Hyuga Aya's Anomaly

Konoha camp, command tent.

Shimura Danzō had not received any secret reports from Terai and his squad for a long time.

Such silence usually meant only one thing—the squad had been wiped out, or they had fallen into a desperate situation where even basic communication was impossible.

Given the elite Jonin strength of Terai and the operational style of Root, the latter possibility was slim to none.

"A bunch of trash!"

Shimura Danzō lowered his single eye, his knuckles rapping against the cold armrest of his chair with a dull, rhythmic thud.

Losing a meticulously trained elite Jonin and two capable subordinates was a genuine blow to his interests.

But for now, he had more important matters requiring 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 remained, struggling in resistance, though their collapse was only a matter of time.

What made Shimura Danzō most covetous were the sealing jutsu scrolls passed down through generations of the Uzumaki Clan, which contained immense power.

These were the very things that even the Senju Clan feared at the end of the Warring States period, forcing them to sign an alliance treaty with the Uzumaki Clan.

Most of his elite Root forces had already been silently scattered into the heart of the Land of Whirlpools, like jackals catching the scent of blood.

They had only one mission: at any cost, find and retrieve those scrolls.

Compared to this, eliminating the traitor Yusuke seemed far less urgent.

"Yusuke..." Shimura Danzō muttered the name under his breath.

"I will let you live a few more days. Once I find the scrolls and free up my hands, we shall settle our accounts slowly."

Shimura Danzō suppressed the cold killing intent in his single eye and refocused his attention on the latest front-line reports from the Land of Whirlpools.

After a brief rest, the Yusuke squad received their next order from the front-line command.

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

This mission reminded Yusuke of the Third Great Ninja War, which would take place over a decade later in the original timeline, where the Minato Team received a similar assignment.

"Prepare to move out." Yusuke did not ask further questions; he calmly put away the mission scroll and issued instructions to Inuzuka Go and Hyuga Aya.

Excessive hesitation would only dull one's blade.

He knew well that in wartime, this was fatal.

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

The former towns and villages had been reduced to endless stretches of broken walls and rubble, the scorched earth riddled with holes as if it had been repeatedly plowed by high-powered ninjutsu.

The air was thick with the heavy stench of blood and the acrid smell of charred remains.

Corpses lay everywhere; among them were the conspicuous red-haired residents of the Uzumaki Clan, but even more numerous were the bodies of invaders wearing the headbands of the Stone Village, Cloud Village, and even the Mist Village.

"Hiss... this... this is too tragic."

Inuzuka Go gasped, the excitement and eagerness he had felt upon leaving the main camp long since washed away by the carnage before him.

Even Haimaru, the ninja dog at his feet, seemed cowed by the dense aura of death, its ears pinned tightly back as it let out low, uneasy whimpers in its throat.

Hyuga Aya remained silent, seemingly indifferent to the horrific scene.

Her pure white eyes scanned every ruin quickly and meticulously under the Byakugan's vision, avoiding potential enemy ambushes, traps, or unexploded paper bombs.

Yusuke remained vigilant, observing the ruins while keeping watch on his surroundings.

He saw traces of struggle and scavenging in some places, but he did not see a single living Uzumaki clansman.

Logically speaking, after so many days, there should have been many Uzumaki Clan ninjas seeking refuge at the Konoha camp, yet not one had appeared.

Yusuke speculated internally: "It must be Konoha's 'delayed' rescue that has completely chilled the hearts of the Uzumaki Clan."

"Instead of choosing to flee to their ally, the Land of Fire, they have scattered toward other unknown and dangerous small nations or the wilderness."

"Konoha's credibility has been completely squandered by certain people this time." Yusuke sneered inwardly.

In this course of action, Shimura Danzō certainly played a significant "role."

For the sake of so-called village interests and personal greed, he had pushed a vital ally into a desperate corner.

Such conduct gave him a deeper understanding of the darkness within the upper echelons of Konoha.

By evening, the Yusuke squad set up camp in an abandoned shrine on high ground on the outskirts of Uzushio Village.

The view here was wide, allowing them to overlook some of the paths leading into the village, and the remaining structure of the shrine provided a degree of cover and defensive advantage.

After assigning the night watch, Yusuke chose a corner with his back against a crumbling wall.

He closed his eyes to rest and recover his strength while keeping his sensory ninjutsu active to monitor the surroundings.

This approach was much like Zhang Fei sleeping with his eyes open.

As the night deepened, painting the world in ink, only the cold, desolate wind whistled through the holes in the ruins, sounding like the wails of lost souls.

In the dead of silence, Yusuke caught a trace of an extremely faint chakra fluctuation.

The source was Hyuga Aya, who was on watch from a high vantage point.

What is she planning? Yusuke wondered.

He did not open his eyes immediately, instead peering through a narrow slit, using the faint moonlight to look in her direction.

He saw Hyuga Aya's figure sway slightly under the moonlight as her hands moved with lightning speed to form a simple seal.

Shadow Clone Technique?

Hyuga Aya's shadow clone slid down the tree like a ghost, hitting the ground without a moment's hesitation before sprinting straight into the deeper reaches of Uzushio Village.

Meanwhile, her original body remained standing steadily on the tree, maintaining her vigilant posture.

There was nothing unusual about her appearance, as if nothing had just happened.

This girl...

She actually has a plan of her own.

Yusuke thought to himself.

Her silence while facing the ruins during the day was perhaps not just due to the horrors of war.

This genius of the Hyuga Branch Family hid things in her heart far more complex than her cold exterior suggested.

Was this unauthorized action for some ulterior mission of the Hyuga Branch Family?

Or was it related to the "Caged Bird" curse seal she so desperately longed to escape?

Yusuke did not alert her; he slowly adjusted his breathing, suppressing his presence until it was nearly non-existent.

At the same time, his fingers moved within his sleeve, producing a specific tapping sound that carried on the wind and reached Hyuga Aya's ears.

Her expression grew dazed; she had clearly been ensnared by the genjutsu "Cicada Time Gap" that Yusuke had activated.

This genjutsu used auditory stimuli to create a momentary illusion of a time lapse in the target's perception.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Yusuke swiftly created a shadow clone.

He then threw a kunai marked with the "Flying Thunder God" formula in the direction Hyuga Aya's shadow clone had taken.

As the kunai vanished, Yusuke's shadow clone disappeared as well.

He had to uncover Hyuga Aya's objective.

In enemy territory fraught with danger, any uncontrolled variable could lead to total disaster.

Moreover, given their preliminary agreement regarding the "Caged Bird," he needed to assess the risks and determine whether Hyuga Aya was worthy of further trust.