The night weighed heavily.
Dusk was falling.
"Konoha's snack street is one of the best in the entire Shinobi World. You could eat here every day and never get tired of it."
When he reached the snack street, Hyuga Kagami casually bought a few treats he hadn't tried before.
He was completely satisfied!
"The tempura could be better. It's no different from the fried shrimp back in Dahua, except it looks nicer and tastes a little fresher. But the dango are great!"
There was certainly plenty of delicious food on the snack street.
But compared to the cuisine of Dahua, it was worlds apart. There was no comparison!
Just then, a low, smug, arrogant voice reached his ears.
"Hahaha! I never thought the Third, once known as the Shinobi Hero, would become such a pathetic wreck!"
A faint voice came from inside a private room.
They were clearly speaking in hushed tones. Anyone else would never have heard them.
But Hyuga Kagami had the Fish-Fish Fruit!
His hearing was exceptional!
His eyes narrowed as he activated his White Eyes!
Through the wooden door, he saw what was happening inside the room!
"Are those... shinobi from Kumogakure?"
Inside the private room.
Three Kumogakure shinobi laughed heartily, their faces full of smugness and arrogance.
"Back during the Third Shinobi World War, our Kumogakure didn't get the better of Konoha. The Third was even hailed as the Shinobi Hero back then, and he never backed down!"
Aoba Raimei, their squad leader, sneered. "But so what?"
"Now... didn't he still meekly apologize to us and hand over the corpse of the Hyuga Branch Family clan head?"
His two teammates eagerly agreed.
"Exactly! Kumogakure is the strongest hidden village!"
"It's a shame we only got the corpse of the Hyuga Branch Family clan head. It would've been even better if we'd kidnapped a child from the Hyuga Main Family. Then our village could have a pair of Byakugan, too!"
The three of them spoke excitedly.
Making Konoha, the foremost shinobi village, apologize to Kumogakure was thrilling!
Outside the room.
Hyuga Kagami shook his head. "Sarutobi Hiruzen is really spineless now."
"He's still cowering in front of Kumogakure, and in the end, he even handed over Hizashi Hyuga's corpse as an apology. What a disgrace!"
Even with Jiraiya and Tsunade away from the village,
Konoha still had a huge number of shinobi, as well as elite jonin like Hatake Kakashi and Might Guy of the Eight Inner Gates.
Besides, this was obviously a case of framing Konoha and rubbing its nose in it!
Yet Sarutobi Hiruzen could actually stomach it. What a disgrace!
"But this incident is an opportunity for me. If you can't become an unparalleled Hokage, then I will. If you can't unite the Shinobi World, then I will. If you can't punch the moon to pieces, then I will!"
Hyuga Kagami's lips curled into a radiant smile.
As the great man said, the secret to victory wasn't how many steps you took or how clever your strategy was. It was that your enemy made a mistake, and you seized the opportunity!
Sarutobi Hiruzen had made a mistake!
"Wood Release: Seed Technique!"
He casually waved his hand. Tiny seeds drifted through the air, slipped into the private room, and landed on the three shinobi.
This was a technique derived from Wood Release.
As long as the seeds infused with his chakra remained on them, the three men couldn't escape his tracking!
Hyuga Kagami turned and quickly left!
His destination was the Uchiha Clan!
The Uchiha Clan.
Uchiha Itachi threw the kunai in his hand!
Every one of them hit its mark!
Even for a jonin, throwing ten kunai at once and hitting every target was no easy feat. Uchiha Itachi had an exceptional talent for throwing kunai!
"Kagami-kun is incredibly strong, but now I have the Two-Tomoe Sharingan, too!"
Uchiha Itachi looked confident.
"I believe these eyes are enough for me to defeat Kagami-kun now!"
What Kagami-kun had shown was powerful Taijutsu and strength.
The shinobi he had fought were also Taijutsu users, so Kagami-kun's strength had been displayed to its full advantage.
But I'm a tactical, technique-oriented shinobi!
With the right combination of ninjutsu and the Two-Tomoe Sharingan, I can definitely defeat Kagami-kun!
"Hm?"
Just then, Uchiha Itachi had barely reached the gate when he froze.
Whoosh!
A rush of air sounded!
A panicked figure darted past him, swift as the wind. The person was in such a hurry, as if something urgent had to be done.
"Kagami-kun?"
Uchiha Itachi was stunned. "What could have made Kagami-kun this anxious?"
Even when fighting those two shinobi, Hyuga Kagami had remained calm and composed, completely unruffled. He'd even seemed entirely at ease. But now, Hyuga Kagami looked as though he had something terribly urgent to do!
Curiosity welled up in him.
"If it's important enough to make Kagami-kun this anxious, maybe... I can help?"
After concealing himself, he hurried after him.
But Uchiha Itachi didn't notice that once he had followed, Hyuga Kagami smiled faintly.
There wasn't a trace of urgency in him.
He was perfectly calm and composed!
Everything was going according to plan!
He glanced at Uchiha Itachi, trailing behind with a curious look, and murmured, "For a genius, only a 'truth' they discover for themselves is truly convincing!"
Hyuga Kagami knew that if he told Uchiha Itachi the 'truth' outright,
Uchiha Itachi wouldn't believe him. He would only grow suspicious of him.
You had to use a few tricks when dealing with geniuses!
Through his sensory perception, he could tell that the three Kumogakure shinobi were hurrying through the Death Forest. They were heading back to Kumogakure to report their good news!
"What exactly is Kagami-kun going to do?"
Uchiha Itachi was full of curiosity.
Why had they come to the Death Forest?
Could it be training?
No. If he were training, Kagami-kun wouldn't be in such a hurry. Whatever had him this anxious had to be something he cared about deeply!
Before long,
three Kumogakure shinobi appeared in his line of sight, hurrying along, with Hyuga Kagami right behind them like a night cat.
He made not the slightest sound.
The three men's arrogant conversation carried over to them.
"Even though we didn't manage to take the Byakugan this time, we still got a lot out of it. The Raikage will reward us when we get back to the village!"
"Exactly. We're heroes of Kumogakure!"
"Hahaha! Kumogakure will definitely be the greatest shinobi village in the world someday!"
They were on the move,
but they seemed more like they were leisurely sightseeing. They weren't in a hurry at all.
"What... are they talking about?"
Uchiha Itachi's expression changed!
He instinctively felt as though he'd stumbled onto a secret!
And not just any secret... a world-shaking one!
In his line of sight, Hyuga Kagami heard the three men and his eyes reddened. Furious flames blazed in their depths!
Whoosh!
A rush of air sounded!
Hyuga Kagami shot forward like a human tyrannosaurus!
"Who is it?!"
Aoba Raimei's pupils contracted. He felt his life was in danger!
The other man was moving too fast—so fast that he couldn't react at all!
Boom!
Air currents surged!
The assailant punched the teammate beside him, sending him flying!
No one knew whether he was alive or dead!
Before you continue