Chapter 7
Chapter 7
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 7
Chapter Title: Searching for Clues to the Tenseigan
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Swoosh—
Swoosh swoosh—
In the forest on the outskirts of Konoha Village, four Anbu ninjas leaped continuously through the trees, gradually converging from all directions.
"No sign of the target!" One Anbu ninja came to a halt, standing atop a sturdy tree branch. He scanned the surroundings with his sensing ability before reporting to his comrades via the communicator hooked to his ear.
Speaking of which, the ninja world's technological development was downright bizarre. Firearms had basically stalled out, tech levels were all over the place, but they already had wireless radios and even microphones.
The other Anbu ninjas stopped one after another, each taking up positions at high vantage points on the branches to keep watch over the area.
"Strange, where'd he go?" The sensor ninja formed hand seals once more, sending chakra rippling outward like waves, yet still detecting nothing.
Swoosh—
A sharp gust of wind sliced through the air as Kakashi, wearing his white cat mask, landed nearby.
As Anbu captain, Kakashi wouldn't normally deploy personally, but this incident involved the Hyuga Clan—one of Konoha's two great noble families.
The Third Hokage had personally ordered him to lead a squad of Anbu ninjas to investigate.
"Captain!" The other Anbu ninjas turned their heads toward him.
"You haven't spotted anything either?" Beneath Kakashi's white cat mask, his one visible eye grew solemn.
After the mysterious figure vanished into the night, Kakashi had immediately led his Anbu team in pursuit, fanning out like a vast net to close in.
Yet here they were, nearly at the village barrier, with no trace of the intruder.
"Orphanage cleared—no anomalies," one Anbu supplemented. "This area's just got a few scattered buildings. The director's Yakushi Nono."
"The Wandering Priestess?" Kakashi murmured.
He'd heard the name before, of course. Root was essentially a subdivision under Anbu, after all, and they reported intel on most of their spies and personnel.
Danzo's privately trained ninjas, however, were another story.
"Keep searching! You two, sweep east along the barrier. Everyone else, with me to the west!" Kakashi commanded.
"Yes, sir!" The ninjas sprang into action.
Konoha Hospital, special care ward.
After emergency treatment from the medical ninjas, Hyuga Hizashi had pulled through the worst of it and been moved to a private room for recovery.
He wasn't just any jonin, after all—he was the head of the Hyuga branch house, the clan head's own brother.
Yet the Hyuga Hizashi who ought to have been resting peacefully couldn't sleep a wink.
He lay in his hospital bed, Byakugan fixed on the ceiling overhead, deep creases etched between his brows like knife gashes.
Scenes from the battle replayed in Hizashi's mind, flickering over and over.
Facing the pincer assault from him and Hiashi, the mysterious figure had struck straight at Hizashi's one glaring vulnerability—as if he knew the Hyuga Clan inside and out.
Bang bang—
A knock sounded at the door.
"Come in," Hizashi called from the bed, turning his head toward the entrance.
The door eased open, and Hiashi stepped inside, now dressed in civilian clothes.
"Brother..." Hizashi struggled to sit up and bow, only for Hiashi to raise a hand and stop him.
"Stay down. You're not out of the woods yet." Hiashi pulled up a stool by the bedside. Seeing his brother in such a state darkened his expression.
Recent events had left him with plenty of grievances against his brother, but he couldn't deny it—Hizashi's strength matched his own.
And yet, the two of them clamping down on that mysterious ninja from front and rear had left one of them gravely wounded and the other with minor injuries!
No ordinary shinobi wielded that kind of power. His name should have rung bells.
And moreover...