Just as the three Anbu appeared, a strange chakra fluctuation suddenly surged from the treetops to the south. Three Uchiha ninja wearing uniforms of the Policing Department emerged, standing with folded arms in an arrogant stance overlooking everyone below. From their relaxed posture, they seemed to have been lying in wait here for quite some time.
Hyuga Soushu glanced at the Anbu on the northern treetops and then at this middle-aged Uchi Jonin with a fierce expression, feeling as if he'd unknowingly become entangled in a brewing conflict.
The two root ninja who originally brandished their blades theatrically now dared not move at all.
Considering Hyuga Soushu's overwhelming strength, clearly superior to theirs, the arrival of four Uchiha from the Policing Department and one Anbu made things even worse—though theoretically the Anbu might be on their side, they were facing Uchiha clan ninja, not ordinary shinobi!
Who could say whether the red-eyed ones might suddenly snap and kill someone right in front of the Anbu?
Root members did not fear death, but they weren't mindless either—they naturally wished to avoid unnecessary sacrifices, especially when the life being sacrificed was their own!
"Why is the Policing Department here?"
Though standing alone, the Anbu ninja aggressively spoke up first.
"I'd like to ask that question too," the middle-aged Uchi Jonin smirked. His triple-tomoe Sharingan quietly activated within his eyes. As crimson light flickered ominously, waves of killing intent began spreading through the area.
At the same time, the three Uchiha ninjas on the southern treetops also activated their Sharingan.
Under this suffocating pressure of murderous intent, everyone broke into cold sweat, their bodies stiffened and paralyzed.
[Byakugan!]
Forced into action, Hyuga Soushu activated his Byakugan and resisted the overwhelming oppressive chakra blanketing the area. He kept his head low, making sure not to meet the eyes of any Uchiha present.
His reaction nearly caused the Root and Anbu ninja—who were already tense beyond measure—to fire shots blindly at each other in panic.
Fortunately, they still retained enough sense to realize they couldn't defeat the four Uchiha ninjas here, so they forcibly restrained their impulsive instincts.
"Does the Policing Department really intend to start a war against the village and the Anbu?!" the Anbu gritted out.
"Are you trying to stage a —"
But he bit back the words before they could escape his lips.
If he actually said "rebelling" out loud, who could predict whether those bloodshot-eyed madmen might snap and instantly kill him on the spot?
"What's the Policing Department planning to do?" shouted the middle-aged Uchi Jonin, relentlessly staring down the Anbu with blazing crimson eyes. "What is it? Doesn't the mighty Anbu have the guts to finish your sentence? Is it unwillingness or fear?"
"Be bold! Speak your heart out! It's fine—you're guaranteed freedom of speech by the Policing Department!"
This taunting caused the Anbu to visibly shrink back slightly.
Meanwhile, hearing these unmistakable voices echoing without restraint, people inside nearby homes cautiously poked their heads outside to look around before quickly withdrawing as though having encountered plague-bearing spirits, shutting doors and windows tightly while barely daring to breathe.
The Uchiha officers from the Policing Department and the Hokage's Anbu operatives, who usually had tense relations, gathered together in a standoff that looked like it could erupt into violence at any moment. Who wouldn't be scared stiff?
"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"
Immediately afterward, three sharp gusts of wind blew past as three Hyuga ninjas appeared at the mouth of the alley.
Leading them was none other than Hizashi Hyuga!
Even Hizashi, as the son of the Hyuga Clan Leader, felt his scalp crawling when he saw the confrontation unfolding before him.
Uchihas, Anbu, Root agents, and one of his own clansmen!
Moreover, the sharp-eyed Hizashi noticed bloodstains on the top of the lamppost held by Hyuga Soushu. He then glanced toward the Root agent lying motionless in a pool of blood.
He felt his head start pounding even more!
Except for Soushu, whom could he possibly offend here?!
Unfortunately, there was no way around it—this incident happened just outside the Hyuga District.
Each clan had its own rules; no matter how low-profile the Hyugas tried to keep, they couldn't afford to ignore what happened near their territory.
"I should've been more careful."
Still, Hizashi regretted his rashness just slightly—he wished he had used his Byakugan earlier to assess the situation before rushing over.
"Everyone, let's end this matter here."
