The Training Forest on the outskirts of Konoha Village was as damp and secluded as ever.
Hyuga Xiao and Kurenai Yuhi moved like two smudges of ink soaked into the night, silently blending into the tangled shadows of the trees. They did not disturb a single sleeping bird or snap a single dead branch.
Kurenai Yuhi's heart pounded in her chest, every breath tinged with tension. Returning to Konoha Village, a place both familiar and strange to her, left her with the dazed unease of someone nearing home after a long absence. But more than that, there was the thrill and anxiety of following the man before her into enemy territory.
In contrast, Hyuga Xiao was as calm as a block of eternal ice.
He did not even deliberately conceal his presence. He simply walked casually, yet everything in the forest—the wind, the leaves, even the insects lurking in the dark—seemed to instinctively make way for him.
His senses had long since spread outward.
The familiar air carried the scent of tonkotsu broth drifting from the village ramen shops, the damp steam from cooling iron at the blacksmiths', and... a faint trace of the incense unique to the Hyuga Clan.
Everything was exactly as he remembered.
Precisely because of that, the incredibly faint yet sharp energy pulse coming from deep within the Hyuga Clan Grounds felt so out of place.
"Keep up. Find somewhere high."
Hyuga Xiao's voice was soft, echoing directly in Kurenai Yuhi's mind.
With several swift movements, the two avoided the ANBU patrol routes and, like a pair of night owls, landed silently atop the tallest pavilion at the edge of the village. From there, they could overlook the entire layout of the Hyuga Clan Grounds.
Under the night sky, the Hyuga Estate resembled a gigantic beast