Black Mist

"Byakugan, activate!"

Hyuga Hiashi spread his hands, veins bulging around his eyes. The Chakra-enhanced Byakugan easily located the source of the screams.

He also saw that strange Black Shadow.

To ordinary people, that Black Shadow might have merely looked like a ninja with some strange secret technique.

But through the Byakugan, which could clearly see the flow of Chakra, he saw only a faint Black Shadow. There was no Chakra inside it at all; instead, it was wrapped in a thin layer of black mist.

It was clearly only a layer of black mist, yet no matter how he looked, he could not see what it concealed.

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

Hyuga Hiashi looked at Hizashi Hyuga beside him, who had also activated his Byakugan. Hizashi shook his head, indicating that he could not see through it either.

Facing everyone's confusion, Hyuga Hiashi explained, "I saw a Black Shadow, one wrapped from head to toe in a faint layer of black mist. This black mist is extremely strange. Even my Byakugan cannot see through it to determine who is inside..."

"Ah..."

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

That was not all. Just as everyone moved to support the Hyuga Patriarch, his younger brother Hizashi Hyuga suddenly clutched his own eyes and cried out as well.

"Hiashi, Hizashi, what happened? What is wrong with you?"

The Third Hokage hurriedly asked.

The heads of both the Main Family and Branch Family of the Hyuga Clan could not suffer an accident at the same time!

"I'm fine. My eyes are just a little irritated. Rubbing them for a while will be enough."

Hyuga Hiashi said as he rubbed his tear-filled eyes.

Beside him, Hizashi Hyuga was also comforting Neji, who was tightly gripping his hand.

Although the two Hyuga brothers claimed they were fine, everyone remained deeply worried. For a bloodline family with ocular techniques, their eyes were the most important thing.

They had screamed miserably, and tears would not stop streaming from their eyes, but they were not as badly hurt as they looked.

It was merely that their eyes had been stimulated after seeing an unfamiliar kind of energy for the first time.

It was like eyes that had not seen sunlight for a long time suddenly encountering the sun—they would be too irritated to open, or they would tear up. They only needed time to adapt.

After a while, their eyes stopped watering, and they opened them again.

The Hokage and the many patriarchs did not grow impatient while waiting.

No further sounds had come from the site of the incident, which meant the situation was already under control. Other than going to the scene, the Hyuga Clan's Byakugan was their best way to understand what had happened.

"Hokage-sama, esteemed patriarchs, it will be difficult to explain the details clearly in a short time. It would be better to head to the scene as quickly as possible and see it for ourselves."

Hizashi Hyuga stepped forward and spoke.

"Very well. In that case, let us go take a look. Sorry for disturbing your banquet."

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

"The village is more important. Compared to that, my daughter's birthday is not worth mentioning."

"Neji, make sure you protect your little sister. Father will be back soon."

Hizashi Hyuga crouched down and rubbed Neji's head as he spoke.

"Mm, I'll definitely protect my little sister."

Hinata yawned. Who was protecting whom was still uncertain.

Then Hizashi Hyuga followed the others toward the scene of the incident. As for why Hyuga Hiashi, the head of the Main Family, did not go—

It was common knowledge that the Hyuga Main Family could not leave the clan grounds.

Very soon, everyone arrived at the place where the screams had originated.

A Black Shadow came before the Third Hokage and said, "When we arrived, we found only this strange Black Shadow."

"One of our people was injured when he came into contact with it. Our attacks did nothing to it, and it has shown no intention of leaving. It has just been pacing around here."

"Mm, understood. You may withdraw."

The Third Hokage looked at the Black Shadow pacing in the street. Its entire body was black, black as though it could swallow light itself.

The Third Hokage gave an Anbu a look. The Anbu asked the Black Shadow, "Who are you, and what is your purpose?"

But the Black Shadow continued pacing on its own, with no intention of acknowledging anyone.

The atmosphere immediately fell silent. Only the sound of the Black Shadow's footsteps remained, making the scene exceptionally eerie.

"Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu!"

"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"

"Water Release..."

"Earth Release..."

All at once, one ninjutsu after another erupted from the surrounding Anbu, while the Black Shadow did not even attempt to dodge, taking each ninjutsu head-on.

When the wind and dust dispersed and they could clearly see the street again, the Third Hokage's pupils contracted slightly.

The Black Shadow was completely unharmed!

Even he would not come away well after being struck by so many ninjutsu. A moment of carelessness could even cost him his life.

Yet this Black Shadow actually...

Our attacks did nothing to it.

Only then did the Third Hokage understand what the Anbu had meant.

"Hizashi, can you see anything?"

Even Sarutobi Hiruzen, hailed as the Professor of Ninjutsu, had never encountered something so bizarre before.

Now, they could only hope that the Byakugan could reveal this thing's true nature.

"No. It is wrapped in a layer of black mist, and I cannot see anything... No, the black mist around it seems to have thinned slightly..."

But the amount it had thinned was far too little—so little that even he could not be certain.

It had thinned? Could it be?

"Attack it with ninjutsu. Keep your distance, and watch its shadow." The Third Hokage recalled what Hinata had said.

At the Third Hokage's command, dozens of ninjutsu immediately shot toward the Black Shadow.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Explosions rang out one after another, each louder than the last.

During this time, Uchiha Fugaku came before the Third Hokage to ask about the situation.

He had just been preparing to rest when this happened.

Seeing the surrounding area already encircled by Anbu, he ordered the police force to patrol the vicinity and search for suspicious individuals, then came personally to inquire about the situation.

The Third Hokage explained the situation to Uchiha Fugaku.

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

However, the Sharingan's perception was still inferior to the Byakugan's, and he could not discern anything from the Black Shadow.

"It is trying to escape!"

Hizashi Hyuga and Uchiha Fugaku spoke almost simultaneously.

With the Sharingan's exceptional dynamic vision, Uchiha Fugaku saw the Black Shadow shrinking into its own shadow. Meanwhile, Hizashi Hyuga saw the black mist wrapped around it seeping into the ground.

That was why the two spoke at nearly the same time.

Hearing this, everyone assumed the Black Shadow was trying to break through their encirclement, and they immediately grew tense.

But they had guessed its method of escape wrong.

"It's shrinking into its own shadow! Stop it!" Uchiha Fugaku was the one who reminded everyone.

Although Hizashi Hyuga had also seen that the Black Shadow was trying to flee, all he saw was the black mist around it condensing and disappearing.

He could not see exactly how it disappeared. All he could see was black mist, and he could not make it out clearly.