After a brief, awkward silence, Hizashi took the initiative to speak: "This place is within the defensive identification zone of the Hyuga District. Please don't cause trouble here."
But none of the four Uchiha ninjas responded. Particularly the middle-aged Uchiha Jonin leading them kept casting piercing glances back and forth between Hyuga Soushu and the Anbu operative, as if trying to stare right through them.
"These individuals will come with me. Afterwards, I will provide explanations to both the Policing Department and the Hyuga Clan."
After pausing briefly, the Anbu agent finally spoke.
In a sense, his words were equivalent to backing down.
However, including Soushu, every Hyuga present noticed that the Anbu agent's head inside his hood shifted slightly, as though he were listening to something.
Maintaining his Byakugan, Soushu only needed one glance to notice a tiny earpiece vibrating slightly on the left ear of the Anbu agent. It probably belonged to some kind of real-time communication device.
"So advanced already?"
Although most Hyuga ninjas had undergone basic lip-reading training, they still couldn't determine the specific conversation content purely based on vibration frequency from earpiece components. Besides, these communications were generally encrypted anyway. Therefore, after glancing once, Soushu deactivated his Byakugan.
What intrigued him the most was just how far technology had progressed in this world. And if his memory served him right, there supposedly existed old-fashioned bulky calculators similar to ancient computers in the Ninja World. He wondered whether such devices had already been invented.
"Haaah..."
The Root agent standing atop the high walls on either side of Hyuga Soushu, maintaining a sword-ready posture, exhaled in relief upon witnessing the turn of events.
Good thing!
Finally, someone stepped forward to ease the tension!
"Hmph!"
The cold snort from the middle-aged Uchiha Jonin immediately drew the attention of everyone present.
He made a swift move, hurling a kunai with lightning speed. It pinned the Root ninja to the ground—who had already collapsed.
"Thud!"
The moment the unconscious Root ninja was struck by the kunai, a flash of light flickered over his body!
Not a trace of chakra remained in his body.
"This is…"
Hizashi Hyuga's lips twitched—he couldn't tell whether it was a unique sealing technique or if this unfortunate Root member's chakra had simply been incinerated completely. Either way, it definitely wasn't some ordinary small trick.
Moreover, judging from where the kunai hit, his kidneys were likely shattered—even if he survived, he'd be permanently disabled.
"Enough."
Hizashi Hyuga's expression darkened further.
The Anbu ninja nearly lost control and charged forward, but fortunately, the three nearby Uchiha ninjas quickly reminded him to keep calm.
"We're all Konoha shinobi. Some things shouldn't go too far."
The Anbu ninja said slowly.
"Heh."
The middle-aged Uchiha Jonin snorted in disdain before waving at his three subordinates.
The three Uchiha ninja vanished instantly using Body Flicker Technique.
The Anbu ninja immediately appeared beside the wounded, unconscious Root ninja. Without even removing the kunai first, he quickly applied basic emergency treatment to stop the bleeding, slung the injured man over his shoulder, then signaled the other two Root ninjas to follow as he left.
At this point, he no longer bothered hiding the fact that Anbu and Root were on opposite sides.
The middle-aged Uchiha Jonin stood silently watching them disappear into the distance.
"Thanks for the intervention this time," Hizashi Hyuga said, though slightly displeased with the man's attitude, he still politely gave a slight nod.
"Just doing our duty."
The Uchiha Jonin forced a faint smile.
"Let's go."
Without another word, Hizashi called his clansmen to prepare their departure and signaled for Soushu to follow.
"What do you think of Root?"
Just as everyone was about to leave, the middle-aged Uchiha Jonin suddenly shouted toward Hyuga Soushu.
"Root is nothing more than a den of vermin, meant to scurry in the shadows. Once they crawl into the light, the whole ninja world will recoil in disgust!"
Hyuga Soushu stopped walking for a moment. He thought briefly, then tweaked a well-known saying from his past life—one once used to describe Balat—and said it aloud.
"Not bad!"
Indeed, the middle-aged Uchiha Jonin showed clear signs of satisfaction.
"For someone so young to understand Root so deeply? You've got real promise. Clearly, you're not heading down the wrong path anytime soon."
"Thank you for your kind words."
Hyuga Soushu politely nodded back.
Meanwhile, Hizashi Hyuga shot both of them a thoughtful glance.