Shisui's Instantaneous Movement

Hyuuga Nen blended into the merchant caravan, observing his surroundings as he walked. Suddenly, he sensed something amiss; he realized a large group of people was pursuing them from behind.

Leading the crowd was Kakashi, followed by a contingent of Konoha ninja.

Behind the Konoha ninja were the shinobi of the Land of Wind and the Land of Earth, respectively. The ninja from these two nations followed Kakashi and his team, maintaining a loose, encircling formation.

Hyuuga Nen sighed inwardly, not surprised that they had caught up. After all, Konoha's current team had the assistance of the Hyuga Clan, and with other sensory ninja in the mix, it was hardly difficult for them to be discovered.

If not for the Konoha ninja, Hyuuga Nen would have been confident in shaking off the pursuit of the other two great nations. But the Konoha ninja had arrived far too quickly.

Seeing that the ninja from all three great nations had caught up, Hyuuga Nen did not act rashly, choosing instead to wait for an opportunity.

Hyuuga Nen knew that although the ninja of the three nations were currently exercising restraint, they would inevitably clash in the end. He could even fan the flames to make their conflict more intense.

"Stop and submit to an inspection." Kakashi intercepted the caravan, his eyes scanning the merchants coldly as he spoke in a strictly professional tone.

"My lords, haven't you already inspected us? Why must you do it again? We are just ordinary merchants; we haven't done anything wrong. Please, let us go!"

The leader of the caravan looked at Kakashi and the others with pleading eyes.

"Here! He—there is something strange about his face. This isn't his original appearance." A young member of the Hyuga Clan pointed at Hyuuga Nen and spoke.

Having integrated the Seal of Resilience, Hyuuga Nen's Transformation Technique was highly stable. Even members of the Hyuga Clan could not discern his original features, only sensing that the chakra on his face was abnormal.

"Move! Capture him first," Kakashi commanded loudly.

"Stop them, quickly!" the ninja from the Land of Wind and the Land of Earth shouted. Before they could even finish, they rushed forward to intercept the Konoha ninja.

Because the combined forces of Iwagakure and Sunagakure outnumbered the Konoha ninja, most of the Konoha shinobi were held back.

Shisui Uchiha broke through the interception and confronted Hyuuga Nen.

However, the Root ninja from Konoha remained unmoved by the situation, watching silently. They neither moved to deal with Hyuuga Nen nor assisted the Konoha ninja.

In the distance, several members of the Hyuga Clan wanted to step forward to help, but they were barked at to stop.

"Without our instructions, you are not to act on your own. Have you forgotten Danzo's orders? You must obey our command!"

Hearing the words of the Root ninja, the few Hyuga clansmen stopped dead in their tracks. They clenched their fists and lowered their heads, saying with deep resentment:

"Understood."

The Root ninja had not only received orders to retrieve the Byakugan but, if possible, to ensure that Shisui Uchiha and Itachi Uchiha "sacrificed themselves heroically." Thus, the Root ninja would not assist Shisui and his team.

Seeing the chaotic melee on the field, Hyuuga Nen simply dispelled his sealing technique, revealing his true face. He prepared to provoke the ninja on the field further, hoping to make them fight even harder and complicate the battlefield situation.

Looking at the Hyuuga Nen before him, Shisui Uchiha's tone shifted. "Who exactly are you?" Shisui asked while launching an attack at him.

Dodging the kunai and shuriken Shisui used to probe him, Hyuuga Nen retreated while contemplating how to handle this crisis.

Hearing Shisui's question, Hyuuga Nen thought for a moment and decided to tell the truth.

"My name is Hyuuga Nen."

Hyuuga Nen stated his real name. At this point, he knew there was no longer any point in hiding his identity.

Hyuuga Nen did not believe that others could use his name alone to cast some sort of curse-based ninjutsu. At the very least, he had never heard of such a thing.

"Hyuuga Nen."

"You know that is not what I meant," Shisui Uchiha continued.

"My ancestors were indeed members of the Hyuga Clan, but that was a long time ago. Long before Konoha was founded, they drifted to other lands. So, I am not a person of your Konoha. Is that clear enough?"

Hyuuga Nen looked at Shisui Uchiha while telling the lie.

He said this to confuse Konoha and the Hyuga Clan; after all, he had been forced to use his sealing technique in front of Konoha's people earlier.

Following this lead, Konoha and the Hyuga Clan might suspect his father, Hyuga Shun—no, there was a high probability they would suspect Hyuga Shun, as his study of sealing techniques was no secret.

Hyuuga Nen's story had loopholes; if the Hyuga Clan kept records of every clansman who had drifted away, they would discover he was lying!

Even though he might be exposed, Hyuuga Nen said it anyway. His primary reason was not for himself, but in the hope that his story would temporarily mislead the Hyuga clansmen, preventing them from investigating Hyuga Shun too quickly.

Hyuuga Nen knew his actions involved a gamble, but he couldn't think of a better story in the short term.

Hyuuga Nen felt that his father's situation would soon become dire. His lie might buy him a little more time to struggle, but it wouldn't make his situation any worse.

"How do I know if you are telling the truth?" Shisui Uchiha challenged him.

"Believe it or not, that's up to you." Hearing Shisui's words, Hyuuga Nen deliberately put on an angry expression and charged toward him.

"I spared Kakashi and the others earlier. If you continue to push me, don't blame me for not holding back." As he exchanged blows with Shisui, Hyuuga Nen spoke.

"Perhaps you are lying, or perhaps you are telling the truth, but I still hope you will cooperate and come to Konoha with us. If what you say is true, I believe Konoha will not make things difficult for you."

"Hahahaha! Shisui Uchiha, don't you find what you're saying ridiculous? Is the 'Body Flicker' Shisui of Konoha really such a naive person, or were you lying just now? Is the real you actually a hypocrite?"

Following up on Shisui's words, Hyuuga Nen launched a counter-attack. If he had to grade his own performance just now, he would give himself a nine out of ten.

In that brief moment, Hyuuga Nen even felt as if he truly were a descendant of a long-lost branch of the Hyuga Clan.

"Since we cannot reach an agreement, I have no choice but to use force to bring you back to Konoha. If it is proven that you are telling the truth, I will apologize to you."

As he spoke, Shisui Uchiha began to weave hand seals. Soon, nearly ten shadow clones appeared around him, and they all launched an attack on Hyuuga Nen simultaneously.