Hinata's Growth, a Ready-Made Puppet

As everyone knew, the Hyuga Clan's Byakugan could see anything within a radius of one kilometer.

This range was not its limit; it was merely what could be achieved upon activating the Byakugan. Its long-range vision could be further extended through developing the Byakugan.

Yet no matter how much it was developed, the Hyuga Clan's Byakugan could only see several to a dozen-odd kilometers away.

This was intelligence compiled by all sides during the three Ninja World Wars.

If Hyuga Hiashi had said this, Red Yuhi would not have been surprised.

As the head of a clan, it was hardly strange for him to surpass the limits recorded in intelligence.

But how old was Hinata?

She had only graduated a little over a month ago, yet her Byakugan could already see everything within twenty kilometers. What kind of monster was that?

She had broken through the Hyuga Clan's upper limit, hadn't she?!

Taking in their changing expressions, Izayoi smiled to himself.

Not only them—even Hyuga Hiashi had been stunned by Hinata's growth.

Izayoi, who possessed the Otsutsuki Bloodline (Red), and Hinata, who possessed Princess of the Byakugan (Red), were a match made in heaven.

When Izayoi obtained Hinata's entry, it was equivalent to transplanting Hinata's eyes. With the help of Sage Eye (Red), an acceleration cheat, it had now completed its first Fetal Movement.

Hinata's bloodline had not reached the Red grade. She only needed to absorb Izayoi's Chakra to stimulate her potential and raise her upper limit.

Starting in Year 58 of Konoha, Hinata and Hanabi had begun to defy fate.

Because that was the year Izayoi awakened the Uzumaki Bloodline's unique ability—Physical Stamina Healing.

After training every day, whether they were injured or not, Izayoi would have Hinata and Hanabi bite him and absorb his Chakra.

The Chakra they absorbed not only healed Hinata and Hanabi's injuries, but also stimulated their potential.

Hinata's Byakugan had the highest purity, so her changes were the most obvious.

At merely twelve years old, the range of her Byakugan's long-range vision had already surpassed Hyuga Hiashi's.

At this rate, by the start of Shippuden, Hinata's Kekkei Genkai: Byakugan might advance from Purple to Gold.

"What's wrong?"

Hinata tilted her head adorably, not knowing why Red Yuhi and Shino Aburame were so surprised.

Red Yuhi composed herself and solemnly warned, "Hinata, don't tell anyone the range of your long-range vision in the future. Otherwise, many people will set their sights on you."

A Main House Young Lady without the Caged Bird Seal, whose Byakugan could see everything within twenty kilometers—if other ninja villages learned of such value and threat, Hinata would definitely end up on the Black Market's and every major ninja village's assassination lists.

"Yes."

Although she did not know why Red Yuhi had said that, Hinata still nodded with a serious expression.

"Such a range is incredibly reassuring. I'll leave the rest of the journey to you." Red Yuhi smiled and patted Hinata's head.

Shino Aburame silently recalled the insects he had sent out as well.

Before this kind of long-range vision and x-ray vision, the insects' scent perception was simply not worth mentioning.

Thus, for the rest of the journey, Hinata would activate her Byakugan at intervals to observe any activity within a twenty-kilometer radius.

Another two days passed like this.

Over those two days, Eighth Squad wiped out two groups of bandits and scared off another.

Because the mountain roads were steep, it was difficult to change routes.

Bandits and rogue ninja who knew the terrain well would specifically lie in ambush at unavoidable points. They could either take a detour to avoid them, or eliminate them.

Bandits and rogue ninja generally would not provoke a caravan escorted by ninja.

But there were also stubborn, ignorant fools who chose to take a gamble.

The two bandit groups that had been wiped out were of the latter kind.

Eighth Squad naturally showed no mercy in killing these fools.

The members of Eighth Squad, who were killing for the first time, only felt slightly uncomfortable before quickly recovering.

The academy taught methods for dispelling genjutsu, and the teachers had also cast genjutsu on the entire class, showing them bloody scenes.

Perhaps quite a few people still could not adapt.

But Izayoi and the other two, as top students, had long overcome that level of fear.

That day, after traveling several more miles, Hinata activated her Byakugan as usual, preparing to observe the situation within twenty kilometers.

Just then, as though she had seen something unbelievable, her expression changed drastically, and she blurted out, "Everyone, stop quickly!"

Hearing this, the caravan, which could only lead the horses on foot due to the steep mountain path, immediately came to a halt.

Red Yuhi's expression turned grave as she asked, "Hinata, did you find something?"

"Yes."

Hinata nodded hurriedly, her expression even carrying panic and disbelief. "About seventeen kilometers ahead, there are two Mysterious Men. Their Chakra is very strong—much, much stronger than yours, Teacher Red..."

By the end, Hinata did not even know how to describe it. She could only convey the danger of those two mysterious people by belittling Red Yuhi.

Red Yuhi was not displeased. Instead, she quickly asked, "What distinguishing features did those two have?"

"They wore long trench coats and conical hats. One of them looked like a scorpion, while the other stood on a bird flying low through the air, as if searching for something," Hinata said.

Red Yuhi's expression changed at once. She said to Mr. Nishimura and the others, "Turn around immediately and change routes. There are S-Rank Missing-nin ahead."

"Quick, turn around!" Mr. Nishimura immediately urged loudly. Clearly, he also knew what S-Rank Missing-nin represented.

"So they were S-Rank Missing-nin." Hinata looked slightly enlightened.

Izayoi said nothing. At some point, a white floral pattern had appeared within his blue pupils.

His gaze pierced through mountain after mountain, reaching a point roughly seventeen kilometers ahead.

One tall and one short figure—one in the sky, one on the ground—immediately entered his field of vision.

These two were precisely the S-Rank Missing-nin Red Yuhi had mentioned, as well as members of the Akatsuki—Sasori of the Red Sand and Deidara.

Why were these two guys here?

What were they looking for?

Watching Deidara ride the Clay Bird while searching the surrounding area, Izayoi thought to himself.

Then his gaze fell upon Sasori of the Red Sand, who was hidden within Hiruko, and a sudden idea struck him.

To remotely control puppets with the Tenseigan, he first had to learn how to make puppets.

To make puppets, he needed to buy materials, and that required money.

And weren't there ready-made puppets right in front of him?

Thus, after turning around and changing routes, Izayoi left the group after several minutes on the excuse of needing to use the restroom.

When he returned, however, it was only a Shadow Clone with an enormous amount of Chakra.

As for the Main Body, it sped toward Sasori of the Red Sand and Deidara at an incredible pace.

As though she had noticed something, Hinata casually glanced at Izayoi's Shadow Clone.

Noticing her gaze, the Shadow Clone shook his head.

Hinata immediately returned to normal, pretending she had seen nothing.

Seeing Izayoi head toward those two S-Rank Missing-nin, Hinata was not worried.

Because from the perspective of her Byakugan, Izayoi was now sometimes flashing through the air in an instant and sometimes flying past layer upon layer of obstacles.

Having experienced Gravity and Repulsion firsthand, Hinata did not believe that Clay Bird could withstand an attack from Repulsion.

As long as Izayoi wanted to flee, no one could stop him.