Chapter 157: Miscalculation

Fresh blood splattered everywhere; Hyuga Hiashi collapsed to the ground, his body covered in wounds, the fatal ones being the severed trachea and carotid artery in his neck.

"Phew... finished him! What a stroke of luck!"

The Cloud Ninja leader let out a long breath, secretly rejoicing in his heart. Although the Hyuga Clan head before him possessed decent strength, he lacked combat experience, which was why he had been so easily deceived and finished off in one move.

The so-called scattering to flee was a trap from the very beginning; one had to know that the goal of their group was not the Byakugan itself, but using the Byakugan to incite a war between the Rock Ninja and Konoha.

If they had scattered to flee, Hyuga Hiashi only needed to catch any one ninja to discover they were merely fake Rock Ninja, and in reality, they were ninjas from the Mist Ninja Village; at that point, the plan would have completely collapsed.

Therefore, when the Cloud Ninja leader shouted to retreat, the actual meaning was for everyone to prepare to fight to the death. At the same time, he also blurted out that the Byakugan had been stolen, disrupting Hyuga Hiashi's state of mind, which finally allowed him to use the Thunder Illusion Lightning Pillar—a technique developed by the Cloud Ninja Village specifically to deal with Dojutsu users—to instantly restrain Hyuga Hiashi.

Although Hyuga Hiashi's current strength was not yet at the Shadow-level, he was definitely a top-tier ninja below the Shadow-level. If they were to engage in a head-on battle, even if this group of Cloud Ninja were true elites, it was debatable whether they could win even if they fought together.

It was a pity that because of his lack of combat experience, he ultimately ended up being killed in a single move, vividly illustrating the essence of ninjas as high-attack, paper-defense "glass cannons."

"Let's go... take Hyuga Hiashi's Byakugan as well, and destroy his brain to prevent the Leaf Ninja from reading the intelligence inside! Be quick!"

The Cloud Ninja leader gave the order; they were not far from the Hyuga clan grounds, and he estimated they would be discovered by those "cataract-eyed" people soon. If they didn't clean up and run now, when would they?

The subsequent retreat went off without a hitch. As soon as the Cloud Ninja leader returned to the guest house, he secretly buried the Byakugan in the soil beneath the Rock Ninja building and even made a show of covering it up with a Sealing Technique.

But that was impossible; he hadn't left any loose ends yesterday, and most importantly, he truly didn't have the Byakugan on him. How could an ordinary person ever imagine that they would use a strategic treasure like the Byakugan to frame someone else!

The last person looked exactly like the Hyuga Clan head they had killed yesterday, only he wore a forehead protector; he was that Hyuga clan head's twin brother—Hyuga Hizashi.

"Fine, fine, fine! Then I will go with you and see what kind of explanation Konoha will give us when the time comes!"

Although he had some doubts in his heart, the Cloud Ninja leader really didn't dare to push back, mainly because Hyuga Hizashi's gaze was a bit terrifying.

With dead-fish eyes, white hair, and wearing a black mask, this unmotivated handsome man was none other than Konoha's new generation White Fang—Kakashi Hatake.

After saying the most cowardly words in the toughest tone, the Cloud Ninja leader walked out with his head held high, followed by his underlings.

Cloud Ninja could use lightning to electrolyze the sweat on their bodies to eliminate their scent, but the bloodstain on the Byakugan could not be masked. Ordinary dogs couldn't smell that deep, but the Cloud Ninja leader knew that Konoha had the Inuzuka Clan, and their ninja dogs were far stronger than ordinary dogs.

The long night finally passed, and because of the activity of the two ninja village delegations, all of Konoha was in chaos.

"These Cloud Ninja envoys, please come with us; we don't want to resort to force."

The surrounding Anbu swished into position, half-surrounding them, while Hyuga Hizashi, Uchiha Obito, and Kakashi Hatake stood in a triangle around the Cloud Ninja leader.

If the Cloud Ninja dared to resist at a time like this, Hyuga Hizashi really might kill someone!

Hiding the items too shallowly made it easy for people to suspect a frame-up, but hiding them too deeply would be a joke if Konoha didn't find them; the current situation was just right.

But regardless, as the old saying goes, once a person is dead, all matters end. After his older brother was truly dead, all that remained in Hyuga Hizashi's mind were his brother's good qualities. Because of this, he was arguably the most indignant person in all of Konoha, the one most eager to catch the culprit.

This kind of Sealing Technique could block the Byakugan and could also block some Sensory Ninjutsu—but it certainly couldn't block a dog's nose.

