What a Fine Show

Around the Uchiha New Clan Compound, several Anbu were prowling about.

They carried observation equipment, monitoring the Uchiha Clan's every move.

They reported to the Third Hokage every day.

Just then, a Sensory Ninja's expression tightened. A probing stream of Chakra had just swept over him.

He immediately made an emergency hand signal, and the other Anbu swiftly gathered.

"Move! We've been discovered!"

Before they could ask how they had been discovered, they hurriedly ran away.

"Trying to leave now? Too late."

Natsuki descended from the sky and sent one Anbu flying with a roundhouse kick.

"How? How is he so fast?"

The remaining few felt a chill run through their hearts. The Uchiha Clan's relationship with the village was already sensitive. If several Anbu like them were captured—

Things would become troublesome.

Uchiha Natsuki was now the Uchiha Clan's Vice Clan Head. Did they stand a chance?

The three looked at Natsuki and were instantly struck dumb, collapsing limply to the ground.

Natsuki shrugged. What a bunch of amateurs. They could not even defend against his lousy genjutsu.

If it had been Shisui, they probably would have been sprawled all over the ground before even seeing him.

In truth, Natsuki had misunderstood. The Anbu who had monitored them before had never clashed with the Uchiha Clan.

At most, the Uchiha Clan had driven them away before.

They had never expected Natsuki to suddenly attack them.

Although Natsuki's genjutsu was poor, the ocular power of his Mangekyō Sharingan was simply too strong.

In an instant, the few of them lost consciousness.

At that moment, accompanied by the sound of footsteps, the Uchiha patrol team quickly arrived.

"Lock these people up first. We'll deal with them tomorrow."

"Yes!"

The Uchiha patrol team was meant to prevent petty criminals from secretly infiltrating the clan compound.

But these Anbu had been secretly watching from afar. They never entered the compound, making them difficult to detect and impossible to guard against.

Now that his clan would have a barrier as well, he would first give the Third Hokage a warning.

"Lord Hokage, four Anbu assigned to monitor the Uchiha Clan Compound have gone missing."

The Third Hokage, who heard this news early in the morning, felt utterly miserable.

At first, the Third Hokage had cautiously placed some Anbu there, and the Uchiha Clan had shown no reaction.

Later, he had grown bolder and stationed quite a few Anbu around the Uchiha Clan, monitoring their every move.

He had not expected the Uchiha Clan to suddenly make a move, deliberately choosing the time of the peace talks with Cloud Village.

What did the Uchiha Clan want?

Today, however, was the birthday banquet of the Hyuga Clan's Young Lady, Hinata.

The Hyuga Clan was grateful for the authority the Uchiha Clan had relinquished, so they had specially invited Fugaku and Natsuki as guests.

They had thought the Uchiha Clan, estranged from the village, would not come.

Yet both Fugaku and Natsuki had come.

Because of the matter of relinquishing authority, Hizashi and Fugaku had become quite close. Thus, after the banquet, Fugaku stayed behind to chat with Hizashi.

Natsuki, meanwhile, used the excuse that he was feeling stifled and went out for a walk.

In a flash, he headed toward the Hyuga Clan's rear courtyard.

Hinata's room was there.

Standing atop a high place, Natsuki watched a furtive figure enter Hinata's room.

Not long afterward, the figure slipped out carrying the unconscious Hinata.

Of course, he had snuck in furtively, but when he came out, he did so openly.

He was immediately discovered, and the one who found him was the furious Hiashi.

Hinata was the Young Lady of the Main Family. To dare openly kidnap someone from the Hyuga Clan was simply to show no regard for them.

With his Byakugan activated, Hiashi quickly locked onto the target and used several Body Flicker Techniques to arrive before the thief.

The man swiftly tossed Hinata aside, then flashed toward Hiashi.

Hiashi assumed the Gentle Fist stance and was about to attack.

A figure suddenly appeared beside him.

An enemy?

