Something's Up Here

The night was heavy.

The sky darkened suddenly.

"Konoha's snack street is second to none in the entire ninja world; you never get tired of eating here."

Arriving at the snack street, Hyuga Kagami casually bought a few snacks he hadn't tried before.

Satisfied!

"The tempura is a bit lacking; it's no different from the fried shrimp in the Great Hua Kingdom, just prettier in presentation and a bit fresher, which makes it tastier. But the three-colored dango are quite good!"

There was indeed a lot of delicious food on the snack street.

But compared to the delicacies of the Great Hua Kingdom, it was a world of difference; there was simply no comparison!

Just then, a low, smug, and arrogant voice drifted into his ears.

"Hahaha, who would have thought that the Third Hokage, once hailed as the Hero of the Shinobi, would be reduced to such a decadent state!"

Faint sounds drifted from a private room.

They were clearly keeping their voices low; anyone else would have been unable to hear the conversation.

But Hyuga Kagami possessed the Fish-Fish Fruit!

His hearing was exceptional!

He narrowed his eyes and activated his Byakugan!

Through the wooden door, he saw the scene inside the room!

"These are... ninjas from the Cloud Village?"

Inside the room.

Three Cloud Village ninjas were laughing heartily, their faces full of triumph and arrogance.

"Back in the Third Shinobi World War, our Cloud Village couldn't get the better of Konoha. The Third Hokage was even called the Hero of the Shinobi back then, never backing down!"

As the team leader, Aoba Raimei sneered, "But so what?"

"Now... isn't he still obediently apologizing to us and handing over the corpse of the Hyuga Branch Family head?"

The two teammates chimed in, their faces flushed with excitement.

"That's right! Our Cloud Village is the most powerful ninja village!"

"It's just a pity that all we got in the end was the corpse of the Hyuga Branch Family head. If we could have snatched a child from the Hyuga Main Family, that would have been even better. Then our Cloud Village could have a Byakugan of our own!"

The three talked, their faces filled with excitement.

Making Konoha, the number one ninja village, apologize to the Cloud Village—this was simply too thrilling!

Outside the room.

Hyuga Kagami shook his head. "Sarutobi Hiruzen is really being a coward these days."

"Facing the Cloud Village, he's still acting so timid, and in the end, he even handed over Hyuga Hizashi's corpse as an apology. It's so damn shameful!"

Even if Jiraiya and Tsunade weren't in the village.

Konoha still had a massive number of ninjas, as well as elite jonin like Hatake Kakashi and Might Guy, who could use the Eight Inner Gates.

Furthermore, this was clearly a setup.

They were framing Konoha and taking a dump on your head!

Yet Sarutobi Hiruzen could actually swallow it. How disgraceful!

"However, this matter is an opportunity for me. If you can't be an unparalleled Hokage, then I will. If you can't unify the ninja world, then I will. If you can't smash the moon to pieces, then I will!"

Hyuga Kagami's lips curled upward into a brilliant smile.

A great man once said, the secret to our victory isn't how many steps we've taken or how clever our strategies are, but that the enemy makes mistakes and we seize the opportunity!

And now, Sarutobi Hiruzen had made a mistake!

"Wood Release: Seed Technique!"

With a casual wave of his hand, tiny seeds drifted through the air, floating into the private room and landing on the three men.

This was an extension of Wood Release.

With these seeds infused with his chakra, as long as they remained, the three of them would never escape his tracking!

Hyuga Kagami turned and left quickly!

His target: the Uchiha Clan!

The Uchiha Clan.

Uchiha Itachi threw a kunai from his hand!

It hit the target perfectly!

Even for a jonin, throwing ten kunai simultaneously and hitting the target wasn't easy, but Uchiha Itachi possessed an absolute talent for kunai throwing!

"Kagami-kun's strength is too great, but I now possess the Two-Tomoe Sharingan!"

Uchiha Itachi's expression was full of confidence.

"I believe that with these eyes, I am now strong enough to defeat Kagami-kun!"

What Kagami-kun displayed was powerful taijutsu and strength.

And the ninja he fought against were also taijutsu ninja, so Kagami-kun's strength could be better showcased.

But he himself was a tactical, skillful ninja!

Through the coordination of ninjutsu and the Two-Tomoe Sharingan, he would definitely be able to defeat Kagami-kun!

"Huh?"

Just then, as Uchiha Itachi reached the doorway, his expression froze.

Whoosh!

A sound of air breaking rang out!

An anxious figure zipped past him, swift as the wind. This figure was incredibly hurried, as if they had an urgent matter to attend to.

"Kagami-kun?"

Uchiha Itachi was stunned. "What could possibly make Kagami-kun so anxious?"

Even when fighting those two ninja, Hyuga Kagami had remained calm and composed, never showing any tension or anxiety. He had even seemed to be handling it with ease. But the current Hyuga Kagami seemed to have something incredibly urgent on his hands!

His heart immediately filled with curiosity.

"Whatever is making Kagami-kun so anxious must be very important. Perhaps... I can help?"

Concealing his presence, he quickly followed.

However, Uchiha Itachi failed to notice that after he followed, Hyuga Kagami let out a soft chuckle.

There wasn't the slightest trace of anxiety!

Only calm composure and unruffled confidence!

Everything was proceeding according to his plan!

He glanced back at the Uchiha Itachi behind him, his face full of curiosity, and muttered to himself, "For a genius, only the 'truth' they discover themselves is truly believable!"

Hyuga Kagami believed that if he were to tell Uchiha Itachi the 'truth' directly.

Uchiha Itachi would not only refuse to believe him, but would instead become suspicious of him.

When dealing with geniuses, one needed to employ more stratagems!

Within his senses, the three Cloud Village ninja were currently rushing through the Death Forest, intending to return to the Cloud Village to report their victory!

"What exactly is Kagami-kun going to do?"

Uchiha Itachi's face was full of curiosity.

Why had he come to the Death Forest?

Could it be for training?

No, if it were for training, Kagami-kun would never be this anxious. Whatever could make Kagami-kun so anxious must be something he cared about immensely!

Before long.

Within his sight, three rapidly moving Cloud Village ninja appeared, and Hyuga Kagami followed closely behind them, like a nocturnal predator.

He made not the slightest sound.

The arrogant discussions of the three drifted over.

"Although we failed to take the Byakugan this time, we still gained a lot. Upon returning to the village, we will surely be rewarded by Lord Raikage!"

"That's right, we are heroes of the Cloud Village!"

"Hahaha! In the future, the Cloud Village will surely be the number one ninja village in the ninja world!"

Even though they were rushing, they seemed more like they were leisurely touring, not in any hurry.

"What... are they talking about?"

Uchiha Itachi's expression changed!

He instinctively felt like he was eavesdropping on a secret!

And... a world-shattering secret at that!

Within his sight, Hyuga Kagami heard the words of the three, his eyes turning red, and a furious flame burning in their depths!

Whoosh!

A sound of air breaking rang out!

Hyuga Kagami shot out like a human-shaped Tyrannosaurus Rex!

"Who's there!"

Aoba Raimei's pupils contracted, feeling a sense of mortal danger!

The opponent was too fast, so fast he couldn't react at all!

Boom!

Air currents surged!

The enemy sent a teammate flying with a single punch!

His fate unknown!