Insidious

In the forest, three youths clad in white armor with pure white eyes were running. One of them had veins bulging around his eyes as he spoke:

"Young Master Ruri, someone is approaching. They are ninjas from the Senju Clan."

"Oh? How many?"

"Two. But they look even younger than you, Young Master. Should we take them out?"

"No need. Stop and wait for them."

The three who had been running came to a halt. Hyuga Ruri curled his lips into a wicked smile, took out a pendant to hang around his neck, and watched the rear in silence.

This was a rare type of stone that, due to its unique properties, could store an image infused with chakra for a period of time.

Unlike Hyuga Ruri, the other two youths wore forehead protectors. Engraved on the protectors was a fan-shaped pattern with flames in the center and extensions on both sides, seemingly intended to cover something up.

The three Byakugan users did not have to wait long before Tobirama and Hiugo arrived before them. The atmosphere between the two sides turned subtle, and both parties instinctively drew their kunai.

Hyuga Ruri stepped forward and smiled:

"Gentlemen, we have no intention of fighting. The Hyuga Clan and the Senju Clan have had no grievances of late. Why don't we cooperate... what do you say?"

In the Warring States period, there was no such thing as sudden goodwill. Naturally, the Hyuga Clan would not help the two complete their mission for no reason.

In fact, if they truly helped the pair, they would abandon their own mission, add some embellishments to the story, and tell the outside world: The Senju Clan is incompetent, requiring the help of the Hyuga Clan to complete a simple task.

This was done solely to strike at the prestige of the Senju Clan and reduce the number of commissions they received. While the method was underhanded, it was undeniably effective. Historically, the Hatake Clan had been disgusted by the Hyuga Clan in this exact manner, leading to a period where their reputation suffered greatly.

Tobirama had read about this tactic. With a calm expression, he retorted: "Does the Hyuga Clan lack the strength to complete its own missions, that you require the help of us Senju?"

The expressions of the three changed slightly. The ideology of the clan being paramount was deeply rooted in their minds, and being slighted now inevitably stirred their anger.

Hiugo's voice followed: "One main house member and two branch house members. Is this a princess or a young master? Bringing two bodyguards when going out—what a precious little life."

In the Warring States era, members of the Hyuga branch house usually covered the cursed seal on their foreheads, making them easy to identify.

Hiugo's words left the two branch house ninjas deeply dissatisfied. Hyuga Hikaru spoke up:

"We are merely assisting the Young Master. The Young Master alone is more than enough to defeat the two of you."

Hiugo curled his lips into a smile:

"Oh~, so you two are useless, then."

The way he talks... why does it sound so much like an Uchiha?

Hyuga Ruri thought to himself. Veins bulged around his eyes as he stared at Hiugo:

"Let us part ways here and rely on our own abilities. If we fight now and miss our target, it will only benefit someone else."

Hiugo spun the kunai in his hand, exchanged a glance with Tobirama, and said:

"I think fighting the Hyuga Clan is more meaningful than hunting down a Yin-Yang Shenfeng."

Tobirama understood his intent and said: "I'll take two, you take one."

Before the words had even faded, both of them dropped their kunai to the ground with a soft clatter. Their hands moved in unison to form seals:

"Water Style: Exploding Water Colliding Wave!" x2

The three Hyuga ninjas had been guarding against the kunai, never expecting the opponents to use ninjutsu immediately; the kunai had been nothing but a distraction.

Hiugo was an unreasonable person by nature, and Tobirama simply emulated Hiugo's way of thinking to execute the most likely course of action.

The two Hyuga branch house ninjas were caught off guard and knocked unconscious by the torrent of water. Had it not been for the protection of their armor, they would likely have been dead or crippled.

Hyuga Ruri reacted faster than the branch house ninjas, immediately spinning into a pale blue hemisphere to deflect the water.

"Eight Trigrams: Heavenly Spin!"

"So this is the Heavenly Spin, which the Hyuga Clan calls the absolute defense..."

Tobirama studied the technique, his eyes showing a hint of curiosity.

Absolute defense.

Hearing this term, Hiugo couldn't help but chuckle. He didn't know how that reputation had spread; perhaps it was because defensive ninjutsu were scarce in the Warring States period.

If the Hyuga Clan truly possessed an absolute defense, no one would ever die; they could just take turns spinning in circles.

It wasn't that the technique wasn't strong—any famous ninjutsu was powerful—but it certainly didn't reach the level of "absolute."

