So whose eye would get taken—Hyūga Nobuhiko's, or Hyūga Ginka's?
Kiyohara watched them for a while, then dropped the thought.
The original story never said, only that it was a main-branch Byakugan—and only one eye.
In theory, unless it's a straight-up battle, a Byakugan-wielding Hyūga shouldn't be the one left behind… he thought, rubbing his chin.
With two main-branch Hyūga in the team, their scouting and anti-infiltration capability had shot way up.
Byakugan's insight in forests and complex terrain was basically the best recon there was.
Unless… something could counter it.
He thought of a bloodline limit that had appeared in canon—the Red Eye.
It had only been shown with Ranmaru in the anime, a very rare ability that interfered with the Byakugan.
But that didn't mean others couldn't have it.
Kiri had no shortage of bloodline users, after all.
They were offshore islands, separate from the Five Great Continent nations; aside from the "Village of the Bloody Mist" civil policies, war almost never reached their homeland.
Off the top of his head, they had Lava Release, Boil Release, Shikotsumyaku, Crystal Release, Ice Release…
"Why'd you suddenly start frowning?" Kurenai noticed his thoughtful look and came over.
"Another mission. I don't think most people are thrilled," Kiyohara said casually.
Two thousand eight hundred a month; tears wiped alone at night.
During war, ninja were basically soldiers. Many assignments were just orders—no right to refuse.
Even prisoners could get sentence reductions. Ninja? Just endless missions…
"You've got a point," Kurenai said after thinking it over.
"Alright, we should move out," Kakashi said.
He was still the squad leader.
The group finished prepping quickly and slipped quietly toward the border.
...
Somewhere along the Kiri front, in a hidden command camp—
A young woman with long, thick brown hair and striking features studied a scroll with bright green eyes.
This was Kiri's prodigy, the woman who held both Lava and Boil Release: Terumi Mei.
"Ao, you're saying this mission is our best opportunity?" she asked, looking up at the young shinobi standing before her.
His face was sharp, eyes keen like a hawk's. He wore standard Kiri gear, with a Mist forehead protector.
"According to Ranmaru's feedback, the Konoha recon squad has already entered the designated area. There are indeed two main-branch Hyūga among them. This is a once-in-a-lifetime chance to obtain a Byakugan," Ao said.
As he spoke, he glanced back at a small figure.
A pale, slender boy with dark blue hair stood quietly there, his eyes an unnatural deep red.
That was the red eye—a bloodline that could disrupt, even blind, Byakugan perception.
With him present, the Hyūga's greatest asset would be heavily muted.
"Taking a main-branch Byakugan would be a tremendous achievement," Ao's eyes gleamed with determination.
And if he led the operation that captured one, he might earn the right to transplant it himself.
Mei twirled a lock of brown hair around her finger, green eyes flickering with interest.
"In that case, I'd like to see Konoha's strength with my own eyes," she said.
...
On the other side—
The squad raced through dense forest, quiet and fast.
Nobuhiko and Ginka took point so they could activate Byakugan at any time.
Even through her green flak vest, Ginka's full curves were obvious.
Her pretty face held the typical main-family pride.
Every so often, she swept her pure white gaze over the others—lingering on Kiyohara for a second longer.
She'd heard through clan channels that he'd shown impressive sensing ability on a previous mission.
It didn't sit well with her.
A civilian with keen senses… better than centuries of Hyūga Byakugan?
The thought put an unspoken competitive edge in the way she looked at him.
Kiyohara, for his part, easily sensed the faintly disdainful gaze.
Main-branch types… raised with branch members propping them up, they were used to standing above others. Like certain professions in peacetime—give them a podium long enough and arrogance came free.
He understood, but didn't care.
He had bigger things to focus on.
Before long, swordsman Kiyohara's spirit floated back from scouting.
This was life-and-death stuff; Kiyohara wasn't about to take chances.
He'd had him patrolling around them the whole way.
Ninja were glass cannons—fragile, no matter how strong. Even Six Paths Madara had been blindsided and heart-stabbed by chūnin-level Black Zetsu.
When the spirit returned, the intel made Kiyohara's eyes narrow.
"Both sides of the forest up ahead have unusual chakra signatures lurking. Quite a few—at least ten."
Kiyohara immediately raised his hand.
"Kakashi, halt. Something's ahead—possible ambush," he said quietly.
The squad froze.
Kurenai and the others who trusted him immediately shifted into a defensive posture.
"Where?" Kakashi asked, scanning.
His sense of smell was sharp—sharper than most—but he wasn't on the level of veteran jōnin.
He didn't catch any clear danger.
Ginka, meanwhile, frowned the moment she heard Kiyohara.
Her lips thinned with barely concealed doubt.
She activated her Byakugan on the spot.
Veins bulged around her eyes as her pale gaze swept the direction Kiyohara indicated, then widened its search out to the full range.
"There's no one."
She deactivated the Byakugan, tone laced with skepticism.
"My Byakugan didn't pick up any abnormal chakra. Within 800 meters ahead, aside from us and a few animals, there are no hidden shinobi."
As expected… Byakugan's being interfered with, Kiyohara thought.
He hadn't been sure the red eye was in play, but now the likelihood had spiked.
Very few abilities could tamper with Byakugan perception.
Kakashi glanced between Kiyohara, who'd called the halt, and Ginka, who sounded confident.
Kiyohara's track record and battlefield warnings spoke for themselves—but Byakugan's authority in Konoha was deeply ingrained.
...
Far away, hidden behind a carefully constructed barrier, the Kiri ambush unit lay in wait.
Ao watched the Konoha squad through a water mirror technique.
When he saw them stop at Kiyohara's signal, surprise flickered in his eyes.
"Oh? They stopped?" he muttered.
"That black-haired brat… his perception's sharper than I thought."
He'd planned to use the red eye to blind their Byakugan and catch them off guard.
"Ranmaru, maintain the red eye's effect and increase interference. Don't let them sense anything off.
"Everyone else—prepare to attack," he ordered calmly.
He was confident that with red eye masking them, the Hyūga would be effectively blind. All the Konoha squad had to do was keep walking, and they'd drop into the kill zone.
Back in the forest, just as Kakashi opened his mouth to say something and try to align the team—
The world exploded.
Rumble!
Without warning, the stream behind them swelled violently. Water surged upward, twisting into several massive water dragons that roared toward the halted squad.
The sheer pressure was overwhelming.
~~~
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