Just as Neiki Hyuga was about to resume studying the Flying Thunder God Technique to accelerate his progress, a sudden disturbance made him stop.
The moment he activated his Byakugan, his vision connected to a pale main branch surrounded by countless eyeballs.
The world shifted.
A flickering void space unfolded before him. Within it, innumerable eyeballs lit up like overlapping screens. Two adjacent ones clearly reflected the images of Zabuza and Haku.
Now wearing his wooden mask, Neiki spoke calmly:
"Why did you activate the Eye Rings? Is something important happening?"
Yes—the Eye Rings, capable of long-distance communication, were linked directly to the Byakugan Divine Tree planted in the back mountain of the Hidden Sword Village.
Just as Byakugan Essence would automatically return to the Divine Tree upon the death of anyone marked with a Byakugan Curse Mark, no matter where they were in the world, the Eye Rings operated on a similar principle.
The eyeballs embedded in the rings originated from the Byakugan Divine Tree itself. Neiki had merely reversed part of their function. Regardless of distance, wearers could see the void space within the Divine Tree through these eyeballs.
Of course, from Zabuza and Haku's perspective, they only perceived a shared void space. They had no idea this was actually the internal domain of the Byakugan Divine Tree.
Zabuza glanced around the surrounding darkness with curiosity, then focused and explained:
"After eliminating several members of a Kirigakure hunter-nin squad, we discovered tracking marks left along their route. That suggests there are more Kirigakure ninja nearby."
"Normally, hunter-nin squads operate independently. If one squad claims an area, it won't tolerate others entering its territory."
He paused, then continued in a low voice:
"After noticing this abnormality, Haku and I left the Land of Waves to draw them out. But they showed no interest in us."
"Instead, they're moving straight toward the Land of Waves."
Zabuza's gaze shifted unconsciously toward Hashirama's silhouette within the void.
"We suspect these hundreds of Kirigakure ninja aren't hunting rogue shinobi. Their target is the Land of Waves itself."
With the wooden mask hiding his expression, Zabuza couldn't read Hashirama's reaction. But to him, the situation was extremely dangerous.
Regardless of their true objective, both the Land of Waves and the Hidden Sword Village were now under threat.
In wartime, Kirigakure would not hesitate to erase a newly established ninja village sitting at the border of the Land of Water. Protests afterward would be meaningless.
Zabuza wasn't certain how important the Hidden Sword Village truly was to Hashirama.
The Land of Waves was poor. Maintaining a ninja village there was an enormous financial burden. Establishing the Hidden Sword Village in such a place was like planting a seed in a desert and expecting it to grow into a century-old tree.
Aside from demonstrating Hashirama's lofty ideal of letting everyone become a ninja and control their own destiny, the village seemed like a heavy liability—even for someone of Hashirama's stature.
If Hashirama chose to abandon the Hidden Sword Village, Zabuza wouldn't consider it cowardice. On the contrary, he would respect it as a rational decision.
After all, both Hidden Sword Village and Ascending Light were newly founded. Aside from Hashirama himself, their combat power was extremely limited.
And now Hashirama wasn't facing a handful of enemies—but hundreds of elite Kirigakure ninja, enough to wipe out a small country with ease.
Zabuza doubted that even a Shinobi God could confront such a force head-on.
He didn't voice these thoughts. Warning Hashirama was enough. The decision was no longer his to make.
Neither Zabuza nor Haku understood why Kirigakure would send troops toward the Land of Waves instead of taking advantage of Konoha's current crisis.
"I understand," Hashirama's voice replied evenly, without the slightest hint of panic."Is there anything else?"
The report of hundreds of Kirigakure ninja approaching sounded no more significant to him than casual neighborhood news.
Zabuza hesitated, then added one final piece of information:
"There's one more thing. The commander of the Kirigakure force heading toward the Land of Waves is Mei Terumi."
"She's extremely powerful—far beyond the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist—and a strong candidate for the position of Fifth Mizukage."
"Got it," Hashirama replied briefly.
Zabuza opened his mouth as if to say more, but ultimately remained silent.
With a soft ripple, Hashirama's figure vanished from the void.
On a nameless island, Zabuza lowered his gaze from the Eye Ring and turned to Haku.
"…What do you think he'll do?"
"The Hidden Sword Village hasn't shown hostility toward Kirigakure yet," Zabuza continued slowly."Maybe things won't escalate that far."
Haku pursed her lips.
Zabuza was implying that Hashirama might retreat—or choose to lie low.
Historical records described Hashirama as gentle and benevolent. But based on her own interactions, Haku wasn't convinced.
Either the records were wrong—
Or something had happened that turned the Shinobi God far colder and more ruthless than history claimed.
She couldn't imagine someone with such ambition—someone who spoke openly about correcting the entire ninja world—choosing to back down.
"Zabuza-san makes a reasonable point," Haku said with a soft smile, keeping her true thoughts to herself.
Land of Waves
After learning that hundreds of Kirigakure ninja were approaching, Neiki stood before a world map, activated his Byakugan, and looked toward a distant direction.
A cold smile formed at the corner of his lips.
"So that's how it is."
Those Kirigakure forces weren't targeting him.
They weren't even targeting the Land of Waves or the Hidden Sword Village.
Their true objective—
Was Konoha.
After Iwagakure declared war, Kirigakure chose to act before Kumogakure.
Why approach Konoha through the Land of Waves?
Because Konoha had denied Kirigakure a battlefield within the Land of Fire.
And that wasn't all.
Through his Byakugan, Neiki also spotted hundreds of Konoha ninja rowing toward the Land of Waves from the opposite direction.
Despite already fighting Iwagakure on the western front, Konoha was fully prepared on the eastern front as well.
What did that mean?
Was Iwagakure not applying enough pressure?
And who decided that both Konoha and Kirigakure would turn the Land of Waves—a small border nation between the Land of Fire and the Land of Water—into their battlefield?
"Typical warmonger logic…" Neiki murmured.
The western front lay in the Land of Rain.The eastern front lay in the Land of Waves.
Major nations waged war with chilling precision.
"…And the Konoha forces are led by Tsunade."
Neiki's Byakugan pierced through distance and obstacles, locking onto the blonde woman.
Tsunade.Mei Terumi.
In the original timeline, these two would one day stand side by side as allies.
Now, they were about to face each other as enemies.
Even Neiki—who had orchestrated these events—couldn't help but marvel at the cruelty of fate.
"Since you've all come," he said softly, eyes turning cold,"let's see how many of you can leave intact."
Fighting was one thing.
But bringing the battlefield to his newly planted garden?
That was unforgivable.
They were asking for trouble.
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