Black Fog

"Byakugan, activate!"

Hyuga Hiashi placed his hands on the ground, veins bulging around his eyes. The Byakugan, strengthened by Chakra, easily located the source of the screams.

He also saw the strange black shadow.

To an ordinary person, this shadow might have seemed like a ninja with a peculiar secret technique.

But to the Byakugan, which could clearly see Chakra flow, it only saw a faint black shadow. There was no Chakra within the shadow; instead, a thin layer of black mist was visible.

Despite it being just a layer of black mist, no matter how he looked, he couldn't discern what was hidden within it.

"I saw a strange... thing..."

Hyuga Hiashi looked at Hizashi Hyuga, who was also using the Byakugan, and shook his head, indicating he couldn't see clearly either.

Facing the confused crowd, Hyuga Hiashi explained, "I saw a black shadow, a shadow completely enveloped by a faint black mist. This mist is extremely peculiar; even my Byakugan cannot penetrate it to see who is inside..."

"Ah..."

Just as Hyuga Hiashi was explaining, he suddenly clutched his eyes and let out a scream.

This wasn't the end. As everyone moved to support the Hyuga patriarch, his brother, Hizashi Hyuga, also suddenly clutched his eyes and let out a scream.

"Hiashi, Hizashi, what happened? What's wrong?"

The Third Hokage quickly asked.

The patriarchs of the Hyuga Clan's main and branch families couldn't both be in trouble at the same time!

"I'm fine, my eyes are just a little dry. They'll be fine after a rub."

Hyuga Hiashi said, rubbing his teary eyes.

Hizashi Hyuga, on the other side, was comforting Neji, who was holding his hand tightly.

Although the two Hyuga brothers claimed they were fine, everyone was still very worried. After all, for a clan with ocular jutsu as their Kekkei Genkai, their eyes were the most important thing.

Even though they screamed in pain and their eyes couldn't stop shedding tears, they weren't as badly off as they appeared.

It was simply that their eyes were stimulated by seeing an energy they had never encountered before.

It was like eyes that hadn't seen sunlight in a long time suddenly encountering it; they would be stimulated to the point of being unable to open or shedding tears. They would be fine once they adjusted.

After a while, their eyes stopped tearing up, and they opened them.

The Hokage and the other clan heads hadn't grown impatient.

Since no further sounds were coming from the scene of the incident, it meant the situation had been brought under control. Now, besides rushing to the scene, the Hyuga Clan, with their Byakugan, was their best way to understand the situation.

"Hokage-sama, esteemed clan heads, it's difficult to explain the detailed situation right now. It would be better to go to the scene as soon as possible and see for yourselves."

Hizashi Hyuga stepped forward and said.

"Very well, in that case, let's go and see. I apologize for interrupting your banquet."

Everyone apologized to the Hyuga patriarch, and Hyuga Hiashi expressed his understanding.

"The village's affairs are more important. Compared to that, my daughter's birthday is insignificant."

"Neji, be sure to protect your sister. Dad will be back soon."

Hyuga Hizashi crouched down and said, patting Neji's head.

"Yeah, I'll definitely protect my sister."

Hinata yawned. Who would be protecting whom was still uncertain.

Then, Hyuga Hizashi followed everyone to the scene of the incident. As for why Hyuga Hiashi, the patriarch of the main family, didn't go.

It was a well-known fact that the Hyuga main family could not leave the clan grounds.

Soon, everyone arrived at the place where the screams had originated.

A figure arrived before the Third Hokage and said, "When we arrived, we only found this strange black shadow."

"One of our men was injured when he tried to interact with it. Our attacks had no effect on it, and it has no intention of leaving, just circling here."

"Hmm, I understand. You may go."

The Third Hokage looked at the black shadow circling in the street. The shadow was entirely black, as if it could swallow light.

The Third Hokage gave a look to an Anbu member, who then asked the shadow, "Who exactly are you, and what is your purpose?"

But the shadow continued to circle on its own, showing no intention of responding.

The atmosphere at the scene suddenly became quiet, with only the sound of the shadow's footsteps, which was extremely eerie.

"Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu!"

"Wind Style: Great Breakthrough!"

"Water Style..."

"Earth Style..."

Suddenly, one ninjutsu after another was unleashed by the Anbu members around. The shadow didn't even dodge, taking hit after hit.

When the dust settled and the situation on the street became clear, the Third Hokage's pupils constricted slightly.

The Black Shadow was completely unharmed!

One had to know, even he wouldn't fare well after taking so many ninjutsu, and could even lose his life if not careful.

But this Black Shadow actually...

"Our attacks are useless against him."

The Third Hokage finally understood what the Anbu meant just now.

"Hizashi, can you see anything?"

Even Sarutobi Hiruzen, known as the "Hokage of Ninjutsu," had never encountered such a bizarre entity before.

Now, he could only hope the Byakugan could discern the truth of this thing.

"No, it's surrounded by a layer of black mist, I can't see anything... Wait, the black mist around it seems to have thinned a bit..."

But the thinning was so slight, he couldn't even confirm it.

Thinned a bit? Could it be?

"Attack with ninjutsu, mind the distance, and his shadow," the Third Hokage recalled Hinata's words.

Following the Third Hokage's command, dozens of ninjutsu immediately flew towards the Black Shadow.

Boom boom boom~

A series of explosions sounded, each louder than the last.

During this, Uchiha Fugaku approached the Third Hokage to inquire about the situation.

He had just been about to rest when this incident occurred.

Seeing that the surroundings were already surrounded by Anbu, he ordered the guard squad to patrol the area and check for suspicious individuals before coming to ask about the situation himself.

The Third Hokage then explained the situation to Uchiha Fugaku.

"Sharingan!" Upon hearing how bizarre the Black Shadow was, Uchiha Fugaku immediately activated his Sharingan and looked at it.

However, the perceptive power of the Sharingan was still no match for the Byakugan, and he couldn't discern anything from the Black Shadow.

"He's trying to escape!"

Hizashi Hyuga and Uchiha Fugaku spoke almost simultaneously.

Uchiha Fugaku, relying on the Sharingan's excellent dynamic vision, saw the Black Shadow shrinking into its own shadow. Meanwhile, Hizashi Hyuga saw the black mist enveloping the Black Shadow seeping into the ground.

Thus, they spoke at almost the same time.

Hearing this, everyone thought the Black Shadow was trying to break through their encirclement and became tense.

But they had guessed wrong about how the Black Shadow was escaping.

"He's shrunk into his own shadow! Stop him!" Uchiha Fugaku reminded everyone.

Although Hizashi Hyuga had also seen that the Black Shadow was trying to escape, all he saw in his eyes was the black mist surrounding the Black Shadow condensing and disappearing.

He couldn't see how it was disappearing because his vision was filled with black mist, making it impossible to see clearly.