As Hyuga Ruri ended his Heavenly Spin, he was forced back by two kunai. He glanced at his unconscious clansmen and cursed them as trash.

The three of them should have been accompanied by an elite jonin, but the fact that he hadn't appeared yet meant he was likely being held off by an elite jonin from the other side.

After a moment of thought, Hyuga Ruri threw a smoke bomb to the ground.

Run!

Hyuga Ruri was confident that he could handle a two-on-one fight under normal circumstances, but the Senju Clan was famous for their massive chakra reserves; he had no desire to engage in a long-range war of attrition.

At their age, the two had just cast a B-rank Water Style without even breaking a sweat. Moreover, in the Warring States era, running away when you couldn't win was not considered a shameful act.

"Tobirama, he's yours. I'm going to finish off the others."

After saying this, Hiugo ran directly toward the two unconscious Hyuga branch house ninjas; he could feel the temptation of a "feast."

A flicker of suspicion crossed Tobirama's eyes. When they could have just used one explosive tag each, why go through all this trouble?

However, he was never one for hesitation, so he gave chase immediately.

"Water Style: Water Colliding Wave!"

The water left behind by the ninjutsu the two had just unleashed was put to use, surging toward Hyuga Ruri under Tobirama's control.

Hyuga Ruri turned and struck out with a Eight Trigrams: Vacuum Palm to scatter the torrent, then gritted his teeth and used the Body Flicker Technique to appear before Tobirama, gathering chakra to strike at Tobirama's forehead.

Eight Trigrams: Vacuum Strike!

The Body Flicker Technique placed a heavy burden on children of their age, but no matter the burden, survival was all that mattered; thus, even at a young age, the great clans would teach them a few "nasty" ninjutsu.

A flash of light flickered in Tobirama's eyes, and at the moment of impact, he transformed into a wooden log with an explosive tag attached to it.

A trap... he calculated that I would counterattack.

Just as Hyuga Ruri intended to leap out of the blast radius, a Water Formation Wall rose up on all sides, blocking his path of escape.

Following an explosion, the Water Formation Wall was blown apart, revealing a pale blue sphere inside.

Hyuga Ruri deactivated his Heavenly Spin, gasping for breath with his fingers charred black; he hadn't managed to block all of the explosive tag's force, and the Heavenly Spin had been compromised within the confined space.

Under the observation of his Byakugan, he threw three kunai tipped with explosive tags in one direction, and the target tree burst apart, revealing the log that had been blown away behind it.

Another Substitution Technique...

Hyuga Ruri's anger surged, causing him to cough up blood; ever since that first explosive tag, it felt as if his every move had been calculated by his opponent.

Tobirama stepped out from behind another tree and said indifferently, "Your chakra should be running low."

Two Heavenly Spins, one Body Flicker, one Vacuum Palm, and one Vacuum Strike had consumed the majority of Hyuga Ruri's chakra, and his injured fingers only added insult to injury.

The veins around Hyuga Ruri's eyes returned to normal, and he raised his hands with a smile.

"I surrender. Do you accept?"

Tobirama narrowed his eyes, just about to speak, when a thunderous voice echoed from the sky:

"Tobirama, get out of the way!"

Hearing this, Tobirama immediately used a Water Body Flicker to vanish, and the next second, a palm strike slammed into his original position, leaving a shallow crater.

Senju Zhenyang's figure descended from the sky, his eyes flashing with fury as he glared at Hyuga Teruhiro ahead.

"Your Hyuga Clan is becoming more and more shameless."

Hyuga Teruhiro's left arm was bleeding, the result of being wounded by Senju Zhenyang's ninjutsu when he risked everything to strike at Tobirama.

"This is the fate of the branch family; we exist to protect the main house," Hyuga Teruhiro said calmly.

Senju Zhenyang looked at the two with murderous intent. His combat strength was on par with Hyuga Teruhiro's, and given enough time, he could certainly take him down now that he was injured.

But the reality could not be calculated so simply; to protect Hyuga Ruri, Hyuga Teruhiro would attack Tobirama and Hiugo regardless of the cost, even if it meant his own death.

It was not worth sacrificing the future of his own clan's genius for the sake of an injured elite jonin.

Likewise, Hyuga Teruhiro's priority was to preserve his life and Hyuga Ruri's; no one wanted to throw their life away unless absolutely necessary.

"Leave," Senju Zhenyang said coldly. Hyuga Teruhiro and Hyuga Ruri retreated slowly upon hearing this, until they vanished from sight...