Nightfall, 7:00 PM.
Kusunami Coast, Konoha Medical Corps Camp.
"Quick, hemostats!"
"Aspirator, draw the blood! Matsumoto, get over here and apply pressure to the bleed!"
"Surgical scissors—ugh, too slow! Delicate Illness Extraction Technique!"
"The field! Why has the surgical field disappeared?! You, the one with Lightning Style, hurry up and charge the shadowless lamp!"
"Where's the gauze? Bring the gauze over! Carry Inuzuka Tsume away—don't push, don't push, she's not going to die! Who's the next patient?!"
"It's Hyūga Natsu!"
As Hyūga Yū stepped into the camp, waves of clamor washed over him.
The entire Medical Corps camp was brilliantly lit. Medical ninjas, guards, and even recent Academy graduates—familiar faces like Anko Mitarashi, Izumo Kamizuki, Kotetsu Hagane, and Hayate Gekko—dashed past him in a blur of frantic activity.
They were carrying the wounded on stretchers, directing them into different tents under the guidance of several medical ninjas.
The Kusunami Coast camp was exceptionally busy tonight.
The escort team assigned to protect a member of the Hyūga Main House had been ambushed by the Hidden Mist. The Main House member, Hyūga Genkō, was missing. Out of the twelve-man team, only four had escaped:
Hyūga Tetsu, Hyūga Natsu, Aburame Shikiteru, and Inuzuka Hana.
Aside from Hyūga Tetsu, the other three had sustained severe injuries.
Combined with a batch of emergency casualties sent from the Land of Waves front lines earlier that evening, the medical ninjas in the camp were worked to the bone.
Beyond the chaos, a specific group of people stood waiting in front of a tent. Their expressions were grim. They all shared a striking commonality: pale white eyes, dark kimonos, and a heavy, somber aura.
Leading them was the strongest member of the Branch House:
Hyūga Hizashi.
Hearing that the casualty was Hyūga Natsu, Yū quickly verified his identity with the guards at the entrance and rushed toward the tent, desperate to know what had happened.
He had clearly lured the Hidden Mist shinobi away; why was Hyūga Natsu still injured?
However, before he could get close, a straight, outstretched arm blocked his path.
Then, a low, muffled voice whispered urgently in his ear.
"Don't go over there!"
Yū looked up.
Standing before him was a very familiar face. Dressed in a green jumpsuit with a yellow scarf around his neck, the man was thin but carried a roll of gauze taller than himself. It was none other than Konoha's "Eternal Genin":
Might Duy.
Yū was slightly surprised, his gaze shifting several times in an instant.
As a Genin who only knew Taijutsu and had no squad, Duy shouldn't have been eligible for out-of-village missions beyond D-rank. Seeing him suddenly deployed here, combined with recent events, caused Yū to knit his brows.
"Master Duy, why are you here?"
Might Duy shook his head at Yū and whispered, "Never mind that for now."
"Those people over there... they seem to be the big shots of your Hyūga Clan. Because of what happened today... they've been acting quite unreasonably. They had the Intelligence Division take several people away, and they're about to demand accountability from the Nara Clan."
Yū asked immediately, "What exactly happened?"
Duy looked left and right, then leaned in cautiously.
"I've heard bits and pieces. There was a failure in the Hokage's Secretariat. They printed the names of a group of shinobi—including mine—incorrectly, resulting in the wrong deployment orders."
"Our group left the village early, which may have leaked intel. It led to a Main House member of the Hyūga Clan being intercepted by Mist ninjas. He's still missing."
"You were also on that list of 'erroneous' deployments. And... well, you arrived late, so you probably don't know what's been going on. This has nothing to do with you."
"Right now, you should stay away from that Lord."
Yū remained silent.
He knew exactly what had happened. He had been a part of it. The Secretariat's "error" was almost certainly a deliberate move by the Foundation, allowing Hidden Mist spies within Konoha to send intel to their units lying in wait.
However, Yū had only secured his deployment by contacting the Foundation ahead of time.
What truly surprised Yū was that Might Duy was also on this "erroneous" list...
This made Yū wonder: did the Foundation—or perhaps Konoha leadership—already know something? Was this truly a coincidence?
