Before long, a gap opened between the two sides' numbers. Even some Ninja who wanted to support Ao after learning what had happened stopped in their tracks when they saw the familiar faces behind Kukulin-and a force more than twice the size of Ao's.
"Stand with me, Ao. Does the renowned Byakugan Killer really want to kneel before a Konoha Ninja?" Kukulin cast a covetous glance at Ao's eyepatch. Behind it lay the legendary Byakugan.
It was a trophy Ao had seized during the Third Shinobi World War, when chance had given him an opportunity to capture a member of the Hyuga Clan's Main Family. In the process, he had single-handedly defeated a mixed squad of Hyuga Clan Chunin and Jonin, earning himself the nickname "Byakugan Killer."
The only pity was that the Hyuga Branch Family's Byakugan were automatically sealed by the Caged Bird Seal, while that Main Family member had remembered to destroy his own eyes before dying. In the end, Ao had only managed to seize one Byakugan.
That Byakugan had earned some renown even across the shinobi world, and Konoha had specifically placed a bounty on Ao. It gave his strength a considerable boost, and his position among the finest Elite Jonin owed no small part to that eye.
It was only natural for Kukulin to take an interest in Ao's Byakugan. For a Taijutsu specialist like him, obtaining it would, at the very least, greatly improve his combat power.
But this was not the time to scheme for the Byakugan. Ao had fewer supporters, but there was another Elite Jonin among them, and that troublesome woman Mei Terumi could arrive at any moment. If a fight broke out, Kukulin had little confidence that he could defeat these "weaklings" without fail.
He could mock them for being