It was as if he were playing an ancient MMORPG.
He was controlling his own character from a God's-eye view rather than a third-person perspective. Within that pale, narrow, bird's-eye field of vision, he himself was the game character under control!
Hyūga Yū leaped and glided among the treetops, his steps steady and determined as he hurried forward. Relying on the mental map he had laid out—constantly updated and refined with gathered intelligence—he bypassed the outer perimeter of the encirclement and moved toward the center of the Kirigakure line.
The Main House member, Hyūga Genkō, was with the middle unit. Since Hyūga Natsu was part of his guard detail, she should also be there.
Common sense dictated that in such a situation, the Hidden Leaf forces should have quickly consolidated the strength of the three guard platoons and immediately chosen a direction to break through.
Both Hyūga Yū and the Kirigakure forces had made this assessment. Yū's plan was to take advantage of the chaos while the Hidden Mist attempted to capture Hyūga Genkō, opening a hole in the encirclement for the others.
However, an unexpected complication soon derailed this plan.
Using his Byakugan, he quickly spotted a Kirigakure squad about three kilometers away, along with a group from the Leaf they had intercepted. It was completely different from the twelve-man unit he had expected.
Currently, this team consisted of only three people: Hyūga Genkō, Yamazaki Orange, and the Jonin of this unit, Hyūga Eiki. Hyūga Natsu, who was supposed to be with them, was nowhere to be found.
As Yū looked closer at the trio, his brows twitched, and a look of confusion crossed his face.
Blocking their path was a squad led by Ao of the Hidden Mist, along with another Chunin squad. Not far from Yū's own position, a third Chunin squad was rushing toward the scene.
On the battlefield:
The "Hyūga Genkō" played by Hyūga Tetsu was desperately feigning composure. Beside him, Hyūga Eiki's gaze was calm, staring coldly at the Mist shinobi. Meanwhile, Yamazaki Orange—a civilian Chunin who was only there to handle chores—was already beginning to tremble.
Looking at the three people before him, all wearing different expressions, Ao frowned deeply.
Beside him, a boy named Akamaru, whose eyes were covered with a black cloth, shook his head at Ao. The Ranmaru's Ketsuryūgan [Red Eye] could see the state of chakra even more clearly than the Byakugan; the disguises before them naturally couldn't hide from him.
"They're fakes."
"This Hyūga Jonin is a Shadow Clone. The one who looks like the Main House member is using a Transformation Jutsu."
Ao immediately turned to the sensory Jonin, Kensuke, and asked, "Where did they go?"
Kensuke reported immediately, "Forgive me, Lord Ao. The Shadow Clone left behind by that Jonin interfered with my chakra sensing. Based on the tracks left at the scene, it seems they've headed east, likely to rendezvous with the vanguard guard unit."
An odd expression flickered across Ao's face.
This situation was clearly beyond his expectations, yet it hadn't completely slipped from his control. What he found strange and difficult to understand was primarily one thing:
This Hyūga Main House member was clearly quite clever. He had not only anticipated the danger but had also made specific arrangements. However, these arrangements revealed a kind of "transparent stupidity" unique to an amateur.
He acted like a politician, a strategist, or an intellectual who had read many books—but he didn't act like a shinobi.
Ao couldn't help but let out a short laugh. He swept an indifferent gaze over the three Leaf ninja, pausing for a moment on Hyūga Eiki's Shadow Clone, before instructing the five people beside him:
"Team 7, you stay and deal with them."
"Akamaru, you stay here as well. Coordinate with Team 7 and get some practice in."
Akamaru looked up immediately and asked, "Lord Ao, the front unit has converged with at least two Hyūga Jonin. Do you not need my eyes?"
Hearing this, Ao gave a low laugh and ruffled Akamaru's messy hair, adopting the air of a senior. "Kid, I brought you out to gain experience. The shinobi world isn't your stage just yet."
"Collaborate with Team 7 and Team 10, who will arrive shortly. Dispose of this Jonin's Shadow Clone here. Don't give him the chance to reclaim his chakra."
Ao turned his head slightly toward the east, a flash of apprehension crossing his eyes as if something terrifying lay in that direction. He sighed with a mix of mockery and realization.
"I didn't expect a member of the Hyūga Main House to be such a fool."
"Alright." Ao wiped the expression from his face and scanned the scene with authority. "I'll leave this to you."
"Although the mission is no longer in doubt, just to be safe, Kensuke, you and I will head forward to cut off the retreat of the Main House group."
Kensuke replied respectfully, "Understood!"
At that moment, seeing Ao brazenly discussing his plan right in front of them, the guardian Jonin, Hyūga Eiki, darkened with rage.
"Do you treat me as if I were thin air?"
"As long as I am here, I will never let you harm Master Genkō!"
However, Ao merely gave a disdainful smile and vanished with Kensuke using the Body Flicker Technique.
"Stop!"
Infuriated, Hyūga Eiki waved his hand, preparing to launch an Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm to intercept the departing pair.
But just then, a high-pitched, childlike voice suddenly whispered right in his ear:
"Where are you aiming?"
Eiki spun around violently, only to find that in the blink of an eye, he was standing in a thick mist so dense he couldn't see his own hand.
When he activated his Byakugan to peer through the fog and locate the enemy, he discovered something shocking. His Byakugan, which usually saw through everything, seemed to be broken. Everywhere he looked, he saw silhouettes of people with chakra pathways—hundreds of them, densely packed, surrounding him completely!
His expression changed drastically as he recognized the method used to restrict his Byakugan.
"The Ranmaru [Red Eye]?!"
The Red Eye could interfere with the Byakugan's vision. However, every jutsu had a weakness. The Hyūga clan had concluded that the most effective way to counter these eyes was to temporarily shut down their sensory perception and, with the coordination of teammates, attack using taijutsu ingrained in muscle memory.
Though the Red Eye Kekkei Genkai was powerful, those who possessed it were often physically frail.
Yet, when Hyūga Eiki deactivated his Byakugan to attempt a fight using Jonin-level taijutsu, he realized that without it, he couldn't find his enemies at all within this Hidden Mist Jutsu.
He was caught in a pincer trap of logic; his single-minded fighting style was blocked at both ends. Eiki felt his scalp tingle with apprehension.
He tried to dash out of the thick fog. However, three Mist Chunin—experts in fighting within the mist—assailed him from different angles.
For a time, even though Eiki's taijutsu far surpassed that of the Mist ninja, he was unable to use his Byakugan to strike chakra points with the Gentle Fist. Forced to play defense by surrounding his body with chakra, he was beaten into a corner by the three Chunin, unable to break free.
Within the dense mist, Akamaru, his eyes glowing a vivid red, watched the scene with amusement. He was simply waiting for the other Mist squad to arrive as backup. Then, they could completely exhaust the chakra of Eiki's Shadow Clone and destroy it right there.
Further away, Hyūga Yū took everything in, his expression thoughtful.
The Hyūga Eiki stationed here was only a Shadow Clone, but it still possessed Jonin-level combat power. Yet, a Jonin with the Byakugan was being rendered helpless by the targeted cooperation of one Genin and three Chunin.
In that case, how should he—a Genin—fight?
After a moment of reflection, a flash of clarity appeared in Yū's eyes.
He reached into the quiver at his waist, pulled out an arrow, and nocked it to his bow.
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