Hyuga Aya's Unusual Move

Konoha Camp, Command Tent.

Shimura Danzō had not received a single secret report from Terai's squad in a long time.

Such silence usually meant only one thing: the squad had been wiped out, or had fallen into a desperate situation where it could not even maintain basic communications.

And given the strength of Terai, an elite jonin, and the way Root operated, the latter possibility was vanishingly small.

"What a bunch of good-for-nothings!"

Danzō lowered his one eye and tapped his knuckles against the cold armrest, making a dull knocking sound.

Losing a carefully trained elite jonin and two capable subordinates was undeniably a painful blow.

But right now, there were more important matters that demanded his resources.

The support operation in the Land of Whirlpools was nearing its end. The Land of Whirlpools had already fallen.

Only the remnants of the Uzumaki Clan were left, still fighting with all their might, but their defeat was only a matter of time.

What made Shimura Danzō green with envy most of all were the sealing scrolls passed down through generations of the Uzumaki Clan, which held immense power.

Even the Senju Clan had feared them at the end of the Warring States Period, and could only sign an alliance treaty with the Uzumaki Clan.

Most of the elite Root forces under his command had already been quietly dispatched into the heart of the Land of Whirlpools, like jackals scenting blood.

They had only one task: find those scrolls and bring them back at any cost.

Compared to that, dealing with Yusuke the traitor did not seem quite so urgent.

"Yusuke..." Danzō murmured the name.

"Live a few more days. Once I find the scrolls and have some time to spare, we'll settle this between us."

Shimura Danzō suppressed the icy killing intent in his one eye and refocused on the latest frontline report from the Land of Whirlpools.

After a brief rest, Yusuke's squad received its next order from the frontline command post.

"As a mobile harassment unit, attack and disrupt the enemy's remaining strongholds and supply lines in the Land of Whirlpools."

The mission reminded Yusuke of the Third Shinobi World War, more than a decade later in the original story. Minato Team had received a similar assignment.

"Get ready to move." Yusuke asked no questions. He calmly put away the mission scroll and gave his orders to Inuzuka Go and Hyuga Aya.

Too much hesitation made a weapon grow dull.

That was fatal in wartime, and he knew it well.

When the three of them entered the ruins of the Land of Whirlpools again, the sight was even more harrowing than what they had seen during their previous reconnaissance mission.

The former towns and villages had become endless stretches of broken walls. The scorched earth was pockmarked, as though powerful ninjutsu had plowed through it again and again.

The air was thick with the stench of blood and the acrid smell of burnt things.

Corpses lay everywhere. Among them were many red-haired residents of the Uzumaki Clan, as well as even more invaders wearing the Forehead Protectors of Cloud Village, Iwagakure, and even Mist Village.

"Ugh... Th-this is just too awful."

Inuzuka Go sucked in a sharp breath. The excitement and eagerness on his face when they'd first left camp had been completely washed away by the carnage before him.

Even Haimaru, the Ninja Dog at his feet, seemed cowed by the heavy stench of death. His ears drooped, and a low, uneasy whine rumbled in his throat.

Hyuga Aya remained silent, seemingly unmoved by the carnage.

Under her Byakugan, her pure white eyes quickly and carefully swept over every ruin, watching for possible enemy ambushes, traps, or unexploded Explosive Tags.

Yusuke kept a wary eye on their surroundings as he studied the ruins.

He saw signs of struggling and rummaging in some places, but not a single living member of the Uzumaki Clan.

There should have been plenty of Uzumaki Clan shinobi who had come to Konoha's camp to seek refuge by now, yet not one had appeared.

Yusuke thought, Konoha's "delayed" rescue must have completely broken the Uzumaki Clan's faith in them.

Instead of fleeing to their ally, the Land of Fire, they scattered and fled to other small countries or the wilderness, places even more unknown and dangerous.

Konoha's reputation has been utterly ruined by certain people this time. Yusuke sneered inwardly.

Shimura Danzō had undoubtedly played a major part in this.

For the so-called interests of the village and his own selfish desires, he had pushed an important ally into a desperate situation.

Such actions gave Yusuke a deeper understanding of the darkness within Konoha High Command.

At dusk, Yusuke's squad made camp in an abandoned shrine on high ground at the edge of Uzushio Village.

The spot offered a clear view overlooking some of the paths into the village, while the remains of the shrine provided some cover and a defensive advantage.

After assigning the night watch, Yusuke chose a corner backed by a broken wall.

He closed his eyes to rest and recover his strength, while keeping Sensory Ninjutsu active to monitor the area.

It was rather like Zhang Fei sleeping with his eyes open.

Night deepened and spread like ink. Only the bitter wind passed through holes in the ruins, howling like the wails of restless spirits.

In the dead silence, Yusuke picked up an extremely faint chakra fluctuation.

Its source, however, was Hyuga Aya, who was keeping watch up high.

What is she doing? Yusuke wondered.

He did not open his eyes right away. Instead, he opened them a narrow crack and looked in her direction through the faint light.

He saw Hyuga Aya's figure shift slightly in the moonlight as her hands formed a simple hand seal at lightning speed in front of her chest.

"Shadow Clone Technique?"

Hyuga Aya's Shadow Clone slipped down the tree like a ghost. Upon landing, it did not pause for a moment, but dashed straight toward the depths of Uzushio Village.

Her real body remained firmly in place on the tree, maintaining her watchful stance.

There was no sign of anything unusual about her. It was as if nothing had happened.

This woman...

She even has plans of her own.

Yusuke thought to himself.

Her silence in the face of the ruins during the day might not have been due solely to the horrors of war.

This genius of the Hyuga Branch Family had far more hidden within her than her cold exterior suggested.

Was this secret mission for the Hyuga Branch Family?

Or was it connected to the Caged Bird Cursed Seal she longed to escape deep down?

Yusuke did not let on that he had noticed. He slowly adjusted his breathing, suppressing his presence until it was nearly nonexistent.

At the same time, his fingers moved inside his sleeve. A special tapping sound, carried by the wind, reached Hyuga Aya's ears.

Her expression turned dazed. It was clear that the illusion Yusuke had cast, Cicada Time Gap, had taken hold.

Through the sense of hearing, this illusion made its target experience the false impression that a brief stretch of time had gone blank.

Taking advantage of this, Yusuke quickly created a Shadow Clone.

Then he threw a Kunai marked with the Flying Thunder God Formula in the direction Hyuga Aya's Shadow Clone had gone.

As the Kunai disappeared, Yusuke's Shadow Clone vanished as well.

He had to find out what Hyuga Aya was after.

In enemy territory, where danger lurked everywhere, any unpredictable variable could bring disaster.

Besides, they already had a preliminary agreement to work together over the Caged Bird. He needed to assess the risks and decide whether Hyuga Aya was worthy of further trust.