It was more than ten minutes later when he returned to the Hokage Office.
The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, looked at the wall in the office, which had a sword mark from the previous fight—the very mark left by the Anbu ninja's sword.
"What happened?"
Hiruzen looked at the four Anbu ninjas who appeared before him, asking what exactly had transpired.
"Lord Hokage, someone stole information and data from here."
The Leaf Anbu ninja who had repelled the enemy earlier replied.
"Was the enemy captured?"
Hiruzen asked the crucial question.
"I cut the enemy's body in half, but they seemed to be immortal.
Even after being severed, they still possessed strong vitality and disappeared by burrowing into the ground and the wall."
The Leaf Anbu immediately knelt on one knee, bowing his head to Hiruzen as he explained, then continued, "I am very sorry, Lord Hokage.
Although we tracked them afterward, they moved very quickly through the earth, and we lost them in no time."
"Stand up.
It seems the one who infiltrated here possesses special abilities."
Immortality, the ability to burrow into walls and floors, and the capacity to shake off pursuing Anbu ninjas—regardless of their combat prowess, their infiltration skills were certainly not to be underestimated.
Hiruzen walked over to his desk, looking at the various messy documents and files on it.
These files covered many things, and because of this, Hiruzen couldn't determine what the infiltrator was looking for.
There were documents on the composition of jōnin squads, accepted missions, recent reports from active teams, and various expired command papers.
Among them, Hiruzen also found a magazine with a sexy bikini model on the cover.
"..."
Hiruzen felt a moment of awkwardness and quietly slipped the magazine into the adjacent drawer.
He couldn't help it; as Hokage, his daily stress was simply too immense.
Even a Hokage needed to read some varied books occasionally to relieve stress.
"Lord Hokage, what should we do next?"
"Nothing should come of it.
The files kept here are generally not the most crucial secrets of the village..."
However, to say that these files could be leaked to unknown individuals without any harm to the village would be incorrect; they still posed a certain risk.
The critical issue was the inability to determine the enemy's identity and objective, making it impossible to lock down any action.
Even knowing that this infiltrator was a misfortune rather than a blessing for Konoha, there was nothing that could truly be done.
They could only let it be for now.
"Let's leave it at that for now.
Be more careful during work in the future."
Hiruzen did not blame the Anbu, as there was only one squad of four ninjas guarding this area.
The reason was that the files here did not involve Konoha's true core secrets; dispatching more people would be a waste of resources, and the protection in other areas would decrease.
However, not taking any precautions at all would also be unwise, as the files here were not entirely useless.
Hiruzen found this point strange.
If they were after Konoha's secrets, the information obtainable here would be clearly limited.
Crucially important Anbu member data, various research materials, forbidden jutsu, and secret techniques—these were Konoha's core secrets, kept in even more secluded locations.
The Anbu ninjas guarding those places were among the elite of the Anbu, not only numerous but also specializing in rare secret techniques, and equipped with special sensory-type ninjas to prevent enemy infiltration.
Unsure of the infiltrator's purpose, Hiruzen decided not to make any more idle guesses.
◎
One day later.
A cruise ship departing from the port of the Land of Rainbows was heading towards the port of the Land of Fire.
On the deck of this cruise ship, people of various kinds were enjoying themselves or gazing at the boundless blue sea.
"Lord Kaji, it's too dangerous to be out in the open here.
Please return to your room."
Two adult male ninjas with white eyes spoke to the white-eyed ninja who was admiring the blue seascape on the deck.
The ninja they called 'Kaji' was a handsome young man, wearing a Konoha ninja headband on his forehead, signifying his identity as a Konoha ninja.
Moreover, the pure white eyes of all three made it clear who they were—the prestigious Hyūga clan.
The Hyūga clan was not only a prominent ninja clan among ninjas, but like other top ninja clans, their relations with the outside world were complex.
