Night fell over the Leaf Village like silk soaked in ink.
In the forest outside the Hyuga Clan Grounds, two figures silently appeared in the shadow of an ancient cedar. Xiao released the hand resting on Clone Shisui's shoulder as the azure glow of the Tenseigan Prototype slowly faded from his eyes.
"The consumption of a spatial jump was greater than expected," Xiao said softly. There was no exhaustion in his voice, only an almost mechanical calm.
Clone Shisui—whom Xiao now called "Number Seven"—staggered before steadying himself. The Sharingan in the pale youth's face glimmered faintly red in the darkness. He pressed a hand to his temple, his voice trembling slightly. "For that instant... I think I saw countless layers of spatial structures, like shattered mirrors."
"That was the Tenseigan's spatial perception." Xiao offered no further explanation.
He crouched and pressed his palm to the ground. His Byakugan activated, his vision piercing through soil, stone, and roots, extending all the way beneath the walls of the Hyuga Clan Grounds. Every chakra flow within three hundred meters was laid bare before his eyes.
The clan grounds were guarded more tightly than expected.
A Branch House ninja stood watch every twenty meters along the inside of the walls, all their Byakugan active, their overlapping sight covering every inch of space. At least six mobile patrols were hidden in the shadows, three people to a group, moving along fixed routes. Deeper within, more than a dozen chakra signatures were scattered around the Main House residence—those auras carried a twisted, viscous quality. They were Watcher Seeds.
"Infiltrating head-on is impossible," Number Seven said in a low voice. "The Byakugan has no blind spots."
Xiao did not answer.
His gaze continued downward, penetrating deeper underground. The Hyuga Clan Grounds had been built in one of