Just then, a steady yet slightly hurried set of footsteps approached from a distance.
The Mizukage's Advisor, Genshi, surrounded by several Hidden Mist Ninja whose presence was heavy and who were clearly Elite Guards, finally arrived at the edge of the chaotic battlefield.
His gaze first swept over his captured subordinates and the sensitive Hyuga traitor, and a flicker of gloom and alarm, quickly masked, crossed his eyes.
Konoha's actions were too fast!
Hiashi's strength was greater than he had estimated.
Toroi Saburou, who wielded Dull Blade: Kabutowari, not only lost, but his sword also fell into their hands.
This put the Hidden Mist side in an extremely passive position.
If the opponent's strength had been ordinary, they could have easily taken them down, but now Toroi Saburou, one of the Hidden Mist Village's top fighting forces, had been captured.
Relying only on Mei Terumī and a few Elite Jonin beside him, they might not actually be able to take down these few individuals.
If they were counter-killed after engaging in battle, it would be over.
Hiashi slowly turned around, his posture calm and unhurried, as if he were not the one who had just gone through a fierce battle.
He casually, as if discarding a useless piece of junk, lightly flicked his toe, kicking the massive blade—a symbol of the Hidden Mist Seven Ninja Swordsmen's glory and power—with a whoosh toward Hyuga Tokuma, who was slightly behind him.
"Tokuma, take this."
Tokuma reacted extremely quickly, stepping forward steadily, channeling Chakra into his hands, and firmly catching this unique weapon.
After completing all this, Hiashi finally turned his gaze toward Genshi, who had just settled down.
Under the night sky, those pure Byakugan eyes were like cold stars, calm and waveless, yet possessing a power that could pierce the heart.
His voice was not loud, but it clearly pierced through the residual noise of the battlefield, carrying an unmistakable declaration:
"Elder Genshi, you arrived just in time."
Hiashi's tone even carried a hint of well-placed, almost conversational politeness, but beneath that courtesy lay a cold blade.
"We are no longer trading for kubikiribōchō."
He paused slightly, his gaze piercing Genshi like a physical entity.
"We will use this Dull Blade: Kabutowari, along with these Hidden Mist prisoners."
Hiashi raised his hand and pointed to the massive blade in Tokuma's hand and the many Hidden Mist Ninja behind him, treating them as mere bargaining chips.
"How about exchanging them for the Byakugan that Ao stole and the Hidden Mist Village's medical equipment?"
The wrinkles on Genshi's face seemed to deepen further.
He gently rubbed the top of his snake-headed staff with his withered fingers, his cloudy eyes sweeping back and forth between Hiashi, Kabutowari, and the bound Hyuga Hiroshi.
Although the Byakugan can only be used by one person and tends to be focused down by enemy Ninja on the battlefield, its strategic value is not as high as imagined, but it is still a Byakugan.
However, Toroi Saburou, the group of Hidden Mist Ninja, and Dull Blade: Kabutowari are all vital combat resources for the Hidden Mist Village.
Just as the scales in Genshi's heart were violently swinging, weighing every minute detail of advantage and disadvantage.
"Hooah!"
A roar, like a volcanic eruption and the shattering of thunder, erupted without warning!
The source of the sound was Might Guy, who had arrived alongside Genshi and was standing to his side!
"Eight Gates, Open! Gate of Rest, Open! Gate of Life, Open! Gate of Hurt, Open! Gate of Limit, Open! Gate of View, Open!"
Boom—!
An unimaginable, violent, and suffocating torrent of Chakra suddenly burst forth from Guy's green-clad body.
That was not an ordinary release of Chakra; it was like opening the floodgates restraining a prehistoric giant beast!
Green steam instantly billowed and swirled, enveloping his entire body!
The ground beneath his feet cracked inch by inch with a 'kacha-cha' sound, and shattered stones and dust were swept into the air by the turbulent airflow.
The air let out an agonizing shriek, as if space itself were twisting.
Guy's hair stood on end, his eyes were blood-red like lava, his muscles bulged all over, his veins swelled like coiled dragons, and his skin turned crimson and seemed ready to tear from the surging power within!
The mere precursor to opening the Gates—that terrifying pressure—was enough to solidify the air and shatter the courage of ordinary Ninja!
"Eight Gates, Open! Gate of Rest, Open! Gate of Life, Open! Gate of Hurt, Open!"
Almost at the exact moment Guy erupted, another voice, equally filled with resolute will, rang out.
Lee, without any hesitation, immediately followed suit.
Although his aura was far from Guy's world-shattering level, he instantly entered the state of being surrounded by green steam, his eyes firm as bedrock, locking onto Genshi and the guards around him.
Two clusters of deep green, violent Chakra shot up into the sky, like two suppressed volcanoes erupting simultaneously!
That feeling of absolute purity of power, that insane will to destroy everything, and that terrifying pressure capable of shaking mountains, struck Genshi and the Hidden Mist personnel behind him like an invisible, relentless tsunami!
The guards behind Genshi instantly turned pale, subconsciously taking half a step back. Their hands were already on their weapons, but their bodies were trembling instinctively.
They had never felt such a pure, unreasonable sense of oppression, as if capable of kicking apart a mountain with a single step.
At this moment, Might Guy's action became the final straw.
"Gate of Wonder, Open!"
Konoha's Blue Beast, makes his appearance!
Genshi, who was at the center of the storm and directly enduring this overwhelming pressure, had his elderly eyes—originally cloudy and glinting with calculation—suddenly clear the moment Guy and Lee simultaneously erupted.
All hesitation, weighing, calculation, and political consideration... instantly melted away like snow under the sun before that pure, destructive power.
There was no room for extra thought, no room for diplomatic rhetoric.
Locked down by one terrifying aura capable of instantly wiping out him and everyone around him, Genshi, almost purely out of survival instinct, blurted out in his aged, dry voice:
"Fine!"
Even the three words "We'll trade" seemed to be squeezed out by the pressure, delivered with absolute, immediate decisiveness.
"We'll trade!"
This response sounded very faint amidst the solid bursts of Chakra from Guy and Lee.
It announced that this brief yet fierce confrontation had reached a temporary close under the deterrence of absolute power.
The cold axe-blade of Dull Blade: Kabutowari seemed, at this moment, to reflect the momentary complex feelings in Genshi's eyes.
"Heh heh, worthy of an elder, so decisive."
Hyuga Hiashi's voice rang out, carrying undisguised appreciation.
He even raised his hands and began clapping, slowly and deliberately: once, twice, thrice.
Clap. Clap. Clap.
The crisp applause was particularly harsh in the dead silence of the battlefield, like invisible slaps across Genshi's wrinkled old face.
There was no genuine admiration in the applause; only the victor's mockery toward the defeated for knowing their place, the strong man's elegant sneer at those forced to bow their heads.
Hiashi's pure Byakugan calmly watched Genshi, the corner of his mouth seeming to hold a subtle, faint curve, as if saying: "See? For a Ninja, strength is what truly matters."
"Guy, Lee, stop."
His voice was calm.
Might Guy and Lee slowly closed the Eight Gates.
"Yes! Elder Hiashi!"
Hiashi calmly looked at the Hidden Mist group opposite him, though inwardly, he was ecstatic.
What kind of miserable life did I live before within the Hyuga Clan!
This is how a Clan Head should act!