This time, the three of them had gone to the Land of Rainbows purely to handle some business matters with a merchant guild that had commercial dealings with the Hyūga clan.
Because someone of sufficient status needed to be present in person, the Hyūga clan dispatched Hyūga Kaji, a successor of the Main House, with two Special Jōnin from the Branch House as escorts.
Although not true Jōnin, the two, working together, could handle an average Jōnin and even defeat one.
As a Main House ninja, Hyūga Kaji was the strongest of the three.
Though only twenty, he was already a renowned genius Jōnin in the Hyūga Main House.
With such a configuration, even if they encountered a hundred Chūnin-level enemies, they could easily escape, even if they couldn't defeat them.
"It's fine.
I just came out for a casual stroll.
The family's business in the Land of Rainbows is settled, so you two don't need to be so tense."
Kaji smiled at the worries of the two Hyūga Branch House ninjas.
"Even so, as a member of the Main..."
Seeing Kaji shush him, the Branch House ninja realized he had almost let something slip.
He glanced around, and seeing that no one was paying attention, he breathed a sigh of relief.
"You two, don't be so overly respectful to me.
Just be yourselves."
Kaji showed a gentle smile on his face.
"Yes."
Although Kaji, as a member of the Main House, said so, the two Branch House ninjas still dared not overstep their bounds.
After all, the ideology they had embraced since childhood was centered on the Main House.
Even at the cost of their lives, they had to ensure the safety of the Main House ninja.
This will was deeply ingrained in their DNA, and many times, they would subconsciously act to protect the Main House.
Kaji sighed at their stiffness; it only made them more suspicious.
However, even if an accident occurred, with the strength of the three of them... BOOM!
A sudden explosion sound erupted, and the massive hull of the cruise ship violently shuddered, swaying intensely on the boundless ocean.
Kaji and the two Branch House ninjas quickly gathered chakra in their feet, then gripped the nearby railing, stabilizing their bodies firmly on the deck.
After the tremor, the tourists on the deck screamed in panic, and an atmosphere of fear and chaos spread throughout the cruise ship.
On the blue sea, massive waves surged up, overwhelming the ship with one wave after another.
The cruise ship rocked incessantly on the sea, almost capsizing its huge hull several times.
"Wh-what's happening!?"
"It seems the journey back to Konoha won't be smooth sailing."
Kaji stood calmly on the deck, activating his Byakugan.
His gaze penetrated through the layers of surging waves, seeing more than a dozen enemies rapidly approaching the cruise ship.
"Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Jutsu!"
A loud shout echoed in the air.
Behind the waves, a water dragon, formed by a massive amount of water, charged towards the cruise ship with even greater visual impact.
Kaji looked at the terrified tourists on the deck, frowning.
He pushed off with his legs, leaping into the air.
Chakra expelled from the acupoints of his body, and his body spun rapidly like a top.
"Rotation!"
BOOM!
The water dragon collided with the massive chakra sphere Kaji had created through his rotation.
The water dragon dispersed into a large amount of water, washing over the deck of the cruise ship.
Several tourists were accidentally swept into the sea, screaming for help.
Kaji retreated from mid-air.
Although he successfully used Rotation to block the water dragon from crashing into the cruise ship, preventing it from sinking, the surging force hit his body.
Even with Rotation blocking most of the force, it left his face pale.
"Follow me, don't fight here!"
Kaji knew that these enemies didn't care about the hundreds of lives on the cruise ship.
Fighting here would only put him in a precarious situation.
He leaped off the deck, landed on the sea, and immediately started running.
"Yes!"
The two Branch House ninjas immediately followed Kaji, running.
Seeing the increasing distance from the cruise ship, they knew that even if they fought, it wouldn't affect the ship.
"Lord Kaji, who exactly are these..."
"The Water Release is very powerful, but their attire doesn't resemble that of Hidden Mist ninjas."
These people's attire was no different from ordinary civilians, wearing rough linen clothes, not standard ninja uniforms.
