Nuts!

Nuts!

Veterans of the Reincarnation Space did not possess Xu Yue's godlike perspective of knowing the plot. Even if the "progress" had been pushed to the point where the "final boss," Orochimaru, killed the Third Hokage, they were still completely in the dark about many secrets.

However, their methodical advancement through the missions had its own advantages. In terms of intelligence, they knew many details that Xu Yue could never learn from the plot.

For example, the Hyuga Clan's main family system.

There were few members of the Hyuga Clan's main family, but that did not mean there was only the clan head's branch.

Besides the clan head, the Grand Elder and Third Elder among the clan's three elders were also members of the main family. However, the elders' main-family line was competitive, unlike the stable line of the clan head.

One of the three elders was a branch-family member, working with the head of the Hyuga Branch Family to represent the branch family's voice in the decision-making body.

Of course, if there was a former clan head who had retired early, there would also be the position of Supreme Elder. Even so, that still counted as part of the clan head's line.

Hyuga Hiashi of the clan head's line had already come of age, while Hinata would not be born for another six or seven years. Although they had set their sights on the Byakugan, they certainly would not be stupid enough to target Hyuga Hiashi, who already possessed jonin-level strength.

Instead, they targeted Hyuga Shota, the grandson of the Hyuga Clan's Grand Elder—a main-family member who had not yet graduated and had yet to reach genin strength.

Using the thorough intelligence they had gathered, along with the newcomers' "plausibility" buff, Xiong Tao's group spent nearly three months successfully raising Hyuga Shota's favorability toward them to a certain level.

Based on lessons their team had learned through blood and tears, once four or more people had raised their favorability to a friendly level, they could consume all that favorability at once to gain a very brief opportunity to send away Hyuga Shota's guards and meet him in the village to share little secrets.

If they made proper use of that opportunity, they could kill him and take his eyes, then use the escape mechanism at the end of the Space mission to bypass all of Konoha's defenses and flee.

"...That's the situation. When the mission ends, we'll also receive a seventy-two-hour delay. As long as we leave combat during that period, we can choose to return at any time. Hyuga Shota may be an outstanding Ninja Academy student, but with me, a genin, and everyone's combined help, we can definitely kill him as quickly as possible."

The stern genin, Li Kai, calmly laid out the plan.

"But there's only one pair of Byakugan! How are we supposed to divide them?"

A faintly greedy expression appeared on Xu Yue's face. He looked as though he were coveting the "First Bloodline Limit," and a trace of mockery flashed through Xiong Tao's eyes.

"Our team invested so much effort and time into this. There's no way we'll give up the Byakugan. However, the compensation we offer will far exceed your imagination. Newcomer, you need to understand when to stop. Don't covet things that aren't yours."

A stern expression appeared on Li Kai's face as he vaguely revealed a hint of his team's strength. What kind of force could pull off something like this? It was not something a newcomer like Xu Yue could covet.

Xu Yue cooperatively showed disappointment on his face.

"Fine. Since we're dealing with a Ninja Academy student, the risk and reward are fairly worthwhile."

"A wise choice!"

Yes, a wise choice. Unfortunately, he already had the Sharingan. No matter how valuable the Byakugan was, it was not worth facing the enraged Hyuga Clan for. The Naruto World was a Mission Space he intended to cultivate carefully.

The main reason he had come over with such interest was because he had been worried that their reckless antics would affect him. As it turned out, that was exactly the case...

Because of Xiong Tao and the others' identities, as well as their deliberate arrangements, their residence was far away from Konoha's bustling areas.

The dilapidated wooden house seemed incapable of even keeping out the wind and rain. Every footstep made the floor creak.

"Xiong Tao, isn't your place a little too shabby? Do you want me to talk to Grandpa for you?"

A little boy in a kimono, who looked like a miniature adult, frowned at the ruined surroundings, seemingly somewhat disgusted.

His smooth forehead and distinctive Byakugan identified him as a member of the Hyuga Clan's main family.

Under normal circumstances, given the Hyuga Clan's pride, they would never have befriended a group of orphans like this.

However, with the status bonuses granted to Space newcomers and the personality traits the pioneers had explored and tested, Xiong Tao and the others had each used their own methods to build varying degrees of favorability in his heart.

In the eyes of outsiders—especially the ninja originally assigned to secretly protect Hyuga Shota—these relatively mature orphans were simply currying favor with Young Master Shota in order to cling to the Hyuga Clan. Therefore, they did not pay much attention to them.

Did a group of unsupported orphans need a reason to cling to the Hyuga Clan? Even Young Master Shota's grandfather had heard of them, and he did not feel much repulsion toward these "orphans of pure background" who had taken the initiative to draw close.

In the future, they would become the foundation his family's younger generation left outside the clan. Cultivating them from childhood would make them even more loyal.