At that moment, Might Duy knit his thick eyebrows and looked at Yū, asking with uncertainty:
"Um, Yū... you don't have anything to do with this incident, do you?"
Yū snapped back to reality. "Why do you ask?"
"A rumor started spreading through the camp this afternoon. It said..."
Duy looked at Yū's active Byakugan and spoke hesitantly.
"That during this incident, a youth from the Hyūga Branch House... gouged out a Main House Byakugan and transplanted it into himself."
"That person... it isn't you, is it?"
Hearing this, Yū narrowed his eyes. He realized the information was traveling far too fast.
Just then, the guard who had verified Yū's orders ran over to Hyūga Hizashi in front of the tent and handed him a scroll.
Yū's sharp eyes immediately recognized it as the deployment order he had just submitted.
Moments later, in front of the tent, Hizashi's face darkened, and veins bulged around his eyes.
He scanned the camp, his gaze locking onto Yū.
Then, he turned and led the dozen or so Branch House shinobi directly toward Yū's position!
Seeing this, Might Duy's thick brows furrowed, and he instinctively moved to step in front of Yū.
However, Yū gently shook his head and pushed him aside with a smile.
"Master Duy, I'll be fine."
"You kid..." Duy's face tightened. He wanted to say more, but Yū was already walking forward to meet Hizashi. Duy could only clench his fists, waiting for the outcome with a sense of helplessness.
Yū had been training in Taijutsu with him since the age of six. Although his talent wasn't great and he couldn't complete most of the exercises, his willpower was the strongest Duy had ever seen. Furthermore, Yū frequently brought cultivation resources from the Hyūga Clan to support Duy and his son.
In his heart, Duy had long since regarded Yū as a precious disciple.
He had not only made an exception to teach him the first three of the Eight Inner Gates, but even now, knowing Yū was embroiled in a complex situation, he had stood up to warn him without hesitation.
By now, Hizashi and the dozen shinobi had arrived in front of Yū.
Hizashi's Byakugan immediately perceived the extraordinary cyan chakra flowing within Yū's body.
A flicker of shock and strange realization flashed in Hizashi's eyes, but he quickly and subtly masked it.
With a wave of his hand, the Branch House shinobi behind him filed out, surrounding Yū!
Then, Yū heard the great figure of the Branch House speak in a harsh, commanding tone:
"Toshihiko, go check his Caged Bird Seal!"
"Yes!"
A Branch House shinobi named Hyūga Toshihiko stepped forward. He publicly removed Yū's forehead protector, allowing everyone in the camp to see the "Caged Bird" mark clearly etched onto Yū's forehead.
He then grabbed Yū's arm, probing it several times.
Toshihiko turned back and announced loudly in front of every shinobi in the camp:
"The Caged Bird Seal is intact! There are no signs of damage to the eyes or the brain!"
"Chakra flow is stable. Confirmed: no use of Transformation or Clone Jutsu!"
"Good."
Hizashi nodded calmly. He then turned his head to look coldly at Yū, asking with an air of stern "reproach":
"Hyūga Yū,"
"Your deployment orders clearly stated you were to arrive the day after tomorrow. Why have you arrived at the camp early?"
Though Yū had anticipated this, hearing Hizashi's line of questioning brought a strange, internal urge to laugh.
Hizashi didn't ask where he had been during the missing time, he didn't ask about the cyan chakra in his body, and he didn't even mention the Main House matters.
On the surface, however, Yū replied with a serious, loud voice:
"Lord Hizashi! The orders I received stated I was to arrive at the Kusunami Coast today. Furthermore, the Barrier Team has already verified the time on the scroll!"
Hizashi's face remained dark as he said deeply:
"Nonetheless, the orders issued by the Clan were for the day after tomorrow. I shall demand accountability from Shikaku Nara regarding this matter!"
Hizashi paused for three deliberate seconds.
"As for you... go and report to the Medical Corps immediately!"
Yū felt like giving him a salute.
"Yes, sir!"
————
Supporting me on Pa-treon to gain early access to advanced chapters and enjoy expedited updates. Your support is greatly appreciated.
pat-reon .c-om/Dragonhair
(Just remove the hyphen - and space, to access Pa-treon normally.)