The relationship between Hyuga Hizashi and his older brother Hyuga Hiashi was very subtle. When they were young, they were truly a brotherly pair, but as both men started families and had children, thinking about how his own son would also become part of the Hyuga branch family and be branded with the Caged Bird, Hyuga Hizashi inevitably grew distant from Hyuga Hiashi.

Not to mention the Uchiha and those Rock Ninja, but here in the Hyuga Clan, Hyuga Natsu being knocked unconscious was one thing, but Hyuga Hiashi, the head of the Hyuga Clan, being killed, and his and his daughter's Byakugan being stolen at the same time, was an earth-shattering event for the Hyuga Clan!

One had to know that for so many years, apart from the time the Mist Ninja Village had once stolen a Byakugan from the Hyuga Clan, there had never been a situation where a Byakugan had leaked out, let alone four lost all at once!

Coupled with the clan head being killed on the spot, the ninjas of the Hyuga Clan were almost driven mad. One by one, they glared with bloodshot, almost red Byakugan, searching for people everywhere on the streets of Konoha. At first glance, one would think these Hyuga had undergone a bloodline mutation and become Uchiha!

Early in the morning, the door to the Cloud Ninja Village's building at the guest house was knocked on loudly. The Cloud Ninja leader opened the door to see a group of Anbu wearing animal masks looking at him with icy eyes.

Seeing these three heavyweight figures arrive, the Cloud Ninja leader frowned slightly; he felt these people were coming on aggressively, as if they had already investigated some ironclad evidence and had already made up their minds about them.

"What are you doing, what are you doing? Is this how you treat guests in Konoha?"

Regardless of what he had done last night, the Cloud Ninja leader didn't look the least bit guilty now. He raised his voice, acting as if he were the one in the right.

A voice that sounded unmotivated reached the ears of this group, and emerging from behind the Anbu were three ninjas the Cloud Ninja were also very familiar with.

Wearing goggles on his head and smiling a bit foolishly, but with three Tomoe in his eyes that gave people a heart-stopping feeling—the rising star of the Uchiha Clan during the Third Great Ninja War, Uchiha Obito.

'Bad, this is completely bad! Why are these Leaf Ninja so heavily guarded against us? Could it be that they really found some clues?'

On the surface, the delegation leader was full of confidence, but in reality, his heart had already begun to drum, and he racked his brains trying to think if he had forgotten anything.

It wasn't until he walked into the Hokage Office that he let out a huge sigh of relief!

A group of Rock Ninja stood in the office, covered in wounds, wearing shackles, and looking dejected. At this moment, in the office, Tsunade was resting her chin on her hands with a cold expression on her face.

On the desk in front of Tsunade sat two test tubes, each containing two Byakugan, and surrounding the Rock Ninja was a circle of Uchiha ninjas.

'It seems the problem isn't with us; it's just that Konoha is being a bit too tough. These Rock Ninja are much more miserable than us; they must have been treated as the prime suspects!'

Just as the Cloud Ninja secretly breathed a sigh of relief, the Fifth Hokage's gaze also turned toward this group of Cloud Ninja:

"The matter of those Rock Ninja has been settled, and now it is you Cloud Ninja... tell me, as a delegation that came to sign a Peace Agreement, why did you break into the Hyuga Clan grounds in the middle of the night, not only attacking the Hyuga Clan ninjas and stealing two pairs of Byakugan, but even killing the head of the Hyuga Clan!"

The Cloud Ninja leader's heart trembled, but his face showed a look of confusion mixed with anger:

"Don't joke around! Is this the attitude of your Leaf toward our diplomatic delegation?! Pinning a black pot on us without any evidence!"

"We stayed in the hotel all night last night and didn't go out at all! Where did you dig up those Byakugan from, and why are you framing us so blatantly?"

Tsunade shook her head, picked up the two test tubes from the table, and said indifferently:

"These are the Byakugan we searched for in the guest house where the Rock Ninja Village was staying..."

"What does that have to do with us?!"

"Please do not interrupt me; what follows is the real point..."

The Cloud Ninja leader had an angry expression on his face, but looking at Tsunade's calm and unhurried posture, his heart sank deeply.

"Just last night, the Rock Ninja Village delegation attacked the son of the Uchiha Clan head, Itachi Uchiha, and was eventually stopped by Shisui Uchiha of the Uchiha Clan. Apart from the Rock Ninja who were killed, all the remaining Rock Ninja were thrown into the Uchiha Police Force that same night; these are the very people you see now."

"Cloud Ninja, please tell me, how could these Rock Ninja have split themselves to go to the Hyuga Clan and kill Hyuga Hiashi while simultaneously attacking the Uchiha Clan?"

