Hyuga Tamamo

"Kill!"

A bandit brandished a long blade and charged out, only for Shin to brush past him with a Kunai, leaving the man to collapse to the ground with a dull thud, never to rise again.

The Sharingan swept coldly over the group of bandits, naturally unleashing a simple fear-based genjutsu. His blood-red eyes were eerie and ghostly; everyone he looked upon felt an inexplicable terror rising in their hearts, as if the person before them were an Asura returned from hell. Their bodies trembled violently, and the sight of those crimson eyes felt as if they were about to be devoured.

Ah...!

Finally, the first person could no longer bear the mounting dread and turned to flee, screaming. Like a lit fuse, the rest of the group erupted into a chaotic rout, each wishing they had been born with more legs to run faster.

Shin stood his ground, motionless. He neither pursued them nor released any ninjutsu; these fleeing bandits were nothing more than commoners. The few who remained were the targets he had been looking for.

Not everyone had turned to run. Seven men stayed behind, watching Shin with wary expressions. Although they wore bandit attire, under the gaze of the Sharingan, the chakra within them was clearly visible.

Seven Chunin!

Shin toyed with the Kunai in his hand and sneered, "I'll give you a chance: name your mastermind, and you might just live."

The seven Chunin exchanged glances, assumed a defensive stance, and slowly retreated. Shin watched them with a smile, making no move to stop them; even if they tried to escape, how could they possibly outrun his Flying Thunder God?

Clap! Clap! Clap!

Suddenly, a round of applause rang out. On a nearby hill, a girl in white emerged, clapping slowly.

Night had long since fallen, and a full moon hung in the sky, casting a bright, silvery light upon the girl, adding a touch of haziness to her form. Her soft, flowing hair danced in the breeze, framing a stunning face that possessed an alluring charm. Her eyes were nearly pure white, yet this did not detract from her beauty in the slightest; instead, it added a layer of gentle grace.

"Hyuga Hinata?" Shin blurted out. The girl who had appeared was far too similar to a certain young lady of the Hyuga clan from decades in the future.

"Hyuga Hinata?" the girl repeated softly. She placed one hand on her hip, tossed her hair with great flair, and said, "Getting a girl's name wrong the first time you meet is a sure way to make yourself unpopular, though I suppose you won't have much of a future left to worry about that. A first meeting, and also the last—I am Hyuga Tamamo. Please, treat me well."

"Ding. Task complete: Clear the bandits and draw out the mastermind. Reward: 1000 points. Now issuing second-stage task: Successfully escape the Hyuga clan's encirclement. Success reward: 3000 points. Failure will result in a deduction of corresponding points." The system's flat voice echoed in his ears.

"Greetings, Your Highness!"

The few Chunin from before bowed in unison toward the girl as soon as she appeared.

"Hyuga Tamamo? A princess?" Shin studied her more closely and realized there were significant differences between her and the Hyuga Hinata he knew.

The biggest difference lay in their temperament. Hyuga Hinata was a typical sheltered young lady with a soft personality; she would blush if you spoke to her too much, giving off a refreshing, gentle breeze of a feeling.

The girl before him, however, radiated a sharp, piercing aura. She held her head high, looking down at him with eyes full of confidence. Her facial structure was also different from Hinata's—she was the type that fell somewhere between a mature woman and a queen.

Realizing he had mistaken her for someone else, Shin regained his composure and said, "Hyuga Tamamo, since they call you princess, you must be the daughter of Hyuga Tenin. I wonder, why has Your Highness traveled all this way to our Uchiha clan's Fujiwara Mine, going to the trouble of using a group of bandits to cut off our trade route?"

Hyuga Tamamo laughed with great interest, "To draw you out and kill you, of course."

Shin raised an eyebrow. He wasn't surprised that she wanted him dead; if a genius of his caliber appeared in a rival's family, he would likely do everything in his power to eliminate them as well.

Still, he had one lingering doubt, so he asked, "Draw me out to kill me? How could you be so certain that the clan would send me?"

Hyuga Tamamo replied, "You ask a lot of questions, but since you're about to die, I'll tell you. I must say, the current head of your Uchiha clan is an idiot; his thoughts are far too easy to guess. The Fujiwara Mine happens to be on the edge of the Uchiha territory, practically in your backyard. No one would expect anyone to dare plot against the Uchiha clan there, because that would be suicide.

So, I had my subordinates drive the local bandits to blockade the surrounding trade routes, creating the illusion that the area was being targeted by thieves. Then, I had a few Chunin mix in. The exposed strength wasn't too high, and your stationed guards wouldn't be able to handle it, so they would naturally request reinforcements from the clan.

It's simple logic. Who is the most suitable person to send for a mission that is close to home but doesn't involve a strong opponent? Naturally, it's the clan's genius. It's a practice mission delivered right to your doorstep—where else in the world could you find such a good deal? You agree, don't you?

Actually, it didn't matter if it was you or not. If it hadn't been you, it likely would have been Uchiha Madara; killing him would be the same. If it had been any other Jonin from your clan, we wouldn't have shown ourselves, and he would have truly seen nothing but a group of bandits stealing ore. Are you satisfied with this answer, Uchiha genius?"

Shin gave a wry smile, thinking to himself, Has the fact that the clan head is an idiot already become common knowledge throughout the ninja world?

In truth, Uchiha Tajima's intelligence wasn't as abysmal as the two of them made it out to be—he certainly wasn't an idiot, or he wouldn't have led the Uchiha clan for so long. At most, he was simply straightforward and lacked sufficient vigilance against conspiracies.

"I'm satisfied enough. I didn't expect the Hyuga clan to produce a princess like you. I suddenly feel that this Warring States period is getting interesting. But are you so confident you can kill me? Just with these seven Chunin at your feet? Be careful not to lose the bait along with the hook and end up trapped yourself," Shin said calmly. Mentally weighing the strength of both sides, he quietly retrieved a scroll from his pack. He knew the enemy couldn't possibly have only these few Chunin.

"Lose the bait along with the hook? Heh, you have a funny way of speaking. Don't worry, of course it isn't just them!" Following Hyuga Tamamo's words, three figures suddenly appeared on the three-sided fence of the bandit camp. They manifested out of thin air, and even with Shin's Sharingan, he hadn't caught their movements.

"Elite Jonin! Damn it..."

Seeing the three figures, the Three Tomoe in Shin's eyes contracted sharply. This lineup was a bit intense!