Three figures moved through the forest at speed, trees blurring past them in streaks of green.
"What's the urgency?" one of the branch family shinobi called out. "Why did the Elder summon us back so suddenly?"
Hyuga Hiromu, a jonin of the main family, ran ahead without slowing. His jaw was tight, his expression grim. "Not entirely sure. But it probably involves Seiran."
"Seiran?" The question came from both trailing shinobi simultaneously, laced with surprise.
"The Elder sent me to the front lines to observe him," Hiromu said, his voice clipped. "I didn't expect..." He trailed off, teeth grinding together. It was the first humiliation of his life—and it had come at the hands of a branch family member. The thought burned. Whether it was Seiran's raw power or Orochimaru's backing, Hiromu had been forced to swallow the bitter pill.
The two branch family members fell silent. They'd both seen what Seiran was capable of. Defeating Elder Chiyo had shocked everyone, but destroying the Fourth Kazekage? That was something else entirely. Rasa—one of the Five Great Kages, a master of Magnet Release—had been utterly overwhelmed. His own golden sand had turned into a weapon against him.
It was terrifying.
Compared to that display of power, their precious Byakugan and bloodline suddenly felt... ordinary.
Hiromu's eyes flickered as he ran. The Elder's summons almost certainly meant a clan meeting was underway, discussing how to handle Seiran. Whether a decision had already been made, Hiromu couldn't say—power in the clan rested with the Elder and a handful of other elders. But if he was honest with himself, he hoped Seiran would simply die. Being mocked by a branch family member was a humiliation burned into his mind.
Not that Hiromu could do anything about it himself. Any move would have to come through official clan channels. And Seiran's position had become complicated—caught between the Third Hokage and Orochimaru both. The irony wasn't lost on him.
"Lord Fire Array!" One of the branch family members suddenly cried out. "Strange chakra ahead! It just appeared out of nowhere—blocking our path!"
Hiromu's eyes narrowed. As a main family member, he'd been protected his entire life, his instincts dulled compared to these branch family shinobi. Still, something was wrong. Who would be foolish enough to stand against three jonin, especially with Byakugan among them?
He activated his Byakugan.
The figure ahead appeared in his enhanced vision—but it was like nothing he'd ever seen. No meridians. No chakra network. Its presence registered like dead matter, a black void under his sight. The body itself was foreign: a humanoid shape wrapped in burnished metal, its face a smooth silver-white mask broken only by a single yellow eye that glowed with cold luminescence.
"What... is that?" Hiromu breathed.
The thing began walking toward them.
"We have no quarrel with you," Hiromu said carefully, hand raised in what he hoped was a peaceful gesture. His voice wavered slightly. "There's no need for conflict here."
The entity continued its approach, movements deliberate and measured.
"Who are you?" Hiromu demanded, dropping the diplomatic tone. "Are you really attacking the Hyuga Clan?"
The thing stopped. When it spoke, its voice was mechanical and hollow.
"Ultraman."
Ultraman?
What the hell was an Ultraman?
The three froze, and in that instant of hesitation, the entity moved.
Its right arm rippled like liquid metal, solidifying into a blade that caught the light with terrible beauty. It leaped, slashing downward with force that compressed the air itself.
"Move!"
Hiromu and his team scattered. The blade struck earth—and the ground erupted, cracks spiderwebbing outward like a shattered mirror. The impact crater was deep enough to swallow a man.
One of the branch family members immediately shifted into stance and unleashed a barrage of Gentle Fist strikes at the entity's metallic frame.
"Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four—!"
His palms met the surface with a sharp, ringing clang. He jerked back with a gasp, his hands swelling red and raw. It was like punching steel plate.
"Impossible..." he muttered.
The entity's yellow eye fixed on him. The blade drew back and slashed again.
Blood sprayed. Both of the shinobi's hands severed cleanly, falling to the earth in a spray of crimson.
His scream tore through the forest.
"Bastard!" the second branch family member roared, eyes burning red. He began firing Eight Trigrams Empty Palm bursts—compressed waves of pure chakra that struck the entity's body and sent it staggering backward with metallic screeches.
"What a faithful servant," the entity said, its tone dripping with mockery. "The Hyuga system trains them well."
The words hit Hiromu like a physical blow. This thing knew about the Hyuga. It had come prepared.
"Who are you?" he demanded, his Byakugan activating fully.
"I told you. Ultraman."
Damn it. That told him nothing.
Hiromu dropped into his stance and began to spin. Blue chakra erupted around him in a hemisphere—Eight Trigrams: Revolving Heaven. The technique created an impenetrable defensive barrier, rotating at lethal speeds.
The entity's body struck the barrier and—instead of bouncing back—it began to dissolve. Metal tentacles burst from its form, wrapping around the spinning dome. Sparks erupted in showers of white-hot light as the tentacles forced the rotation to a grinding halt.
The appendages pierced through Hiromu's defense, driving through his body. He screamed as they withdrew—but strangely, there was barely any blood. It was all being absorbed.
"Lord Fire Array!"
The remaining branch family member tried to rush forward, but the entity simply extended new tentacles. They drove through his legs, leaving him helpless.
The entity paused. It regarded its handiwork with something like calculation in that yellow eye. Then its form compressed back into its humanoid shape. Metal crept across Hiromu's face—and when it withdrew, his eyes came with it.
The entity stood and approached the two crippled branch family members. Its voice, when it spoke, was ice.
"Who am I? The Ultraman who saved Seiran."
---
In his tent, Seiran was examining a small model when the ground beside him began to ripple. Silver liquid bubbled up, taking humanoid shape, and opened its palms.
Three pairs of Byakugan. Two of them showed signs of degradation around the eyeballs—minor damage from the Caged Bird Curse Mark, but manageable. The cursed seal's mechanism was something Seiran had studied in detail. Zero could have triggered it outright, but that would destroy the eyes themselves. This way was more efficient.
Those three had been unwaveringly loyal to the main family. Letting them return wasn't an option. And as for their disappearance—well, Seiran had been visible in the camp all this time. Whatever happened to them had nothing to do with him.
He set the eyes carefully aside and returned to his work, expression unreadable.