a few strands of hair.
"Lightning Release, False Darkness!" The prisoner grinned and quickly formed hand signs.
A flash of lightning gathered in his hands, forming a spear of crackling energy that he thrust forward.
The Konoha shinobi's face showed perfect horror as he shouted, "Substitution Jutsu!"
Boom.
The lightning spear struck, and his body turned into a log, narrowly dodging the attack. His face was pale with exaggerated fear.
That scene completely ignited the Kumogakure prisoners.
"He did it!"
"He can use Ninjutsu! The Seals can be broken!"
"Brothers, charge! For the glory of Kumogakure!"
After a heartbeat of silence, a thunderous roar erupted.
Crack.
Crack. Crack.
The sound of Seals breaking spread through the camp.
One after another, prisoners broke free.
Ten, thirty, fifty. In an instant, over a hundred Kumogakure regained their strength.
And as soon as they did, they pounced like wild beasts on the nearest Konoha guards.
"Quick, stop them!"
"Requesting backup, large-scale prisoner riot!"
The Konoha shinobi who had been acting shouted as they fought and retreated, perfectly portraying panic and confusion.
The unaware Konoha shinobi truly panicked.
They had never expected the prisoners to break through their Seals all at once.
Fear and anger surged together.
"Damn it! They were pretending all along!"
"Engage the enemy! Protect the camp!"
But it was already too late.
"Lightning Release, Ground Flash!"
"Wind Release, Great Breakthrough!"
"Water Release, Water Severing Wave!"
The freed Kumogakure shinobi unleashed their jutsu. Lightning, wind, and water tore through the night, striking at the Konoha lines.
Over a hundred furious prisoners faced nearly a hundred retreating guards, and the entire camp fell into chaos.
"Earth Release, Earth-Style Wall!"
Several Konoha shinobi reacted quickly.
Pressing their hands to the ground, they raised thick earthen walls to block the onslaught.
But Kumogakure's attacks didn't stop.
"Hmph!"
A muscular Kumogakure shinobi roared, his fist wrapped in lightning. He drove it into the wall.
Rumble.
The earthen wall shattered, fragments flying everywhere.
The immense impact sent the Konoha shinobi who cast the jutsu crashing backward, coughing blood.
He flew into a burning tent and was dragged away by his comrades.
The battle instantly spread.
Fists and Ninjutsu clashed.
Blood and flames filled the camp.
(To be continued.)
◇◇◇
◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 200 Power Stones.
◇ You can read the ahead chapter on Pat if you're interested: p-atreon.c-om/Blownleaves (Just remove the hyphen to access normally.)