The Iwagakure Anbu ahead of him cautiously surveyed his surroundings. His wealth of experience and keen senses allowed him to pick up on anything unusual. Yet he failed to notice Heizo Hattori slowly approaching, because every move Heizo made kept him within a blind spot the Iwagakure Anbu could not perceive.
Without the Hyuga Clan's Byakugan, which covered a full three hundred and sixty degrees, or another secret technique with a similar effect, ordinary senses inevitably left certain areas beyond their reach. A person had to move their body to change the area their senses could cover.
Heizo, however, seemed able to sense the limits of the Iwagakure Anbu's awareness and evade his attention every time. Although attention was not something that could be seen, Heizo had advantages of his own that allowed him to accomplish this.
The Hattori family was a ninja clan that had maintained its traditional style of assassination even into the late Warring States period. Its mastery of assassination was unquestionably among the finest in the shinobi world. The Hattori family had its own methods for slipping past a target's attention, and Heizo used them to evade the enemy's notice perfectly.
By now, Heizo had reached the Iwagakure Anbu's back. He stood silently, as though he had merged into the man's shadow, while the Anbu continued observing his surroundings, utterly unaware.
By the time his instincts alerted him that something was wrong, Heizo had already attacked. His hand appeared from a treacherous angle, thrusting toward the Iwagakure Anbu's vital point.
The Iwagakure Anbu had no idea when his opponent had approached, but he understood that at this distance, he had to risk death to survive. He violently twisted his body, willing to let the attack strike anywhere else as long as it missed his vital point.