"Disguise?"
"That possibility cannot be ruled out."
After Kaji's words, a vast white mist suddenly rolled up on the sea without warning.
The sea area within a kilometer radius was enveloped by this sudden white mist.
The white mist contained incredibly powerful chakra.
The Byakugan's insight remained, but to see through the mist, it consumed more chakra than usual.
However, for the three Hyūga ninjas, this amount of chakra was nothing.
"Hidden Mist Jutsu, and a technique of this intensity, can basically block the Sharingan.
But our Hyūga Byakugan is unmatched in perception."
Kaji showed no fear towards this powerful Hidden Mist Jutsu.
Within the area observed by his Byakugan, he could basically determine in advance how many enemies there were, from which direction they were attacking, and what type of ninjutsu they would release based on their chakra flow.
Senseless killings were common in the ninja world, but the dozen or so unidentified ninjas charging with terrifying killing intent, attacking the three of them, clearly had them as their target.
Or rather, the Hyūga Main House's bloodline limit—the pure Byakugan, unrestricted by the Caged Bird.
"Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Jutsu!"
It was the same ninjutsu, but this time, a total of six people released it.
The momentum of six water dragons crashing head-on, along with the water surge powerful enough to crush a human body, made the three Hyūga ninjas' expressions turn incredibly grim.
This level of impact could not be stopped by one person's Rotation alone.
If these two Branch House members also knew Rotation, it would be great, Kaji sighed in his heart.
If all three knew Rotation, while they wouldn't be completely unscathed by such an attack, they would certainly be able to defend against it, at most sustaining some injuries.
Unfortunately, Rotation, this absolute defensive secret technique, was only available to the Main House and a select few Branch House ninjas.
Many Jōnin of the Branch House were not qualified to learn it, including the two Special Jōnin escorts beside him.
Being directly hit by the concentrated surge of six water dragons would result in at least severe injuries.
Therefore, the three continuously ran backward, increasing the distance to weaken the water dragons' impact before dealing with them.
However, the opponent was well aware of the Hyuga clan's tactics, and that this was the boundless sea, an amplified domain ruled by water-style ninja.
Water Release ninjutsu that would normally require a certain amount of chakra could now be performed with only half the original chakra here.
If the same amount of chakra was used, the power of Water Release ninjutsu would double.
For Water Release ninja, there was no better place to use water-style jutsu than this.
It was simply too disadvantageous to fight against water-style ninja with large-area ninjutsu in this place.
"Damn it!"
Although those dozen or so people were skilled, none of them intended to engage in close combat. They only used long-range and wide-area Water Release ninjutsu, relying on the sea as their home advantage, to continuously deplete their opponents' stamina.
If they were accidentally hit by a Water Release ninjutsu, they would end up seriously injured.
If this continued, the three of them would eventually be exhausted and captured by the enemy.
"Hajin-sama, please leave this place first. These guys are not simple! We will cover your retreat!"
Two branch family ninja of special jonin rank wanted to clear a path for Hajin, so he could leave first.
The importance of the Byakugan to the Hyuga clan was self-evident. If such a pure bloodline limit fell into the hands of others, it would not be a good thing for either the Hyuga clan or Konoha.
Hajin glanced at the two, as if seeing their determination to die in their eyes. He nodded and unhesitatingly fled in the direction where there were no enemies blocking his path.
Whether he liked it or not, the meaning of the existence of branch family ninja was only reflected at this moment.
They had to fight to the death to create a path for the main family ninja, rather than the main family ninja sacrificing themselves and letting the branch family ninja escape.
Hajin was no stranger to this situation and considered it a matter of course.
Because he had to protect his precious and proud Byakugan from being acquired by the enemy, the sacrifice of those two branch family ninja was not without value.
—A few kilometers from the battlefield, a mud golem, entirely yellowish-brown, emerged from the sea.
Then, its entire twisted humanoid body stood stickily on the sea surface, its body beginning to twist irregularly.
