Pain or Revenge

At the Kirigakure village stronghold in the Land of Whirlpools, Ao slowly rose to his feet.

His right eye was still covered by a black eyepatch, but the helplessness and grief he'd felt before were gone.

That was because the eye hidden beneath the patch was no longer his damaged one. It was an eye from the Hyuga Main Family of Konoha!

The war between Kirigakure and Konoha had never gone smoothly, even though Konoha also had to contend with attacks from Kumogakure and Iwagakure.

To a large extent, it was because the Hyuga Clan had them completely outmatched!

Whether in small-scale battles, where the enemy saw through their Hidden Mist Jutsu, or in large-scale operations, where the enemy saw through their troop movements as soon as they began, the Hyuga were a constant thorn in their side.

The Kirigakure Ninja loathed the Hyuga Clan to the utmost, and they never held back when they encountered them!

Still, Ao was puzzled. The Hyuga were so difficult to deal with—how had they managed to get this eye?

Ao knew that the Hyuga Clan was divided into the Main Family and the Branch Family.

The Branch Family members were powerful, and they were the ones most likely to be encountered on the battlefield.

But the Branch Family members were all branded with the Caged Bird Seal. With that jutsu to protect them, there was no need to worry about their Byakugan being stolen, even if they died.

The Main Family members, on the other hand, stood above the rest and controlled the life and death of the Branch Family. Under normal circumstances, they wouldn't appear on the front lines.

This eye was undamaged, which meant it definitely wasn't controlled by the Caged Bird Seal!

"It looks like you're a good match for this eye," an elderly voice suddenly said beside Ao as he pondered.

Ao immediately came to his senses. He quickly stood and said respectfully, "Elder Genji, you're here."

Genji nodded lightly, then walked in, leaning on his massive snake-shaped wooden staff. He carefully looked Ao over.

After a long moment, he smiled. "Congratulations. This eye is yours now."

"Thank you for your favor, Elder!" Ao immediately dropped to one knee, his heart brimming with excitement.

Ao was a fairly capable member of Anbu, but only fairly capable.

Kirigakure was full of talented people, with countless bloodline clans. Compared to those great clans, he was nothing.

Now this incredibly precious Byakugan had fallen into his hands. This was truly a great favor from Genji!

"I imagine you're wondering where this eye came from."

Genji smiled casually. Looking at Ao kneeling before him, he asked the question slowly, then answered it before Ao could speak.

"Just think of it as a gift from some clueless little brat of the Hyuga Main Family."

"The people of Konoha really are clueless," Ao replied with a serious nod. Genji had kept it brief, but Ao had more or less figured out what happened.

"Ao, there's something I'd like to ask you." Genji nodded, then went straight to the question. "Do you know what it means to obtain this eye?"

"Elder, I'm not very clever, but I do know." Ao looked up at Genji, utterly serious. He spoke each word clearly. "I will be loyal to the Mist Ninja, and loyal to you, Elder Genji!"

"You don't need to be so nervous."

Hearing that, Genji nodded in satisfaction. He walked over to Ao, leaning on his staff, and patted him on the shoulder.

"You're one of Kirigakure's most capable and loyal Anbu. There's no doubt about that, or you wouldn't have been given this opportunity.

"Obtaining this eye means Konoha will put a bounty on you and hunt you down. It means you'll have to shoulder far more responsibility.

"It's dangerous, but it's also an opportunity. Are you ready?"

"I've been ready for a long time!" Ao answered with utter seriousness.

Being hunted by Konoha was no big deal. In fact, Ao still had a score to settle with them!

Though he'd turned misfortune into fortune, he couldn't forget the grudge of having his eye gouged out.

Before, when he didn't have the Byakugan, he hadn't had any good way of dealing with them.

The Sharingan was no ordinary ninja's match, and losing his right eye had meant that he'd never had a chance against it.

But now he had the Byakugan, which could match the Uchiha Clan's Sharingan!

It was as if fate had given him a chance—a chance to take revenge.

"Besides, being remembered by a great ninja village is an honor in itself. Uchiha, are you ready?"

"Are you all right?"

After opening the cage and freeing the battered, dispirited Konoha Ninja inside, Uchiha Sou couldn't help asking.

He hadn't asked about what they'd been through, but he suspected the Mist Ninja had gone overboard with their Great Memory Recovery Jutsu.

At the same time, he wondered if he'd been too merciful.

When he'd interrogated people for information, he'd used genjutsu, at most cutting off their fingers to make them break under the pain. That way, his genjutsu would work more easily.

These Konoha Ninja had probably been beaten over and over by the Mist Ninja. But then again, the Mist Ninja's behavior in the Land of Whirlpools could only be described as animalistic, so perhaps it wasn't all that surprising.

They'd squeezed the people dry for so long that resistance had become commonplace throughout the Land of Whirlpools.

When faced with people who dared to resist, Kirigakure's attitude was: "If I can't destroy your spirit, I can destroy the body that carries it."

So, every so often, Kirigakure would send troops into the countryside and carry out a "Human Purge Plan." Anyone who dared to resist was buried.

While carrying out missions, Uchiha Sou had seen more than once how an entire village could be wiped clean and turned into a wasteland.

"We're all right. Thank you."

At Uchiha Sou's question, a wobbly pineapple-haired man spoke up.

As he spoke, he looked around, then let out a sigh.

"Thank you for killing them all, those damned bastards."

Uchiha Sou glanced back at the group of Mist Ninja lying on the ground. He felt perfectly calm.

The surprise attack had been uneventful. They had the Byakugan to support them, and every one of them was strong.

They had run into some trouble, of course. There were too many enemies, and the captain guarding the place was exceptionally skilled.

But they'd dealt with each problem one by one. The formidable Mist Ninja captain had met a particularly frustrating end, dying beneath the combined assault of Uchiha Sou and Uchiha Shisui.

"Enough about that. Can you all walk?" Uchiha Sou shook his head, then asked, "By the way, do you have a medical ninja?"

"Yes." A somewhat thin man stepped forward. "I'm a medical ninja, but my chakra is sealed."

"That's good enough. But we should leave first."

Seeing him, Uchiha Sou breathed a small sigh of relief before speaking seriously.

"This is still enemy territory. We need to get out of here quickly. We have another mission ahead of us."

"Mission?" The pineapple-haired man froze at Uchiha Sou's words. "A mission for us?"

"No, not exactly a mission for you." Uchiha Sou shook his head. "But if you're willing, I'd like you to help."

Uchiha Sou paused, then shifted slightly to the side, revealing Anko standing behind him before continuing.

"Our mission is troublesome and dangerous. There's no telling if the few of us can complete it successfully. If you're willing, you could improve our chances.

"Of course, it's entirely up to you. I just want to ask you one thing: would you rather carry the record of having been captured by the Mist Ninja forever, reliving the pain of being abused and helpless to fight back?

"Or would you rather act alongside us, give these Mist Ninja a taste of revenge, and make them suffer as you did?"

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