Even Hiashi's eyesight could not make out the newcomer's figure.

The other person had already driven a fist into the thief's throat.

The thief died on the spot without offering any resistance.

Only then did Hiashi clearly see that the newcomer was Uchiha Natsuki.

Natsuki looked over and saw that the man on the ground was Nagasaki Shinichi, the third-ranking figure in the Cloud Village Envoy.

"So it's Natsuki. I didn't expect you to be this skilled."

Hiashi was not merely being polite. His Byakugan had failed to catch Natsuki's movements just now.

"Lord Hiashi, this is not the time to relax."

Natsuki could already faintly hear a commotion outside.

So he quickly whispered something to Hiashi. Hiashi looked stunned, then furrowed his brow and nodded.

Natsuki quickly concealed himself.

Only Nagasaki Shinichi's corpse and Hiashi, holding Hinata, remained at the scene.

Then came a string of footsteps. The arrivals were several important figures from the Cloud Village Envoy.

Yugito and Killer B were among them, along with the Third Hokage, Utatane Koharu, and Mitokado Homura.

Hiashi's heart sank. Just as Natsuki had said.

When Yugito saw Nagasaki Shinichi lying on the ground, her face darkened, and she hurried over to inspect him.

She found that Nagasaki Shinichi had already stopped breathing.

Her face filled with anger.

"Hyuga Hiashi! Why? We heard it was the birthday of the Hyuga Main Family's Young Lady and came to offer our congratulations. Why did Shinichi die here?"

Hiashi's face was full of fury.

"What nonsense. This man broke into my daughter's room and intended to abduct her. I discovered him and killed him. What is wrong with that?"

Yugito refused to back down.

"Utter nonsense! Cloud Village came here in good faith. Nagasaki merely came ahead to deliver a gift, yet you killed him. Are you trying to start a war?"

Hiashi said nothing, silently watching Yugito deliver her indignant speech.

Hiashi's silence made Yugito think he was worried. So she turned to question the Third Hokage.

"Third Hokage, you have seen this entire matter. We knew of the Hyuga Clan's joyous occasion today, so we specifically came to offer congratulations."

"Yet Nagasaki Shinichi died here. Is this how you treat us of Cloud Village?"

The Third Hokage's face had been dark from the start. With one glance, he could tell this was a Cloud Village scheme.

While lost in thought, Yugito's words grew even harsher.

"Third Hokage, what exactly do you mean? If you are dissatisfied with Cloud Village, you could have said so openly. Did you order Shinichi's death?"

She directly smeared the Third Hokage's name.

Hiashi's gaze was deep and still as water, his eyes fixed tightly on the Third Hokage.

The Third Hokage was caught between a rock and a hard place.

Yugito pressed again.

"For the sake of peace, if Lord Third Hokage wishes to resolve this matter, then the killer must pay with his life!"

"If you think Kumogakure is easy to bully, then Cloud Village will not hesitate to fight!" Her words rang with force, filled with resolve.

Meanwhile, Chakra surged wildly from Killer B's body, and a layer of Tailed Beast Chakra Cloak soon formed around him.

The Third Hokage sighed and looked at Hiashi with guilty eyes.

"Hiashi, this matter was caused by your Hyuga Clan. You will handle it."

Utatane Koharu, standing nearby, also chimed in.

"Yes, Hiashi. Cloud Village came with the desire for peace. You must resolve this matter fairly."

Hiashi's gaze toward the Third Hokage was now filled with disappointment.

Just as Natsuki had said. The Hokage faction no longer had any backbone.

At that moment, Fugaku and Hizashi came over from the neighboring courtyard.

The people of the Hyuga Clan nearby had already told them how things had unfolded.

Seeing his brother being pressured, Hizashi could not help stepping forward.

Suddenly, a series of claps rang out nearby.

Natsuki slowly emerged from the shadows.

He smiled at the tense standoff.

"What a fine show indeed."