Immediately after, it formed hand seals, and finally pressed its hands on the sea surface. Accompanied by a large amount of white smoke, Shiraishi, wearing a white hooded cloak, was summoned from far-off Konoha.
"This Reverse Summoning Jutsu is really convenient. Thank you for your hard work."
Shiraishi looked at the 'idiot son' standing next to him. In many situations, he still had many convenient uses.
However, in Shiraishi's initial vision, he had hoped to create a powerful rock golem for combat.
But limited by technology and the unformed Sage Mode, he could only keep it by his side as a stealthy presence.
The mud golem gurgled a bunch of unintelligible words, then disappeared into the sea.
After witnessing its disappearance, Shiraishi squatted down and touched the sea surface with one finger, his vast sensory power spreading in all directions.
The target he was looking for was the Hyuga main family's jonin, Hyuga Hajin.
"That direction? But what's with this battle? Are there other guys targeting him too?"
Shiraishi looked puzzled.
But thinking about it, it was normal. The Byakugan of the Hyuga main family was simply too strategically significant, especially during ninja wars. It could be said that as long as one possessed such an eye, the enemy's schemes would often be inexplicably exposed.
In his perception, the warring parties were divided into two camps, one with three people and the other with thirteen.
The group of three should be Hyuga clan ninja, and the one currently trying to retreat from the battlefield was likely Hyuga Hajin.
It seemed he intended to use the branch family ninja to buy time and create a chance for himself to escape.
"The ambush enemies are not simple, but with them helping me stall, I don't have to worry about those two branch family guards anymore."
Shiraishi smiled slightly, and his figure disappeared from the spot, heading in the direction Hyuga Hajin was fleeing.
The sensing range of the Spirit Transformation Jutsu was very wide, and here was the open sea without any obstacles, meaning that as long as Shiraishi's speed surpassed the opponent's, Hyuga Hajin would not be able to escape his pursuit.
Indeed, Shiraishi was very confident in his speed.
Even if the opponent was a famous genius jonin of the Hyuga clan, it was only a matter of time before he was caught.
About five minutes later, Shiraishi saw a young ninja dressed in Hyuga clan-style clothing, rapidly moving across the sea surface.
He also noticed Shiraishi rapidly approaching and seemed a little surprised.
He knew someone was approaching him, and quickly, but he didn't expect the opponent to be a Konoha ninja.
He had seen this face once before by chance, remembering him as the medical ninja from Sakumo-sensei's squad.
Why was he here?
This unusually fast speed, even more exaggerated than his own as a jonin?
Had the enemy transformed?
But under the Byakugan's observation, there were no signs of transformation.
Even if he had transformed, there was no need to transform into such an unrelated person.
Hajin's eyes became wary.
"Wait, you—"
He wanted to say something, but Shiraishi didn't give him a chance. He immediately pulled out several pellets from his ninja pouch and threw them into the air, where they exploded.
The smoke spread faster than a Mist Concealment Jutsu, covering a diameter of over thirty meters. The smoke was dark purple, and Hajin's expression immediately changed.
He dared not inhale the strangely colored mist and directly submerged into the sea.
He just had to wait for these strangely colored mists to disperse, then return to the surface.
Unexpectedly, after holding his breath in the seawater for about two or three minutes, these poisonous mists only showed signs of slowly dispersing.
Just as he was about to breathe a sigh of relief, Shiraishi pulled out a few more pellets from his ninja pouch, continuously spreading them on the sea surface.
Under the Byakugan's observation, Hajin locked onto Shiraishi's ninja pouch, which still contained many such pellets.
"..."
If this continued, he would surely drown in the seawater first, ending the battle.
If he moved in the water, the opponent would definitely follow him.
Helpless, he had no choice but to swim towards the surface, intending to use Rotation to create a powerful airflow to blow away the poisonous mist and get some air.
