Confrontation, Deadlock
The Kumogakure ninjas who were desperately fleeing ahead were in a different situation.
The ninja from Kumogakure committed this act was named Morui, an elite Jonin in the Kumogakure Anbu.
On the surface, he was a member of the Kumogakure, responsible for protecting the other members of the delegation, essentially a combat bodyguard.
In fact, he had another secret mission when he came to Konoha with the Kumogakure delegation.
This secret mission was none other than a request secretly made to him by the Fourth Raikage A, to steal Konoha's Byakugan if given the chance, and to do so by any means necessary.
Unfortunately, in a sense, Konoha is truly blessed, possessing two bloodline limits, the Byakugan and the Sharingan, both of which can be considered strategic bloodline limits.
Needless to say, the Uchiha Clan Sharingan renowned, and every Uchiha who awakens the Sharingan is a formidable fighter.
The Byakugan is just as good, and in fact, when it comes to reconnaissance in the context of strategic battles, it plays an even more important role than the Sharingan. If used well, it can even turn the tide of a battle.
How could other ninja villages not covet such a bloodline limit?
There was a Byakugan had been lost in Kirigakure. It was installed on Kirigakure ninja and thus played a great role.
If the Kumogakure could obtain a pair of Byakugan this time and install them on their own ninjas, they would definitely be even more effective!
It was precisely because of his covetousness for the Byakugan and his yearning for this bloodline limit that the Fourth Raikage A, wanted to take advantage of the opportunity presented by the Kumogakure delegation's negotiations to see if he could find a loophole.
If we can find this loophole, we'll make a profit! Even if the negotiations suffer as a result, it's not a bad thing.
The Fourth Raikage A, had even mentioned this matter to Dodai tacitly acknowledged it. He knew about it and that Morui was part of his delegation.
Of course, regardless of whether the matter of stealing the Byakugan comes to light, Dodai will pretend to be completely naive and act as if he knows nothing about it.
Getting back to the main point, Morui, an Anbu Ninja from Kumogakure, was tasked with stealing the Byakugan —a deadly mission.
For some time now, he seemed to be with the Kumogakure delegation, diligently carrying out his mission. In reality, he had been secretly observing Konoha, especially the Konoha Hyūga Clan.
As the reconnaissance went on for a while, Morui actually discovered a place where it was relatively easy to take action and succeed.
This place belongs to none other than Hyūga Clan Hyuga, the eldest daughter of the Hyūga Clan Main Family's main branch Hyuga Hiashi the Hinata Hyuga.
First of all, this little girl doesn't have Caged Bird Seal on her forehead; if you catch her, you'll immediately get Byakugan from her.
Secondly, this little girl is very weak, not only in strength but also in personality, so she could be easily controlled if kidnapped.
Finally, since she was a little girl, she was easier to carry after being captured, as she was lightweight and easier to escape with.
The only troublesome thing is the little girl's identity—the eldest daughter of the Hyuga Main Family. If he captures someone like her, the Hyūga Clan will definitely explode; they certainly won't let it go.
However, everything involves risk. The greater the risk, the greater the reward; the bigger the storm, the more expensive the fish; the more dangerous the situation, the greater the potential profit.
After careful consideration, Morui still decided to take Hinata Hyuga.
Sure enough, Morui chose to act tonight. His plan went very smoothly at first; he successfully infiltrated the Hyūga Clan, knocked Hinata Hyuga unconscious, and kidnapped the little girl.
However, the Hyūga Clan is no small force; anyone with their Byakugan and X-ray vision could see Morui and detect anything amiss.
The first person to realize something was wrong and that danger was Hinata Hyuga's father Hyuga Hiashi.
Good heavens! Those bastards from Kumogakure actually dared to kidnap my daughter, just to get her Byakugan? This is unacceptable! Absolutely not!
The usually aloof Hyuga clan Hyuga clan still has a temper. Without saying a word, without even notifying the clan, and without making a big fuss, he easily chased after them.
Morui, realizing he'd been exposed, grabbed Hinata Hyuga, running incredibly fast.
And so, one ran for his life with a hostage in hand, while the other chased after him with fury. The two fled from the Hyūga Clan's territory all the way to the border of Konoha.
If we run any further, we'll be outside Konoha's barrier.
