Hyuga Shin, I Have a Plan for You, Night Raid!

At this time, Konoha had not yet gone to war with the Mist Ninja or the Stone Ninja.

But it wasn't far off—just next year.

Then Konoha would be caught in a three-front assault, even pushed back to the village gates, triggering the Battle of Kikyo Mountain.

Suffice it to say, Konoha's good days were still ahead.

And right now.

Konoha going to war with the Cloud Ninja was practically an ideal start, because the Yellow Flash, Namikaze Minato, was already beginning to make a name for himself.

Beyond Konoha's declaration of war.

In order—

The earliest trace could be found in the disappearance of the Third Kazekage.

The Land of Wind, Sunagakure's internal strife.

And that led to the neighboring Land of Earth's Stone Ninja invasion.

That was the initial localized conflict, followed by one war after another—one ending, another beginning.

Konoha maintained strategic patience for a few years, but was eventually dragged into the fray.

In the end, it even fell into the absurd situation of fighting on three fronts.

No wonder that old bastard Hiruzen Sarutobi was forced out of power.

A cold, sinister smile curled at the corner of Su Nuo's mouth.

"Once I'm resurrected, I'll kill that old, undying dog first!"

Konoha Supply Depot.

A few tents stood there, stocked with various supplies, as some ninjas passed by in twos and threes.

This was one of Konoha's outposts.

Beside it was a training ground—really just a patch of wasteland.

Sunlight filtered through sparse clouds, dappling the ground.

Elsewhere, some civilian ninjas occasionally glanced at the two figures on the training ground.

Flashes of anger, humiliation, and jealousy flickered in their eyes...

But none of them dared to act out.

Su Nuo watched all of this coldly. His field of vision was Shin's, which meant Shin was secretly observing those civilian ninjas.

Sure enough, Hyuga Shin spoke while sparring with Uchiha Miya: "Miya, you should tone it down a bit... after all, they're comrades. Building good relationships can only help..."

"Those trash have no idea what true power is." Uchiha Miya practiced his shuriken throwing diligently while talking to Hyuga Shin.

They were classmates from the same year.

Both from major clans.

But in truth... Hyuga Shin was the exception.

Among the many Hyuga clansmen, only Hyuga Shin got close to the Uchiha, maintaining a private friendship... The reason was probably that when Hyuga Shin was being bullied arbitrarily by the Main Family, only Miya had helped him.

The rest of the Hyuga clansmen were ordered by the clan not to get too close to the Uchiha, and they all complied.

At this time, the Uchiha were a clan isolated within the village.

Even though this clan was one of the founders of Konoha.

"Shin... remember this, in this world, only bloodline and strength matter." Uchiha Miya spoke again, his tone brooking no argument—he truly believed this. "Those without bloodline have no value. Those without strength deserve to die."

Hyuga Shin could only shake his head helplessly.

In truth, Uchiha Miya had always been like this.

And every time, Shin just took it.

Hyuga Shin had a very good temper.

He'd been that way since childhood.

No matter how the Main Family members bullied him, Hyuga Shin always swallowed his anger and endured it.

Anyone else would have snapped with a "the hell's your problem?" or fallen into depression, but Hyuga Shin would just smile and let it go.

Someone once asked him how he could do all that so naturally...

But in truth, Hyuga Shin himself didn't know.

It just happened so naturally.

He had almost never been able to get angry since he was a child.

As if...

all negative emotions were being drained away.

Still, Hyuga Shin was pretty happy about that.

Because of this, he often found joy in hardship, and with his docile attitude, he earned recognition from the Main Family, gaining some resource allocation and learning quite a few applications of the Byakugan. Money, tools—none of that was lacking. Life was pretty good.

Hyuga Shin was the goody-two-shoes of the Hyuga Clan.

"Miya, I'm heading off to stand watch. It's time for the shift change." Hyuga Shin said gently to Uchiha Miya.

Uchiha Miya didn't turn back, continuing his practice, just waving a hand to signal Hyuga Shin to leave.

Soon, Hyuga Shin walked toward the lookout point outside.

He quickly found another Branch Family member of the Hyuga Clan.

"Shin." The Hyuga Clansman looked over, his fierce Byakugan slowly fading.

"Thank you for your hard work, senior." Hyuga Shin said warmly.

"Hm, be careful." The Hyuga Clansman's expression was calm. Toward Hyuga Shin, who was deeply loyal to the Main Family, his attitude was neither good nor bad.

The conflict between Main Family and Branch Family had always existed.

Though the Main Family held the decisive "Caged Bird," various small clashes still occurred.

In the eyes of Branch Family members, Hyuga Shin—who never got angry no matter how he was bullied—was practically the Main Family's proudest "product" in taming the Branch.

That's right.

A "product."

Would a normal person truly willingly accept being inferior, living as a lower-class being?

And from childhood to adulthood, no one had ever seen Hyuga Shin lose his temper even once...

Shin...

Really couldn't figure that guy out.

The Hyuga Clansman left.

Hyuga Shin began his work. His eyes turned fierce, and as he channeled his Chakra, the Byakugan activated!

His vision shifted.

Everything became transparent.

All things fell within Hyuga Shin's perception.

He carefully observed the surroundings, ensuring that Konoha's outpost wouldn't be ambushed by Cloud Ninja...

"What's this, so negative energy got absorbed by me..."

"Perfect timing."

"Hyuga Shin, I have a plan that suits you."

Above the Sea of Corpses and Blood.

Seated on his throne, Su Nuo stroked his chin, marked with dark tattoos, a playful smile spreading across his face.

"Probably no one would imagine that the gentlest goody-two-shoes could do something like wiping out a clan..."

"Hmph..."

"To be honest, between the Hyuga and the Uchiha, the one most suited for a clan annihilation should be the Hyuga. This is real internal oppression, you know."

What about the Uchiha? The Clan Meeting had been shouting for so long, but nothing substantial ever changed. They were just coasting along. Not like the Hyuga, who couldn't even coast properly.

Su Nuo let out a cold laugh.

His mind began scheming a plan.

Outside, night had fallen.

Hyuga Shin stood at his post, his Byakugan opening from time to time, looking somewhat fierce.

By now, Su Nuo had combined the current era with many analyses, but what he needed was still this "host," Hyuga Shin.

In the darkness.

Hyuga Shin faintly sensed something wrong.

Whoosh!

Whoosh!!

Extreme speed... This speed was Lightning Release!

Hyuga Shin instantly left his spot, sprinting backward, gathering Chakra in his throat.

He roared: "Enemy attack!!"