The sudden appearance of Hyuga Shin froze the intruders in their tracks.
When they saw that the person blocking their way was an old man, they exchanged wary glances—there was a new weight in their eyes.
They had already learned the hard way how formidable the Hyuga could be. And though this newcomer seemed aged, none of them dared to underestimate him.
After all, no matter how skilled a shinobi was, time always dulled the body—but those who lived long enough to grow old in this world were often the ones most feared.
Wars claimed countless lives, yet these old men had survived through all of them. How they did so hardly mattered—the fact that they did was reason enough to be afraid.
"Captain, they won't be able to hold us off for long," whispered one of the intruders, edging closer to the man in the lead. "If we move now, we still have a chance to escape. What's the plan?"
The voice was quiet—barely more than a breath—but in the stillness of the courtyard, Satoru and the others heard it loud and clear.
The enemy sounded… hesitant.
A flicker of comprehension passed through Satoru's eyes.
He hadn't expected so many infiltrators, but it was clear now that they hadn't expected the Hyuga's defenses to be this strong either. Not only had the Branch Family elites been mobilized, even his reclusive great-grandfather had appeared.
Their mission had already failed.
And given the earlier blast of lightning release that had shattered their formation, both the Hyuga and Konoha's ANBU would have been alerted by now.
This area would soon be crawling with reinforcements. Every extra second the intruders lingered here only multiplied their risk.
Unless they could defeat everyone present in a single instant, they'd never make it out of the village alive.
If this had been a suicide mission, they might have chosen to fight to the death—but clearly, their orders were more complicated than that.
"You're not leaving,"
Hyuga Shin declared coldly, sliding into stance. His pale eyes gleamed like blades under the moonlight.
Yet the enemy leader's response took everyone by surprise.
"Shut up!" he barked at his subordinate. "Prepare the Heavenly Transfer Technique. The rest of you—cover me! As long as we get it out, our mission will be complete!"
The decisive tone left no doubt—this was their last gambit.
Though the phrase "send it away" revealed little, both Hyuga Shin and Kakashi immediately tensed.
Their eyes followed the man's line of sight—and it didn't take a genius to guess the target he meant to "send."
Hyuga Satoru.
Satoru himself had already put the pieces together. The moment he heard the words "Heavenly Transfer Technique," the realization struck him like lightning.
That jutsu was unique—one no outsider could possibly mimic.
There was no longer any doubt.
"So that's it…" he murmured.
"Grandfather, they're from the Cloud."
Raising his voice, Satoru continued evenly:
"There's a celebration in the village tonight, right? To honor the Cloud's envoys signing the peace treaty."
"Wouldn't be surprising if these people were part of that group. If possible—take one alive."
He wasn't about to let the Hyuga shoulder another false accusation.
He didn't know why the Cloud dared to make a move in the very heart of Konoha during its golden age, but that didn't change what needed to be done.
On paper, Konoha was at its peak. The transition of power between Hokage generations was complete; the village still had the Legendary Sannin, the retired Third, and the brilliant Fourth Hokage himself.
The Nine-Tails' rampage had never happened here—Konoha's strength remained intact.
But the Hidden Cloud…
The Hidden Cloud was still one of the strongest villages in the world—home to the Fourth Raikage, two jinchuriki, the Chakra Cannon, and the fabled Treasured Tools of the Sage.
If war truly broke out, with Konoha's internal politics so divided, there was no guarantee who would emerge victorious.
The people were tired of bloodshed. The clans longed for peace. No one wanted another war.
And Satoru knew that Minato Namikaze—kind, rational, diplomatic—wasn't the type to ignite one over the Hyuga's sake.
The Raikage, on the other hand, was a man who would absolutely start a war for pride alone.
Thus, the smartest move was to take prisoners—to let the truth speak for itself.
He didn't like it, but to survive in Konoha, prudence always came before pride.
As Satoru spoke, the enemy began their counterattack.
The ninja who had asked for orders retreated to the back of the courtyard, pulling several scrolls from his cloak and setting them out in a precise pattern on the ground—it looked like he was preparing a summoning or sealing array.
The other three broke formation.
One charged straight at Hyuga Shin, while the remaining two curved around, flanking toward Satoru's position.
But Kakashi and Uchiha Shisui were already on the move.
Their blades flashed, intercepting the flanking attackers mid-step. Sparks erupted as steel met steel, and the two duels blurred across the courtyard.
The man rushing Shin never made it that far.
He vanished in a blur of speed—only to reappear an instant later as a dark shape crashing into the courtyard wall.
BOOM!
The impact cracked the stone barrier like a spiderweb.
With a single blow to the gut, Hyuga Shin had shut down the man's chakra flow. The fight was over before it even began.
A gust of wind lifted the old man's robe, his long silver-white hair swaying as the dust settled.
Watching from a distance, Satoru couldn't help but raise a brow and grin.
"As expected of my grandfather. Impressive as ever."
Though age had creased his face, Shin's composure under pressure—and the ruthless precision of his strike—hinted at the power he once wielded in his prime.
These were no low-level Cloud-nin, that much was clear.
But ordinary ninja, no matter how skilled, were still outmatched against a wielder of a bloodline limit. The disparity was even greater than Satoru had imagined.
Casting a glance at the fallen Cloud-nin, Satoru relaxed, folding his arms as his gaze turned toward the other two battles.
Unlike Shin's swift victory, Kakashi and Shisui's fights were still in full swing.
The sound of clashing blades echoed ceaselessly as four figures darted across the courtyard in a storm of motion.
Just as Satoru had guessed, the Cloud-nin were anything but fodder.
Young Uchiha Shisui had activated his double-tomoe Sharingan, but even that insight couldn't fully compensate for the difference in strength and speed between him and his opponent. The boy was fast—but his enemy was faster, forcing him into constant defense.
On the other side, Hatake Kakashi, now eighteen and fully matured, fought with calm precision.
His strength and speed matched his foe's blow for blow, and his single three-tomoe Sharingan read every move before it happened. In contrast to Shisui's precarious struggle, Kakashi had his opponent completely under control.
Neither Shin nor Satoru moved to interfere.
Now that they understood who the attackers were, the old man and the youth shared the same thought—This was a good opportunity for Konoha's chosen "guards" to prove themselves.
Sensing Satoru's intent, Hyuga Shin turned slightly, meeting his grandson's eyes.
For a brief moment, the two exchanged a quiet smile—amusement glinting between them.
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