Chapter 4: The Death of Toroi
Toroi handed the unconscious Neji to Samui, then turned his back to her, his gaze fixed on the distant Hyūga Main Family estate. His expression was resolute.
"Samui, I'm going for the Main Family's heiress. You take this boy and leave the village. Wait for me at the rendezvous point outside Konoha. If you see me before dawn, don't celebrate too soon; we'll return to Kumo together. If you don't see me... don't grieve too much. Just return to Kumo on your own."
"Toroi-senpai..."
"That's an order!"
"Yes, sir."
At the Hyūga Main Family estate, a dark figure landed silently in the courtyard.
Seeing the restless silhouette tossing and turning inside the room, Toroi formed the hand signs and used the same jutsu as before. As the cascade of white feathers drifted into Hinata's room, her heavy breathing soon settled into a peaceful, steady rhythm.
Toroi slipped into the room, tucked Hinata under his arm, and moved to make his escape.
But before he could even leave the estate, another shadow leaped from the front courtyard, blocking his path.
"?"
Hyūga Hiashi stared at the black-clad intruder, his eyes shifting to the small form of his daughter in the man's arms. The initial shock on his face vanished, replaced by an uncontainable rage.
To commit theft within the Hyūga compound... the audacity was staggering.
Hiashi activated his Byakugan, the veins at his temples bulging as he charged straight for Toroi.
A sharp glint flashed in Toroi's eyes.
Hyūga Hiashi's reaction was a bit sluggish. Perhaps years of living a privileged life had dulled his shinobi instincts, or perhaps he had never imagined that someone would dare to break into the Hyūga compound. In either case, his guard was down.
Fortunately, he had finally been discovered.
During the Third Great Ninja War, the Kirigakure Jōnin, Ao, had managed to take a Byakugan from a member of the Hyūga Main Family and successfully transplant it, greatly increasing his own power. This incident had revealed to the world a key difference between the Byakugan and the Sharingan.
The Sharingan was a domineering dōjutsu; even a successful transplant placed an immense burden on the user's body. The Byakugan, however, was far more compatible, with a higher success rate and minimal physical rejection.
Now, on the black market, a single Byakugan was worth 35 million Ryō.
Kumogakure didn't lack for ninjutsu or secret techniques. What it lacked was a top-tier Kekkei Genkai like the Byakugan or Sharingan. The Sharingan was out of the question. Not even Kumo would dare to provoke those Uchiha madmen. The Hyūga clan, by comparison, was a much softer target.
But Kumogakure's appetite was large. They didn't want a single Byakugan; they wanted the bloodline itself. To use the peace treaty as a cover to steal a Hyūga child—that was Toroi's first mission.
Having successfully abducted Neji, the mission was already complete. His insistence on taking Hinata as well was for the sake of his second mission.
To die at the hands of Hyūga Hiashi.
The village would use his death to pressure Konoha, demanding they hand over the "murderer," Hiashi. If Konoha refused, Kumo would declare war.
If Konoha actually handed over Hiashi's body, it would sow discord between the village's pacifist and hawkish factions, drive a wedge between the Hyūga clan and the Hokage, and deal a heavy blow to Konoha's prestige.
If Konoha refused and chose war, it would be playing right into Kumogakure's hands.
The Fourth Hokage and his wife were dead, victims of the Nine-Tails' attack. Orochimaru had defected. Tsunade and Jiraiya were nowhere to be found. The tension between the Uchiha and the village leadership was at a breaking point.
The current Konoha was a sick tiger. Kumogakure had no reason to fear it.
No matter the outcome, it was a huge win for Kumo. The price to be paid was not so high—merely the life of a single Kumo envoy.
Toroi had volunteered for this glorious and great mission. The Fourth Raikage had agreed. After all, only a battle-hardened veteran like Toroi had any chance of pulling it off.
'It is only death,' Toroi thought with a silent, inner laugh.
Swoosh!
He tossed Hinata toward Hiashi, then whipped out a red scroll. With a sharp tug, two massive shuriken shot out, screaming through the air.
Hiashi gently caught his daughter. By then, the two Fūma Shuriken were already upon him.
"Eight Trigrams Palms Revolving Heaven!"
Taking a deep breath, Hiashi expelled chakra from every tenketsu point on his body, instantly forming a massive, rotating sphere of chakra around himself.
Clang! Clang!
The shuriken struck the protective dome and were sent flying harmlessly away.
Using that brief opening, Hiashi used the Body Flicker Technique to appear directly in front of Toroi, his hand a blur.
The first palm strike hit Toroi's shoulder, paralyzing half his body.
The second strike hit his chest, instantly shattering his heart.
Toroi coughed up a great mouthful of blood and fell backward onto the ground, unable to move. Just before he hit the snow, he whispered, "Hyūga Hiashi... is nothing special."
"..."
Hearing this, Hiashi's brow furrowed. He couldn't comprehend the final words of this audacious thief. The man's skills were mediocre, not even on par with an average Hyūga Chūnin. To attempt to kidnap the Main Family heiress with such a low level of ability was sheer arrogance.
'Could he be some bounty hunter who overestimated himself?'
Just as this doubt entered Hiashi's mind, he heard a sharp clang from behind him, the sound of something metal hitting the ground.
Startled, Hiashi spun around, and his eyes widened in shock.
It was another Fūma Shuriken, but unlike the others, this one was made of a transparent material, making it almost impossible to detect, even with the Byakugan.
A look of utter disbelief crossed Hiashi's face.
'He threw three shuriken, but I only saw two?'
'Does that mean... he had a chance to kill me?'
'No, that's impossible. I killed him with two strikes. He was weak. How could he possibly possess that kind of power? And if he did have the power to kill me, how could he have been defeated so easily?'
A deep sense of unease washed over him, and Hiashi's brow tightened. He took two steps forward and knelt, pulling the black mask from Toroi's face.
Hiashi froze.
Beneath the mask was a face of rugged determination. His expression was peaceful, and his deep-set eyes even seemed to hold the faintest trace of a smile.
In an instant, the strangely familiar face triggered a memory, and a violent shiver ran down Hiashi's spine. He felt as if he had been plunged into an icy abyss, a bone-deep chill seeping into him that he couldn't shake.
Toroi! How could it be Toroi?!
With great effort, Neji forced his heavy eyelids open. His blurry vision slowly came into focus.
He sprang to his feet with a single, fluid motion.
Not far away, slumped against a tree stump, was a corpse with a long sword run through its chest. The figure wore an animal mask and a standard-issue green flak jacket. Judging by the still-warm blood, he had been dead for no more than ten minutes.
'So, the Kumo ninja did take me.'
'But where am I?'
Veins bulged at his temples as Neji activated his Byakugan to survey the area.
He was in a grove of palm trees. Two kilometers ahead lay the vast, endless ocean.
'Palm trees... the ocean... Does that mean this is the northern border of the Land of Fire?'
As his vision expanded, dozens of bodies came into view. The area was scarred by the aftermath of explosive tags and ninjutsu.
Then, at the very edge of his sight, Neji detected two faint chakra signatures.
There were survivors