Outside the Hyūga clan compound gate, Uchiha Fugaku, leading several elites of his clan, blocked Kurama Unkai, who had just finished working and was exiting the compound.
Yesterday, when Fugaku accepted the Hyūga clan's request, he already had a vague suspicion about the assassin's Jutsu.
That same afternoon, he went to the Kurama clan to confirm his guess. Kurama Deko, the Kurama clan head, personally received him and, upon hearing his intent, did not hide the matter of his younger brother.
Since Kurama Unkai was taken away by Root ninja as a child, he had never reappeared in their clan. Kurama Unkai was the only person in the entire Kurama clan to have awakened the Bloodline Limit.
Upon receiving this information, Fugaku Uchiha began a thorough sweep of people surrounding the Hyūga compound and ordered surveillance of all foreign personnel entering and exiting the Hyūga compound. These artisans responsible for the house repairs were not only being watched by the Hyūga clan, but Fugaku had also assigned his own men to shadow them.
After several rounds of verification, Fugaku finally confirmed Kurama Unkai's identity today and brought his men to make the arrest.
The arrest operation took place right outside the Hyūga compound gate. The on-duty guards naturally noticed it. They did not interfere with the Uchiha's actions, but one guard immediately returned to the compound to report to the leadership.
Outside the gate, Kurama Unkai, whose identity was immediately exposed by the Uchiha ninja, abandoned all attempts to hide. He flung his hand, and the hammer he was holding immediately flew toward Fugaku Uchiha, who was leading the group.
"Capture him! Don't let him escape."
The moment Unkai made his move, the Three-Tomoe Sharingan appeared in Fugaku's eyes. He slightly tilted his head, easily avoiding the attack.
As he gave the command, the eyes of the subordinates behind him were all spinning with Tomoe, revealing that they were all users of the Three-Tomoe Sharingan—the elite of the Uchiha. They coordinated flawlessly, charging at Kurama Unkai from different directions.
Kurama Unkai, trained heavily in the Root organization, was not one to wait for death. Although he didn't have his drawing board nearby and couldn't fully materialize his Genjutsu, he still possessed conventional ninja abilities. Right in front of Fugaku, Unkai reached out, grabbed one of the nearby laborers, and lifted the ordinary man to serve as a human shield. Simultaneously, Unkai quickly pulled out a pencil from his clothing and rapidly drew a thunderbolt on the laborer's back.
The very next instant, a lightning bolt suddenly flashed in the clear sky. A streak of lightning descended immediately, striking the ground right next to Kurama Unkai. One of the quicker Uchiha elites, who had just closed in on Unkai, was hit by the lightning strike and collapsed to the ground, instantly losing his ability to fight.
The sudden turn of events was too fast. The abrupt lightning strike caused the faces of the other Uchiha to change drastically, momentarily halting their advance.
While materializing the Genjutsu, Kurama Unkai's face was pale, and blood streamed from his nostrils. However, his pen did not stop for a second. Using the human shield's back as a drawing board, he quickly drew a long sword in just a few breaths. Materializing the blade, he held it in his left hand, pressing the edge against the laborer's neck.
"Stop, or I'll kill this fellow!"
Most people would find it hard to imagine Kurama Unkai attempting to use an ordinary person to compel the Uchiha to stop. To the proud Uchiha, in the face of success or failure of a mission, would the life of an outsider matter that much?! More importantly, one of their clan members had been struck by Unkai's Jutsu and was in mortal danger. Would the Uchiha stop at a time like this?!
Fugaku Uchiha's expression was icy. His scarlet eyes fixed on Kurama Unkai. The other laborers who had walked out of the Hyūga compound with Unkai had already scattered. Only Kurama Unkai and the hostage remained in the center of the standoff.
The other Uchiha looked toward their clan head. They were simultaneously deterred by the opponent's bizarre ability and sought Fugaku's instruction on how to handle the hostage.
"Ignore him. Priority is the target!"
"Attack! Lethal force authorized!"
Fugaku Uchiha glanced briefly in the direction of the Hyūga compound, then quickly retracted his gaze and gave the order.
With his son currently staying at the Hyūga compound, he could not allow a dangerous individual to wander around the Hyūga clan's territory! Furthermore, this was a way to repay the Hyūga clan for their trust in the Uchiha.
Since the Nine-Tails attack, while other Konoha clans remained silent, they subtly excluded the Uchiha from various activities—a reality Fugaku, as the Uchiha representative at meetings, felt most acutely. Therefore, the Hyūga clan's gesture of goodwill and trust was deeply appreciated by Fugaku.
Compared to the safety of the Hyūga clan and his son, the life of an ordinary person seemed insignificant.
With their clan head's command, the other Uchiha no longer held back. While firing shuriken at Kurama Unkai, another Uchiha elite quickly formed hand seals and unleashed a Great Fireball Technique attack.
"Tch..." Once the hostage lost his leverage, holding onto him offered no benefit and only became a liability. Kurama Unkai swiftly tore the hostage's clothes, throwing him toward the direction of the incoming shuriken. While rapidly retreating, his pencil did not stop moving.
The thrown hostage was struck by the incoming shuriken and kunai, screamed, and fell into a pool of blood. Simultaneously, an earth wall rose without warning, blocking the incoming Great Fireball Jutsu.
"BOOM!!!"
As the fire splattered, sharp earth spikes suddenly sprouted from the earth wall, shooting out like machine gun rounds toward Fugaku and his men as the fire dissipated.
