Are You Insane?

Veterans of the Reincarnation Space did not have Xu Yue's godlike perspective and familiarity with the plot. Even though the "progress" had reached the point where the ultimate boss, Orochimaru, killed the Third Hokage, they were still completely in the dark about many secrets.

However, advancing their missions step by step also had its own advantages. In terms of intelligence, they knew many details that Xu Yue could not 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 great elder and third elder among the clan's three elders were also main-family members. However, the main-family members of the elder branches were competitive, unlike the stable line of the clan head's branch.

One of the three elders was a branch-family member. Together with the head of the Hyuga Branch Family, he represented the branch family's voice in the decision-making ranks.

Of course, if there was an old clan head who had retired early, there would be an additional Supreme Elder position. But that still counted as part of the clan head's branch.

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

Instead, they had targeted the grandson of the Hyuga Clan's great elder: a main-family member who had not yet graduated and had yet to attain Genin-level strength, Hyuga Shota.

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

According to 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 obtain a very brief opportunity to lure away Hyuga Shota's guards and meet him in the village to share little secrets.

By making good use of that opportunity, they could kill him and take his eyes, then use the Mission Space's departure mechanism after the mission ended to escape Konoha while bypassing all its defenses.

"...That's the plan. When the mission ends, we can delay our return by seventy-two hours. As long as we leave combat during that period, we can return whenever we choose. Hyuga Shota may be an outstanding Ninja Academy student, but with me, a Genin, and all of you working together, 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 should they be divided?"

A trace of greed appeared on Xu Yue's face. He looked as though he craved the "First Bloodline Limit," and a mocking gleam flashed through Xiong Tao's eyes.

"Our team has spent so much effort and time on this. There's no way we'll give up the Byakugan. But the compensation we offer will far exceed your imagination. Newcomer, you need to understand when enough is enough. Don't covet things that don't belong to you."

Li Kai's face turned stern as he subtly displayed a little of his team's strength. How could a newcomer like Xu Yue dare covet something from an organization capable of such a feat?

Xu Yue cooperatively showed a disappointed expression.

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

"A wise choice!"

Yes, a wise choice indeed. 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 that he had worried their suicidal antics would affect him. As it turned out, that was exactly the case...

Because of Xiong Tao's group's identities and their deliberate arrangements, their residence was far from Konoha's bustling areas.

The dilapidated wooden house seemed unable to keep out even the wind and rain. Every footstep made the floor creak.

"Xiong Tao, your place is far too shabby. Do you want me to speak to Grandpa for you?"

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

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

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

But with the status bonuses granted to newcomers by the Reincarnation Space, as well as the pioneers' probing and understanding of his personality, Xiong Tao's group had each used their own methods to raise his favorability toward them.

And 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 to cling to the Hyuga Clan. Thus, they did not pay them much attention.

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 was not particularly opposed to these "orphans of pure background" approaching them willingly.

In the future, they would become the foundation his own descendants left outside the clan. Training them from childhood would make them more loyal.

It was through the combined effect of all the factors they had tested that Xiong Tao's group had finally reached this point after tremendous hardship. Looking at the proud little boy with the smooth forehead, then seeing Li Kai secretly nod after tearing open the Detection Scroll to confirm there were no guards, Xiong Tao could no longer restrain himself from the temptation before him.

The joy and excitement of finally reaping the fruits of success made a twisted smile appear at the corner of his mouth.

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

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

As a main-family member of the Hyuga Clan, armed with the Byakugan's powerful perception and additional training from childhood, even at his young age, he could sense genuine killing intent.

Combined with the education he had always received, he soon noticed that the people around him had formed an encirclement.

"You!"

The rage of being deceived, the humiliation of being provoked by insects, and the innate pride of the Hyuga Clan made him react quickly. What had originally been a sparring guard stance immediately changed into the Hyuga Clan's distinctive Gentle Fist posture.

His powerful perception and the techniques of the long-inherited Gentle Fist allowed him to easily deflect Xiong Tao's attack. 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 had not held back at all. Chakra was driven directly into Xiong Tao's body, and he spat out blood before even landing.

The area where he had been struck was visibly twisted and sunken inward.

But the price he paid was allowing the other four outstanding newcomers, including Xu Yue, to close in around Hyuga Shota!

Every one of them was far stronger than the useless newcomers Xu Yue had defeated five against one earlier. If those first five had trained with less effort and seriousness than middle school students, these people had at least studied and absorbed their knowledge with the determination of students cramming for college entrance exams!

Though each of them alone was still far inferior to a main-family member of the Hyuga Clan, their combined assault left him struggling to cope.

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

But if these newcomer reincarnators were the only ones attacking, although they could make him look quite miserable and perhaps eventually defeat him, he could at least delay them for a long time. He might even hold out until the guards who had been lured away heard the commotion, activated their Byakugan, noticed something wrong here, and arrived.

But clearly, the Blackhand behind the scenes had already made thorough preparations. Having failed many times and learned through blood and tears, they would never make such a low-level mistake again.

A true ninja's killing blow, delivered with chilling killing intent and extensive combat experience, was the method Xiong Tao's group relied upon most!

The Hyuga Clan's talent was beyond doubt. It was so formidable that even though he was still a lower-grade Ninja Academy student, a veteran Genin had no confidence in killing him with a single strike.

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

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

A sharp Kunai silently stabbed toward Hyuga Shota's undefended back.

It was an ordinary move, an utterly unremarkable strike. Yet in the hands of a veteran Genin who had been on the battlefield and endured blood and fire, it was a lethal blow.

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

Yet just as the blow was about to succeed, Xu Yue, who had been lunging behind Hyuga Shota in a siege posture, suddenly changed moves. He spun around and raised both Kunai to block the killing strike.

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

He also shouted,

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

Clang~

Even using both Kunai to block, Xu Yue still had a considerable gap compared with a true Genin after such a short training period. He was sent flying.

But his unexpected block, along with the kick to the other man's chest, successfully took effect and completely stopped the originally 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 warning flare burst into beautiful colors in the air. Xiong Tao, still sprawled on the ground coughing blood from his severe injuries, and Li Kai, who had been forcibly knocked back and was still recovering from the kick to his chest, both cursed inwardly at the same time.

(Gasp!)

Holy shit! What the hell?! You're the insane one! What do you gain from doing this?! What the hell are you trying to accomplish?!

Even if everyone present knew about it and 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 through shared interests would make everything foolproof, but they had never expected such a lunatic to appear...

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