On the fifth night after the Hidden Cloud delegation arrived in Konoha, the moon was completely obscured by heavy clouds.
Outside the low wall behind the Hyuga Clan compound, a dark figure moved soundlessly along the edge of the bamboo grove. He wore a dark bodysuit with no forehead protector, his face covered by a mask that revealed only a pair of cold, sharp eyes. His footsteps were incredibly light, every step landing on the weeds between the stone slabs without making the slightest sound. A short blade was strapped to his back, its hilt wrapped in dark anti-slip cloth strips whose ends fluttered softly in the night breeze.
A Hidden Cloud jonin, deputy captain of the delegation's guard detail. The delegation's official purpose in visiting Konoha was to sign a new alliance agreement, but his secret mission had nothing to do with that—the eldest daughter of the Hyuga main family, holder of the Byakugan Kekkei Genkai. The target was still very young. The weakest point in her daily security was before dawn. There would be enough time to scale the rear wall, enter the main family's residence, act, and withdraw. Hidden Cloud had assessed Konoha's higher-ups' attitude toward the alliance agreement. The Third Hokage was unlikely to tear up a newly signed diplomatic treaty over a kidnapping case without conclusive evidence. Even if the matter was pursued afterward, the Hyuga branch family could simply hand over a scapegoat and be done with it. Hidden Cloud had calculated this matter very carefully.
He vaulted over the low wall and landed without a sound. Behind the Hyuga compound lay a bamboo grove, and beyond it stood the detached residence where Hinata of the main family lived. At this hour, there would be no guards outside the courtyard—the branch family members were