Damn it!

After Tsunade's voice fell, the expressions on the faces of the Cloud Ninja became very colorful. They truly had not expected that their flawless plan would end up... with such a result?!

"Furthermore, we interrogated some of the Rock Ninja and obtained intelligence directly from their brains. Do you know what their specific plan was?"

Specific plan?! It was as if a bolt of lightning had struck the delegation leader's brain. He gave a dry laugh and looked toward the Rock Ninja leader, Huoguang, only to see that Huoguang looking back at him with a bitter smile full of irony and self-mockery.

"It seems you have already guessed. That's right, their plan was very simple: to seize the Uchiha Clan's Sharingan and use it to frame your Cloud Ninja Village... I have to say, if we hadn't dug this plan out of their heads, I really wouldn't have thought so quickly that the Hyuga Clan incident was your doing."

As Tsunade recounted the events, whether they were ninjas from the Rock Ninja Village or the Cloud Ninja Village, their faces displayed extremely colorful expressions—resentment, regret, self-mockery, and bitterness; it was truly as if a dye shop had been opened.

"Damn Cloud Ninja, what else do you have to say for yourselves?"

Hyuga Hizashi was the first to grit his teeth and step forward, his gaze filled with hatred as he looked at the Cloud Ninja leader, who gave a bitter smile:

"Fine, I have nothing to say... that such a hellish thing could actually happen! What the hell am I supposed to say!"

By the end, the Cloud Ninja leader still cast a resentful look at the Rock Ninja; it was all because of these useless fools that his own plan had failed!

Of course, he didn't consider that if the Rock Ninja's plan had succeeded, he would have likely been splashed with filth himself; it could be said that these two ninja villages, each harboring their own ulterior motives, had thought along the same lines, and the final result was that both sides were unlucky.

Hyuga Hizashi clenched his fists, looking at the Cloud Ninja before him, seemingly contemplating where to strike. However, under Tsunade's gaze, he ultimately did not take direct action.

"That's enough... return these eyes to your Hyuga Clan! As for these two delegations, leave them to the Anbu to handle; have the Yamanaka Clan extract all the intelligence from their brains!"

Tsunade waved her hand, speaking with an indifferent expression; in her eyes, these were merely trivial matters.

The Rock Ninja and Cloud Ninja had no idea what they were about to face; to put it bluntly, as long as Uchiha Feiyu had the mind to, a single order to any of the three Great Ninja Villages would be enough to pin the Rock Ninja and Cloud Ninja to the ground and crush them.

Glancing at the grim-faced Hyuga Hizashi, Tsunade spoke again to console him:

"Once the value of these ninjas has been squeezed dry, I will send them to the Hyuga Clan for you to deal with."

Upon hearing Tsunade's words, the expression on Hyuga Hizashi's face improved significantly, and he respectfully thanked Tsunade twice.

The ninjas from the two villages were taken away, and the other Leaf Ninja departed as well; only then did Tsunade stretch and let out a long sigh.

"Rock Ninja and Cloud Ninja... these two ninja villages really do have too many petty schemes,"

"Leave it to me; I can certainly teach them a lesson, and making them behave would be a good thing."

A pair of hands reached into the collar, grasping a pair of headlights, as Uchiha Feiyu whispered into Tsunade's ear.

"Mmph... I understand... then... to what extent do you intend to warn them?"

Tsunade, her face flushed red, adjusted her collar to make it more convenient for Uchiha Feiyu, and asked.

"Just killing Onoki and Killer Bee will suffice. Anyway, the national chakra policy in those two countries has already been implemented; even if the leaders of the two ninja villages die, nothing will change."

"But let me design it first... to take out these two guys, at least one or two thousand ninjas will have to be buried with them; with so many leeks, I need to find a better way to harvest them."

Uchiha Feiyu was very clear that even with the Hunyuan Treasure Box, his harvesting method was still too primitive; at the very least, his Black Qi offerings hadn't truly exceeded ten thousand after all these years.

Capturing living ninjas to refine into Pill is much more difficult than simply killing them; the ninjas in this world are all glass cannons, not like that bunch of thick-skinned Pirates next door, who only get a few scars after being hit by bombs and can swim in a vat of boiling oil for an hour.

Even Senju Hashirama could commit suicide with a small Kunai, let alone ordinary ninjas. Under these circumstances, even if one has the intention to hold back, the number of ninjas actually killed is two or three times higher than those captured alive.

This is just the result of these ninjas hunting around; if a Ninja World War were to break out, there would likely be even less room to capture the enemy alive.

(End of this chapter)