Kumogakure ninja?

"Byakugan Beam..."

A white laser shot from Hyuga Feng's right hand, instantly filling the surrounding space with scorching air.

Watching the laser sweep toward him, the black-clad ninja sprinted along the wall, seemingly trying to escape the attack's range.

"Damn it..."

The black-clad ninja cursed under his breath. What kind of ninjutsu was this? Fire Release? But Fire Release couldn't produce anything so tightly concentrated.

Watching the laser follow right behind him, he knew he couldn't stop.

He needed to buy himself a little time. His ninjutsu wasn't ready yet.

"Still struggling." Although his opponent had dodged his attack, Hyuga Feng wasn't ready to let him go. He kept firing, the laser closely tracking the man's movements.

"Huff-"

Seeing that his attack still couldn't hit its target, Hyuga Feng grew anxious. He could only channel more chakra to keep it going.

"Th-this..." Sano stood dumbfounded nearby. How could there be another ninja in the Laboratory?

Worse, he had no idea how long the intruder had been inside.

At that thought, a fine sheen of cold sweat broke out on his forehead.

"Hiss..."

The scorching laser behind the intruder brushed close to his back, making him feel waves of searing heat.

He knew he couldn't evade this attack.

But in the time he had bought himself, he had finished his ninjutsu.

At the back of his head, a black vortex slowly faded out of sight.

"Hyuga Clan, we of Kumogakure won't let you get away with this!" he shouted.

With that, he slowed his steps, allowing the laser behind him to catch up.

Kumogakure ninja?

Hyuga Feng frowned at the black-clad ninja's words.

His instincts told him this man couldn't be allowed to die, but it was already too late to stop the attack.

Squelch-

"Aaaaah-!"

A wrenching scream tore from the man's mouth.

"Huff..."

Only after sensing the man's heartbeat stop did Hyuga Feng collapse, exhausted from overusing his chakra.

"Clan head..."

Sano helped Hyuga Feng up and began transferring chakra into him through both hands.

"Clan head, I failed in my duties. I never imagined an intruder would get in," Sano said, blaming himself.

Hyuga Feng shook his head.

"We need to investigate this. He clearly came prepared."

Sano nodded.

After a while, Hyuga Feng finally recovered a little chakra.

Whoosh, whoosh-

A figure approached from the distance and landed behind Hyuga Feng.

Ikuko Hyuga's expression tightened at the sight of the devastated Laboratory.

She immediately knelt to admit her fault. "Lord clan head... I failed in my duties and allowed a villain to infiltrate the Laboratory."

"Hmph." Hyuga Feng snorted when he saw her. "You certainly can't escape responsibility for this."

"The Laboratory only has one entrance. How did someone still manage to get in?"

"Go and get to the bottom of this," Hyuga Feng ordered sternly.

"Yes..."

With that, Ikuko Hyuga hurried out.

Hyuga Feng stood and approached the black-clad man's corpse.

"These clothes can actually block the Byakugan's perception?"

Looking at the clothing on the man, Hyuga Feng reached out and pulled it off.

"What an interesting little thing," he said with amusement. "Not even a scratch after being scorched by the Byakugan laser."

"It looks like a valuable ninja tool."

After carefully putting the cloak away, Hyuga Feng turned his attention to the corpse on the floor.

"..." His pupils contracted when he saw the man's forehead protector.

"Kumogakure?" Sano asked uncertainly.

He activated his Byakugan and examined the man's chakra pathways.

"Clan head... there are indeed traces of Lightning Release chakra."

Hyuga Feng's expression grew solemn at that.

"We still can't be certain of his identity."

Shikkotsu Forest...

"Have you lost your mind?" Katsuyu asked incredulously.

She had known Yui's method for removing the Caged Bird Seal would be dangerous, but she hadn't expected it to be this perilous.

"A state of suspended animation?" Katsuyu frowned. "If that's the case, I'm afraid I can't help you!"

"Sigh..."

Yui hadn't expected Katsuyu to resist so strongly after hearing her method.

"Katsuyu... please..." Yui pleaded, looking at her beseechingly.

"No..." Katsuyu refused without a second thought.

After hearing Yui's method, Katsuyu also knew that it required a second person to carry out before it could proceed.

"Hmph... then I'll do it myself..." Yui said petulantly.

A Shadow Clone should work too, right? I just don't know whether it'll disappear once I enter suspended animation.

Ignoring the gaze behind her, Yui resolutely walked into the room.

Watching Yui, Katsuyu was practically beside herself with anger. She wanted to turn away and leave her to it, but she couldn't stop worrying. They were partners now, after all.

She remained rooted to the spot.

Only after a long while did she follow Yui.

"Damn it, just this once," Katsuyu said huffily. "Thirty seconds-no, fifteen. After that, I'll wake you up whether the cursed seal has been removed or not."

Yui chuckled at Katsuyu's words.

So she does care about her summoning partner after all!

"Tell me what I need to do..." Katsuyu said reluctantly after entering the room.

"Katsuyu, can you protect my eyes from being destroyed by the cursed seal?"

Katsuyu frowned and stepped forward.

Pale green chakra coated her palms as she slowly placed them over Yui's eyes.

Seeing what Katsuyu was doing, Yui obediently closed her eyes and let her examine them.

After a long while, Katsuyu withdrew her hands and shook her head.

"This thing is troublesome."

Through her perception, she could see the blue-green cursed seal clinging to the brain and optic nerves, extending into the lenses of the eyes.

It was just as its name suggested: a caged bird.

Even with senjutsu, she couldn't guarantee that she could save those eyes.

"The odds aren't good..." Katsuyu said in a low voice. "Only about twenty percent."

As she said this, Katsuyu watched for changes in Yui's expression.

Give up! Give up!

In truth, with her senjutsu, she should have had about a forty percent chance of saving those eyes.

Far from looking disappointed at Katsuyu's words, Yui's expression brightened with delight.

"They can be saved? That's wonderful."

Yui hadn't expected her casual question to reveal that there really was a chance of saving her eyes.

In her original plan, she had assumed those eyes would inevitably be lost.

That was why she had begun considering the feasibility of cloning technology.

"Yui, won't you at least think about what losing your sight would mean?" Katsuyu said angrily.

She had hoped this news would undermine Yui's confidence and make her abandon the idea of removing the cursed seal.

But Yui's reaction took her by surprise. Not only did she refuse to give up, she became even more determined.

Yui smiled. "Even without eyes, I can still find my way through chakra perception."

"Besides, we of the Hyuga Clan have an innate gift for perception."