With all those factors that had been tested and accounted for, Xiong Tao and the others had struggled through countless hardships to finally reach this point. As he looked at the proud little boy with the smooth forehead, then saw Li Kai secretly nod after tearing open the Detection Scroll to confirm there were indeed no guards, Xiong Tao could no longer restrain himself from the temptation before him.

The joy and excitement of finally achieving his goal made a twisted smile creep onto his lips.

"Thank you for your kindness, Lord Shota, but we won't be staying here much longer. So we'll take the gift ourselves!"

When faced with Xiong Tao's sudden attack, Hyuga Shota initially thought that the other party wanted another sparring match with him. But he quickly realized that something was wrong.

As a member of the Hyuga Clan's main family, with the powerful observational ability of the Byakugan and the extra training he had received since childhood, he could detect genuine killing intent despite his young age.

Combined with his usual education, he quickly noticed that something was wrong with the encircling formation around him.

"You!"

The anger of being deceived, the humiliation of being provoked by insects, and the innate pride of the Hyuga Clan made him react swiftly. His defensive posture for sparring immediately changed into the Hyuga Clan's distinctive Gentle Fist stance.

With his powerful observational advantage and the long-inherited Gentle Fist techniques, he easily deflected Xiong Tao's attack. Then, with a backhand strike, he hit Xiong Tao's fat body and sent him flying like a kite with its string cut.

The Gentle Fist strike had not held back at all. Chakra was driven directly into Xiong Tao's body, and he could not help spitting out a mouthful of blood while still in the air.

The area that had been struck was visibly twisted and caved in.

But the price he paid was that the other four outstanding newcomers, including Xu Yue, successfully closed in on Hyuga Shota's side!

Every one of them was much stronger than the useless newcomers Xu Yue had defeated five at once before. If those five useless newcomers had trained with less effort and seriousness than middle school students, then these people had at least absorbed and digested their knowledge with the dedication of students preparing for college entrance exams!

Although they were still far inferior to a main-family member of the Hyuga Clan in a one-on-one fight, their combined assault made him struggle to cope.

Even Neji Hyuga, with his talent, only mastered Rotation after graduating and becoming a genin at the age of twelve. Hyuga Shota was only six years old and had no techniques for dealing with a group assault.

However, if only these Reincarnator newcomers had attacked him, although they would have put him in a miserable position and might eventually have defeated him, he could at least have delayed them for a long time. He might even have held out until the guards who had been sent away heard the commotion, activated their Byakugan, noticed something wrong here, and arrived.

But clearly, the Blackhand behind the scenes had prepared thoroughly, had already failed many times, and had learned through blood and tears. They would never make such a low-level mistake again.

A true ninja's killing blow, filled with cold killing intent and backed by ample combat experience, was Xiong Tao's group's greatest reliance!

The Hyuga Clan's talent was beyond doubt. It was so formidable that even though he was merely a lower-grade Ninja Academy student, an experienced genin still could not guarantee killing him in a single strike.

But once this student was restrained by the siege of others, there was no longer any chance of survival!

They could kill him, take his eyes, and leave the Mission Space at the fastest possible speed, before anyone had time to react!

A sharp kunai silently stabbed toward Hyuga Shota's exposed back, where he could not possibly defend himself.

It was a very ordinary move, an utterly unremarkable strike. Yet in the hands of an experienced genin who had been on the battlefield and endured the baptism of blood and fire, it was a fatal blow.

It erased every possibility of struggle and sealed off every avenue of escape. The timing, angle, speed, and grasp of opportunity were all far beyond what a student who had never seen a battlefield could achieve!

However, just as that strike was about to succeed, Xu Yue, who had originally lunged behind Hyuga Shota to form part of the encirclement, suddenly changed moves. He turned around and raised the kunai in both hands to block the killing blow.

At the same time, he kicked at Li Kai's chest.

He even shouted,

"Are you insane?! You actually dare assassinate a member of the Hyuga Clan's main family! If you want to die, don't drag me down with you!"

Clang~

Even using both kunai to block, Xu Yue—whose training time was short compared to that of a true genin—was still at a considerable disadvantage. His whole body was sent flying.

But his unexpected block, along with the kick to the other man's chest, successfully had an effect. It completely stopped what should have been a fatal strike.

As he was knocked backward, he also successfully slipped a signal flare from his sleeve and fired it into the sky.

Bang~

Konoha's distinctive alarm flare exploded into beautiful colors in the sky. Xiong Tao, who was still lying on the ground severely injured and coughing blood, and Li Kai, who had been forcibly driven back and still had not recovered from the kick to his chest, both cursed inwardly at the same time.

(っ°Д°;)っ

Holy shit! What the hell?! You're the one who's insane! What benefit can you possibly get from doing this?! What the hell are you after?!

Even though everyone present knew about it, so it did not count as exposure, he would still lose a thousand points for nothing. Hurting others without benefiting himself!

They had thought that binding him with利益 made everything foolproof, but they never expected such a lunatic to appear...

Tomorrow's Monday! Please support me in every way, and help me get onto the newbie rankings~