"Scatter!!"
The opponent's attack was fierce, but under the detection of the Sharingan, Fugaku had already noticed the impending danger and issued an accurate command. The Uchiha ninja, attempting to encircle Kurama Unkai scattered, and a look of hope appeared in Unkai's eyes as he successfully forced them back.
I can escape! Even under the siege of the Uchiha elites, he believed he could get away.
Blood flowed nonstop from his nostrils, pooling at his chin and dripping onto the stone bricks. A strong sense of weakness washed over him, but Kurama Unkai's mind was acutely clear. Just as he prepared to retreat, several dark shadows suddenly leaped out from the Hyūga compound.
A lean figure moved the fastest, appearing behind Kurama Unkai in the blink of an eye. As the surprised Unkai hastily turned his head, he only saw a pair of azure-Crystal eyes fixed on him. In the next instant, a terrifying force erupted from his lower back. Under the intense pain, darkness quickly swallowed his consciousness.
"BOOM!!!"
Kurama Unkai was sent flying by a palm strike from the rapidly arriving Hyūga Shinichi, slamming directly into the earth wall with a loud crash. Hit directly by the Gentle Fist, Kurama Unkai completely lost his fighting ability and fell into a deep coma.
The surrounding Uchiha stopped their attack upon seeing this. Without waiting for Fugaku's command, the few who were in better condition immediately took the comrade who had been struck by lightning, as well as the severely injured laborer, and rushed toward the Konoha Hospital.
"Truly remarkable—" Shinichi appeared and attacked in just the blink of an eye. His speed was so fast that even a Root elite like Kurama Unkai couldn't react. Fugaku's Sharingan had captured all of Shinichi's movements, and precisely because he saw clearly, he was filled with such emotion.
Fugaku naturally knew the power of the Hyūga clan's Gentle Fist, but Shinichi's level of instantaneous speed at his age far exceeded his expectations. At the very least, his own genius son was nowhere near as fast as Shinichi.
"Clan Head Fugaku."
"Is this the assassin who attacked our Hyūga clan?"
Hyūga Shinichi had rushed over immediately after hearing his subordinate's report, but he still needed confirmation from Fugaku.
"Yes, this man is Kurama Unkai. He used his Bloodline Limit ability to attack the Hyūga clan."
Kurama? Shinichi recalled the surname. He knew it belonged to a minor clan in the village, but he couldn't remember any conflict between the Hyūga clan and them that would warrant an assassination attempt.
His mind spinning, Shinichi immediately realized something and said to the rushing Hyūga Keisuke: "Keisuke, go, check his tongue!"
"See if he has the Tongue-Sealing Cursed Seal."
A look of dark suspicion crossed Shinichi's face.
Uchiha Fugaku was slightly surprised to hear the name of the Tongue-Sealing Cursed Seal and looked at Shinichi. This child... seems to know quite a lot!
Hyūga Keisuke acted swiftly. He quickly reached the earth wall and pulled Kurama Unkai's body out of the crater. Sensing that the man still had a pulse, Keisuke became cautious. He quickly pried open the opponent's mouth to examine his tongue. Turning it over, Keisuke shook his head at Shinichi, indicating that he did not see the Cursed Seal.
"None?"
Not only was Shinichi surprised, but even Fugaku, who had previously gathered information, was stunned. If Kurama Deko, the Kurama clan head, hadn't lied, this Kurama Unkai should have indeed joined Root. Why would he not have the Tongue-Sealing Cursed Seal?
Fugaku's expression subtly changed. After a moment of thought, he decided not to reveal this piece of information.
"Keisuke, take him back. When he wakes up, you will personally interrogate him."
Shinichi did not want to rely on others for the interrogation; he trusted the results of his own clan's methods more. This matter was far from over. Shinichi intended to completely eliminate the hidden danger.
"Yes!"
Hyūga Keisuke nodded. Just as he was about to take the man back into the compound, he noticed the body he was holding suddenly began to convulse violently. Using his Byakugan, he saw an abnormal chakra in the man's heart. It seemed a Cursed Seal of some kind was activating.
"Lord Shinichi!"
"This man's body..."
Before Keisuke could finish speaking, the Cursed Seal in Kurama Unkai's heart violently erupted. The unconscious Unkai spat out a mouthful of blood, and his life force rapidly dwindled. In a matter of seconds, he completely lost all signs of life.
All this happened before everyone's eyes. Yet, all Shinichi and the others could do was watch helplessly as the Cursed Seal erupted and Kurama Unkai died.
Looking at the corpse Keisuke had dropped back onto the ground, Shinichi's expression became extremely grim.
"Keisuke, go and invite members of the Yamanaka clan to the Hyūga compound."
"Even if he's a dead man, we must extract the information from him!"
Shinichi commanded Keisuke with a cold, non-negotiable tone.
Fugaku Uchiha looked at Hyūga Shinichi with surprise. He suddenly realized that his understanding of this child was far too superficial. He had assumed that all of the Hyūga clan's recent actions were led by Hyūga Hizashi, Hiashi's younger brother, but now it seemed... the truth was not what he thought. The young Hyūga Shinichi's influence within the Hyūga clan seemed to far exceed his imagination.
In that moment, neither Shinichi nor Keisuke bothered to conceal their true roles. Hearing the command, Keisuke bowed respectfully and swiftly departed.
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