Although the Uchiha Police Force had already been replaced in their patrol areas, the Hyūga Clan clearly handled things much worse than the Uchiha.
At the very least, the Uchiha had never cared about your background—whoever needed to be arrested would be arrested, whoever needed to be locked up would be locked up.
The Hyūga branch family, however, was too restricted by the main family. Their hands were tied, their actions restrained, leaving them utterly overwhelmed.
At this moment—
Xiamu, within the Uchiha compound, quietly picked out civilians who had a knack for business and set off in secret.
Konoha outwardly seemed relaxed, but internally was tightly guarded. If you were just a common villager leaving the village, you were usually not subjected to strict inspections.
After all, there were still many Uchihas who had no talent as shinobi. Many of them would live their entire lives without ever awakening their Sharingan.
Other than the surname "Uchiha," they were no different from ordinary people.
In his previous life, Xiamu had worked in the food industry. Over the past few days, he had been writing out various recipes and business plans.
These foods, in this world, should all be completely new.
Outside Konoha's barrier—
Ao was leading seven Mist elites, rushing quickly toward Konoha.
The veins on Ao's right eye bulged as he probed the village, only to discover that the Police Force wasn't composed of Uchiha—but Hyūga.
"It seems the Uchiha have fallen out with Konoha. Our chance has come! Move out!"
Ao's heart leapt with joy. Although the Hyūga were also a dōjutsu clan, their threat level was far lower than the Uchiha.
Ever since obtaining a Byakugan, Ao had trained relentlessly. And this particular eye had belonged to the Hyūga main family—its field of vision was far wider than that of the branch family.
Moreover, upon acquiring it, he discovered the weakness of the branch family's Byakugan: a blind spot directly behind the neck. The lower the purity of the eye, the larger the blind spot.
"You lot, follow my lead. There are Hyūga patrolling up ahead."
"Yes, Lord Ao!"
Suiton: Hidden Mist Jutsu!
All eight concealed themselves in the fog, silently approaching the patrolling squad from behind.
"Captain Morisuke, why does it feel like it's getting foggy?" asked Kobayashi Yūsuke as he looked around.
Their team consisted of four people, led by the jōnin Hyūga Morisuke. The other three were from no notable clans, and only held chūnin rank.
Morisuke scanned the area. Sure enough, faint wisps of mist drifted through the forest.
He carefully looked deeper into the trees but saw nothing unusual.
Still uneasy, Morisuke slowly rotated his field of vision to make sure he wasn't missing anything.
What he didn't realize was that a group of enemies had already circled around behind him, perfectly hidden within his Byakugan's blind spot.
He waved his hand. "No enemies detected. Probably just natural mist in the woods. Don't worry."
The Hyūga were renowned for their detection abilities. Hearing Morisuke's assurance, the squad relaxed.
Morisuke's expression suddenly stiffened!
From behind him, a flash of steel cut through the air.
The target was Kobayashi Yūsuke!
Morisuke was a step too late. By the time he rushed forward with Gentle Fist, Yūsuke was already clutching his throat, collapsing to the ground.
Out of the mist emerged a bandaged man wielding a massive blade.
"Zabuza!"
"Silent Killing Technique!"
Morisuke activated his Byakugan again and instantly saw multiple chakra signatures surging toward his squad from within the thickening fog.
The two chūnin barely had time to reach for signal flares before they fell into pools of blood.
The remaining figures revealed themselves—every one of them dressed as Mist assassination operatives, led by Ao with an eyepatch over his right eye!
"So it's you! How dare you run wild in Konoha!" Morisuke readied his Gentle Fist stance, though his heart sank.
Ao had obtained his Byakugan during the Third Shinobi World War, making him the Hyūga Clan's mortal enemy. His name was even on Konoha's highest-level wanted list.
This was no simple opponent.
Ao stood atop a tree branch, sneering. "What a pity you're only a branch family member. Otherwise, I'd be claiming another pair of Byakugan."
Morisuke said nothing—after all, no main family member would ever be sent to patrol Konoha's outskirts.
He glanced at the eight Mist-nin surrounding him. Judging by their chakra levels, every single one of them was at least jōnin rank. The weakest among them was Zabuza. His odds of survival were slim.
Still, Morisuke raised his Gentle Fist stance.
From behind the bandages, Zabuza's muffled voice rumbled. "Let me test his strength."
Ao nodded. "Make it quick."
Fury burned in Morisuke's chest—they were using him as nothing more than a sparring dummy.
Zabuza melted back into the mist with Silent Killing, but Morisuke's Byakugan locked onto him, following his movements precisely.
Seeing no opening, Zabuza charged forward with his greatsword.
Morisuke's Gentle Fist was steady and precise. Zabuza's blade was ruthless and powerful. The clash quickly escalated into a fierce battle.
Following Hyūga tradition, Morisuke fought defensively, waiting for the right opportunity while calmly parrying Zabuza's relentless offense.
Zabuza had already gained some notoriety. Though not yet among the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, he was considered a prodigy of his generation. His Silent Killing technique had reached a decent level of mastery.
Unfortunately for him, he faced the natural counter of the Hyūga clan.
Morisuke had several chances to kill Zabuza but held back.
He understood his true duty: to get the signal out. The Hyūga had just gained control of the Police Force—if the mission failed because of him, the clan would suffer backlash.
Their battle raged across the forest until they reached a cornered spot. Seizing his chance, Morisuke struck the side of Zabuza's greatsword with a powerful palm.
Clang! The reverberation sent Zabuza's teeth chattering. Unprepared for such force, his blade was knocked flying.
Dragging his broken arm, Morisuke leapt back and pulled a flare from his pouch.
The Mist-nin who had been watching instantly hurled shuriken to cut off his retreat.
But Morisuke rammed himself straight into the deadly projectiles, sacrificing his body to launch the flare skyward.
Bang! The signal lit up the sky.
A Mist-nin's kick crashed into Morisuke's waist, sending him tumbling across the ground, blood spraying from his mouth.
Shuriken pierced his chest, neck, and skull. Within moments, Hyūga Morisuke was dead.
The Caged Bird mark on his forehead glowed faintly before sealing his Byakugan, leaving his eyes dull and lifeless.
From the nearby forest, reinforcements saw the emergency flare.
Multiple signals burst in the sky in response.
Ao glared hatefully at Morisuke's corpse, then shot Zabuza a sharp look.
"It's over! Retreat!"
The Mist operatives quickly vanished from the scene.
Moments later, three Anbu appeared.
One of them wore a fox mask, silver hair like a broom, and carried a sword on his back—it was Hatake Kakashi.
Landing softly, Kakashi pushed up his forehead protector, exposing his Sharingan. After scanning the surroundings, he signaled his comrades.
The two other Anbu swiftly examined the bodies.
"Taijutsu. Thick mist."
"Bladed wounds. Silent Killing. The odds point to Kirigakure."
Kakashi nodded. "They've retreated, but they might come back. I'll report to the Third immediately."
Ever since the Third Shinobi World War, Mist-nin had repeatedly snuck into Konoha to cause trouble. But until now, the Uchiha had always driven them back.
This time, however, four Konoha shinobi had fallen—including a Hyūga, famed for their unparalleled detection.
Things had just gotten a lot more troublesome.