The Union of Hyuga and Uzumaki, Full of Potential

Although this trip didn't yield the Box of Paradise, having this mother and daughter in hand makes it worthwhile.

From Yugito's perspective, the Box of Paradise was far less valuable than a descendant of the Uzumaki clan.

Neji then said, "I found these two, so I have the right to decide their fate."

"How do you plan to deal with them?" Yugito asked suspiciously upon hearing this.

Neji coughed twice and said somewhat sheepishly, "They've agreed to join the Hyuga clan. From now on, they're my people, and as clan head, I have an obligation to protect them."

"..."

Yugito's lips twitched slightly. "A union between the Hyuga and Uzumaki... that has potential."

Then, she suddenly thought of something, a sly smile playing on her lips. She poked Neji's chest with her finger, teasing him.

"You, you've revealed your true colors..."

Neji was speechless.

He hadn't done anything.

Yet it felt like he had.

"I'll go find them something to eat."

Unable to stand Yugito's gaze, Neji fled the bathroom as if escaping.

Seeing Neji in such a flustered state, a rare sight, Yugito's lips curved upwards.

Kumogakure lacked powerful Kekkei Genkai clans.

The Fourth Raikage planned to spend twenty years cultivating a batch of strong Kekkei Genkai families, thereby giving Kumogakure the capital to contend with Konohagakure.

The Uzumaki bloodline could add a significant stroke to this strategy.

The only thing Yugito found regrettable was that the Uzumaki descendants Neji found were a mother and daughter.

If it had been a father and son, they could have established a Kekkei Genkai clan in ten years.

Of course, this was also the main reason Yugito was willing to hand over Karin and her mother to Neji.

Meanwhile.

Ryurin frowned as he looked at the corpse of a Kusagakure ninja on the ground.

The corpse had no visible injuries, and even with his eyesight, he couldn't tell how the person had died.

He didn't possess a Kekkei Genkai eye technique, nor was he a professional medical ninja, so he naturally couldn't discern the damage caused by the Gentle Fist.

A moment later, a medical ninja finished examining the body and said to Ryurin, offering his conjecture, "Destroying the acupoints in the chest violently while keeping the chest intact... there seems to be only one ability in the entire ninja world capable of this... only the Gentle Fist Secret Techniques."

Ryurin's expression changed, and he exclaimed, "You mean the infiltrator is from Konohagakure's Hyuga clan?"

The medical ninja shook his head. "I only said they were killed by the Gentle Fist Secret Techniques. As for whether the culprit is truly from the Hyuga clan, that's unknown."

In reality, he also suspected the culprit was most likely from the Hyuga clan, but he didn't dare to make a definitive statement himself.

"There's no mistake. The only clan in the entire ninja world proficient in the Gentle Fist is Konohagakure's Hyuga clan."

Ryurin was already about seventy percent convinced.

Their Kusagakure village had also collected basic Gentle Fist Secret Techniques.

But no one had managed to learn them.

It was like how the Uchiha's projectile technique required the Sharingan's precise perception and high-speed calculation capabilities, making it difficult for ordinary ninja to master.

The Gentle Fist was even more intrinsically linked to bloodline traits than the Uchiha's projectile technique.

Without the Byakugan, even a highly skilled taijutsu master would be unable to learn it.

Therefore, Gentle Fist was equivalent to Byakugan, and Byakugan was equivalent to Konohagakure's Hyuga clan.

Whoosh!

At this moment, a Kusagakure ninja appeared before Ryurin using the Body Flicker Technique.

"Captain, the office building was infiltrated, and the scroll containing the Box of Paradise has been stolen."

"What?"

Ryurin's face changed drastically.

He recalled the unknown Fire Release ninja who had unleashed Great Fire Destruction earlier.

Clearly, there were at least two infiltrators. One infiltrated the Kusagakure branch's compound, and the other infiltrated Kusagakure's other branch's compound.

Their objective was the Box of Paradise?!

The Box of Paradise was a divine artifact passed down from the ancestors of Kusagakure.

Kusagakure had paid a great price to open this box.

In the past few years, Kusagakure's research on the Box of Paradise had made significant breakthroughs.

They never expected Konohagakure to target it at this time.

Fortunately, the Box of Paradise was brought to Hozuki Castle by Mui years ago. If it were stolen by Konoha ninjas today, the consequences would be unimaginable.

"Captain, Lord Katsushiro has woken up."

A voice filled with surprise rang out from the small wooden hut.

Ryurin immediately ran into the hut and looked at the man who had been brought back from the brink of death by a medical ninja. He asked, "Katsushiro, how are you feeling now?"

"Cough cough!"

Katsushiro coughed twice and weakly said, "I'm fine, Ryurin-kun. The intruder was from Konohagakure's Hyuga clan."

Ryurin had already suspected the Hyuga clan. Now that Katsushiro, the sole survivor who had encountered the intruder, had confirmed it, he had no further doubts.

"Katsushiro, the intruder was trying to steal the Box of Paradise we possess."

"The Box of Paradise?"

A perfectly feigned look of surprise appeared on Katsushiro's face, followed by a sigh of relief. "Fortunately, the Box of Paradise is in Hozuki Castle. If Konoha got their hands on it, we would be letting down our ancestors."

The conflict between Kusagakure branch and Kusagakure branch primarily stemmed from the Box of Paradise.

Ryurin bypassed this topic and continued, "That Uzumaki mother and daughter were captured by Konoha ninjas. However, this might be an opportunity. We can use the Uzumaki mother and daughter to capture the Konoha ninjas."

"Oh?"

A sharp glint flashed in Katsushiro's eyes as he pressed, "Ryurin-kun, what do you plan to do?"

"There are at least two Konoha ninjas who infiltrated Kusagakure. I briefly encountered another intruder earlier. That person is skilled in Fire Release ninjutsu and is exceptionally powerful. He/She hid in the shadows and never revealed themselves.

However, since the intruder rescued that mother and daughter, we now have a clear target for our search.

The exits of the entire Kusagakure have been sealed by me. It's impossible to leave Kusagakure silently with a mother and daughter who can't even lift a chicken.

"That makes sense."

Katsushiro nodded. "Ryurin-kun, I watched that mother and daughter get captured by the Hyuga ninja and could do nothing. Let me join the search this time."

A fleeting look of admiration flashed in Ryurin's eyes.

This was a ninja worthy of respect.

Although there were many conflicts between Kusagakure branch and Kusagakure branch, it was merely a difference in ideology.

Moreover, they were united like never before when facing an external enemy.

Looking at Katsushiro's blood-stained chest, Ryurin hesitated, "But your injuries..."

"Sigh, Ryurin, don't underestimate me. I'm currently... cough cough... I just want to catch the intruder as soon as possible and avenge my fallen comrades. Can you understand this feeling?"

Katsushiro clutched his chest, coughing as he spoke with self-reproach.

Seeing him like this, Ryurin couldn't bear to refuse. "How about this? You can be in charge of guarding the village entrance and screening all those leaving."

This task for Katsushiro required little effort.

Because if he were the intruder, he certainly wouldn't dare to leave through the main village entrance openly.

Ryurin already had a detailed plan. He intended to create a weakness in the guard's strength, secretly ambushing forces to wait for the Konoha ninjas to break through.

A subtle smile curved Katsushiro's lips. "It's good to be able to contribute to the village. I will follow your arrangements."