The Battle Against Team Kakashi

After briefly shaking off Kakashi and the others, Hyuuga Nen reached a small town and rented a room at an inn to treat his injuries.

When members of the Hyuga Clan overtrained in Gentle Fist, they could damage their own chakra pathways. To deal with this, the clan had specially developed a secret medicinal remedy.

Hyuuga Nen's father had given him the recipe for the remedy, but its ingredients were extremely rare, and Nen had only managed to gather enough for one dose.

"I've got, at most, a few hours. I need to hurry." As Hyuuga Nen poured the ingredients into hot water, he thought to himself. Once everything was ready, he immersed himself in the tub.

Two hours later, Hyuuga Nen had absorbed the medicine's effects. The chakra pathways in his hands felt much better. He got dressed, went to the window, and surveyed the area.

"They're here already."

Hyuuga Nen could now see Kakashi and the others approaching the inn from not far away, heading in his direction.

Kakashi and the others spotted Hyuuga Nen, too, and immediately hurried toward him.

Hyuuga Nen vaulted out the window and ran straight into the distance.

Kakashi and the others soon reached the room where Hyuuga Nen had been. They quickly searched it and found the tub he had left behind.

Uchiha Itachi went over to the tub, sniffed it, then said to Kakashi, "Captain, the tub is full of very rare medicinal ingredients. He must be seriously injured. I think we should capture him now, before he recovers."

After hearing Uchiha Itachi's suggestion, Kakashi thought it over for a moment, then agreed.

"Since he's injured, we can try to capture him right away. Besides, Lord Hokage has sent Shisui Uchiha to reinforce us. He'll be here soon."

After leaving a marker behind, Kakashi and the others set off in pursuit of Hyuuga Nen. Once they were gone, a figure slowly rose from underground. It was one of Hyuuga Nen's clones.

Hyuuga Nen had left the clone behind when he departed. He hadn't been sure whether Kakashi and the others would notice it, since he didn't know if they could use Sensory Ninjutsu.

He had only been trying it out. Even if it failed, he wouldn't lose anything. But it seemed they hadn't noticed the clone underground.

Ignoring the startled people on the street, the clone leaped through the window into the room. After looking around carefully, it found a hidden marker.

Although Hyuuga Nen had been underground, his Byakugan had allowed him to see Kakashi and the others' every move clearly.

He tried to make out what they were saying by reading their lips, but the angle and distorted colors made most of their words impossible to decipher. He only noticed that they mentioned the same person several times.

"Shisui."

"Shisui Uchiha is coming. This is trouble." As he spoke, Hyuuga Nen copied the marker and left a nearly identical one beside it.

It was probably a marker used only by the Anbu, one that required a specific method to interpret. Hyuuga Nen couldn't tell what it meant, so all he could do was imitate it.

He didn't know what the marker he had left meant, either. He was only trying to see if he could mislead whoever came to reinforce them. Once he was done, Hyuuga Nen dispelled his clone.

"Konoha actually sent Shisui Uchiha!"

Meanwhile, the fleeing Hyuuga Nen received the information from his clone as it vanished. "I have to shake off Kakashi and the others completely before Shisui Uchiha gets here. Otherwise, I won't be able to leave."

"I have to defeat them here." Through his clone's reconnaissance, Hyuuga Nen had discovered that the Sealing Technique he had placed on Uchiha Itachi had not been undone. "This is a chance for me."

With that thought, Hyuuga Nen stopped running. He jumped onto a tree, turned around, and watched Kakashi and the others approach from afar with his Byakugan.

"What, not running anymore? Who are you, exactly? Why do you have the Byakugan?" When he reached Hyuuga Nen, Kakashi asked him in a grave tone.

"I'm from the Hyuga Clan. Isn't it perfectly normal for me to have the Byakugan?" Hyuuga Nen looked at Kakashi and the others and answered as if it were obvious.

"But I've never seen you in Konoha. You're not from Konoha."

"Does having the Byakugan make me a citizen of Konoha? If so, aren't you people from Konoha being a little too domineering? Just because I have the Byakugan, does that mean I belong to you?" Hyuuga Nen fired off three questions in a row.

"Uh..."

Hearing Hyuuga Nen's words, Kakashi was briefly at a loss for words. "If you won't tell us the truth, we'll have to capture you. Move!" After ordering his teammates, Kakashi charged at Hyuuga Nen.

Kakashi's movements and tone were decisive, but inwardly, he was bitter. If he could, he really didn't want to get involved in this mess. Over the years, he had seen far too many dark things, and his heart had long since grown numb.

If Kakashi and the others hadn't happened to run into Hyuuga Nen, he would have kept well away from this sort of thing.

But the Byakugan was a strategic asset of the village. Now that Kakashi and the others had discovered it, they had to investigate the matter thoroughly or face punishment. Kakashi didn't care about that for himself, but he had to consider his teammates, so he had no choice.

The booms of Explosive Tags and the thunder of Ninjutsu echoed through the forest.

Dodging an attack, Hyuuga Nen leaped onto a tree and said to Kakashi and the others, "Is that all you've got? If so, you won't be able to stop me."

After testing them just now, Hyuuga Nen had realized that with their current strength, it would be difficult for them to keep him there.

Under Hyuuga Nen's Byakugan, their tactics and methods were all laid bare, making it difficult for them to be effective.

Uchiha Itachi had already been hit with Hyuuga Nen's Sealing Technique and couldn't use any crow-related Ninjutsu. Hyuuga Nen also wasn't afraid of his Genjutsu. Could Itachi really beat him with Taijutsu or Ninjutsu?

The reason Hyuuga Nen wasn't afraid of Genjutsu was a result of the Cell Activation Forbidden Technique. He had placed a Sealing Technique inside his body. Normally, it ran automatically at a very low cost. If Hyuuga Nen was hit with Genjutsu, it would activate on its own and disrupt the illusion.

"If that's all you've got, I suggest you run for your lives," Hyuuga Nen said to Kakashi and the others coolly.

After saying this, Hyuuga Nen pulled a pale-white orb from his ninja tool pouch. The character for "light" was written on it.

"Take this—Flash Bomb!"

Before he had even finished speaking, Hyuuga Nen hurled the Flash Bomb at Kakashi and the others.