Shiraishi also knew what Hajin was thinking. He took out a kunai from his ninja pouch. This kunai had a string of five explosive tags attached to it, and he gave Hajin a benevolent smile.
Don't even think about surfacing like that. Just be a turtle in a shell... Shiraishi was conveying exactly that meaning.
"..."
Honestly, Hajin was getting a little annoyed, feeling an urge to curse.
Why did this person not fight like a ninja at all? Judging by his speed, he should be a taijutsu ninja, shouldn't he? Shouldn't he rely on his powerful taijutsu and engage him in close combat?
Just then, another anomaly entered his field of vision.
It was a yellowish-brown humanoid figure, like it was made of mud, swimming up from the deeper, dark seabed. Its hollow eye sockets emitted a faint golden light, particularly bright in the bottomless darkness, giving off a terrifying aura.
It twisted its incredibly strange body, accelerating towards him at a speed Hajin found abnormal, much faster than Hajin running on land.
Hajin's face changed drastically.
Because he discovered that on the body of this humanoid figure, there were sheets of waterproof talismans, and on each talisman, there was a character for 'explode'.
Waterproof explosive tags.
The power of these explosive tags was less than that of ordinary explosive tags, but if this quantity exploded, even with less power, it would be enough to blow someone to smithereens.
The Earth General's speed gliding through the water was incredibly fast, giving Hajin no extra time to think.
Rotation!
Upon reaching the surface, this bizarre mud golem would definitely catch up to him first and detonate the explosive tags on its body.
So, Hajin unhesitatingly used Rotation in the water, stirring the currents to push the mud golem away from him.
Boom!
A muffled explosion echoed in the water, and the sea surface immediately caved in, forming a huge hollow. Hajin spat out fresh blood, flying into the air, his eyes struggling to open.
Although the massive explosion had also cleared the poisonous mist on the sea surface, he had also suffered serious injuries as a result.
This bastard!
He didn't act like a ninja at all!
Encountering such a despicable guy who showed no respect for his opponent, he really deserved divine punishment!
"Rotation!"
Seeing Shiraishi charging towards him, Hajin gritted his teeth, glaring at Shiraishi with angry and ferocious eyes.
He released most of his remaining chakra, unleashing Rotation with maximum power, to let him know that even so, he was no match for a Hyuga main family ninja.
Die!
Crack!
A look of astonishment appeared on his face. Rotation didn't activate.
His arm was grabbed by Shiraishi first, then, in a reverse motion, Shiraishi threw his body towards the sea surface.
His body hit the seawater heavily, and he couldn't help but spit out another mouthful of blood, looking at Shiraishi with shock in his eyes.
"How could... you actually broke through Rotation!?"
"Why the surprised look? I've seen Rotation many times more powerful than yours. In my eyes, your Rotation is basically full of flaws. Checkmate, Hyuga main family member."
The person Shiraishi was referring to was, of course, Ayane.
He had seen Ayane's Rotation, and its power, speed, and recoil were all far superior to Hajin's Rotation.
In Shiraishi's eyes, Hajin's Rotation could be hard-countered simply by using a faster speed than his.
This was not something worth bragging about at all.
"You... are you really that medical ninja from Sakumo-sensei's squad? You're also a Konoha ninja, why would you..."
Shiraishi did not offer another explanation in response to Hajin's question.
Seeing Shiraishi's lack of interest in explaining, Hajin's eyes showed resentment, but his body couldn't support him to continue. Just as he was about to do something, Shiraishi instantly appeared behind him, delivering a precise chop to the back of his neck with his hand, and Hajin immediately lost consciousness and fainted.
Shiraishi carried Hajin's body on his shoulder and looked at the yellowish-brown mud, shattered into pieces, next to him. The mud golem was slowly re-forming.
The only relatively intact head weakly uttered unintelligible words from its mouth.
It seemed he had already enjoyed the fun of participating in battle.
His current incoherence showed how happy he was.