In the thick mist, about forty meters from the assassin, **Hyūga Yuu** kept his Byakugan active, veins bulging around his eyes. He held a 2.2-meter-long great bow that still trembled faintly in his hands as he slowly exhaled.
"Haa… still alive."
Within the gray yet crystal-clear field of vision granted by the Byakugan, the illusory fog that should have rendered even an outstretched hand invisible had completely lost its effect.
Before the strongest eyes of perception in the shinobi world, the assassin stood like a brightly illuminated target, exposed and unmistakable.
But as a spy—someone assigned to monitor the Hyūga Clan—how could he possibly be ignorant of the Byakugan's capabilities?
Of course, that explanation alone was insufficient.
With the chakra reserves of a low-level genin, could a single arrow really kill a shinobi who was at least a chūnin? Had Hyūga Yuu truly surpassed him in strength?
Impossible.
Judging from the skills the Hidden Mist chūnin had demonstrated, even without ninjutsu, a straightforward fight would have ended with Yuu beaten to death within ten minutes at most.
In truth, the arrow should never have landed.
It struck only because the man had cast the Hiding in Mist Technique himself—blinding his own vision and severing his awareness of the battlefield.
Then why had the encounter ended in such a one-sided slaughter?
The answer was simple.
Information.
The intelligence possessed by the two sides was grotesquely unequal.
This was not a matter of "know yourself and know your enemy." In Yuu's view, it was a trap forcibly imposed upon the opponent.
First, seize control of the battlefield. Second, preset the conditions required for the Byakugan Invisibility Technique to function. Third, apply relentless psychological pressure until the enemy, desperate to locate him, lost composure. Finally, when irrational fear drove the opponent to cast a flawed jutsu, exploit that fleeting opening with the Byakugan's insight.
One strike—fatal.
Everything hinged on Yuu's initial activation of the Byakugan, which allowed him to identify the attacker as a Hidden Mist shinobi.
Throughout the encounter, the assassin had multiple ways to avoid death: abandon the mission entirely, unleash large-scale indiscriminate ninjutsu, or even spin in place and force Yuu to exhaust himself trying to maintain position.
Yet in practice, the enemy moved exactly as Yuu anticipated.
Even when there were minor deviations, they still led to the outcome he desired.
That, in itself, was another paradox.
People overthink.
Especially intelligent people—when confronted with an "information black hole."
The moment Yuu displayed abilities far beyond the scope of existing intelligence, the enemy instinctively discarded all prior assessments and elevated him to a higher threat tier.
Very few shinobi were exceptions, such as Hatake Kakashi—who schemed with hundreds of contingency plans—or Might Guy, whose thinking was driven by pure, uncomplicated enthusiasm.
Now,
staring at the corpse lying face-up forty meters away, Yuu felt both gratitude for surviving another day and a chill of lingering fear.
So far, he had lived by deception alone.
He knew it could not last.
But as a mediocre branch-family Hyūga, he had no alternative.
Lowering the bow, Yuu muttered quietly, "Once I acquire Wind Release, I need to fast-track my training in the Byakugan Sword Art, Chakra Scalpel, and Gentle Fist: Chakra Needle Point Strike."
"My taijutsu is still too weak. Circling this man, I never once felt confident engaging him directly."
In close combat, aside from footwork and stances refined through harsh training, his punches and kicks were glaring weaknesses.
A shinobi's time and capacity for learning were finite.
Studying both Gentle Fist and Strong Fist had left him a jack-of-all-trades. Aside from footwork tailored specifically for the Byakugan Invisibility Technique, he truly excelled at nothing.
Still, his path forward was clear.
Even with chakra reserves capped at a pitiful "Level Two," this second chance at life was something he intended to cherish.
He would squeeze every ounce of value from it.
After briefly reviewing the lessons of the battle, Yuu cleaned the scene. He packed the great bow back into its wooden case, retrieved the arrow from the spy's forehead, and destroyed it completely.
Then, as if nothing had occurred, he jogged home.
#
The clash near the Hyūga Clan territory within Konoha quickly drew the attention of both active shinobi and the village's higher-ups.
Even during wartime, a Hiding in Mist Technique covering hundreds of meters inside the village was a cause for alarm.
The jutsu was widely known as a support technique. Few would waste chakra expanding it to such an extreme.
Ordinarily, only a top-tier expert in Silent Killing could deploy mist on that scale.
And such elite jōnin were all documented. Every village kept detailed intelligence on them.
Before long, rumors spread that Biwa Jūzō—the wielder of the Executioner's Blade among the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist—had infiltrated Konoha.
An Anbu squad sealed off the site within ten minutes and began a full investigation.
In front of Yuu's apartment, wary and confused shinobi gathered in small groups.
Fortunately, the fog that had blanketed the entire street ensured that no one witnessed Yuu slip out of the alley, blend into the crowd, linger briefly to observe the commotion, and then depart.
Though he had killed the spy, Yuu wanted no one to know—especially now, when he desperately needed time to grow stronger.
For a shinobi, information was life.
Combat strength was not determined by hollow labels like "genin," "chūnin," or "jōnin."
Only knowledge—and the techniques a shinobi truly mastered—defined their worth.
With that conviction, Yuu calmly returned to his apartment and climbed the iron ladder to the second floor.
The building was usually quiet, its residents consumed by wartime duties.
Yet this time,
a white-eyed boy wearing a chūnin vest had clearly been waiting for him.
When he saw Yuu return carrying the large wooden case, the boy stepped forward, blocked his path, met his gaze, and spoke.
"Hyūga Yuu, have you thought about what I said?"
Yuu looked up. He recognized the boy, though he couldn't immediately recall the earlier conversation.
"Oh. Tetsu. What is it?"
"Call off your engagement to Natsu."
Yuu blinked, frowned, and stared at him as though he were insane.
"…What?"
The boy's expression hardened.
"Frankly speaking, Hyūga Yuu, you will never be able to make Natsu happy."
_____________________________
Thanks to Michael Ling who joins the Membership...
_____________________________
Go to my Patreon:
patreon.com/dreamlexi
For just $3 you can read various chapters of novels that have been translated and changed several chapters in advance.
_____
Support me with your Power Stone and Reviews guys °•°
Have a nice day ><