During the run, it's unclear whether it was Morui or Hyuga Hiashi who accidentally stepped on the Flying Thunder God Formula seal left by Yun Yan. He sensed it and noticed something was wrong, which is why he used his Mangekyō Sharingan's Endless Vista to see everything from afar.
Sitting in his own home, watching all of this, Yun Yan couldn't help but feel angry.
Although the Hyūga Clan and Uchiha Clan clans have always been at odds, and the Byakugan and Sharingan users don't get along, they are both from Konoha Village after all.
Moreover, Kumogakure gone too far this time! Under the guise of negotiation, you joined the delegation, claiming to be protecting them, but your real intention was to seize the Byakugan and harm a cute little girl.
This is outrageous! Is this some kind of double-dealing scheme? How shameless! How outrageous!
Regardless, the child is innocent. What did Hinata Hyuga do wrong? Why should she be kidnapped and have her eyes gouged out?
Following this line of thought, Yun Yan grew angrier and more resentful.
If he hadn't discovered this, it wouldn't have mattered. But since he did discover it and happened to be there, he wasn't going to stand idly by.
More importantly, Hinata Hyuga is one of the few characters Yun Yan quite likes in the original story. She is gentle on the outside but strong on the inside, with a resilient personality, and is especially gentle, usually speaking softly.
Although Naruto ended up getting the girl, she deserves to be protected and cared for, and shouldn't have to suffer such cruelty!
Thinking of this, Yun Yan rolled up the Flying Thunder God scroll in his hand and put it away.
Having stayed home for a while, he decided to stir things up and stop the Kumogakure ninjas from being so rampant.
After placing the Flying Thunder God scroll, Yun Yan frowned, activated the Flying Thunder God Technique, and vanished instantly.
Meanwhile, in the outer area of Konoha, near the Konoha barrier, Hyuga Hiashi and Morui continued their chase.
Hyuga Hiashi was chasing quite hard from behind, while Morui was running quite poorly ahead.
Because Morui knew that the situation was truly unfavorable for him.
The Hyūga Clan leader behind him was no less powerful than him, but the latter also possessed the Byakugan, making it impossible for him to escape the leader's sight, and thus he would be relentlessly pursued.
Ahead lay the edge of the barrier that enveloped Konoha.
If they sneak out carefully, the Konoha Barrier Team ninjas shouldn't be able to detect them when they pass through the Konoha barrier.
The problem now is that he is on the run, carrying a little Hyuga clan girl under his arm, and being chased by the head of the Hyūga Clan.
Under these circumstances, it would be impossible for him to carefully escape the barrier; he would definitely be discovered by Konoha's Barrier Team.
Once the Barrier Team discovers the situation and reports it to the higher-ups in Konoha will definitely dispatch relevant ninjas to investigate.
When the Konoha ninjas and the Hyūga Clan leader meet up, they will pursue him together, and he will have no chance of escaping!
In Morui's view, being killed or even captured was not particularly important. The important thing was that he had gone through so much trouble to kidnap this little girl from the Hyūga Clan and to obtain a pair of Byakugan. He absolutely could not let all his efforts go to waste.
I absolutely must escape Konoha, I absolutely must shake off the Hyūga Clan leader, I absolutely must send those Byakugan back to Kumogakure, I absolutely must complete this mission!
Therefore, Morui was very anxious at this moment, and he was eager to find a solution.
Perhaps out of desperation, Morui came up with a desperate, albeit imperfect, solution.
He stopped abruptly, the unconscious Hinata Hyuga tucked under his arm, his face contorted with rage and a menacing glare at Hyuga Hiashi chasing after him.
Just as Hyuga Hiashi was about to catch up, Morui grabbed Hinata Hyuga placed his hand on her throat, looking like he was ready to kill her at any moment.
Upon seeing Morui's action and intention, Hyuga Hiashi stopped abruptly. He was inevitably somewhat panicked and felt terrible, realizing that things were starting to get out of control.
For a moment, Morui held a hostage and could kill Hinata Hyuga at any moment, while Hyuga Hiashi stood still, looking at his daughter with worry, not daring to make a move.
What started as a chase has turned into a standoff.
Neither side dared to make any moves that could be misunderstood, and the situation reached a stalemate.