Under the moonlight, the Cloud Ninja Leader headed toward the edge of the Clan Grounds with Hinata held captive.
At this pace, he would leave the Hyuga Clan Compound in less than half a minute and obtain a pair of Byakugan free of the Caged Bird Seal's restrictions.
He had considered the possibility of acquiring the Byakugan, but everything had gone even more smoothly than he had imagined.
Five minutes had passed since he abducted the Main Family's young lady, yet there was still no commotion within the Hyuga Clan Compound. Even the guards' patrol routes remained unchanged.
He scorned the system of Main Family and Branch Family, and he looked down on Konoha's ninja, but he dared not underestimate the Byakugan kekkei genkai.
The Hyuga ninja, masters of close combat, were the bane of the Cloud Ninja, who likewise excelled in taijutsu. The Hyuga's Byakugan had inflicted heavy losses on them on the battlefield. Otherwise, they would not have been so desperate to uncover its secrets.
Yet the current situation filled him with a sense of foreboding.
The Hyuga Clan Compound was too quiet. That silence stirred a deep unease within him, as though they had known he was coming and had been waiting for him.
But if that were true, the Hyuga Clan would be terrifying indeed.
He glanced at the captive tucked beneath his arm, whose eyes brimmed with tears as she struggled futilely to resist, and the Kumogakure Leader relaxed a little.
The Byakugan and the Main Family's young lady's frightened expression upon encountering him could not lie.
Perhaps the Hyuga Branch Family had done nothing because of its resentment toward the Main Family. The spy who supplied his information had mentioned the conflict between them.
If he could obtain the Byakugan and keep his life,