Pain or Revenge

In the rear base of Kirigakure in the Land of Whirlpools, Ao slowly stood up.

At this moment, his right eye was still covered by a black eyepatch, but the helplessness and grief he had felt before were gone from his heart.

Because what was hidden beneath the eyepatch over his right eye was no longer his damaged eye, but an eye from the main branch of the Hyuga Clan of Konoha!

The war between Kirigakure and Konoha had never been smooth, even though Konoha had to deal with the harassment of Kumogakure and Iwagakure at the same time.

To a large extent, this was because they were truly countered to death by the Hyuga Clan!

Whether it was small-scale skirmishes where the enemy directly broke their Hidden Mist Jutsu, or large-scale operations where their forces were spotted the moment they mobilized, they were seen through completely.

This made the ninjas of Kirigakure loathe the Hyuga Clan to the extreme; if they encountered them, they would never show mercy!

However, Ao was somewhat puzzled: the people of the Hyuga Clan were so troublesome, so how was this eye obtained?

Ao also knew that the Hyuga Clan was divided into the main branch and the branch family.

The members of the branch family were powerful, and those encountered on the battlefield were basically all from the branch family.

However, the members of the branch family were all branded with the Caged Bird Seal. With this jutsu as protection, even if a branch family member died, there was no need to worry about the Byakugan being taken away by others.

The members of the main branch, on the other hand, were high and mighty; they completely controlled the life and death of the branch family, and under normal circumstances, they would not easily appear on the front lines.

This eye was not damaged, which meant this was definitely not an eye controlled by the Caged Bird Seal!

"It seems you are indeed very compatible with this eye." Just as Ao was pondering, a hoarse voice suddenly rang out beside his ear.

Hearing this voice, Ao immediately snapped back to reality. He stood up quickly and said respectfully, "Elder Genji, you have come."

Genji nodded slightly. He walked in leaning on his massive snake-headed wooden staff, then examined Ao carefully.

After a long while, he smiled and said, "Congratulations, you now possess this eye."

"Thank you for your kindness, Elder!" Ao immediately knelt on one knee. His heart was truly filled with excitement.

Ao was considered a relatively capable person in the Anbu, but that was only limited to being "relatively capable."

Kirigakure was full of talent, and there were countless bloodline families; compared to those great clans, he was really nothing.

Now that this incredibly precious Byakugan had fallen into his hands, this was truly a sign of Genji's great favor toward him!

"I think you must be wondering where these eyes came from."

Genji smiled indifferently. He looked at Ao, who was kneeling on the ground, and asked slowly, answering before Ao could even speak.

"Just consider it a gift sent to us by a brat from the Hyuga main branch who didn't know the immensity of heaven and earth."

"The people of Konoha are indeed ignorant of the immensity of heaven and earth." Ao nodded earnestly. Although Genji put it simply, he basically understood the situation.

"Ao, there is a question I would like to ask you." Genji nodded, then asked directly: "Do you know what obtaining this eye means?"

"Elder, your subordinate is dull, but I know." Ao raised his head and looked at Genji with extreme seriousness, saying word by word: "Your subordinate will definitely be loyal to the Mist Ninja, and loyal to Elder Genji!"

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

Hearing this, Genji nodded with satisfaction. He walked to Ao's side leaning on his staff, then reached out and patted Ao's shoulder.

"You are one of the most outstanding and loyal Anbu in Kirigakure; there is no doubt about that, otherwise you wouldn't have had such an opportunity.

Obtaining this eye means that you will be hunted and killed by Konoha, and it means you will have to shoulder more and more responsibilities.

This is dangerous, but it is also an opportunity. Are you prepared?"

"Your subordinate is already prepared!" Ao replied with utmost sincerity.

Being hunted by Konoha was not a big deal at all; in fact, in Ao's heart, he still had a score to settle with Konoha!

Although it was a blessing in disguise, he could not forget the grudge of having his eye gouged out.

If it were before, without the Byakugan, he really had no good methods or ideas.

The deterrent power of the Sharingan was not something an ordinary ninja could challenge, and losing his right eye meant he would never have a chance for the rest of his life.

But now, he had obtained a Byakugan that was on par with the Uchiha Sharingan!

This was equivalent to heaven giving him a chance, a chance to take his revenge.

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

--

"Are you all alright?"

After opening the cage and releasing the bruised and mentally exhausted Konoha ninjas inside, Uchiha Sou could not help but ask.

Although he did not ask about their experiences, he felt that the intensity of the Great Memory Recovery Jutsu used by those guys from Kirigakure on them was probably excessive.

At the same time, he was also wondering if he was being too kind.

At least when he interrogated for information, he used genjutsu, or at most cut off their fingers to break their defenses through pain, making his genjutsu easier to apply.

These Konoha ninjas, however, were likely beaten by those Mist Ninjas over and over again. But thinking about the performance of those Mist Ninjas in the Land of Whirlpools, which could only be described as "inhuman," this did not seem strange at all.

Because they squeezed the marrow out of the people daily, there were resistance groups everywhere in the Land of Whirlpools.

Regarding these people with a spirit of resistance, Kirigakure's stance was: since I cannot destroy your spirit, I can destroy the flesh that carries your spirit.

Therefore, every few days, Kirigakure would organize troops to go to the countryside and carry out a "Human Purge Plan," burying anyone who dared to resist.

Uchiha Sou had seen more than once while on missions the sight of a perfectly fine village being wiped clean off the map.

"We're alright, thank you."

In response to Uchiha Sou's inquiry, a guy with a pineapple-shaped hairstyle spoke up, his legs trembling as he walked.

As he spoke, he glanced around at his surroundings, and finally, he couldn't help but sigh.

"Thank you for taking them all out, those damn bastards."

Uchiha Sou also turned his head to glance at the group of Mist Ninja lying on the ground behind him, his heart remaining remarkably calm.

This surprise attack had been smooth and uneventful; after all, they had the Byakugan for support, and each of them possessed formidable strength.

Although they had encountered some trouble, such as the sheer number of enemies and the extraordinary strength of the captain guarding this place, they had managed to overcome it.

These obstacles were cleared one by one, and that formidable Mist Ninja captain had died a frustrating death under the joint assault of Uchiha Sou and Shisui.

"Alright, let's not talk about that. Can you all still walk?" Uchiha Sou shook his head and then asked, "By the way, do you have any medical ninja among you?"

"We do." As he spoke, a somewhat thin man stepped forward. "I am a medical ninja, but my chakra has been sealed."

"Having one is enough, but we should leave this place first."

Seeing this, Uchiha Sou couldn't help but breathe a slight sigh of relief before speaking seriously.

"We are still in enemy territory, so we need to leave immediately. We have follow-up missions to attend to."

"Missions?" Uchiha Sou's words made the pineapple-haired man pause. "Missions for us?"

"No, it doesn't count as a mission for you." Uchiha Sou shook his head. "But if possible, I would hope for your assistance."

Having said that, Uchiha Sou paused for a moment, then stepped slightly to the side to reveal Anko standing behind him before continuing.

"Because our mission is troublesome and dangerous, it's hard to say if we can complete it successfully with just the few of us. If you are willing, you could increase the probability of the mission's success."

"Of course, this is entirely voluntary. I just want to ask you one thing: do you want to carry the record of being captured by the Mist Ninja forever, constantly reliving the pain of being abused and unable to resist?"

"Or do you want to act with us, take fierce revenge on these Mist Ninja, and return the pain you suffered back to them?"

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