The night was as dark as ink.
In the forest outside Konoha, two figures darted between the shadows of the trees like phantoms.
Hyuga Xiao's Tenseigan glimmered with a faint azure radiance in the darkness. The world in his vision had been broken down into lines and nodes of flowing chakra. He could clearly see the barrier network enveloping the entire village—the sensory shield Konoha took such pride in. Any unregistered chakra entering it would trigger an alarm.
"First barrier, three hundred meters away."
Xiao lowered his voice and pointed through the air. In the Tenseigan's vision, three overlapping chakra membranes emerged. The outermost was a standard sensory barrier, the middle layer had identity verification functions, and the innermost was linked to the ANBU surveillance room.
Samui crouched beside him, her silver hair gleaming coldly beneath the moonlight. She had removed her Hidden Cloud forehead protector and changed into a dark gray bodysuit. The Thunder Fang short blade on her back was wrapped in special cloth that blocked chakra fluctuations.
"A conventional breach would take three minutes," Samui said calmly. "But with your Tenseigan, it should be faster."
Xiao did not answer.
His left hand rested on the Curse Mark on his forehead—what had once been the Caged Bird Seal's brand was now covered by the power of Covenant Stone Fragments, forming a thin layer of pale gold. The Tenseigan's chakra flowed backward through his meridians, simulating the distinctive chakra frequency of the Main House.
It was a secret he had discovered while fleeing.
The essence of the Caged Bird Seal was the Main House's absolute control over the Branch House's chakra. But the Tenseigan's power far surpassed the Byakugan. When Xiao injected Covenant Stone energy into the Curse Mark, it instead became a channel for reverse infiltration—allowing him to